Reclamation and Salvage

The location of the Reclamation Corps was on the banks of the Qiantang River near the famous Qiaosi reform-through-labor farm, where vast stretches of beach along the river were enclosed by dikes to turn them into fertile farmland. On my first arrival, the accommodation for the re-education and reform-through-labor prisoners had already been built with dozens of bamboo-framed thatched sheds, and the work areas for each brigade had been assigned and demarcated. The project of filling the land and building dikes was immediately launched. However, within 2 weeks of starting the work, it happened to be a Sunday afternoon when I noticed smoke rising from the roof of a nearby shed, determining that there was a fire. I immediately ran around shouting for help and organized the fire rescue, but the wind was strong and the fire was fierce, spreading rapidly in all directions. After 2 h of fighting, the fire was finally extinguished. After the incident, we inspected the damage and found that there were dozens of deaths and serious injuries. The next day, the Corps held a general meeting to review the merits and demerits of the fire and its rescue, publicly announcing that “Ding Tianque strived to shout for help and should be commended.”