44.They started their motor tricycles and hurried towards the village.Let's set aside for a while the landslides,collapsing roads and seismic tremors.Now Huang and his apprentices braved all kinds of dangers until they arrived at the village.Upon the land where over 70 households had lived happily,most houses were seriously damaged,some fell in ruins,and all walls were completely wiped out.Elderly people and children gathered on the village square,sighing and sobbing.Cai cried from a height to his fellow villagers while blowing his whistle,"People,to the village square,to the village square.We will rescue your belongings shortly afterwards.Leave where you are for your life.Leave there!To the village square..." Huang's apprentices were moved to tears at old Cai's heartbreaking cries but Old Huang gnarled,"What fuck are you crying about?What men are you?Things are not so bad because nobody was dead in such a big earthquake.It is not time for crying now.The most important thing is to take care of the old people and children.Now males in the Cai and Huang households should work in four groups.One group from the Huangs will excavate the plastic from the village warehouse.We will make some tents with that.The other group is to excavate the gas cans from the ruins lest they should explode.One group in the Cai households will help the females with their business and the other group look after the elders and children." When he finished assigning duties,Huang ran towards Cai shouting,"Old fool,stop blowing your fucking whistle and come down from there.Old fool,I have come back with my apprentices to help you.Old fool,come down from there.Come down!" But these words were like water off the duck's back.Cai remained there,whistling and crying bitterly to the villagers until Huang went up to him,grabbed the whistle from his mouth and took him down from the height.Huang blew the whistle again and again in Cai's instead,who seemed to be brought back from a dream and stopped his consistent cries.He said in a hoarse voice,"Hear you are,Old evil guy?Old geezer,you have rushed home.It's great!" As he spoke,tears ran through his cheeks. Huang was overwhelmed with delight,"Damn old geezer,thanks to your early arrival,we avoided some losses and no one was wounded.Now don't worry!I have brought the young men back and arranged everything.So don't worry." Cai immediately stood at attention like a soldier,"Secvetary Huang,Cai Danian reporting to you.I have brought the 183 villagers of Huangjiawang to the village square in safety.Over!" When he finished,Cai collapsed like dirty and fell into Huang's arms.At that moment,Huang felt somewhat sympathetic with the big man.He,in tears,carried the latter on his back toward the village square.
45.Cai came back to himself on the afternoon of May 15.During the three days,Huang took care of him 24 hours a day.His heart ached when he saw Cai bleeding and in fever.He was delighted and cheered when Cai opened his eyes.Huang kept quiet all those days until Cai was himself again.He then scolded Cai,"Did you mean to take my life,old geezer?You have been in fever and talking delirium all the time.Really dangerous!Well,you must give me an explanation.Why did you insult me when talking in delirium?I really don't understand.To tell you the truth,I wanted to leave you when you swore at me."When I was leaving yesterday,my apprentice asked me why.I told him that I was unhappy because you insulted me.Can you guess what he said?He said,‘Don't find faults with Mr.Cai,please.He is that way just because he is ill.And you don't know one thing.When you take a nap,you also use bad words against Mr.Cai.If he knew that,he would fight with you.' When I heard that,I forgave you.Let's forget about it,shall we?"
46.Cai listened to Huang very attentively.When he finished,Cai took a deep breath and yawned.As Cai was on the point of saying something,Huang's wife brought some porridge,which she then fed to him.Instead of raising his voice,Cai ate the porridge,which gave Huang the chance to talk more.Huang talked on and on so that even his wife felt embarrassed and said,"Stop.Stop.Mr.Cai has just come back to himself and needs a good rest without being disturbed.Don't you feel ashamed for bullying a patient?Stop it,stop it!" What she said at once silenced the henpecked man,who sat for a while and then found an excuse to leave the tent.
47.During the following days,they could be seen together visiting the sick old people and the workers who were setting up anti-seismic tents.They brought hands to the school to build some provisional classrooms.In addition,they went together to see the pigs and chickens on the farm.In a word,they didn't quarrel with each other any more since Cai came to his senses.
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48.Everything needed to be reconstructed after the calamity.Cai and Huang,therefore,became the center of attention of the whole village.Now they stopped arguing with each other but appeared everywhere side by side.The villagers,who had seen them quarrelling for years,were actually unaccustomed.The complete change was later known by the leaders of all levels of goverments who had known them well.As a result,everybody was talking about them: "Were the two old guys scared by the earthquake?Are they tired after years of quarrelling?Should they be replaced ?" ...
49.However,most people had positive views about their change.Among them was Mr.Qiang,the county head,who remarked,"The two stubborn guys have been rivals for all their lives.They stop arguing because they are seeking to carve a new way.Their quarrels will never stop unless the Bailong River reversed its flow.No one knows what they will do.Let's go and see!"