bestfiction Chapter 266 Disaster Relief
Chapter 266 Disaster Relief
When Lu Ran saw this news, his first reaction was indeed to go to the disaster area to provide assistance.
In his past life, he experienced a disaster. Back then, as a college student, he went deep into the disaster area with the rescue team.
He knew that at this moment, every minute saved meant a chance to save another life.
Lu Ran nodded decisively in response to Shen Yuege's question.
"An 8.0 magnitude earthquake, just imagine how many people are affected. Houses collapse, roads are cut off, supplies can't get in... At this time, what's most needed is money and supplies."
He walked to the sofa, sat down, and picked up his phone to continue browsing the news.
The latest news has started to come out one after another.
"Many counties and cities in Sichuan Province have been severely affected by the disaster, with numerous houses collapsed and roads cut off."
"Communications are disrupted in the epicenter area, and the specific situation is unclear."
"The state has activated a level-one disaster relief response, and rescue forces are rushing to the disaster area."
"The disaster area urgently needs tents, blankets, food, drinking water, medicine and other supplies."
The messages were shocking.
Lu Ran became increasingly silent as he looked at the screen.
Shen Yuege sat down next to him and quietly watched him.
After a long while, Lu Ran finally spoke.
"Yuege," he said, "I want to postpone the Super Girl finals."
Shen Yuege readily agreed, "Okay!"
Lu Ran explained, "The whole country is focused on the disaster area right now, so it's not appropriate to hold the finals at this time. Besides..." He paused, "I want to use the influence of 'Super Girl' to do something."
"What is it?"
"Fundraising," Lu Ran said. "Super Girl is so popular right now, with tens of millions of people watching across the country. If we can use this platform to call on everyone to donate money and supplies, we can help so many people."
Shen Yuege thought for a moment and slowly nodded: "You're right. Holding a competition at this juncture is indeed inappropriate. Besides, those contestants probably aren't even in the mood to compete."
"So you agree?"
"Of course I agree." Shen Yuege laughed. "What do you take me for? Who's thinking about the competition at a time like this?"
Lu Ran grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly.
He knew that "Super Girl" was Shen Yuege's hard work, and he also knew that Shen Yuege was a sensible woman, but the fact that she agreed so readily made Lu Ran feel that he had not misjudged her.
"Then I'll contact Zhou Mingzhe first thing tomorrow morning and ask him to prepare the supplies. You, on your end, notify the production team and the contestants to announce the postponement."
"Okay." Shen Yuege nodded. "There's one more thing."
"What?"
"I want to donate too," Shen Yuege said earnestly. "My savings over the past few years can buy a lot of things."
Lu Ran looked at her and suddenly smiled.
"Okay, let's donate together then."
He paused, then said, "But the two of us alone can only help a limited number of people. We need to bring in Xingyao, Xingguang, and Xinghua. We can also organize an online fundraising campaign for Tutu Technology. Tutu has tens of millions of users; if each of them donates one yuan, that's tens of millions."
Shen Yuege's eyes lit up: "That's a great idea. Besides, the contestants of 'Super Girl' can also mobilize their fans, who are all very proactive."
"Yes." Lu Ran became more and more excited as he spoke, "And Tan Yu and the others are quite well-known now. Having them take the lead in donating can also inspire many others."
The two talked back and forth, and the more they talked, the more feasible it seemed.
The somber atmosphere caused by the earthquake was gradually replaced by a new emotion.
It's not fear, it's not sadness, but a confidence that we can overcome difficulties by working together.
The sky outside the window was still dark, but Lu Ran knew that dawn would break soon.
But after daybreak, there were too many things waiting for him to do.
...
The next morning, Lu Ran was woken up by his cell phone ringing.
He chatted with Shen Yuege until after 2 a.m. last night before going to sleep, and his head is still a little dizzy.
The call was from Zhou Mingzhe.
"Lu Ran, have you seen the news?" The voice carried a hint of worry.
"Just woke up, what's wrong?"
"The casualty figures are out..." Zhou Mingzhe paused, "They're not good."
Lu Ran's heart sank. He sat up, turned on speakerphone, and opened the news app.
The numbers on the screen made him gasp for breath.
[Latest news: The Sichuan earthquake has caused nearly 10,000 deaths, tens of thousands of injuries, and hundreds of thousands of houses collapsed or damaged. Communication is disrupted in several towns in the epicenter area, and rescue work is underway.]
Nearly 10,000 people.
The number is still being updated and is still rising, making it even more serious than he thought.
Last night he had already contacted several businesses to provide a lot of supplies, planning to start sending them to the disaster area today, but hearing so many numbers still made him feel very sad.
Lu Ran closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Brother Zhou," he said, his voice a little hoarse, "I thought about something yesterday."
"you say."
"How much money does TuTu Technology have in its account?"
Zhou Mingzhe paused for a moment, then quickly calculated: "Adding what's left from Xingyao's previous investment, and the profits from the last few months, it's roughly a little over thirty million."
"Take out 20 million to buy supplies," Lu Ran said. "Tents, blankets, food, drinking water, medicine—buy whatever the disaster area needs. Contact the supply chain and see if you can get it done as soon as possible."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Twenty million?" Zhou Mingzhe's voice held a hint of surprise. "All of it to buy supplies?"
"Yes. Donating supplies is more practical than donating money directly. Money takes too long to arrive in the disaster area because it still needs to be purchased and transported. Let's buy the supplies and send them to where they are most needed."
"Okay." Zhou Mingzhe didn't hesitate. "I'll make the arrangements right away. But 20 million worth of supplies is a lot, so the logistics..."
"I'll figure out the logistics," Lu Ran said. "You contact suppliers first, buy as much as you can. If you don't have enough money, we can take it from the account. We can't skimp on this."
"clear."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran dialed Li Mo's number again.
The phone rang twice before being answered. Li Mo sounded very alert, indicating that he had probably been awake for some time.
"Lu Ran, what's wrong?"
"Mr. Li, I'd like to discuss something with you."
"explain."
Lu Ran briefly explained his ideas for postponing the "Super Girl" finals, raising funds through the TUTU platform, and joining forces with Xingyao, Xingguang, and Xinghua to do disaster relief.
After listening, Li Mo thought for a moment before replying.
"I agree to the postponement," he said. "Holding the finals at this time is indeed inappropriate. I also support the fundraising. For Xingyao, I've instructed the finance department to prepare 50 million, just like you, to buy supplies."
Lu Ran was taken aback, not expecting Xingyao to be so generous: "President Li, isn't fifty million a bit too much...?"
"It's not much," Li Mo interrupted him. "Although Xingyao can't compare to those big companies, we can't shirk our responsibilities at a time like this. Besides, this has been discussed by the board of directors, so don't worry, we can manage this amount of money if we grit our teeth."
Lu Ran smiled: "Then thank you, Mr. Li."
"Why thank me? You should thank the board of directors," Li Mo said. "By the way, do you want me to help you contact Starlight and Starflower?"
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Li."
"No trouble at all. At times like these, everyone wants to contribute, but they just don't know how or how to do it. If you take the lead, they'll be more than happy to follow suit."
...