The sound was so loud that almost at the same time, Jiang Si and the others also looked in that direction.
Hu Meili was holding the child at the innermost part of the storage room. She couldn't see what was going on outside and could only anxiously ask.
"What's going on? What made such a loud noise?"
There were too many people in the auditorium, and Jiang Si couldn't see clearly for a moment.
She only vaguely heard people discussing that the transom window on the east side of the auditorium seemed to have fallen apart.
"Fallen apart?" Xu Mingjuan looked in the direction of the crowd in disbelief.
Since the typhoon warning was issued, the people from the camp defense section had, as required by the division headquarters, made three layers of protection for all the doors and windows in the auditorium.
The materials were obtained from their logistics department.
The wooden boards used for reinforcement this time were all double - thickened, and the largest - sized nails and nuts were also selected.
If this couldn't withstand the first wave of impact...
Jiang Si didn't say a word, but there was clearly a trace of worry in her eyes.
It would be okay if only the transom window had a problem.
After all, considering the size of the transom window, it would be relatively easier to handle.
But if there were problems with those windows on the south side, that would be really terrifying.
The windows in this era were all single - layer ordinary glass, and the outer window frames were all made of wood.
In such a strong convective weather, the frames outside could only hold up for about an hour at most before they would deform and fall off!
By then, the strong wind and rain would pour in through the broken openings.
The continuous strong wind would form an eddy current inside the auditorium, causing the building to vibrate violently.
The consequences of this wind - vibration effect could range from the ceiling being blown off to the load - bearing walls of the auditorium collapsing.
Thinking about these things, Jiang Si's face couldn't help but become solemn.
Maybe she rarely looked so serious. Even the usually careless Little Second Son noticed something was wrong.
"Aunt Jiang, are you scared?"
After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Will the typhoon blow off the roof?"
Jiang Si came back to her senses and stroked his head. "Don't worry, it won't."
"Really won't?" Little Second Son pursed his lips.
If it really wouldn't, why were all the adults looking so glum?
And why were those aunts and grandmas in the family compound crying so sadly?
This question...
Jiang Si couldn't explain it either, but her tone when answering him was unprecedentedly firm.
"Don't worry, it definitely won't collapse."
As she said this, a very strange idea suddenly popped into Jiang Si's mind.
Why was it strange?
Because just now, she suddenly had an urge to try to collect the wind and rain into the space.
Logically speaking, since physical objects could be collected from a distance, these should also be possible, right?
The only troublesome thing was that the auditorium was full of people at this moment.
Moreover, she was pregnant. Not to mention going out of the auditorium, even if she stood up and moved around a bit, Uncle Zhong and Third Uncle would subconsciously glance at her.
"Alas—"
Jiang Si couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Little Second Son didn't know she had such a skill.
He just thought she was scared.
Actually, he was also extremely scared just now, but when he saw the soldiers in the auditorium.
He suddenly wasn't that scared anymore.
So he comforted Jiang Si like a little adult. "Auntie, don't be afraid. Look, there are so many PLA soldiers here!"
"The book says that as long as they are around, all difficulties are just paper tigers!"
"The book also says that they are the most lovely people!"
"No matter when, they will always rush to the front line. This is the courage in the bones of the people's soldiers, and it is also their belief!"
"So as long as they are here, we will definitely be okay!"
"Yes, you're absolutely right."
Jiang Si didn't expect that she would be comforted by a child under eight years old.
Hu Meili also didn't expect that such forceful words would come from her Little Second Son.
"Not bad, Second Son!"
Since her son had finally said something sensible, as a mother, she definitely couldn't dampen his spirit at this time.
Not only did she praise Little Second Son vigorously, but Hu Meili also said that when they got home, she would stew big pig's trotters for him.
Regarding the picture books that her son had been longing for, Hu Meili waved her hand and said.
Give them! Is three enough? If not, buy five!
After this incident, she had also figured it out.
If Little Second Son wasn't cut out for studying, then so be it. As long as the child grew up safely and happily, it wasn't so bad.
Hu Meili had thought it through, but her actions today almost stunned Little Second Son.
At this time, he didn't have the time to think about the typhoon.
Now Little Second Son only had one thought in his mind. What exactly had he said just now?
How could he have coaxed his own mother like this?
After much thought, finally with the reminder of his elder brother, Little Second Son was sure!
It should be those words "The book says".
So Little Second Son made up his mind that after the typhoon, he would go back and read more books.
He would strive to remember all the things in the books thoroughly. Then wouldn't his mother dote on him to death in the future!
Coincidentally, as if to prove something, less than five minutes after Little Second Son finished speaking those words, a resounding order rang out in the crowd.
"Inform the people in the barracks section to reinforce all the windows in the auditorium as soon as possible."
"Yes, Battalion Commander."
Before this person could go to inform, someone said, "Report to the battalion commander, the people from the barracks section have already come."
"Open the door quickly."
"Yes."
As soon as the auditorium door opened, the wind outside howled in.
It was only then that everyone noticed.
On the stairs from the first floor to the second floor, there were actually more than a hundred military comrades in wet military uniforms standing there.
The auditorium was only so big and couldn't accommodate all the people from the Fourth Division.
It could be said that the troops had given up all the safest places.
The only purpose of these military comrades being here was to guard the last line of defense.
If there was really any accident, they could also carry out timely rescue.
"Battalion Commander Sun, just putting up wooden frames probably won't work."
The people from the barracks section looked at the degree of the window's shaking and spoke bluntly.
"The wind outside is getting stronger and stronger. If this goes on, all these windows will fall apart in at most an hour."
"Then what should we do now?" Battalion Commander Sun asked.
Section Chief Deng from the camp defense section was also very worried when he heard this.
To be honest, he had never seen a typhoon of this level before.
He couldn't come up with a solution either.
But there wasn't much time left. They could only take a chance.
"Alright, I'll lead the people to reinforce it first. I'll use all the materials available."
After Section Chief Deng finished speaking, he looked at the situation in the auditorium.
"First, have the people near the windows evacuated to the side, leaving a distance of about two meters."
"Leave two meters?"
Battalion Commander Sun also looked over. "But if so, the activity space for the military dependents will be even smaller."
"That's the way it is. We have to keep this distance. Otherwise, the wind-blocking effect won't be as good," Section Chief Deng repeated his previous statement. At this moment, whether they were lying or standing didn't matter. What mattered most was how to save their lives.
"Okay," Battalion Commander Sun didn't dwell on it any further and simply nodded.
"What should we do next?"
Section Chief Deng made a quick calculation with a flick of his fingers.
"Prepare 500 sandbags. Later, we'll build an arched sandbag wall along all the windows."
"Up to about here," he gestured to indicate the approximate height and then emphasized an important point.
"After the sandbag wall is built, pour plenty of water on it."
Hearing this, Battalion Commander Sun frowned and looked over.
They did have sandbags.
During the previous discussion of the plan, the Quartermaster Section had proposed two options: one was to build a sandbag wall, and the other was to reinforce the windows.
So the young soldiers of the infantry company had stayed up for several consecutive nights.
Finally, they had prepared all the required sandbags, which were now stacked in the first - floor hall.
However, the people from the Quartermaster Section had ultimately chosen the second option.
As for the reason, Section Chief Deng had mentioned it before.
There were too many people in the family compound. He was worried that the building wouldn't be able to bear the additional weight if they added the sandbags.
Now, Section Chief Deng still had the same concern.
But there was no other choice. If they didn't give it a try, the windows were bound to break.
If only one or two windows broke, they might still be able to salvage the situation with some effort.
However, if more than three windows broke, the typhoon would quickly tear the entire auditorium apart, and it would be impossible to stop it.
