Chapter 434: Chapter 434: Temporary Shelter
Melody Summers shook her head. She took Grace Sutton’s hand and said in a low voice, "Don’t go yet, Auntie. You heard what Jade Rowan said today. She doesn’t care at all if Cameron is gambling..."
"Jade only cares if Cameron can win and bring home supplies. Right now, he’s on a winning streak, so she couldn’t be happier. Anything you say to her now will be a waste of time."
Grace Sutton frowned. She remembered Jade Rowan’s comments about "not wanting to work," and she knew Melody was right.
Cameron was on a winning streak, bringing home a steady stream of supplies. It would be nearly impossible to convince Jade Rowan to be wary of him or to cut ties. She just wouldn’t listen.
At this thought, Grace Sutton rubbed her face in frustration and said, "What are we going to do? Clark came home with his father today, and it’s obvious he’s being a bad influence! If this keeps up, the boy is going to get addicted to gambling, too..."
Melody thought for a moment, then answered, "Let’s just wait for now. Who wins at gambling forever? Uncle Cameron is bound to lose eventually..."
Melody recalled a graduate student from her university days who had also taken up gambling.
Having been accepted into a prestigious graduate program, the student was conceited, believing his intelligence and self-control were far superior to other gamblers. He thought that with "the favor of Lady Luck" and "absolute self-discipline," he could be cautious and strategic, just like the master gamblers in the movies, and quit as soon as he won a million.
He was genuinely smart, and he really did win a lot of money. In the end, however, he was buried in debt and his reputation was in tatters. After accumulating massive online loans, he leaped from the roof of a university building, was shattered on impact, and died instantly.
Melody believed a gambler’s fate was sealed. Cameron had been winning for a while, bringing home countless supplies, but winning was the most terrifying part. The more he won, the deeper he’d sink, and the harder it would be to turn back. In the end, he was sure to lose it all.
Melody said to Grace Sutton, "Auntie, when Uncle Cameron loses everything and has nowhere left to turn, he’ll definitely come to us. Persuading Jade and Clark then will be far more effective than you going over now!"
Grace Sutton felt Melody had a point, so she could only nod and reply, "You’re right. That does make sense..."
Just then, the roar of an engine suddenly came from outside the window. The sound grew progressively louder, as if something was approaching.
The sound immediately drew the attention of Melody and Grace inside the room. They both turned to look out the window.
Outside, the blizzard had finally died down, leaving the sky a hazy gray. Several helicopters with blinking lights appeared in the distance.
As the helicopters drew nearer, their shapes grew clearer until one finally hovered over the apartment building.
Melody’s eyes lit up at the sight—the government supply drop had arrived!
*****
Because they had to receive and sort the airdropped supplies, Winnie Summers and Colin Summers got home later than usual. When they walked through the door, their clothes were covered in a layer of white, and their pant legs were soaked with melted snow.
Their grandmother and the others rushed to greet them, busily brushing the snow from their clothes.
Grace Sutton looked at Colin’s and Winnie’s faces, flushed red from the cold, and said with concern, "Look how frozen you are, your lips have turned purple! Were you just up on the roof receiving supplies for hours? What if you get frostbite!"
Colin Summers grinned as he took off his soaked boots and put on a pair of warm slippers. "It’s fine. We were bundled up, I even wore two fur hats. It wasn’t that cold, so we won’t get frostbite. Look, I was so warm I actually started sweating!"
Winnie added, "That’s right. Maybe it’s because we were dressed so warmly, but I didn’t feel cold, either! Lynch and the others couldn’t stand it after only half an hour, but my brother and I didn’t feel cold at all, even by the time we finished moving everything."
Hearing this, Melody thought to herself, ’Mom and Uncle have been eating the S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine and a lot of Blue Scale Prawns lately. Maybe those are taking effect and have boosted their resistance to the cold.’
At this thought, Melody’s eyes lit up—she decided she would catch more Blue Scale Prawns when she went fishing tomorrow so her family could eat more of them!
After changing their clothes, Colin and Winnie collapsed onto the sofa. They had moved the supplies for the entire building and were exhausted.
Miss Lowell brought them two cups of hot tea, saying, "Here, drink this. It’ll warm you up."
"Thank you, Miss Lowell." Winnie and Colin took the cups. A few sips of the hot tea chased away the last of the chill in their bodies.
Melody, sitting nearby, asked, "Mom, Uncle, how many supplies did you receive? How long will this shipment last?"
There were still about three months until the end of the deep freeze, and Melody wasn’t sure if this shipment would last until the temperature rose again.
Winnie replied, "This airdrop had a good amount of food, including sand vine cakes and rice, as well as some salt, sugar, and cooking oil. We calculated that the sand vine cakes should be enough to feed everyone in the entire building for about two months."
Colin nodded in agreement, adding, "In addition to the food, there were also some insulation materials and coal."
Melody breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good!"
With those sand vine cakes, plus the rice and sugar, lasting three months shouldn’t be a problem. As long as they could hold out until March, when the temperature would finally rise, there was hope for everything.
Just as Melody was feeling happy, she heard Winnie sigh and add, "The food is sufficient, but the problem is the coal. The amount they dropped this time was very small, not nearly enough."
Colin frowned as well, saying with a helpless expression, "That’s right. The amount of coal is so small that if we distribute it to every household, each one will only get a few days’ supply!"
Melody’s heart sank at his words—so energy was the most critical shortage after all.
It made sense, she mused. If not for the severe energy shortage, the government wouldn’t have implemented widespread power outages and heating cuts.
Grace gasped, her face full of worry. "Then what are we going to do? It’s so cold outside. How is everyone supposed to survive without coal!"
At a time like this, food alone was useless; a source of heat was essential for survival.
Colin replied, "Lynch and the others and I talked it over. There are a few unsold, vacant apartments on the 23rd floor of our building. We decided to set up a temporary shelter in those apartments and gather everyone from the building there."
Winnie finished her hot tea, put the cup back on the table, and said, "Exactly. If we all gather in a few rooms on the 23rd floor and huddle together for warmth, the coal supply will last much longer!"
Melody’s eyes lit up. That was a great idea.
Winnie continued, "We’re planning to line the apartments on the 23rd floor with insulation material tomorrow. Then we’ll go door-to-door and tell everyone who doesn’t have coal for heat to temporarily move to the shelter on the 23rd floor!"
