Doctor Feng hurried to lead the three of them to collect medicine, muttering as they walked, "If I had known there was a mission, I should have let you rest earlier. How can you handle working non-stop! Sigh! I said I'd go! They still thought I was old..."
"Captain Feng, you've actually misunderstood a bit..." Song Ning said.
"Misunderstood? What did I misunderstand!" Doctor Feng was a little surprised, his eyes full of a desire to know.
"They probably didn't think you were old, but that you were... a bit stout?"
Song Ning teased, staring at Doctor Feng's round figure.
Zheng Changan added fuel to the fire from beside her, "Think about it, if you couldn't climb the mountain, the soldiers couldn't just leave you behind, so they'd have to carry you, right!"
Doctor Feng glared, "You, you little brats, it's fine if you think I'm old, but you're calling me fat in a roundabout way!"
Everyone burst into laughter, their mood considerably lightened.
Battalion Commander Zhao's worries were not unfounded.
In fact, not long after leaving Gaoping, because it was dark and the road was slippery, the young doctor surnamed Wu fell and injured himself, and his glasses also broke.
Although he was young and appeared to be in good physical condition, he still found it difficult to cope with the rugged mountain roads in muddy weather like this.
Battalion Commander Zhao had no choice but to order a soldier in the team to distribute the supplies he was carrying to others, and then escort the doctor surnamed Wu down the mountain.
Another doctor would be sent later after daybreak.
Song Ning turned to remind Zheng Changan, "Watch the road carefully!"
Zheng Changan had actually fallen several times himself. Upon hearing this, he silently tightened his shoelaces again.
As they crossed a mountain top, the team also passed a military region outpost with several sturdy tents, from which the sound of engines rumbled and bright lights shone from above.
Battalion Commander Zhao had a brief conversation with them.
Song Ning listened from behind, realizing this was likely an outpost of the Communications Company, equipped with diesel generators and wireless communication equipment to ensure emergency power and contact.
It sounded like the company commander who was injured earlier sustained his injury while transferring equipment.
The mountain road was muddy and difficult to traverse.
Doctor Wu returned. The bag containing medicine, which had originally been on Zheng Changan's back, soon ended up on Song Ning's.
Thanks to the training she had received since childhood, Song Ning, though panting from exhaustion, had sufficient stamina.
Especially when they had to use ropes to climb the cliff face on a destroyed section of the road, Song Ning could do it alone, earning the admiration of the soldiers.
Zheng Changan had to rely on the help of the soldiers, but fortunately, he didn't hold them back in other aspects.
Just as dawn was breaking, the group finally arrived at Yanjiao Village.
However, the scene before them was more tragic than they had imagined...
The mudslide had occurred not long ago. Due to the large number of houses buried, the soldiers who arrived first had gathered the villagers in an open space further away from the mountain and at a higher elevation.
Even houses that were intact had been evacuated. Although the rain had lessened, there was still a possibility of another mudslide.
The villagers were huddled together in the open, shivering. Many had covered their children and the elderly with their only straw capes and plastic sheets, but how could they withstand the damp and cold night.
At a glance, it was a vast, dark expanse, silent and imposing.
As soon as Battalion Commander Zhao arrived, he ordered tents to be set up immediately.
The supplies the soldiers carried were the most urgently needed at the moment.
Song Ning looked at Zheng Changan, who was exhausted, and said, "You have five minutes to rest, we need to start working immediately."
This time, Zheng Changan witnessed a more decisive Song Ning.
She contacted the village chief to first notify them of the doctors' arrival and then to reassure everyone that all could be saved but they needed to queue in an orderly fashion.
Then, she quickly triaged the patients during the initial examination, arranging for the proper distribution of medicine to the mildly ill.
The severely ill were treated according to the severity of their condition, and she accurately identified two capable and meticulous middle-aged women as assistants.
Faced with such a huge mess, she seemed to find the right entry point. Even with only two assistants, she made the rescue scene orderly and controllable.
Throughout the entire rescue process, her judgment was accurate, her movements swift, and her demeanor confident and calm.
It made people instinctively want to obey her arrangements.
Zheng Changan was busy, his hands and mind working overtime, yet he couldn't help but ponder...
This Xiao Song was not just like a doctor, but more like a leader.
And the kind who managed many people.
Just as the rescue work was in full swing, a young soldier rushed over.
"Doctor! Where are the doctors?"
Upon seeing Song Ning and Zheng Changan in their white coats, he said anxiously, "Quick! Someone over there needs first aid!"
Song Ning and Zheng Changan exchanged a look, turned around, and picked up their first aid kits. "I'll go!"
Zheng Changan didn't argue with her. He understood in his heart that Song Ning's medical skills were far superior to his. In an emergency, her going would be more effective than his.
Seeing Song Ning save someone in Gaoping before had truly opened his eyes.
He had been an intern for almost two years and had never known Traditional Chinese Medicine could have such glorious moments. Moreover, acupuncture could be used together with Western anesthesia – what a magical combination...
At that moment, he was completely impressed and resolved to become her disciple!
He turned and sat in the spot Song Ning had just vacated, continuing the work she had been doing.
The further they went into the village, the more houses buried by the mudslide they saw, and the more soldiers they saw, still conducting search and rescue operations in the rain.
The young soldier led Song Ning through almost half the village, and ahead, there was a small area with concentrated lights and people.
Seeing the scene before her, Song Ning couldn't help but gasp.
Due to the rain, the sky was not yet very bright.
Beside a house damaged by the mudslide, several PLA soldiers were gathered. Several horse lanterns and powerful flashlights on the bank were aimed at the center of the mudslide, and in the middle of the mud and sand, a child was trapped.
From the bank to the child, the mud was covered with various materials such as sandbags, bamboo fences, and wooden planks. A soldier with a rope tied around him was trying to step on them to approach the child.
However, the child was at least ten meters away from the bank. Although the mud was currently still, it could not bear the weight of an adult.
When the soldier sank into the mud again, the people on the bank quickly pulled him back, and the rescue failed again.
At the same time, a burst of crying erupted from the bank again.
"Tie Dan! My Tie Dan! Hold on!"
Song Ning then noticed several villagers on the bank; they must have been the child's family.
The old woman who collapsed on the ground crying was being supported by an old man whose trouser legs were bloody. All of them looked at the child in the center of the river with despair and sadness.
Song Ning rushed over and first bandaged the old man's wound.
"Song Ning! Is that Song Ning?!" someone called out to her.
Song Ning turned and saw a figure rushing towards her.
In the fine drizzle, he was tall with long legs and steady steps.
He was wearing a raincoat, carrying sandbags on his shoulders, followed by a team of soldiers, each with a load on their shoulders.
The closer he got, the more familiar the figure seemed.
Song Ning peered closely...
Gu Zheng?!
Is that Gu Zheng?
At the same time—
Someone here also shouted, "The child! The child is not going to make it!"
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