Chapter 218: Chapter 218: The situation is grim
It has been raining non-stop, just like in that song. The atmosphere in the city government meeting room is not harmonious.
Mayor Fang had two large, unmistakable bags under her eyes, and her nasolabial folds were more pronounced than usual. The six deputy mayors beneath her were no better off; they all looked tired, and they didn't care that the mayor was a woman. There were already several cigarette butts in each of the ashtrays in front of them.
Mayor Fang gave a sign to the clerk taking the meeting minutes. The window was opened, and a gust of wind with moisture blew in, refreshing the air a little.
'At the standing committee meeting just now, Secretary Xu conveyed the instructions of the provincial party committee: at this stage, all work should focus on flood prevention and anti-flooding. The meteorological department predicts that heavy rain will continue for some time to come, and on the whole, the flood prevention situation this year is not optimistic.
The municipal party committee has given us two instructions: the first is to ensure safety, the safety of the lives and property of the people, and the safety of key municipal projects under construction.
The second is to ensure that the planned flood storage areas can fulfil their role when possible.
I have one more request: in the face of such a natural disaster, we must ensure that there is no man-made disaster. After the meeting, everyone will immediately notify the heads of the various bureaus that the spirit of the meeting must be conveyed properly. At a time like this, if there are still mass incidents, the political responsibility of the relevant parties must be investigated.'
As soon as he finished speaking, Vice Mayor Cao, who is in charge of industry, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. 'I firmly support the spirit of the resolutions of the provincial and municipal party committees. However, you, the mayor, are also aware of the situation at these city-owned factories. More than a third of them have not paid wages for three months, and the factory managers are complaining to me all day long. Also, two months ago, in terms of flood and waterlogging prevention, we already inspected and reinforced the old factory buildings and staff quarters once, but now it seems that this flood is far worse than before, so the preventive work done according to the original standards is estimated to be very insufficient.'
As soon as Vice Mayor Cao finished speaking, everyone spoke up at once. In short, they either wanted money or materials. However, the city's foundation was already weak, and coupled with the former mayor's aggressive construction, it had long since borrowed money from all over, so where could it get any more money?
Mayor Fang rubbed her temples, which were starting to throb, and thought about last year, when she had been sitting among the people down there, asking for money and goods. This year it was her turn to be asked for things.
After a moment's thought, she said to the city government's secretary-general, 'Arrange a meeting with the heads of the four major banks as soon as possible.'
The secretary-general got up to make the call, but before he could leave the meeting room, the phone in the corner rang. He walked over to it and picked it up. 'What? Are there any casualties? Okay, I understand.'
The quarrelling mayors stopped talking. 'Mayor Fang, the third workshop of the city's aluminium products factory has collapsed.' What you fear will come true.
'Everyone go back immediately and arrange the work. Lao Cao, you come with me.'
Two cars drove one after the other on the road with deep puddles of water. 'Have the public security and fire departments arrived? Are there any casualties?' Mayor Fang asked the secretary who was contacting the scene with a mobile phone.
'The public security and fire departments have already arrived at the scene. According to preliminary statistics, there were three workers trapped under the building. Two have been found so far, and they are in good condition. The third is still being searched for.'
The scene of the accident was in a state of devastation. The long three-storey workshop had collapsed to the right, leaving a pile of rubble. Scattered among the debris were red bricks, blackened wood, rusted steel frames, and corrugated iron sheets crumpled up like pieces of paper.
Public security and fire officers, factory workers, and some family members were taking turns to move these bits and pieces away. An old woman was desperately digging with her hands in the rubble while crying, 'Qiu, you must be okay!'
Mayor Fang threw away her umbrella and took a raincoat from her secretary, and joined the ranks of the cleanup. Once she took the lead, Vice Mayor Cao of course couldn't just stand there. In the end, even the drivers of the two cars joined in.
When half of the debris had been cleared away, a Mitsubishi Pajero pulled up, and a fat man in a hurry got out of the passenger seat, followed by a secretary-looking person with a handbag in the back seat, who quickly opened an umbrella and held it over his head.
A young man who was cleaning up stopped in front of him and said, 'Fatty Liu, you son of a bitch, if anything happens to my dad, I'm not finished with you.'
The workers next to him held him back, looking coldly at Fat Feng. His mother, with her hair down and her face covered in smudges, came over and scolded him, pulling and tugging, 'What do you expect from Fat Liu? Hurry up and start moving, do you want your father to die?'
Fat Liu looked at the two mayors in the crowd, his face turning from green to white. He grabbed a hard hat and put it on his head, and went to greet Mayor Fang, 'Mayor Fang.'
Mayor Fang ignored him, so he had to go find Vice Mayor Cao. 'Mayor Cao, I was talking to a Wenzhou man about cooperation, and I rushed here as soon as I heard the news. I've arranged everything at the factory, so why did something happen?'
Vice Mayor Cao gave him a look of utter disdain and didn't say a word.
Finally, under a bending machine, everyone found the old worker surnamed Qiu. This old equipment manufactured in Jinling in the 1960s saved him. Although one of his legs was crushed under a steel frame, his life was saved.
...
It was a rare weekend, but everyone had to stay at home. The three of them watched DVDs all morning, and when they felt a little dizzy, they dragged Feng Yiping along and the four of them played cards together.
Feng Yiping really didn't know how to describe playing cards with them. He played slowly, and they kept looking at each other's cards, and they kept changing their minds. Feng Yiping played a few hands with them, but then he couldn't bear to serve anymore, so he hid in the study.
It didn't matter if there was one less person, so they played a game of drawing motherfuckers with cards. The rules were simple: except for one king and one single 8 and one single queen, everything else remained the same. Everyone drew a card from the previous hand each time, and those that made a pair were eliminated. In the end, whoever had these three cards left in their hand lost, which meant they were the motherfuckers.
It's a game to kill time, not requiring any brainpower, and purely based on luck. They played a few rounds of it outside, laughing and joking. It seemed that Huang Jingzhu had been the 'King of Ass' for a few rounds in a row, but in the end, they stopped playing and went back to their rooms to sleep.
While her cousin was in her room and Zhang Qiuling was in the bathroom, Huang Jingping sneaked into the study, pressed Feng Yiping's head from behind, and gave him a kiss on the forehead before giggling and running back to bed.
Feng Yiping felt a little funny as he touched his wet forehead. She looked like a child who had just eaten candy or a cat that had just stolen some food.
With the rain continuing to fall, the weather was perfect for sleeping in. Both rooms fell silent for a while.
Feng Yiping quietly looked out the window. From here, he could see that most of the reeds along the river were already submerged in water. He wondered if the river would flood into the residential area in a few days.
He leaned back in his chair, about to fall asleep, when Huang Jingshu quietly came in, barefoot, and said, 'Let's go for a walk!'
'Okay!' Feng Yiping knew that this conversation would come sooner or later.