Chen Lan saw that things were indeed as she had guessed, that everyone truly didn't believe her. She then continued very seriously, "Don't disbelieve what I'm saying now. To tell you the truth, I don't want to believe it's true either! But my father-in-law, that elder, said that a great disaster is about to happen. It will occur tomorrow morning at three forty-two AM. A massive earthquake will strike the industrial city of Tangshan, and at that time, the industrial city of Tangshan will be leveled, the entire city will become a ruin, and the casualties will be extremely heavy. The entire earth will tremble, and even we in Harbin will be able to feel the ground shake."
Everyone looked at Chen Lan's extremely serious expression and knew she would never joke about such a matter. Furthermore, it was the words of the biological grandfather of the children who sacrificed on the battlefield, so this matter should be true!
Thus, Xu Mingxuan spoke with some anxiety, "Lan'er, this matter is so important, why didn't you say it earlier? If you had said it earlier, everyone could have made preparations in advance! But now you're only saying it, and it's already too late to do anything?"
Chen Lan knew that no matter what she said, the outcome would be like this. In short, no matter what she did, she wouldn't be seen as good.
So she replied, "Then you go make a phone call or send a telegram now and tell everyone to evacuate overnight! I think it's still possible to evacuate in time. I, Chen Lan, say this here: if anyone believes you, Xu Mingxuan, and doesn't suspect you of having ulterior motives, and immediately organizes all the people of Tangshan to evacuate right away, instead of immediately arresting you and calling you a spreader of fear-mongering, then I, Chen Lan, will take your surname Xu."
Seeing Chen Lan say such a thing, Xu Mingxuan knew Chen Lan was angry with him. He couldn't help but sigh heavily. He also knew that no one would believe such words even if he said them. Alas! He blamed himself for speaking carelessly in his haste.
The old lady and the children didn't care about anything else. They began to feel uneasy. The old lady asked in a panic, "Lan'er, what should we do?"
Chen Lan comforted her mother-in-law, "Mother, don't be afraid. The impact on Harbin won't be significant. Besides, I and your son are here! Anyway, it's too hot and stuffy in the house today to stay. We won't stay in the house tonight. Our whole family will stay in the yard tonight. We'll move the sofas to the yard shortly. After tonight passes, everything will be fine tomorrow."
After saying this, Chen Lan supported her mother-in-law's arm and held little Shi Mei's hand, preparing to go to the yard. Xu Mingxuan led the other children to move the sofas from the living room to the open space in the yard.
Chen Lan asked Jiayao and the other boys to go back inside the house, turn off all the lights, and also switch off the power outlets and sockets. Then, take down anything placed high up and put it directly on the ground.
With all preparations made, the family waited anxiously in the yard for the disaster to strike. Chen Lan now regretted telling them this unsettling matter in advance. It would have been better to let them pass through tonight in ignorance.
For those who know that death is imminent but can only wait powerlessly, this invisible pressure can easily lead to a breakdown.
In the long wait, the time for the disaster to strike drew closer and closer. Everyone became restless. They felt the air outside growing hotter, and even in the yard, it was extremely hot and stuffy, making it difficult to breathe freely. This was something they had never experienced before! All these signs indicated that disaster was imminent.
The disaster struck as suddenly as it was said. The family, who had been waiting tensely, suddenly felt the house shake and the ground tremble.
Chen Lan reached out and tightly hugged her tearful mother-in-law and Shi Mei. Xu Mingxuan also held Chen Lan tightly. The children huddled together, hoping for the disaster to pass quickly and for tomorrow to arrive sooner.
At this moment, the city of Tangshan was a scene of landslides and fissures. Lightning flashed across the night sky, and thunder roared deafeningly. Fierce winds raged, and the earth continued to tremble.
It seemed as if in an instant, the entire city had become a ruin. At this time, the entire city of Tangshan was shrouded in a vast expanse of mist. Lime, yellow earth, and smoke floated in the air, piece by piece, wisp by wisp, like a giant shroud invisibly covering the flattened city, as if the end of the world had arrived.
Almost all the houses in Tangshan city had collapsed. The city was filled with broken walls and ruins. The railway tracks were twisted like snakes from the tremors, the roads were broken in half, bridges were snapped into several sections, chimneys had also fallen, and even trains had not been spared, sliding off the tracks.
As the smoke and dust in the air gradually dispersed, survivors staggered through the haze, pale and unsteady.
The family had remained in the yard the entire time. Chen Lan had constantly held her mother-in-law and little Shi Mei. The mother and daughters stayed close together, waiting for dawn.
Chen Lan used the few hours before dawn to organize the disaster relief supplies that had been prepared long ago in the system warehouse.
Finally, as dawn broke, Xu Mingxuan wiped his face with his hand and said with red eyes, "Children, let's go wash up first, then go cook. Everyone eat a hearty breakfast. After eating, we'll go to the unit to take leave. Today, your father and sons will rush to Tangshan for disaster relief."
The children responded in unison, "Dad, we understand!"
After speaking with the children, Xu Mingxuan turned to Chen Lan and pleaded, "Lan'er, I apologize. I was wrong last night. I was tactless and made you angry! Lan'er, look, the disaster relief supplies, I'll have to trouble you to prepare them. Can you prepare as much as possible?"
Chen Lan glanced at Xu Mingxuan and then said, "I'm too lazy to argue with you! The disaster relief supplies were prepared by my father-in-law long ago! A total of ten full cartloads. When you finish taking leave from your unit, I'll go out of the city with you."
Upon hearing that Chen Lan wanted to go along, Xu Mingxuan immediately objected, "Lan'er, you can't go. We'll be gone, what about your mother-in-law? What about the triplets? You know your mother-in-law and Shi Mei were badly frightened today. If you leave with us, leaving the four of them behind at home, with the elderly and the young, I can't feel at ease."
The reality was indeed so, and Chen Lan had no choice but to compromise!