Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

The rescue team finally found the first yurt at 3 a.m.

The three-meter-high yurt was already one-third buried in snow, and the yurt door was completely blocked.

While directing everyone to speed up the digging, Qi Tongwei shouted loudly into the room.

"Is anyone inside? We're here to rescue you..."

Panic-filled shouts erupted from inside the yurt.

Kazakh and Chinese were mixed together, making it impossible to understand what was being said.

Finally, the yurt was completely dug out, and a militiaman used a dagger to cut a gash in it.

Qi Tongwei immediately crawled into the crack.

By the dim light of the mutton oil lamp, Qi Tongwei finally saw the scene inside the yurt.

He frowned slightly, and his nose involuntarily stung with tears.

Inside the large yurt, dozens of herders and a flock of sheep huddled together.

It's impossible to tell who's human and who's animal.

Among the crowd, several elderly people huddled in the innermost circle, their lips already turned purple from the cold.

They were wrapped in sheepskin coats, their bodies shivering slightly, clearly showing signs of hypothermia.

Qi Tongwei frowned, took a few steps in the crowded yurt, and immediately made a decision.

"Quickly! Drive the sheep out and start a fire immediately so everyone can warm themselves by the fire!"

A Kazakh man stepped forward, blocking Qi Tongwei's path, and said in broken Chinese:

"No! These goat-like creatures are my lifeblood; I can't drive them away, they'll freeze to death!"

Qi Tongwei felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of anger.

He grabbed the man by the collar and roared:

"You can buy another sheep if it dies, but can you buy a person if they die?"

He pointed to a few old men in the middle of the flock of sheep.

"Look, this person is about to lose their temperature; once they lose temperature, they're gone!"

After saying that, he gave a sudden shove, trying to push the man away.

But the other party didn't move an inch, while he himself felt unsteady on his feet and staggered back two steps.

The militiamen behind him quickly helped him up, exclaiming in surprise:

"Cadre Qi, do you have a fever?"

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, raised his hand to touch his forehead, and found it was indeed quite hot.

The continuous work he had just done had made him sweat profusely, and now the cold wind had caused him to catch a fever.

He inwardly groaned, but he couldn't worry about that now. He gritted his teeth and continued to give the orders:

"Drive the sheep out and let them run along the dug path. You two, quickly start a fire!"

The sheep were driven out one by one through the crack, and the people inside the house began to frantically start a fire.

After a cloud of thick smoke, the pungent smell of cow dung was ignited, and the flames illuminated the herders' faces.

Several elderly people who were on the verge of hypothermia were helped to sit down by the fire.

They finally stopped trembling, and their bluish-purple lips gradually regained some color.

Qi Tongwei breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the Kazakh man from before.

"Where are the others?"

The man was taken aback and replied in broken Chinese.

"They're all around here. As soon as the snow started to get heavy, we chose a few large yurts to take shelter from the snow."

Qi Tongwei nodded and continued to press for answers.

"How many of you came up in total?"

The man looked at the other herders, somewhat uncertain.

He hesitated for a moment, then replied, his voice slightly weak.

"There must be over two hundred people...we haven't counted..."

Someone nearby immediately chimed in:

"That's right, the weather wasn't good this time. Not many people came up, only about two hundred..."

Qi Tongwei felt somewhat relieved; it seemed that most people had stayed in the countryside and had not gone to the fortified village.

If it's just a couple hundred people coming up, that's fine; he can take them all with him in one go.

Thinking of this, he immediately turned around and said to the militiamen behind him:

"You ten people will lead ten groups, with four people in each group, and each person will start digging."

After saying that, he grabbed the Kazakh man and asked in a deep voice:

"What's your name?"

The Kazakh man deduced from the conversation that Qi Tongwei was a cadre.

He had just almost gotten into a fight with Qi Tongwei, and his words became somewhat evasive.

"Aidal... I was in a hurry just now..."

Qi Tongwei interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

"Aidar, take a few men and guide the militia. You must rescue them!"

"If you find anyone suffering from hypothermia, bring them to this blanket immediately!"

Aidar was taken aback. He thought Qi Tongwei was going to cause him trouble, but instead, he asked Qi Tongwei to lead the way.

He nodded quickly and replied, "Okay."

After saying that, he turned around and shouted a few words in Kazakh to the herders in the yurt.

Several strong Kazakh men immediately got up and followed the militiamen out of the yurt.

Qi Tongwei wasn't idle either. He first rubbed his face with snow to clear his head.

Then he returned to the yurt and checked on the condition of the elderly and weak herders one by one.

He arrived just in time; apart from a few elderly people who had hypothermia, the rest were fine for the time being.

Qi Tongwei then began to direct the remaining drivers.

Have them unload some dry rations from the tractor and distribute them to everyone.

As he distributed dry rations, he also comforted the crowd:

"Don't be afraid, everyone. The government hasn't forgotten you."

"Once everyone's gathered, we'll go home together. The Party and the government are here to pick us up!"

Inside the yurt, sobs gradually rose, and the joy of surviving the ordeal began to spread.

As the rescue operation progressed, the various rescue teams began to return and report on their progress.

The herders were all gathered in about a dozen felt tents nearby.

Once you find one of them, you'll find the others too.

As dawn approached, the casualty figures were finally tallied.

All the herders have been found, many of them suffering from frostbite, but thankfully, they are all still alive.

Most of the large livestock froze to death, but many of the rams that could enter the yurts survived.

After hearing the report, Qi Tongwei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The best news is that no one died.

He didn't know that the reason no one had died was...

It was all because he seized the golden 72 hours for snow disaster relief.

From the moment they set off to the moment they found their first yurt, it took them just over forty hours.

If we delay for another day, even until daytime, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After counting the number of people, Qi Tongwei began to arrange the return plan.

The solution was crude, even somewhat inhumane, but it was very effective.

The elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled all rode on the tractor, while women tied ropes around their waists and ran alongside the tractor.

The strong, middle-aged men followed behind, herding the sheep.

He placed the two heavy tractors at the back of the line to prevent anyone from falling behind.

He originally wanted everyone to have a hot meal and rest before setting off.

But a casual remark from Aidar gave him a wake-up call.

After the herdsmen were rescued, Aidar knelt before the distant Tian Shan Mountains, muttering to himself repeatedly:

"Thank you, Tengri, for not getting angry and not killing us..."

When Qi Tongwei heard this, he was taken aback at first, and then replied coldly.

"You should thank the government, thank the Party! Thank the rescue team for arriving in time..."

After saying that, he abandoned the idea of ​​letting everyone rest.

He immediately ordered the rescue team to return to the city overnight!

Qi Tongwei heard a word from Aidar's words: Tianshan.

He immediately became alert. The continuous blizzard had brought the snow accumulation on the Tianshan Mountains to a critical point, and an avalanche could occur at any moment.

The Tianshan Mountains behind him are now a bomb that could explode at any moment!

After two days together, Qi Tongwei gained high prestige among the militiamen.

Once the order was given, no one objected, and everyone immediately began to adjust their direction and start the return journey.

The journey back was much smoother; the bulldozers had gained experience and filled all the pits that needed to be filled.

The journey was uneventful, but everyone was exhausted.

Around 10 o'clock, as dawn broke, the rescue team finally entered Leishan County.

As Qi Tongwei watched the county's outline gradually become clearer, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Just as he relaxed his guard, a loud bang suddenly came from behind him, like a muffled thunderclap before a rainstorm.

The sound lasted for several seconds, and even the ground beneath our feet shook.

Qi Tongwei was taken aback and quickly looked at the bulldozer driver, his eyes full of doubt.

The driver grinned, his smile radiating relief at surviving such a close call.

He glanced at Qi Tongwei and said in broken Chinese:

"Officer Qi, we're lucky to be alive. If we had left a little later, the mountain god would have eaten us..."

Qi Tongwei looked at the white smoke and dust in the distance, and a chill ran down his spine.

If I had ordered them to rest on the spot, this team might have remained at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains forever.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, and as evening approached, the group finally arrived at the county government.

The bulldozer stopped, and Qi Tongwei jumped off the vehicle.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his legs went weak involuntarily, his vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

Just as he was about to fall, Aidar pulled him back.

Immediately afterwards, a group of Kazakh men surrounded them.

They lifted Qi Tongwei high above their heads and tossed him into the air, shouting in unison:

"Batur! Batur!"

Qi Tongwei wanted to shout, to ask them to put him down, but no sound came out.

He hadn't slept for two days and two nights, and his high fever hadn't subsided; his body had reached its limit.

Before his consciousness completely faded, he saw Baimaiti and Secretary Qin walking over.

He wanted to shout, to wave to them.

But the next second, amidst the cheers of the herdsmen, he lost consciousness...