Chapter 1350: Is there anyone strong?
Almost 9 pm.
Night.
After hearing from Mayor Jiang, the few leaders in Yao Cui’s house courtyard looked terrible. They could not believe their ears.
“How is this possible?”
“Why is someone still inside?”
“That’s right. We confirmed with the residents.”
“We should not miss anyone. The fire department will not make such mistakes.”
“We worried we might miss anyone, and the fire department searched every unit. Our County does not have life detector devices, but the residents are our staff’s family. Everybody knows each other. We should know if anyone was missing.” Dong Xuebing said. He does not believe there’s anyone trapped in the building, as the ‘Future’ newspaper reported everybody was rescued. How can there be someone inside?
Eh? Wait a minute!
The ‘Future’ newspaper.
Dong Xuebing suddenly remembers that the newspaper was today’s evening papers. The reports should be written in the afternoon.
It is almost 9 pm now.
The information in the papers was outdated.
The ‘future’ newspaper’s report will not report any new information at 9 pm.
s.h.i.+t!
An oversight!
Jiang Fangfang said. “Nothing is impossible. The fire department had gone to rescue that person. The one remaining in the building is Chu Peng’s wife.”
Chu Peng?
Chief Chu’s wife?
Lu Zhi’s face changed. “It’s Sister Zeng.”
Pu An was shocked. “Old Chu and his family are staying at the Party Committee family quarters.”
Jiang Fangfang said. “The Public Security Bureau had kept an apartment for Old Chu. The fire department had combed the building, but the search was based on the resident name list. Even Old Chu does not know his wife went to the Public Security Bureau family quarters today. They fought in the morning, and his wife went out. She told him she would not be coming home for dinner. Afterward, the building collapsed, and Chu Peng got very busy. He remembered his wife when he got home. He tried contacting her but to no avail. He learned where his wife was from a rescued family member who regained consciousness at the hospital. After the fight with Chu Peng, she went to the family quarters.”
Someone was inside.
And it was a County Party Committee member’s wife!
Dong Xuebing turned pale. He slapped his forehead and felt guilty.
Why didn’t he spend more time seeing tomorrow’s newspaper? He would rescue Chu Peng’s wife earlier. Even though Chu Peng is his political rival, Dong Xuebing will not leave his wife to die. He will save her.
“Let’s go to the scene!” Dong Xuebing took out his car keys and ran out.
Pu An quickly said. “Mayor Dong, you cannot drive. You drank earlier. Let Secretary Yao drive.”
Everybody knew this was an emergency. They rushed out of the courtyard, and Yao Cui s.n.a.t.c.hed the car keys from Dong Xuebing. She entered the driver"s seat, and Li Xiaona drove Pu An’s car with Jian Xiangrong and Lu Zhi. Both cars sped towards the Public Security Bureau family quarters. That building might collapse anytime. Chu Peng’s wife did not cry for help when the firemen searched the building this afternoon. She might be badly injured and unconscious. It’s been around ten hours since the incident happened. Who knows if she was still alive? It would be bad if someone pa.s.sed away after the building was searched. It was a grave oversight.
Many people will be held responsible.
Five minutes.
They were near to the scene and reached in five minutes.
The cars parked outside of the entrance. Powerful lights were set up. The fire department had reached. The ambulance arrived around the same time as Dong Xuebing. They exited the car, and Dong Xuebing saw the fire engine’s ladder extending to a window on the third floor. A fireman had climbed in, and the others brought equipment and tools. They were preparing to rescue Chu Peng’s wife.
Meng Rui was there.
The Meng Faction’s members arrived.
Almost all the County’s top leaders had gathered. A Party Committee member’s wife was trapped in the building, and they all had to come.
Jiang Fangfang walked over. “How is the situation?”
Pu An and Jian Xiangrong rushed over anxiously. “Is she found?”
Chu Peng was staring at the third floor’s window. His fists were clenched tightly and shaking. He was anxious. “She’s found.”
Jiang Fangfang asked. “How is it?”
Meng Rui replied. “It is not looking good.”
The Organization Department Minister Liao Haiwei said. “The fire department found her and is trying to rescue her now. But my sister-in-law was severely injured. We are unsure of the situation inside and are waiting for news.” He was two years younger than Chu Peng and had been addressing Chu Peng’s wife as sister-in-law.
Jiang Fangfang walked over and consoled Chu Peng. “Don’t worry, Old Chu. Sister-in-law will be fine.”
Chu Peng said regretfully. “I should have discovered it earlier. What was I doing? I was here the whole day and realized it so late.”
Meng Rui said. “It’s not your fault. We don"t know Jinhua came here today.”
Zeng Jinhua is Chu Peng’s wife. She is in her forties. Although many people disliked Chu Peng for switching sides and sitting on the fence, Zeng Jinhua was popular and close to other Committee members’ wives. She was friendly and gentle. That’s why even Jian Xiangrong, who hates Chu Peng, was anxious too. Everybody does not want anything to happen to Chu Peng’s wife.
She is popular and liked by everybody.
Two middle-aged women were holding hands and waiting anxiously, not far away from Dong Xuebing. The slightly younger woman was almost crying.
These two were Cheng Fuguang and Liao Haiwei’s wives.
“Ask them to save Sister Zeng!”
“What are they waiting for?”
“Why is Sister Zeng not rescued? What are they doing?”
Many people were shouting out of anxiousness.
The medical team had rushed over with the first-aid box. The fire department commanding officer immediately called them over.
Chu Peng was furious. He shouted. “What is going on? Where is Jinhua? Where is she?”
The firemen hesitated to talk.
Secretary Meng was mad, too. “Hurry up and tell us. How is she? Didn’t you say she is found and is alive? Why are you not talking now?”
Cheng Fuguang’s wife was trembling. “Don’t tell me… she is gone.”
The Fire Department’s person in charge said. “Although her breathing was weak, she was still alive. She still has a pulse, but a fallen piece of ceiling concrete slab fell on her. There’s a gap, and she was not crushed. It was pressing on her. We cannot rescue her without moving the concrete slab. We don’t know about the situation behind the slab, but she lost a lot of blood. I checked with a medical staff. They said Madam Zeng might have been severely injured. We cannot break the concrete slab by force.”
Zhang Wanshui said. “Then you all can lift the concrete slab carefully.”
The fireman replied helplessly. “We tried all ways, but the concrete slab was too heavy. Seven of us could not lift it. We used all our strength and could not lift it by an inch.”
Jiang Fangfang asked. “What about equipment?”
The fireman replied. “We only got small equipment, and the concrete slab was too heavy. We tried but failed. Furthermore, the building structure is unsound. The ground is unstable, and the equipment almost causes the floor to give way. It was full of cracks. We contacted heavy machinery but cannot use it on the third floor. It might cause the building to collapse with its weight.” They risked their lives entering the building to rescue Chu Peng’s wife. A fireman almost died when the concrete floor he was standing on gave way.
Secretary Meng asked. “Then what are you going to do?”
The fireman thought for a while. “We will add more people and try to lift the concrete slab. We will try ten men if we cannot lift it with seven men. We will call in fifteen men if ten men cannot lift it. But we are short of manpower. We only got slightly more than ten people. A few of us must operate the ladder and drive. We need more people to help.”
Chu Peng understood. “I will go.”
Secretary Meng interrupted. “No! You will remain here!”
Chu Peng’s eyes were red. “My wife is inside!”
Jiang Fangfang turned to the people watching behind. They were residents and their family members of the family quarters and some civilians living nearby. “We don’t have enough people. Is there anyone willing to help rescue the person inside?”
No one said a word.
The fireman added. “The building cannot withstand the weight of too many people. It should be safe for ten people to go in. The building might collapse if more people go in. We need strong people to go in.”
People continue to keep quiet.
This concerns life and death.
What if the building collapses? Everyone inside will be dead.
Many Public Security Bureau’s family members were unwilling to risk their lives despite Chief Chu’s wife being trapped inside. It was too dangerous.
Silence…
No one moved.
But there was an exception. Only one person stepped forward.
Dong Xuebing rolled up his sleeves. “I will go.”
Jiang Fangfang immediately said. “You are not going anywhere.”
Yao Cui got a fright and quickly grabbed Dong Xuebing. “No! You have not recovered from your injuries.”