Chapter 1711: Chapter 1715: Stay Safe!
This year’s Spring Festival.
Chen Cang’s family and Qin Yue’s family spent it together.
The dining room in the new home is quite large, accommodating the whole family.
Qin Xiaoyuan looked at Chen Luo and said with a smile, "Ah, wouldn’t it be great if I had another child!"
Qin Yue was not pleased, "Dad, are you saying you’re unhappy with me?"
Qin Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but nod, "Who’s to say otherwise? You rascal, young men forget their moms once they have a wife, but you went ahead and forgot us as soon as you met Chen Cang!"
After saying that, Qin Xiaoyuan recounted the tale of a little thief stealing clothes, making the whole family laugh heartily.
Qin Yue huffed and squeezed Chen Cang’s face, "Stop laughing!"
"All for you!"
Chen Cang quickly begged for mercy.
"Actually, when Yueyue was about three or four years old, his mother was already pregnant with the second one!" Qin Xiaoyuan mused.
Ji Ruyun nodded, "Yes, at that time family planning was strictly enforced here. I was working at the city maternity hospital, and there was a director, 38 years old, pregnant with her second.
"Back then, family planning was very severe, it was considered a political task, if you didn’t comply, they would deduct your salary or even fire you!"
"However, our director was determined to have the second child; she was willing to forego her salary for it."
"So she hid and didn’t come to work, pretending to be on medical leave."
"When the hospital leadership found out, they withheld everyone’s salaries, urged everyone to find her!"
"They couldn’t find her, the whole hospital didn’t get paid. Later, she was seven months pregnant, and was... Alas, what a pity."
Yang Jiahui couldn’t help but say, "So... regrettable."
Mothers can deeply relate to these situations.
"The village had family planning too, but it wasn’t as severe, just imposed fines."
"Having Chen Luo, there was a fine of 5000 yuan."
"That was around 2000, the family didn’t have 5000 yuan at all."
Chen Dahai had been drinking a bit, reminiscing about the past with some emotion, he sighed, said with a hint of fear, "Back then, your mom was really... hanging by a thread, almost didn’t make it."
Yang Jiahui glanced at Chen Dahai, "It’s New Year, why bring this up!"
Chen Cang and Chen Luo had never heard their mother speak of the specific details of these events.
Upon hearing, they looked curiously at Yang Jiahui.
Yang Jiahui laughed and said, "At that time, Chen Luo was a cesarean, but... after the surgery, the incision didn’t heal for two to three months, it was festering and couldn’t heal, caused a large infection and fever for a week, later it was treated with a folk remedy!"
The more Yang Jiahui understated, the more it showed how serious things were then.
The family’s reunion meal became a memoir!
"But ah, seeing you two now, I feel it was all worth it!"
Yang Jiahui said with a smile.
Chen Luo has become stronger, more mature over the past year.
In the blink of an eye, he’s already in sophomore year.
Qin Xiaoyuan is quite fond of Chen Luo, four men and two bottles of liquor made quite the lively night.
Fortunately, four bedrooms accommodate everyone.
But now Chen Cang plans to buy a villa in Anyang, after all, when Qin Yue has children, Chen Luo has a girlfriend, this house feels a bit small for the New Year.
Tomorrow, Chen Cang decides to chat about this matter with Zheng Guotan when they sit down together.
After all, although Zheng Guotan isn’t a national real estate mogul, he runs Anyang like a fortress.
...
...
Every year during Spring Festival, there’s a segment interviewing those who haven’t returned home, are on their way home, or are stationed at the frontlines.
The capital, as an international metropolis, gathers top talents from across the country.
Yet, this prosperous international metropolis was built by outsiders.
Come New Year’s, it feels like a ghost town.
Aside from the joyous laughter from old alleyways, the usually bustling streets are almost empty.
This starkly contrasts with the laughter and shared joy seen on CCTV.
Tonight, although the capital is deserted, it’s still brightly lit, illuminating this metropolis.
Meanwhile, countless people still hold the front lines, working tirelessly for this city’s safety.
"Come over, try the dumplings my mom made!"
A hearty voice rang out, as a man brought a lunch box to his comrade, offering chopsticks to him.
"Beef filling."
"Why not pork?"
"Darn, pork prices are almost as expensive as beef now, I feel eating pork is a rip-off, beef gives strength, doesn’t tire me for tasks at night!"
After saying that, the man handed over a can of cola, "Dumplings and cola, what a treat!"
The young man, dark-skinned, set the dumplings aside, opened the cola which instantly sprayed out!
"Whoa, Lao Wu, you screwed me!"
"Hahaha... this is the festive spirit, you know."
At the firefighting unit, Lao Wu and Liuzi are partners, and long-standing ones at that; Lao Wu is from the capital, and every now and then, Wu’s mother brings him snacks.
"Liuzi, you’ll be 25 next year, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Any wishes?"
"I... I’ll fix up the house back home next year and then save money to buy a house the year after."
"If you ask me, forget about fixing up the house back home. Buy a house in the city first, it’s good for getting a wife!"
"Get a wife? Well, I’ll talk about that later. Even if I get married now, we’d have to live separately. We’ll talk again after making money in two years."
"What about you, Old Wu? Any plans for next year?"
"Me? I’m going to propose to Mengmeng next week!"
"Whoa, Valentine’s Day huh, nice!"
"Haha, wish me luck. Maybe I’ll be a married man next year."
As the two were chatting, suddenly an urgent bell rang out.
Both of them felt a sudden jolt inside.
Damn it, just when the day is about to break, what task could there be in the morning?
The two quickly dressed and got on the truck, their movements sharp and fluid.
"The Chemical Research Institute is on fire, hurry up!" The captain on duty had a tense expression, after all, a fire at the Chemical Research Institute truly sends chills down one’s spine!
Not just the captain, the other four or five members also felt a shiver down their spine upon hearing the news.
If there’s a ranking of the places most feared and worried about by firefighters like them, then the Chemical Research Institute and chemical plants would definitely be in the top three.
Because too many accidents can happen inside a Chemical Research Institute. Once a fire breaks, there are too many flammable and explosive materials that can easily trigger chemical reactions.
Simply put, it’s a ticking time bomb.
As dawn broke, three fire trucks were on the move.
The roads weren’t as congested as usual today.
But no matter how fast the speed, at this moment it seemed too slow.
The firefighting was zoned, and they were the nearest, less than 3 kilometers away, soon they arrived.
Fierce flames were already spreading.
Illuminating the faces of a group of people below.
That’s right!
The personnel of the Chemical Research Institute had already begun self-rescue.
Upon seeing the arrival of the firefighters, a 50-year-old man with a face covered in soot came running and crawling over, stumbling!
"Put out the fire... save... the fire!"
The captain heard and hurriedly began setting up: "Group 1, Group 2, get ready..."
He supported the middle-aged man and asked, "Are there people inside?"
The middle-aged man shook his head: "No! No one today. But... inside there are..."
Before the man could finish, Old Wu suddenly noticed a man about to rush inside, he hurriedly sprinted over to tackle him to the ground, stopping him.
"What are you doing!"
"My documents, all the data is in there, it can’t be burned!"
"That’s the hard work of our research team, it can’t be burned."
The man in glasses shouted hoarsely, getting up again trying to rush inside.
But he was no match for the strong Old Wu, held tightly down.
"It can’t be burned!"
The man shouted as he cried.
Slapping the ground with his hands.
Seeing this, the man with a face full of soot hastily ran over, pulling at the glasses-wearing man lying on the ground, loudly scolding: "Are you crazy? Going in now!"
"Are you risking your life!"
The man with glasses responded, crying out loudly: "The documents are the result of our hard work! I’ll die to save them!"
Old Wu held the man firmly, knowing that this weak bookish-looking glasses-wearing man, if he let go, he would definitely rush inside.
The massive flames illuminated the faces of dozens of people around, the faces of the staff at the Chemical Research Institute were filled not only with fear but also with dried tears!
This fire burned down not just this eight-story building, but hopes!
As the man said, what’s burning down, is hope!
Seeing this, Old Wu lowered his head to look at the man in glasses, gritted his teeth, and looked up to the captain saying, "Captain, let me go!"
The captain hearing this immediately scolded: "Shut up!"
"Li Zi, prepare my gear, I’m going in!" The captain hurriedly said.
Li Zi heard and saw the captain, hurriedly said: "No, Captain, you have to stay to lead, I’ll go in!"
Old Wu let go of the glasses-wearing man: "I’ll go with Li Zi, we can look out for each other."
Hearing this, the captain looked at the two most in-sync members in the team, didn’t hesitate, nodded: "Alright, stay safe, the stuff might not come out, but people must come out safely!"
"Damn it, during the New Year’s, there’s trouble!"
The captain murmured under his breath.
They are firefighters, not the police, responsible for putting out fires, not catching arsonists.
Don’t think firefighters love their job, if there was a choice, who would willingly go into this pit of fire!
"Li Zi, Old Wu!"
"Here!"
"Here!"
"Get ready to go, stay safe!"
"Yes!"