Two people came out of the crowd and climbed up the mountain first.
The two representatives are the village chiefs of two villages. They originally lived at the foot of a nearby mountain, but now their houses have collapsed, so they have come out to take refuge.
"We escaped in a hurry. Could you please give us some food and water?" One of the village chiefs licked his cracked lips and asked.
Jiang Shiyue and Chen Shanhe looked at each other, both feeling embarrassed.
Their food had just been distributed.
Chen Shanhe and Jiang Shiyue had no choice but to take the two village heads to find the train conductor.
Food is often available on long-distance trains.
The train conductor looked embarrassed after hearing this. "Our train No. 77 is a long-distance train, covering a distance of over a thousand kilometers. We do have some food on board, but not as much as you might think. According to the normal plan, we will arrive at Nancheng Station in an hour and a half, and we had intended to restock our food there. But now..."
He shook his head and didn't continue.
Everyone present knew what happened next.
The two village heads, or more precisely, the two production team leaders, looked at each other with anxious expressions.
One of them said, "It's okay if we can't give you food, but can we have some water?"
People won’t die of hunger if they don’t eat for three days, but they will really die if they don’t drink water for three days.
The train conductor was in a more difficult situation. "Most of the water on the train was used to put out the fire."
At that time, everyone on the train was focused on putting out the fire. All the pots, pans, and teacups and kettles brought by the passengers were used to put out the fire.
"There should still be some water in the passenger carriages," Jiang Shiyue said. "The water in the dining car was taken to put out the fire, but there's still water in the overturned carriages. There's also water in the hard-seat carriage at the back."
The conductor hesitated. "All the communication equipment on this train is destroyed. We can't even get through to the platform. With such a severe earthquake, I'm afraid no one will come to rescue us for a while. I have to take responsibility for the thousand or so people on this train."
Jiang Shiyue understood what the train conductor meant. The water on the train should be prioritized to ensure drinking water for the passengers.
Both production team leaders were very disappointed.
Chen Shanhe said, "The most important thing is to save people. There are over 300 people in the two production brigades at the foot of the mountain. We can't just watch them die in front of us. If all else fails, we can boil the water in the nearby river and drink it."
At least his job doesn't allow him to watch such a thing happen.
After a brief negotiation.
The train conductor asked the uninjured deputy train conductor to organize the train crew to mobilize each carriage and call on everyone to take out food and water and redistribute them.
The two production team leaders went to bring their team members over and stay with the passengers.
Jiang Shiyue took Yangyang to find Wu Xiu'e and the others.
Chen Shanhe went to find a way out.
**
The train actually has two locomotives and can change its direction at any time.
The second half of Train No. 77 is still on the track, and theoretically it can be moved in the other direction.
But it's only in theory.
The track is partially damaged, contact with the control tower is lost, and the fuel tank is damaged and is now filled with mud and sand.
In other words, no one can leave.
If you don't want to die, you can only find a way to save yourself.
The wind is getting stronger and stronger.
Fortunately, there are mountains on all sides, which can slightly block the wind.
In addition to the original passengers, the second half of the hard seat carriage also accommodated some elderly, children, women and children.
Wu Xiu'e took Yangyang into the car.
Passengers like Jiang Shiyue whose carriages were damaged could only seek shelter outside.
Jiang Shiyue didn't go looking for shelter, she waited beside the train conductor.
After a while, several train attendants came back with sad faces to report to the conductor.
"Conductor, we found half a bag of rice in the overturned dining car. It weighs about 40 to 50 kilograms."
Not to mention the train conductor, Jiang Shiyue's face looked unhappy after hearing this.
Forty to fifty kilograms of rice were shared by nearly fifteen hundred people.
It's impossible to tell them apart.
After a while, the conductor who went to mobilize passengers to take out their own dry food came back to report.
"Most of the passengers on our train No. 77 were very conscious and willing to share their food. However, not all of them were long-distance travelers. Some only traveled for three to five hours before getting off, and they didn't bring much dry food. Some traveled for a whole day and only brought a little food.
The rest of the people have limited rations, and even if we take them all out, it still won’t be enough to feed so many of us.”
Jiang Shiyue frowned.
This result is not surprising.
In 1978, although most people were freed from hunger and cold, food, clothing, housing and transportation were still rationed.
Whether they were members of a production team in the countryside or workers in the city, the food coupons they were given were barely enough to eat. Even if they went out, they would not be rich enough to buy a lot of food to eat on the road.
Jiang Shiyue pondered for a moment and asked the production team leader, "Is your production team far from here?"
One of the team leaders, surnamed Song, replied, "Our production team isn't far away. But all the houses in our production team have collapsed, and there are always aftershocks. We can't go back to look for food. Even if we go back, we may not find it."
The people in the production team all fled in a hurry. Some of them didn't even have time to put on clothes. They were either bare-backed or wrapped in sheets or quilts.
Many people are still barefoot and have no food on them.
After walking such a distance, some people's feet were covered in blood.
"Don't go back to the production team. Go to your fields and see if there is anything to eat." Jiang Shiyue said.
The food available in this city at this time of year includes corn and some seasonal vegetables grown in private plots.
Captain Li shook his head. "We thought of what you said. But the fields have been severely damaged, and the crops are almost completely destroyed. I'm afraid we won't be able to find anything."
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