The little girl’s crying interrupted their conversation, and Qi Taiguo hurriedly looked over. After checking, he said to Cheng Su, "She might have fainted from shock, probably has some internal injuries."
When he had found them, they were under a cabinet, the woman was pinned down by it, and her daughter was protected beneath her.
Qi Taiguo pressed firmly on the woman’s philtrum, and after a while, she came to, beginning to groan in pain.
"We must get her to a doctor," Qi Taiguo said.
"But where can we find a doctor now?" Cheng Su was on the verge of tears; the whole county was without electricity, it was pitch dark, and it was hard to see the roads.
This was the main difficulty, and Qi Taiguo was also at a loss.
"Let’s hope for rescue to arrive soon," Qi Taiguo finally said after a long while.
It was just past seven o’clock. When would rescue come? During the seemingly endless night, without power restoration, even rescue operations were difficult to carry out. Their only hope was that the earthquake had occurred in the evening when everyone was still awake and could escape.
"I have two coworkers, I don’t know how they are either," Cheng Su said leaning on him, silently praying in her heart, waiting and hoping they had managed to escape in time.
Qi Taiguo held her hand and said, "Fortune favors the brave, don’t worry too much."
Cheng Su nodded, hoping for divine protection.
In the disaster, time seemed to pass especially slowly, and they experienced three more aftershocks. There were people shouting for help.
In the darkness, suddenly lights shone, one after another, the round glows of headlights.
In those days, few people could afford cars, yet they weren’t nonexistent. These few headlights were like guiding lights, illuminating the world.
More vehicles arrived, sounding their horns. Qi Taiguo stood up, squinting to see, and said, "Those are fire engines, military vehicles, it must be the rescue team arriving."
A weight lifted off Cheng Suxin’s heart, but listening to the sobs that grew louder and softer, she felt she couldn’t take it anymore.
A nightmarish night.
Cheng Su was roused by the crying, and when she awoke, daylight had broken. She was covered with a coat, and upon opening her mouth, she felt a painful dryness in her throat and her body felt extremely heavy.
"Qi Taiguo?" Cheng Su sat up, and not seeing his figure nearby, panic surged within her.
She stood up with the military coat, and upon seeing the scene before her, her face turned deathly pale.
The world was shattered, with broken and collapsed buildings everywhere, and people searching through the debris.
Heartrending cries came from the left. Cheng Su turned to look and saw soldiers covering a body with a white cloth, standing in silent tribute, while a woman threw herself onto it, wailing in despair.
Not far away, a child barely a few years old was crying loudly for their parents.
Cheng Su took two steps back in shock, hands covering her mouth, her eyes reddening as tears welled up instantly.
A natural disaster, the unstoppable force of nature, unavoidable by anyone, an earthquake that had left countless without homes, many children orphaned.
Cheng Su knelt down on the ground, overwhelmed by sorrow for the world, for these compatriots.
"What’s wrong? What happened?" Qi Taiguo ran over.
At the sound of his voice, Cheng Su turned her head, got up, and threw herself into his arms, crying, "Where did you go?"
"I went to get some water for you. You were a bit feverish, you need to hydrate," Qi Taiguo lifted the water in his hand to show her.
Cheng Su, weeping, said, "Don’t, don’t leave me, I won’t let you go away."
"Alright, alright. Let’s go, I asked around, and the hospital wasn’t damaged much, many people have headed there. You need treatment; let’s go," Qi Taiguo pulled her along.
Cheng Su nodded, took a step, and suddenly winced in pain.