Chapter 50: Redirecting the Trouble

“Everyone, listen to me—let’s not ruin our neighborly relationships over this.”

“Jiang Yuan, don’t you remember me? We live in the same building.”

“This is Song Yi from 2102, this is Ye Mianmian from 1101, and this is Zhang Kaiyang from 0902. As for this gentleman, he must be your father, right?”

He cut straight to the point, revealing everyone’s identity. What was he trying to do?

“We’re all neighbors in this building, and I know you all went out to scavenge supplies.”

He paused, adjusted his glasses, and put on a deliberately refined and “civilized villain” demeanor.

“Now that we’re all facing hard times, I think we should get through it together. Since you’ve got resources, you should share them with those in need, don’t you agree?”

Jiang Yuan looked at him. Though he appeared fair and just, he was clearly the most self-serving of all.

“Lawyer Sun, since you know each of us so well, I assume you know the rest of the building’s residents just as clearly?”

He smiled at her, a bit smug. “Occupational hazard, I suppose…”

“Oh really? Is it occupational hazard, or is it because you’re related to our property manager?”

“What? Lawyer Sun is related to the property manager?”

“Never would’ve guessed. No wonder the property office doesn’t say much. Should’ve asked him about it earlier.”

“He probably knows a lot of insider info.”

…

The crowd murmured among themselves, and Sun Yian’s face began to sour.

“Ms. Jiang Yuan, you need to take responsibility for your words. I have no relation to Manager Liu!”

“Oh? No relation? Yet you know his surname is Liu.”

Her retort didn’t shake him—on the contrary, he chuckled.

“I’m a homeowner in this community. Knowing the property manager’s surname is normal. I’m sure many people here know it.”

Jiang Yuan wasn’t fazed. Like him, she was confident in her position.

“Sure, many know his surname. But the one who’s related to him—is just you.”

“There are rumors that every floor has a mole planted by the property office. I think for Building 13, that mole is you.”

“Let’s not twist the facts here. The issue now is about your supplies.”

He twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth—a fleeting smirk.

“Alright, everyone, I do have some food, but only a little—just some snacks.”

“But our Lawyer Zhang here—he’s related to the property manager. And right outside the property office, there’s a large supermarket.”

“They’re always quick to collect property fees. Now that everyone’s in trouble, it’s only fair they help us out, don’t you think?”

Zhang Kaiyang wasn’t slow on the uptake. Usually quite active, he seized the opportunity.

“Exactly! That supermarket is run by the property office. They’ve made plenty of money from us. They shouldn’t be keeping everything to themselves now.”

Ye Mianmian added, “I’ve been to that supermarket many times. There’s enough rice, oil, dry goods, and other supplies to feed a whole building.”

With those reminders, others began to speak up.

“I heard some people tried to go out earlier, and the property guards almost fought with them.”

“How can they be like this—when things go wrong, they vanish. Yet they were happy to collect our money.”

“That’s right, they should bring the supplies over…”

“Agreed!”

“Yes, make them deliver the food!”

Seeing the crowd’s emotions stoked to the boiling point, Jiang Yuan followed up strategically:

“Everyone, let me say something. If we want the property office to bring over rice and flour, we’ll need the help of Lawyer Sun. If he doesn’t cooperate, they won’t even talk to us…”

She shifted the pressure directly onto Sun Yian, and for once, he showed a rare flicker of panic.

“I said already—I’m not related to the property manager. Saying more won’t change anything!”

“No inside information? I don’t buy it. Since you’re ‘relatives,’ you must have him on WeChat. Come on, let’s see your phone—show us.”

“You—my personal info isn’t for public display!”

“And even if I do have him on WeChat, that doesn’t mean anything!”

Jiang Yuan crossed her arms and looked at him like he was an idiot. “Do you take us all for fools?

In normal times, most of us don’t even have the floor reps on WeChat—let alone the manager. Ask around—who here has his contact info?

He’s not in any resident group chat either.”

That hit home. People began realizing the truth, and their gazes toward Sun Yian turned unfriendly.

“Lawyer Sun, just talk to the property people for us. We’ll all be grateful…”

“Yeah, be a good person, okay?”

“I’m telling you—this is all nonsense. Don’t believe these rumors…”

Jiang Yuan decided to press harder.

“Lawyer Sun, why are you evading responsibility like this? Don’t you want the rest of us to get supplies?

Look at you—shiny and well-fed. I bet you haven’t gone without anything lately.

But the rest of us—we’ve got no food at home.

Unless… the property office has been secretly sending you stuff to keep us calm?”

“Wow, no wonder he always tells us not to panic or overreact. He’s been trying to divide us while playing both sides!”

“His house is probably stocked to the ceiling. Lawyer Sun, it’s selfish to act like this.”

“Yeah, we trusted you!”

Once the crowd was properly fired up, Jiang Yuan stepped back.

Many of them had already run out of food and weren’t in a mindset to reason things out.

It didn’t help that Sun Yian still carried himself like he was above everyone—wearing a suit under a down jacket.

The contrast with the rest—sloppy clothes, thick coats, worn-out looks—only made things worse.

No one stayed refined after being stuck at home this long.

So naturally, it just looked like he had been secretly getting supplies.

“Lawyer Sun, let’s go. Time to message the property office.”

Two burly men threw their arms around him and led him away.

The rest, hoping for rations, followed.

The immediate danger was gone—but things still weren’t truly safe.

Once they found out Jiang Yuan had lied, they would absolutely come after her again.

“Hurry up and move everything!”

Now that the hallway was clear, two people stayed to unload while the three men moved the goods upstairs with everything they had.

They had to climb five floors to reach the ninth—not too far, but not easy either.

Doing it repeatedly took a huge toll.

Jiang Yuan didn’t want her father to overexert himself—he was older, and it wasn’t safe for him to keep climbing.

So she and Ye Mianmian took turns climbing while he stayed to help guard and unload supplies.

Everyone gave it their all, and in just half an hour, everything was finally moved.

Song Yi came to put away the inflatable raft, while Jiang Yuan collapsed onto the couch in 0902, completely exhausted.