Moreover, if Teacher Shen were to have an accident, neither he nor Secretary Du could provide an explanation to their superiors.
"I insisted on coming," Shen Zizhen replied directly before Secretary Du could speak.
Since Shen Zizhen had already spoken, Mayor Liang had little else to say.
"Teacher Shen, it's dangerous here. You should find a safe place to rest for a while!"
"Old Liang, Teacher Shen and Comrade Xiao Tian said the base of the levee might be severely damaged. They want us to find someone to go down and check."
Secretary Du knew that Shen Zizhen would not leave, so he directly relayed what Shen Zizhen had said earlier.
"From the top, the levee seems to be quite sturdy!"
A man around fifty years old spoke up, clearly disagreeing with the opinion that the base of the levee was severely damaged.
Mayor Liang looked at the man and said, "Teacher Shen, this is our village's Party Branch Secretary, Old Wu."
"Secretary Wu, we are not speaking without cause," Shen Zizhen replied, his tone a little anxious, but he remained patient.
"But we just walked over it, and we didn't feel any problems."
Secretary Wu clearly stuck to his own opinion.
"It looks sturdy from the top. If there were problems felt from walking on it, it wouldn't have lasted this long. Secretary Wu, I know you have experience, but sometimes, even with experience, one cannot judge accurately."
"If the base is severely damaged and the rainfall increases tonight, this levee might not hold for much longer. If something truly happens, it will be too late for regrets," Su Sanggong said.
He believed his sister's judgment was likely correct, especially since he noticed that the teacher also seemed to think so, which made him even more convinced that the levee's base might be nearly destroyed.
In other words, if there were indeed problems below, and the base had been eroded by water, the levee could collapse at any moment.
Secretary Wu looked at Su Sanggong.
If Su Xiaotian had spoken, this man might have expressed doubt, but now that Su Sanggong was speaking, he didn't know what to say.
"Old Liang, let's still find someone to go down and check," Secretary Du said.
He decided to trust Teacher Shen and these two young comrades.
After all, they were from the capital and had seen much more of the world; they shouldn't be speaking carelessly on such a matter.
Besides, if there were no problems, then going down to check would bring peace of mind.
And if there were problems, immediate action might still be in time.
Hearing Secretary Du also agree with Shen Zizhen and the others, Secretary Wu no longer objected.
"I'll go arrange it now. Our village's Dazhuzi is a good swimmer; I'll go talk to him." Secretary Wu took on the task.
"Tie a rope when you go into the water. Human safety is the most important thing at all times," Shen Zizhen reminded him.
Secretary Wu responded with a loud "yes" and left immediately.
Soon, several more people arrived.
From the mouths of the two town leaders, Shen Zizhen and the others learned that these were all village cadres.
"Organize the villagers to prepare for levee repairs," Mayor Liang instructed directly. "Try to get everyone in the village who can work to help. We need to hurry."
If the levee broke, countless people would suffer, and some families might even have their homes washed away.
"Mayor, it's already dark. Can't we wait until tomorrow?" Someone clearly felt that now was not a good time to repair the levee.
"Village Chief Li, I wish we could wait, but we also need to see if the levee can wait until tomorrow. Old Wu has already arranged for someone to investigate. Based on the assessment, this levee probably won't last until tomorrow."
"Secretary Du, is Mayor Liang telling the truth?" another village cadre asked Secretary Du.
Clearly, this was not from Liang Town, but a village cadre from Dongwan Town, under Secretary Du's jurisdiction.
"The situation is likely even more serious than we imagine," Secretary Du said, trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation.
Although these village cadres were all decent and had prestige in the village, getting them to act at such a time was not easy.
Only by making them feel that the matter was extremely serious would they truly commit themselves wholeheartedly.
"Can it really not wait until tomorrow?"
"First, organize people and have the villagers ready to work. We are defending our homes, not working for others," Mayor Liang said, his temper rising at their questioning, and he spoke forcefully.
Seeing Mayor Liang get angry, the few village cadres dared not say anything more.
"Let's go to the levee first. Someone should have gone into the water by now," Shen Zizhen said.
He could see that these people would not willingly organize people to work unless they were truly certain that there were serious problems at the base of the levee.
After all, with the household responsibility system now in place, it was different from a few years ago.
Hearing Shen Zizhen's suggestion, several people nodded in agreement.
They all felt that although the levee had some issues, they were not too serious.
Therefore, they all believed that delaying until tomorrow would not make a significant difference.
The group hurried towards the spot Su Xiaotian believed had problems and saw a young man, with a rope tied around his waist, just entering the water.
On the shore, several people were nervously holding the rope.
"Secretary Wu, what if something happens to Dazhuzi when he goes down now? If we suspect the levee has problems, dumping some sand and gravel here for the night should be fine."
Someone still had reservations about Secretary Wu sending someone into the water at this time.
It was completely dark now, and no one could see anything underwater.
"What do you know? If the underwater levee has major problems, it won't matter how much sand and gravel we dump here!" Secretary Wu retorted.
Although the young man didn't entirely agree with Secretary Wu's intention, he knew Secretary Wu had a bad temper, and provoking him would only cause trouble for himself.
Su Xiaotian saw so many people standing on this fragile section of the levee, and her worry increased.
Heavy rain had been falling for over half an hour, and the levee should have been softened by the rainwater. With so many people standing on it simultaneously, the danger would only increase.
She wanted to tell them to evacuate, but she also knew that even if she shouted until her voice was hoarse, it would be useless.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xiaotian still went to find the two township leaders.
They were local leaders, and these villagers should listen to them.
Just as Su Xiaotian was communicating with the two, the people on the levee felt the person in the water pulling the rope and quickly began to pull him ashore.
This had been agreed upon before Dazhuzi entered the water.
In this kind of weather, even if the person in the river shouted at the top of their lungs, the people on the shore wouldn't hear them.
That's why they agreed that as soon as Dazhuzi pulled the rope underwater, the people on the shore would immediately reel it in and pull him up.