Chapter 69 Qingyun, her savior.
The support team was formed temporarily, and no one would have imagined that the two people who performed the best in the flood relief efforts would be a husband and wife.
One of them, as the commander, led them to block the dikes, climb cliffs, scale tall buildings, and even go against the current to catch up with the refugees swept away by the flood. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he snatched people from the clutches of death.
Another woman is just as capable as any man. Not only did she save lives, but she also quickly filled the gaps in medical resources and supplies on her own. The hot instant noodles that the disaster victims are eating now were delivered by her family.
The couple devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the disaster relief efforts, which immediately filled the others with awe and respect.
"My sister-in-law's righteousness makes us feel ashamed."
Rong Chengzhou lowered his eyes slightly, without saying anything polite.
I just unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle and poured it on my hands to wash them.
Then he put a bag of snacks in his pocket, propped himself up with one hand, and nimbly stood up. He walked through the waist-deep puddles in the rain and stood at the entrance of the temporary shelter, waiting quietly for her without urging her.
Jiang Mingxue reassured the pregnant woman, then noticed the man at the door out of the corner of her eye. She put away her medical kit and walked towards him.
"It's raining heavily outside, why don't you come in?"
Rong Chengzhou lowered his gaze to her clean white coat, his deep, magnetic voice tinged with a hint of huskiness from exhaustion: "I'll just drop you off and then leave."
Jiang Mingxue had no choice but to nod: "Alright then, what are you going to give me?"
Rong Chengzhou took a vacuum-packed chicken leg and an egg from his pocket and handed them to her.
"Eat first, then get back to work."
These were the gifts that the villagers he rescued from the third floor offered him, but he never had time to eat them and kept them in his pocket.
Fast food chicken legs and eggs, which they would normally disdain, have now become a luxury for meat and protein.
Jiang Mingxue looked down and saw that the man's clothes were covered in mud, but the food packaging bag he gave her was as clean as his hands, without a speck of dirt.
"And you?" she asked.
"I've already eaten," the man said calmly, his jawline taut.
Jiang Mingxue didn't believe it, but after hesitating for a few seconds, she accepted it, not wanting him to be distracted by taking care of her in such a critical situation.
"Go back and rest for a while. I'll take good care of myself, so don't worry about me."
Rong Chengzhou nodded slightly, gave her a deep look, then turned around and stepped into the murky water again.
Jiang Mingxue watched his retreating figure, her hand unconsciously clenching the food packaging.
Without time to think, I obediently found a small open space to sit on the ground, tore open the packaging bag, quickly ate the food, and then returned to my treatment work.
In legal terminology, there is a term called "non-emergency refugee," which refers to individuals who are given special responsibilities or who, in certain circumstances, need to take priority action to protect the lives and property of the public in emergency situations such as natural disasters or infectious disease outbreaks.
These individuals typically include, but are not limited to, soldiers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, and police officers. When disaster strikes, everyone else can flee, but they alone must go against the flow.
Among these groups, medical staff are the only ones who are self-sufficient, without government subsidies, job security, or even priority lanes.
All I have is a doctor's heart.
--
The rain poured down relentlessly, like a leaky roof, day and night. A dozen military doctors worked tirelessly through the night to treat hundreds of patients at the temporary shelter, while air force support teams searched for missing persons in more remote and distant locations.
The injured villagers were taken to the temporary resettlement site by other members of the team. Jiang Mingxue only saw Rong Chengzhou once on the first day and never saw him again.
Undoubtedly, he is always at the forefront in such dangerous moments.
By the third day, it was already bright, the rain was getting lighter, and it finally seemed to be stopping.
This is a sign of hope for everyone in the disaster area.
Even though the military doctors hadn't slept all night, seeing this scene filled them with renewed energy, enabling them to continue treating a few more patients.
On the morning of the third day, Jiang Mingxue finally finished treating all the patients at the temporary shelter. She breathed a sigh of relief. After two days and two nights without sleep, she finally had a chance to lean against the wall and doze off for a few minutes.
Inside the previously noisy and chaotic building, people started exchanging hand gestures with their companions after noticing her actions:
"Shh—, Dr. Jiang is asleep. Let's talk later, don't wake her up."
Everyone fell silent in unison.
The medical staff and soldiers have witnessed their dedication over the past few days.
Now that their home has been destroyed, there's nothing good to give them, so all we can do is let her get a good night's sleep.
Jiang Mingxue noticed the deliberately lowered voices in her sleep, and the corners of her lips curved slightly. She fell asleep as soon as her head rested against the hard wall.
When they woke up again, they heard the commander's alert bell ringing, calling them to assemble at the medical point.
Jiang Mingxue had only slept for two hours when everyone was suddenly woken up, and they couldn't help but yawn.
"Five people can stay here to watch over the patients; the rest of you will come with me to provide support in other areas," the commander said.
Upon hearing the order, the military doctors quickly regained their focus and answered in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Jiang Mingxue followed, but the commander suddenly stopped her: "Xiao Jiang, you've already helped a lot. You haven't even slept three or four hours in the past few days. Pushing yourself too hard isn't good for your health. Why don't you stay and rest?"
Jiang Mingxue thanked her gratefully, but did not agree. Her tone was gentle yet firm: "I'll go with everyone."
Unable to persuade her otherwise, the medical commander had no choice but to take her and several military doctors to the next location.
It was a remote village with a more rugged terrain, located in a low-lying area of the valley. The torrential rain had washed away the only bridge in and out of the village, and the helicopter was unable to hover and land at low altitude due to the continuous strong convective weather and the unclear terrain.
Across the collapsed bridge was a three-story house, where more than twenty villagers with nowhere to hide were trapped. Due to a signal outage, they only received a distress call this morning. These villagers have been trapped for three days now, including a pregnant woman who is about to give birth. They have no supplies or medical resources, and they won't be able to hold on much longer.
The commander rushed over with everyone, only to find that they couldn't even reach the patient's location. He was extremely anxious and asked the armed police captain who was providing support:
"What should we do?!"
The armed police captain also looked serious: "At present, the only solution we can think of is to have rescuers jump out of the helicopter carrying supplies."
The commander was shocked: "This is too dangerous! Putting aside the terrible weather, even the pilots can hardly guarantee they'll land accurately on the opposite residential building. Even if they do manage to jump precisely, they don't know medicine. What if there are critically ill patients inside?!"
"Moreover, pilots are a precious resource, and the few available this time are still providing support in other places, so we simply cannot transfer them."
The armed police captain was well aware of this: "This is the only way to reduce casualties."
If there had been other rescue strategies, things wouldn't have been delayed until now.
The commander sighed and asked, "Can the pilot jump with the medic? We'll save as many as we can."
"This is difficult. Existing parachutes have limited load capacity, and with such strong winds, two people would only increase the risk of deviating. I don't recommend doing this."
The situation is already quite clear: if medical staff cannot go down to the affected areas, some critically ill patients will inevitably have to be abandoned. All they can do now is save mildly ill patients who have not eaten for a long time.
A sense of powerlessness welled up inside him, and the commander sighed in defeat: "Fine, let's do it your way. Let's get the pilots here first."
The armed police officers immediately used their pagers to request reinforcements from the Air Force rescue team.
Air Force rescue teams are traversing cliffs to rescue villagers trapped in the mountains. They can only provide reinforcements after completing their current mission, which will take a long time.
Several groups of people stood anxiously on one side of the collapsed bridge, when a slender figure slowly emerged from the military medical support team:
Can I try?
Everyone turned their heads at once, their gazes falling on her thin frame, which looked as if it could be blown away with a breath, the meaning of which was self-evident.
The armed police captain frowned: "Although I know you are eager to save lives, parachuting is not a game, especially in bad weather. It's not as simple as you think."
Jiang Mingxue smiled but remained silent, took out her phone from the waterproof bag, and opened the photo album to view her advanced skydiving qualification certificate.
His gaze fell on the shocked expression on the armed police captain's face, and he said gently, "Now do you believe I wasn't joking?"
Everyone came over to check her skydiving certificate, which had the certification stamp of the Chinese Air Sports Association in the lower right corner, making it impossible to fake.
"That's great!" The deputy captain of the armed police clapped his hands and cheered. "Having medical personnel jump down with supplies on their backs solves both the supply problem and the treatment problem. It's the perfect solution."
The armed police captain pondered for a few seconds and also thought the plan was good, but it still needed the approval of the military medical commander: "Major Feng, do you think it's okay?"
The commander immediately refused: "I disagree."
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
His expression was serious: "If it were a medic under my command, I would have no objection if she volunteered. But Xiao Jiang isn't from our unit; she's just a family member of a soldier on temporary support. I have to ensure her safety. If something goes wrong during the parachute jump, how am I supposed to explain it to Colonel Rong?"
The two armed police captains fell into deep thought; this was indeed inappropriate.
It is an honorable duty for soldiers to sacrifice their lives during rescue operations, but their families do not have this duty.
Jiang Mingxue put away her phone and walked up to the commander: "Please rest assured, if anything happens to me, Chengzhou will not blame you. He may be sad, but he will definitely not deny my decision today."
“If one life can be exchanged for dozens, then I will have died a worthy death. At least for hundreds of years to come, my name and deeds will be forever engraved in the Jiang family ancestral hall.”
"So please let me try."
Her face was calm and composed, and she spoke each word with sincerity.
The commander clenched his fists and struggled on the spot for a long time before finally giving in with a sigh: "Fine! The disaster is urgent. Even if Colonel Rong blames me later, I'll accept it!"
Jiang Mingxue smiled, and without lingering any longer, turned around and went to the armed police team to change into her parachute gear.
When fastening the seatbelt, my eyes fell on the wedding ring on my left ring finger. The conditions were rudimentary; there was no proper skydiving suit, and no inside pocket to put it in.
He had no choice but to turn around and hand it to the commander: "Major Feng, could you please keep this safe for me?"
Major Feng sighed as he accepted the ring and carefully put it away, unsure whether he had done the right thing or the wrong thing.
After Jiang Mingxue put on her equipment and carried her bulging supply bag and medical kit, she was ready to go.
The rotors spun rapidly, and the helicopter slowly ascended.
The rain continued to pour down. The armed police captain watched her enter the helicopter cabin and loudly issued his orders:
"Everyone assemble and listen to my command!"
"Prepare the assault boats, five people each for the upstream, midstream, and downstream sections, and vow to protect Dr. Jiang to the death!"
The armed police officers shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"
On the other side, Jiang Mingxue slowly ascended in the helicopter to directly above the three-story house, opened the cabin door to check the terrain, and closed her eyes to feel the wind speed and direction.
Actually, she wasn't very confident, but the situation forced someone to take the last resort.
During the two years Jiang Mingxue was learning skydiving, she was almost recruited by the national skydiving team coach to become an athlete because of her good talent. All along, she only regarded skydiving as a hobby, but she never expected that one day, her unspeakable hobby would come in handy.
After surveying the terrain and identifying the landmarks of the residential buildings, she gave an "OK" sign to the helicopter pilot behind her, then leaped into the air, carrying the supplies as she plummeted downwards.
The howling wind and heavy rain lashed her face, making her cheeks sting.
After descending a certain distance, she reached behind her back and opened her parachute, which slowed her descent, and her body began to drift uncontrollably.
It was her first time flying in such terrible weather.
Instead of losing her composure, she calmly adjusted her landing posture according to the wind direction. She gripped the parachute lines tightly with both hands, kept her eyes fixed on the buildings and landmarks on the ground, and constantly adjusted her direction with the help of the airflow. Her legs were naturally bent, ready to cushion the landing at any time.
The residential building is situated on higher ground and surrounded by trees, leaving her little space. She had to precisely avoid the obstructing trees.
Beneath the collapsed bridge, fifteen armed police officers stood ready, guarding three positions upstream and midstream, keeping a close watch on Jiang Mingxue's location, ready to move closer to her at any time in case of emergency and provide timely rescue.
They watched intently as the person in the sky descended with perfect control along the predetermined route, withstanding the howling gusts of wind and the slanting rain, passing through the surrounding dense forests, inevitably veering off course with the wind, only to be corrected in time.
Finally, amidst the tension of the group, the brave and fearless Dr. Jiang jumped accurately onto the roof of the house!
A crisp, loud applause came from the surface of the floodwaters. Jiang Mingxue stood on the rooftop and waved to them from afar to show that she was safe.
The commander, military doctor, and armed police captain who were waiting on the cliff finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The whole process took less than ten minutes, but they were even more anxious than the skydivers.
Without wasting any time, Jiang Mingxue climbed down the stairs along the elevator and carried the bulging supplies inside.
Like a god descending to earth, the twenty-odd villagers, who were hallucinating from hunger, shouted excitedly as if they had seen a savior:
"The country has come to our rescue!"
"We're saved!!"
Jiang Mingxue's heart tightened, and she quickly distributed food and water to the villagers trapped inside the building.
They then went to check on the villagers' injuries. The most seriously injured was the pregnant woman, who had several cuts on her body from sharp objects. Because the baby in her womb was constantly absorbing nutrients, the pregnant woman's face had almost lost all color.
Jiang Mingxue quickly fed her a uterine contraction inhibitor, her voice softening: "Relax and breathe, don't be nervous, the baby is fine."
After she calmed down a bit, I fed her some food and milk, and gently massaged her lower abdomen. It took more than an hour to soothe her and the baby in her belly.
After the pregnant woman fell asleep, she checked the injuries of the other twenty-odd patients one by one and treated them.
The flooding in the mountainous area was more severe, and everyone's injuries were much more serious than those at the temporary shelter. After three more days, many people's wounds had become ulcerated and infected.
Looking at their shocking wounds, Jiang Mingxue was incredibly grateful that she had jumped down first.
The house owner's grain was all flooded, and only a little dry food survived. The owner did not eat it himself, but gave it to a helpless pregnant woman and child.
If it weren't for the simple and honest villagers who cared for and yielded to each other, many elderly, women, and children would have perished from starvation and thirst.
Jiang Mingxue was deeply moved and, with renewed vigor, did her utmost to treat everyone.
As darkness fell, the heavy rain, which had lasted for five days and five nights, finally began to show signs of stopping.
Jiang Mingxue continued to treat the villagers for another seven or eight hours before she finished treating all their injuries.
As he stood up, wiping the sweat from his forehead, he swayed slightly, but the villagers quickly steadied him: "Dr. Jiang, are you alright?"
Jiang Mingxue shook her head and smiled: "It's nothing, just a case of low blood sugar."
"Thank you, Dr. Jiang, you are truly our savior!"
The pregnant woman and the villagers all expressed their gratitude to her.
Jiang Mingxue said, "It's not just my achievement. There are also more than a dozen armed police officers guarding the flood outside, as well as People's Liberation Army soldiers from various branches of the armed forces. Everyone hopes that you can escape safely."
The villagers were immediately moved to tears: "Thank you, country, for not abandoning us! We have hope of getting out!"
Jiang Mingxue smiled and nodded, rubbed her temples, and walked to the window to look across the street.
Several lights illuminated the dark cliffs as bright as day, and a temporary suspension bridge stood above the torrent.
The lights converged on one spot, and a tall, imposing man walked out from the other end of the suspension bridge.
Thinking she was hallucinating, she rubbed her eyes, and the person's face became clearer and clearer.
A sharp, defined jawline, prominent brow bones, and a broad, slender physique.
It was clearly her husband, Rong Chengzhou.
His deep gaze fell upon her, and her heart skipped a beat.
As the villagers said, she was their savior, and he was her savior.
She watched intently as he strode towards her, stepping over the threshold of the apartment building.
As if he had found something he had lost, he pulled her into his arms.
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