Chapter 25: The House Collapsed Under the Heavy Snow!

Tang Jiancheng walked over and realized that one of the men was none other than Township Head Chen Yuan.

"Township Head Chen, are you all headed to our village?" Tang Jiancheng greeted them.

Upon seeing Tang Jiancheng, Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up. "Tang Jiancheng, you’ve come at just the right time! One of our female comrades is injured. I recall seeing you purchase quite a bit of medical supplies earlier—do you have anything for a sprain?"

"I do."

Tang Jiancheng set down his belongings and retrieved a medicated plaster specifically for bruises and sprains from his large bag of supplies.

"That’s wonderful." Chen Yuan took the plaster and handed it to the woman.

The woman was bundled up in such heavy winter clothing that she couldn't bend down to apply the plaster herself. Chen Yuan and the other two men were all bachelors; when the woman pulled up her trouser leg to reveal her pale, slender ankle, they all blushed deeply, let alone helping her apply the patch. For a moment, the atmosphere grew awkward as none of them knew how to handle the situation.

Tang Jiancheng took the plaster from the woman’s hand. As he peeled off the backing, he said, "Hello, Comrade. My name is Tang Jiancheng. I’m married and have nine daughters, so it’s most appropriate for me to help you with this."

The woman blushed and gave a soft nod.

*How charmingly conservative this era is,* Tang Jiancheng mused to himself. He carefully applied the plaster, stood up, and asked, "Township Head Chen, it’s another seven or eight miles to our village, and it’s all mountain paths. With the snow falling this heavily, is this comrade still going to make the trek?"

Chen Yuan glanced at the woman.

"Township Head," the woman said urgently, "I can persevere. Just give me a walking stick."

Earlier, after listening to Tang Jiancheng’s advice, Chen Yuan had intended to head to Daping Village alone. But then, fearing he might be under-equipped for a disaster, he had returned to the office to round up a few colleagues. Unfortunately, the snowfall was so intense that Jiang Yao had twisted her ankle by accident.

"Jiang Yao, if you were injured, you ought to return, but it’s getting dark. If we sent you back now, it would be too late to reach Daping Village. I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with us. If you truly can't walk, the three of us will take turns carrying you," Chen Yuan said. "These are extraordinary circumstances; I hope you understand."

"It’s fine, Township Head, I can do it!" Jiang Yao stood up, though everyone could see her stoically enduring the pain in her ankle.

Chen Yuan didn't say anything more and led the group forward. Tang Jiancheng found a wooden branch of the perfect length for Jiang Yao. Even better, the top of the branch had a natural fork that fit perfectly under her armpit, which significantly relieved the weight on her injured foot. However, due to her injury, their pace slowed considerably.

Tang Jiancheng couldn't very well leave them behind, so he walked along slowly, briefing them on the situation in Daping Village. He was especially detailed about which households were most at risk, as he remembered from his past life that these very families—the elderly without support and the impoverished—were the ones whose homes had collapsed.

By the time they reached Daping Village, it was already pitch black. Fortunately, the vast expanse of white snow reflected enough light that it wasn't impossible to see.

"Township Head Chen, the fifth house from here is one of the impoverished households I mentioned. The man’s name is Tang Sanshui. He’s a seventy-year-old man whose son and daughter-in-law have passed away, leaving behind four young children. They rely mostly on relief grain," Tang Jiancheng said, pointing to the most dilapidated house ahead. "You go ahead; I’ll drop these things off at my house and catch up with you."

When Chen Yuan saw the state of the house, his expression changed instantly. He didn't even fully hear what Tang Jiancheng said before he hurried toward it. The other two men followed closely behind.

Jiang Yao, however, paused to thank Tang Jiancheng. "Brother Tang, thank you."

Tang Jiancheng smiled. "Don't mention it. If you can't go any further, you can head to my place. My house is full of daughters, so no one will start any rumors."

"Thank you, I won't stand on ceremony if I need to," Jiang Yao replied, proving herself to be a forthright girl.

When Tang Jiancheng returned home, Liu Fangfang and the others were worried. "Why are you only back now?"

Tang Jiancheng dropped his bags and said, "The Township Head is in our village; I need to go assist them."

Liu Fangfang said, "You aren't a village official; why do you need to help?"

Tang Jiancheng was already walking out the door. "They’ve come to our village for disaster relief. As a villager, how could I not help?"

"Jianbing, are you asleep? If not, come with me."

"I'm up, Fourth Brother. What's going on?" Tang Jianbing asked, throwing on his thick cotton-padded jacket as he hurried out.

*BOOM!*

Just then, a thunderous crash erupted nearby, and the entire village seemed to tremble.

Tang Jianbing shrank his neck in fear. "What the hell was that?"

"Hurry! Someone's house has collapsed under the weight of the snow!" Tang Jiancheng sprinted toward the sound.

"Ah?" Tang Jianbing was stunned for a moment, then scrambled to follow him.

Tang Genshui and other neighbors also emerged, gazing toward the direction of the noise.

"What happened?"

"It sounds like a house collapsed."

"Whose is it?"

"I don't know, let's go see."

"In this weather, if a house collapses, where are they going to live?"

The villagers murmured anxiously. All the men headed out, while the women stayed behind to watch over the children.

When Tang Jiancheng arrived at the scene, he saw Chen Yuan comforting an old man surrounded by four children.

"Township Head Chen, are you all right?" Tang Jiancheng asked.

"We're fine." Chen Yuan didn't answer; it was Jiang Yao who spoke. "It’s a stroke of luck. If you hadn't pointed this house out as the first one to check, we would have been a moment too late, and they would have been buried under the house and the snow. The consequences would have been unimaginable!"

"Tang Jiancheng, hurry and lead the way! You mentioned there were other households of the elderly and the impoverished, right? Take us there immediately!"

That moment had truly shaken Chen Yuan to the core. They had been mere seconds away from disaster. If he hadn't insisted with such force that the five of them leave immediately, they would have been crushed to death. Just thinking about it made his hair stand on end.

Without further delay, Tang Jiancheng led Chen Yuan to the other homes. The households of the elderly were easier to manage—since there was only one person, they didn't need to negotiate; they could simply help them out. But the impoverished families were more difficult. Each household had five or six people, and with so many voices, explaining the situation was a headache.

Chen Yuan couldn't use force in every instance, and even if he did, not everyone would listen. In one family, the head of the household, a man named Tang Xingde, simply refused to listen to a word Chen Yuan said.