The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 442 Haicheng Disaster Relief (Overlap)
Liu Zhiye felt something different and experienced a lot during this year, making it the most unforgettable year in his life.

One of the changes is that people's family life is obviously getting better and better, which is mainly reflected during the Spring Festival.

At the end of December, Xu Hongyan followed her parents back to her grandparents' home in the countryside.

First, I helped grandpa clean the room thoroughly. I also pasted a few carefully selected New Year pictures of "The Opening Cannons Firing" on the old room, making the whole room look brand new.

Not only that, her grandparents also prepared three or four pots of noodles and bean paste.

Xu Hongyan got up early that day. She lit the fire while her mother and grandmother made and steamed bean buns and rice cakes.

It took almost a whole day to steam more than a dozen pots of tofu and rice cakes. After freezing, the rice cakes were cut into slices and stored in two large jars with the tofu to be eaten during the Spring Festival.

During the Chinese New Year, grandpa killed a pig and a few chickens for the first time. They were all raised by grandma with great effort over the past year. In fact, he asked someone to help kill the chickens and pigs. Xu Hongyan was timid and did not watch the bloody scene of killing the chickens and pigs, so she hid outside.

In addition to selling half of the pork, grandpa also gave some to her family when he returned home. He kept some meat to make bacon and fried the raw lard into cooked lard for their daily consumption.

During the Chinese New Year, we stewed a big pot of pig's head, pork and chicken, and also made some pork meatballs, blood sausage, etc. It was a rare and sumptuous Spring Festival.

Xu Hongyan, who is over 30 years old, is still single. Although she has an outstanding appearance, her emotional journey is bumpy, as if fate always likes to play some cruel jokes on her.

Since graduating from high school, she embarked on the path paved by her best friend Liu Zhiruo's brother and entered the supply and marketing cooperative system.

As time passed, more than ten years passed, and she had grown from a young girl into a capable female cadre. She was well-known in the supply and marketing cooperative, but the loneliness and desire for love in her heart were like aged wine, which became stronger with time.

Logically speaking, Xu Hongyan, a hardworking, beautiful and kind-hearted woman, should not have such a bumpy emotional journey.

However, things are unpredictable, and her first love was introduced by a leader in her unit.

The man's family is from the south, his family conditions are good, and he himself is a small cadre in a certain unit.

The two fell in love at first sight, and were about to get married.

However, the good times did not last long, as fate always seemed to play tricks on lovers.

Just as the two of them were happily preparing for their wedding, her boyfriend suddenly died of illness...

This beautiful marriage, which was originally favored by everyone, eventually came to nothing.

This severe emotional blow caused Xu Hongyan to remain silent for two or three years before she gradually emerged from the haze.

However, fate did not seem to let her off easily.

Not long after, her second love affair quietly came, but the kind-hearted Xu Hongyan never expected that this was an elaborate scam.

That bastard had evil intentions and only had eyes for Xu Hongyan's beauty and money. He was an out-and-out emotional cheater.

Fortunately, the truth was revealed in time and Xu Hongyan was able to escape death. Otherwise, she might have become the next victim trapped in the quagmire.

This experience undoubtedly left an indelible scar in her heart.

the third time……

The elderly Xu Hongyan has become a source of worry for everyone in her family. In this day and age, which family has a girl in her thirties who is still unmarried?
Is this easy to say or not?
When Liu Zhiruo learned about her friend's situation, she became extremely anxious. This was her good friend who she had grown up with, so she was also trying to arrange a lifelong event for Xu Hongyan.

Coincidentally, during the first month of the lunar year, Liu Zhiruo and Li Shengli and his wife set out on the journey back to her mother's home.

In the first month of the lunar year, the Liu family would definitely give a warm reception to the brother-in-law, so the elder brother-in-law, younger brother-in-law, uncles, brothers and other relatives and friends came to the gathering, and the scene was very lively.

At the table, everyone sat around, chatting and laughing, and the topic was always about family matters.

Some people talked about the growth of crops this year, and some shared their work experiences. The atmosphere was very lively.

However, amidst the laughter and joy, Liu Zhiruo's cousin Liu Shuming seemed a little out of place. He was taciturn, with a barely perceptible melancholy between his brows, which formed a sharp contrast with the festive atmosphere around him.

It turned out that my 36-year-old cousin Liu Shuming finally parted ways with his wife after experiencing years of marital disharmony.

Although Liu Shuming's marriage is unhappy, he is in good conditions. Now he is the director of the "Jaguar" Bicycle Factory in Liujiazhuang. He has a wealthy family and a comfortable life.

When Liu Zhiruo saw his divorced cousin, he had an idea. Why not introduce this successful cousin to Xu Hongyan?

Liu Zhiruo had a plan in mind, so he called his cousin Liu Shuming to the door.

"Second brother, since you have parted ways with your sister-in-law, have you ever thought about finding another good match?"

Liu Shuming smiled bitterly and shook his head: "My heart is exhausted and I don't want to get involved in love affairs anymore. I just want to raise your niece to adulthood and I will be satisfied."

Hearing this, Liu Zhiruo could not help but scold him: "Second brother, you are in your prime, only in your thirties, how can you be so depressed? This unhappy marriage is just a small episode in your life, how can it easily break you down?"

Liu Shuming was silent for a moment, then said stubbornly: "I didn't..."

Liu Zhiruo rolled his eyes at him and said, "A cooked duck is still stubborn. Who can't see that? You should cheer up. How can you lead the two or three thousand employees in the factory if you are listless all day long?"

"They are all counting on your wise leadership!"

Hearing this, Liu Shuming rubbed his cheeks gently, with a hint of helplessness and determination in his eyes: "You're right, sister! I really should cheer up. It's just that at my age, it's not so easy to find a suitable partner again..." His words revealed a bit of self-mockery and emotion, but also his determination to start again.

Hearing this, Liu Zhiruo smiled and said bluntly: "It is not easy for you to find a girl in her twenties at your age. Even if there is one, she is not a good match for you. I am afraid it is not what you want."

"However, I have a good friend who is a little older. She is also single and a virgin. She has a good job. Do you want to meet her?"

Liu Shuming smiled when he heard this: "Okay, tell me, how does she look like? I remember that you are already in your early thirties, and she is still unmarried at this age. Could it be..."

Liu Zhiruo glanced at him with disdain and interrupted, "You men are really the same. Here, the photos are here, take a good look at them yourself!"

Liu Shuming smiled and took the photo. His eyes were instantly attracted: "Wow! This face and this figure are amazing! Sister, sister, this is the one..."

Liu Zhiruo smiled and said, "Are you interested?"

"Hmm..." Liu Shuming nodded frantically, thinking that only a fool would not like this, damn, her figure...

Liu Zhiruo turned around and walked away, "It's not enough that you like her, but do I know that she likes you?"

Liu Shuming was completely resurrected, and chased after her and said, "Hey, sister, you have to help your brother. Your happiness in the future depends on you..."

"Okay!" Liu Zhiruo said with a smile.

Back in the house, Liu Shuming's mood was as bright as the warm spring sun. He raised his glass without hesitation and said cheerfully: "Come on, brothers, let's drink this glass together and celebrate!" After that, he raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, showing his heroism.

Seeing this, Liu Zhiye and others couldn't help but feel curious. Looking at Liu Shuming's obviously extremely happy expression, they secretly speculated.

"Shuming, what great news has happened to you? Why do you look so happy, as if you've eaten honey?" Liu Zhiye joked with a smile, trying to find out something from Liu Shuming.

The others were also curious and cast inquiring glances, wanting to know what made Liu Shuming so happy.

Liu Shuming kept it a secret, "Haha, it's a good thing anyway!"

He deliberately diverted everyone's attention and changed the subject lightly: "Brother, regarding those earthquake relief exercises you asked us to plan, do we still need to continue preparing after the New Year?"

"Considering the heavy production tasks of our factory, coupled with frequent safety inspections and earthquake drills, it does put some pressure on our production progress." He said with a bit of helplessness. As soon as he said this, everyone echoed and the atmosphere became heated.

"Indeed, Zhiye, the grassroots employees also have a lot of opinions. They think that it is enough to carry out such activities occasionally, and there is no need to do it so frequently..." Their voices came one after another, and it was obvious that they had a common view on this matter.

Since the arrival of winter last year, in view of the frequent natural disasters such as earthquakes in the northern region, Liu Zhiye decisively proposed to significantly increase the intensity of the garrison's disaster relief emergency training.

At the same time, Liu Zhiye also proposed that the Liujiazhuang area actively advocate and promote the area to strengthen disaster relief and evacuation drills to ensure that people can evacuate quickly and orderly in an emergency and minimize losses.

As for other places, Liu Zhiye can do nothing about it for the time being.

Liu Zhiye's statement was not aimless, and it received understanding and support from many people.

It was precisely because he took the initiative to strengthen the troops' training in earthquake relief that he was praised by his superiors, and accordingly, departments at all levels paid more attention to earthquake relief.

Because ten years ago, there were consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above in Taixing area of ​​Beihe Province, the largest of which was a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in the southeast of Jin County.

The earthquake caused severe damage in the local area and was felt over a wide area, affecting many surrounding provinces and cities.

There was also a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that occurred in Haiying County, Liaodong Province at the beginning of last year, which was the largest earthquake in the region's history.

The focal depth is 16-21 kilometers, and the epicenter area is 760 square kilometers.

The earthquake caused the collapse of houses and damage of about 500 million square meters.

The earthquake occurred in the economically developed and densely populated southeastern Liaoning Peninsula. However, due to the successful short-term forecast before the earthquake, the local government took timely and effective earthquake prevention measures, which greatly reduced the earthquake disaster. Except for houses and other engineering structures that suffered varying degrees of damage and losses, most people evacuated their homes during the earthquake, greatly reducing casualties.

This earthquake also set a precedent for the successful prediction of short-term earthquakes by humans.

After the disaster, the Xia army and local medical relief teams promptly launched relief work, and transportation and industrial and agricultural production were basically restored after one month.

When the earthquake in his memory really happened, Liu Zhiye, who had been prepared, acted quickly and applied to his superiors to dispatch several factory regiments from the military region. Regardless of their fatigue, they traveled day and night and rushed to the disaster area to devote themselves to this arduous disaster relief and rescue work.

As the rescue operation progressed, the various troops in the garrison area were honed in disaster relief, not only showing extraordinary courage and determination, but also accumulating rich practical experience in many aspects such as earthquake rescue, resettlement of disaster victims and post-disaster reconstruction, laying a solid foundation for future emergency response.

Afterwards, Liu Zhiye, based on his experience in the earthquake relief operation, carefully compiled a report entitled "Medical Support for Military Earthquake Relief: Earthquake Rescue Practice and Drills" and submitted it to his superiors.

With its detailed cases and profound insights, this report quickly attracted the attention and concern of superiors.

Important instructions were then issued, requiring troops at all levels to study the contents of the report in depth, so that rescue operations can be carried out more efficiently and orderly in future emergency responses.

Since then, departments at all levels have strengthened their earthquake relief capabilities, and have further inspired officers and soldiers to improve their professional qualities and strengthen their emergency response capabilities.

…………

At the beginning of last year, the engineering corps where Yi Yuanchao was stationed was at the foot of Yanshan Mountain.

The great earthquake in Hai County on February 2 of that year shocked the people of the whole country, as well as their team stationed at the foot of Mount Yanshan.

It was still a bitterly cold winter in Hai County at that time, and people should have gone home early to keep warm. But at seven o'clock in the evening, when all the houses should have been lit up, the entire Hai County was like an empty city, without any trace of fireworks.

It turned out that the local residents had all run to the open space and hid in the shacks that had been built long ago. Almost everyone came.

The earthquake occurred, Hai County began to shake, the ground rumbled, the ground shimmered, long white light bands could be seen nearby, and red, yellow, blue, white and purple flashes could be seen in the distance...

At 20:30 that evening, an urgent assembly call was sounded and all the cadres and soldiers quickly gathered on the large playground. The battalion commander hurried over and told them that they had received an order and the troops were to march immediately towards Yingkou to carry out earthquake relief missions.

Everyone is enthusiastic about disaster relief. As the saying goes, "Train soldiers for a thousand days and use them for a moment," when the time comes that the people need them, they are eager to try and are ready to go.

As a result, before setting off, the battalion commander came to the front of the team and specifically asked Yi Yuanchao to stay behind in the base.

Yi Yuanchao was very confused at the time and insisted on going with the team to participate in disaster relief.

At this time, the battalion commander told him that this was the instruction from the regiment commander.

Because the specific situation in the disaster area is still unclear, some people need to stay at home and then send reinforcements depending on the situation.

After hearing this, Yi Yuanchao had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​going to the disaster relief and watched the large army set off despite the aftershocks.

Originally he thought he could not contribute to the disaster area, but a day later, with the arrival of Assistant Li from the regiment's logistics department, Yi Yuanchao had an unforgettable memory in his life.

On the evening of the next day, when Yi Yuanchao and his men were still training on the playground, Assistant Li ran towards us in a hurry. Before he had time to catch his breath, he asked anxiously, "Who is Captain Yi?"

Yi Yuanchao quickly responded: "It's me!"

Then, Assistant Li said: "I just came back from Yingkou. Part of the city has been destroyed by the earthquake. The troops have a heavy rescue mission and are seriously short of supplies. The cadres and soldiers are suffering and have no food. The regiment commander asked me to bring back two Jiefang trucks, one for civil engineering tools and one for food.

What is urgently needed at the front is civil engineering tools. I must rush back to Yingkou tonight, so you will be responsible for delivering this truckload of food, but it must be delivered to the troops tomorrow, the sooner the better. "

Due to the urgency of the situation, Yi Yuanchao did not delay any longer and led his team to Yingkou overnight. Finally, he delivered the full truck of food to the regiment headquarters before the specified time.

The regiment commander was very satisfied to see that they were able to deliver a truckload of food in a short time. However, he did not leave the food in the regiment headquarters. Instead, he asked Yi Yuanchao to deliver it to the battalion headquarters.

Yi Yuanchao had no choice but to do as he was told. When he arrived at the camps, the battalion commanders asked him to be assigned to each company and distribute the food to the soldiers.

But when Yi Yuanchao distributed the food to the soldiers, many of them were reluctant to eat it, and instead gave the food to the injured villagers and hungry children.

The officers and soldiers were united, and the military and civilians were of one mind. These scenes deeply moved Yi Yuanchao.

However, because of this food delivery mission, Yi Yuanchao did not return to the base. Instead, he and his comrades joined the front line of earthquake relief work as he wished. He witnessed the horror of the disaster, which tempered his will and made him understand the responsibilities of a soldier.

The next day, they came to a coal mine near the city. The residential area here had long been reduced to ruins. Rows of bungalows had all collapsed, and the bodies of some victims were exposed on the rubble.

As soon as the car stopped, the people who heard the news surrounded them and scrambled to pull the soldiers to help them rescue people.

Yi Yuanchao took a look and believed that disaster relief should be orderly and not get out of control. If the cadres and soldiers could act independently, they would definitely get twice the result with half the effort.

So he immediately gave the order to carry out disaster relief work in an organized manner in squads and platoons.

Since their main task was to transport the wounded, they did not carry the necessary disaster relief tools. The soldiers could only fight with the only few shovels and pickaxes on the vehicle.

The hard concrete roof could not be moved or broken open. Some soldiers' fingers were bleeding. When they tried their best to pull people out of the rubble, more than a dozen people had already...
Yi Yuanchao and his companions had no choice but to wrap them up in discarded sheets and quilts, carry them to an open space and line them up to wait...

Before they knew it, noon had passed and the soldiers were tired, thirsty and hungry.

As soon as the kitchen staff finished steaming the rice, the people nearby gathered around. When the soldiers saw the hungry people, they took the initiative to give their bowls to them.

Yi Yuanchao saw an old man in his 70s squatting beside a camping pot, scraping the slag from the bottom of the pot with a spoon, and muttering as he ate: "One more bite means one more day of life."

He felt bad, so he took some food from his own bowl and gave it to the old man.

The Second Division's Engineering Corps entered Hai County in the early morning of February 2 last year and did not withdraw until mid-March. During nearly forty unforgettable days and nights, they shared life and death, hardships and tribulations with the people of Hai County and established a deep friendship between the army and the people.

In this great earthquake relief work, the Engineering Corps, like other brother units, also produced many heroic role models and touching deeds, setting an example for learning in the earthquake relief work.

…………

(End of this chapter)