1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

At the same time, Li Weiguo and Zhang Jianguo's rescue team grew like a snowball.

After the rain subsided a little on the first day, colleagues at the base were extremely anxious. They ignored the mud and water on the road and followed the direction of the water flow, stumbling all the way over. They successfully met up with them and joined the battle against disasters without saying a word.

During this difficult time, Li Weiguo was still concerned about the food and clothing of the farmers affected by the disaster.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he found a chance when no one was paying attention and quietly slipped away to a hidden corner like a thief.

He looked around vigilantly, and after making sure it was absolutely safe, he thought and bags of food appeared in front of him.

Next, Li Weiguo crouched down and moved among the disaster-stricken people, secretly delivering food to the farmers who were so hungry that their faces were pale and their eyes were filled with despair.

When he did these things, he did it very secretly, for fear of being discovered and getting into big trouble.

In this way, after several days of high-intensity rescue, everyone was so tired that their bones were about to fall apart.

The rain is gradually subsiding, but the mess left by the flood still needs to be cleaned up.

The focus of their disaster relief efforts also shifted from outside the city to inside the city.

The scene inside the city was equally horrific. The streets were piled with mud, houses had collapsed, and people's cries and shouts for help were heard one after another.

It was at this time that Li Weiguo and Zhang Jianguo caught a glimpse of their classmates from the University of Science and Technology who were also engaged in disaster relief work among the busy crowd.

Everyone was covered in mud and exhausted, but there was a spirit of not giving up in their eyes.

Li Weiguo was looking around to check the rescue situation when suddenly, a figure rushed towards him.

Before he could react, Wang Yong hugged him tightly like a child and burst into tears.

Li Weiguo was confused by this sudden action. He stood there stiffly, with his hands hanging in the air awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Zhao Shuheng couldn't stand it any longer, so he came over, patted Wang Yong on the back, and explained sympathetically, "Weiguo, you don't know, when it rained the most, Lin Wanqing almost... Wang Yong was so anxious at the time... Fortunately, everyone was safe in the end. He must have felt relieved after seeing you."

When Li Weiguo heard this, his heart skipped a beat and Lin Wanqing's gentle face instantly appeared in his mind.

He quickly grabbed Wang Yong's shoulders and asked anxiously, "How is Wanqing now? Is she okay?"

Wang Yong sobbed, raised his tearful face, and said with a choked voice: "She...she is fine now. I have rescued her. I just suddenly saw that you wanted to vent."

Li Weiguo finally breathed a sigh of relief, but a barely perceptible trace of heartache flashed in his eyes.

When the students from the nearby Polytechnic University saw this scene, they all stopped what they were doing and watched them quietly.

After Li Weiguo nodded and greeted them, he did not stop, but continued to join the rescue team.

However, Lin Wanqing also joined the rescue team, but she and Li Weiguo just passed by each other and neither of them realized it.

After several days of continuous heavy rain, the ditches and trenches in the city were full and the water storage capacity was almost reaching its limit, as if the city would burst with water in the next second.

At nightfall on August 8, the rainfall suddenly increased, like the roar of a mighty army, creating tremendous pressure on the drainage channels like a mountain pressing down on one's head.

The rivers in the suburbs of the city overflowed in an instant, and the floods rushed everywhere like wild horses, causing an emergency across the board!

The entire city of Beijing fell into an unprecedented predicament.

The water level of the southeast moat in the city was rising rapidly, and in the blink of an eye it was one meter above the nearby ground, turning into a rare river on the ground. The river water slammed against the embankment violently, splashing layers of water, as if it wanted to swallow everything into its stomach.

Looking at the 93 sewers connected to the moat, 62 have been flooded, and rainwater has poured back into the city. An area of ​​600 hectares in the urban area has become a vast ocean, with no way for the accumulated water to drain away.

This amount of water is like having three Kunming Lakes of the Summer Palace added to the urban area out of thin air. The deepest part of the water surface reaches 3 meters. The beautiful scenery of the past is now just a swamp.

The main traffic arteries in the city, including Dongzhimennei Street, Chaoyangmennei Street, Yongdingmennei Street, Xinjiekou South Street, as well as the area in front of Xinhuamen and the south entrance of Wangfujing, which are usually the most prosperous areas, now have water accumulation of more than half a meter.

This resulted in all vehicles in the city being forced to stop operating.

The situation outside the moat was equally bad. The river overflowed from Baishi Bridge to Xizhimen Bridge. The river water overflowed the river bank and destroyed some facilities along the coast.

At that time, most people still lived in old houses, most of which were in disrepair.

The heavy rain never stopped. Rainwater poured in through the cracks and holes in the roof. All the pots and pans in the house were used to collect water. The "drip drip" sound of falling water echoed in the house, making people feel upset.

When the rain was light, some people began to lay felt on the roofs regardless of the danger. In a short time, all the rain felts in the city were sold out.

What’s worse, the adults dared not close their eyes the whole night, and they were terrified as they watched over the house, fearing that if they were not careful, the house would collapse and the whole family would be buried alive.

It has become a common practice that the Tianqiao Yongdingmen area will be flooded whenever there is heavy rain.

The children did not understand the adults' worries. When they saw the big watermelons floating in the water, their eyes lit up with excitement. They ignored the adults' scolding and laughed, chasing and fishing in the water, even forgetting the danger.

Of course, in addition to watermelons, there were also hundreds of tons of coal foam from the Commercial Bureau, thousands of kilograms of firewood, and even eggs and white wine.

These materials, which were originally very precious, were now scattered everywhere with the flood, causing immeasurable losses.

Faced with this raging flood, the city of Beijing did not sit idly by!

The people of the whole city worked together to resist.

Some people, relying on their good swimming skills, rushed into the flood to save people without hesitation.

Fortunately, the organization arranged for rescue ships to arrive quickly.

The green iron boat of the People's Army cut through the waves. The soldiers stood at the bow, searching for the trapped people with determined eyes.

The fishermen rowed their own fishing boats and, relying on their familiarity with the waters, moved flexibly through the streets and alleys.

The raft that the soldiers had just built, although simple, carried people's hope for life.

There are also more than ten small cruise ships in Beihai Park, which have also joined the rescue team.

These ragtag troops cooperated well during the flood and transported the affected and trapped people to nearby high ground in an orderly manner.

The people who were rescued had been soaking in the water for several days and nights. They were cold and hungry, their lips were frozen purple, and their bodies were shivering. The moment they were rescued, their legs went weak and they were about to fall.

The soldiers quickly brought blankets to wrap them up and comforted them softly: "Don't be afraid, you are safe, we are here."

Fortunately, the heavy rain did not continue, and the organization also used airplanes to airdrop a lot of supplies to the disaster-stricken areas.

It gives a glimmer of hope to those who lost their homes in the heavy rain.