chsdbacks Chapter 271 Disaster Relief
Chapter 271 Disaster Relief
That night, the two of them made do in a tent next to the distribution center.
Tan Yu brought the sleeping bag, and the moisture-proof mat was borrowed from the supplies pile. The conditions were as basic as they could possibly be, but Lu Ran slept more soundly than at home.
Upon arriving at the scene, I discovered that this earthquake was not as severe as the one in my previous life.
Lu Ran has made up his mind that after the rescue operation is over, he will also do his part to help rebuild the disaster area.
Before dawn the next day, a cacophony of voices could be heard outside.
Lu Ran opened his eyes and found that Tan Yu was already awake, sitting at the tent entrance wrapped in a sleeping bag, watching the busy crowd outside. As a rich second-generation, he wanted to help, but he couldn't get involved and could only stare blankly.
"Brother Lu," Tan Yu turned around when he heard the noise, looking somewhat dazed, "I just saw someone crying."
Lu Ran sat up and followed his gaze.
Beside the pile of supplies, a middle-aged woman in a red vest squatted on the ground, clutching the seal on a box of instant noodles in her hand, her shoulders shaking with each sob.
Someone walked over and patted her on the back. She looked up, said something, wiped her face, and continued working.
"I miss home," Lu Ran said softly. "Many of the volunteers here are locals who also suffered from the disaster at home, but they still came out to help."
Tan Yu remained silent for a long time.
"Brother Lu," he suddenly said, "I will never spend money recklessly again."
Lu Ran smiled at him and said, "That's a good level of awareness."
After a simple breakfast—a box of instant noodles, a sausage, and a bottle of mineral water for each person—the convoy split up and set off.
Lu Ran and Tan Yu followed the first vehicle, which was loaded with tents and quilts. Their destination was a county town 200 kilometers away.
The road conditions were worse than expected.
Once outside the city, the asphalt road turned into a cement road, the cement road into a gravel road, and the gravel road into a potholed dirt road. The road surface was covered with cracks left by the earthquake, and in some places it had completely collapsed, so we could only detour through the temporary sidewalks.
The truck bounced as if it were sailing at sea. Tan Yu sat in the back seat, his head hitting the roof every now and then, making him grimace.
"Brother Lu, this road is terrible," he complained, rubbing his head.
"Bear with it, we're almost there." Lu Ran stared at the road ahead, gripping the handlebars tightly with both hands.
The scenery along the way was in complete disarray.
Most of the houses along the roadside were empty; some had jagged cracks in their walls, while others had collapsed entirely, with bricks and tiles scattered all over the ground.
Occasionally, a few villagers could be seen standing in front of the ruins, watching the convoy pass by with expressionless faces.
Tan Yu stopped talking and just quietly looked out the window.
After driving for another two hours, we finally arrived at the county's supply receiving point—a school playground.
Dozens of tents have been set up on the playground, and some medical staff in white coats are moving between the tents. There are some scattered supplies in the corner, but they look far from enough.
As soon as the truck came to a stop, a group of people surrounded it.
"Is it a tent? And blankets?" A young man wearing glasses ran over, panting, and asked.
"Yes, tents and blankets." Lu Ran jumped out of the car. "There's also a batch of food and medicine in the back, arriving this afternoon."
The young man thanked him profusely and helped begin unloading the goods.
"That's great, that's great..." he murmured, his voice trembling slightly. "We're desperately short of tents here. People at several resettlement sites are still crammed into makeshift sheds made of plastic sheeting, and they can't sleep at night because it's so cold..."
Lu Ran didn't say anything, patted his shoulder, and then turned around to unload the cargo with them.
Tan Yu also jumped out of the car, rolled up his sleeves, and rushed forward.
He carried a box of quilts by himself, staggering as he carried it into the tent, his face flushed red, but he gritted his teeth and refused to put it down.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Lu Ran went over to offer his help.
"Don't underestimate me!" Tan Yu panted heavily. "A man can't say he can't!"
Lu Ran didn't say anything more.
The two of them carried the boxes one by one, making trip after trip, from morning until noon.
We ate lunch by the playground. Each of us had a cold steamed bun and a packet of pickled vegetables. We sat on the steps, watching the crowds come and go.
Tan Yu took a bite of the steamed bun and suddenly said, "Brother Lu, this steamed bun is more delicious than any delicacy I've ever eaten."
Lu Ran glanced at him and smiled: "That's because you're hungry."
"No," Tan Yu shook his head seriously, "it's because I feel that I'm doing something meaningful."
Lu Ran didn't reply, but he was somewhat touched.
This once spoiled rich kid has really changed.
In the morning, Lu Ran could already sense that Tan Yu was about to give up, but he stubbornly persevered.
In the afternoon, the second batch of supplies arrived, another truckload.
Lu Ran and Tan Yu continued moving things until sunset, when they finally finished unloading everything.
As they were leaving, the young man with glasses caught up with them and gave them two bottles of water.
"Thank you so much." The young man kept thanking Lu Ran and the others. "Really, thank you."
Lu Ran took the water, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and then looked at him, saying, "You're welcome. We'll come again."
On the way back, it was completely dark.
The truck's headlights shone on the potholed road surface.
Tan Yu was so tired that he leaned back in his seat and began to snore softly.
Lu Ran took out his phone and found that the signal was intermittent and basically unusable.
It took a long time before we got a signal.
He opened TUTU and glanced at the comments below the posts.
The comment section has been flooded with messages.
[User "Sichuan Xiao Chen"]: I heard that President Lu came to Sichuan in person? I was a volunteer on the outskirts of the disaster area, but unfortunately I didn't get to see him. President Lu, please take care!
[User "Left-behind Rabbit Alliance - Lao Zhang"]: Well done, President Lu! Well done, Tan Yu too! This is what entrepreneurs should do!
[User "Gossipmonger"]: I didn't have a good impression of rich kids before, but Tan Yu really changed my mind this time. The heir of Xingyao personally went to the disaster area to carry supplies. Just for that, I'm a fan!
[User's "Rational Analysis"]: To be honest, in this disaster relief effort, Tutu Technology and Xingyao acted the fastest. They started contacting suppliers the night of the earthquake, launched their fundraising page the next day, and had personnel in the disaster area on the third day. This level of execution is far superior to those large companies that only post donations on Weibo.
[User "Passerby A"]: Upstairs, what's wrong with donating? Donating is a good deed. But to be fair, Lu Ran personally going to the disaster area is truly admirable. How many company CEOs would leave their offices to go to the disaster area and move boxes?
[User "Tan Yu's Little Fan Girl"]: Tan Yu is so handsome! From today onwards, I'm not just a fan of his looks, I'm a fan of his character! Go Star F4!
Lu Ran scrolled through the entries one by one, feeling a warm glow in her heart.
He never expected that his trip with Tan Yu would cause such a huge reaction online.
But he also knew that what they were doing was nothing compared to the suffering of the people in the disaster area and the sacrifices made by the rescue workers fighting on the front lines.
He simply did what an ordinary person should do.
My phone vibrated; it was a message from Shen Yuege.
[Have you seen the comments online? You and Tan Yu are famous now. But please be careful and don't overwork yourselves.]
Lu Ran smiled and typed a reply:
Whether it's popular or not doesn't matter. We still need more staff here, so I might have to stay a few more days.
Shen Yuege replied instantly:
【Understood. Don't worry about Shanghai; I'll keep an eye on the supplies. The second batch is ready and will depart today. By the way, several more companies donated today. Perfect World donated five million, NetEase ten million, and Tencent also donated fifty million.】
Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.
Tencent donated 50 million?
He thought about it for a moment and roughly guessed the reason.
He typed back, "They must have been forced into this by public opinion." He continued, "Ignore them, let's do what we need to do."
Okay. Get some rest, don't overwork yourself.
Okay. You should go to bed early too, don't stay up late.
After sending the message, Lu Ran put his phone away, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes.
The car bumped along in the darkness, the roar of the engine like a lullaby.
He remembered the young man with glasses from earlier that day, the villagers standing in front of the ruins, and the volunteer who was squatting on the ground crying.
This world has many hardships, but it also has many people willing to lend a helping hand.
He felt it was great to be one of them.
...