Chapter 107 - 101: Heavy Rain, Flooded Streets

Chapter 107: Chapter 101: Heavy Rain, Flooded Streets

"We have to," Liang City explained. "The grassroots level is short-handed, so everyone does the work of several people. Although our town is large, compared to the sheer number of villages in it, we still have far too few people. Otherwise, why would they say grassroots workers are pure corporate slaves?"

"Will you be pulling an all-nighter?"

"Highly likely tonight. It depends on whether it continues raining in the second half of the night. If the rain is light, I can still go back and sleep for two hours. If it’s still this heavy, we’ll have to prepare for mass evacuations. The terrain here is relatively low, and since it’s close to the river, it floods almost every year."

"That’s tough."

"Tough or not, we have to power through. When it’s raining outside, we wear raincoats and carry flashlights, going out to patrol every half hour. We go door-to-door to check on the situation, looking out for waterlogging or landslides. We also have to keep our phones fully charged and with a good signal, waiting for orders from above at any moment. And the kicker is, there’s zero fucking overtime pay. It’s really bullshit."

Liang City’s resentment was practically spilling out of the screen. In truth, there were even more frustrating incidents he hadn’t mentioned. For example, during his countryside visits, he had been chased by an unleashed dog belonging to a villager, and even knocked over by a pig that suddenly darted out. All of those were simply too embarrassing.

Chen Jingle felt a wave of sympathy after hearing this. Previously, Liang City had actually urged him to take the civil service exam so he could use the connections of the officials’ wives to skyrocket up the ranks. With the grassroots level in this state, why the hell would he take the exam? As for the municipal and provincial departments, the competition was one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand. He’d have to actually pass the exam first.

Moreover, politics itself was an extremely dangerous beast, utterly unsuited for someone like him with average IQ and EQ. He read books on politics and history to enlighten himself and improve his own understanding. Even if he didn’t participate in it, he could still see through the surface to the essence of things, avoiding being easily fooled or swayed by others. In reality, he had absolutely no desire to enter politics.

After venting a bit, Liang City went back to work. His leaders had issued orders: finish eating and head out quickly before dark to notify each village and inspect the situation. He would highly likely have to station himself in the village tonight.

Chen Jingle hoped the rain would lighten up at night so his corporate-slave friend could have an easier time. Thinking back, Liang City used to be an artsy youth too. He loved reading, taking photos, and traveling. But now, it felt like his current life was drifting further and further away from the poetry and distant lands he had dreamed of right after college graduation. Chen Jingle shook his head and sighed.

Chen Qiyun finished her classes. As usual, she wore her backpack and held her small floral umbrella, heading over to Chen Jingle’s place first.

Chen Jingle immediately frowned. "Why are your pants wet again?" They were already rolled up above her knees; they couldn’t be rolled any higher.

Chen Qiyun pouted. "The water was a bit deep on one section of the road."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingle hurriedly warned, "Don’t walk through flooded sections. Even if you have to take a detour, never walk through standing water. If there’s a deep pit, an open sewer, or an electrical leak from a streetlight underwater, you’ll be in huge trouble." Similar news stories appeared every year. Even adults couldn’t adequately guard against such things, let alone a little middle schooler.

"Got it," Chen Qiyun said.

"Wash your hands first, then let’s eat." Chen Jingle took her backpack and placed it on the sofa.

Chen Qiyun had initially felt a bit chilly, but after eating a piping hot bowl of rice paired with rich, fragrant stewed beef, her entire body instantly warmed up. Suddenly remembering something, she said, "Oh, right. Teacher Li said that if it doesn’t rain heavily this weekend, she’ll take us to the Crocodile Ecological Park."

"Crocodile Ecological Park?" Chen Jingle raised an eyebrow. He knew of the place but had never been there. It seemed to have opened just last year and was one of the few tourist spots in the city. Rumor had it that the restaurants inside even served crocodile meat, which had attracted quite a few out-of-town tourists. He was very curious about what crocodile meat tasted like, but he had no desire to actually eat it.

"Is the whole class going?"

"Yes! I heard the next class is going too. Two classes!"

"Two classes?" Chen Jingle found this strange. "Is it organized by the school? Do you have to pay or anything?"

"No," Chen Qiyun said. "Teacher Li said someone sponsored the spots for the two classes. But we need parental consent. Also, we have to bring our own food and drinking water, and we can’t run off on our own. We must stick closely to the group."

"Sponsored by someone? Which boss would be so generous?" Chen Jingle couldn’t think of anything suspicious about it, so he said, "Just tell your parents when you get back."

Chen Qiyun didn’t seem concerned. "Everyone else is going, so I definitely have to go too. They’ll definitely agree, especially since it doesn’t cost anything. It’s just that if I have to bring food..." At this point, she paused and looked at Chen Jingle.

Chen Jingle pretended not to hear.

Chen Qiyun blinked. "I can’t just eat dry bread, right? Bread tastes bad and has no nutritional value."

Chen Jingle still didn’t say a word.

Chen Qiyun puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. "Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Nope." Chen Jingle tossed a piece of cucumber into his mouth, CRUNCHING loudly.

Chen Qiyun’s mouth drooped as she pleaded coquettishly, "When the time comes, can you cook a bit earlier? That way, I can pack it in my lunchbox and take it with me."

Chen Jingle glanced at her. "What if you leave early in the morning? How could I possibly cook it for you that early?" However, he didn’t give a flat refusal, simply adding, "We’ll see when the time comes."

Chen Qiyun’s eyes instantly lit up.

Keeping Chen Qiyun’s mention of the flooding in mind, Chen Jingle pulled up the local city videos on his Doushou app. Only then did he realize that the recent rain had flooded quite a few areas in the city, even though the rain hadn’t been that heavy. Unsurprisingly, the municipal drainage and flood prevention project—which the city government had previously boasted cost a billion yuan to build—was currently being dragged out and mocked relentlessly. They would have been better off doing nothing at all!

Aside from a few specific towns and streets, the terrain of the Jiangbei Urban Area wasn’t actually that low. Yet, waterlogging had occurred on numerous streets within the city, leaving everyone speechless. Chen Jingle saw some particularly outrageous videos where the water had already risen above an adult’s knees.

No wonder the municipal government was being cursed out. Anyone would be furious seeing this situation. If the rainy period lasted a bit longer or the rain was slightly heavier, the water level would likely surpass a meter. Fortunately, his own neighborhood and the few places he usually frequented hadn’t experienced any flooding.

Meanwhile, after filling her stomach at Chen Jingle’s place, Chen Qiyun returned to her own home and immediately tackled her homework. When her parents returned from work, she told them that she might go to the Crocodile Ecological Park with her classmates on either Saturday or Sunday.

"It’s free? And everyone is going? Then go ahead, but remember to stay safe." Her mother didn’t mind.

Her grandmother, however, was skeptical. "There’s actually a good thing that doesn’t cost money? And where exactly is this Crocodile Ecological Park?"

"It’s over in the south of the city, close to where our company is," Chen Qiyun’s father explained. "It’s quite remote. Usually, it’s just schools organizing student trips or out-of-town tourists. Locals only really went when it first opened, and not many have gone since. I’ve heard there’s nothing much to do inside; there are only crocodiles to look at. And if you want to feed them, you have to spend money to buy food."

Her grandmother immediately frowned in displeasure. "If you ask me, what’s the point of playing? You’d be better off staying home to read and study."

Chen Qiyun was unhappy too. "I study hard normally. Can’t I take a break when I have Saturday off?"

"Study hard, study hard... well, have your grades improved?"

"Who says they haven’t improved? I ranked seventh in the class on this latest quiz!" Chen Qiyun couldn’t hold back anymore, her voice rising a few notches.

"Seventh in the class?" her mother quickly asked. "The results from last week’s quiz are out?"

Seeing that they still didn’t believe her, Chen Qiyun pulled out her test paper.

"What was your rank last time?"

"Nineteenth."

"That is quite a big improvement." Upon seeing the score, her mother dropped any objections. "If she wants to go, let her go. Her teacher even said the other students are going."

The old woman still disagreed, muttering, "Only the ticket is free. Once you get there, they’ll definitely try to make you buy this and that. Don’t I know how these things work?"

Even Chen Qiyun’s father couldn’t listen to this anymore. "Oh, come on. Even if she has to buy something, how much could it possibly cost? Do you really think the school would dare force every student to spend hundreds? At most, she’ll buy a meal at the restaurant for ten or twenty bucks."

"The teacher told us to bring our own food," Chen Qiyun chimed in.

"Then there’s even less to spend money on. Just stick with your teacher, don’t run off, and have fun."

Only then did Chen Qiyun take her test paper back to her small room. The old woman was still grumbling. In her eyes, children should stay at home during their days off to read and study diligently. They shouldn’t go anywhere. So what if she studied during the week? Couldn’t she work a little harder? So what if she ranked seventh in the class? It wasn’t like she was first. And even if she were first in the class, there was still first in the grade and first in the whole school.