On the second day after Qiu Chengyue and the others left, the rain was still pouring.
The flooding outside had gotten worse and worse.
Standing by the window of her home, Shen Shuyue could already see the floodwaters in the distance.
The people in the family compound could no longer leave. They couldn’t buy the things they needed, and the disaster-relief supplies from the military had yet to be distributed. The women were beginning to panic.
Later, no one knew exactly what Zhang Pandi had said to the other women in the compound, but five or six of them came running to Shen Shuyue’s home, asking to borrow food, vegetables, and meat.
The reason was simple: Shen Shuyue had a large refrigerator, and a few days earlier, they had seen her buy huge quantities of vegetables and meat.
Those vegetables and meat had to be stored in her refrigerator.
“Comrade Shen Shuyue, you live in the family compound just like we do. You’re a military wife too. Our husbands are comrades who have fought alongside Battalion Commander Qiu through life and death. If you have extra food, couldn’t you lend us some?”
“Once the flood recedes and the market in town opens again, we’ll definitely buy it back and return it to you.”
Before long, a large group of women came over to watch the commotion. Among them were Zhao Pandi and Sister-in-law Zhang.
The two women stood behind the crowd, secretly snickering as they watched Shen Shuyue.
“You have such a big refrigerator. It must be packed full.”
“Battalion Commander Qiu is away, and you don’t have any children. There’s no way you can finish all that food.”
“If you lend some to us, it’ll also count as you doing a good deed for once.”
Shen Shuyue stood at the doorway without allowing any of them inside.
There were so many people in the family compound. Even if she gave away everything in her refrigerator, it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy everyone.
Besides, didn’t she have a mouth to feed? Didn’t she have a stomach?
If she gave everything to the women in the family compound, what was she supposed to eat?
“You came to the right person.”
“I do have some vegetables and fruit in my refrigerator, but not that much.”
“I need to eat too. No one knows when the flood will recede. And no one knows when the military’s relief supplies will arrive.”
“So, if you want food from me, that’s not impossible.”
“Just bring money and buy it.”
“A pound of pork is eight yuan, a pound of vegetables is two yuan, a pound of rice is two yuan, and an egg is fifty cents…”
Shen Shuyue leisurely listed the prices of the food.
The women were stunned.
“Wait… We came here to borrow food from you, not buy it!”
“And besides, your prices are ridiculously expensive.”
“Vegetables at the market only cost one or two mao per pound. You’re charging two yuan?”
“And rice only costs three to five mao per pound. You’re asking for two yuan?”
“Shen Shuyue, have you gone crazy wanting money?”
Zhao Pandi stepped out from the crowd and pointed a finger at Shen Shuyue’s face as she cursed.
Shen Shuyue wasn’t angry at all.
So many people had suddenly come to ask her for food today. Most likely, Zhao Pandi had stirred things up behind the scenes. Otherwise, none of these women would have come asking her for anything.
She wasn’t even close to these people.
Seeing this, Sister-in-law Zhang chimed in.
“Shen Shuyue, making money off a national disaster is wrong.”
“We’re all one big family here. You have food but refuse to share it while everyone else is starving. Aren’t you afraid you’ll be punished by heaven?”
Shen Shuyue didn’t care about such moral accusations.
She widened her eyes and glared at Zhao Pandi and Sister-in-law Zhang before sneering.
“Since you’re both so generous, why don’t you take the food from your own homes and distribute it to everyone?”
“Sister-in-law Zhang, I saw that you still have a huge sack of potatoes at home.”
“You have plenty of radishes too, and several sacks of rice.”
“Your husband brought them home for you a couple of days ago. He must have predicted that the floods were coming and that the market would be submerged, so he prepared in advance.”
“You have so much good food at home, and it won’t spoil anytime soon. Why not share it with everyone?”
“And you, Zhao Pandi. Don’t you have plenty of good things at home too? I believe you bought them a few days ago. Your husband probably told you to stock up on food ahead of time too, didn’t he?”
The moment Shen Shuyue exposed their food reserves, both Zhao Pandi and Sister-in-law Zhang’s faces turned green.
“Shen Shuyue, you’re talking nonsense! If we had extra food, why wouldn’t we share it with everyone?”
“I’m not as stingy as you are.”
Sister-in-law Zhang desperately tried to deny it.
Shen Shuyue said, “How about I go to your house and search it myself? If I find your food reserves, you’ll take them out and distribute them to everyone.”
“If I don’t find anything, I’ll give you five hundred yuan as compensation for falsely accusing you.”
Five hundred yuan!
Everyone looked at Shen Shuyue.
Just how much money did Shen Shuyue have? She could casually pull out five hundred yuan as a bet?
The women looked at Shen Shuyue, then at Sister-in-law Zhang.
Sister-in-law Zhang’s home was right next door, less than three meters away.
If she let Shen Shuyue search, they would immediately know whether she had those supplies or not.
“I… Why should I listen to you?”
“How can I just let you search my home?”
Sister-in-law Zhang immediately refused.
There was a pile of food hidden underneath her bed.
They were all things that could be stored for a long time.
Her husband had been stationed here for many years, and every year around this time, he reminded her to stock up on extra food at home.
Once the floods came, no one could get outside, and there would be nowhere to buy anything.
The military would eventually send relief supplies, but they had to be transported from somewhere else.
With the journey back and forth, plus the roads being blocked by the floodwaters, it would take even longer.
By the time the military’s relief supplies arrived, it was better to have food already stored at home.
But if she let Shen Shuyue search her house and a huge pile of food was discovered, where would she put her face?
And once the food was distributed to everyone, what would she eat?
One of the other wives said, “If you really don’t have any stored food, then she’ll give you five hundred yuan, won’t she?”
“We’ll all testify for you. Comrade Shen Shuyue won’t be able to go back on her word.”
Sister-in-law Zhang still refused to let anyone search her home.
Seeing how strongly she resisted, everyone knew that what Shen Shuyue had said was true.
When Zhao Pandi noticed everyone’s attention shifting toward her, she quickly spoke up.
“Even if my family has food, I can’t lend it to you.”
“If I give it to you, what am I supposed to eat? No one even knows when this flood will recede.”
Seeing this, Shen Shuyue said, “Exactly. So don’t call me stingy.”
“You yourselves aren’t willing to lend your food to other people, so what right do you have to demand that I lend mine?”
The women murmured among themselves.
At a time like this, indeed, no one was willing to lend out their food.
Unless they were extremely close to the person asking.
Seeing this, Shen Shuyue continued.
“Let me give you an example. Imagine you’re in a desert, desperately short of water and about to die of thirst. I lend you one bottle of water.”
“After you make it out of the desert, you simply go to a river, fill up a bottle of water, and give it back to me. Then you tell me you’ve repaid the water you borrowed.”
“Have you really repaid what you owed me?”
“Is that how it works?”
“If you were in my position, would you still be willing to lend out that bottle of water?”
Everyone fell silent.