Chapter 391: Chapter 390: The Rain Has Stopped

The soldiers’ clothes had long been put on the elderly and children, and raincoats were draped over the old, weak, and young on the stretchers. The young figures supported, carried, and piggybacked the rescued citizens, braving the rain and attempting to traverse the landslide-prone mountain trail as swiftly as possible.

Ling Chengyan stood in place, closely monitoring the hillside above as each squad passed.

Several times, small stones rolled down. Without needing her reminder, the team members quickly dodged aside unharmed. The troubling part was the walking citizens; their homes were destroyed by the floods, and after being soaked and battered by the rain for so long, they were thoroughly exhausted, even dazed. Now as they followed along, their every move seemed puppet-like, unable to react when stones fell.

Fortunately, each squad had a load-free guard member, who promptly pushed the citizens to safety whenever rocks fell...

Ling Chengyan didn’t keep Fu Qiang by her side, instructing her to escort with the team. Then, when a rock fell, Fu Qiang was struck on the forehead as she pushed a middle-aged woman aside.

She didn’t faint or fall, but blood streamed down, instantly covering her right eye.

Ling Chengyan watched as Fu Qiang was already pulled through the danger by her comrades. Xiao Dou, the team medic, ran over to clean her wound and apply a simple bandage.

The woman saved by Fu Qiang approached with a face full of guilt and gratitude, insisting on putting her bamboo hat on Fu Qiang: "Wear it, wear it, the wound mustn’t get wet."

Fu Qiang wanted to decline, but Ling Chengyan already came over, removing her raincoat and wrapping it around the woman.

As she buttoned the woman up, she said, "Since big sister gave it to you, just wear it. A forehead injury can’t get infected or you’ll end up with a scar."

Fu Qiang choked up a bit and softly agreed.

Ling Chengyan ordered each squad to check their numbers and speed up the pace. The rainy weather hastened the darkness and made the roads difficult to traverse. They needed to reach the parking area swiftly, aiming to quickly bring the rescued citizens to the safe shelter point.

The path was relatively smooth; the team members’ stamina held, but the rescued citizens were nearly worn out. Every able-bodied man wheezed like an old bellows, and the elderly, women, and children had long been carried or supported along by the specially trained members.

The men and women were loaded onto trucks. Sitting in the tarpaulin-covered compartments, everyone was nearly limp. The team members wiped their faces and hands with towels — all they could offer was a thank you.

The vehicles aimed to quickly reach the nearest safe shelter, a neighboring town’s school. The classrooms had been cleared out, desks arranged into temporary beds, with simple bedding and hot food and water available.

Ling Chengyan handed over the name list to the resettlement staff, emphasizing the situation of a little boy named Hutou, and highlighted the heroic act of the big yellow dog saving the child, touching the staff deeply.

"Captain Ling, we are very grateful for everything you’ve done for the people. Rest assured when they are settled here, we’ll try our best to provide them with hot meals and water. Those sick or injured will be given prompt treatment, undelayed."

Ling Chengyan nodded in thanks, taking the medic over to attend to the big yellow dog’s wounds, disinfecting and bandaging them. Initially, Xiao Dou was a bit fearful and hesitant to handle it, but the big yellow was very cooperative, always lying on its front paws. Even when its wounds were disinfected with alcohol causing its leg to tremble slightly in pain, it didn’t move a bit, much less lash out.

After bandaging, Xiao Dou wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, couldn’t help but pat the big yellow on the head, praising, "Well-behaved. Heal well, I’ll come see you again tomorrow."

He then sneakily glanced at Ling Chengyan and the comrades, fetched a sausage from his pocket, peeled it, and placed it by the big yellow’s mouth, whispering, "Eat up, eat up, don’t let Captain see."

Not far away, Ling Chengyan’s brow twitched slightly, then she nonchalantly walked out with the staff, heading into another room.

After settling this batch of citizens, Ling Chengyan and the team borrowed some hot water, each ate a compressed biscuit, then set off again.

Through phone contact, they learned that the disaster-affected people had basically been relocated, and all forces were dispatched to the riverbank, working overnight to repair and fortify the embankment. They were striving to reinforce and heighten the flooded embankment to block the overflowing river water as soon as possible.

Their vehicle had just left the shelter when they suddenly heard cheering behind them: "The rain stopped, the rain stopped, heaven has opened its eyes!"

"Heaven bless us!"

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ling Chengyan saw through the car window that the rain had indeed stopped, and Zhang Wanxiang, driving, immediately turned off the windshield wipers.

"Hey, Captain, look, the rain truly has stopped!" Zhang Wanxiang, naturally dark-skinned and further tanned by daily training and cross-country running in the special training team, shone brightly and turned back to smile at Ling Chengyan, showcasing his particularly white teeth.

Ling Chengyan nodded without saying anything, raising her eyes through the window to examine the cloud layer in the sky.

It was already night, the sky pitch black, not a moon or even a star could be seen—a sign the sky was still overcast, filled with clouds.

Her heart sank; such weather was not characteristic of clearing clouds and ceasing rain. There’s a fear the rain might resume.

With the rain stopped, even in the heavy night, the visibility with car lights would be significantly better.

Zhang Wanxiang, very pleased, gripped the steering wheel tightly, chatting with Fu Qiang beside Ling Chengyan, "Xiao Fu, do you know what this is? This is the blessing of luck — as soon as we arrived, all these days of rain stopped, eh?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

This flood was primarily caused by continuous rainfall. The cessation of rain was akin to cutting off the source. Once the embankment was reinforced and raised, stopping the overflow, the flood without a source would naturally retreat gradually.

Fu Qiang, although sparse with words, was quite on point, saying, "In such flood, even with the rain stopped, it’ll take a good ten days or half a month to recede. People can wait, crops in the fields can’t."

At this season, the autumn crops were harvested, winter wheat was sown. If submerged, the sown winter wheat might be entirely in jeopardy. If the water recedes quickly, considering the season, perhaps another round of winter wheat can be sown. Yet, if the water lingers, all winter wheat in flooded areas might face total loss.

Although today’s peasants live better, with grain in every household, a lost harvest won’t lead to starvation, but their reserves aren’t robust. A loss means struggling for the next couple of years.

Furthermore, this flood didn’t only affect farmlands and crops; surely there were human casualties, houses collapsed, property losses... Even if this rain stops and waters subside, many families will face losing loved ones and having no home.

It’s extraordinarily difficult.