Chapter 49 Mountain Rescue
The rain in the mountains showed no sign of stopping and continued for three days, drenching the sky and earth in a gray mist.
The filming was completely interrupted, and the stilt house was filled with dampness and a slightly anxious atmosphere.
In the afternoon, the rain lightened up for a rare moment, but the gloomy sky was still suffocating.
During this brief pause, an urgent piece of news shattered the tranquility. A household in the most remote area behind the village had been hit by a mudslide, causing part of their house to collapse and reportedly injuring someone.
Some time had passed by the time the news reached the village. Although the county had been notified, heavy rain had caused several landslides on the mountain roads, and the professional rescue team was unable to arrive in time.
Li Fu hurriedly found the executive director and Chu Yi, his face more solemn than ever.
He briefly explained the situation, then turned his gaze directly to Chu Yi, his tone heavy and earnest: "Teacher Chu, the situation is urgent. The family's injuries are unknown, and they can't wait for rescue from the county. The village has organized a few people, and I must go into the mountains immediately. But..."
He paused and said frankly, "I have far less experience than you in dealing with this kind of trauma and emergency. I know it's risky, the mountain roads are dangerous, and the rain hasn't completely stopped... I wanted to ask for your opinion. Would you be willing to... come with us?"
The Executive Director's brows furrowed upon hearing this. He pulled Chu Yi aside and lowered his voice, his voice filled with worry and selfishness: "Teacher Chu, this is not a joke! We can't go down that road right now! It's too dangerous! I know you have good intentions, but this matter... please reconsider it. Can we wait for professional rescue?"
Chu Yi listened quietly, his expression unchanged, his eyelashes only trembling slightly. Without hesitation, he looked up at the director and Li Fu, his gaze clear and resolute. "What are you considering? Now's not the time. I'll go."
His decisiveness stunned both the director and Li Fu. The director wanted to persuade him again: "Teacher Chu, the situation in the mountains is too complicated! And it's still raining, there could be a landslide at any time! What if..."
Chu Yi interrupted him, his tone calm and almost calm, but he said something that shocked the two of them: "It's okay."
He paused, as if stating the most objective fact. "I have an older brother, so I'm not an only child. There's no family property for me to inherit, and I'm not married, and I don't have any children. So, in every way, I'm the most suitable candidate, and I have the highest risk-bearing capacity."
These words were so frank that they were almost cruel, completely blocking all the director's excuses for persuasion.
Li Fu looked at him, opened his mouth, and finally just patted his shoulder heavily, saying everything without words.
Zhou Ai only vaguely sensed something was amiss when he saw the production crew hastily preparing a professional rescue backpack and medical supplies for Chu Yi. He stopped someone and asked a few questions, his expression instantly changing.
He almost rushed to Chu Yi and saw that he had already carried some supplies and was doing the final check.
"You want to go into the mountains?" Zhou Ai's voice was filled with disbelief and anxiety.
Chu Yi looked up at him, without stopping his hands, and just said "hmm" lightly.
"I'm going too!" Zhou Ai said immediately, his tone firm.
"You can't." Chu Yi's refusal was decisive and there was no room for maneuver. He didn't even look up at Zhou Ai.
Zhou Ai's anger and confusion suddenly surged: "Why? You can do it but I can't? I'm as strong as you! I can help too!"
Chu Yi finally stopped what he was doing, raised his head and looked at him silently for a few seconds, as if he was quickly weighing the pros and cons. Then he gave a reason that Zhou Ai had never expected: "You still have a family fortune to inherit."
Zhou Ai was furious when he heard this: "Bullshit family property! I must go with you today!" He took a step forward and almost tried to snatch the backpack from Chu Yi.
The situation was at a stalemate for a while.
The executive director was in a dilemma, seeing that Chu Yi was determined and Zhou Ai refused to give in.
In a hurry, the director whipped out his phone and said, "Teacher Zhou, Teacher Chu, here's how. I've got an idea. I'll call Mr. Zhou in front of you! As long as Mr. Zhou agrees, we won't stop you!"
As he said that, the director actually called Zhou Song directly, quickly explained the danger of the situation and Zhou Ai's persistence, and then handed the phone to Zhou Ai.
Zhou Ai took the phone, walked aside, and spoke very quickly to Zhou Song on the other end. Finally, he exhaled heavily, handed the phone back to the director, and said in a hoarse voice, "My brother agreed."
The director took the call, confirmed a few words with Zhou Song, and hung up with a complicated expression. He looked at Chu Yi, whose brows were furrowed, and spoke with difficulty, "Boss Zhou... agreed. He said... that Teacher Zhou should accompany you. Please be careful."
Chu Yi's lips were pressed into a pale straight line. He looked into Zhou Ai's stubborn and unyielding eyes, knowing that it was futile to try to stop him.
He was silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded with great difficulty, his voice dry: "Follow me closely and obey my instructions. Otherwise, I will ask you to come back immediately."
"Okay!" Zhou Ai immediately agreed and quickly grabbed another rescue bag prepared nearby and put it on his back.
Without any more unnecessary words, Chu Yi, Zhou Ai, Li Fu, and two young men from the village committee who were familiar with the terrain, a group of five, braved the rain that was becoming denser again, and resolutely set out on the muddy road leading to the dangerous mountains.
Their figures quickly disappeared in the gray rain fog and at the end of the winding mountain road, leaving behind the heavy worry hanging in the hearts of everyone in the stilt house.
The yellow mud mountain road, which had been soaked by rain for several days, became extremely slippery and muddy. Every step was deep and shallow, and the sticky mud bit the soles of the shoes tightly, trying to drag people down.
The rain was still falling, although not as heavy as before.
Zhou Ai always followed Chu Yi half a step behind him, watching his every step with a sharp gaze.
At first, seeing Chu Yi carrying the heavy rescue bag and breathing noticeably heavier than usual, he reached out several times to take it, but Chu Yi silently and firmly shook his head in refusal. Zhou Ai, understanding his stubbornness, gave up and instead paid closer attention to his condition.
When encountering a particularly steep and slippery slope, or a pile of rocks washed away by rain that needed to be climbed, Zhou Ai would take a few quick steps to get ahead of Chu Yi. Without saying much, he simply calmly extended his wrist and offered it to Chu Yi, indicating that he should grab it.
Chu Yi looked at the strong forearm stretched out before his eyes, then raised his eyes to look at Zhou Ai's broad and reliable back. The huge consumption of physical strength and the urgency of the situation made him put aside those unnecessary sense of boundaries.
He stretched out his hand, and his cold fingers tightly grasped Zhou Ai's warm wrist. With the help of his strength and traction, he struggled to pass through one obstacle after another.
Zhou Ai's wrist could clearly feel the coolness of Chu Yi's fingertips and the slight trembling caused by the force, but he held it very firmly and took every step firmly, becoming Chu Yi's most reliable point of leverage.
The intense trek for over two hours was a real test for Chu Yi's stamina. His breathing became increasingly rapid, and it was hard to tell whether the water on his forehead was sweat or rain. His face gradually turned pale.
In the second half, he was almost relying on willpower to hold on, with one hand almost always pulling Zhou Ai's arm or clothes. Even when he was extremely tired and his feet slipped, he would uncontrollably half-hang on Zhou Ai, barely able to keep his body steady.
Zhou Ai could feel the weight pressing on him and the man's rapid, hot breaths on his neck. His heart seemed to be tugged at by something. He felt distressed but dared not show it too much. He could only support him more steadily and keep reminding him in a low voice.
"Watch your step."
"Slow down, there's no rush."
"Hold on to me."
At the edge of a relatively flat rock, Li Fu asked everyone to take a short break for ten minutes.
Chu Yi sat down on the rock almost exhausted, his chest heaving violently. He couldn't even speak. He just tilted his head back and gasped for breath, trying to relieve the dizziness caused by lack of oxygen and extreme fatigue.
Zhou Ai unscrewed the kettle and handed it to him, then took out an energy bar and put it in his hand. Chu Yi took it, his fingers trembling slightly.
The ten-minute break passed in a flash. Li Fu stood up and asked everyone to continue on their journey, as time is life.
Zhou Ai looked at Chu Yi's still pale face and his eyes which were obviously bloodshot due to excessive fatigue. This time, he did not ask any more questions.
He stretched out his hand and swiftly untied the rescue bag on Chu Yi's back, and hung it on his chest without saying a word, forming a pincer attack posture with the backpack on his back.
The weight suddenly increased, but Zhou Ai just adjusted the straps without frowning.
Chu Yi felt a lightness on his back, and was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously wanted to take it back: "I..."
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he began to gasp uncontrollably. The lack of oxygen and the continuous climbing made his cheeks flush red, and the tip of his nose was also red. He looked unusually fragile.
He looked at Zhou Ai, his red eyes filled with complex emotions. He wanted to say something, but his heavy breathing prevented him from forming a complete sentence, so he had to give up in the end.
When Zhou Ai saw him like this, her heart felt so soft, sour and swollen.
He raised his hand and used his clean sleeve to wipe the sweat from Chu Yi's forehead that was about to drip into his eyes. His movements were so fast that people had almost no time to react.
"Save your energy and save it for saving people later." Zhou Ai's voice was low, "Follow me closely."
After saying that, he turned around, with Chu Yi's bag hanging on his chest and his own burden on his back, and started walking again.
His back appeared unusually tall and steady in the rain and fog, as if he could overcome all difficulties and obstacles.
Chu Yi looked at his back, then looked down at his empty hands. The heart in his chest, which was beating wildly due to fatigue, seemed to be filled with another strange and surging emotion.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the fishy-sweet feeling in his throat, quickened his pace, and kept up with the team.
——
After nearly four hours of arduous journey, the five-member team finally arrived at the scene of the accident.
The scene before them made their hearts sink - an already simple wooden house was mostly destroyed by the torrential mudslide, and the ruins were soaked in mud and water. The surviving family members were huddled under a corner of the eaves that had not completely collapsed, shivering, with fear and helplessness written all over their faces.
"Doctor Li! You're here!" The head of the household was a man in his forties, with one arm hanging awkwardly and a scratch on his face.
Chu Yi immediately put down his heavy backpack, not even taking a breath, and quickly stepped forward: "Where are you injured? Is anyone else injured?"
A quick check revealed that five people were injured.
The head of the household suffered a swollen and painful wrist, limited mobility, and a suspected fracture. His wife suffered a gash on her forehead from flying wood chips, bleeding profusely. The wound was bandaged with a simple cloth bandage. An elderly family member suffered a sprained waist and difficulty moving. There were also two half-grown children, one with a bruised knee and the other with multiple scrapes on their arm.
Chu Yi immediately squatted down and began treating the client's wrist first. He carefully touched and pressed the wrist, asking where the pain was, his movements professional and swift.
"It's probably a minor fracture of the distal radius," Chu Yi said quickly to Li Fu and Zhou Ai beside him, with sweat still on his forehead. "Fortunately, the bone isn't significantly dislocated, so it doesn't need to be reset on the spot."
As he spoke, he took out bandages and triangular bandages from the rescue bag, and then said to Zhou Ai, "Zhou Ai, go find a few straight and smooth branches or wood pieces, about this long." He gestured the length.
Zhou Ai immediately responded, searched nearby in the rain, and soon brought back suitable wood.
Chu Yi took it, simply wrapped the parts that might touch the skin with gauze, and then placed them on the inside and outside of the wrist with great skill as a temporary splint.
"It might be a little painful, but bear with it." Chu Yi's voice slowed, but his movements were quick and decisive. He bandaged the splint securely, wrapping it around and around with bandages, and finally slinging the injured arm across his chest with a triangular bandage. The entire process was seamless, composed, and experienced, and Li Fu, watching beside him, nodded in agreement.
After treating the fracture, Chu Yi immediately turned to the other injured. He first cleaned the woman's forehead wound, sprinkled it with hemostatic powder, and applied a pressure bandage. He then examined the elderly man's waist, confirming there were no more serious problems, and advised him to rest without excessive stress. Finally, he cleaned and disinfected the two children's abrasions and knee wounds, applying sterile dressings.
His movements were swift and steady, his expression focused, as if he had completely forgotten his own fatigue. Zhou Ai did his best to cooperate, passing items and steadying the injured. Seeing Chu Yi's hands, stained with blood and mud but still incredibly steady, he felt an indescribable shock in his heart.
Meanwhile, Li Fu and two young men from the village committee counted out the food, drinking water, and emergency medicine they had brought and distributed them to the frightened family. Seeing these life-saving supplies, the family gradually calmed down and expressed their gratitude.
"It might take three days at the earliest for the county rescue team to clear a path through," Li Fu said to the householder with a serious expression. "You should be frugal with your food and drinks. You should be able to hold out until then."
Considering that almost everyone in the family was injured and the elderly and children had difficulty moving, it was obviously unrealistic and extremely dangerous to ask them to brave the rain and walk on the dangerous mountain road after the mudslide to return to the village.
A young man from the village committee took in the weather and the terrain and suggested, "How about this? We two brothers quickly build them a sturdy shelter. We'll use the base of the wall that's still standing and reinforce it with the tarpaulins we brought. At least it'll keep them out of the wind and rain, and it'll be much better than what they have now. It'll also provide enough food and drink for a few days until help arrives."
This is undoubtedly the safest way at present.
After Chu Yi treated all the wounds, he carefully explained the precautions, especially for the fracture victims and women with head trauma, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of keeping the wounds dry and observing their state of consciousness.
He watched as the young people from the village committee busily began to look for materials to build a temporary shelter. He also looked at the family who, although injured, had finally received initial treatment and their emotions had stabilized. His tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Extreme fatigue instantly hit him, and he subconsciously took a step back, almost losing his balance. Zhou Ai, who had been keeping an eye on him, immediately reached out and firmly held his arm. "Are you okay?"
Chu Yi used Zhou Ai to stabilize his body. He shook his head slightly, his face pale. "It's okay, just a little weak. I'll be fine after a rest."
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