Chapter 701: Disaster Relief

He Yuzhu quietly placed the large quantity of supplies he had brought back from the Japanese into the warehouse, and had Ershuan send people to change the packaging overnight—after all, those packages were covered in Japanese characters and had to be changed to Chinese.

Ershuan had been producing salted fish and dried fish in Beidaihe for over a decade, and had a large group of men under him, as well as a complete set of packaging equipment.

As the large quantity of supplies gathered, it eventually aroused the suspicion of some people.

To shut others' mouths, He Yuzhu had no choice but to invite Secretary Liu to inspect.

After Secretary Liu toured the dozens of warehouses, looked at the thousands of bulldozers and excavators parked in the square, and saw the over one thousand workers from Red Star Farm who knew how to operate earth-moving machinery, a look of satisfaction finally appeared on his face: "Zhuzi, I was a bit worried before. Seeing the situation here, I feel much more at ease. Especially since you've brought over all one thousand people from the farm who can operate earth-moving machines, I feel confident."

He Yuzhu did not speak; he smiled.

July 28th, early morning.

He Yuzhu was guarding a spot less than thirty miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

This was the command site, and Man Yatou and Secretary Liu were both in the same tent.

The night was deep, and the surroundings were quiet to the point of feeling unreal.

The lights of distant villages were sparse, and occasionally a few barks of dogs could be heard, only to be quickly scattered by the wind.

He Yuzhu lay on a folding bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

The second hand ticked forward, one notch at a time, the sound exceptionally clear in the silence.

He did not know if, in this space-time, that disaster would still descend at the same moment.

3:42 AM.

The ground suddenly trembled, as if some giant beast had turned over deep underground.

Immediately following, the vibration intensified abruptly; the tent poles emitted a piercing creak, and the teacup on the table slid to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Secretary Liu had been dozing off, but was startled awake by the sudden tremor and opened his eyes wide. He had just stood up when he stumbled and fell heavily.

He did not get up.

He sat slumped on the ground, smashed his fist hard against the floor, his eyes bloodshot.

At that moment, he felt a sense of relief.

These past few days, his pressure had been too great. He had mobilized the army, used countless resources, and signed a military pledge to his superiors—if the earthquake did not happen, his crime would be greater than the heavens.

Now, the earthquake had come.

He did not feel lost; instead, he felt a bit of fortune.

He Yuzhu rushed out of the tent and looked toward the east. A great fire was already burning in the distance, reddening half the sky. Looking at that glow, his heart was actually very calm—in this lifetime, everything he could do, he had already done. At this very moment, he even felt a bit excited.

Secretary Liu walked out of the tent, looked up at the gray sky, and said, "Zhuzi, shall we move in now, or wait until dawn?"

He Yuzhu said, "These earth-movers move slowly; by the time they get there, it will be dawn. You stay here to command and coordinate, and transport instant food inside. I will take the bulldozers and the army personnel and go in first."

Secretary Liu nodded: "Usually, after a major earthquake, there are aftershocks. Be careful!"

He Yuzhu nodded, climbed into the driver's cab, stepped on the gas, and the massive earth-mover slowly drove into the ruins.

Ershuan led a team following behind, the engines of several bulldozers roaring, making the ground tremble.

Si Jiu Cheng, No. 95 Siheyuan.

After the earthquake, the courtyard was in total chaos.

People from every household ran out of their rooms, some wrapped in bedsheets, some barefoot, standing in the center of the courtyard, still shaken, discussing things all at once.

Tiles were still sliding off the roofs from time to time, hitting the ground with a crisp shattering sound, drawing screams from the crowd.

Only the East Cross Courtyard was quiet.

The He Family had not run at all—because they were already living in an earthquake-proof shed.

A month ago, He Yuzhu had set up a huge shed in the open space of the East Cross Courtyard, using an iron frame, welded firmly, and covered on the outside with canvas used for tents.

Inside the shed, beds were laid out, electric lights were strung up, and there were even electric fans.

Yi Zhonghai knocked hard on the courtyard gate.

He Daqing walked out of the tent and saw Yi Zhonghai with dust still on his hair, looking completely shaken.

"Daqing... my roof collapsed, and the corner of the wall cracked. Can I stay at your place for two nights?"

He Daqing's tone was very flat: "No problem. Even if the whole courtyard crowded into my place, it would still fit."

Yi Zhonghai looked at the sturdy iron frames, then at the supplies piled in the corner, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Daqing, are you a deity? How could you know about this in advance?"

He Daqing blew out a smoke ring and said mysteriously: "Zhuzi told us to build it; he just went off to carry out a mission."

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, wanting to ask something else, but a burst of hurried footsteps came from the courtyard entrance.

Liu Haizhong ran in in a flurry, wearing only a tank top and a pair of briefs, having lost one of his slippers; he looked as disheveled as could be.

"Daqing! Daqing!" he shouted, panting, "My house, the tiles all fell off, and the glass shattered. Can I hide at your place first? Otherwise, I won't be able to go to work tomorrow!"

He Daqing glanced at him and sneered: "Go to work tomorrow? After a major earthquake, there are usually aftershocks, and the aftershocks might be even bigger. Tomorrow is definitely a day off."

Liu Haizhong smiled and said: "Then I also want to come stay here for a few days, until I get my own shed built."

Yan Bugui's house had the most severe cracks. The entire gable wall had split open with a large gap, from the roof all the way to the foundation, wide enough to fit a fist. This house definitely couldn't be lived in without repairs.

Yan Bugui looked up at the crack, his lips trembling for a long time, and he sighed: "Sigh, this house can't be lived in... where are we going to live?"

Yang Ruihua stood to the side holding her grandson, her face deathly pale, unable to say a word.

Yan Jiecheng was so anxious he kept rubbing his hands: "Let's hurry and build a shed."

"Build a shed?" Yan Bugui gave a bitter smile, "That requires materials. Our family has nothing, what are we going to build it with?"

"Then go buy some," Yan Jiecheng said, about to walk out.

Yan Bugui grabbed him: "At a time like this, everyone in the city living in single-story houses is going to build sheds. Where are you going to buy materials?"

Yang Ruihua hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "Lao Yan... why don't you go talk to the He Family? The He Family built a big shed a month ago, and they even have ceiling fans inside, plus mosquito nets; it's nice and cool."

Yan Bugui's expression stiffened, and he didn't speak for a long time.

He and He Daqing had been at odds for years; if he went to their door to beg for help now, where would he put his old face?

"Our family has always been at odds with theirs... how could I have the face to go ask?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Ruihua's temper flared up instantly, "It's come to this, and you still can't put down that pride of yours? If you won't go, I will!"

Yang Ruihua shoved the child into his arms and turned to walk out.

She trotted all the way to the East Cross Courtyard, but her pace slowed down once she reached the entrance.

She hesitated for a long while with a dejected look before walking into the courtyard, where she saw Shen Guizhi standing there and grabbed her hand.

"Guizhi... the walls of our house have cracked, and it looks like it's about to collapse... could you let our family stay here for a while? We'll leave as soon as we put up an earthquake shelter, we won't be a bother..."

Seeing her like this, Shen Guizhi's heart softened, and she nodded immediately: "Since you've asked, how could I not let you come?"

Yang Ruihua's nose stung, tears streamed down instantly, and she trembled while clutching Shen Guizhi's hand, her lips moving for a long time without being able to say a single word.

Shen Guizhi patted the back of her hand and said, "We're neighbors, is all this really necessary?"

Yang Ruihua nodded vigorously, wiped away her tears, and turned to run back to call people to move.

Disaster relief entered its second day.

This time, because of the early warning, plus the government having set up a large number of earthquake shelters and distributed tents early on, most people had a place to stay. Not many people were directly crushed in the ruins—

Everything has its pros and cons.

There were always some people who wouldn't listen to advice, stubbornly refusing to come out of the buildings, and they ended up buried inside.

Fortunately, the military arrived in time, and the Rescue Team raced against time to dig, pulling people out one by one.

Medical teams and supplies were also sufficient, so those rescued could receive treatment quickly, keeping casualties to a minimum.

The most relieving thing was the situation with the mine workers.

No one had gone down into the mines these past two days, avoiding the tragedy of being trapped underground.

He Yuzhu drove that giant bulldozer, leading the First Team to work around the clock in the ruins for two days, managing to clear several paths.

Just as he wanted to find a place to catch his breath, Ershuan came running over in a hurry from the distance.

"Zhuzi! There's a floor slab ahead pinning down a whole family!" Ershuan said, panting for breath, "The angle is too tricky, the bulldozer can't push it at all, you'd better go take a look!"