Wailing Village, located on Yelu Isle in Ducheng Town, Huangzhou District, is notoriously known as the “water bag,” experiencing floods nine out of every ten years.
Every summer during the flood season, flood prevention becomes the top priority for the entire village.
During each flood season, the village Party branch secretary is always the first to go up to the embankment and the last to come down. Villagers often say, “With him there, we feel secure!”
What left the deepest impression on everyone was the summer of 2016.
At that time, floodwaters roared towards Yelu Isle, seriously threatening the safety of the embankment. Once again, the secretary was the first to rush onto the main levee, setting a firm rule for himself: he would not return home until the floodwaters receded.
With continuous heavy rain, the flood prevention situation in Wailing Village became extremely critical, and there was a severe shortage of able-bodied young workers. Concerned about the safety of the embankment, the secretary’s over-70-year-old father, disregarding his age, insisted on taking an assault boat to the front lines of flood defense to join the effort to protect their home.
A few days later, the secretary’s eldest son, who was serving in the military, returned home on leave. As soon as he entered the house and heard that his grandfather and father were both on the embankment fighting the flood, the 22-year-old young man said nothing, put down his luggage, and headed straight for the levee.
And so, three generations of the family stood side by side on the same flood defense line.
During the day, the three of them patrolled the embankment, checked for dangers, and carried flood prevention materials together. The son followed closely behind his father, rushing wherever he was needed. At night, the secretary had his over-70-year-old father temporarily return home to rest, while he and his son, each wrapped in a moisture-proof ground pad, guarded the east and west ends of the embankment respectively. Sometimes they were so busy they didn’t even have time to sit down together for a hot meal.
Late one night, a piping leak was suddenly discovered on the landside slope of the embankment, with muddy water gushing out. Seeing this, the secretary shouted, “Follow me!” and was the first to jump into the pit, with his son jumping in right after him. Father and son fought side by side, filling sandbag after sandbag into the leak, mud splattering all over them.
Two hours later, the piping leak was blocked. Father and son collapsed onto the embankment slope, covered from head to toe in mud, with only the whites of their eyes visible.
Looking at his father’s bloodshot eyes, the son felt heartache and urged him to go back and rest for the night. The secretary shook his head: “Your grandfather could guard the embankment for two months back in the day. I’ve only been here a few days?”
The leave period ended in the blink of an eye, and the son had to return to his unit. As he was leaving, the secretary patted his son on the shoulder and said, “Do well in the army. Don’t let our family down.”
The son walked a long way, then looked back and saw his father still standing on the embankment. That resolute figure was exactly the same as the image of his grandfather’s back in his memory.
On his way back to the unit, the son’s phone vibrated. It was a text message from his father: “I’m sorry, son. You come back once a year, and I couldn’t even share a proper meal with you.”
Holding his phone, the son’s eyes welled up. He replied: “Dad, Grandpa taught you, and you taught me. This is our family’s foundation. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”
The son later found out that after he left, his father continued guarding the embankment for over another month, always upholding his vow not to retreat until the floodwaters receded—he didn’t return home for a full 40-plus days and nights.
And that period of fighting the flood side by side became the most unforgettable and precious memory for both father and son.
Three generations of one family guarded the same great embankment and passed down the same belief: What concerns Wailing Village concerns every one of us.
Inheritance of Strength
Flood prevention is the top priority for Wailing Village.
