Chapter 27 – A Call from the Ex-Mother-in-Law

“Mommy…”

Jiang Yuan quickly rushed over, scooping her daughter into her arms and gently patting her back.

“Go to sleep, baby. Mommy’s here…”

…

The next morning, Jiang Yuan woke up early — she’d only slept four or five hours.

She habitually took out her phone. The group chat was full of messages, all discussing going out to buy supplies.

It had started with a guy from the fifth floor, who mentioned that a neighbor had made a trip out. They had apparently discussed it all night.

Her phone had been on silent, so she hadn’t heard any of it.

Turned out that the resident of unit 0302 had a box truck, parked in the underground garage.

The truck had high clearance, so as long as the water wasn’t too deep, it could make it through. It could also carry quite a lot.

Many people were hoping to hitch a ride — it was way better than wading through water on foot.

Of course, there were also those who didn’t want to go themselves and just wanted others to help pick things up.

Especially the resident from the 20th floor — she was the most active in the chat, but no one responded to her.

In the end, everyone decided to follow the plan from the third floor. The uphill path had shallower water, so it should be fine.

Everyone would chip in for fuel. In total, 22 households signed up.

Jiang Yuan read through the thread carefully — unit 2102 (Song Yi) hadn’t participated. Either he didn’t see the messages, or he just didn’t want to join.

The young woman from the 11th floor had joined though. Jiang Yuan hoped they would all return safely.

Having seen all that, Jiang Yuan decisively got out of bed. But as soon as she left the warm covers, she instinctively shivered.

The weather had gotten noticeably colder.

She opened the curtains — the heavy rain was still going strong, showing no signs of stopping.

She searched her wardrobe and pulled out a thin set of coral fleece pajamas, grabbing a set for Xiao Nuan too.

The little girl had been stirred awake by the movement.

Jiang Yuan put the clothes under the blanket to warm them up for a while before helping her daughter get dressed.

Qin Yue had made white rice porridge, paired with pickled vegetables and steamed pork-and-green-bean buns from before. Jiang Yuan ate with deep satisfaction.

Days like this would soon become rare.

When she put down her chopsticks, Jiang Xingzhi finally asked with a worried expression, “Sweetheart, yesterday you said the situation outside isn’t good. What did you mean?”

Seeing the dark circles under her father’s eyes, Jiang Yuan knew he probably hadn’t slept well.

“Dad… don’t tell me you stayed up all night worrying?”

Qin Yue gave him a look, “You know your dad’s stubborn personality. If he doesn’t figure something out clearly, how could he possibly sleep?”

“Sweetie, tell Mom — what’s really going on outside?”

Jiang Xingzhi sighed helplessly. “And you’re saying I’m the curious one?”

Qin Yue glared at him, then turned to Jiang Yuan with a much softer expression, her eyes filled with expectation.

Jiang Yuan sat up straighter, her tone becoming serious.

“Dad, Mom, the situation out there really isn’t looking good. Yesterday when I went out, the water level had already risen.

It was only up to my knees, but our area is higher than most. If you check the news, you’ll see many parts of downtown are already flooded.

Most shops are closed, and the few that are open have hardly anything left.

Do you remember that disaster movie? If the rain doesn’t stop and the temperature keeps dropping, the water’s going to freeze.

When that happens… no one will be able to move around.”

At the mention of the movie, both parents immediately grew solemn — they remembered.

“These kinds of things — it’s better to believe than not. We need to stay cautious.”

“Not only that, we have to take the opportunity to stock up on supplies — especially fresh fruits and vegetables. These will get harder and harder to find.”

“I’ll go out later and buy some more then.”

“No need. Mom, Dad, just stay home and watch the kid.

Let me handle this.

I’m in a group chat with local store owners. I’ll ask around and see who’s still open before I go.”

“That’s fine — but next time, your dad should go with you.”

“Okay!”

Jiang Yuan understood her parents were just worried, so she didn’t argue.

When it was time to go out, she could always find an excuse.

“Oh, and Dad, Mom — I feel like the weather is getting colder. Please wear more layers so you don’t catch a cold.

If hospitals close and someone gets sick, it’ll be a big problem.”

“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right. No one can afford to get sick now. Xiao Nuan, you too — be good and wear more clothes, okay?”

“I know, Grandma…”

The family of four enjoyed a warm and tender moment.

Jiang Yuan had a smile on her face. Around 9 a.m., the group chat got lively again — the team was getting ready to head out.

Their building had access to the garage, so shortly after, the box truck pulled away from the complex.

Across the street, people were beginning to stir too. They probably saw someone heading out and got ideas.

Jiang Yuan didn’t care about them. She opened the surveillance feed from the luxury flat.

It was quiet — not a single person in sight.

That wasn’t right. Even if Xia Chaoyang and Bai Mengmeng weren’t there, what about Xia’s mother and that cheap son of his?

Had they all gone to Lushan Yayuan?

If so… now that would be interesting. But it would also mean her cameras in the luxury flat would be useless — how annoying!

These days, she couldn’t stand wasting even a single cent.

But what could she do? She was flat broke.

Around 1 p.m., she saw the box truck return.

Oddly, it didn’t go into the garage but parked directly outside the building.

People started getting off one by one, all carrying various goods.

Jiang Yuan stood by the window, watching through her high-powered binoculars.

They’d definitely managed to buy things — she could even see some residents from other buildings coming over.

It looked like they were chatting — probably getting tempted to make a run themselves.

Jiang Yuan watched coldly. If others failed to buy anything and found out about what Building 13 had, they might start targeting them.

Wait… the water level seemed to have risen again.

People were struggling to walk — the water now reached above the knee.

That explained why the truck didn’t go into the garage — it couldn’t.

In just a few hours, the water had risen more than 20 centimeters.

And the endless pounding of rain outside — enough to drive anyone mad.

That’s it. Soon, no one will be able to get out.

But… her space still wasn’t full. What should she do?

Just as she was growing frustrated, her phone rang — it was Xia’s mother.

What did this woman want now? Jiang Yuan’s curiosity was piqued.

She answered the call. On the other end, the old woman didn’t even wait before launching in:

“Is this Jiang Yuan? I’m your mother-in-law. Are your parents home?

They say there are supplies being sold at the supermarket up there. Hurry and go get some!”

This old hag suddenly being so thoughtful? Highly suspicious.

“Jiang Yuan, are you listening?”

“Mm.”

Hearing her response, the old lady clearly breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’ve come over to Lushan Yayuan too. The family’s got the old and the sick — tell your dad to help buy some things for us too.”