Qin Chuan didn't know how long he had been busy. When he finished writing more than ten identical documents in a row, the county town was already lit up with countless lights, its dim glow dotting the entire area.
He rubbed his aching wrists and flexed his fingers before standing up.
Just then, the room door opened, and a graceful figure walked in.
Li Ya looked at the stacks of paper piled on the desk and asked softly, "Are you finished?"
"Yes, I'm finished!"
Qin Chuan nodded.
"Can I take a look?"
Li Ya inquired, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Qin Chuan had been head down writing all afternoon, consuming hundreds of sheets of paper. Li Ya hadn't disturbed him, but she had been very curious.
"Of course!"
After Qin Chuan's permission, Li Ya casually picked up one of the letters and began to read it carefully.
At first, Li Ya's brows were relaxed, but as she read, her brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and her expression grew increasingly serious.
Qin Chuan, who was resting and smoking nearby, noticed Li Ya's expression and involuntarily felt tense.
He thought he hadn't made any mistakes. He had covered all the relevant factors. This unprecedented flood was mainly caused by unusual climatic factors, coupled with people's rampant deforestation and negligence in managing river mouths and dikes.
The ecological environment was issuing a warning, and one had to be prepared!
He had also tried to be as comprehensive as possible in detailing disaster response and prevention measures. He proposed that people and property in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, especially in high-risk areas, should be evacuated as soon as possible to minimize losses. Had he missed anything?
Each letter was about ten pages long. By the time Li Ya finished reading, a quarter of an hour had passed. She frowned, silent for a long time.
"Xiao Chuan, is this disaster really as serious as you say?"
Finally, Li Ya spoke, her gaze fixed on Qin Chuan.
At the same time, her heart was filled with curiosity!
Because on the letter, Qin Chuan had also clearly written a very special point of knowledge.
This point of knowledge was called—the El Niño phenomenon!
The El Niño phenomenon is an abnormal natural phenomenon occurring in the Pacific atmosphere. Wherever it appears, it brings unprecedented heavy rainfall.
This massive flood was closely related to the 1997 El Niño phenomenon, which was known as the strongest in a century.
Affected by the El Niño phenomenon, this heavy rainfall might last for a long time. If the torrential rain continued, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River would suffer floods two to five times more severe than they were now.
Two to five times, what did that even mean?!
According to reports in the newspapers, some areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River had already suffered heavy losses. Many people's houses had collapsed, fertile fields were submerged, roads had caved in, and communication was cut off. Many people had already gone missing or died.
A disaster two to five times more severe, Li Ya dared not even imagine the terrible consequences.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's better to be prepared!"
"In any matter, one must consider the worst-case scenario!"
Hearing Li Ya's question, Qin Chuan felt inexplicably guilty. He couldn't tell Li Ya that this was an inevitable outcome.
Li Ya was clearly not satisfied with this answer but did not press further.
The man she liked was becoming more and more mysterious the more she got to know him, always bringing her pleasant surprises.
Take, for example, the "El Niño phenomenon" mentioned in the letter. It was an obscure scientific term that many people, apart from professionals, had never even heard of.
Yet, Qin Chuan explained it so clearly.
This was hardly the knowledge a rural youth who had only attended a few days of school should possess. Many university students couldn't compare.
Of course, the intelligence and methods Qin Chuan had always displayed were far superior to those of so-called university students.
"Are all these letters on your desk written with the same content?"
Li Ya asked.
"Yes, the content is the same! Ten letters in total!"
Qin Chuan nodded. "I plan to send these ten letters to the ten most influential media outlets. I don't need all of them to pick it up; as long as one or two media outlets choose to publish it, my goal will be achieved!"
This was the best method Qin Chuan could think of. He knew too well the severity of this disaster, but he couldn't find anyone to tell.
If he told others, they would think he was an idiot. If he didn't, they would think he was crazy or mentally unstable, as the matter involved too much. After much consideration, he could only resort to this method.
Qin Chuan sent the ten letters anonymously. Whether they would be seen and published depended entirely on fate!
As stated above, in this world, individual strength was too insignificant, comparable to the light of a firefly.
But even the light of a firefly was light, and Qin Chuan still wanted to do his best!
The next day, as expected, it was still raining outside.
Qin Chuan anonymously mailed the ten letters to the ten most influential media outlets at the time, such as the People's Daily and the Central Daily. Five of these letters were specifically sent to media outlets located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
That area was the focus of public attention and also the most severely affected region. Perhaps there was a chance it would be noticed and taken seriously. It was a matter of probability!
Just as Qin Chuan finished mailing the letters, his phone rang. He took out his phone and saw it was Li Ya calling.
"Xiao Chuan, where are you? Come to my office quickly, something big has happened!"
As soon as the call was connected, Li Ya's voice came through the earpiece. Even through the phone, one could sense her unprecedented excitement.
"What's wrong, sister? I just finished mailing the letters..."
Qin Chuan was confused.
"That's perfect, quickly buy a newspaper and see what's in it!"
"My God, I can't believe this is real!!"
Li Ya was so excited that she couldn't speak coherently, as if she had seen something extraordinary.
Qin Chuan's curiosity was piqued. What newspaper could make Li Ya this excited? Fortunately, he was at the post office right now, where newspapers were readily available.
"Auntie, I'll buy a copy of Yongnan Headline!"
Qin Chuan walked to the counter and said.
"The newspapers are thirty cents each, take whatever you want!"
The aunt at the counter, chatting with someone, replied without looking up.
It was then that Qin Chuan noticed that almost everyone at the post office had a newspaper in their hand, sitting in groups of two or three, discussing something heatedly.
"This is over, housing prices are definitely going to skyrocket!"
"Damn it, my husband's company was just about to allocate housing, and now this policy comes out. What is the government doing?!"
"No, I have to go to the government!"
One woman was particularly agitated.
Qin Chuan's heart stirred, and his gaze fell on the newspaper in his hand. The first thing he saw were the huge, crimson characters on the cover—MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE! The State Cancels Welfare Housing Allocation!!!
Below were smaller characters—Is This the Spring for Real Estate Enterprises?