I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 275: Massive Flood

Wei Jia gently nudged Shen Meng, gave her a smirk, and then turned around and walked away, leaving Shen Meng completely speechless.

After the ticket hall opened, Shen Meng got everything ready and started selling tickets. As she was wrapping up, the phone rang again, and Wei Jia rushed over to answer it, then waved at Shen Meng.

"Shen Meng, it’s your call, hurry, hurry."

Shen Meng put down her things and walked over, covering the phone and said, "Someone might come to book tickets later, keep an eye on it for me."

"Don’t worry."

After Wei Jia left, Shen Meng then greeted the person on the phone.

"Xiao Meng, it’s me, Zhenping."

"Zhenping, why are you calling me? Aren’t you supposed to be back in a couple of days?"

Lu Zhenping paused for a while before saying, "Xiao Meng, I’m sorry, I have an urgent mission here and I’m about to head back to the troops immediately, the holiday is ending early." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"What?"

"I’m sorry, Xiao Meng, this mission is very urgent, a major flood in the Southern Region, hundreds of thousands of people need rescue. If I couldn’t reach this call, I wouldn’t have been able to let you know, I had someone send you a message. After the mission, I’ll have about ten days off, then I’ll definitely come back. They are hurrying me now, Xiao Meng, please apologize to the kids for me."

"Okay, be careful out there, when rescuing people, remember me and the kids, don’t be reckless."

"Yes, I’ll heed the lady’s teachings."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Meng felt lost, and it took her a while to collect herself. Wei Jia was still playfully poking her arm, asking who it was and why she looked so distraught after the call.

"Stop it, it’s my husband."

"You must be lovesick, look how pale you are. What happened?"

Shen Meng’s eyes flickered, and suddenly she stood up.

"Something happened, something really bad has happened. My husband said that a major flood has occurred in the Southern Region, I don’t know how many people are now in deep distress. It’s almost time to harvest wheat and rice, and at this critical moment, this disaster strikes. Lord isn’t watching, this isn’t letting anyone live!"

"What? Oh my, how could this happen, there’s nothing on the radio?"

"It must be that the soldiers have gone to provide emergency assistance first, the report won’t come out until a couple of days later!"

....

Shen Meng’s words left everyone in the office feeling somber, they are located in a plain area, and while sometimes crops also suffer from flooding, it doesn’t threaten their lives.

People of this era are very passionate, even Wei Jia who had been all smiles moments ago now sat worriedly in her chair.

"Hey sisters, I’m going to the County Government, cover my shift, will you?"

"Sure, go ahead!"

Wei Jia waved to her, and those in the office no longer underestimated her as they did when she first arrived. They knew she must be on an errand related to the flood disaster, probably to brainstorm some solutions.

Coincidentally, when Shen Meng arrived at the Li family’s place, Li Chuan was also there. He was supposed to return a few days later, but he couldn’t proceed with many things without meeting Shen Meng first, and most importantly, he wanted to hear her thoughts.

"Xiao Meng is here, have a seat."

"Uncle Li, something happened. I just got a call from Zhenping, he’s been assigned to go to the Southern Region for a mission. There’s a severe flood there. Do you know about this?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chuan’s expression immediately turned grave. Shen Meng mentioned something he was indeed unaware of, it seems the news had not yet reached their Provincial City.

"Mr. Li, we need to do something."

Li Chuan paced back and forth in the room before finally turning around.

"Xiao Meng, it’s not that I’m heartless. Our county is a poverty-stricken county, many of our people are still facing famine. Even if I want to do something, like raising funds, I’m hesitant to ask!"

"Uncle, fundraising isn’t just about collecting money, food, or grains. There’s a flood over there. They need help with cooking, washing, and all aspects of daily life. Even giving them money wouldn’t be useful at this time. We can call for donations of clothes, firewood, foodstuffs from the vice-food factories, towels from the towel factories—anything that can be donated. We don’t pick and choose. You could help by coordinating the county’s trucks and tractors. I’ll have banners made declaring ’Ning County’s donation of relief supplies, united against the flood disaster.’ Not just from our county, but also from the Provincial City. Strength in numbers. As for food, I’ll figure something out."

"What you’re suggesting isn’t unfeasible, but why the banners?"

Shen Meng carefully chose her words, knowing that people in this era wouldn’t understand terms like ’marketing hype’. But just imagining a poor county like Ning County being able to donate truckloads of goods showed it would require the efforts of the entire county.

"Don’t think I’m being too calculating. Donating is one thing, but reputation is another. Our county needs a good reputation, especially now that our foreign currency generating initiative has hit the newspapers. If there’s good news spreading about Ning County, Uncle, trust me, many will come knocking, eager to collaborate with us and the county."

Li Chuan pondered for a moment and then nodded solemnly at Shen Meng. This was not only about earning a good reputation for Ning County but also for him. Having been in Ning County for decades, he wanted to move up and better help his fellow townsfolk.

"Uncle Li, let’s discuss in detail how to distribute the pending tasks."

"Alright."

Shen Meng’s proposal was straightforward, listing common supplies, while Li Chuan added deeper insights. Whenever there were oversights, Shen Meng would quietly give a reminder.

She was now a woman with broadened horizons, certainly not capable of delivering a flawless presentation like in a meeting via PowerPoint. Otherwise, it would make Mr. Li, the secretary, seem redundant.

After finalizing the plans, Li Chuan began meeting with others to assign tasks, while Shen Meng returned to the bus company. The office staff hadn’t left early for the day, even Fu Meili, who usually leaves early, was waiting at her desk.

"How did it go? What were the results from your visit to the County Committee?"

"Yes, I told Mr. Li about it, and now he’s in a meeting with the comrades from the County Committee, likely to organize a fundraising effort."

"They must donate, I got a bonus this month, I’ll donate it all."

"I have some too, and I’ll donate too. If it can help the disadvantaged, I will talk to my family about donating too."

"Yes, comrades, although our individual strength may be modest, united, we can absolutely help many people."

Shen Meng immediately applauded and added: "Well said, very well said. But besides money, we should also donate things especially needed by women and children—outerwear, clean underwear, children’s quilts, formula, rice paste, little clothes... anything you can think of."

Shen Meng’s words seemed to open up new vistas as everyone eagerly suggested different ways they could contribute, demonstrating how even the faintest glow of a firefly can illuminate the night sky.