NOVEL NEXT Chapter 480: Moved
The old lady Hua and her daughter-in-law went to the kitchen.
The kitchen was still relatively sturdy, with a framework not much different from the main house. Except for some damage to the roof, the framework remained unchanged, and there were no cracks in the walls. Now the roof was temporarily covered with an oilcloth. Although it drizzled continuously, it did not leak.
The water boiled quickly, and before long, the old lady Hua brought it over. Hu Hu immediately took it and thanked her for the trouble.
The old lady Hua had a good impression of this polite government officer. He didn't look down on people with arrogance; she smiled and hurried back to the kitchen to help her daughter-in-law.
Without prior preparation, complicated dishes were out of the question. The mother and daughter-in-law decided to make some egg noodle soup, which was quite a nice meal.
After finishing the tea in his hand, Hu Hu looked seriously at the old man Hua and began to speak, "To be honest with you, Village Chief Uncle, I have come here under the orders of my superior, and I would like to ask for your help with something."
The old man Hua had actually anticipated this. At such times, the government must be incredibly busy and overwhelmed. If Hu Hu came here at this moment, he certainly had something important.
"What is it?" The old man Hua frowned cautiously.
He dared not readily agree. Who could predict what the matter would be? If they were to ask him to donate all the village's grain, the old man Hua could never agree to that.
Seemingly noticing the old man Hua's concern, Hu Hu did not beat around the bush. "I would like to ask the village chief uncle to send some villagers to help rescue the people in the surrounding villages. Our superior is also at a loss; there are too few hands, and even with civilians spontaneously helping, it's like a drop in the bucket. However, human lives are at stake, and delaying means the chances of survival for those trapped under the rubble become smaller. That's why our superior instructed me to come to Hua Village, hoping, if possible, for the village chief uncle's assistance."
"Is the situation outside very serious?" The old man Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
"It is very serious. Houses have almost entirely collapsed, and the earthquake hit so unexpectedly and in the deep night that many people didn't even react before being trapped underneath." Hu Hu said gravely with furrowed brows.
"It's that serious?" The old man Hua's expression turned solemn as well.
He had forgotten that the earthquake came in the middle of the night when people were deeply asleep. If not for his granddaughter sensing it in advance, the villagers wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly.
Only after a day of being busy with the village's affairs did he had no time to think of anything else. People are inherently selfish; naturally, they look after their matters before having the mind to care for others.
"That's why we've turned to you, Village Chief Uncle. Hua Village is large, with many strong men, and time is of the essence. We hope Village Chief Uncle can save the people in the surrounding villages." With that, Hu Hu stood up and bowed deeply.
"No, no, officer, you flatter this old man too much," the old man Hua hurriedly supported Hu Hu.
"This old man will take on this matter. Rest assured, this old man will summon the men in the village. We are all fellow villagers, and it's only right to help when in trouble. Besides, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda."
"Thank you, Village Chief Uncle," Hu Hu breathed a sigh of relief.
If Chief Hua, citing danger, refused to take the villagers out, there was nothing Hu Hu could do. After all, with just their numbers, they couldn't do anything to Hua Village.
Simply put, it's due to the villagers' willingness to give them some face. Otherwise, in their current state, they're nothing.
Chief Hua was a man of great righteousness; Hu Hu genuinely admired him.
"However..."
Chief Hua's "however" made Hu Hu, who had just relaxed, tense up again.
"Don't worry. This old man just wants to ask Officer Hu to explain the situation around here. You must already know it from your journey. That way, we can avoid taking unnecessary detours..."
Hu Hu's tense expression relaxed instantly. So that's it. He immediately recounted what he had seen on the way, emphasizing the critical segments of the road.
As he was speaking, the old lady Hua brought over a large bowl of hot noodle soup and said with a smile, "You must be starving. Have some food to fill yourself up."
Hu Hu wanted to be modest, but looking at the big bowl of noodles, he couldn't refuse. He was simply too hungry.
Since the earthquake, besides having a few sips of hot soup in the morning, he had only a bowl of water at Village Chief Hua's place, and his stomach was grumbling with hunger.
Especially seeing the layer of eggs on top of the noodles, Hu Hu was genuinely moved. At this time, whose food isn't as precious as life itself? And yet, Auntie used fine grain to treat him. This feeling of being valued really touched Hu Hu.
"Auntie, I'll just have some hot soup. Save such good things for the children."
"What use is just soup? Eat it. Only when you're full can you have the strength to do things." Without waiting for Hu Hu's reply, the old lady Hua handed the bowl to Hu Hu.
"Thank you." Looking at the noodles in his hand, Hu Hu, this seven-foot-tall man, couldn't help but choke up a bit. He wasn't pretentious, having not eaten anything so good in a long time. After the first few bites he could eat slowly, he couldn't hold back later—finishing the big bowl of noodles in no time.
After finishing the meal and having explained most of what needed to be discussed, Hu Hu was ready to leave, having reached a consensus with the old man Hua.
"Take these with you," the old man Hua handed a small bundle prepared by his wife to Hu Hu.
Hu Hu said, "Village Chief Uncle, this is..."
"Your aunty made some pancakes and packed a bag of water for you to eat on the road."
"Village Chief Uncle, I..."
"All right, even though times are tough, a few pancakes won't bankrupt your village chief uncle. Come on, aren't you in a hurry? Get going, or you'll be traveling in the dark."
"Thank you. Village Chief Uncle, please thank Auntie for me."
The old man Hua nodded, and then Hu Hu, accompanied by Hua Chengtian, left the village.
The old man Hua wasn't idle either. He picked up the copper gong from home and began to sound it throughout the village.
While going to surrounding villages to provide aid was a charitable deed, as a village chief, he couldn't make unilateral decisions; he had to respect the villagers' opinions. It was good if they were willing to go, but not forcing them if they weren't, because in such times, everyone wanted to stick close to their family.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
With the sound of the gong, one after another, the villagers of Hua Village hurriedly gathered at the grain drying yard, scared and thinking something had happened.
But upon reaching the yard, they only saw the village chief and the brothers Yun Ao. The village chief looked expressionless but didn't look like something had happened, leaving everyone puzzled.
"Village chief, what's the matter? What's wrong? It's not..." They were scared, thinking the earthquake was coming again. The gong sounded just like it did last night.
Seeing everyone's anxiety, the old man Hua didn't keep them in suspense and quickly said, "Everyone, don't worry. It's not what you think. There's a matter I want to discuss with you all, so I troubled you to come over."
"Whew... As long as it's not the earthquake coming, it's fine. Scared us to death," said one timid villager, patting their chest to calm themselves.
If it came again, who knew if their houses could hold up.
"What's the matter, Village Chief Uncle? Hurry up and say it," urged a villager with a quick temper, as there were still many things to deal with at home.
"There is indeed something. Just now, the government officer Hu came and asked if we could send some villagers to help rescue people in the surrounding villages."
The old man Hua didn't waste words and directly stated the reason.