Secretary Du did not object to the young man Su San Gong accompanying them.
Although Shen Zizhen was willing to help, he was already old. Secretary Du was genuinely afraid that something might happen to him on the embankment, which would make it difficult to explain to the higher-ups.
If Su San Gong could go along, it would be much more convenient and he could take good care of Shen Zizhen.
"That's excellent. I'll trouble Comrade Su to take care of Teacher Shen."
After saying this, Secretary Du turned to look at Su Xiaotian.
This little girl would stay at home. His wife and younger daughter were at home, so it was good to leave the little girl behind.
However, before Secretary Du could speak, he heard Su Xiaotian shout loudly.
"Uncle Shen, Brother San, I'm going too!"
It wasn't that Su Xiaotian wanted to shout loudly. It was mainly because the wind was strong and the thunder was loud. She happened to be downwind. If she didn't shout louder, others probably wouldn't hear her.
Even so, Secretary Du thought he had misheard.
Yes, Secretary Du thought he had misheard. He felt that Su Xiaotian must have said: Uncle Shen, Brother San, I'm scared!
That's right, it must be!
The more Secretary Du thought about it, the more he felt that it was normal for the little girl to be scared.
After all, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling over the village, anyone who wasn't used to it would surely be afraid!
Su Xiaotian, this little girl, was said to be capable, but no matter how capable a little girl was, she was still just a little girl.
"Little girl, you don't need to be scared. Someone will keep you company at home."
Secretary Du also shouted, his voice very loud. Coincidentally, there was no thunder at that moment, and Su Xiaotian heard him clearly.
She quickly replied, "Secretary Du, I want to go to the embankment too."
"What?"
Secretary Du insisted that he must be hallucinating today. How could a little girl want to go to the embankment?
Just then, hailstones the size of beans began to fall with a pitter-patter.
Secretary Du didn't have time to argue with Su Xiaotian anymore.
"Little girl, it's safer for you to stay at home. It's too dangerous on the embankment."
Such a delicate little girl, if she went to the embankment, someone would probably have to take care of her specifically. Wouldn't that be a distraction?
Secretary Du looked Su Xiaotian up and down several times and firmly believed that his judgment was correct.
This kind of little girl was really not suitable for going to the embankment.
But at this moment, Shen Zizhen said, "Let Xiaotian go!"
Shen Zizhen felt that Xiaotian might be able to play a role.
After all, he and Su San Gong didn't know much about geological disasters, but Su Xiaotian was different.
Su Xiaotian had always been well-read. Perhaps she had encountered similar problems before.
Secretary Du clearly did not expect Shen Zizhen to take the initiative to let Su Xiaotian go.
He could see that Shen Zizhen genuinely doted on Su Xiaotian, but no matter how much he doted on a child, he couldn't be so unreasonable.
At this time, letting the child go to the embankment was not truly doting on the child, but risking the child's life.
"Teacher Shen, please persuade this child Xiaotian to stay. It's too dangerous on the embankment right now."
If nothing else, with such strong winds, wouldn't this frail-looking little girl be blown away?
"Secretary Du, you don't understand Xiaotian. Don't look at me and San Gong, two grown men. If there's really a problem, it might be Xiaotian who helps solve it."
Shen Zizhen gave a wry smile. Although he didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.
Secretary Du intended to persuade them further.
He had heard that Comrade Su Xiaotian was a doctor. Could a doctor solve the problem of natural disasters?
He really didn't believe it!
But since the elder had agreed to let her go, there seemed to be no point in him trying to dissuade them.
"Comrade Su, Comrade Xiaotian, I'll have to trouble you to take good care of her!"
Su San Gong understood Secretary Du's meaning and thanked him with a smile.
"Secretary Du, don't worry, I will take good care of Xiaotian. You don't need to worry either. In critical moments, Xiaotian might be the one protecting me!"
Shen Zizhen listened to his student's words and felt he couldn't bear to look.
If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have wanted to hit Su San Gong directly.
Did he have any ambition at all?
Waiting to be protected by a little girl?
He dared to say it, but he didn't dare to listen.
Hearing Su San Gong say that, Secretary Du didn't feel more at ease. Instead, he felt that these people doted on the child to an excessive degree. Su Dan Novel Network
"Alright then, Sui'er's mother, find all the straw capes at home. Da Zhuangzi, go and inform every household, tell the men of all families to hurry to the embankment."
Secretary Du made a decisive move, not wasting too much time on the issue of Su Xiaotian, and directly began to assign tasks to his family members.
Secretary Du's wife, along with their daughter Sui'er, immediately came out and brought out the only few straw capes they had.
Each of them put on a straw cape and a hat, and were about to go out.
As for Secretary Du's son, Da Zhuangzi, after getting dressed, he immediately went out to find other villagers.
The wind grew stronger, and the rain became more frequent. Even though they were wearing straw capes and hats, they were of little use in the face of such wind and rain.
Su Xiaotian and the others trudged towards the embankment, their feet sinking into the mud.
Along the way, some people were already going out with tools, clearly heading towards the embankment as well.
On the road, Secretary Du almost shouted as he briefly explained the situation of the embankment.
"The embankment upstream had problems this summer, and there wasn't enough time to maintain it. If the embankment collapses, the water from the reservoir will pour down, and none of the villages downstream can be saved."
The villages below the embankment belonged to two townships. Coupled with the fact that Secretary Du and Mayor Liang were also living in the village, it was no wonder they were anxious.
"Why wasn't it repaired earlier?"
Shen Zizhen said with a cold face.
Was there anything more important than repairing the embankment solidly and protecting people's lives?
"It's just that everyone has been busy. We planned to repair it in a few days after the harvest."
It was also because the weather had been favorable all year round, which made them feel no sense of urgency.
Who knew that as autumn deepened, there would be heavy rain.
That's right, according to Secretary Du's guess, today's rain would definitely not be light.
In the past, such weather meant heavy to torrential rain. This time, there should be no exception.
Although Mayor Liang did not explicitly say so, he must have seen the problem, which was why he rushed to the embankment immediately.
However, at that time, Mayor Liang's idea was for Secretary Du to stay at home and entertain the guests.
He never expected that Shen Zizhen would ask to go to the embankment himself.