After about forty minutes, they finally returned to the residential area. Blanche, who had been waiting on the balcony, spotted them and quickly shouted to Atticus, "Honey, the kids are back. Let's go down and help them with the stuff."
The couple quickly locked the door and hurried downstairs. When Alice was still a few meters away from a building in the eastern area, she heard people arguing. She raised her head in suspicion and, through the window of the third-floor staircase, saw a dozen people continuously cursing three men.
"I repeatedly emphasized and urged you to pay attention to the inflatable boat. Don't just focus on taking things. Now, the bottom of the inflatable boat has been punctured. Without something to fix it, no one can go outside to find supplies."
"Couldn't you take less each time? You had to be greedy. Don't bother coming to borrow the inflatable boat from me in the future."
The owner of the inflatable boat was furious. Without it, he couldn't continue to reap benefits without labor. Fortunately, he had saved quite a bit before, enough to last for two or three months.
The three men felt innocent. "Many people use the inflatable boat, and there were issues before. It just happened that we encountered it. How can it all be blamed on us?"
"The supplies we found are minimal, and there's no situation of overloading. Those who bring in more supplies, their boats are almost collapsing. Can the inflatable boat survive without breaking after multiple uses?"
"Everyone is responsible for this matter. If you want to blame someone, blame everyone. Some even say that we envy others finding more supplies and intentionally damage them. Do you think we're fools? We also have to rely on the inflatable boat to survive now. Why would we cut off our own path?"
The argument went on without a resolution. The owner of the inflatable boat couldn't be bothered with them and said coldly, "Without materials and tools, the inflatable boat can't be fixed for a while. You figure it out yourselves."
At that moment, Blanche and Atticus passed by them, and the crowd looked up to the second floor, realizing that Alice and her brother had returned. Seeing the meat and various food on the rubber boat, everyone's eyes were filled with envy.
Alice took the things off the rubber boat, and the four of them shared the load and carried it up to the sixteenth floor. Sensing the intense gaze from those people, Alice ignored them. If they dared to rush up and attempt robbery, she was ready with her Tang knife.
The intimidation Alice had shown earlier still lingered, and everyone kept their eyes glued to the supplies. No one dared to make a move.
After climbing the stairs, Atticus and Blanche were exhausted and panting. Seeing Alice also stopping, she said, "You two go upstairs first. Your dad and I will walk slowly behind."
"Now, it's not safe below the sixteenth floor. I'll rest with you for a bit."
After the neighborhood experienced a complete power outage, everyone had to use the stairs for entry and exit. Despite the closed doors, who knows how many pairs of ears were listening in. In case someone got greedy and tried to take advantage, there was a risk of robbery and harm.
Alice wasn't willing to gamble on that possibility. Arnold deeply trusted her strength, so he said, "You protect mom and dad. I'll take the things upstairs and come back to help you."
And so, Arnold made three consecutive trips.
In the evening, to treat himself, Arnold made braised spare ribs, steamed pork with rice flour, and stir-fried cabbage with wood ear fungus. Alice wasn't fond of cooking but enjoyed good food. After taking a bite, she praised Arnold's culinary skills.
"Big brother, your dishes are delicious."
Seeing her enjoying the meal, Arnold's handsome face lit up even more. He kept serving her a few more bites, saying, "Eat more."
After Atticus was full and had his fill, he leaned back on the sofa and grumbled, "This little rascal hides quite well. Haven't seen you cook a meal for us before."
After dark, they lit candles in the room, and Alice continued watching her drama.
A week later, the rain stopped.
Alice pulled open the curtains, and a ray of sunlight streamed in. Everyone cheered as if they had seen a glimmer of dawn. Unlike the previous time when the rain stopped and the water receded, they waited for two days this time and found that the water hadn't decreased at all.
All the excitement slowly turned into disappointment. If the water didn't recede, they couldn't go out, and without going out, they couldn't search for supplies. The food supplies at home were running low. On this day, Alice and Arnold ventured out again to look for supplies.
They moved the rubber boat to the second floor, where quite a few people had gathered. They looked at the "ocean" in front of them with sighs. Seeing that Alice had a rubber boat in her hands, one man hesitated for a moment, cautiously approached, and asked, "When you come back, can we borrow the rubber boat from you?"
"Sorry, no lending," Alice said coldly.
"We can offer half of our supplies," a woman quickly suggested.
Alice replied, "I don't need your supplies, and I won't lend it out."
Nobody would cherish things that didn't belong to them. Encountering dishonest people, the boat might disappear along with them. She didn't want to speculate about human nature.
After saying that, Alice took the lead in getting on the boat, and Arnold followed closely. Watching the two row away, the people stuck on the second floor, unable to leave, could only curse in frustration, "I heard there are many people blocking the way and robbing supplies outside. I hope they can do justice and get rid of that poisonous woman."
"Yeah, it would be best to snatch their rubber boat and see how arrogant they can be."
"There's a saying, 'It's better to rely on oneself than to seek help from others.' It's faster to figure things out on our own."
...
Alice had already rowed a considerable distance, unable to hear their malicious curses. Of course, even if she heard, she wouldn't care.
Not long after leaving Serenity Springs, they noticed someone paddling a small boat following them. Alice instinctively looked back, and five men were rowing a makeshift wooden boat, staring at them with hostile eyes.