Exhausted Si Nan slept relatively soundly that night. When it was almost dawn, she was awakened by the noisy talking and walking sounds inside and outside the tent.
The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself sleeping in Cheng Suming's arms, with a long black and gray down jacket covering her body. No wonder she slept so soundly yesterday despite being so tired. It's natural to sleep peacefully when being hugged by the person you love.
When she moved, Cheng Suming woke up as well. "Awake, do you feel uncomfortable?"
"No, I'm fine." Si Nan looked at her hands. Each finger was wrapped in gauze. She knew that this was the bandage Cheng Su Ming had given her yesterday. She couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "How can I move stones today if you wrap my hands like this?"
Cheng Suming took out a roll of medical gauze from his backpack, tore off a small piece, wet it with the water in the bag, and wiped her face covered with black dust. "Don't move for the time being if your hand is injured like that. There are so many soldiers out there who can make a difference. Take care of your hand for two days, and go again when it feels better."
"Rest it for two days..." Si Nan pondered over what he said and felt a chill on his back.
Yes, she forgot that this earthquake did not happen in a single city, but in the whole country, or even the whole world! It would not be like before the end of the world, when one province was in trouble, the whole country would support it.
The existing military fire rescue teams are all manpower drawn from the province to carry out rescue operations.
Even though they worked day and night to rescue people, as the ground was cracked and they could not drive a car to transport professional rescue equipment, they had to rely on their own hands to move the heavy building materials to save those people buried deep under the rubble, which greatly increased the difficulty and speed of the rescue.
The current situation is that they don't know when aftershocks will occur or when the ruins of the buildings will collapse a second time. They don't know how long it will take to dig out the people buried deep under the rubble.
Most of those buried under the rubble had no food or water, were unable to move, and had injuries on their bodies. It was unknown whether they could hold on until the day they were rescued.
When Si Nan thought of this, he felt heavy in his heart, his chest was stuffy and he couldn't breathe, and his head began to hurt. He gritted his teeth and said, "I can't rest. If I rest for a while, Youqing and the others will have less chance of being rescued. My hands don't hurt, they don't hurt."
Cheng Suming looked at her silently. There were bruises under her eyes, her lips were pale, and she looked very bad. It was because she was overworked and did not get enough rest.
You could still faintly see the dried blood on the gauze wrapped around her ten fingers. She should have taken a good rest, but she insisted on going to save people, and he couldn't stop her.
Before a disaster, no one could turn a blind eye and remain indifferent to seeing their relatives and friends trapped. Cheng Suming would not stop Si Nan. Seeing her anxiously getting up, he held her hand and said, "Eat something first before you go."
The lady who collected the snow cakes yesterday saw Sinan and the others woke up and immediately said, "Breakfast is being distributed in the tent outside. I heard it's free this morning. Starting from noon, everyone needs to work in exchange for food."
The two men thanked the aunt and left their tent carrying their backpacks.
Sure enough, breakfast was being distributed outside. It was in front of a tent. Three simple large stoves were set up on the spot. They were cooking sweet potato porridge and several pots of steamed buns.
Many disaster victims, covered in dust, lined up, holding broken bowls and plates picked up from the ruins. No matter how dirty or germy they were, they needed containers to eat porridge, as the army did not provide tableware.
Because there was no water to distribute, if I wanted to avoid choking when eating steamed buns, I could only find tableware to serve porridge and replenish some water.
The earthquake was too fierce this time. Most of the houses and buildings collapsed, and the ground was cracked everywhere. The drinking water that people had stored was basically buried in the ruins. Nowadays, every bite of food and every drop of water is hard to come by. They were all carried by the soldiers in the army bit by bit. Most people would not be picky as long as they could have porridge to fill their stomachs and drink as water.
But there are always some weird people doing weird things.
For example, a white-haired old man refused to queue up. Seeing the long queue, he shouted that the elderly should be given priority, and kept saying loudly: "If you don't let me eat first, I will smash the iron pot. We will all starve to death together!"
As he spoke, he actually went to move a big stone and wanted to throw it into the steaming iron pot.
The soldiers and volunteers in charge of cooking had no choice but to let him eat first.
He was also dissatisfied with the fact that the volunteers had only one steamed bun and scooped out too little porridge. He wanted to reach out to grab a few more buns to eat, but a soldier with a sullen face yelled at him, "Just take one more bun. Don't take advantage of your age and ask for more! Food is hard to come by now. Everyone has a quota. If you take one more bun, others will have one less bun! Once you get your food, go to the side and don't block the people behind you."
When the old man heard this, he immediately threw the steamed bun in his hand at the soldier's face: "Who do you think you are? What's wrong with me taking a few more steamed buns? My wife, son, wife, and grandchildren are all gone, all dead! I am alone and I am not afraid of anyone. If you dare to yell at me, I will beat you to death!"
After throwing the steamed bun in his hand, he raised his fist to hit the soldier. Several volunteers and people in the front line couldn't bear to see this, so they all stopped him and tried to persuade him.
"Old man, the situation is already so difficult now. It's not easy for everyone to survive the disaster. It's good enough to have something to eat. Why do you have to make things difficult for the people's soldiers?"
"Yes, only our country cares about the lives of the people. Not only do we send soldiers to rescue everyone, but we also give everyone free food. If this happened abroad, let alone giving you food, even if you were buried under the rubble, they might not send soldiers to rescue you."
"I'm not saying anything bad about you, old man, but at your age, it's better to die early than to live. Since all your family members are dead, do you think anyone will tolerate you if you make a scene here? Didn't you hear the volunteers say that everyone has to register after breakfast and work before they can eat? You're making a scene now, but there's no work at noon, and no one will care whether you live or die even if you make a scene all day long."
......
The unreasonable old man made a fuss for a while, and he realized in his heart that times have changed. Today's people's soldiers are no longer like before, allowing the people to beat and scold them without fighting back.
The current environment is so difficult that it is hard for people to survive. Who would care about the emotions of ordinary people?
It was rare for these soldiers to obey the country's orders. There was no point in him making a fuss. After a while, he walked away dejectedly with his bowl.
After he left, the black-faced soldier picked up a few dirty steamed buns that had fallen on the ground, patted the dust off them with his hands, and distributed them to the soldier volunteers around who had not yet had breakfast. Everyone ate them without minding the dirt.
After this incident, the disaster victims who lined up to receive food became much more honest, but there were still many people who were troublesome. For example, people who had a good family and sufficient supplies before the earthquake complained that the steamed buns were not tasty and the porridge was too watery. There were also people who felt that the tableware they picked up had a lot of bacteria and asked the soldiers who served food to wash the dishes for them with the water that the troops were reluctant to drink...
Si Nan and the other person originally wanted to queue up to get food. There were a lot of people gathered in the tent, and they didn't know how many days they would have to stay here to rescue Sheng Youqing's family. If they kept eating the food in their bags, it would inevitably arouse other people's suspicion, so the two planned to go and get food.
But the line was too long and we didn’t know how long we would have to wait to get our food.
The two gave up the idea of queuing, took out some compressed biscuits and water from their bags, ate a bite, and went to a tent with a sign saying "registration office" to register.
The volunteer in charge of registration said to them, "We don't have much supplies now. They are all carried by soldiers and firefighters on foot. Therefore, we need everyone to actively participate in the rescue operation in exchange for food. Starting from today, we will provide breakfast and dinner every day. The food is also very simple, just porridge and steamed buns. If you accept it, please register with me. In addition, you must register other surviving people in your family. The more work you do, the elderly over 75 years old and children under 10 years old in your family will not have to work, and you will receive more supplies. If you have special professions, such as doctors, nurses, or retired soldiers, you can make a special registration with me. At that time, you will accumulate certain points in the army and can also get more food."
Cheng Suming looked interested: "I'm a surgeon, do I get any special treatment?"
The volunteer shook his head. "Except for food points, there is nothing else for now. But the army will not give people points for no reason. I think these points will definitely be very useful in the future."
Cheng Suming certainly knew the role of points, which could be exchanged for many things in the base to be established later.
He glanced at Si Nan and said, "If I go to treat patients and perform surgery, can you protect yourself by yourself?"
Si Nan knew what he was thinking, nodded and said, "Go ahead, don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."
Cheng Suming turned around and said to the volunteers, "Please register for me. My name is Cheng Suming. I used to be a surgeon in Country Y. I have been engaged in this profession for nearly six years. I am good at orthopedic surgery, neurology..."
As he spoke, he pulled out his medical qualification certificate, international medical school diploma and other certificates from his backpack and handed them to the volunteers.
When the volunteer saw that he was indeed the most in-demand surgeon, he was so excited that he didn't know what to say. "Dr. Cheng, Dr. Cheng, please wait a moment. I'll call Officer Zhou over and have him arrange a job for you."
Soon, the middle-aged officer whom Si Nan had met yesterday came rushing over.
His hair was a little messy and his eyes were red. It was obvious that he had not slept for several hours and had not rested enough, so he got up early in the morning to give orders.
When he saw Cheng Suming, he shook hands with him first, and then said to him, "Yesterday our troops worked overtime until about two in the morning before we let the soldiers stop to rest. During this period, we rescued many seriously injured patients who needed surgical operations. Among the military doctors in our team and the surviving doctors in this hospital, only four are surgeons, and the rest are interns or doctors who specialize in other diseases. We are worried about the lack of manpower. Doctor Cheng, you are here at the right time. Thank you for your strong support for our work. I won't waste any more words. I will take you to the tent for the operation now."
"Wait." Cheng Suming stopped him, "I am not a qualified doctor in China. I don't have the obligation or responsibility to save people unconditionally."
Officer Zhou understood what he meant and said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Under the current situation, I can't give you money or a lot of supplies as wages."
Cheng Suming: "That's not what I want."
He walked up to Commander Zhou and asked in a low voice, "I heard that the army is accumulating points for people in special occupations. I wonder what these points are used for?"
Commander Zhou's eyes sparkled. "When it can be used, you will know what it does."
Cheng Suming smiled: "Since Commander Zhou is unwilling to tell me, I won't make it difficult for you, but I want a promise from you."
Chief Zhou frowned and asked, "What promise?"
"The more people I save, the more points I will get. If I have the chance to see Commander Zhou again in the future, can you please give me some face and help me?"
Commander Zhou thought about it carefully. Doctors nowadays, especially those who can perform various large-scale surgical operations, are really scarce. The order from their superiors is for them to do their best to rescue the people. In an environment where surgery can be performed, they cannot abandon the injured people.
Dr. Cheng was not a doctor on the domestic payroll, so he could not be persuaded by the so-called professional ethics and government-provided salaries and supplies of domestic doctors. His demands were not excessive, so he nodded and agreed: "Okay, I'll give you this promise."
"In this case, Commander Zhou, please remember the promise you made."
Before leaving, Cheng Suming pointed at Si Nan and said to Officer Zhou, "This is my wife. Her best friend and her family are buried under the ruins of the inpatient department."
He didn't say the rest, but Chief Zhou understood immediately: "Don't worry, I will have someone take care of your wife, and I will also do my best to rescue your wife's friends."
Cheng Suming looked at Sinan and said, "Be careful when moving construction materials. Don't try to show off your abilities."
Si Nan smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, I'm not a three-year-old child. I know what's going on. Just focus on operating on the patient and don't worry about me."
Cheng Suming looked at her deeply, reached out to tidy up her messy hair, kissed her forehead lightly, and said, "Remember to come find me when you're done." He turned around and went to report to the big tent that served as a temporary hospital.
Commander Zhou called a battalion commander-level officer, handed Si Nan over to him, and asked him to ensure Si Nan's personal safety.
Sinan followed Captain Li to the ruins of the inpatient department to continue moving stones.
There were already many people there moving bricks. Everyone was anxious to save their friends and family, so they ate something and started moving construction materials almost as soon as daybreak.
It was not a good idea for so many people to move bricks in a disorderly manner, so Captain Li gathered the soldiers and people participating in the rescue together and made simple work assignments.
For example, the moving of light stones, wood, steel bars, etc. is done by women, children, and elderly people.
Large building materials, stones, stretchers for transporting patients, etc. were made by men.
For more dangerous situations, where people need to be rescued by hanging down ropes from narrow cracks in the rubble, or for houses and buildings in dangerous and rugged terrain, these tasks will be handled by soldiers and firefighters.
Captain Li specially arranged a soldier who had injured his left hand during the rescue yesterday to follow Si Nan and move stones.
Everyone performed their duties and started a new day of rescue work.
The weather today is still clear. A red sun hangs high in the east, and its fiery red light illuminates the ruins on the entire earth.
People were busy among the piles of rubble. The injured people who were rescued were placed on homemade stretchers made of sheets, quilts, and even clothes, and were quickly and carefully carried to the temporary hospital tent.
There were people who had been rescued everywhere, expressing their gratitude and relief for surviving the disaster. There were also many injured people who were screaming in pain after being rescued.
Compared with the lucky ones lying on stretchers, the corpses that were carried out from the ruins and placed silently on the open ground made people feel heavy.
Many of the victims' family members knelt beside the bodies, crying and wailing in pain. Their cries echoed over the ruined city, giving people a sense of suffocation, sadness and loneliness.
No one went to comfort the crying families who had lost their loved ones. Everyone was shouting in the rubble to see if there was anyone down there. If they heard a response, they would follow the direction of the sound, work hard to move bricks, pry open the heavy building materials, and race against time to save people.
Si Nan tried his best to move the big stones in the messy ruins. After a whole morning of carrying the stones, his bandaged fingers were rubbed and bleeding, and they hurt when touched.
She endured the pain in her hands and numbly moved the building materials one by one. When she moved to a collapsed wall, some clothes and gold and silver jewelry were faintly visible.
She walked to the wall and was about to ask if there was anyone there when suddenly several people rushed out, pushed her aside, and swarmed to the place where the gold and silver jewelry were exposed. They moved the wooden materials pressing on it, and several people started fighting in front of Si Nan for the gold and silver jewelry.
Since the earthquake yesterday, there have been many people like this. They were not injured and had no relatives or friends in need of help. They had nothing to do and were unwilling to join the rescue team to save people. So they carried large packages and rummaged through the rubble, looking for food, water, gold and silver jewelry, just to have money and food so that they could live a better life in the future.
There were not many of them, but they caused a lot of trouble to the rescue team who were busy with the rescue.
Just like now, several middle-aged women are fighting for gold jewelry that could be sold for tens of thousands of dollars before the end of the world, completely ignoring whether the ruins under their feet are dangerous or will collapse.
A young soldier with thick eyebrows and big eyes following Si Nan couldn't bear to see this and shouted to them, "Ladies, can you please stop making trouble here? When you pick up things, please look at where they are! The place you are in is very dangerous and may collapse at any time. If you fall, our rescue team will have to waste manpower to save you. You may even get hurt. Can you please leave here?"
"What do you care?" A thin woman, holding a bunch of gold ornaments in her hand, glared at the soldier fiercely and said, "Don't we know whether it's dangerous here or not? Why do we need a young boy like you to preach to us?"
Another woman with a slightly more normal body type answered, "People die for money, and birds die for food. We had no money or food before, and life was so hard. Now there's an earthquake, and no one wants the collapsed money and food. What's wrong with us picking them up and using them for ourselves? If it really collapses, we don't need you to rescue us, we can climb out by ourselves!"
A younger woman said, "Pfft, pfft, you crow's mouth, stop saying those unlucky words, I don't want to be buried under there, and I'm too lazy to fight with you for things, I'm leaving and going to look somewhere else."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, she suddenly felt a familiar shaking sensation.
Everyone around them looked shocked, "It's an aftershock!"
Almost all the people who were busy working on the ruins ran to open areas as soon as possible.
Si Nan was standing on a ruin about ten meters above the ground. Her left foot was injured and she walked with a limp, and she had no time to run down.
Seeing this, the young soldier carried her on his shoulders, jumped down from the ruins in three or two steps, and brought her to an open area nearby.
A lot of people have gathered around. Everyone has a grim look on their face and looks panicked and uneasy. They don't know how strong this aftershock will be and how long it will last.
Fortunately, the aftershock was not very strong and lasted for less than twenty seconds.
But it was these twenty seconds that caused a second collapse of many already crumbling ruins. Many people who did not have time to retreat in the ruins, such as soldiers hanging on ropes and rescuing people under the layers of dangerous ruins of buildings, and those who were "panning for gold" on the ruins mountain were all buried in the ruins.
A big hole collapsed where Sinan had just been, and the four aunties who were "digging for gold" all fell into it. A lot of construction materials also fell down with the hole and hit them, making them unable to move.
From a distance, Si Nan could hear their screams and cries for help.
Si Nan was quite speechless. She looked at the young soldier who was carrying her. Both of them could see helplessness in each other's eyes.
There are weird people every year, but there are more of them this year. They just won't listen to other people's good advice. Do you feel better now?
Didn’t those aunties say they would climb up by themselves? Then let them climb slowly.
Si Nan and the other man pretended not to hear it tacitly, turned around and went to other places to cooperate with the army soldiers to rescue the soldiers who were buried less deeply due to the secondary collapse.
It is around January now, and Xingcheng is still in winter. It is not particularly cold, with temperatures ranging from about 2° to 11°. The daylight hours are very short, with daylight only rising around six or seven o'clock and getting dark around seven in the evening. Due to insufficient light, rescue is difficult at night.
Except for the military firefighters who had their own power supply, the rest of the people, under the orders of the officers, suspended the rescue and returned to the tent area to receive today's dinner, rest for an hour, and then continued the rescue until midnight, when everyone was exhausted and returned to the tent to sleep.
After another day without finding Sheng Youqing and the others, Si Nan returned to the tent area from the ruins in a depressed mood.
Cheng Su Ming calculated the dinner time and waited for her in front of the temporary hospital tent.
Seeing her exhausted face and bloody fingers, he pulled her towards the temporary hospital tent with concern: "Didn't you find Sheng Youqing and the others?"
"Yeah." Si Nan saw that he was wearing a white coat, a green sterilization suit, and a medical cap that surgeons in TV dramas wear on their heads. He was also wearing a mask, and he didn't recognize him at first.
After a while, she said, "Is it okay for you to come out like this? I can't go into the medical tent, right? I'm covered in dust and germs."
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