Chapter 7

The two entrances on the east side of the bridge were successfully blocked and reinforced. Under the leadership of Lü Zhenlin and the officers, the troops moved to support the west side.

The people here, temporarily unable to continue fighting, slumped down to rest on the embankment.

Trees extended their branches over the embankment, providing a patch of shade. Lü Dong squeezed into a dry sandbag and caught a leech that had crawled ashore.

Lü Jianren, holding a sausage, said, "Throwing this net down, it's no use pulling it back. We won't have any dishes for dinner tonight."

"Who knows what will happen tonight," Lü Dong pressed the leech's back with one finger, coiling it up. It was about seven to eight centimeters long, slippery and had a good feel to it. "Uncle Seven, if you drink too much and fall into the water, you won't be able to come back up!"

Someone chimed in, "Turn into a water ghost!"

Lü Jianren finished the sausage in a few bites, "I'll find two pretty female water ghosts, more freedom!"

Lü Dong continued to coil the leech, "Aunt Seven will slap you with a big ear."

Uncle Seven and Aunt Seven often fought, even using shovels to hit each other.

The leech in Lü Dong's hand became shorter and rounder, almost forming a sphere. Lü Dong found a flat spot and slapped it, feeling its elasticity.

Two young boys sneaked up the riverbank and quietly approached Lü Dong. They were the ones who had greeted him in the morning. One was Li Lin, the nephew of Lü Dong's aunt, and the other was Lü Kun.

They had dropped out of school after junior high and had no proper jobs, just hanging around all day.

Lü Kun came closer and whispered, "Brother Dong, Qiao Siliang is looking for people in the county to boost his presence tomorrow. Two yuan per person, are we going?"

In recent years, gangster movies had become popular, corrupting many people, especially impressionable teenagers.

Lü Dong shook his head, "No."

Li Lin laughed, "I said, two yuan is too cheap! Ten yuan to get Brother Dong?"

Lü Kun quickly added, "If Brother Dong goes, it won't be two yuan. Qiao Siliang wouldn't have the face to offer two yuan to Brother Dong."

"Don't you two go either!" Lü Dong pointed to the river, "What are you thinking? The water is already flooding to the doorstep! Watch less gangster movies."

Li Lin and Lü Kun left reluctantly.

Lü Dong played with the leech ball, thinking about how gangster movies had corrupted many people, leading many teenagers astray due to their romanticized portrayal.

...

"Mayor, change your clothes?"

On the small dam, the staff member suggested, "There are short sleeves in the car."

Yang Liwen glanced down at his white shirt with black trim, "No need, there might be more situations later." He pointed to the slightly simple-looking teenager under the tree, "I'll go talk to someone."

He wiped the mud off his face and walked toward Lü Dong.

The staff member said to the propaganda officer with a camera, "Follow him, take more pictures."

The propaganda officer understood and followed behind.

"Student Lü Dong."

Yang Liwen had been interested in Lü Dong since the morning. Lü Dong, polite as he should be, stood up and said, "Hello, Mayor Yang."

"Sit, sit." Yang Liwen faced the Qingzhao River, sitting on a sandbag first, and looked at the words on Lü Dong's school uniform, "You study at No. 1 High School?"

Lü Dong sat down, playing with the leech ball, "Just graduated."

Yang Liwen nodded slightly, "This year's college entrance exam? How did it go?"

Lü Dong stopped playing with the ball, thinking, "We're on the same team, why force me to be the opponent?" He said vaguely, "Not bad."

Yang Liwen thought Lü Dong was being modest, "Undergraduate?"

This guy really knows how to chat! Why bring up the sore spot! Lü Dong subtly said, "Can we not talk about studies?"

"Okay." Yang Liwen wouldn't argue with a teenager, pointing to the thing in Lü Dong's hand, curious, "What is this? A bouncy ball? It doesn't look like it."

Lü Dong looked at the Qingzhao River, "A specialty of the river."

Yang Liwen thought if there was a specialty, there was potential, "Can I see it?"

"Sure?" Lü Dong asked.

Yang Liwen held out his hand, and Lü Dong placed the leech ball in it.

The slippery, elastic feel in his palm made Yang Liwen pinch it a few times, "Fish eggs? Or some other aquatic creature?"

Lü Dong said, "Leeches, the ones I burned this morning."

Yang Liwen immediately remembered the blood-sucking leeches that had swelled on Lü Dong's body, instinctively wanting to throw it away. Seeing the propaganda officer with the camera, he held back.

Boom—

A loud sound like a house collapsing came from the other side of the river.

Lü Dong turned to look, instinctively saying his catchphrase, "I'll fix it (neng)!"

Everyone on the embankment stood up involuntarily.

"Where did it collapse?"

A chaotic roar came from below the embankment.

This sound was too touching to the sensitive nerves.

"Don't panic!" The village accountant shouted back, "The Ma family's embankment on the opposite side collapsed."

Right in front of Lü Dong and the others, the riverbank near the Ma family village on the north side had collapsed for about ten meters, with soil and debris falling into the water.

After being soaked for a long time, that part of the embankment couldn't hold up anymore.

Fortunately, no one fell into the water, and the part of the embankment near the bridge was thick, with only half of it collapsing, leaving a layer standing, preventing an immediate breach.

But the river was still eroding, and a second collapse could happen at any time.

"Quickly block the gap!"

Ma family village was also under Ningxiu Town's jurisdiction. Yang Liwen took a big step forward in a hurry.

Lü Dong quickly pulled him back, shouting loudly, "Don't go forward! If you fall in, no one can save you!"

Yang Liwen's forehead was bulging with veins, shouting, "Block the gap! Block the gap! It's a matter of life and death!"

The sound of gongs rang out on the other side of the river, dense and resonant, as if striking the hearts of the people.

Lü Dong was also anxious, but he couldn't let go.

Don't think Uncle Seven was mocking the other side; in fact, the two villages were connected by marriage and had a long history of interaction, like family.

For example, his uncle was from the Ma family village.

Uncle Seven's in-laws were also in the Ma family village.

Yang Liwen calmed down a bit, looked around, and shouted, "We need to organize a rescue!"

Everyone was silent, how could they cross with such a large flood?

"Is there a boat?" Yang Liwen asked.

Lü Dong said, "The village boats are too small, they can't make it. We need a motorboat."

Lü Jianren cursed, "Without a big boat, going in is just wasting lives!"

Yang Liwen asked the staff member behind him, "Is there a motorboat?"

The staff member shook his head silently.

The people on the other side of the river had already started, throwing sandbags into the gap.

Lü Dong shouted, "Baskets! Find baskets to put them together!"

Others were also shouting, but it was unclear if the other side heard. They were frantically trying to block the gap.

Yang Liwen felt a deep sense of helplessness, regretting not taking it seriously, not being prepared.

Lü Dong seemed to see his cousin from his uncle's family, but could only watch, unable to do anything.

Lü Jianren was anxious, taking off his shirt and baring his chest.

Lü Dong was also anxious, shouting, "Uncle Seven, don't be foolish! Think about Aunt Seven and the kids!"

Lü Jianren had no intention of going in, taking a deep breath, and shouting, "Ma family, hold on! You must hold on!"

Immediately, someone followed, "Ma family, hold on!"

"Ma family village, don't give up!"

"Old and young, hold on!"

A chorus of encouragement rose from this side, but in the short term, they couldn't do much else.

The gap on the north side was still losing soil, and the Ma family village was at a critical moment.

At this moment, a group of people in olive green, wearing orange life jackets, rushed onto the embankment. They had ropes tied around their waists and were holding sandbags. They decisively jumped into the water, placed the sandbags, and stood together, facing the surging river, forming a human dam!

The muddy floodwaters were blocked by their flesh and blood!

They were firmly anchored there, like a steel Great Wall made of flesh and blood!

The force of the water decreased, and the embankment gradually stopped losing soil. Sandbags were thrown in, and the situation began to stabilize.

Seeing those young faces, those shoulders supporting hope, the people on the south side were silent, moved, and touched.

Even though they were not protecting Lü family village!

Lü Dong's eyes were moist. They were the true Great Wall of the Republic!

It felt like something was washing over Lü Dong's heart. He would never forget this scene!

"Brothers in arms! Well done!" Lü Dong shouted with all his might, "Brothers in arms! Keep it up!"

Immediately, someone followed, "The People's Liberation Army are heroes!"

"Thank you, soldiers!"

No response was needed, and they didn't respond. They were as resolute and silent as the Great Wall.

As the sun approached the western horizon, the gap on the north side was sealed. The soldiers silently left, leaving behind a safe embankment for the villagers.

The water level finally began to drop. By around 6:30 PM, the new bridge connecting Lü family village and Ma family village was visible, with tilted stone railings and a ground covered in debris.

A call came in, the water levels in several major reservoirs were about to drop below the warning level. As long as there was no sudden heavy rain, the flood would soon subside.

The troops did not withdraw but would stay for a while longer, depending on the water situation.

Originally, the village wanted the troops to stay in the residents' homes, and they had already started to clear out rooms, but the troops firmly refused. The village had to open the primary school on summer break as a temporary base for the troops.

The troops left some personnel to stand watch with the village at night, while others returned to the school to ensure they had enough energy to respond to any emergencies.

Lü Dong led a group of soldiers to the school.

Lü family primary school was built very early and had a large area, with dozens of trees that required several people to hug.

However, the school buildings were similar to many rural schools of that era, leaning towards being old and dilapidated.

Strictly speaking, the school was a dangerous building when Lü Dong attended.

The news of the flood had spread, and people from neighboring villages came to bring food. Li Wenyue, who was not in good health, was assigned to work with the village accountant to record and account for the donations.

The kindness from other villages would need to be thanked and repaid after the flood.

Lü Dong arrived at the school office door, where Li Wenyue was busy recording, and a middle-aged man with a simple face was standing opposite.

"Wenyue, record them separately!" the middle-aged man emphasized, "All the meat separately! Ears, bellies, trotters, livers, offal, different prices. I need to account for the money with the village, don't miss anything!"

Hearing this, Lü Dong remembered that this man was Li Wenyue's neighbor, a famous person in Lü family village, the owner of Cheng Lifeng's meat store.

His family had been in the business of making braised offal for generations, with a good reputation.

Li Wenyue said, "All recorded, no mistakes."

Cheng Lifeng was still not reassured and double-checked before leaving.

With no one else around, Lü Dong asked, "He brought the meat?"

"Yes." Li Wenyue organized the accounts, "Grandpa Three asked for it. The troops are helping us, we need to make sure they are well-fed."

He suddenly said, "Dongzi, can you beat up Cheng Lifeng?"

"What happened?" Lü Dong was surprised; Li Wenyue wasn't the type to call for a fight.

Li Wenyue glanced at the school gate, "Since noon, Cheng Lifeng has been talking about money. In a situation like this, who wouldn't contribute? He's so greedy for money!"

Lü Dong helped him move a table into the office, "This is a matter of conscience, can't be forced."

Li Wenyue added, "Since last year, when Cheng Lifeng started providing Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year's gifts to the town enterprises and some units in H County, he's been all about money."

Lü Dong didn't respond, more than one person was obsessed with money. He pulled Li Wenyue, "Come, let's go eat."

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