Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 967 He almost threw himself into the water while trying to save someone.
Li Long was even more worried than the others about what might have happened to the person who had rushed down the river. He ran as fast as he could towards the riverbank, shouting as he ran:

"Don't go into the river! Use a rope! Use a rope to pull people up, don't go into the river!"

The flood came suddenly with great force, carrying a lot of wood, grass roots, stones and other debris. If a person wanted to go down, without enough strength, they would soon be knocked unconscious by the debris in the water, and then they would have to rely on themselves to save themselves.

Some of Meng Hai's group heard the noise and rushed over to the small four-wheeled vehicle to find a rope, while others ran after the person in the water, trying to find a suitable place to rescue him.

Ma Xiaoyan also ran alongside the others, but she was a bit slow, and the riverbank was uneven, with some places not suitable for walking, so she fell behind.

When Li Long rushed up to her, he shoved the gun into her hand and then grabbed her arm and lifted her up.
"Don't come any closer! The water is still rising, don't let yourself get swept in!"

After saying that, Li Long strode over.

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle weighed three or four kilograms. Ma Xiaoyan felt a sudden weight in her hands, and then she was lifted up to a high place.

Then, in a flash, he saw that Li Long had already run far ahead. He was extremely fast and had already overtaken Meng Hai and the others, running alongside the person who was being tossed about by the waves and debris in the water.

Ma Xiaoyan has a keen sense of news; she immediately shoved the gun into the hands of a villager who had just arrived and said, "Take the gun! Get to higher ground!"

After saying that, she picked up her camera and chased after them again. Fortunately, she remembered Li Long's words and tried not to get too close to the water's edge—because she also saw that the river was still rising rapidly.

Li Long overtook Meng Hai and the others, following the current as he went, shouting all the while:

"Rope! Rope!"

However, the person who got the rope was still running towards this side. At this time, the person in the water was five or six meters away from the shore. The current in this section of the river was not very rapid, but the debris in the water kept knocking the person over. He couldn't stand up at all. He frantically thrashed about with both hands, his head bobbing up and down, which looked very dangerous.

It's alright, he still has the awareness to save himself, which means it's not very dangerous. Li Long observed while thinking of a solution—the best thing would be to have a rope and swing it over. At this time, the person would occasionally stick his head out, clearly trying to call for help. As long as the rope is swung over and the other person pulls on it, they can be pulled up.

"The rope is here! The rope is here!" someone shouted from behind. Li Long was overjoyed. When he turned around, he saw a villager running over with a roll of rope in his hand, unrolling it as he ran.

After Sui Kai ran to the riverbank, Li Long reached out to catch the rope, but the man flung it into the river—he wanted to throw it next to him.

As it turned out, the rope end did indeed hit the man's head. Li Long thought to himself that the man threw it quite accurately. But when the man cried out in pain, Li Long looked at his hand and was so angry he felt like vomiting blood!

He threw it too hard and lost his grip on the rope, which then went into the water!

"Are you stupid?!" Meng Hai, who had followed, was also furious. "How could this end of the rope fall off?"

The rope was quickly swept away by the water and couldn't be retrieved—but the person in the water was clearly half-dazed, and the end of the rope landed on his head. He grabbed at it haphazardly but failed, and then made no further movement to grab the rope.

We must save this person immediately, otherwise they might not make it!

"Old Meng, hurry up and get the rope from the trunk of my jeep!" Li Long shouted. He was afraid that if he called someone else over, they might do something stupid and get themselves into trouble.

Meng Hai hesitated for a moment, but looking at the people around him and thinking about the stupid thing that villager had just done, he gritted his teeth, turned around and ran towards the jeep.

"Ah—danger!"

Someone screamed, and Li Long saw a log as thick as a bowl being swept up by the wave and smashed onto the back of the person in the water. The person was thrown directly into the water and only floated to the surface after a while. Then, he seemed to have lost consciousness as he rose and fell with the water.

Li Long knew he couldn't wait any longer. His road construction project was originally a great thing, but if someone died during construction, the trouble would be huge!

Li Long took off his backpack, threw it outside, and rushed into the water!

His physical abilities far surpass those of ordinary people, so he should be able to stay in the water for a while longer!
"Don't come down! Pull me up with the rope after Lao Meng comes over!" Li Long shouted as he went into the water, turning his head to the people running with the current.

He didn't want to save one person only to have to save another. He remembered seeing a news report about a policeman who rescued many people before being swept away himself. He was initially reported missing, and many people were heartbroken. But then, after being swept downstream, he managed to save more than ten people… Li Long admired such a person, but he knew he couldn't do it!

The water was surging, and damn, it was freezing!
The flash floods carried not only debris but also meltwater from the upstream glaciers—it was truly chilly!

He hadn't gone more than two meters down to the other side when the water was already up to his thighs. Li Long shivered, but he had no choice but to stride towards the person with the current!

However, he was fast on the shore and could keep up with the current, but once he got into the water, his speed slowed down and he was quickly left behind by the other person. This not only prevented him from saving the person, but he might also cause trouble for himself!

Li Long had no choice but to lie face down and swim forward!

He could only doggy paddle, but fortunately the water was fast and strong, and with just a little effort from his arms and legs, the current would propel him forward—but there was a lot of debris in the water, and something kept bumping into him, making it both cold and painful!

But this was much faster, and he quickly approached the person who had been swept away by the water. Li Long tentatively tested the water depth, and when he put his foot on the bottom, the water was already up to his neck—damn, it was at least 1.5 meters deep!
The calm water was not so deep, but the flood was so powerful that he couldn't stand up at all!

But at this point, he couldn't worry about anything else. He tiptoed and lunged forward, getting closer to the person. Remembering the advice he'd heard on video platforms before, he knew that you should never let the person you're trying to rescue grab your arm or body. The best way is to grab them by the collar or hair—otherwise, they'll drag you into the water!
He also remembered a video of a woman jumping into a river. When the police went to rescue her, she pulled away the rope thrown down from the bank twice. In the end, the police were unable to continue and sank. The woman was eventually rescued—and was known as a female water ghost, after which she disappeared perfectly.

Li Long quickly approached the man and reached out to grab him by the collar. The water splashed around him, and Li Long felt a strong force behind him. He vaguely heard someone shouting on the shore, and something hit him. Turning his head, he saw a piece of tree with branches and leaves still attached. The cut was very fresh, obviously broken off by the flood.

A searing pain spread throughout his body. He knew he was injured, but he still reached out and grabbed the other person's arm instead of their neck.

Li Long was overjoyed, thinking that even if he got injured, it would be worth it as long as he could catch and rescue the person!

Those on the shore breathed a sigh of relief. When Li Long was hit by the logs tumbling in the water, everyone was on tenterhooks, fearing that he would be knocked into the water and never come out again.

Ma Xiaoyan ran to a high place, adjusted her camera, and hurriedly took a picture. At that moment, she wished she could jump into the water and go with Li Long to save people, but she knew that jumping down would not make any difference. It was better to take a picture here and preserve the story so that it could be publicized and influence others more.

Meng Hai rushed to the jeep, frantically rummaged through the trunk for a rope, then turned and ran towards the riverbank, shouting as he ran:

"Don't go into the water unnecessarily!"

He ran to the water's edge and saw Li Long, who was struggling in the floodwaters, already pulling on Su Qiangqiang, a villager who had been swept away. Overjoyed, he shouted:

"Comrade Li Long, here I go, I'll throw the rope over!"

He wrapped one end of the rope around his wrist and swung the other end forcefully, which landed near Li Long.

Li Long heard Meng Hai's voice. When he reached out to grab the rope, he felt his arm tighten. The villager had actually woken up. His survival instinct made him grab Li Long's arm tightly and then reach out to hug Li Long. This is what it means for a drowning person to grab onto the last straw.

The rope was lying on the side, which Li Long could have reached, but he was entangled by the villager, and the rope drifted away with the water. Li Long had no choice but to struggle to prevent the man from controlling him.

"Oh! We were so close! We had him, why did Comrade Li Long let go?" The people watching from the shore were very anxious.

"What's wrong with Su Qiangqiang? Why does he look like he's trying to push Comrade Li Long into the water?" Someone noticed something amiss and shouted loudly.

"Is he possessed by a water ghost? Comrade Li Long went to save him!" Li Long was already unsteady in the water due to the debris, and now this villager was grabbing his arm. He knew that if he didn't act soon, he would be dragged down and become a water ghost himself!

Ignoring the rope Meng Hai threw at him again, Li Long grabbed the villager's arm and tried to break free, but the villager only hugged him tighter, as if he wanted to be Li Long's soulmate!
Caught off guard, Li Long was pulled directly into the water, which was almost submerging him. He swallowed a mouthful of water, and his eyes stung. Every now and then, things were pushed and hit him by the water. If this continued, he would die!
Li Long became furious and punched the guy several times. The guy just held on tighter. Li Long reached into the water and grabbed a thin branch. But he didn't care and stabbed it into the villager's body.

The villager screamed, water gushed into his mouth, and then his hand loosened. Li Long was overjoyed—it worked! He poked him a few more times, and the villager, in pain, let go. But Li Long didn't let him go. He threw away the branch and smashed it hard on the man's head!

The villager's eyes rolled back and he fainted. At this moment, Meng Hai threw the rope over again. Li Long grabbed the villager by the collar with one hand and reached for the rope with the other.

The rope was swept a little further by the waves, but Li Long was feeling much better now. The villagers were dizzy and couldn't be disturbed, so he grabbed one of them with one hand and paddled hard towards the shore with the other. When Meng Hai threw the rope over again, Li Long grabbed it, and several people on the shore pulled them to the water's edge together.

When Li Long reached the water's edge, he tripped over some debris in the water and almost fell in again.

I've never drunk as much dirty water in my entire life as I have today!

Once ashore, the villagers immediately pulled Su Qiangqiang aside and slapped his face hard to drain the water from his stomach.

Li Long sat by the water, reaching out to wipe the water from his eyes. A lot of dirt had gotten in, and now he couldn't see clearly.

"Don't move! Don't move!" Ma Xiaoyan, who had rushed over, shouted. "You have something in your eyes, and your hands are covered in dirty water. Don't move, let me wipe them for you."

Then a handkerchief was placed over Li Long's eyes and gently wiped them.

"No need, no need, I'll be fine soon," Li Long said hurriedly, squeezing his eyes hard, knowing that once the tears came out, he could just rinse them off a few times.

"Don't move your eyes," Ma Xiaoyan said. "If you move, it'll be harder for me to wipe them!"

"Alright, alright," Li Long said hurriedly, "I can see it now."

At this moment, Su Qiangqiang had already woken up and was coughing up water. Meng Hai breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he had been saved.

"Comrade Li Long, I just saw Su Qiangqiang seem to be dragging you into the water. What's going on?" Meng Hai recalled what had just happened.

“People who can’t swim will hold on to anything they grab onto and won’t let go. He… Su Qiangqiang, right? He saw me as his lifeline. If I hadn’t found something to knock him unconscious, we might both be sinking now.”

“Su Qiangqiang, this is where you went wrong…” The person next to him suddenly realized, “Comrade Li Long went to save you, how could you do this?”

Su Qiangqiang blushed and lowered his head in shame, coughing occasionally; he had also swallowed quite a bit of dirty water.

“He acted on instinct at that time,” Li Long defended Su Qiangqiang. “He didn’t even know what was going on himself. Okay, let’s hurry up and get to the top. The flood is getting bigger and bigger. Fortunately, it’s not going to reach the road. Let’s not do this work for today.”

Both of them got out of the water, but the flood was still rising. The spot where Li Long had just sat was now flooded. After hearing Li Long's words, the others immediately retreated.

Li Long arrived at the jeep, grabbed his clothes, and ran into the woods to change. His mouth still tasted of mud, but he couldn't care less at that moment.

After changing his clothes and walking out of the woods, Li Long saw Meng Hai organizing everyone to go up to higher ground. At this time, the flood had already reached the roadbed under construction, and if it flooded any higher, the road would be submerged.

"Will the small four-wheeled vehicle and the Dongfanghong 75 be flooded?" someone asked worriedly.

Everyone knows that engines are prone to malfunction when submerged in water.

"Never mind," Li Long said before Meng Hai could speak. "Don't go down now. Even if we wanted to, there's nowhere to stop nearby. The water level shouldn't rise that high. Let's just wait."

The situation downstream is still unclear, so Li Long and his group don't dare to turn back now. They're staying here because they think the flood came quickly and should recede quickly as well.

When Ma Xiaoyan reached Li Long, she asked:

"Are you alright now? Is anything bothering you?"

"No, no, I'm all better now," Li Long said. "I wonder how Su Qiangqiang is doing."

"I...cough cough, I'm fine." Su Qiangqiang actually drank more dirty water, but he was too proud to admit that he was unwell, especially since he was the one who was rescued.

"It's good that you're alright," Li Long said. "When we get back to the village, we'll have the village doctor take a look at you. It's definitely not good to have choked on water."

"The water level seems to have stopped rising!" Meng Hai suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "It's been stable for about ten minutes!"

"That's good, that's good!" Li Long blinked hard and said, "The water level has stabilized, and it should drop next. This flood won't have a big impact."

"It wasn't that big yet, but you almost couldn't get up here!" Ma Xiaoyan said, still shaken. "You still need to be careful; this flood is terrifying!"

Li Long smiled and didn't say anything more. He himself was also a little scared. If he hadn't knocked Su Qiangqiang unconscious, he might have been dragged into the water.

Now that I have children, I can't be so impulsive next time—but at the time I didn't think that much about it, I was just thinking about organizing the road repairs, and I couldn't leave people here.

"Old Meng," Li Long called Meng Hai over, thinking of this, "We need to send a safety officer to keep an eye on things. As soon as the flood comes, we all need to evacuate upstream. We don't care about tools or tractors; people are the most important thing."

"Okay, I understand." Meng Hai was also still shaken. "We really didn't expect that road construction would encounter a flood. We really need to be careful in situations like this."

“We have to be careful of flash floods and mudslides along the way, and the same goes for cutting down big trees.” Li Long drew inferences from one instance to another, “There may be many more dangers ahead.”

"That's true. We've only repaired so much, less than a kilometer, and we've already encountered a major flood," Meng Hai remarked. "But as long as we're careful, we should be fine."

Li Long knew the road had to be built; he had already made his promise, and he couldn't back down now. His words had been made, and as the saying goes, "You have to walk the path you chose, even if you have to crawl on your knees."

The floodwaters stabilized for about twenty minutes and then began to recede. The water level dropped quickly, leaving behind a lot of wood, rocks, grass, and even drowned birds, rabbits, and other small animals on the riverbank.

"Alright, the water has receded, let's get back to work." Meng Hai said, seeing that it was still early. "Liu Qiang, you go ahead and be the safety officer. Keep an eye on the water situation. If there's another flood, come back and notify us immediately. The safety officers will rotate every half hour, consider it a break."

Everyone will definitely be happy with this arrangement.

Having been delayed by nearly an hour due to the flood, everyone now consciously sped up their work.

Li Long first retrieved his gun, then joined in to help, while Ma Xiaoyan was busy taking photos. As she took the photos, she was already brainstorming a news article—today's events were perfect for writing a news story!
Li Long was thinking that the roadbed needed to be raised, otherwise a flood would wash away the road that had been built over a long period of time if the water level was high.

It's not worth it!

(End of this chapter)