Chapter 155: Chapter 152: A Bureaucratic Panorama

Everyone knew that Ye Chen had lost his memory, but if he were to undergo a craniotomy, wouldn't that become a terribly troublesome matter? Furthermore, craniotomies carried certain risks. No one would ever want their skull pried open and tinkered with. Beside them, Li Ruo immediately covered her mouth and sobbed, "It's my fault, it's all my fault! If it weren't for me, Ye Chen wouldn't have ended up like this!"

"Director Li, now is not the time for self-blame!" Zhang Yantong quickly spoke up beside her. "Right now, we should figure out a way to get Ye Chen cured."

"Tongtong, what... what should we do now?" Li Ruo asked anxiously, wiping away her tears. Her eyes were red and swollen, and fresh tears threatened to fall at any moment.

"We should listen to Head Physician Qian and wait for a while!" Zhang Yantong sighed helplessly.

"That's right. During this period, it is best to have people who had a profound impact on the patient talk to him constantly. That might just awaken him!" Head Physician Qian nodded hastily and said, "If that really doesn't work, surgery will be our only option to clear away those blood clots. That would relieve the pressure on his brain, and perhaps he might wake up!"

"Ah? What if he doesn't wake up?" Li Ruo asked in a daze, startled. "Surgeries all carry risks. What is the success rate?"

"The success rate is sixty percent. If he doesn't wake up, he will remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life!" Head Physician Qian did not hide the truth. After all, Zhang Yantong's father was his good friend, so he said everything that needed to be said. Head Physician Qian smiled faintly and added, "Over the past day, the number of patients sent to the hospital has been countless. This is a once-in-a-century catastrophic flood in Jianghuai City."

"Oh god!" Li Ruo instantly felt dizzy. A sixty percent success rate might seem high to others, but to Li Ruo, it was far too slim. Even a ninety-percent success rate still left a ten-percent chance of failure. Beside her, Lin Ziwen hurriedly stepped forward to support Li Ruo, saying, "Director Li, before the surgery, we can try to wake Ye Chen up ourselves. I believe Ye Chen will definitely wake up!"

"Yes, yes!" Li Ruo nodded frantically.

The hospital cleaned Ye Chen's body and changed him into a hospital gown. White gauze was wrapped around his head, and antiseptic had been applied to the wound on the back of his head. Ye Chen's vital signs gradually stabilized. His breathing returned to normal, and everything seemed to be completely fine, yet he simply would not wake up.

"Ye Chen, wake up!" Li Ruo sat at the head of the bed, holding Ye Chen's hands tightly in her own, and whispered softly, "Wake up quickly and look at me. Didn't you say you liked me? Were you lying to me all along? You liar, you said you loved me, so why are you leaving me behind?"

Standing nearby, Lin Ziwen could no longer hold back her tears and hastily turned to leave the room. Zhang Yantong also lowered her head and quietly walked out. Only Li Ruo and Ye Chen remained in the ward. Li Ruo wept like a brokenhearted child, embracing Ye Chen and clutching his hands as she sobbed bitterly. The hospital room seemed immersed in an aura of profound misery. Li Ruo's heart had been completely occupied by Ye Chen—this enigmatic man, this man who had repeatedly shielded her from danger for her sake. Li Ruo no longer knew what words to use to describe her feelings.

"Ye Chen, please wake up. Without you, how am I supposed to go on living?" Li Ruo wiped away her tears, her eyes red and swollen beyond recognition. Yet, the Ye Chen lying on the hospital bed remained fast asleep, unwilling to wake up for a long time.

In Jianghuai City, the municipal government began issuing rescue orders. Manhole covers were lifted everywhere, and firefighters began the grueling task of clearing the drainage systems. Massive volumes of floodwaters rushed away through the drains; however, the urban construction of Jianghuai City had focused solely on surface infrastructure while completely neglecting subterranean development. In such a sprawling city, almost all the sewers were hopelessly clogged, making it impossible to drain the floodwaters effectively.

Jiang Zhonggen angrily berated them, "You a bunch of bastards, what have you turned Jianghuai City into? When the news comes out tonight, every single one of you will lose your positions!"

Standing inside the conference room, Jiang Zhonggen stood with his hands on his hips, glaring furiously at the heads of the various departments, especially those from urban construction and urban planning. Jiang Zhonggen sneered coldly, "You'd better figure out a way right now to shift this blame! If I lose my post or if my hopes for promotion are shattered, none of you will have an easy life!"

Everyone present could feel Jiang Zhonggen's intense fury. Liu Jiang Qiu quickly spoke up, "Secretary Jiang, this drainage system construction is not a problem created by our administration; it is a historical legacy issue. As long as we explain this clearly to the citizens and promise them that the drainage problem will be resolved within the next five years, I believe it will be fine!"

"Yes, yes, Secretary Jiang, I think so too!" Jianghuai Public Security Bureau Chief Liu Qiang nodded repeatedly.

"Hmph, what if the citizens refuse to accept this explanation?" Jiang Zhonggen scoffed coldly.

"Don't worry, they will accept it!" Liu Jiang Qiu grinned broadly and said, "Secretary Jiang, the ordinary people in China are simply the easiest to fool in the entire world!"

"This... is indeed true!" Several department heads nodded in agreement. These people had profound personal experiences with this; every time they spoke on behalf of the government, the ordinary citizens would applaud enthusiastically. Everyone always believed it was the absolute truth. Jiang Zhonggen furrowed his brows and asked, "Then what if the drainage problem still cannot be resolved after five years?"

"Hehe, you don't even need to worry about that. To begin with, you will have already left for a provincial appointment by then. Even if you hadn't left, there's still no need to worry!" Liu Jiang Qiu smiled broadly and said, "The railway department has promised countless times to solve the problem of hard-to-get train tickets, making that promise over and over again. Back in the year 2000, they said it would be solved by 2005, but in the end, it wasn't. In 2005, they promised it would be solved by 2008. But what happened? Tickets were still as scarce as ever! In 2008, they promised it would be solved by 2012, and later? People were packed like sardines, almost squeezed up to the heavens... After so many broken promises, the ordinary people of China still trusted them time and time again."

What Liu Jiang Qiu said was absolute truth, without a single flaw.

"Fine then!" Jiang Zhonggen nodded and instructed, "Hold a press conference immediately, and then make public some of the issues concerning this flood disaster!"

"Understood!" Secretary Zhang nodded immediately.

"By the way, what is the death toll this time?" Jiang Zhonggen asked hurriedly.

"Secretary, this time there are three hundred and twenty-six dead, and fifteen missing!" Secretary Zhang reported promptly.

"So many?" Jiang Zhonggen was stunned, blurting out in shock, "How could so many people have died?"

"Secretary, actually, most of the people died of suffocation after being trapped inside their vehicles!" Secretary Zhang shook his head helplessly and said, "The most tragic incident involved a large passenger bus driving near the bridge head when a flash flood suddenly hit, instantly submerging the vehicle. The doors couldn't be opened, resulting in the deaths of all fifty-some children on board!"

Hiss...

Jiang Zhonggen instantly drew a sharp intake of breath. More than fifty children dead?! This was absolutely no trivial matter. In China, among all fatal accidents, the ones that attracted the most attention were children. Ever since the implementation of the family planning policy, every single child had become the apple of their family's eye. The death of one child would create an uproar, the death of two would trigger a violent storm, and with over fifty dead, Jiang Zhonggen did not dare to imagine the consequences.

"Activate the emergency protocol immediately!" Liu Jiang Qiu ordered without hesitation. "Secretary Jiang, special circumstances require special handling. Externally, we can only claim that thirty-six people have died. As for these fifty-plus children, not a single word of it must ever be mentioned!"

"Why?!" Jiang Zhonggen was taken aback. Having served as the party secretary in Jianghuai City for so long, Jiang Zhonggen did not understand certain historical intricacies. After all, Jiang Zhonggen was an outsider, whereas Liu Jiang Qiu was a true member of the Jianghuai faction. The so-called Jianghuai faction referred to local officials of Jianghuai City holding leadership positions there, so he knew everything about the city inside and out. Furthermore, compared to Jiang Zhonggen, he was far better at securing widespread support.

"Because this is the rule!" Liu Jiang Qiu flashed a faint smile. Jiang Zhonggen instantly understood the implication behind those words.

Soon, a press conference was held in the municipal government hall of Jianghuai City. These reporters and media personnel were almost entirely locals from Jianghuai City. Twenty or thirty media outlets and newspaper agencies gathered at the scene, pointing their microphones and cameras toward the podium. Jiang Zhonggen attended the press conference in person. Had it not been for safeguarding his career advancement path, he would never have bothered exposing himself to the public media. To quell public anger and suppress the impact of this disaster as quickly as possible, Jiang Zhonggen had no choice but to step forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the disaster brought by this typhoon is immense!" Jiang Zhonggen walked up to the podium and said in a heavy tone, "However, I believe that every single person in Jianghuai City is resilient. After this flood disaster, we need to pick ourselves up and rebuild."

"Secretary Jiang, may I ask why the relevant departments failed to predict this typhoon?" A reporter asked eagerly, unable to wait a moment longer.

"This..." Jiang Zhonggen paused, sighed heavily, and said, "This was dereliction of duty by the relevant departments. Once this matter is settled, it will definitely be dealt with severely!"

"Secretary Jiang, may I ask what the death toll is this time?" A reporter from Jianghuai Television asked hastily.

"According to statistics from the relevant departments, the death toll this time is thirty-six people. The bodies have already been transported to the hospital, awaiting identification by their families!" Jiang Zhonggen replied immediately.

"Impossible, right? How could it possibly be only thirty-six people? Did the relevant departments make a mistake?" The reporters asked, filled with skepticism. These reporters operating on the front lines of the disaster instantly realized that Jiang Zhonggen was lying. Based on their own rough estimates alone, the number exceeded thirty-six. How could it possibly be just thirty-six? Jiang Zhonggen chuckled softly and said, "Rest assured, when the government says thirty-six people, it means thirty-six people!"

Since Jiang Zhonggen had put it that way, the reporters found it difficult to press further and instead raised other doubts: "Secretary Jiang, Hong Kong and Macau also faced the assault of the typhoon, and their rainfall was even heavier than ours. Why were their cities not flooded like ours? Exactly what went wrong?"

The questioning reporter was being subtle, but in truth, everyone knew it was a problem with the drainage system. Hong Kong was a very old colony; when the British ruled Hong Kong, they built it with a century-long vision in mind. Almost all of Hong Kong's underground drainage system was constructed according to British standards, which was why no matter how heavy the floodwaters were, they could be drained away rapidly. It would never result in such a massive catastrophe as the one in Jianghuai City.