CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 265 ORIGINAL SIN 74

No one spoke during the meal; everyone ate as quickly as possible to fill their stomachs. There was no time for rest, let alone the luxury of a post-meal half-hour rest. Instead, they immediately grabbed their tools and continued to work.

Yun Shuangshuang also quickly ate, then grabbed a shovel and ran over with the soldiers to clear the road blocked by the mudslide.

When Yun Shuangshuang arrived, the soldiers had already cleared a large stretch of the road, but there was still a long section blocked by soil and rocks mixed with a small number of plant roots.

Normally, clearing such a road would involve loading all the cleared debris onto trucks for removal. However, it was an emergency, and saving lives was paramount, so the soldiers clearing the road simply shoveled the soil and rocks over the cliff next to the road. After all, it wasn’t polluting.

Yun Shuangshuang joined in shoveling soil and tossing it off the cliff. The road was only so wide and couldn’t accommodate too many people working together. Those who stepped up were divided into two rows: one row in front shoveling the soil and rocks into wheelbarrows, and the other row waiting to push the filled wheelbarrows to the cliff and dump them.

Behind these two rows, a group of people was stationed to keep watch for possible recurring mudslides. If a mudslide occurred, they would warn everyone as early as possible; if not possible, they would rescue people as quickly as possible to reduce casualties.

When the workers in the front two rows became tired, they would swap with those resting. The watchers would move up to work, while those resting would take on the watch duties, and this cycle continued to clear the road.

Yun Shuangshuang, being quite strong, didn’t make anyone wait for her to push a wheelbarrow. She chose the spot closest to the edge of the cliff, where she could simply shovel the soil and rocks off the edge, rather than needing someone to help her push a cart.

This kind of work seemed simple but was actually tiring and dangerous. First, being close to the cliff was definitely risky with the threat of sudden mudslides, and secondly, each time she had to use force to throw the debris off the shovel and over the cliff.

Initially, it wasn’t too tiring, but over time, her arms began to ache from fatigue. It was much more tiring than just putting the soil and rocks into a wheelbarrow and required more strength.

At first, the soldiers were unwilling to let Yun Shuangshuang work in such a tiring and dangerous position, but she insisted, and they couldn’t outmatch her determination. After all, she was standing there, and no one could move her.

Yun Shuangshuang’s reason for choosing that spot was simple: she practiced martial arts and was much more agile than ordinary people.

To put it bluntly, if a mudslide were to occur at the edge of the cliff, she would likely outrun the collapse of the road. Another well-trained soldier might also manage, but she had more confidence in her abilities, so she figured she was much safer than others in that spot.

Unable to persuade or move Yun Shuangshuang, and with disaster relief not waiting for anyone, they had no choice but to agree with her and quickly start working.

While working, they had to bend slightly and exert force, which quickly caused fatigue in the back. However, Yun Shuangshuang was alright, given her small stature; she didn’t have to bend as much, so she wasn’t as tired.

Yun Shuangshuang worked industriously and quickly, not only keeping up with others but also helping to shovel extra loads of soil for those around her. Alternating between standing up and bending over, the road was visibly cleared at a rapid pace.

Initially, some people wanted to take care of Yun Shuangshuang, thinking that she, as a young girl, might not withstand the work pace. They certainly didn’t expect her to work faster than the men, without a word, and not complain about exhaustion even when they were already aching and trembling. Many soldiers silently gave her a thumbs up, impressed by her resilience.

Some soldiers thought Yun Shuangshuang was gritting her teeth and pushing through it, but she really didn’t reach the point of just enduring. Her training in martial arts had conditioned her to handle much greater fatigue, and although bending constantly made her back sore, she was otherwise fine.

For the soldiers, even with alternating rest, clearing the road was no easy task, but it wasn’t overly exhausting since they had rest periods and weren’t completely overstretching their limits. For Yun Shuangshuang, it was even lighter work except for some back discomfort from bending too long.

However, Yun Shuangshuang didn’t push herself to work excessively hard. She was concerned that if she worked too much, others would be embarrassed to rest and would push themselves to match her. Yun Shuangshuang, as a practitioner of martial arts, could handle it, but she knew these soldiers were just men with better physical conditioning than ordinary people, not like her.

To expedite the road clearing, everyone raced against the clock, quickly eating and drinking. When night fell, Song Lian directed the setting up of huge floodlights. Half the people went to sleep while the other half continued the work.

Yun Shuangshuang decided to sleep in the first half of the night since working through the first half was easier to endure. Staying up all night working could be challenging, especially if not getting enough sleep before working again.

After fighting with Yun Shuangshuang, Song Lian, though he treated her like the rough soldiers under him, still remembered that Yun Shuangshuang was a woman. So, he arranged a small tent just for her.

Yun Shuangshuang, mindful of having to get up in the middle of the night to work, slept lightly. As a martial artist, her senses were sharper than most, and even in a half-asleep state, she heard some rustling sounds from the tent nearby.

Initially thinking it was a thief, Yun Shuangshuang sat up and opened her eyes, only to remember she wasn’t sleeping in the warmth and comfort of Red Dust, but in the disaster relief tent. The sound she heard should be the soldiers outside getting up to swap into work.

Yun Shuangshuang got up and unzipped the tent slightly, peeking outside to see the soldiers indeed getting up to take over work.

Led by their commander Song Lian, the soldiers lined up and moved outside quietly, making barely any noise as they walked.

A group of men moved carefully, quietly picking up the shovels placed to the side, lining up to move outside. No one called for Yun Shuangshuang, and the way they tried not to make any noise made it clear they didn’t want to wake her up.

Yun Shuangshuang realized they hoped she would sleep a little longer, which warmed her heart. Suddenly feeling a bit mischievous, after everyone left, she also quietly picked up a shovel and lined up behind them to head out.