Farewell to the entire city of Qiqihar, coming out after the collapse | Cui Yong | Qiqihar

After finishing his work every day, Cui Yong likes to go home and brush "Kwai" and drink a drink at the same time. These days, he no longer dares to look at his phone.

"My heart aches and I feel uncomfortable looking at it." When it comes to the children of No. 34 Middle School, this middle-aged man from Northeast China's eyes turn red.

Cui Yong has a daughter who has just entered the first year of junior high school. She is lively and lovely, likes to play basketball, has passed the dance level 10, and is also studying at No. 34 Middle School.

"My girl is very sensible. These days, she told me that she wants to go to the school gate to offer flowers, and I said she can buy them for you. But when she went to inquire, she spent 10 yuan each, and each bundle cost over 100 yuan." Cui Yong, a construction worker, worked hard and earned only over 100 yuan per day.

Cui Yong felt that his girl's demands were not excessive, "the child's wishes should be fulfilled," but he couldn't afford flowers. These past few days, he has taken a detour to stand at the entrance of No. 34 Middle School after sending his child to a tutoring class.

On the evening of July 23rd, Cui Yong once rescued the entire night by hand from the ruins. Looking back now, he felt a bit dazed, frustrated, and even self blaming.

"I spent the whole night digging, but didn't save anyone." He took a sip of wine and tears flowed down his face in silence.

On the ruins: "My girl is also studying here."

Looking at the school gate, you can still see the gymnasium.

On July 26th, the third day of the incident, looking from a distance at the school gate filled with flowers, the gymnasium of No. 34 Middle School was at the end of the playground. Apart from a tower crane parked in front of me, there are not many anomalies.

But if viewed from the sky, this 1200 square meter gymnasium has lost its entire roof and turned into ruins, burying 10 volleyball girls and their coaches, as well as their dreams about volleyball.

Cui Yong remembers that on the late night of July 23rd, when he was moving cement blocks in the ruins of heavy rain, he saw a few volleyball balls.

Aerial view.

The first person to learn of the accident was Jiang Ping, a colleague of Cui Yong. At 9 p.m., after dinner, Jiang Ping wrote a video on Tiktok. He heard that there was an accident in the 34th Central Committee, and immediately called Cui Yong. "There was an accident in the 34th Central Committee," he said, "It's all children. Let's go and see if we can save one by one."

Jiang Ping came to Qiqihar from Jixi City only four or five years ago, but in the northeast, "wherever there is an accident, it's like his own home.". In 2008, he and several friends also went to the Wenchuan earthquake disaster area for rescue.

Cui Yong remembers that in the afternoon, when he heard the sirens of fire trucks and ambulances at home, he thought it was a fire.

Jiang Ping and Cui Yong are both construction workers and fathers.

"You wait at home, dad goes out to save people." Before leaving, Cui Yong hastily explained to his daughter.

"When my dad left, he put on the special clothes for construction sites. He put on his shoes and left. At that time, he looked very handsome. Later, I heard from my grandma that he only came back after 6 o'clock in the morning and worked all night. I thought my dad was quite great," said Cui Yong's daughter, Cui Meng.

At around 9 pm, when Jiang Ping and Cui Yong rushed to the scene in the rain, the venue was filled with cement and steel pipes, and there were about a thousand bags of perlite. There were one or two hundred firefighters on site, and more volunteers came spontaneously to rescue.

"When we arrived at the site, we couldn't enter without wearing a safety helmet at the beginning. But we all know other construction sites that have construction, so we borrowed a safety helmet to enter," Cui Yong said.

Jiang Ping's lover didn't borrow a safety helmet and stayed outside the school all night. There are also parents of those children at the door who are not allowed to enter, only rescue personnel can enter.

Around 10:30, Jiang Ping and Cui Yong finally entered the collapsed gymnasium, and by this time, two or three children had already been found.

Throughout the night, Cui Yong and Jiang Ping were rescuing the ruins with bare hands, covering an area of over 1200 square meters.

"I took about two breaks throughout the journey, taking a break every hour or two, but didn't have time to drink water. When I was resting, I would lie on the railing and watch others rescue me. It was quite heartbreaking, both of us are parents, and this matter didn't hurt anyone. When we saw the last child, we both shed tears. We couldn't see clearly in front of each other, but when we saw the 10th child, we could see more clearly and the impact was quite significant," said Cui Yong.

The rain keeps falling, sometimes big and sometimes small, making rescue very difficult. "The ground is very slippery and bumpy, making it impossible to walk. My pants and shoes are all soaked, which also affects my visibility. Although there are lights at night, they are still different from the brightness during the day," Jiang Ping remembers.

In order to assist with lighting, there are seven or eight temporarily placed lights on site. The lights were dazzling and white, and in the rain of the dark night, everyone relied on these lights to desperately search and rescue.

"At that time, the firefighters were directing the scene, and we mainly carried crushed cement and perlite to help clean up the scene," Cui Yong said.

Due to soaking in rainwater, the scattered cement blocks became particularly heavy, requiring two or three people to move the small ones and five or six people to move the large ones. The entire gymnasium has become a pile of ruins that is two and a half meters high.

On the ruins, Jiang Ping saw the search and rescue dogs sniffing around. When they were tired, they changed and continued to sniff. If you can smell people, someone will come forward to move water and mud blocks. "After separating the cement, we use our hands to pick up the scattered cement and lime, but it's not easy to pick up. It's very hard, and only a small part of it is pulled out. We need to use pliers to pinch it, and if there is something that cannot be pulled out, we can only pull it hard," said Cui Yong.

The cement that falls from the ceiling is about 10 centimeters or more thick. Put the loose cement into the bag, pass it one by one and throw it out. The team passing it out is about 10-20 meters long.

"The most difficult thing is to find people in the ruins. It's really difficult to find. The roof collapsed about half a meter thick. At that time, the police dog smelled the smell, but there were steel pipes blocking it. We had to use a crane to pull out the steel pipes first. The firefighters told us to disperse, afraid that if we lifted them out later, other places would sink in again, which would be dangerous. In the moment the steel pipes were lifted up, we rescued the child," Cui Yong said.

Jiang Ping remembers that at that time, the temperature was over 20 degrees Celsius, and he was sweating and raining while working. His pants were already soaked through. "I didn't even care about my work, nor did I feel sleepy, but I trembled when I rested," he said

"Working hard and staying up all night, I saved a few, but none of them were saved." Jiang Ping felt frustrated, and the one he remembered the most was the 10th child, also the last child he saw. "When I rescued them, I clenched my fists, two big men, and we both shed tears at that time."

More and more volunteers are spontaneously coming to rescue, including those from engineering teams, home decoration workers, and demolition workers. Although we were strangers during the rescue, everyone had the same goal, saying "speed, speed, speed, save people.".

At 5:30 am the next day, a new batch of rescue workers came in one after another to replace them, leaving only the 11th person on site who had not been found yet. Jiang Ping and Cui Yong, who had been rescuing all night, were so exhausted that they had no strength left. "Although there's only one child left that hasn't been pulled out yet, and we don't want to leave, we're really tired. Fortunately, the next wave of rescuers will make up for it immediately after we come down," Cui Yong said.

As they left, the firefighters said to the rescuers, "Thank you for your hard work.". "At that time, my mood was really complicated," Cui Yong said.

As he walked out of the school gate, Jiang Ping saw someone filming a video and an ambulance waiting for the last child.

After the rescue, Cui Yong returned to the construction site to work.

Pain: Three classmates in the tutoring class quietly cried

After sleeping for an hour at home, Cui Yong hurried to work again. "When I was working during the day, I always thought about this matter. At night, I went to the school to take a look, and by that time, the rescue had already ended."

10 girls and their coaches stayed on the volleyball field forever.

On social media platforms, when you click on your avatar, you can see the youthful appearance of the girls during their lifetime. Their classmates, playmates and opponents on the volleyball court crammed memories and memorials into the Internet.

"We played games together before, had a few hand fights, and were good friends," Lin Xue recalled. She claimed to be a female member of the volleyball team at Harbin No.7 Middle School, playing as a receptionist and occasionally playing as the main attacker. She posted a message on social media, saying "Xiao Wei, I will miss you. You need to live a good life there", accompanied by a photo of the two of them thumbing up. On the back of her hand were stickers of the two main characters from the anime "Big Ear Picture", and left a message saying "Hu Tutu and Brush are lifelong good friends, but why did you leave first?".

"Their eldest is only 15 years old, they are both good and beautiful. As they do not belong to the same region, they can only see each other during matches." Volleyball is played very, very well, and we always treat them as our biggest opponents. ".

Lin Xue used two "very" phrases in a row, which was a recognition between the women's volleyball team members. More of their daily interactions were recalled: during the game, the two teams took time to play small games and eat snacks together at night. The women's volleyball team members from Haqi Middle School would go to the night market and take the initiative to bring food to their friends from No. 34 Middle School. "They were also very kind to us.".

More and more flowers are growing at the entrance of No. 34 Middle School. The teaching assistants of the women's volleyball team members came to the school gate, covered their team uniforms with trophies, knelt down shirtless, and wrote on the team uniforms, "Uncle, in the afterlife, I will still accompany you as a trainer.".

"The first one to be rescued was also the first to announce her death. Her mother had fainted upon hearing this." Li Xiao, who also claimed to be from No. 34 Middle School, was classmates with Wei Yuxin. Every time Li Xiao posted on her social media, Wei Yuxin was always the first to give a thumbs up, saying, "I can't see it anymore.".

Everything was unexpected, Li Xiao repeatedly said, "Wei Yuxin is really good, she is very kind. Although we haven't known each other for a long time, I really can't accept this news."

I admire basketball star Jordan and love to eat Defu chocolate. My friends all know Wei Yuxin's preferences. Another member of the volleyball team from Harbin No.7 High School left a message on the social media platform of the victim Wei Yuxin, "Wei, we only added WeChat, why did you leave?" Wei Yuxin's updates were permanently suspended on July 22nd.

Screenshot of Wei Yuxin's Moments

On the evening of the 23rd, when Cui Meng saw the news of the school accident on her phone, she burst into tears and said, "Among the people who passed away were two sisters I know.".

Almost all students have seen the figures of women's volleyball players on the school playground. "When we have physical education class, they run around the playground." Cui Meng thinks these sisters are particularly sunny and cheerful, and they can also endure hardships quite well. During lunch break, she would go to the gym with her two sisters she knew to learn how to play volleyball.

"They are quite tall, with a look of 1.71.8 meters. They are very beautiful. They also play basketball very handsome. When they pass the ball across from each other, they run over quickly and throw the ball back and forth with a click. They can both catch it, and the rolling is quite powerful."

Cui Meng felt very sad for the past two days. "During the summer vacation, my classmates in my class won't be able to see each other, but everyone in the tutoring class knows about it. But no one brought up this, no one brought up the sad thing. I can't even do a question." Cui Meng remembered that on the second day after the accident, three students in the tutoring class she attended quietly cried, and the teacher was wiping away tears.

Cui Meng said she wants to go to the vicinity of the sports hall when she has time after school starts. She remembers the sisters of the women's volleyball team working very hard during their training in the gym, but they never complained in front of her, "Sometimes through the glass door, I can see them training very hard."

Farewell: "Make them look beautiful and give them a final farewell."

Cui Yong saw a video on his phone showing the father of a deceased girl, who was negotiating with great restraint in the hospital. "If something happens to my child, I can't be so calm, I might go crazy," Cui Yong said.

"The short distance my child is taking to the tutoring class now, I have to be cautious. If the child returns later, they will worry," said Cui Meng's grandmother. She can't imagine how parents of families in trouble will face the rest of their lives, "how should living people live?".

In today's Qiqihar, the words heard in barbecue shops, small shops, night markets, and taxis are mostly "No. 34 Middle School", "Women's Volleyball Team", "Children", "Unfortunately"... Collapse accidents are always a topic that people cannot avoid.

More voices appear as parents.

"The children in Qiqihar have two strengths, ice hockey and volleyball, and we pay more attention to cultivating them here." Many parents feel regretful, and there are even more tears in their eyes. "These deceased children may be backup players for the women's national volleyball team in the future, and the future is too much to look forward to. This is a huge loss.".

A parent of a local sports student in Qiqihar left a message on social media, saying, "Take my girl home tomorrow and stop training for a few days. I want to spend more time with her and see her."

On the noon of July 25th, Wang Wei, the emcee of Qiqihar Funeral Parlor, received a phone call stating that the family of a deceased girl wanted to put on makeup for her child. He rushed to the funeral home and spent over an hour completing his makeup. "Compared to ordinary people who leave due to birth, aging, illness, and death, these children need to put in more effort to make them look beautiful and see them off on their final journey," said Wang Wei.

Before leaving the funeral home, the girl's parents and grandfather called Wang Wei to meet him. "The child's family is very saddened and wants to pay me, so I will confiscate it."

These days, delivery riders in Qiqihar City are rushing back and forth at the entrance of Colonel 34, and the frequency of delivering orders is increasing. Thirty four Middle School is facing Yong'an Street, and the street is filled with electric bicycles from riders. They are repeatedly unpacking snack bags and inserting straws into milk tea among the flowers.

At around 1pm on July 23rd, the rain was getting denser and denser. Flash rider Xu Fangsheng even took a video of himself riding a rain bike for delivery, documenting his daily work. He had no idea that a disaster would occur an hour later.

In general, the daily order volume of Qiqihar's flash delivery platform is about 1600 orders, which has increased to over 2000 orders in the past two days. "There were very few orders in the previous 34".

At 2:40 am on July 25th, Xu Fangsheng picked up 7 bouquets of flowers from a flower shop and delivered them to the entrance of Colonel 34 in one go. After completing the order, he took a video full of flowers and said, "I can't express my feelings. As a sports student, I can't stand these cute children." He is from Qiqihar City and used to be a sports student in school, playing basketball very well. He, who is 45 years old this year, also has a daughter who has just turned 7 years old. He plans to let her practice sports next year.

After Xu Fangsheng posted a video of flowers on social media, many citizens from other provinces sent private messages, hoping that he could help buy something to give to the deceased volleyball players. On the afternoon of July 25th, he decided to stop accepting orders and specifically deliver them to citizens from other provinces.

Whether it's flowers or snacks, as long as the merchant delivers them for free, I won't charge any personal delivery fee for those who reach 34. Xu Fangsheng did a great job on the flash delivery platform. There are over 100 flash delivery riders in the city. "I can rank in the top five in the city. I closed the order in the past few days, and this morning I saw that I ranked eighth. I estimate I will drop to more than ten places tomorrow morning.". Over the past two days, he has delivered over thirty orders to citizens from other provinces. The normal income for a single day is around 300 yuan, but it's worth earning 600 yuan less in two days.

A flower ordered by a Beijing customer.

Tianjin, Hebei, Shenyang, Harbin, Sichuan... Netizens come from all over the country. Xu Fangsheng was deeply impressed by some of them: a big brother from Handan, Hebei, who claimed to have "watched a lot of videos and cried time and time again." According to his request, Xu Fangsheng bought yellow and white chrysanthemums, AD calcium milk, canned peaches, and peach and plum bread to deliver to the school gate; Liu Ning from Liaoning Shenyang Speed Skating Team used to study at Qiqihar Senior High School, and her daughter also practiced sports. Now, she works for the Shenyang Shooting Team, and the day she sends flowers happens to be her 18th birthday; There was also an older sister in her forties, Xu Fangsheng, who asked about the signature on the flower card. On the other end of the phone, she kept crying and said, "Just write 'family'.". Xu Fangsheng guessed, "This may be a distant relative of a certain child.".

Xu Fangsheng usually rides his bike very fast. In order to ensure that the flowers are intact, he only rides at half the original speed now. "The flowers are bouncing back and forth in the box, and the petals are about to fall off.".

On the afternoon of July 25th at 2 o'clock, the owner of the Qiqihar Flash Delivery Platform Station led more than ten riders to the entrance of No. 34 Middle School to observe a moment of silence. They were divided into two groups and each group approached to offer flowers and bow, saying, "Try to be low-key, don't make it like hype. After sending flowers, leave and continue to give orders and work.".

That day, Xu Fangsheng and his colleagues bought flowers out of their own pockets, and the chrysanthemums in the entire city of Qiqihar were sold short. He spent 60 yuan to buy a bunch of mixed sunflowers, which is equivalent to the money earned from running 12 orders.