Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

The flood peak passed smoothly, and Qi Tongwei watched the rushing floodwaters with a slight smile on his lips.

He was indeed excited, but not to the point of "inspecting" the flood with a walkie-talkie.

This was a carefully orchestrated political performance.

As a soldier personally promoted by Wang Quanyou, he had to carry this sedan chair properly.

We must not only ensure that Secretary Wang moves quickly, but also that he moves steadily.

After all, if Wang Quanyou makes progress, Qi Tongwei won't fall behind.

Furthermore, his current identity is that of a 24-year-old young cadre.

He should have the vigor of a young cadre and should be extremely excited at appropriate times.

This flood peak is more dangerous than the last one.

The flow rate during the second snowmelt is naturally greater than that during the first.

With the addition of water from Heshan East, the peak water level has reached 1.2 meters, far exceeding the warning level.

The flood lasted longer than the last time, more than two hours, before the water level gradually stabilized.

Leishan held on, as did Heshan, but the downstream Santai was not so lucky.

Thanks to the 30-kilometer buffer zone, the last wave of flooding did not cause too much damage to Santai.

But this wave is different; the amount of water in this wave is several times that of the last wave.

At the end of March, the frozen soil in Bianxi had not yet thawed and had very poor water absorption capacity.

A 30-kilometer buffer zone in the Gobi Desert was instantly submerged by the surging floodwaters.

Santai County has finally faced its major test.

The 109th Regiment worked tirelessly for three days and nights in Santai.

However, the time was too short to complete a flood discharge channel as large as the one at Leishan.

The only option was to build a curved waterproof wall, more than one meter high, upstream of Santai County.

This wall barely saved Santai County, but the villages downstream were not so lucky.

Niuwangong Village, Hongshuiba Village, Erqi Village, and Sanqi Village were all flooded.

The losses in Wumachang Township were even more severe.

Five villages were flooded, and the winter grass in three pastures was completely soaked to death.

......

In the aftermath of the floods, the recovery efforts in each county were quickly launched.

Santai and Heshan are busy dredging and assessing the damage.

Leishan is busy resettling disaster-stricken people who have been relocated from Heshan.

Seeing everything proceeding smoothly, Qi Tongwei was finally able to catch his breath.

He did not forget his promise and treated Zhao Aiguo to a whole roasted lamb.

It was supposed to be a dinner invitation for Zhao Aiguo, but almost everyone who was supposed to show up did.

Baimaiti and Li Shixian arrived, along with many members of the Leishan leadership team.

Even Qin Xuefeng, who is over sixty years old, made an appearance.

However, Qin Xuefeng didn't stay long. He took a few drinks and left first.

With Qin Xuefeng gone, these people finally let loose completely.

Zhao Aiguo slammed his wine glass on the table and immediately began to curse:

"The leadership in Heshan is truly finished!"

"The higher-ups are incompetent too. Heshan has suffered such a huge loss, and yet no one has been held accountable!"

Li Shixian didn't curse, but he did chime in with his own words:

"Well, things aren't much better on the other side, Santai."

"The county seat didn't suffer much damage, but the downstream townships were all affected, with the water level dropping by almost a meter..."

Hearing the two say this, Qi Tongwei and Baimaiti exchanged a glance but remained silent.

Qi Tongwei raised his glass to toast the two of them, trying to change the subject.

He clinked glasses with the two men and said with a smile:

"Brothers, we really owe you a lot this time."

"No need for thanks, I'll finish it, you can do as you please!"

After saying that, he tilted his head back, emptying the three-ounce cup completely.

Neither of them were cowards, and they drank their glasses dry with Qi Tongwei.

But as soon as he put down his wine glass, Zhao Aiguo continued to press the matter.

He refilled the glass, clinked glasses with Baimaiti, and asked directly:

"Director Bai, you represent the city, so please be frank with me."

"What exactly does the city mean? Are they just going to let this go like this?"

Baimaiti was taken aback, glanced at Qi Tongwei, and shook his head helplessly.

Baimaiti shouldn't have said this, especially in such a semi-public setting.

But Zhao Aiguo, being such a straightforward man, asked him directly on the face, so he couldn't very well not answer.

He hesitated for a moment, patted Zhao Aiguo's hand, and replied with a wry smile:

"Commander Zhao, have you ever heard the saying, 'The calm before the storm is the most terrifying!'"

Zhao Aiguo frowned slightly, clearly not understanding what Baimaiti meant.

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask more questions, but Qi Tongwei stopped him.

Qi Tongwei placed a piece of mutton on his plate and said with a smile:

"Brother Zhao, if we deal with people now, who dares to do the work? Who will clean up the mess?"

"Even if a new cadre is parachuted in, does he understand the situation in the county? Can he win the respect of the people?"

Qi Tongwei asked four questions in a row, leaving Zhao Aiguo speechless.

He had no idea about the intricacies of officialdom.

In his mind, mistakes should be punished and merits should be rewarded.

Seeing that he remained silent, Qi Tongwei added:

"Don't worry, justice will prevail. It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't come yet."

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. We only have one task tonight: drinking!"

The drinking session was very enjoyable, and everyone was in good spirits.

By the end of the drinking session, Zhao Aiguo and Li Shixian had their arms around each other's shoulders and had become like brothers.

Baimaiti and Qi Tongwei weren't much better off; both of them had flushed faces and stiff tongues.

This meal wasn't cheap.

A whole roasted lamb cost 240 yuan, and with drinks and other side dishes, it came to a total of 300 yuan.

Qi Tongwei is a deputy county-level official and receives a level-six salary.

His monthly salary is only 280 yuan, and with the border support allowance, it's only 320 yuan.

This meal cost Qi Tongwei his entire month's salary.

Baimaiti was somewhat surprised to see Qi Tongwei pull out three old men's bills to pay the bill.

Qi Tongwei's salary was not as high as his, and even with the border support allowance, it was at most the same as his.

But he's really generous with his money. Does Qi Tongwei have such a deep pocket?

......

Three days later, the post-disaster work in each county was basically coming to an end.

Baimaiti returned to Bianxi City first.

When he left, Qi Tongwei saw him off at the county town exit.

The two shook hands without saying anything.

Some things don't need to be said; we both understand each other's hearts.

By the end of the month, the main force had gradually withdrawn.

Citizens of Leishan County lined the streets to see him off, throwing all sorts of local specialties onto the truck as if they were free.

The scene was very touching, and Qi Tongwei felt a mix of emotions.

The day after the main force left, the city's official notification finally came through.

Heshan and Santai each dismissed a deputy county head in charge of flood control.

In Heshan, the situation was more serious; the county party secretary received a severe warning within the party, and the county head received a major demerit.

In Santai County, the punishment was lighter, with the main leaders only receiving a disciplinary action within the Party.

Upon seeing the outcome, Qi Tongwei remained calm and showed no surprise whatsoever.

This outcome was exactly what he expected.

Firstly, the leadership of these two counties made mistakes, but they did not commit crimes.

According to existing policy documents, there is no basis for more severe punishment.

Secondly, the county still needs people to carry out follow-up work and handle the aftermath.

Handle with care – this is Wang Quanyou's instruction, and also a demonstration of his maturity.

The blows weren't very hard, just as Qi Tongwei had expected.

However, the level of reward offered far exceeded his expectations.