Chapter 1

"How did I end up here?"

The night enveloped the old earthen river embankment, and Lu Dong pushed the switch on the tin flashlight, casting a yellow light circle down. The murky river water was just over a meter below the embankment, swirling with patches of water hyacinth.

This was a flood that could breach the embankment at any moment!

Turning around, not far behind the embankment, the old village of Lu Family was shrouded in darkness.

This wasn't 2019!

Lu Dong remembered very clearly: In 2019, Typhoon Lekima hit, causing a flood in the Qingzhao River. He went back to help with the flood control, working hard by the river for three consecutive days. When he left, he drove through a tunnel under a highway bridge. Due to extreme fatigue, he crashed into the accumulated water in the tunnel and then lost consciousness...

There was a 90% chance he had a car accident in the highway tunnel.

But he woke up outside the Qingzhao River embankment, and he was younger.

As he climbed up from the outside of the embankment, Lu Dong felt the changes: his belly was gone, and he felt particularly energetic.

At this moment, he glanced down with the tin flashlight, and his clothes had changed dramatically.

His feet were in mud-stained thousand-layer soles, with small windows in the front, making the big toes especially cool—ventilated, breathable, and water-permeable!

His legs were in coarse cloth shorts, high-end, grand, and of high quality, hand-sewn!

Above that was a light blue short-sleeved T-shirt, large and loose, with an old-fashioned style that made him look uglier, with the words "Qingzhao No.1 High School" on the chest!

Lu Dong remembered that the last time he wore the school uniform of Qingzhao No.1 High School was in the summer after the college entrance exam.

He remembered that after the exam, the flood raged, the Qingzhao River breached, and the Lu Family Village was destroyed!

Lu Dong, who had been bombarded by the internet era, had a rough idea of the current situation.

Did he go back in time? Back to the summer after the college entrance exam? Did he become younger? Did the middle-aged, fat, and greasy man turn into a strong young man?

Still in a daze, he tapped his forehead with the tin flashlight, and it hurt!

Looking into the distance, Lu Dong saw the flickering lights under the night sky, with vague human figures moving. People were on duty at intervals along the embankment.

About 200 meters to the southeast, the lights were the brightest. A bridge connected the center of Lu Family Village and the opposite Majia Village, which was the closest point to the river.

The sluice gate at the bridgehead must have been closed, right?

This river, with its surging and rolling muddy waves, flowed right past the north of Lu Family Village. If it breached, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Come on, come on, let's meet in '98."

The night wind carried the song with crackling static: "Come on, come on, let's meet in 1998..."

Behind the dim, moving light of the flashlight, a person walked along the embankment.

Before the person arrived, a stench hit Lu Dong's nose.

Lu Dong, a farmer's son, could recognize the smell of chicken manure.

Compared to pigs, cows, sheep, and horses, the smell of chicken manure was even more pungent.

"Dongzi!" A voice with a local accent called out: "I asked you to patrol the river, where did you go!"

As the person got closer, Lu Dong saw the person behind the flashlight's light.

The person was around forty, with a rough face typical of a farmer. He held a flashlight in his right hand, a small radio on his left wrist, and a copper gong in his hand, with a worn-out shoe tied to it with a rope.

Lu Dong remembered who this was: "You are... Uncle Tie..."

Uncle Tie's surname was Lu, and he was a professional chicken farmer in the old village. He was a bit stingy and was called "Iron Rooster" in the 1980s. Over time, younger people started calling him "Big Brother Tie," and the next generation called him "Uncle Tie."

Calling him this, many people didn't even know his real name.

Uncle Tie stopped and looked at Lu Dong: "You big melon, you don't even recognize your Uncle Tie?"

Lu Dong suddenly didn't know how to respond.

In his memory, the Qingzhao River breached in the early hours of the night after the college entrance exam, and the flood rushed towards Lu Family Village. The chicken farm to the north of the village was the first to be hit. Uncle Tie and his wife couldn't bear to leave the chickens and were both swept away.

And more!

His childhood friend Li Wenyue, who was on duty on that section of the embankment, was also swept away.

At that time, Li Wenyue was the top student in Lu Family Village, but he never saw his 211 university acceptance letter.

The Qingzhao River, except for the section that joined the Yellow River to the north, was entirely within the jurisdiction of Qingzhao County in Quannan City. Quannan was famous for its springs, and Qingzhao County was no exception. The numerous springs in the southern mountains converged to form the source of the Qingzhao River, flowing northward.

The river wasn't large, and during the dry season, it would run dry. In normal rainy seasons, it was about ten meters wide and two meters deep, with the water level lower than the surrounding land.

The section of the river that flowed past the north of Lu Family Village was an "S" shape, several hundred meters long, with several sharp bends. The water flow's impact made the embankment under great pressure.

The last sharp bend was where the embankment collapsed.

The embankment in the Lu Family Village section was nearly three meters high, wide enough for a light truck, and narrow enough for a farm tricycle. It was built in the late 1950s but had never been maintained or repaired since Lu Dong was a child.

This was related to the fact that there had been no major floods in Qingzhao County since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Neither the higher nor the lower levels took it seriously, and they lacked experience in flood control.

Before this flood, no one would have associated the Qingzhao River with flood control.

As the speculation turned into reality, the scenes that Lu Dong had witnessed and heard about gradually formed in his mind: the surging river roared, the soaked three-part soil fell in chunks, splashing water, and with a loud splash, the embankment collapsed, creating a huge breach. The flood rushed out, sweeping through the village behind the breach and vast fields and orchards.

His home, his uncle's home, the apple orchard his family contracted, and all the homes in Lu Family Village were mostly washed away and destroyed!

This village, where he was born and raised, suffered the greatest disaster since the founding of the People's Republic of China!

The daze in Lu Dong's heart quickly dissipated, and he made the final confirmation: "Uncle Tie, what's the date today? Gregorian calendar!"

Many people in the countryside first mentioned the lunar calendar.

Uncle Tie seemed surprised and shone the flashlight on Lu Dong: "It's the 10th of the Gregorian calendar!"

"1998?" Lu Dong asked.

Uncle Tie was puzzled: "Could it be 1999? You just came back from the college entrance exam yesterday! You forgot already? I haven't even asked you how it went. Forget it, with your grades, I shouldn't have asked."

Lu Dong didn't pay attention to the last part. He had bought his way into high school and had muddled through for three years, so his grades weren't worth mentioning.

His mind was completely focused on the other side. The college entrance exam ended yesterday? Today is... July 10, 1998!

Lu Dong understood; he really had gone back to 1998!

But there was no time to think more.

The section of the embankment that collapsed was at 3:30 AM tonight!

The turning point in the fate of Lu Family Village!

Lu Dong didn't have time to explain and rushed forward, grabbing Uncle Tie's copper gong and running north.

Uncle Tie, caught off guard, shouted at Lu Dong: "You're eighteen, and you're still acting crazy? Leave the gong!"

Lu Dong ran so fast that Uncle Tie couldn't do anything. He shouted again: "Dongzi, slow down! Don't fall into the river. With this flood, your swimming skills won't help!"

Lu Dong didn't look back, didn't have time to explain, and didn't have time to think. He ran north, the flashlight illuminating the riverbank, his feet stepping on the uneven hardened three-part soil.

Uncle Tie shook his head in disappointment: "Jianjun is a hero, but why did he have a rascal? He's just strong, but everything else is a mess. He'll end up being a troublemaker..."

The riverbank wasn't a straight line, and it was night. Lu Dong was in a hurry, and even without acknowledging the other people on duty, he couldn't run very fast.

Holding the flashlight in his right hand and pushing aside the hawthorn branches on the outside of the embankment with his left hand, Lu Dong hung the rope of the copper gong on his neck.

On the left was the gong, larger than the ones used by sesame oil vendors.

On the right was the cloth shoe, with a dry, hard, black sole, and the stench indicated that it was a worn-out shoe Uncle Tie used in the chicken farm.

The cloth shoe pulled the gong on the other side of his neck, and the dried chicken manure was heavy.

Lu Dong ignored the stench, glancing at the murky river not far from the top of the embankment, hoping he would make it in time!

No one wanted to be homeless!

From 1998 to 2019, over 21 years, he had messed around, worked hard, cried, and struggled. Although he wasn't very successful, even becoming a "Great Surplus," he had learned about his hometown and responsibility.

The rough three-part soil under his feet and the painful hawthorn branches on the outside of the embankment all told Lu Dong that this wasn't a dream!

More and more memories surfaced in Lu Dong's mind. The northern part of Qingzhao County hadn't rained since the college entrance exam, but the southern mountains had experienced heavy rain. Several large reservoirs couldn't withstand the pressure and released water downstream, causing a comprehensive emergency in the middle and lower reaches.

Lacking flood control experience and severely underestimating the water situation, only about ten people were scattered on the embankment tonight, and they had paid a heavy price.

Running along the embankment to the last sharp bend, Lu Dong saw Li Wenyue.

This delicate young man was naturally weak, but he grew tall and very thin. He was sitting at the tip of the triangular dam near the river, surprised: "Dongzi, why are you here?"

Lu Dong didn't respond, crossed the triangular dam, and continued north, the flashlight illuminating the river below, searching for any abnormalities.

Li Wenyue was puzzled. What was his unreliable childhood friend up to?

Before he could figure it out, Lu Dong had run nearly twenty meters, and Li Wenyue quickly followed.

Plop—

Something seemed to have fallen into the water? Lu Dong stopped to check, but all he saw was the murky river and water hyacinth mixed with various trash.

"Dongzi, I think I heard something?" Li Wenyue was also looking carefully.

The sound was faint and couldn't be heard from a distance.

Another faint sound came from below, and in the area illuminated by Li Wenyue's flashlight, a piece of soaked three-part soil broke off and fell into the water.

"Is something wrong?" Li Wenyue took two steps back: "This bend is the thickest, and there's a triangular dam..."

Lu Dong's face turned grim as he recalled some memories.

He had heard water experts analyze why this section of the embankment collapsed.

Under normal circumstances, this bend was the thickest, and the triangular dam's tip split the direct flow of water, which shouldn't have caused problems.

But according to the water experts, the triangular dam splitting the flow reduced the direct impact, creating a buffer zone on the north side of the dam. However, the buffer zone's north side experienced underwater vortices due to the change in water flow, making the water outside the buffer zone faster and more complex, posing a fatal threat to the old embankment.

Of course, the biggest reason was the lack of maintenance over the years.

Lu Dong pulled Li Wenyue up and quickly retreated to the solid triangular dam, saying: "Wenyue, go find Grandpa San!" Grandpa San was a village official: "Ask him to come and check it out quickly!"

Li Wenyue, seeing his childhood friend acting like a different person, confirmed that he wasn't acting crazy and immediately ran down the riverbank to the southeast.

This riverbank had once claimed Li Wenyue's life, but now he was finally gone.

After Li Wenyue disappeared into the night, Lu Dong took off the copper gong from his neck, held it in his left hand, and grabbed the heel of the worn-out shoe with his right hand. He swung his arm and hit the shoe's sole against the gong.

Clang—

Numerous black fragments flew up, landing in the river, on the riverbank, and on Lu Dong.

Clang—

More black fragments flew up, and the hidden smell inside stimulated his spirit!

Lu Dong sounded the emergency gong!

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