Chapter 110: Aftermath of the Calamity

He frantically pushed his way through the crowd, and someone shouted, "Engineer Lu is here!"
Immediately, everyone made way for him.
Lu Yan rushed to the front, and upon seeing the collapsed site, his spine tingled and his mind went blank. But he quickly forced himself to remain calm.
He saw several people digging ahead and shouted, "Stop right now! Don’t dig blindly! Step back immediately to avoid secondary collapse. Bring me the construction map for this area, hurry!"
The construction foreman wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly handed the blueprint to Lu Yan.
Lu Yan scanned it swiftly, then stepped forward and asked, "Who saw which direction her head was facing when she fell?"
"She was facing south!"
"Send someone to the infirmary right now, prepare a stretcher, a first aid kit, and medical oxygen!"
Lu Yan quickly walked toward the southern side. His mind raced, calculating the weakest load-bearing direction of the collapse—the spot most easily dug through, yet most prone to further collapse.
He reached out to a nearby worker for a shovel, then crawled toward the hollow ground at the weakest point, estimating the force and carefully excavating a small opening.
As there were no cracks, he dug upward with the shovel. Everyone watched, holding their breath, their hearts in their throats.
They all knew this spot was too weak to support a person’s weight, which was why she had fallen through. Yet no one dared dig there.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yan pinpointed the load-bearing spot, crawled halfway down, and opened a hole.
He saw Shen Qingyi lying motionless, her eyes closed. His heart clenched, but he didn’t dare hesitate for a second. He dug toward her, retreating as he widened the space until it was large enough for a person to fit inside.
He set the shovel aside and, without hesitation, jumped down, scooping her up in his arms and wasting not a moment.
After emerging, Lu Yan quickly placed his hand beneath her nose, and only when he felt the faintest breath did he finally exhale, as if surviving a catastrophe. Without caring about the crowd, he pressed her face tightly to his chest.
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness Engineer Lu arrived. Otherwise, who knows how long it would’ve taken to rescue her."
"Exactly. A moment later and the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"If it were my wife, I’d have panicked and not known what to do."
"He was so calm, going straight to that spot to dig. Even a slight mistake—if there had been another collapse, he could have been buried himself."
Just then, someone from the clinic brought over a stretcher. Dr. Zhao stepped forward, "Let me take a look."
Only then did Lu Yan regain his composure and let go of his wife.

Dr. Zhao glanced at Lu Yan’s bloodless face and reached out to examine Shen Qingyi, checking her pulse and listening to her heart. "Her vital signs are stable. She’s only temporarily unconscious due to lack of oxygen. It’s nothing serious, don’t worry."
He motioned for Lu Yan to place her on the stretcher.
Lu Yan hesitated for a moment, then laid Shen Qingyi on the stretcher and followed them to the clinic.
Shen Qingyi lay on the clinic bed, and Dr. Zhao attached an oxygen mask to her.
Lu Yan watched his wife anxiously and said to Dr. Zhao, "Could you help bring a basin and towel from my house?"
"What for?"
"My wife values cleanliness."
Dr. Zhao was speechless—at a time like this, he cared about such things?
Yet Lu Yan was a favored figure, a priority for care. With his wife in this situation, his feelings should be respected. Dr. Zhao nodded, "What color is the towel? Where is it?"
If he remembered his wife’s love for cleanliness even now, she must be particularly particular. Better to ask clearly.
"The towel is light blue, the basin is red!" Lu Yan’s mind was still dazed; he couldn’t think deeply, nor did he care what Dr. Zhao thought.
Dr. Zhao instructed the nurse, and she soon returned with both basin and towel.
Lu Yan filled the basin with water and carefully wiped Shen Qingyi’s face and hands clean.
After finishing, he asked Dr. Zhao, "How long until she wakes up?"
Dr. Zhao replied, "Did you take your medicine today?"
Lu Yan didn’t answer.
Dr. Zhao understood, "Go home and take your medicine, and I’ll tell you."
Lu Yan rose, took the towel and basin home, swallowed two pills, and returned. Dr. Zhao said, "She’ll wake up in at most half an hour."
At that moment, Su Yang arrived with An An.
An An saw Shen Qingyi on the sickbed and, clutching her hand, cried, "Mom!"
Then, tearfully, he looked at Lu Yan, "Dad, is Mom going to be alright?"
Lu Yan patted his son’s head. "She’s fine. Now tell Dad what happened exactly?"

Hearing the word "fine," An An immediately stopped crying. "It’s all my fault. I was too excited and didn’t notice the warning tape. Mom fell in trying to save me."
Lu Yan looked at his son’s red eyes and asked sternly, "Do you realize your mistake?"
"I do!"
"What punishment do you think you deserve?"
For the first time, An An saw his father so serious and was frightened, bursting into tears. "I’m sorry, Dad! I won’t ever do it again!"
Su Yang picked An An up, "Lu Yan, what are you doing? He’s just a kid, is this really necessary? Your wife is fine."
"I don’t mind other things, but this was a safety incident—he needs to remember it. Put him down," Lu Yan’s tone was heavy with authority.
Su Yang hesitated, then set An An down. An An wiped his tears, "I… I don’t know what punishment to take."
"Let Uncle Su Yang take you home and kneel in your room to reflect."
Such punishment wasn’t harsh for children of this era. But Lu Yan had never spoken harshly to An An, and the boy was so scared he didn’t know what to do.
Su Yang frowned, "He’s already terrified, and he’s such a smart kid. Just educate him more."
Dr. Zhao said nothing. If it were his son, he would have given him a severe beating. Safety accidents could easily be fatal. It was only because Lu Yan arrived in time and knew what to do that things hadn’t ended in tragedy.
Lu Yan glared at Su Yang, "Take him away now."
"But… when your wife wakes up and doesn’t see her child, what then?"
"I’ll explain."
An An knew he was in deep trouble this time. He tugged at Su Yang’s sleeve, "Take me, please!"
Su Yang sighed, picked An An up, and left.
In the room, An An walked to the corner and knelt of his own accord. Su Yang, unable to bear it, said, "An An, don’t be so serious. Your dad isn’t here—wait until he comes before you kneel."
An An shook his head, "Dad is angry enough. I don’t want to make him angrier."
Chun Ni had clearly warned him not to go near, but seeing that iron contraption, he couldn’t resist.