Chapter Fifty-Eight: Live Broadcast

The next day, the clouds in the sky had thinned. Though the sun didn't appear, at least the sky was visible at last. With the passage of the cyclone, the days of relentless rain finally showed signs of coming to an end.

"Good day, viewers. This is the Yijiang City Television Daily News. I am your host, Yang Lu. Recently, our city has been battered by continuous rainfall—total precipitation in half a month has already tripled the average for this time of year, seriously impacting residents' lives. Right now, I am standing in Gaogang Village, the city's largest shantytown. As you can see, the environment here is extremely harsh: sewage everywhere, and a pervasive, unpleasant stench in the air...

Not far from me, the people you see busily at work are members of the volunteer rescue and construction team, well-known to all. We originally intended to interview them, but they're simply too busy to spare any time. Accompanying me now is Director Li from the Heping Road Subdistrict Office. Director Li, hello. It's said that the two-story building beside us is the temporary shelter for disaster victims. Would you take us inside for a look?"

The camera remained focused on the distant rescue team, only briefly sweeping across Director Li's face after the reporter finished speaking, before turning toward the two-story building.

"Of course, right this way, everyone. This floor is housing sixteen disaster victims in total, all elderly and children left homeless by the collapse of their homes in the storm. Among them are three retired soldiers..."

As the reporter walked, the camera followed into the building. Several elderly people, their faces etched with wrinkles, were hanging clothes to dry in the corridor. One small room was tightly shut, but through the window, it was possible to see it filled with bottled water and other supplies.

"Under the directives of the municipal party committee and city government, and with the guidance of district leadership, our office immediately launched rescue operations after the heavy rains. However, given the unique environment of Gaogang Village, rescue efforts have been extremely difficult. Upon learning that this volunteer rescue team had already begun their work here, we immediately donated supplies and assigned dedicated staff to join the rescue..."

Director Li kept edging in front of the camera, chattering away. Fortunately, he had the sense not to claim the rescue team as a street office initiative.

He would have liked to say so, for if the rescue team were organized by the office, much of the credit would have been theirs. But the reality, now widely discussed online, was well known to anyone paying attention: from the very beginning, this rescue team had been a grassroots initiative.

Moreover, before filming began, the reporter had reminded him: this segment was to promote exemplary models of civic virtue.

Old Li was frankly bewildered. He hadn't expected the floods in Gaogang Village to cause such a stir. This rundown area flooded every year—leaky roofs and collapsed walls were nothing new. Usually, a few repairs would suffice, so long as no one was killed, it was never a big deal. With houses like these, accidents might happen, but it was hard to imagine anyone actually dying from a collapse.

This was an annual occurrence—why had it blown up this year, turning the whole city upside down over what was, in his eyes, a minor flood? The attention from both city authorities and the public now seemed to rival that of a major Yangtze River flood.

"Thank you, Director Li, for your introduction. Next, let's hand the microphone to some of the elderly residents here and hear what they have to say."

The reporter gestured subtly at Director Li to pass the microphone, which he did, albeit reluctantly, to an elderly lady with white hair.

"Ma'am, are you a resident here?"

"Yes, I've lived in this village for over seventy years, and I've never met such good people before. Half my house collapsed. If it weren't for young Zhao and his team, who carried me out on their backs, these old bones of mine wouldn't be here today!" she replied.

The mention of "young Zhao" animated the other elderly residents.

"Young Zhao nearly got crushed saving my old man..."

"It was young Zhao who climbed up and patched our roof..."

"Young Zhao..."

Seizing the moment, the reporter addressed the camera: "Viewers must be wondering—who is this mysterious 'young Zhao'? Our investigation reveals that his full name is Zhao Zejun, a senior at City No. 4 High School. He is a close friend of team leader Jiang Xuan and the initiator of this rescue operation."

After learning of the television station's plans to interview them, Zhao Zejun and Jiang Xuan had carefully discussed their "roles." Jiang Xuan would act as the public face and team leader, while Zhao Zejun would be presented as the initiator and sole volunteer. Given Zhao Zejun's status as a student, and Jiang Xuan's evident social experience, it made sense for Jiang Xuan to face the media—thus avoiding unnecessary complications.

"Don't keep asking us," one old man interjected. "We aren't educated and don't have much to say. Go interview young Zhao."

The reporter turned to the camera: "Very well, let's go to the scene and talk to the two main figures in this rescue—team leader Jiang Xuan and initiator Zhao. Right now, they are still hard at work on the front lines. In fact, Zhao himself is running a high fever..."

To demonstrate the city government's concern, this was a live broadcast. The reporter herself felt nothing amiss with her words, but some viewers at home were already incensed.

"Damn, the rescue team is risking their lives, and the street office is hogging the camera!"

"Shameless!"

"These journalists have no professionalism at all. What's the point in all this empty talk? Hurry up and interview the rescue team!"

Of course, the reporter and Director Li couldn't hear the viewers' complaints. Soon, the camera followed the reporter to the scene.

Zhao Zejun had just emerged from a leaking house, clutching an old, battered suitcase, his face streaked with mud.

"Hello, Zhao. I'm from Yijiang City Television. May I ask you a few questions?"

"Hello. Could you wait a moment? I need to deliver this to the building over there," Zhao replied, nodding at the suitcase in his arms.

"Certainly. It looks like you went in especially to save that suitcase. Can you show us what's inside?" the reporter asked curiously, following him.

"It's nothing special. The house belonged to an elderly man. The rain was so heavy yesterday, I worried the building wouldn't hold, so I moved him to the other building. He told me there were important things in this box that he didn't want ruined by the water," Zhao explained as he opened the suitcase.

The cameraman quickly turned the lens toward the box.

There wasn't much inside—some cotton clothes for winter at the bottom, and on top, neatly folded, a faded, well-worn military uniform. Resting on the uniform was a tin can once used for rice porridge.

"What's this?" The reporter picked it up and shook it, producing a light metallic jingle. She twisted open the lid and poured out several metal medals in the shape of five-pointed stars. Though the ribbons were faded, the stars themselves gleamed from years of polishing.

"Military medals!" the reporter exclaimed in surprise.

Zhao explained to the camera, "Given our limited manpower and resources, our rescue efforts have focused mainly on elderly veterans living alone. These uniforms and medals may seem trivial to us, but to them, they are priceless—memories of half a lifetime."

He wiped the grime from his face and smiled. "The old soldiers insisted on joining the rescue, but I managed to talk them out of it..."

Just then, Liang Shi ran over, breathless with urgency. "Junzi and his team found a house about to collapse during their patrol. Two kids are locked inside—no adults at home—and no one can get the door open, no matter how hard they try. What should we do?"

Zhao Zejun's expression darkened. "How could the parents be so careless! Take me there, quickly!"