"Captain? What are you doing standing there?"
If the lightning hadn't been so bright, she wouldn't have noticed that there was a person standing there!
"Don't come any closer!"
Xu Zi hurriedly opened the door and came in, stopping Yu Jiu from walking into the rain, lest her clothes get wet again.
"I just came to check if you were asleep. Are you afraid of not being able to sleep because of the thunder? Why are you always looking outside instead of going in to sleep?"
Xu Zijiang looked at her reproachfully. He stood outside for two minutes and saw her walking back and forth between the dormitory and the kitchen, busy with random things. Why was she busy with all that nonsense at this time instead of sleeping?
"Who am I doing this for! I'm just worried about you! Why are you standing in the rain without moving! Look at yourself, is there a single dry spot on you? I still have some ginger soup left over, come and have some too."
Yu Jiu rolled her pretty almond-shaped eyes at him, opened the kitchen door, went in, and ladled out a bowl of ginger soup.
After finishing a bowl of hot ginger soup, Xu Zijiang felt his heart warm, but his hands were also damp and cold, so he stopped pinching the young educated youth's face.
"I'm going back now. Go to sleep. You don't have to work tomorrow. If you're afraid of thunder tonight, plug your ears with cotton and sleep with them plugged. I'll bring you food tomorrow. It's damp from the rain, and the kitchen here is all wet, so don't cook for yourself."
Xu Zijiang couldn't resist after all. He shook the water off his hands and poked Yu Jiu's pink cheeks, like he was poking a cute little chick.
A cool breeze wafted over, and Yu Jiu's heart trembled. She couldn't help but lower her eyes and mutter, "What time is it and you're still worried about me!"
"Alright, I know. Go back now. If you catch a cold from the rain, who's going to cook for me? Go back now, I need to sleep!"
Yu Jiu pretended to be disgusted and pushed him to leave quickly, but Xu Zijiang was reluctant to leave now. He raised his eyebrows and asked in a roguish manner.
"That's it? I cooked for you, can't you thank me? I need some payment."
As he spoke, he grabbed Yu Jiu's chin, leaned down and bit her soft lips, then quickly slipped his tongue in and sucked on them for a while before striding away, leaving Yu Jiu with only a dashing back view, as if afraid of getting beaten up.
"I'm leaving now. You go to sleep quietly and don't get wet in the rain."
"rogue!"
Yu Jiu blushed and complained, biting her red lips lightly, her heart fluttering. She herself couldn't understand why she had fallen for this savior who was a bit of a rogue.
That night, Yu Jiu obediently plugged her ears with cotton and slept soundly all night, unaware of anything. Xu Zijiang, however, woke up at three in the morning with a loud bang.
Hearing the commotion, many people got up to check.
"What's that sound? Has the mountain collapsed?"
"What I'm hearing sounds like thunder. Did it strike a tree?"
Everyone, wearing raincoats, only dared to stand in front of their own doors and watch.
"Boom!"
Another loud bang, seemingly accompanied by screams, but it was barely noticeable due to the wind and rain.
"Forget it, let's go back to sleep. It's none of our business."
Those who were far away, not knowing what had happened, could only clutch their anxious hearts and go back to bed to continue sleeping. The Huang and Du families, however, were devastated and kept calling for help in the wind and rain.
"Help! Help! The house has collapsed! Please save us!"
"Someone got hit! Help!"
Those buried shallowly struggled to crawl out while shouting for help. Those living nearby heard them and rushed out.
"Quick, save them! They're buried underneath!"
"Oh no! Xiao Gao got hit on the head! Xiao Xia's foot is stuck! Captain, go get the captain!"
"I'm here, no need to call me anymore, you useless things! I told you to take cover, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened, people are buried inside! Quickly go and call everyone in the team over, if rainwater and mud get into their mouths and noses, they'll suffocate! Forget about those above ground, dig out those buried first, hurry!"
Xu Zijiang rushed over with a dark face, cursing loudly while calmly directing everyone to rescue the people.
All three dilapidated houses collapsed. Two were blown down by the wind, and one was struck by lightning. Only Shen Juncong's family managed to move out without being buried. The other two families were buried, some injured, some unconscious. Now, even if they regret it to the core, it's no use.
"Why am I so unlucky! Why did everyone else's house have to collapse, but ours?! God, where am I going to get the money to rebuild my house?! Waaah!"
His wife and children are still inside and haven't been dug out yet, and Huang Laosan has already started crying that he'll have no house to live in anymore. What a beast!
Xu Zijiang ignored him and hurriedly led his men to dig the person out. He then rushed to the next house. After all the people had been dug out, they were taken to the hospital by tractor according to the severity of their injuries.
The wind and rain never stopped during the rescue, and with lightning flashing, it seemed like it could strike anyone who went out at any moment. Many people were afraid to come out, which made the rescue much more difficult. Most of the time, Xu Zijiang and a few others were just digging frantically, because time was of the essence!
Fortunately, despite the injuries, no one was killed. As long as the person was found, that was good. As for the food and valuables, Xu Zijiang decided not to worry about them and told them to wait until dawn and when the rain stopped.
"Captain, we dare not go out in this weather."
"Yeah, let alone driving a tractor. I think it could flip over the whole vehicle, both the driver and the tractor. Let's hope nothing else goes wrong."
Everyone was worried. There were only a few people in the team who could drive tractors. Besides Xu Zijiang, there was only one other person, an older man and a young man. Xu Zijiang had to stay behind to take charge and couldn't leave now, but the others didn't dare to drive out under these circumstances, which made things even more complicated.
Xu Zi frowned, his resolute face full of disapproval.
"We'll have to wait until dawn at the latest. Look at Xiaoxia's broken leg, and look what happened to Xiaogao's head. Wanbing and the others are still unconscious. We don't know if their internal organs are injured. Are we just going to let them heal on their own instead of sending them to the hospital? How can they possibly heal like this!"
"It's not that serious. Let Old Man Li from the clinic take a look first, and we'll see what happens when it gets light. If the wind and rain are still this strong, how can we dare to go out? Captain, we can't risk our own lives to save them! You told them to take shelter, but they refused. Who can we blame?"
Chai Jun curled his lip and said disdainfully, his body covered in mud and water, on his hands, face and head. He almost got smashed by the wall while digging these things. He really only causes trouble for others!
"Given the situation, stop with the sarcastic remarks. Have you woken everyone up yet? Tell them to get up and check if their houses are sturdy. If not, get out now. It's better to get rained on than to be buried alive, you hear me?"
Xu Zi gave the order again, then frowned, staring blankly at the rising floodwaters. It had only rained for half the night, yet the water was already this high; could it be…?
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