Chapter 17 Government Rescue Arrives
After Bai Tang and the others had lunch, Bai Jiyang and the others went to the window to check how high the water level had risen.
They discovered that the water level had already reached the sixth floor and seemed to be rising further.
Moreover, I saw some animal carcasses floating in the floodwaters. The carcasses were so bloated that they looked like they were about to explode at any moment.
For a moment, Bai Jiyang felt like vomiting. After calming down, he thought: I can't vomit, otherwise my lunch will have been a waste.
He turned his head away from looking at the water.
"Don't look anymore, there might be human bodies in the water besides animal carcasses."
"Has it gotten this chaotic outside?"
"Our neighborhood isn't peaceful either, let alone outside."
On the fifth day of the torrential rain, the floodwaters reached the eighth floor, and all the residents below the ninth floor had to find a way to move upstairs.
Those who could find a place to stay would shamelessly move into other people's homes, while those who couldn't would bring their families and live in the stairwell, eating, drinking, and relieving themselves there, making the stairwell smell terrible for a while.
Some clever ones would bring their families to the unsold houses in advance, break into the houses and move in.
The people downstairs had all moved upstairs before the floodwaters submerged their homes, so no one died in the flood.
However, as the days went by, some families began to run out of food.
Especially for those who rely on food delivery for a living, there is no food stored at home. Some of them let others stay at their homes and then let the others pay rent in the form of food.
I don't know how long this can last.
Two more days passed, and in the middle of the night, the residents of the building suddenly heard someone screaming.
That very night, several families living alone were robbed. The robbers were masked, and no one could see who they were, causing widespread panic.
The residents of the building spent a night in worry, and the next day they went together to talk to Manager Yang of the property management, hoping he could do something to stop the robbery.
Manager Yang fell silent, thinking to himself: I'm just a lowly property manager, aren't you making things difficult for me?
However, he remained calm on the surface and said to everyone, "Then let's select a few male comrades to be the temporary patrol team. But everyone needs to take out a small portion of the food from their homes to pay these comrades. We can't let others work for free, right?"
After Manager Yang finished speaking, everyone remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly someone took the lead and said, "Manager Yang is right. I'm willing to contribute some food so that I won't have to worry about food at night."
"I think that's fine too."
"Manager Yang's suggestion is excellent; it will benefit both of us."
More and more people agree with Manager Yang's suggestion.
And so, the patrol team was formed, and the residents of the building had two peaceful nights for the time being.
These past few days, Bai Tang and the others have been eating food that doesn't have much flavor, afraid that the smell of the food might spread and be smelled by the people in the hallway, lest it cause any more trouble.
The people in the building have been gone for so long, they really have nothing left to eat.
Rather than drinking dirty water and getting sick and dying, I'd rather go out and try my luck.
So they went from house to house asking if anyone had a speedboat or motorboat, planning to row out to find supplies.
Finally, we borrowed an inflatable boat and several swimming rings from a young man who loves playing in the water.
They made preparations and went out to look for supplies while the rain wasn't too heavy.
After waiting for a long time, they finally saw them return, with some odds and ends of supplies on the inflatable boat.
However, there were a few fewer people.
"They were swept away by the flood, and we didn't have time to rescue them."
The hallway was filled with crying. Those who could go out to find supplies were the breadwinners of the family.
Bai Tang and his group were listening to the radio broadcasts, waiting to see when the authorities would arrive to provide assistance.
"Buzz buzz buzz." A series of electrical sounds followed.
The radio broadcast: "Dear residents, due to the flooding, the authorities are building a rescue base."
However, the official distribution of supplies is limited, and supplies will be distributed according to ID card, one person, one ID card, one set of supplies.
For your own safety, please wait patiently in a safe area for the rescue team to arrive.
The radio was playing this message on a loop.
Bai Tang suggested sending a radio to the building as a gesture of goodwill.
That way they won't come looking for trouble every day.
After discussing it, everyone agreed to send a radio to the building.
However, we can't just give things away for free, lest they take advantage of us.
Bai Tang and the others grabbed stun guns, opened the door, and went downstairs.
At first, the family living on the 19th floor thought that Bai Tang and his group had come down to rob them.
After all, they have stun guns as weapons, so if they really want to steal something, no one can stop them.
Bai Tang found the person closest to the ground and said to him, "Whom do you all listen to now? We need to talk to him about something."
Seeing that Bai Tang and the others weren't there to steal anything, the man hurriedly said, "It's Manager Yang. We all listen to him now. I'll go downstairs and call him right now."
After saying that, he hurriedly went downstairs to call for help. When Manager Yang heard that it was those few devils upstairs looking for him, he broke out in a cold sweat.
However, she still pretended to be strong and went upstairs, asking, "Hey little sister, what's up?"
"We'd like to trade this radio for some food. We're out of food. Is that alright? This radio is currently playing a call to announce when the authorities will come to our aid."
Manager Yang noticed that Gu Yanxu was holding a radio.
He looked back at the others and said to Bai Tang, "It's not enough for just one person to decide to replace your things. Let's discuss it."
The group gathered on the 18th and 19th floors. After discussion, they decided to exchange two kilograms of rice and several bags of biscuits for Bai Tang's radio.
Bai Tang and the others thought for a moment and said, "Give us another half a jin of rice and we'll change it."
Manager Yang and the others agreed.
After exchanging their items, Bai Tang and the others returned upstairs.
People downstairs listened happily to the official announcements coming from the radio.
They only knew one thing: official rescue was coming, and they were saved.
After Bai Tang returned to the house, Bai Jiyang couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha, that's hilarious! The way we're haggling makes us look like we're starving."
"Absolutely. Excellent acting skills are essential; life is like a play, and acting skills are crucial."
"What if we give them radios for free, and they turn out to be a real-life version of The Farmer and the Snake?"
"My sister-in-law is right."
Bai Tang said to the others, "Alright, let's wait for the official rescue. We'll go down together to collect the supplies then. I just don't know how they'll distribute them."
"Don't send it from the rooftop! Then all our front door installation would be for nothing."
"Wow, that's possible. After all, there's water downstairs, so it seems like the only way it can come down is from the sky."
Lin Feng suggested, "Then let's install iron doors on the entrances and exits of the 20th, 21st, and 22nd floors tonight?"
Lin Zhou said, "What if someone collects the supplies but doesn't come downstairs and just stays in the stairwell?"
Without any hesitation, Bai Tang pulled out a pistol and said aggressively, "With this, I don't believe they'll dare not leave."
If anyone lingers in the stairwell and refuses to come down, we'll first use stun guns, then pull out our guns.
Gu Yanxu said from the side, "Tangtang is right. Let's wait for the notification first. Also, what are we going to eat later? I'll cook. You guys hurry up and think of some dishes."