Chapter 53

Chapter 9: Xiao Bai is a Dog

Li Yi, with Su Su, convinced one household after another.

Despite wearing raincoats and rain boots, they were drenched from head to toe.

While Li Yi was arguing with a stubborn villager, a loud noise came from the reservoir. The first sluice gate opened, and a powerful stream of water rushed down, splashing high and making a roaring sound.

Hearing this noise, the villager immediately turned around and ran home, picking up the child and heading for higher ground without Li Yi needing to say another word.

Once the noise started, the work with the villagers became much easier. After two hours, the evacuation of the villagers was completed.

Li Yi, with Su Su and the white dog, returned to the dam management office.

Li Yi plopped down on the ground and teased the white dog, "Tired? You've been running around with us all day!"

The white dog barked twice and wagged its tail at Li Yi.

Su Su pouted and said, "Hey, you don't ask if people are tired, but you ask the dog?"

"People are definitely tired, hehe, no need to ask. No matter how tired we are, we are doing our duty as humans. But the dog is different. It has no obligation to work with us, but it did. So, it deserves my concern," Li Yi chuckled.

"Hmph, nonsense!" Su Su called out, "Xiao Bai!" The white dog immediately ran to her and crouched down.

"So, its name is Xiao Bai!" Li Yi reached out to pet Xiao Bai.

"Comrade Li! Comrade Li!" Qin Fan rushed in, out of breath, "Bad news! Out of the sixteen sluice gates, only three can be opened! The others are all broken! The overflow from the reservoir is getting larger! There's seepage in the dam foundation!"

"What!" Li Yi stood up straight, eyes wide open, "Didn't you guarantee that the sluice gates were fine? Where is Wang Haisan? Didn't he say that the Water Resources Bureau inspects them every year? Are all of you in the Reservoir Management Bureau just eating and doing nothing?"

Li Yi cursed all the way, thinking, "What the hell am I worrying about! These are all officials from Sanjiang City. I'm just a special consultant for the provincial government. What can I do about them?"

At this moment, Qin Fan felt a huge pressure, even greater than the scolding from the Reservoir Management Bureau director. Li Yi's fierce demeanor was like that of a high-ranking provincial or city leader, righteous and commanding, making it impossible to argue back.

"Quick, let's go and see!" Li Yi, dragging his heavy legs, mustered his strength and ran towards the dam.

Many parts of the dam were experiencing varying degrees of seepage. If no action was taken, the dam might not hold. If the dam failed, the hundreds of millions of cubic meters of water in the reservoir would rush out, like a giant dragon flooding the entire irrigation area! Combined with the rain and the water from other lakes, it could flood the entire Sanjiang City!

Through the misty rain, the beautiful city of Sanjiang seemed to be just a short distance away, with its skyscrapers and scattered village houses visible.

Those were all homes where people lived in peace and prosperity!

Hearing the roaring sound of the water from the three sluice gates, Li Yi felt utterly exhausted. The worst-case scenario he feared had happened!

It must be stopped! It must be stopped! This was the only thought in his mind!

Su Su, with Xiao Bai, caught up and supported the trembling Li Yi, calling out, "Brother Li, what's wrong with you?"

Li Yi steadied himself, wiped the rain from his face, and shouted, "Where is the auxiliary spillway?"

Qin Fan pointed to the side of the reservoir dam, "There!"

"Find a way to blow it up! It's the only solution! The dam won't hold much longer!" Li Yi's voice carried far in the heavy rain!

"We must find the city leaders!" Qin Fan shouted.

With all the noise, human voices became very small. Even if you shouted, you couldn't be heard from the other side.

"Quick, go make a call!" Li Yi ran back to the dam management office, thinking, "The lack of communication is really killing us!"

Wang Haisan was driving to the scene, worried about Li Yi's safety. He left the meeting before it was over.

At this moment, the struggle at the Sanjiang City Standing Committee meeting had reached a fever pitch.

For the position of Water Resources Bureau director, Meng Di and Xiong Xilai were arguing heatedly. Both had proposed their own candidates and refused to back down.

The Standing Committee meeting almost turned into a street brawl.

Meng Di's and Xiong Xilai's secretaries were peeking at the door, wanting to come in but not daring to.

Meng Di, whose seat faced the door, asked, "What are you two doing? You dare to eavesdrop on the Standing Committee meeting?"

The secretaries were startled. One said, "The Water Resources Bureau called, saying that the Malin Reservoir is severely overflowing. Out of the sixteen sluice gates, only three can be opened, and the dam is leaking badly!"

The other said, "The Reservoir Management Bureau sent an urgent message, with a similar situation! Also, the flood control office director Zhou just reported that over ten lakes in the city are overflowing, and many towns have already been flooded by several centimeters! We discussed it and felt it was urgent, so we dared to come in and report."

"What!" Meng Di slammed the table and stood up, "What were they doing all this time?"

Xiong Xilai pushed his chair and stood up, scolding, "You two, inexperienced, jumping to conclusions! Does Sanjiang not have floods every year? Has it ever become a major disaster? Making a big fuss!"

The two secretaries, scolded, dared not speak and silently closed the door and left.

Meng Di glanced at Xiong Xilai, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Mayor Xiong, I've been in Sanjiang for a short time and am not as familiar with the situation as you. Based on your experience, what do you think will happen this year?"

Xiong Xilai couldn't help but feel a bit smug, "Hehe, the water in Sanjiang is very well-behaved, it won't cause a big storm! At most, it's like a child, crying and fussing, but once it sleeps, everything is calm again!"

"Listening to Mayor Xiong, I feel reassured!" Meng Di smiled lightly, "What do you all think? Should we discuss my initial proposal? The one about allocating ten million to repair the reservoir. Now that we have a finance director, can we reconsider?"

Xiong Xilai coldly snorted, "Secretary Meng, why do you insist on squeezing money from our budget for a futile effort? This city needs money everywhere. Where can I find ten million? I agree with the proposal, but I can't provide the money!"

Just as Meng Di was about to counter, the meeting room door was pushed open, and a group of people rushed in.

Meng Di and the others were furious. Someone dared to barge into the Standing Committee meeting!

Before they could get angry, a young man, drenched from head to toe, stood before them, his eyes red from the rain. He clenched his right fist and slammed it on the oval wooden table in the meeting room.

"Bang!" The nine cups on the table jumped to different degrees. Everyone's hearts skipped a beat!

"Who is this!" Xiong Xilai shouted, "Get him out!"

"No need! I'll leave after I finish speaking! My name is Li Yi, a small consultant in the provincial government's advisory office. I am currently conducting a water resources survey in your city."

"Oh, so you're Consultant Li. Why do you look like a drowned rat?" Meng Di laughed lightly.

Li Yi looked around the nine Standing Committee members and said coldly, "Leaders, I apologize for the interruption, but it's unavoidable!"

Li Yi gathered his emotions and shouted, "The Malin Dam is about to breach! I've made dozens of calls, but have you sent anyone to check? The Water Resources Bureau is in a meeting, the Reservoir Management Bureau is in a meeting, and the flood control office is waiting for your orders. You, however, are still in a meeting! I want to ask you, do you have to wait until the flood waters reach this Party Committee building before you finish your meeting! To be frank, you're not even as good as Xiao Bai! I've said my piece, you can continue your meeting!"

"Who is Xiao Bai?" someone whispered.

"Xiao Bai is a dog I raised! It worked very hard today!" A delicate little girl proudly shook her wet hair, her big eyes and two small dimples.

Meng Di and the other Standing Committee members' faces turned pale, their expressions extremely awkward.

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