Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 187 Helping in times of need
Since the people in the market don't understand, asking Zhang or Li here is pointless, so Yan Hui simply went directly to the meteorological bureau.

The driver didn't know where the meteorological bureau was, and he had to ask several drivers along the way to find out its location. After arriving at the meteorological bureau, Yan Hui went to the gatekeeper with an umbrella and explained his purpose.

"It's been forecasted on the radio and TV, what are you doing here?" The security guard at the gate shooed Yan Hui away. "Look at the sky! I'm telling you, it's going to rain for the next three days!"

"I'd like to know the water level of the Yangtze River in the next few days," Yan Hui pointed in the direction of the Yangtze River, "Will the floods affect railway transportation?"

"What are you thinking? Have you never been to the Yangtze River Bridge? Even if the rain is heavy, how can it affect the trains? If the trains can't run, our fifth floor will be flooded!" The security guard was a long-time resident of Jianye. "Don't worry, it won't affect the trains!"

"Thank you," Yan Hui said, handing over a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.

"Oh, a Zhonghua cigarette?" The old man took the cigarette, looked at it, and then tucked it behind his ear.

"My bad, I forgot to light it," Yan Hui said, handing over two more cigarettes and taking out a lighter.

Seeing that Yan Hui was so cooperative, the old man took the cigarette, smoked it, and let Yan Hui into the guard room, where they started chatting.

The security guard was born in 1943 and is 55 years old this year. He is a survivor of the great flood of 1954 and told Yan Hui some stories about the great flood of 54.

That was the first major natural disaster in China after the founding of the People's Republic. At that time, the Zhonghua Gate in Jianye was flooded, several people died, and railway and highway transportation were all disrupted. According to the water level at the end of June this year, it is still far from the level in 1954.

"Tens of thousands of people died across the country that year, and it seems that a few died in Jianye. I forgot how many, but it was less than 10 people. After that, I even participated in the repair of the river embankment and the bridge in Jianye!" The security guard recalled those years.

"I feel relieved now that you say so," Yan Hui nodded.

"Historically, the most severe floods in the Yangtze River are always in the Jingjiang section. We are in the lower reaches, where the river is wide and there are no sharp bends, so don't worry."

After chatting for more than ten minutes, Yan Hui had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

According to the old man, as long as the flood does not reach the level of 1954, railway transportation will not be a problem.

Despite the continuous torrential rain, Yan Hui was still somewhat worried. He currently had about 400,000 yuan worth of orders to be placed and 200,000 yuan in spare funds. He directly called Wang Hongjun and asked for five truckloads of larch logs.

At this point, very few people dared to place orders. Yan Hui believed the old man's words and spent all his money on this.

When Wang Hongjun heard that Yan Hui wanted 300 cubic meters of logs, he was overjoyed: "You do your job well in Jianye, and I'll make sure everything is handled perfectly for you."

"Brother Jun, there's flooding here. You need to hurry. I told you today that if this rain keeps falling like this, nobody knows what it will be like in half a month." Yan Hui urged, "I'll wire you the money this afternoon."

"I'll arrange for the bus to depart right now. Don't worry, we'll definitely be the fastest!" Wang Hongjun said and then hung up the phone.

After making these contacts, Yan Hui immediately returned to the company and asked Lao San to wire the money.

"Fifth Brother, we still have two or three hundred thousand worth of goods on the road at risk. Why are you still ordering at this time? I heard that the railway is going to be closed in another half month," the third brother said with some concern. "Don't worry about this, just hurry up and send the money," Yan Hui said, not wanting to explain further.

"Alright then," the third brother said without adding anything more. At the company, Yan Hui was still the one who had the final say.

Everyone else was preparing to take a break, and some bosses were even planning to leave Jianye, but Yan Hui wasn't worried about it at all. Every day he would take a taxi to the riverbank to check on things, and then come back to contact customers and ship goods.

A few days later, three railcars of goods arrived one after another, and Yan Hui then arranged for the shipment of timber from Northeast China, as if nothing had happened.

When Yan Hui first visited Jianye, he saw the magnificent Yangtze River Bridge. Now, with the water level high, going down to the bridge again, it is still incredibly spectacular. This road-rail bridge maintains a height difference of more than 20 meters even in the floodwaters, allowing large ships to navigate.

As the security guard said, if this bridge were flooded, the entire city of Jianye would be lost, or the lower reaches of the Yangtze River would become like a sea, which is impossible.

Yan Hui consulted with professionals and checked a lot of hydrological data from 1954. He also watched the news every day. He judged that the future floods would not affect railway transportation.

On July 6, the water level in Jianye reached a high of 9.9 meters, approaching the 9.94-meter high recorded in 1954. Many people in the market began to worry, and the price of timber began to rise rapidly.

Yan Hui's five truckloads of logs, originally priced at 650 yuan per cubic meter, are now being bought by someone for 800 yuan per cubic meter.

On July 9th, 300 cubic meters of logs arrived at the market and were immediately snapped up. Meanwhile, Yan Hui has another 420 cubic meters of logs on the way, expected to arrive around July 20th.

On July 13, the secondary disasters caused by the rainstorm became increasingly severe. Yan Hui kept watching the news in Jingjiang and felt some pressure.

As the old man said, in Jianye, railway transportation was completely unaffected and there were no major problems. However, the situation was different in Jingjiang, where Jianye had sent people to provide reinforcements.

Not only Jianye, but also some cities in northern Jiangsu that are not bordering the Yangtze River have sent rescue teams to Jingjiang to provide assistance.

Huge flood relief teams were organized in various places, and the army in various places also began to be mobilized. Yan Hui felt excited every day as he watched the news.

"Fifth Brother, you're amazing! We've made a killing this time! Someone's offering 1000 yuan per cubic meter for our shipment from the 20th! We'll make 20 yuan off that! My God!" The Third Brother was completely stunned as he did the math; this money-making ability truly exceeded his expectations!

“No, we can’t sell them all; we have to donate some.” Yan Hui made a crucial decision.

The floods in many places are getting more and more serious. Nanjing in the Yangtze River Basin is considered to be less affected. Land transportation in many areas has been disrupted. Yan Hui has made so much money in this place, how could he sit idly by?

"Huh? Such profitable timber, you're going to donate it? Why don't you sell the timber and donate the money? If you donate 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, the government will give you a big red flower!" the third brother suggested.

“Third brother, it’s not that I’m some kind of noble person, but when I called home recently, you know how happy my grandpa was when he heard I was going to donate timber? He praised me several times!” Yan Hui’s eyes inexplicably welled up with tears as he talked about his grandfather. “My grandparents both agreed to my timber donation. You know, larch is the most needed material during flood relief! Anyway, I’ll contact the government in a bit to see how much they need. I’ll donate at least five truckloads of logs, so we can do our part.”

"You decide on this; I support you." The third brother nodded. "Doing good deeds is always a good thing!"

(End of this chapter)