Restarting life in Siheyuan

The steel rolling mill was also holding a meeting. Lao Yang insisted again and again on providing the speedboats to the city for disaster relief. Secretary Liu objected again and again. The reason was simple: these speedboats were neither the assets of the steel rolling mill nor the assets of the country. Now that the foreign exchange had been collected, the steel rolling mill had no right to deal with them privately except for the right to ship the goods as required.

"Old Yang, I understand your painstaking efforts. You mean well, but have you ever thought about this? We have already collected and handed over the foreign exchange for these assault boats. If you give them all away, where will we get the foreign exchange to compensate them? Foreign exchange, this is foreign exchange!"

The atmosphere in the conference room became solemn. When it came to foreign exchange, the leaders who had just supported Lao Yang stopped talking. Everyone knew the importance of foreign exchange.

"Secretary, the country is in trouble and we must help it. We can continue to earn foreign exchange. Providing these assault boats to the city may save countless lives and national property. After using them, we can continue to work overtime to make up for it. These are all things to come later. The key now is to provide disaster relief first!"

Lao Yang's last few righteous words completely infuriated Secretary Liu. Secretary Liu was very dissatisfied with Lao Yang's stubbornness today. This kind of person probably wants to sacrifice the interests of the country and the collective, take advantage of this flood, and use these speedboats to gain political capital. This situation must not be allowed. His face became serious, and he slammed the table to criticize Lao Yang for the first time.

"Old Yang, you are exaggerating. Today's city newspaper called on everyone to fight the disaster together. Many farmlands and farms were affected by the disaster. There was no sentence that mentioned that people's lives were threatened. This is to respond to the call from above, not production. You must obey the leadership of the organization."

This was the first time in history that the top two leaders had such direct disagreements at a steel rolling mill. Old Yang couldn't understand why Secretary Liu would oppose such a thing, so he continued to speak without giving up.

"Secretary, I know you are worried. I promise to replenish these assault boats in the shortest possible time. I believe our people will not cause the situation you are worried about."

"Old Yang, don't mention this anymore. Even if you can guarantee the matching of engines, can you also guarantee that the chemical plant will be replenished on time? Don't mention this anymore. Now I will announce that according to the requirements of our superiors, our factory will set up a disaster relief leadership group for this disaster relief. I will be the leader and Old Yang will be the deputy leader..."

According to the division of labor, Lao Yang had to stay at the steel rolling mill and preside over the disaster relief and production organization in the factory. Production must not be affected by the flood, especially the several projects that earn foreign exchange.

"Old Yang, you have a heavy burden. This time, I have to report to the higher-ups as required, and coordinate and wait for new instructions at any time. The family is relying on you."

Secretary Liu looked at Director Yang earnestly and said, "This time one of us is outside and the other is inside. We must work together to overcome the difficulties. Your burden is heavier than mine."

"Secretary, rest assured. As long as we are in the factory, we will overcome any difficulties and will not stop production."

Secretary Liu looked at Li Huaide, who had just returned a few days ago, and said, "Old Li, you came back at the right time. You are always there when you are needed. This is great. You are indeed a cadre trained by the organization. This time, the dangerous houses in the family quarters and the safety of the families are handed over to you. You must ensure that our employees have no worries. The more difficult it is, the more it tests our party spirit. Do you have the confidence?"

"Secretary, don't worry. I will stay in the family quarters even if I have to work day and night to make sure no one in a household is injured or killed!"

Li Huaide was very excited. This was an excellent opportunity to show his abilities. He was lucky to have the chance. He must be on the front line this time to let the families and workers feel the care of the organization.

"Okay, very good, I believe you can do it."

After making all the arrangements, the secretary left in a jeep in the rain. The steel rolling mill began a vigorous campaign to fight the disaster and protect production.

On the 8th, the rainfall increased again. After an all-nighter, the capital city was completely turned into a vast ocean, and most areas of the city were flooded.

All the moats were crowded with people, urgently reinforcing and raising them to ensure that water from outside the city would not flow in. The industrial area outside Dongzhimen was a vast ocean, with countless sandbags separating the inside and outside of the factory, and countless people using various tools to drain water outside the factory.

However, the accumulated water in the factory exceeded 30 centimeters for the first time. Although the factory was actively draining water into the factory, some production was forced to stop. Director Yang issued a strict order that production must be stopped if there is a risk of electric leakage.

The latest situation is being reported in the city government's conference room.

"Yesterday's heavy rain once again formed a "dragon paddle", and a large number of people in the FS area were trapped and needed to be rescued. There have been casualties. According to the reported situation, dozens of natural villages near Shidu disappeared, and nearby villages were also severely affected. It is estimated that tens of thousands of people are trapped in the mountains and high places, and are in danger at any time..."

"In addition, according to the data just reported, there are a total of 11016 collapsed houses in the urban and suburban areas, 20913 dangerous houses, 305222 public housing units leaking, and 775 courtyards flooded."

"The three wool spinning mills in Qinghe and the Qinghe vermicelli factory were the worst hit by the water. The preliminary estimate of the city's industrial losses is more than 10 million yuan."

The meeting room was very depressing. The losses were too great. Although many contingency plans had been made, the rainstorm was heavier and lasted longer than expected. As of today, the continuous rainstorm has continued for five days. This is unprecedented in the history of the capital.

The report does not include data from remote counties and districts. As we all know, the situation is more serious than in the city and suburbs. The data cannot be reported because most areas have lost contact, roads are interrupted, and even phone calls cannot be made. Now in some low-lying areas in the suburbs, the accumulated water has submerged the electric poles. It is incredible.

In the director's office of the steel rolling mill, Director Yang, who had just been hurriedly called back, was answering the phone breathlessly.

"Old Yang, we've received a notification from above that there is a serious disaster in the suburbs and people are trapped. The superiors asked us to provide assault boats. Please arrange them and someone will come to coordinate in a while."

Secretary Liu paused on the phone, and seemed a little hesitant. "We have reported to our superiors that we now have 3800 assault boats in the warehouse, and they may requisition all of them."

"Secretary, our inventory should be 4,000 sets. This is correct. I have checked the delivery records."

Secretary Liu laughed dryly on the phone, "Don't worry about it. Just provide them with 3800 sets. Don't worry about it."

A line of large trucks stopped at the gate of the steel rolling mill. The factory area had been blocked with sandbags and vehicles could not pass through. Under the command of Lao Yang, the two sides used a relay method to complete the transfer and loading of 3800 assault boats. According to the driver, some of them would be quickly sent to Jinhai and Baoding, where there were more trapped people.

An uninflated speedboat does not take up much space at all, and the engine is stored separately. Once you arrive at the destination, you just need to assemble and inflate it simply. After several on-site demonstrations at the steel rolling mill, the team couldn't wait to set off.

Looking at the disappearing convoy, Lao Yang was getting angry at Director Lu. "Tell me, where are the remaining 200 engines?"

Director Lu has been dealing with Lao Yang for several years, but this is the first time he has been scolded. He feels a little aggrieved and takes out a list from the warehouse.

"Leader, look, this is the transfer order. The warehouse will release it only after the secretary signs and agrees."

(Allocation: a method of transferring materials between state-owned enterprises.)
Old Yang carefully read the transfer order and found it was true. He was angry but his face remained calm. His tone became calm. "Lao Lu, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you. I apologize. Let's put these rafts away first. I'll go ask Lao Xia if they have any engines ready to be built and see if these speedboats can be used."

In the office, Lao Yang picked up the phone again in frustration. Lao Xia didn't have any engines either, and everything was produced according to plan, so how could he be rich? This matter must not be concealed, but now was the critical moment of disaster relief, and he couldn't make trouble. He thought of Lao Chen first, and wanted to hear his old partner's opinion.

"Old Chen, this is the situation. I wanted to take the initiative to provide speedboats to the higher-ups, but he firmly disagreed. This was his reason at the time. Now I know that he secretly transferred 200 engines away. What do you think of this?"

"Old Yang, I know about this. Don't make it public. Wait until the disaster relief is over and let the higher-ups handle it. You handled it very well this time. That's progress. Haha, you're doing pretty well without anyone to protect you. It seems like I was too controlling of you in the past and it hurt you."

The two chatted on the phone for a while, and Deputy Minister Chen hung up the phone. He knew much more about the conflict between Lao Yang and Secretary Liu than Lao Yang did. There was nothing he could do about it. He came from a steel rolling mill and was always keeping an eye on his old partner.

"It seems that some things still need to be reported to the leadership. Lao Liu has clearly exceeded his authority this time."

Allocation belongs to the production aspect. Although as the head of the steel rolling mill, Secretary Liu did not have the right to sign the allocation privately, this was a problem of organizational discipline. There was also deliberate concealment afterwards, all of which indicated that there were other problems.

In the steel rolling mill, Lao Yang was also extremely worried after making the call. The comrades from the security department just reported that the water level outside the factory continued to rise, and a wall in the factory area collapsed. The flood outside could not be stopped and leaked into the factory area, and they are now blocking the gap.

"How big is the gap? Will other parts collapse? Is anyone injured? Aren't the walls reinforced with straw bags?"

"Director, it was reinforced, but the wall has become soft after being soaked for a few days. We have already checked other walls and found several places that could collapse at any time. Director Ma has arranged for someone to contact the security department to check the factory. I hope everything is fine."

When Lao Yang rushed to the gap, his eyes turned red with anger. The collapsed water had spread nearly 20 meters and was difficult to block. He watched the water level in the factory area rise visibly.

"Quickly shut down the low-lying factories and evacuate all workers. Quickly!"

Just as he finished speaking, a wall not far away collapsed again, and Lao Yang gave the order again.

"All factories will be shut down and production will be stopped. We will reinforce the engine production workshop. We must ensure the engine production continues!"

It was impossible to ensure that the production would not be delayed as he had vowed. Now he had to keep the engine workshop, which was the key to earning foreign exchange. Lao Yang felt sad. It had been a week, and he still couldn't hold on.

After all, there is strength in numbers. The water level in the factory area quickly rose to 40 centimeters. However, with the efforts of all the workers in the factory, all the doors and windows of the engine workshop were partitioned off, and the area below one meter should be safe. However, the water level continued to rise.

"Director, is the factory still congested?"

"Stop blocking it. Save the engine workshop. Where is Deputy Secretary Gu? Ask her to take people to support the vehicle factory. It's not a good idea for so many of us to be idle."

Even if the workers are given a holiday now, the water level on the streets in the industrial zone is already close to half a meter. They cannot go home at all and can only wade through the water to the vehicle factory for support.

The situation at the vehicle factory is better. After all, it is a newly built factory, and the walls and factory buildings have withstood the test of the flood.

"Where's Director Zhang? Find him and tell us if the canteen's warehouse has been flooded. How long can the food and vegetables last? Ask him to report as soon as possible!"

The rainstorm on the 8th completely disrupted the capital city. After one day and one night, Zhu Xuefeng's compound was no longer safe. Except for the main house which was located on the highest ground, all the rooms were flooded. All the things that were afraid of water were moved to the tables, chairs, benches and beds.

Zhu Xuefeng and the two women have returned to No. 95. It is even more chaotic here. Except for Sha Zhu's house, every household has been soaked in water. The tables and beds are piled with objects.

The two chickens that the younger sister had been thinking about were moved indoors in time. Xiao Hei stared at them closely. If he hadn't been worried that the younger sister would be sad, he would have really wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of them.

The water level in the house was also about ten centimeters, which was far beyond Zhu Xuefeng's expectations. Compared with this, the floods in the capital city in later generations seemed not even as good as this one. The situation outside the city was even worse, with everything being a swamp.

The three of them had their feet soaked in water while sitting on stools eating dry food. It was a bit of a luxury to start a fire. They came back too late and the wood they had chopped had all been soaked.

Looking at the heavy rain outside, Lin Na was worried, "When will it end? The losses this time are too great, especially the heavy rain last night."

Unlike Lin Na who was worried, the technical staff of the Municipal Planning Bureau were almost crying.

Just now they have done an emergency calculation. They imagined what would happen if the center of the rainstorm moved 20 kilometers west and landed in the Nanhan River or Yongding River. The result of the calculation shocked people. The water of the Nanhan River would rush into the capital at a speed of 146 cubic meters per second, the water depth of the zoo would exceed 1 meter, and the General Machinery Factory, the Guest House (later the State Guest House), and the Sanli River area would all be flooded.

After the flood enters the city, it is likely to destroy the Helinge Gate and the flood discharge gate of the South City Moat at the front three gates. The flood will flow southward from the Zhengyangmen Bridge along Qianmen Outer Street, further exacerbating the disaster in the area around the overpass and the goldfish pond. The water in the city will accumulate more and traffic in the four directions of east, south, west and north will be completely interrupted. Several river channels at Zuoanmen, Youanmen and Dongzhimen may burst.

In order to prepare for possible problems, trucks rushed to Nanhan River, carrying truckloads of straw bags filled with mud. People raised the embankment of Nanhan River again and again.

"We have to make up our minds!" Faced with such a serious situation, the leader stood up and said, "Report this to our superiors. We suggest digging a hole to divert the floodwaters."

Soon the superiors gave instructions, "If it rains for another two hours, dig up the southeast moat to divert the floodwaters!"

The flood will flow along Jiasongfen (Houjinsong) and submerge eight villages in four townships in the southern suburbs.

"Let the leaders of these four townships and eight villages go back and hold a meeting immediately, and organize the people to prepare for evacuation. The superiors have issued a death order that no one is allowed to die. This is a death order, and no one can die!" (End of this chapter)