Chapter 363: Pie from the Sky

...

The staff of The Metropolis Residences’ emergency office all pitched in. After two to three solid hours of work, they finally moved all the supplies from the back hill into the community’s underground garage.

After hearing Manager Grant’s story, everyone was shocked by the origin of these supplies.

But after the shock wore off, they all accepted the fact that the supplies had suddenly appeared.

Ever since the cataclysm, the public’s tolerance for strange events had been steadily increasing. After all, if something as bizarre as a cataclysm could happen, nothing else was really that surprising.

Regardless, the arrival of these supplies was a delightful surprise, and everyone was overjoyed.

Someone asked, "How are we going to distribute these supplies? Are we dividing them per person?"

Manager Grant thought for a moment before replying, "The potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins—we’ll weigh all of them and divide them equally by weight among every household!"

Then, Manager Grant looked at the pile of coal and said thoughtfully, "As for the coal... we won’t distribute that for now. If the city’s heating still isn’t on in a few days, our community will use this coal to provide our own!"

The Metropolis Residences was a newly built complex. In addition to municipal heating, it had its own heating system that consumed two to five tons of coal per day, enough to heat the entire community.

They didn’t have any coal before, so they could only rely on the city’s heating. Now, with this new supply, the community could start deploying its own heating plan!

******

The staff at The Metropolis Residences’ emergency office were incredibly efficient. That very same day, they divided the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins into numerous small portions based on headcount, packed them into boxes to create "mystery boxes," and distributed them evenly to every household in the community.

Receiving such an unexpected bonus, the residents were both surprised and delighted, and they all flocked to the group chat to share their excitement:

"Lawson (12-1803): My wife’s got the magic touch! She got two huge, golden pumpkins. They’re so big, tender, and sweet! It’s not just my imagination; I’ve never had pumpkin this delicious in my entire life!"

"Lawson (12-1803): What about you guys? What did you all get?"

"Lowell On Deadline (4-1009): @Lawson (12-1803) I’m so jealous. I didn’t get any pumpkins, just potatoes!"

"Lawson (12-1803): @Lowell On Deadline (4-1009) Potatoes are great too! Just cut them up and cook them with rice. Once they’re cooked, mash them up, sprinkle some salt on top, and you can eat them just like that."

"Kiki, Mom of Two (3-1007): It’s like Christmas came early! I have the best luck! My box had sweet potatoes and pumpkins, which is perfect for making my babies something delicious! They haven’t eaten anything like this in so long!"

"A Happy Family (6-2102): My box had sweet potatoes! I ate one raw right away—it was so crisp and sweet, absolutely delicious! Most importantly, it was free! I guess good things really do fall from the sky!"

"Ocean (5-601): @A Happy Family (6-2102) What do you mean, ’fall from the sky’? Aren’t these supplies from the government? If so, then they were bought with our taxpayer money."

"Lawson (12-1803): @Ocean (5-601) No, read the notice from management carefully. The mystery boxes were an anonymous donation."

"A Happy Family (6-2102): @Lawson (12-1803) Oh, so that’s what it is! No wonder only our community got these mystery boxes!"

"A Happy Family (6-2102): I asked my friend, and he said even their complex for government officials’ families didn’t get anything like this! He even offered me 2,000 yuan to sell him my sweet potatoes. Are you kidding me? No way I’m selling!"

"Ocean (5-601): @Lawson (12-1803) A donation from a ’good Samaritan’? Is anyone really that selfless? In times like these, they wouldn’t keep it for themselves and instead donate it to us for free? ...There has to be some kind of hidden agenda, right?"

"Lowell On Deadline (4-1009): @Ocean (5-601) What kind of agenda could there be? It’s probably just someone trying to build a good reputation through charity! Isn’t that what all those rich people do when they donate? They already have more money than they can spend in a lifetime, so they start doing charity work for the fame and tax breaks!"

"Lawson (12-1803): How can you guys just make all this stuff up? Didn’t you read it was an ANONYMOUS donation? Anonymous! Get it?"

"Lawson (12-1803): This person obviously doesn’t want fame or any reward; they just purely want to do a good deed! As the saying goes, ’don’t bite the hand that feeds you.’ You’re eating their food and still bad-mouthing them..."

"Kiki, Mom of Two (3-1007): @Lawson (12-1803) Oh my god, if what you’re saying is true, then this kind person is a living saint!"

"Lowell On Deadline (4-1009): @Lawson (12-1803) Okay, okay, my bad. I was wrong, I misunderstood. Thank you to the kind donor. May they be blessed with a peaceful life!"

"Lowell On Deadline (4-1009): In any case, I’ve finally collected all my supplies today. Starting now, I don’t have to venture out into the heavy snow anymore!"

"..."

Melody Summers scrolled through the group chat, marveling to herself, ’Manager Grant is so efficient...’

From the moment she moved the supplies to the back hill to them being distributed to the residents, the entire process took less than twelve hours.

Just then, Winnie Summers and Colin Summers returned.

Winnie was carrying a few pumpkins, while Colin had half a sack of rice slung over his shoulder. These were employee perks from the emergency office.

Grace Sutton took the pumpkins from Winnie with a wide smile, saying happily, "Wonderful! We still have plenty of sticky rice at home. I’ll make you all pumpkin and sticky rice cakes tomorrow!"

Winnie took off her down jacket and rain boots, slipped into a pair of fluffy house slippers, and replied with a smile, "Grace, I’ll help you make them tomorrow. The supply point over at Crystal Mart closed down starting today. We’re on break for two months."

Grace Sutton nodded with a smile. "Good, good. It’s so cold outside. You can finally rest at home!"

Then, as if remembering something, she asked, "Oh, right, what about Officer Sean Pierce and the others? Where have they been staying?"

Hearing this, Winnie replied, "The emergency office isn’t habitable anymore. They’ve taken their supplies and are now staying in Building 2."

Listening from the side, Grandma heard what Winnie said and asked worriedly, "They’re staying in Building 2? What if... what if trouble breaks out in one of the other buildings? Will they be able to get there in time to handle it?"

’Soon, no one will be able to go outside. If someone causes trouble in another building, will Officer Sean Pierce and Officer Tristan Tanner be able to get there in time from Building 2?’

Winnie understood her grandmother’s concern. She sighed helplessly and answered, "Basically, every building has people from the community management and resident patrol teams keeping an eye on things. If there’s an incident, they can be contacted to handle it."

"If they can’t handle it... well, there’s no better solution. This is a cataclysm, after all. We can only hope the snow stops soon..."