"You all stay put and help Chief Yan maintain order,"

Chen Fang rebuked them, his tone leaving no room for argument. Qin Yi froze in place, not daring to move.

Then he broke into a run.

As Chen Fang reached the entrance to the red-brick house,

rumbling sounds began emitting from the mountainside.

There was no time to waste.

He knocked on the door forcefully, but there was no response from inside.

Hastily, he stepped back a few paces, clenched his teeth, and charged, kicking the door with his foot. The door burst open with a clang, and Chen Fang felt a tremor in his thigh, signaling he might have injured himself by using excessive force.

At this critical moment, there was no time for second thoughts.

He rushed into the house and saw a toddler playing on the ground, but there was no sign of the elderly person.

Without a word,

Chen Fang scooped up the child and bolted out the door, only to see Wang Yiyi rushing in.

"What are you doing here?"

Chen Fang bellowed.

Wang Yiyi took the child from Chen Fang's arms and said, "You're a deputy head, and so am I. Besides, you can't possibly handle rescuing two people alone. I'll take the child. You go save the elder."

Though he harbored resentment, there was no time to scold.

He turned and started searching the house again.

Finally, in the kitchen, he saw an old man leisurely lighting a fire to cook.

"Old man, the mountain is collapsing, run, hurry!"

Chen Fang shouted at him.

The old man was indeed hard of hearing, he stared at Chen Fang with a puzzled look and asked, "What? The trees are blooming? Which tree is blooming? Who are you?"

Good Lord.

Chen Fang had no time to explain.

He grabbed the old man and started to head out.

The old man became frantic, resisting the stranger who had grabbed him. They struggled and barely made it a few steps outside.

At that moment,

Wang Yiyi barged in and saw the two still in each other's grasp.

He snapped, "What are you doing? Why aren't you hurrying?"

Chen Fang was speechless.

Just as he was about to explain, a deafening noise erupted from behind him.

This is bad.

The landslide had begun.

It was too late.

Chen Fang gritted his teeth and pushed the old man towards the door, a sharp pain in his leg causing him to collapse to the ground.

"What happened to you?"

Wang Yiyi asked, concerned.

Chen Fang inhaled sharply through his teeth and yelled, "Never mind me, get the old man out!"

Wang Yiyi wanted to help him, but seeing the vast amount of earth and rocks tumbling down the slope, even more fiercely than the first wave, he quickly grabbed the old man's hand and dashed out.

Inside the house, Chen Fang tried to stand up.

But the pain in his leg was unbearable.

Looking back at the window, he saw the devastating landslide approaching. It seemed his life would end here after all. He let out a breath, ready to give up, but at that moment, Wang Yiyi suddenly rushed back in.

"Did you come back to die?"

Chen Fang shouted in anger.

Wang Yiyi didn't answer and wrapped his arm around Chen Fang's armpit, attempting to lift him up. However, his own strength was far from sufficient.

At the entrance of the village committee,

everyone fell silent, all eyes fixed on the red house.

They watched helplessly as the sky filled with descending earth and stones, engulfing the red house, while dust stormed towards them.

They covered their noses and mouths,

each one awash with despair.

All of a sudden, someone shouted, "There's someone inside!"

Qin Yi was the first to rush out, only to see an old man, covered in dust, emerging from the cloud of debris. It was Zhu Laogen's father.

They had hoped to see both Chen Fang and Wang Yiyi along with him,

but after looking around for a while, Qin Yi saw no one else.

Right then, the old man knelt on the ground with a thump, crying and wailing, "My benefactor, oh my benefactor..."

"What happened? Where are the two leaders?"

Qin Yi squatted down hastily and asked.

The old man sobbed, "They… they didn't make it out!"

Qin Yi's eyes went black, and he collapsed onto the ground.

The villagers present began to cry as well.

The scene was as sorrowful as could be.

Then, as the dust settled.

Most of the village had been "swallowed up," not to mention the red brick and tile house.

Qin Yi clenched his fists, stood up from the ground, and gritted his teeth, "The leaders must not be dead, I need to save them."

Just as he was about to rush forward.

He was grabbed around the waist by Driver Xiao Zhang.

"You can't go Secretary Qin, there's still the risk of landslides, you can't..."

Old Yan Guai and others also rushed to stop Qin Yi.

Seeing Qin Yi in excruciating pain, the villagers started shedding tears as well...

After all, it was these two leaders who had saved their lives.

At the county committee compound.

In the county head's office, Ding Mengxiang was humming a tune and sipping tea, his first activity upon arriving in the office every morning. In his words, "The plan for the day lies in the morning," and a strong cup of tea was needed to start the workday fresh.

He had just taken a sip from his teacup.

And was exclaiming with relish, "Good tea, truly excellent tea..."

Before he could savor the taste.

The office door was banged open.

He nearly scalded his tongue in shock and angrily chastised the intruder, Du Hongchun, "Secretary Du, didn't Secretary Li teach you about manners?"

Du Hongchun couldn't bother to apologize.

He said, "Something's happened, Leader, there's been a landslide in the Back Pond Village, and half the village has been destroyed."

"What?"

Ding Mengxiang felt a twitch in his heart and stood up abruptly to ask.

In that instant, cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Are there casualties?"

He asked with trembling lips.

Du Hongchun shook his head and said, "All 1058 villagers were evacuated in advance, no issues there, but Deputy County Heads Chen Fang and Wang Yiyi are trapped under a building, currently their fate is unknown."

"Where did you get this information?"

Asked Ding Mengxiang.

Du Hongchun said, "The landslide has destroyed roads, the Baihua Town party member assault team has already gone in, they brought back the news, Leader, should we immediately call an emergency meeting to organize a rescue?"

Ding Mengxiang pinched his chin.

Walked a circle in the office, and said, "Does Secretary Fan know?"

"Secretary Fan is currently on his way back from the city, he instructed you to organize the rescue first."

"Alright, call all the leaders, we're meeting in the conference room immediately,"

Ding Mengxiang said.

Just as Du Hongchun was about to leave.

Ding Mengxiang grabbed him, and said in a low voice, "First, give the heads of the various bureaus a heads up to delay the rescue efforts as much as possible, preferably enter the Back Pond Village after 72 hours, understand?"

Du Hongchun asked, "Why do we need to do this?"

Ding Mengxiang said a bit angrily, "Do as I tell you to, why all these questions?"

"Understood, Leader, I'll handle it right away,"

After saying that, Du Hongchun hurried out.

At this moment.

Ding Mengxiang was in turmoil.

The meeting was definitely necessary, and a stance had to be taken.

However, the rescue could not proceed so swiftly.

The reason was simple, before the landslide, Chen Fang and Wang Yiyi had called to warn him. He did not believe them and took no action. If this were to come out, it would be the end of his position as county head—after all, it would be considered a severe dereliction of duty.

Now that Chen Fang and Wang Yiyi were buried.

The warning was known only to heaven, earth, and himself. As long as 72 hours of golden rescue time passed, and the two were confirmed dead inside, the incident naturally wouldn't come to light.

He would then be able to keep his position as county head.

Though the method was ruthless.

When compared to his future prospects, it was nothing.

At worst, after the two died, he could grant them the title of martyrs.

With this thought, his restless heart gradually calmed down.

Twenty minutes later, in the conference room, the standing committee and leaders of various departments had all arrived.

During the meeting.

Ding Mengxiang first reported the situation in the Back Pond Village.

Upon hearing that Chen Fang was buried, Ding Yuan's face immediately showed a look of anxiety.

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