Chapter 28: Rising Water Levels

Jiang Yuan rolled her eyes. How thick-skinned could this person be, to actually try ordering them around?

“Rice, flour, vegetables, fruits—get some of everything.
Drinks and milk too, the kids need to eat.”

“…And why should I?” Jiang Yuan asked coldly.

“What did you say?”

Madam Xia’s voice became a little anxious, thinking Jiang Yuan was still the same daughter-in-law who always tolerated everything.

“I said—why should I?”

“Jiang Yuan, you’re being extremely rude. No matter what, I’m still your elder.
You’ve been married into our family for so many years—surely you know how I’ve treated you.
Besides, if you hadn’t hurt Chao Yang, we wouldn’t be asking for your help.”

Ha! The old hag was trying to play the morality card again. Jiang Yuan couldn’t believe she had the audacity.
She knew perfectly well how the Xia family had treated her.

“You’re dreaming, old woman!”

“What did you say!?”

“I said—you’re dreaming. Listen carefully, old hag—I’ve put up with you long enough.
You are the most selfish, most bitter, dirtiest, and most disgusting person I’ve ever met.
You should be living in a pigsty.
And your breath? Absolutely foul.
Do you know why I used to avoid talking to you?
Because every time you opened your mouth, I felt like vomiting my dinner from the night before.
Don’t think I don’t know—you helped your son cheat and get a mistress.
Let me tell you something: right now, you’re just a burden.
When the food runs out, you’ll be the first one they throw away.
If they send you out to find food, you better go.
Even though you’re old and weak and probably won’t get much, if that cheap grandson of yours and Chao Yang’s mistress get desperate…
They’ll eat you to survive. Remember that.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Yuan hung up the phone and instantly blocked the number.

No way Xia Chaoyang and Bai Mengmeng weren’t sitting right beside the old woman, feeding her lines and hoping she could manipulate Jiang Yuan.
But her words had now planted seeds of doubt in all their minds.
When they really run out of food… they’d remember what she said.

A dogfight—now that would be fun.

After hanging up, her parents looked concerned. But Jiang Yuan just gave a casual wave.

“I’ve wanted to scold her like that for a long time. It felt amazing.”

Seeing her attitude, they finally relaxed.

Later, she returned to the window to keep observing downstairs. By afternoon, a few more groups of people had gone out.
At least from what she could see above—others may have exited from different gates, she couldn’t be sure.

In the community delivery group (CaiNiao station), capped at 500 members, everyone was discussing the nearby supermarket.
Apparently, the number of people was too much, so everyone could only buy a limited amount.
And prices had gone up three to five times.

Many people were complaining, but with supplies so scarce, if you didn’t buy them now—you wouldn’t get anything.

“There’s not much left. If you need stuff, go quickly. The water is already really high, and it’ll be even harder to go out later.”

Someone suggested this, and many others agreed, asking for more details.

She noticed the woman from the 20th floor moved her avatar again—asking the same stuff:
Could someone help her get food? Any carpools?

A total conversation killer.
Five or six minutes passed before a new topic finally emerged.

Seriously—no one’s stupid.
So few people can even drive out now, and resources are limited.
Who would volunteer to be someone’s delivery person?

The woman refused to give up.
She even tagged the guy on the 3rd floor in Building 13.

0302: Not going out again. Water’s too high. My truck’s exhaust pipe is submerged—can’t start it.
0902: Yeah, good thing we went earlier. I heard the garage is flooded!
1301: Confirmed. Even the security guards have evacuated. 😢
2002: Could you share some of what you bought this morning? I’ll pay. I have kids at home—please, show some compassion…

…

Silence. Again.
Unit 2002 started tagging everyone who went out earlier—desperately.

But no one responded.
Awkward. Quiet. Cold.

She wouldn’t give up.
Eventually, she even tagged Jiang Yuan and Song Yi from the 21st floor.
Of course, no one replied.

By evening, the flooding worsened.
Social media was flooded with help requests.

Lower-lying areas were completely submerged.
The government had already set up emergency shelters, asking people to head to the former COVID quarantine centers.

It was near the high-speed rail station, which would later serve as a survivor shelter.
But in this weather, with such deep flooding, it was unrealistic to get there without transportation.

At 9 p.m., the residents on the first floor started calling for help.

Why? Because water had begun seeping into their homes.

There were three steps outside their building. The first floor still had two more steps.
That meant the water level outside had reached nearly thigh-high.
Shops at street level probably had water up to the waist.

Because the roads outside were narrow, the steps were higher.

She had to go out today.
Otherwise, by tomorrow, many things would be submerged and lost.

Determined, Jiang Yuan got ready—
Last time she went out too early; many people were still awake.
Tonight, she’d wait until late.

It seemed even colder now.

She layered herself with thermal outdoor clothing and waterproof rain gear, topped with a safety helmet.
The rain hitting her head hurt without it.

Not only that—Jiang Yuan even brought her inflatable swim ring.
In case she became too exhausted, she could float with it.

But there was a risk—
If she got near an open manhole or swirling water, she could get sucked in.
If she could walk, she still preferred to walk.

All evening, she monitored the surveillance feed.

At midnight, Unit 2102 did indeed head out.
As they passed 2101, they even turned to glance back—
Were they expecting her to go out too?

No time to overthink. Jiang Yuan quickly entered her storage space.
She moved all her rice, flour, and grains to the attic area—leaving only fresh produce near her bed.
It was a clever move—
If anyone came in, they wouldn’t suspect anything.

The remaining supplies were stored in boxes in her en suite bathroom.
That way, when she returned, she could quietly move everything back.

That’s right—she planned to sneak out tonight, without telling her parents.

She even made sure Xiao Nuan slept with her grandma,
saying she had accidentally spilled water on her bed.