Chapter 77 - 077 Mountain landslide

Words : 1445 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Wang Shuqiu carefully inspected the house. She was very satisfied with it, though the only drawback was the lack of furniture. "Why didn’t you buy more furniture for your home?" "In the past, I didn’t have enough money," Du Heng explained as he took a new quilt, prepared by his sister-in-law, from the cabinet. "Later, I felt it wasn’t necessary. I’m the only one at home, and I wasn’t coming back often. If I bought furniture, it would just collect dust. I figured it was better not to buy any and just get new things when I get married." Wang Shuqiu showed little shyness. It was as if she had already accepted in her heart that she was Du Heng’s wife, so she naturally took the quilt. Hearing Du Heng mention not having enough money, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Perhaps we should return those few pieces of lingerie? We could use that money to buy a sofa and a tea table." "Why return them? They were bought for you. Oh, right! Hurry up and try them on. I want to see if they look good. If not, we can return them." Wang Shuqiu was unimpressed by Du Heng’s suggestive words and gave him a playful glare. "Didn’t you say you didn’t have enough money? We can just save a little." Du Heng gently hugged Wang Shuqiu. "Don’t worry about the money anymore; that’s already been taken care of. Be good, hurry up and try them on. Let me see." The curtains in the room had been drawn, and the lighting was now a softer glow. The pitter-patter of the rain outside concealed those strange noises. In the room, Du Heng suddenly paused and asked Wang Shuqiu in confusion, "Did you feel a tremor just now?" Wang Shuqiu closed her eyes, pulled the nearby pillow over her face, and murmured, "Slow down, I couldn’t hold back." Du Heng looked at Wang Shuqiu in astonishment and gently patted her. "What are you talking about? I meant, did you feel an earthquake?" But now, there was no sensation at all. Looking at Wang Shuqiu, who was still covering her face with the quilt, Du Heng couldn’t help but chuckle. What a beautiful moment, and what am I thinking? RING. The phone on the bedside table suddenly rang, interrupting their conversation. Du Heng was puzzled. Who would call in the middle of the night? He picked it up and saw it was a call from Song. "Hello, Xiao Du, are you at home?" "Yes, I came back tonight. What’s going on?" "Listen to me. Half an hour ago, the back mountain of Shang Ling Village collapsed, and the entire sand field was buried. The collapsed mountain has now formed a mudslide, and it has already wiped out Shang Lin Village." Hearing this, Du Heng shot up in bed. That vibration just now—he hadn’t been mistaken. However, he had thought it was an earthquake, not a landslide. This was also the thing he had been worried about for the past week. "Dean Song, what should I do?" "The municipal and district rescue teams have already set off. However, I received some very bad news: the road into your mountain area has been washed out. If that’s true, our medical staff and vehicles won’t be able to get there." Du Heng immediately thought of the road they had encountered on their way home. Please don’t let it be true. "Xiao Du, until the medical team can get in, the efforts to help the people there will be entirely under your direction. Any problem with that?" Du Heng replied solemnly, "Don’t worry, Dean Song." After hanging up, he hurriedly began to dress. Wang Shuqiu looked puzzled. "What’s wrong?" she asked, wondering why he was so flustered after just one phone call. While Du Heng dressed, he explained what he’d learned from the phone call. "You go to sleep first. I need to go over there and see what’s happening." Wang Shuqiu looked at Du Heng with concern, but she also knew this was his job. "Then be careful." Du Heng kissed Wang Shuqiu’s forehead. "Go to sleep. I’ll be fine." Then he grabbed the car keys and hurried out. He started the car parked by the door and dialed another number. It was for Du Fei, the village doctor of Duke Village. "Fei, are you up?" "I’m up, at the clinic." "Fei, what’s the situation over there?" "We haven’t heard of any casualties yet. The back mountain by the sand field collapsed. The noise was so loud that the people of Shang Ling Village were alerted, and most of them managed to get out." Du Heng thought for a moment. "Fei, gather all the gauze, alcohol, and iodine you have at your clinic. Bring all the medicine you can. I’ll be there soon, and we’ll take it all over together." "All right." After hanging up the phone, Du Heng focused on driving. By the time he arrived at the clinic, Du Fei had already prepared everything: two boxes of gauze, two boxes of bottled alcohol, and only half a box of iodine. Du Heng and Du Fei braved the rain, loaded everything into the car, and sped towards Shang Ling Village. On the way, another phone call came in. Du Heng glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar number. He initially didn’t want to answer, but considering the late hour and the unfolding events, he picked up. "Hello, Doctor Du, I am An Chunhui from the District Health Bureau." Du Heng was stunned for a moment. It took him several seconds to recall that this was the name of the head of the District Health Bureau. "Hello, Leader An." "The road into your mountain area has now been confirmed to be washed out. There’s a gap of about five meters. The medical rescue force from the city and district won’t be able to arrive anytime soon. Therefore, the on-site situation is entirely your responsibility. You must ensure the safety of the ordinary people. I’ve already instructed the village doctors from the two nearest villages to bring supplies and head over. They will all be under your command. Is there any problem with that?" "No problem." After hanging up the phone, Du Heng once again concentrated on driving. As they rounded the mountain bend, they saw the beams of countless flashlights and the glow of mobile phone screens. When they parked the car and opened the doors, a wave of wailing and despair washed over them from outside. The scene was chaotic, filled with people. In the darkness, it was impossible to discern exactly what was happening. Looking at the people weeping or standing stunned in the rain, Du Heng didn’t know where to begin. He had no choice but to shout over the downpour, "Where is the village head? I’m Du Heng, a doctor from the Health Clinic!" After shouting twice, he heard a distant voice respond. The village head of Shang Ling Village, wearing a straw hat, came sloshing through the mud and water. "Doctor Du, I’m here!" Du Heng quickly went to meet him. "Mr. Zhang, what’s the situation? Are there any injured people? Where are they all gathered?" "Doctor Du, don’t worry, the people are mostly fine. The commotion from the collapsing back mountain was so great that everyone was alerted. When I came out to check, I saw the mudslide and managed to warn everyone in time. So, people are mostly unharmed—just some minor scratches and bruises from when they were grabbing their belongings." As the village head spoke, he glanced at the pitch-black night sky behind him, where nothing could be seen. Hearing there were no major casualties, Du Heng breathed a sigh of relief. In the current circumstances, if there had been seriously injured people, his means to help would have been very limited. "Mr. Zhang, tell everyone to find a place to shelter from the rain. Standing in the rain like this, even if they’re not injured now, they’ll get sick, especially the elderly and children." The village head sighed. "There’s nowhere to go. Everything was buried." Everything was buried?! Du Heng was shocked. If Shang Ling Village was completely buried, then what about Xialing Village below it? Thinking of this, he hurriedly asked, "Mr. Zhang, how is Xialing Village?" "They’re mostly fine; the damage wasn’t too severe. The mudslide destroyed a few houses on the very edge of the village and then stopped. But they don’t dare stay in their homes either, so now everyone has gathered in the village square." "Mr. Zhang, what do you plan to do now?"

Chapter 77 - 077 Mountain landslide

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