Chapter 59
The time came to 1998.
Summer is here, and it's supposed to be a hot and unbearable time, but the weather doesn't seem to be good. It has been raining for a month straight, making people feel damp in their hearts, and they always feel that things are not going well.
Finally, on the eve of a stormy night, a thunderclap woke Tao Zhi up. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, so she got up, put on her clothes, and walked to the living room to sit quietly.
After an unknown amount of time, the phone rang. Tao Zhi picked it up immediately: "Hello?"
"Mom." The voice seemed to come from far away. "I'm Manman."
Tao Zhi looked at the wall clock. It was four o'clock in the morning. Thunder rumbled outside the window, accompanied by heavy rain.
"Mom, to make a long story short, there's been a severe flood in Province F, and I'm about to follow the troops to the flood control front to carry out my mission. I won't be in school for the next period of time, so don't worry if you can't find me."
As Cheng Man finished her words, a busy tone sounded. Tao Zhi froze in place, the microphone slipping from his hand and slamming heavily on the table.
Click, the old man opened the door and walked out of the room.
"It's so late, who's calling?" Every word he uttered was filled with sleepiness.
Tao Zhi turned around slowly, and after a while she replied, "It's Manman."
Cheng Xiangqian helped her sit down: "What happened to Manman?"
"She said she went to the front."
The old man's hand suddenly tightened, with an imperceptible tremor: "Which front?"
"Flood relief."
The old man immediately turned on the TV, but unfortunately, the screen was filled with either snow or the TV station's test picture.
He turned off the TV, went into the room, fumbled for the radio, and turned it on, tuning repeatedly. Finally, on a rustling station, he faintly heard a report: "Due to continued heavy rainfall, the Dongjiang River basin in Province F has experienced severe flooding. Water levels in many places have exceeded historical records. Local military and civilians have launched emergency rescue operations..."
The intermittent sounds made Tao Zhi's heart waver. Then, a commotion erupted downstairs. She opened the window. The heavy rain had stopped at some point. A military vehicle rumbled through the gloom, its tires grinding against the pavement as it sped silently and swiftly across the empty road.
Tao Zhi sat back on the sofa, closed her eyes, and waited for the morning news to start.
As the clock struck 7:00 a.m., the familiar news theme song blared, and Tao Zhi's eyes snapped open. The anchor's first announcement was, "Last night, a section of the Yangtze River experienced a severe flood. Our soldiers worked tirelessly on the flood control front..." On the screen, the surging floodwaters, wave after wave, destroyed people's homes. The young soldiers, with their flesh and blood, formed wall after wall of humanity. Seeing such a shocking scene, Tao Zhi's tears flowed unconsciously, soaking her lapel before finally falling to the ground.
With tears in her eyes and choking with sobs, she said to Cheng Xiangqian: "Old man, we must do something."
Cheng Xiangqian and she clasped hands: "We'll do our best."
As soon as the sun rose, they left sleep and drove out to buy all kinds of supplies. There was no room at home to store the truckloads of supplies, so they all went to the kindergarten.
When the teachers heard about it, they all came to help. They divided the work and worked together to load clothes, quilts, medicine and food onto the post office truck one by one.
Under the guidance of their teacher, the children quietly stayed in the classroom, writing and drawing. They carefully wrote on their works in crooked handwriting: "To the most lovely person."
The parents saw this and volunteered to stay and help. The fathers were responsible for carrying the goods, while the mothers helped count, pack, and label the goods. This grand scene attracted the villagers next door, and everyone donated what they could.
Finally, Tao Zhi personally handed a large envelope to the person in charge of disaster relief donations. Inside was a detailed list of donations from her and her husband, as well as from the kindergarten's teachers, students, parents, and nearby villagers. This heartfelt gesture moved the person in charge to tears.
The old man was collecting donations at the machinery factory, and Cheng Hui and Cheng Jun also followed him.
Tao Zhi follows the news every day, which reports water level information and dangerous situations at major dams.
On August 7th, the Jiujiang dike burst. Shaking, rain-soaked footage captured the torrents, surging uncontrollably towards the city. Streets were instantly submerged, houses destroyed in a flash, and citizens were forced to flee in panic. Countless PLA soldiers and cadres charged forward, building a fortress of steel with their own bodies.
Tao Zhi's heart was in a knot. She went to discuss with the old man: "I think..."
Cheng Xiangqian hugged her and said, "Just go for it. I support you."
Tao Zhi then took out her passbook, took out all the money inside, and donated it without leaving a single cent. The sheer amount caused a sensation throughout the donation center, and Tao Zhi was even featured in the newspapers.
Everyone learned the news when the newspaper was delivered. Everyone else was very calm, except Wei Hongxia, who muttered, "So generous to outsiders, but so stingy with relatives."
Cheng Jun paused his chopsticks for a moment, and Cheng Hui and Cheng Xing stopped eating immediately. They looked at their mother together.
The old man continued to pick up food and eat, and Tao Zhi's expression remained normal, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Cheng Hui and Cheng Xing exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads to count the rice grains. A sudden silence fell over the table, even the sound of chopsticks tapping against bowls vanishing without a trace.
Wei Hongxia nudged Cheng Jun with her hand, and Cheng Jun coughed twice. Just as he was about to speak, Tao Zhi gave him a cold look and said, "If you don't want to eat, get out."
Cheng Jun shuddered. It was their family rule not to scold others at the dinner table, and he didn't want to be the first one. After he swallowed his words, Wei Hongxia was so angry that she kicked him several times under the table.
After everyone finished eating, Tao Zhi said to Cheng Jun, "Send him out. If you can't teach him well, don't come back."
Wei Hongxia stood up and said, "Why? If you can do this, shouldn't I be able to say something?"
Cheng Jun was so scared that he immediately tried to pull her, but Wei Hongxia refused to leave and she wanted an explanation today.
Seeing Cheng Jun like that, Tao Zhi laughed, shook her head, stood up, picked up Wei Hongxia with one hand, opened the door and threw her out. She clapped her hands and stood aside to make room for Cheng Jun.
When Cheng Jun rushed out, Tao Zhi closed the door and pretended to ignore it.
Until today, she finally understood why Cheng Jun had ignored her sisters in his past life. How could a daughter-in-law, who only cared about her own family, be willing to give even a little bit of her resources to her in-laws? They were taking food from her bowl and money from her pocket. No wonder Wei Hongxia kept her purse strings tied tightly.
Cheng Xing was right. It seemed that their family was a little unlucky in terms of love.
Tao Zhi sighed deeply. Her clever little son had fallen into the hands of a woman. She glared at the old man fiercely. It was all because of the Cheng family's bad genes.
Tao Zhi reflected deeply on herself, blaming them for being so easy to talk to, which had only widened her appetite. It seemed that her and the old man's relationship philosophy was no longer suitable for this society; supporting each other in times of adversity was a joke today.
She was too lazy to care about Cheng Jun's teaching his wife. She just said it anyway. She didn't care who would deal with whom after returning. As long as they didn't dance in front of her, it would be fine.
After Cheng Jun's property is sold, his wealth will definitely rise to a new level. Could this be the reason Wei Hongxia is so confident? Tao Zhi snorted coldly. She decided to collect the pension tomorrow. Whether it was filial piety or not was not the point, but she and the old man had to have this money.
Tao Zhi then told Cheng Hui and Cheng Xing about Cheng Man's situation. The two little ones had also been watching the news recently, and their eyes were full of admiration when they heard the news: "Wow, my aunt is so amazing. She goes wherever she's needed, just like the soldiers in the People's Liberation Army."
Look, even a child can understand this truth, but an adult can’t see through it.
Only then did Cheng Xing understand his parents' painstaking efforts, and at the same time he secretly prayed that Cheng Man would be safe and unharmed.
The flood was gradually receding, and long queues formed for donations of money and materials. Disaster relief supplies were shipped from all over the country, and charity performances with the participation of more than a thousand actors were received. A total of more than 600 million yuan in donations were received.
As the flood fighting troops withdrew, the masses bid them farewell with tears in their eyes, constantly stuffing fruits and eggs into the soldiers' hands. During this deeply moving moment, Cheng Man finally recovered from her loss of contact and immediately called home.
The family's tense hearts finally relaxed, and Cheng Xiangqian even felt a little proud: Cheng Man's future is stable, and it is foreseeable that it will be a smooth road.
They waited at home for a long time, but Cheng Man didn't come back. When they called the school to ask, she had already gone back to class. The poor students didn't have any holidays.
Tao Zhi really missed her daughter. After thinking about it, she invited the old man to go to Manman's school together.
Cheng Xiangqian had exactly this in mind, so he happily packed his luggage. After saying goodbye to Cheng Hui and Cheng Xing, they boarded the train to City B.
Tao Zhi didn't say hello to Cheng Man, but went straight to her school and captured her bruised little daughter.
Cheng Man thought she was dazzled. She rubbed her eyes and asked, "Dad, Mom, why are you two here?"
"If we hadn't come, how would we have known how many things you've been hiding from your family?"
Cheng Man smiled awkwardly: "Mom, there's a reason for this."
Tao Zhi touched the scab on her forehead: "Does it still hurt?"
Cheng Man shook her head: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Tao Zhi pulled up her clothes. Cheng Man's hands and legs were covered with wounds of varying sizes. Tao Zhi hugged her and said, "Good girl, you've suffered."
Seeing this, the old man was half distressed and half angry: "Are you deliberately not going home?"
Cheng Man almost swore: "Dad, I didn't lie to you. We have to return to the team first, and then go back to school together. After returning to school, I saw that I had missed so much homework and I was in a hurry to make up for it, so I didn't think about going back for the time being." The more she spoke, the lower her voice became, and it was almost inaudible at the last moment.
Tao Zhi comforted her: "It's okay, it's the same when your parents come to see you, as long as you are safe."
Cheng Man buried her head in her mother's neck and cried out loudly: "Mom, in front of nature, humans are really too small..."
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