Chapter 756: Evacuation
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The citizens in Cuba Town had started evacuating. This was especially urgent on the part of those in the service industry. After they saw the weather forecast and got the evacuation notice from the government, they immediately fled the town with their children.
All the civil servants, teachers, and medical staff members were basically gone too.
The mayor and the sheriff stayed, but they only had a total of two subordinates. All four of them were holding up flags and directing traffic.
Tian Guozheng arrived at Cuba Town in his limousine. When he saw this, without hesitation, he ordered half of his subordinates to help. He also instructed his subordinates to use half of the resources in the Unimogs in his fleet. After all, most of the supplies in the beds of his fleet of Unimogs could be kept in Guozheng Charity Hospital. The hospital was located on high ground, and there were plenty of unused buildings. Hence, there was more than enough s.p.a.ce to keep all the supplies.
Even Zebo Two and Zebo Four were moved to the garden of the mansion. Tian Guozheng even instructed people to build a canopy for them. He also sent a few men there just to take care of the two zebos.
When the mayor saw the people and fleet of Unimos from Zheng’s Farm, he immediately walked over to convey his grat.i.tude. He then entered Tian Guozheng’s limousine while he was at it. He took a rest while drinking some high-quality tea.
“Mister Guozheng, have you gathered all of your herd? The damage isn’t huge, is it?” The mayor sipped a cup of red tea. He squinted as he curiously sized up Ling Ran and Tian Qi, who were sitting opposite him.
Ling Ran and Tian Qi smiled at him. They paid him no more heed and continued drinking tea.
Tian Guozheng was well-dressed, and it was not obvious that he had just received knee surgery. He did not want to appear weak at a time like this.
Tian Guozheng’s face lit up with pride at the mention of his farm. He said, “The cowboys have evacuated all the large herds to high ground. They will spend half a day looking for the rest of the cattle, and there’s nothing else that we can do about the ones that are left behind.”
“It’s indeed pretty hard to gather all the cattle who are scattered all over the farm.” The mayor paused for a moment and continued, “However, the damage Zheng’s Farm sustained should be the least among all the farms. Unless the heavy rain stops before tomorrow morning…”
It was highly unlikely that the rain would stop by tomorrow morning. The Brazillians were very used to this kind of rain. Every few years, an area would be struck by disaster, with a few hundred casualties. Floods and landslides that affected more than ten thousand people happened all the time, and many people tried their best to mitigate the damage caused.
However, now that the mayor was saying that Zheng’s Farm would sustain the least damage, Tian Guozheng did not see the need to agree to the statement. He neither denied nor agreed to it and said, “Most farms have disaster mitigation plans. The smaller a farm is, the easier this should be.”
“This might be true in the past, but things are different now.” The mayor sighed and took the opportunity to say, “The herds nowadays are a lot larger than they used to be, and there are fewer and fewer cowboys. In the past, even small farms had two or three employees. However, most farms are family farms nowadays. Hence, when a disaster like this happens, it’s very hard for the farm owners to gather all their cattle.”
“Large farms face the same problem too. We don’t have enough manpower to gather all the cattle in the farm,” Tian Guozheng said nonchalantly.
All of the men he sent to help out in Cuba Town were service crews from the mansion. Even though some of them were raised to become cowboys, they were not professionals. As for the professional cowboys, all of them had been sent to gather the cattle in Zheng’s Farm. But even so, there were not even enough cowboys for this purpose.
“Things might be worse for other large farms.” The mayor sighed and said in Portugese, “Things are different from the past now. The farm workers nowadays are no longer as attached to the farm they are working in. Back when I was young, whenever a disaster struck, all the farm workers would be extremely willing to brave the risk and help out. This was because the relations.h.i.+p between the farm workers and the farm owners was more than an employer-employee relations.h.i.+p. They might be neighbors, and they were all residents of the same town. However, nowadays, farms often hired men from other places. Hence, at a time like this, farm owners would not be able to find anyone to help out.”
Tian Guozheng raised his head and glanced at the mayor.
The mayor put down his teacup and said earnestly, “Mister Guozheng, you are probably the farm owner with the most employers in Cuba Town right now. All your subordinates are loyal to you, and the relations.h.i.+p between you guys is like how things are between the farm owners and farm workers decades ago. Moreover, you have a lot of trucks, and this would be really helpful to the other farm owners… Mister Guozheng, everyone hopes that you can lend them a hand…”
“I get it.” Tian Guozheng chuckled as he glanced at the mayor. “So, if I don’t help out, everyone in town will point at my nose and scold me, right?”
“Why would they? Everyone knows that Mister Guozheng is a charitable and generous man. By building Guozheng Charity Hospital, you have done everyone in Cuba Town a huge favor,” the mayor said pointedly.
“It must have helped a lot in securing your position as the mayor too, hasn’t it?”
“Of course. I have always been very grateful toward you, Mister Guozheng.”
“But even though my farm doesn’t have enough manpower now, you’re blackmailing me to send my men to help out the other farms. You even want me to send my trucks over. Whose farm do you want me to help? Klaus’?”
The mayor said shamelessly with a smile, “How is this considered blackmail? But of course, it would be best if you could lend them a hand.”
Tian Guozheng hummed in acknowledgement. He then changed the topic. “I’ll send my men to help out if you sell the plot of land at the north to me.”
“Mister Guozheng, this is not a decision I can make alone.”
“I know, but you guys can talk about it,” Tian Guozheng said in a straightforward manner, “If you guys would like to express your grat.i.tude to me, do sell me the plot of land. However, if you guys refuse to do so, I would know where you stand.”
The mayor’s expression changed a little. “Mister Guozheng, we have talked about this before…”
“This might be the last time we’re talking about this.” Tian Guozheng waved in dismissal and continued, “Do go ahead and do what you have to. I’ll talk to Klaus.”
The mayor, who was tasked with this difficult mission, went pale a little. He put down his cup of hot tea, rose, and opened the door of the limousine. It was raining cats and dogs outside, and he mentally prepared himself as he stepped outside the car.
*Bang*
He closed the door of the limousine.
Tian Guozheng grunted. He then looked outside the window and said, “I’ll gather my men so that we can leave. The rain is way too heavy, and Cuba Town seems to be in a mess.”
“Will everyone be able to make it in time?” Tian Qi was not anxious. After all, it was only raining, and the flood had not started yet.
“Most families here have cars. I’ll leave a few Unimogs here, and they should be enough to ferry all the unlucky people who don’t have cars away,” Tian Guozheng said, “Let’s head to the hospital to take a rest first. I’ll ask some men to get out of the car to take a look at what’s going on.”
Tian Qi took the initiative to say, “I’ll help out in town too.”
Tian Qi then looked at Ling Ran and said, “Doctor Ling, you should stay in the hospital.”
Compared to Cuba Town, Guozheng Charity Hospital was a safer place to be at.
Tian Guozheng furrowed his eyebrows and said, “You guys should both stay at the hospital. Tian Qi, if you want to help out, just do so at the hospital.”
“The hospital should have enough manpower. I would like to take a look at Cuba Town.” Tian Qi insisted.
When Tian Guozheng saw Tian Qi’s expression, he did not bother talking her out of it.
The fleet of Unimogs were soon divided into two.
Ling Ran hesitated a little, but he ended up heading for the hospital.
After all, the hospital was a place where he could be in his element.
Thirty minutes later, Ling Ran was certain that he had made the right decision.
The waiting hall of the hospital was covered with patients. However, there was no doctor at all. There was not even enough drugs.
This was when a notification from the system appeared.
[Mission: Treat the Wounded and Sick]
[Mission Details: Treat 30 casualties]
[Mission Reward: Intermediate Treasure Chest]