"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: If you ask me, the most useful thing right now is still an electric blanket!"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: As long as the power stays on, a thick quilt and an electric blanket are enough to get through the winter."

"12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed): @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline Haha, you can’t just stay under the covers forever, can you!"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed) Why not? I’m a writer, so I work from home. If I didn’t have to go out and get sand vine cakes every day, I seriously wouldn’t want to leave my warm bed!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed): Speaking of those sand vine cakes... *Sigh*. I wonder if the government could switch to some other relief food. It’s so cold now that biting into a sand vine cake is like chewing on ice shards."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: I know, right? The sand vine cakes are like blocks of ice when we get them. We have to warm them up in our hands before giving them to the kids, or they’ll get diarrhea."

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: We’re lucky to have anything to eat at all. This Desert Vine is a miracle. It grows fast and is resistant to drought, heat, and cold. Without this stuff, most of us would have starved to death by now!"

"4-1209 JustSlacking: I just got back with my supplies! While I was there, I saw this totally weird couple causing a scene!"

"6-501 Suzy: @4-1209 JustSlacking I was there too. A psycho couple. The guy was trying to scam an extra set of winter clothes and snow boots. The woman was even more outrageous—she pulled out a lighter and threatened to burn all the supplies."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @6-501 Suzy @4-1209 JustSlacking No way! That’s terrifying! What happened then?"

"4-1209 JustSlacking: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two Then this girl showed up and taught them a lesson!"

"4-1209 JustSlacking: That girl was so cool! It was like she was Doraemon. She had pepper spray and a mini fire extinguisher in her pockets. She put that couple right in their place! I think I’m in love!"

"6-501 Suzy: The couple was also trying to stir up trouble, accusing the Emergency Response Office staff of embezzling supplies. The ridiculous part is, when they were told to check the security footage, they refused to go!"

"2-1908 Coco: The Emergency Response Office staff embezzling? You shouldn’t spread baseless rumors. I think they’re very diligent and responsible. They’ve never shorted us on supplies."

"3-904 LeopardCat: @2-1908 Coco Spoken like a true believer."

"4-1209 JustSlacking: Yeah, the staff at the Emergency Response Office have been shoveling snow multiple times a day. And the supplies are always distributed on time, without fail. Everyone can see that. Baseless accusations like that are really hurtful."

"3-904 LeopardCat: @4-1209 JustSlacking And another one!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed): Our community’s Emergency Response Office is actually pretty good. I heard the neighboring Garden Community keeps running out of food. Whenever anyone asks, the excuse is that the supply truck broke down. Basically, they just keep stalling and don’t hand anything out."

"12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed): At our supply point, you can still buy rice. The price is steep, but you can barely find it at other distribution centers anymore. It’s probably being resold on the black market at a huge markup by the managers there."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed) How can they do that?! Isn’t that embezzlement? Why don’t the residents in those other communities report them?"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed): @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two What good would reporting do? Haven’t you ever heard the saying? ’To save the people, you must first save the officials.’ If you don’t keep these managers well-fed, they won’t do any work for their higher-ups."

"7-901 Adventurous Lawson: @12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed) ’Save the officials before the people’ is bullshit! The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up! If they keep this up, they’re asking for trouble!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed): @7-901 Adventurous Lawson What’s the use of telling me all this? It’s been the same in every dynasty. Disaster relief has always been a sensitive issue, no matter the era. Can you name one dynasty that was free of corruption?"

"7-901 Adventurous Lawson: @12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed) Well, every dynasty has also had its share of people rising up in rebellion! How come you don’t mention that?"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @12-1803 AAA Lawson’s Building Supplies (Closed) @7-901 Adventurous Lawson Oh, geez, why are you two suddenly fighting? We’re all neighbors here, let’s not argue!"

"..."

Reading the group chat, Melody Summers breathed a small sigh of relief.

She had been worried that Gene Young and Yvonne York would manage to sway the crowd at the square, making them question whether the Emergency Response Office staff were embezzling relief supplies.

In times like these, such divisive rumors could easily spark public outrage. Once suspicion took root among the people, chaos could easily follow.

Melody Summers didn’t want to see the community descend into chaos.

Fortunately, in this lifetime, the Emergency Response Office at The Metropolis Residences had been doing its job diligently and had never embezzled any relief supplies.

Most of the residents were sensible people; they saw everything with their own eyes and wouldn’t be turned against each other by a few simple words.

******

Meanwhile, Sylvia Lancaster stared at her phone where Melody Summers had hung up on her, finding it utterly unbelievable.

Sylvia Lancaster couldn’t understand. ’How did the Melody Summers of this lifetime become so cold and heartless?!’

’Does she really not care whether my own brother lives or dies?!’

While Sylvia Lancaster was staring blankly at the phone, Elaine Hughes came over.

Seeing Sylvia sitting dazedly on the bed, Elaine Hughes was instantly filled with rage.

"Why aren’t you making dinner yet?" she snapped at Sylvia. "All you do is sit around in a daze all day. What good are you!"

Sylvia looked up at Elaine Hughes in disbelief.

’All I do is sit around in a daze?!’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’When have I ever done that?!’

’I just finished shoveling the snow off the roof!’

’Now I have to climb on the roof to shovel snow, cook, clean the house, and wash the whole family’s underwear!’

’All the chores in the Lancaster household have become my responsibility!’

’I work myself to the bone hoping to win back the Lancasters’ approval, and Elaine Hughes has the nerve to say all I do is sit around in a daze?!’

Seeing Sylvia’s wronged expression, on the verge of tears, only made Elaine Hughes angrier.

"Don’t you snivel in front of me! You jinx! All you ever do is cry!"

"You cry when you shovel snow, you cry when you cook, you cry when you mop the floor, you cry when you do laundry! Always crying! You’re going to cry all the good luck out of this house!"

"Now, go and make dinner! Your father and your brother are hungry!"

"After you’re done cooking, I want you to go out and find some fever medicine for your older brother! I don’t care if you have to borrow it from a neighbor or buy it on the black market. Whatever it takes, you get that medicine for me!"

"If anything happens to your brother, you can just get the hell out of this house!"

Having finished her tirade, Elaine Hughes turned and stormed away, leaving Sylvia behind.