Chapter 3

Relying on the pull of the rope, Lü Dong climbed up the river embankment, wiped the water off his face, which was covered with fine sand, and took deep breaths. Without waiting for anyone to ask, he said directly, "There's a big hole under the water."

Lü Dong walked along the embankment, gesturing to indicate the location. His thousand-layer-soled shoes, almost turned a soil yellow, kicked up some yellow mud with each step: "From here to here, it's estimated to be more than two meters long and more than half a meter high. The deepest part of the pit extends over fifty centimeters into the embankment."

At this moment, Lü Jianguo and a few others ran over: "Uncle San, there's no sign of seepage on the back of the embankment."

Lü Zhenlin's thick eyebrows twitched, and he said, "Good, we still have time."

The situation wasn't particularly bad. Lü Dong first checked his hands, finding no issues, then took off his shoes and poured out the yellow mud.

Lü Zhenlin still made the worst-case plan: "Jianbin, Jianguo, take people to the field to get the power lines. We won't be able to sleep tonight!"

Lü Jianguo was about to leave, but Tiegongji quickly reeled in the rope: "Wait, I'll take the rope back."

Lü Dong put on his shoes and said, "Uncle Tie, we might need the rope again."

"What time is it now!" Lü Zhenlin shouted.

The headlights of a car lit up below the embankment, and the sound of a tractor was particularly loud. The sand carriers had arrived!

By this time, there were already over a hundred people on the river embankment. Large rolls of fertilizer bags and cement bags were thrown by the roadside, and the women were holding shovels, ready to join the effort.

Lü Zhenlin directed the able-bodied men to form five rows, ready to pass the sandbags up.

Under the illumination of the headlights, Lü Dong saw his mother, Hu Chunlan.

She was carrying a thick roll of woven bags, walking along the dirt road below the embankment from the north.

There was their family's contracted apple orchard on that side, not far from the Qingzhao River. Every year, when the weather warmed up, his mother would move to the orchard to live, which was the main source of income for the family.

In the countryside, it was very difficult for a woman to raise a child alone, even with the help of her brother's family and the Lü family.

The tractor engine roared, and the self-unloading truck bed poured out yellow sand. The women began to work.

The five rows of people were lined up and converged on the embankment. Lü Zhenlin came over and patted Lü Dong on the shoulder: "You've grown!"

Lü Dong smiled; his reputation used to be terrible.

As time passed, more and more people came to the river, and the first woven bag filled with sand was passed to Lü Dong.

Lü Dong had enough strength to lift it alone to the edge of the embankment and threw it down along the edge of the three-soil mixture.

Plop—

Under the light of the miner's helmet, a huge splash of water rose, and the sandbag seemed to be washed away by the water?

"Winter, don't just stand there! Continue!" the people behind urged. Lü Dong took the sandbag from his hands and threw it down again.

This time, he watched carefully. The sandbag landed and was washed to the north side.

Plop—Plop—

Other people also threw sandbags into the water, and they were similarly washed away by the current.

"Something's not right," the uncle from the same clan also noticed the problem.

Lü Zhenlin came over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lü Dong said directly, "The water is too fast, and the sandbags are being washed away."

The uncle from the same clan agreed: "Yes!"

Lü Zhenlin waved his hand to the back: "Find large bags, try it."

A sandbag filled with chicken feed was carried over by two people and thrown down.

Lü Dong watched closely: "It seems... to be washed away again."

The water was too large and still rising. Plus, it was outside the gentle slope of the dam, where the water flow was very fast.

Rushing—

Suddenly, a sound came, and Lü Dong instinctively pulled Lü Zhenlin and the uncle from the same clan back, shouting at the same time: "Back! Back! Where did it collapse? Where did it collapse?"

The faces of the crowd turned pale; water and fire are merciless!

"A piece of the embankment collapsed!" someone on the south side shouted with a flashlight: "A hole has formed! Everyone be careful!"

Lü Dong and others dispersed and changed positions, their faces grim.

Above the pit Lü Dong had discovered, a hole the size of a long winter melon had collapsed, and under the flashlight, bubbles could be seen rising.

This was a very dangerous sign.

Lü Zhenlin was a bit anxious: "Block it with sandbags, quickly!"

This time, Lü Dong didn't move. The sandbags would be washed away, and he didn't know how many would be needed to be effective.

He thought of the flood control efforts before the arrival of Typhoon Lekima, where the long S-shaped river embankment had a problem. A crane lowered several tons of bags filled with gravel, immediately stabilizing the situation.

Tons of bags, cranes—these were necessary.

Lü Dong recalled the flood control materials he had seen, and thought of one thing—flood control iron cages.

A soldier who had fought against Typhoon Lekima had mentioned that this was one of the lessons learned from the 1998 flood control efforts.

"Watch out for the cables! Watch out for the cables!" Tiegongji dragged a black cable, and two people behind him each carried a long bamboo pole, holding 200-watt large light bulbs.

This battle was really without much preparation. Lü Dong glanced at Li Wenyue, who had come with Uncle Tie. He had not issued a warning and might have fallen asleep without being mentally prepared.

Lack of experience, lack of preparation, and the water level was constantly rising.

It was very critical, but the Lü family village would not give up!

Lü Dong found Lü Zhenlin: "Grandpa San, I've looked carefully. The sandbags are all being washed away. In the news about flood control, I remember they used iron cages, filled with stones and sandbags, and it worked even in the Yangtze River!"

"Iron cages..." Lü Zhenlin's spirits lifted, thinking this method was reliable.

"Uncle San!" Tiegongji ran up the river embankment, the radio hanging from his wrist swinging: "The cables are laid, and the poles are set up, so it will be lit!"

Lü Dong smelled the pungent smell of chicken manure and immediately thought of the chicken farm, shouting: "Uncle Tie!"

Tiegongji, seeing Lü Dong staring straight at him, instinctively took a step back: "Winter, what do you want to do?"

Lü Dong didn't waste words: "Uncle Tie, we need large iron cages. I remember your chicken cages are very large and sturdy."

Uncle Tie almost jumped up: "You, Winter, always want to take advantage of your Uncle Tie! They are brand new! What can chicken cages do!"

"Useful!" Lü Zhenlin said loudly: "What time is it now! Go get them quickly!"

Many people around looked at this side. Lü Dong quickly added: "Uncle Tie, if the embankment collapses, the chicken farm is the closest!"

Tiegongji, a man in his forties, couldn't fail to understand this simple truth, but thinking of the new chicken cages, his heart ached.

He said with a sob, "Can anyone stand by and do nothing? It would be a matter of life and death!"

No one in the Lü family village could stand by and do nothing!

The radio switch was probably hit, and a song with crackling static sounded.

"You are always too soft, too soft, taking on all the problems yourself..."

Tiegongji turned and walked away, bringing a whirlwind of chicken manure: "More people, come with me to the farm to carry the cages!"

Lü Dong called to the people around: "Don't throw the sandbags yet, pile them on the embankment!"

Most people looked at Lü Zhenlin. The chicken farm was very close, and it didn't matter for a moment. Lü Zhenlin said, "Listen to Winter."

He muttered to himself, "I'm fifty-eight, and I've never seen such a large flood!"

Lü Dong had seen it twice, in 1998 and during Typhoon Lekima, the latter being even larger, almost overflowing.

"Second Brother, come here." Lü Zhenlin called his older brother.

Lü Dong called, "Second Grandpa."

Lü Zhenlin lowered his voice: "Second Brother, go to the village office and call for help from the town and county. I can't leave; if I do, people will panic." His voice was even lower: "Make the situation sound more serious, say it's about to break! Ask them to send help quickly. Also, call Winter's Uncle Jianguo and ask him to bring people from the university city construction site. We have dozens of able-bodied men working night shifts there! Bring sand and gravel! The village's resources are not enough!"

Lü Dong's Uncle Jianguo was an engineer at the old town construction station, which was the county's third construction company, and a retired engineering soldier.

"The town and county might not have anyone at this hour," Lü Dong said at the right time. "The university city is only ten miles away, and it will take about the time to eat a meal. Call Uncle first."

The person making the call left, and Tiegongji returned with six or seven large cages.

These large chicken cages were carried by two people, made of thick iron wire, and were very sturdy.

However, just lifted from the chicken coop, they were still covered in chicken droppings, and the embankment was soon filled with a stench.

But this was for saving lives, so no one cared.

As soon as the iron cages arrived, the embankment became busy. Lü Dong got a pair of pliers, opened the top layer of the chicken cage, and called for people to put sandbags inside.

About ten cement woven bags were stuffed inside.

When the sandbags were piled up, Lü Dong and Tiegongji, along with others, tied them with iron wire, hung ropes, and slowly lowered them along the edge of the riverbank.

Plop—

In the water, the iron cage steadily landed in the expected position.

"It works!" Lü Zhenlin shouted: "Continue!"

Lü Dong wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued to work with the iron cages. Sandbags were passed up, filled into the iron cages, and then sent into the water to block the gap in the embankment.

After several iron cages were lowered into the water, multiple trucks arrived, and dozens of people from the Lü family village returned from the university city construction site, bringing important disaster relief materials—sand and gravel and cement woven bags.

They worked until a line of light appeared on the horizon. Using the flood control iron chicken cages, a thick sandbag embankment was built on the inside of the river embankment, and even the outside of the embankment was piled with three layers.

With the embankment reinforced inside and out, the possibility of problems was greatly reduced.

Leaving enough people to observe, Lü Zhenlin let everyone rest quickly because the water level had not decreased, and there was still a hard battle ahead!

Lü Dong went down the embankment, took off his miner's helmet, found a bucket to wash his hands, and took a bun from the food box sent by Sun Qinghai, sitting on a sandbag by the roadside to eat.

Many people around were squatting or sitting, eating voraciously, having exhausted their energy after a night of hard work.

But compared to the previous tension, the atmosphere was now relaxed, and there were even some laughs.

Lü Dong finished the bun, wiped his hands on his T-shirt, which was almost turning soil yellow, and looked at the light in the east.

It was already past four o'clock!

This section of the river embankment was saved, but the flood had not receded, and Lü Dong didn't know how it would develop. However, as long as the embankment didn't collapse, the psychological defense of the Lü family village would not break, and they could unite, be optimistic, and get through it!

A figure appeared beside him: "I heard from your Grandpa San, you did well."

Lü Dong instinctively stood up: "Uncle..."

Lü Jianguo had a serious face and got on the truck in front: "Go! Get sand and gravel!"

Lü Zhenlin came down from the embankment, stopped, and patted Lü Dong on the shoulder: "Brat, you've grown up. Go back and rest. This water won't go away soon, and we need the young people to hold up."

Lü Dong nodded slightly.

Just as Grandpa San left, the listless Tiegongji came down from the embankment, looking back every two steps, seemingly still watching the chicken cages under the pile of sandbags. The radio on his wrist was left with static, and the station had no program.

"The village will reimburse you," Lü Dong couldn't help but remind him. "Would Grandpa San let you down?"

Tiegongji sighed and suddenly said, "Winter, your Uncle Tie was wrong. Jianjun is a hero, and you're not bad either."

Lü Dong could only remain silent. The future... could no longer follow the old path.