Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

Crunch!

The military jeep was parked heavily on the side of the road.

"Shi Jin, what happened?" Zhang Anbang knew Shi Jin's steady nature; if he was so anxious to say something was wrong, it must be something serious.

"Deputy Company Commander, at four o'clock, there are fewer children on the ice than before," Shi Jin shouted anxiously.

"June 1st, hurry up and drive the car over there."

As soon as Shi Jin finished speaking, Zhang Anbang immediately gave the order.

laugh!

The Jeep's wide tires jerked off the ground, kicking up dust, and in just two minutes, the vehicle came to a steady stop by the river.

The river in December was frozen over, and several children were playing on the frozen surface.

This kind of play is very common in the north, but the freezing of the ice on the river also follows a pattern.

From a scientific point of view, the water near the river is shallower, and due to the influence of the mud and rocks on the bank, it dissipates heat faster than the deeper water in the middle of the river. It freezes earlier, and the ice layer will accumulate and thicken, with a denser structure, which means it will be stronger.

The water is deeper and the current is more active in the middle of the river. Even in seemingly still streams, there are undercurrents, and the ice forms later.

There is often unfrozen water flowing beneath the ice, which continuously erodes the bottom of the ice, causing gaps inside the ice. In other words, the ice surface in the middle of the river may look the same as the one on the edge, but in reality, its load-bearing capacity is much lower.

This is knowledge that any adult with a little common sense would know, and many children living by the river would also know it.

Although I don't understand the underlying principles, I know that such a thing exists, whether I discovered it while playing or was told by my elders.

That's what kids are all about. Except for a few who are exceptionally sensible and obedient and can remember what their elders at home said while playing outside.

But once most children are having fun, they don't remember what their parents told them; they just care about having fun.

These children did the same thing; while playing, they ran from the side to the middle of the river.

Shi Jin saw that the missing child had fallen into an ice hole because the ice in the middle of the river had broken.

However, these children were quite righteous. When one of them fell, the others didn't run away. Instead, they went forward one by one to pull the fallen child out.

However, as the four children moved forward, the broken ice in the middle of the river could no longer support them, and they all fell into the river.

Fortunately, the river wasn't wide, only about six meters, and it was winter, so the current was very slow. Although the children had fallen into the ice hole, they hadn't been swept under the ice.

"Shi Jin, pull up the antenna. Liu Yi, take off your clothes, get out of the car and rescue people. There's an entrenching tool in the back of the car." Zhang Anbang gave the order without hesitation.

As soon as Zhang Anbang finished giving his order, Shi Jin suddenly pulled open the car door, and while his foot was on the pedal, his hand was already on the roof.

He then grabbed the radio antenna hanging from the roof of the car and twisted it vertically with a "snap," the metal rod gleaming coldly in the snow.

"Deputy Company Commander, the radio is set up!" Shi Jin shouted at the top of his lungs.

Zhang Anbang opened the passenger door, took another entrenching tool from the back of the car, and ran towards the river while issuing orders, "Call the Seventh Steel Company Headquarters! Frequency 440.300! Quickly!"

Before the order was even given, Shi Jin had already pressed the radio frequency with both hands, and the microphone was pressed tightly against his neck.

Wu Liuyi had already reached the riverbank. He had taken off his coat and was now only wearing a Type 87 standard cotton undershirt and a Type 87 military green cotton underpants.

At this moment, Wu Liuyi was wielding an entrenching tool and working hard to break the ice on the riverbank.

Without hesitation, Zhang Anbang ran to the riverbank, stripped off his clothes just like Wu Liuyi, grabbed an entrenching tool, and began breaking the ice.

Shi Jin's fingers moved so fast they seemed to leave afterimages as he rapidly turned the frequency knob, and the indicator light flashed once.

Shi Jin pressed the red PTT button, and after 2 seconds, his throat vibrated, accompanied by the noise of an entrenching tool hitting the ice, and his clear voice was transmitted through the radio.

"Steel Seventh Company Headquarters, Steel Seventh Company Headquarters, this is vehicle number 03, this is vehicle number 03! Emergency call! Emergency call! Over!"

Then Shi Jin released the PTT button, pressed his ear against the earphone, and felt the snowflakes hitting his face painfully.

Three seconds later, the radio crackled with a hurried reply from the company headquarters duty officer: "Vehicle No. 03, this is company headquarters, please continue! Over!"

Zhang Anbang and Wu Liuyi had already broken the ice on the riverbank. Five children, around eight or nine years old, thrashed about in the ice hole for several minutes. Their cotton-padded clothes were soaked with icy water, and even their cries had subsided as they struggled.

Just as Zhang Anbang was about to go into the water, he heard the voice of the company commander on duty coming from the vehicle radio. He immediately shouted, "Shi Jin, make it clear! Five children have fallen into the small river at the entrance of Qianzhang Village! Tell the company to call the township police station to which Qianzhang Village belongs immediately and ask them to help find the families!"

Also, contact the liaison unit's medical team and have them send an ambulance quickly.

In those days, ambulances were not widely available. County and city hospitals had ambulances, but the journey to Qianzhang Village took too long, at least forty minutes or more.

Fortunately, it's not far from the military base. The local hospital has ambulances converted from Iveco vans, so it only takes about 20 minutes to get here.

The military base is located nearby and has a joint military-civilian emergency medical service agreement with the local hospital. The medical personnel not only have battlefield first aid experience, but also have no problem dealing with drowning and hypothermia. This way, the military can provide first aid first and the local hospital can then transfer the injured person to another hospital, which can save lives more effectively.

Shi Jin immediately pressed the PTT button and spoke at a rapid pace, like a machine gun, "Attention, company headquarters! The ice on the small river at the entrance of Qianzhang Village has collapsed, and five children have fallen into the ice hole! Request that the company headquarters immediately contact the township police station to contact their families, and at the same time dispatch the local medical team's ambulance to come to the rescue!"

Repeat! Requesting assistance from the local police station and military medical unit! My personnel are currently on-site providing assistance! Over!

"Vehicle No. 03, company headquarters, received!" The voice on the radio suddenly rose, filled with anxiety. "I'll report to the instructor immediately! Contact local units right away! Be careful! Over!"

"Car number 03 received!" Shi Jin released the PTT button and looked up to see Zhang Anbang and Wu Liuyi each carrying a child.

Shi Jin jumped out of the car quickly, took off his clothes, and went into the water with the two men to rescue the remaining three children.

Seeing that the children had pale skin, purple lips, shivering bodies, and even their teeth were chattering, Zhang Anbang quickly determined that these were symptoms of mild hypothermia.

"Shi Jin, June 1st, take off all the children's clothes, put them on the bus, and wrap them in military overcoats."

The three of them hurriedly stripped the five children of their clothes, carried them to the car, and wrapped them in military overcoats. Although there were only three overcoats, the children were small and could be wrapped up comfortably even when huddled together.

The radio antenna on the roof swayed precariously in the cold wind, and amidst the crackling of electrical current, a shout came from the company headquarters: "Vehicle No. 03! The military ambulance will be on the scene in fifteen minutes, and the police station has already dispatched officers! Hold on! Over!"

"Received, all done."

The car had been running the whole time, and they had been driving for so long that, despite the unreliable heater in the old military jeep, the temperature inside was still around seven or eight degrees Celsius.

This military jeep only has two air vents, both in the front. The gaps in the body are large, and the window seals are old. The hot air is neutralized by the cold air that leaks in as soon as it blows out, so it's impossible to expect the car to be warm.

After settling the children in, the three men were freezing. Luckily, they were all grown men, and there were hardly any people around. They quickly stripped themselves naked.

Despite it being winter, the cold wind blew and the moisture on their bodies dried quickly; the skin of the three of them was frozen purple.

My thermal underwear got soaked in the water and I couldn't wear it anymore. Luckily, the two layers of clothes I had taken off earlier kept me from getting too cold.

The three of them quickly put on their clothes. "Shi Jin, Liu Yi, we still have some warm water in our water bottles. You two can feed the children some. I'll hurry to the village to see if I can borrow some hot water bottles or blankets."

After giving his instructions, Zhang Anbang swung his arms and ran quickly towards the village.

"Hey folks! Do you have a hot water bottle? I need it for a rescue!"

The old woman who came out of the kitchen saw Zhang Anbang in his military uniform and immediately said, "Yes, yes! There are two. We just filled a container with warm water. Did anyone fall in?"

This kind of thing happens quite often in winter, and the old lady immediately figured out what was going on.

"Yes, yes, ma'am, we don't know whose child it is, but they fell into an ice hole while playing by the river. We just got them out of the water and are waiting for the ambulance. We'd like to borrow some hot water bottles and blankets to warm them up."

Upon hearing this, the old woman ran into the main room without saying a word and brought out a thick cotton quilt. "Comrade PLA soldier, it must be a child from our village. You take these first, and I'll go find some hot water bottles over there."

Zhang Anbang took the quilt and headed straight for the jeep.

"Shi Jin, how are you? Quick, get the hot water bottle, just put it through the military overcoat so you don't get burned, and cover yourself with a blanket too."

"Deputy Company Commander, he's a little better than before. He's regained some consciousness. We just fed him some warm water."

"That's good, that's good."

"How long will it take for the ambulance to arrive?"

"Deputy Company Commander, we just made contact with the ambulance via radio. They'll be there in five minutes."

"That's good. These kids should be fine. I wonder whose children they are. You can't just go into the river when it's icy in winter."

"Who says otherwise? It's so cold, and there's not much to do. The adults are still warm at home, and these little ones have come out to play."