The river bank was already full of people waiting for news.
When the first boat came back with the half-grown children, everyone stood silently on the river bank and refused to leave.
Fan Huairen and Sun Hongye both leaned on crutches and hurried to the river bank. They staggered with every step, but their speed was not slow. The old friends had no intention of reminiscing about the past when they met, and their faces were gloomier than ever before!
"How long have you been on the journey?" Fan Huairen asked the returning boatman.
The one who answered was a captain of the Wang family. "It's been four hours. We reunited with the old lady and returned with the children. There are four boats left, with more than a hundred people, all going to rescue. Don't worry, the two adults, the young master is with the old lady, and he is fine."
"We should be thankful that the old lady had the riverbank reinforced, otherwise Laohu Town would have been forced to become a flood discharge area like Hunshui Village."
The breach was too unexpected, and the people of Hunshui Village were not prepared at all. If Fan Jihuai had not just talked about the county magistrate's overflowing sense of responsibility and rushed over in time to take some people away, by the time everyone discovered it later, the entire village would probably have disappeared without a trace.
The young man who had been observing the water level gauge suddenly exclaimed: "Ah, look, everyone, why is the water rising so fast!"
Fan Huairen stopped and looked, only to see that the water level on the water level gauge standing on the river bank was rising very quickly, climbing five levels in a short breath.
Sun Hongye had worked in the Ministry of Industry before he resigned. No one knew better than him what this situation meant.
His eyelids twitched wildly, and he looked at his old friend's inquiring gaze with mixed emotions: "It's not caused by the flood peak passing through. There must have been a bigger disaster nearby. The water came from the breach. It looks like Hunshui Village must have suffered a secondary disaster."
Fan Huairen stopped walking, his eyes red. Even Xu, who was standing next to him, almost fell down due to weakness in her legs!
The boatman consoled them, "Our boat is very strong and we are all good at sailing. Madam and all the gentlemen, good luck will come to you. Nothing will happen to you."
"I hope so!"
"Is there still no news from Magistrate Wu?"
"There was also a breach upstream, and Your Excellency has personally led people to check the situation. However, given the current situation, Your Majesty will come to question the culprits, and it is difficult to blame Prefect Wu."
After hearing this, Fan Huairen sighed. Magistrate Wu has been working diligently over the years. Although he has not achieved any outstanding political achievements, he has not plundered the people's wealth. He can be considered a diligent official.
Just when his term of office was about to end and he was about to be promoted, such a natural disaster and man-made calamity occurred at the last moment.
The postmaster who was in charge of building the dam was the brother-in-law of Magistrate Wu. Even if he was not aware of the matter, he could not escape joint responsibility.
........
When the boat appeared in everyone's sight again, Xu excitedly held Qin Ma's hand.
: "Mammy, it's mother who's back!"
Li Zhong was almost mad at the sight of everyone crowding on the riverbank regardless of the danger.
How come this group of people have no sense of safety at all? He shouts all day long, fearing that something might happen to everyone. What is he trying to achieve? Why do they all take his words so lightly and ignore them?
Now, hundreds of people are crowded on the river bank. It’s getting dark. If one of them gets squeezed and falls down, there’s no way to rescue him.
Not to mention Li Zhong was furious, even Qiao Xin couldn't help but frown when she saw this scene.
Especially his daughter-in-law and Nanny Qin were standing at the front.
These two are both landlubbers. Don't they have any idea at all? Why are they joining in the fun here?
When Xu saw Qiao Xin at the bow, she leaned out and waved desperately, "Mom!"
Qiao Xin stepped onto the dock in one big step, stepped forward to catch her, and said with a hint of blame: "You're back now, why are you running here to join in the fun? What if she falls into the water? Nanny Qin didn't try to persuade her, and just let her do whatever she wants."
Nanny Qin smiled and said, "Madam, doesn't the lady want to see you earlier?"
"Mom, don't blame me, I came here on my own initiative."
Okay, it turns out she is the one who is meddling too much.
In the face of disasters, all kinds of life are revealed, and human nature cannot stand the test.
Some people understood why Qiao Xin gave up searching and rescuing the villagers in Hunshui Village, while others thought it was too cold-blooded.
But no matter what, it is an indisputable fact that if Qiao Xin had not led people to rescue them, these people would probably not have survived.
The villagers of Hunshui Village were temporarily resettled at the entrance of Laohu Town.
The servants of the Fan Mansion had already learned the whole story from the first group of people who had returned.
When he heard that another landslide had occurred in Hunshui Village, completely burying the entire village, he was terrified. Seeing that his second master was alive and well, he kowtowed to Qiao Xin several times, and kept saying words of gratitude.
If it weren't for Qiao Xin's momentary kindness, their Second Master would probably be in great danger.
Fan Jihuai was so choked up that he couldn't speak. Even Sun Hongye's impression of Qiao Xin changed completely.
After Fan Jihuai settled the victims, he came to Qiao's house to report to everyone.
"Some of them plan to go and live with their relatives, and some have businesses in the city. There are only about 100 to 200 people willing to stay in Laohu Town. I'm afraid the government will place them here."
"Hunshui Village is completely ruined. A lake has formed there, like a sunken basin. The water cannot flow out, and naturally it cannot affect other villages. I'm afraid there is no need to repair this breach. It's meaningless."
Everyone knew what Qiao Xin said, but they still felt bad. On the contrary, they were not so opposed to the resettlement of the disaster victims.
Weizhou Prefecture has always been a place with a large population and a large land area. If the prefect had a little sense of responsibility, he would not have driven out these hundred people and turned them into refugees.
"You were there in person, so why are there still so many people who haven't escaped? This shouldn't be the case!"
Fan Jihuai recalled the original scene, shook his head and sighed, he could only say that it was God's will!
"It was the clan leader and the village head who underestimated the rainstorm. They were hoping for the best. They didn't think anything serious would happen and they were reluctant to leave their fields. That's why they missed the chance to escape."
"It's God's will. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself!"
Fan Jihuai's face was full of fatigue. He wiped his face with his hand and said, "I hope so. But this happened during my nephew's term. These are the people under my rule. Although the dam was repaired by the previous county magistrate, I, as the current magistrate, will definitely not be able to escape the blame for dereliction of duty."
Qiao Xin was silent. She didn't understand the rules of officialdom, so naturally she couldn't give any useful suggestions. After a while, Fan Jihuai said goodbye, and Qiao Xin didn't try to persuade him to stay.
A county magistrate has a lot of things to do in the face of such a major natural disaster, so she won't cause any more trouble!
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