“Mom, take this money. I have an urgent matter at the construction site and need to head over.”
Gu Xingdong took out all the money he had on him and handed it to Li Xiulan after entering the house.
Since Gu Xingye was not in mortal danger, Li Xiulan was relieved. “You go ahead if you have something to do. I’ll be here with Xingye, so don’t worry.”
Gu Xingdong nodded, then turned and walked towards the construction site with Ding Chen.
At this moment, the feed mill was already in chaos.
Several leaders from the mill had arrived, facing representatives from the design unit and a few workers from Hongyuan Construction Company.
“You provided the blueprints, and now it’s like this. You are definitely responsible,” the mill’s party secretary accused, his face grim.
“We followed your requirements. The blueprints themselves have no issues. Besides, don’t you know if there are air-raid shelters underground? And these workers are the ones doing the digging, they caused the collapse. What does it have to do with us?”
Zhang Tiezhu had been listening to their bickering for some time, feeling as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. His eyes kept darting towards the entrance of the factory, wondering why Xingye hadn't arrived yet.
Just then, two beams of light approached from not far away, and soon a car slowly stopped in front of everyone.
The leaders of the mill and the design unit felt a jolt. They thought it might be city leaders who heard about the incident and were arriving by car.
Gu Xingdong and Ding Chen got out of the car. Zhang Tiezhu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing who it was and quickly jogged a few steps towards them.
“Xingdong, where is Xingye?”
Gu Xingdong didn’t stop walking. “He had a minor issue, what’s the current situation?”
“The mill was building a fermentation kiln. Everything was fine, but today, when the workers were digging, it suddenly collapsed. Many people were trapped underneath. They said they dug into an air-raid shelter.”
Gu Xingdong frowned, his expression serious. “How many people are buried in total? Have they all been rescued?”
Zhang Tiezhu said urgently, “An initial estimate is fifteen to sixteen people, some from our company and some from the mill. Everyone wanted to rescue them, but the mill leaders stopped them, saying they had to clarify responsibilities first.”
As they spoke, they had arrived near the site. Seeing him approach, the other party knew someone in charge had finally come. The mill leaders spoke first. “You’ve come at the right time. With such a major incident, your construction company is definitely responsible. You started work without even surveying the site first. Now that there’s a collapse, you should bear the main responsibility, right?”
Ding Chen immediately became agitated. “We’ve always worked according to the blueprints. Besides, the site selection wasn’t here originally; it was a last-minute decision by the mill. What does this have to do with us?”
“Hey, I say, young man, this matter has nothing to do with our blueprints. It was designed according to the mill’s requirements. Moreover, they didn’t inform us about the air-raid shelter underground. Now that something like this has happened, they want to blame us? That’s not how it works.”
“So, we paid you to do a job, and you messed it up? According to me, both of you are responsible. We paid you to handle things, and it ended up like this. You must take full responsibility!” the factory director said, his face grim.
This matter was of great importance. Who knew if the people inside were injured or dead? Responsibilities had to be clearly defined; otherwise, even if they were rescued, it would lead to more trouble.
“How did it become our responsibility…” the design unit was about to retort when Gu Xingdong’s sharp voice cut them off.
“Enough! What time is it now? Lives are at stake, and you’re still arguing here? The priority is to rescue them!”
With that, he turned to Zhang Tiezhu. “Quickly gather everyone to dig for them. The longer we delay, the more I fear the people buried inside will suffocate.”
Seeing him about to leave, Factory Director Zhao of the feed mill quickly stepped forward to block him, saying sternly, “Don’t cause trouble if you don’t understand anything. This isn’t a simple rescue. With such a big incident, there are numerous issues with compensation and follow-up. City leaders and public security departments will surely investigate. The responsibilities haven’t been clarified yet. If there are any problems, can you take responsibility?”
Gu Xingdong’s stern face seemed to drip water. “At a time like this, you’re still thinking about responsibilities? Those buried inside are living people, even your own factory employees! Is this how you lead? A useless person like you, who disregards others’ lives, I could have shot you in the army. Now, get out of the way.”
As he spoke, his sharp gaze swept over everyone present, and he said sternly, “Everyone, follow me to rescue the people. I will take responsibility for any problems!”
Zhao Factory Director’s face flushed and paled upon hearing his words. Unfortunately, Gu Xingdong had no time to deal with him. He shoved the man aside and strode directly towards the collapse site.
Seeing Gu Xingdong’s action, Zhang Tiezhu and Ding Chen quickly followed to help.
The other people in the factory felt very ashamed after hearing Gu Xingdong’s words, as their colleagues and employees were also inside. To ignore them for the sake of so-called responsibilities was too cold and heartless.
“I’ll help you!”
“I’ll help too!”
Thus, they no longer hesitated and all followed Gu Xingdong to rescue the people.
Since he said he would take responsibility, and many people were listening, the mill leaders and the design unit hesitated for a moment before also joining the rescue efforts.
“Xingdong, the collapse is too severe. How about we use a loader?” Zhang Tiezhu had been digging with a shovel for a while, but as he dug, soil kept rolling down from above, and the cleared area was quickly buried again. The situation for others was not much better.
Moreover, tools were limited, and many people didn’t even have any.
“No, loaders are too heavy-handed. What if we injure someone while trying to rescue them?” Gu Xingdong frowned as he looked at the pile of earth blocking their way. He turned to everyone and said, “If we don’t have tools, we’ll use our hands. Rescuing them is the priority now. As long as we’re even a minute faster, they have a greater chance of survival.”
“But how much difference can digging with our hands make?” someone hesitated. Although they wanted to help, the thought of using their hands made them back down.
“The people buried here are your colleagues, your friends. Their hope is only in you. Do you want to watch them die? The most important thing in life is to have a clear conscience. If you don’t act today, just don’t regret it in the future.”
After speaking, Gu Xingdong turned and started digging himself. Seeing him take the lead, everyone followed suit, exerting all their strength.
Those who had hesitated earlier were immediately filled with shame and joined in. Yes, if they couldn’t use tools, they would use their hands. With the spirit of not abandoning or giving up, they could surely rescue them.