"Yes, we can trade supplies for the kayak." Su Han thought that people who still had kayaks were rare now. As long as they found a supply point, the nearby supermarkets and cooperatives had plenty of supplies. The amount they'd need to borrow a kayak was tiny. That didn't make him feel bad at all.
But Su Han's plan was exactly the same as theirs before.
Lao Gao said bluntly, "Not to be rude, but the supermarkets and cooperatives have no supplies at all. We checked yesterday. If you're planning on that, forget it."
Su Han was shocked. "What? No supplies in those two places?"
Su Han wasn't worried that Lao Gao was hiding supplies. There was no way to hide all the supermarket supplies, and the cooperative was too big to hide anything. So how could there be no supplies?
Lao Gao explained, "It's probably because of the acid rain. The whole supermarket is gone. I even dived underwater to check. There's no trace of the supermarket. We also broke through the roof of the cooperative to look inside. It was empty. Then it rained all night yesterday. The place is probably flooded. Even if you want to go there, you probably won't find the hole anymore. And besides, there's no other entrance to the supermarket."
In short, don't even think about those two places.
Su Han hurriedly asked, "Then your..."
Lao Gao interrupted with nonsense, "The supplies we moved back yesterday were stuff we had stored ourselves before. We only brought it back yesterday. Otherwise, why would it take so long? If you don't know where to find supplies, I don't recommend you going out."
Just as Su Han was about to reply, Lao Gao added, "I don't need to tell you how important food is right now. So these supplies are not for sale or loan. Don't even think about it."
Su Han gritted his teeth and said, "I still want to try borrowing the kayak. What if..."
Su Han held onto their unclear hope and still wanted to borrow the kayak to try. What if it was a way out for everyone?
"Okay, but I can only lend you the smaller kayak. I won't take your supplies, but I think you should find a kayak first instead of food. Otherwise, if we need it ourselves, I definitely won't lend it again." Lao Gao looked at Su Han and said, "I'm lending the kayak to you. So I only recognize you. If the kayak gets lost, I'll only come looking for you, whether you know or not. Just so you know, I'm not easy to deal with."
Su Han's usual professional smile suddenly froze. But if he didn't borrow the kayak, everyone would probably be unhappy with him. Borrowing it and going out to have a look would let everyone lose hope and see that he wasn't slacking. As for what happened next...
There was no food outside, so what? As long as there was food in the building, that was enough. At a time like this, no one would expect him to be grateful. Paying kindness with kindness rarely happened. Life comes first, morals don't count.
Of course, no one wanted to break ties if it wasn't necessary.
Lao Gao saw right through Su Han's thoughts, but the situation forced him to lend the kayak once or twice. Otherwise, he would have forced everyone into a dead end from the start.
The four of them naturally didn't want to get their hands bloody unless there was no other choice.
Lao Gao handed the small kayak to Su Han and said, "You need to give me a deadline. I can't lend it to you forever."
Su Han wanted to say one month, but he wasn't that bold. He could only say, "I'll try to return it within a week. Like you said, the nearby supermarkets and cooperatives have no supplies. I have to go farther to find a kayak, at least."
"Okay, you said it. I'll ask for it after one week."
Then Lao Gao closed the door.
When Su Han came down holding the kayak, everyone was very happy.
But the kayak was so small that they couldn't help but complain.
"These people are so stingy. They have a big one, but they only lend us a small one."
"Yeah, all four of them should use two kayaks. What can one small one do?"
Su Han said, "Stop complaining. Let's go downstairs to the meeting. I have something to tell you."
...
6th floor.
Su Han told everyone what he just heard from Lao Gao.
Of course, at first, no one believed Lao Gao. They thought the four of them hid all the supplies. But anyone with brains would understand. The cooperative was so big. Where could they hide all that food?
"What should we do then? Borrowing this kayak is useless if there are no supplies nearby." A middle-aged man complained.
But Su Han said, "This is what 3301 said. We didn't verify it ourselves. So I think we should go check for ourselves. If there's nothing nearby, we can go farther. We need to find supplies and a kayak. Otherwise, after returning this kayak in a week, we still can't get out."
"These people are really stingy, even limiting the time."
"Yeah, they say there are no supplies left. Can we find a kayak in one week?"
"I say forget searching. Just take their kayak."
Su Han shook his head and replied, "After taking it and eating the supplies, what then? We'll still have no food. I said before, don't offend them unless it's the last step."
"But by then, the rain will have stopped."
"Who can guarantee that? What if it doesn't stop?" Su Han looked at the man and asked.
"But if the rain doesn't stop, we're stuck. They can't do anything either."
Someone gave a different opinion, "That might not be true. This time, we can't do anything, but they might have a way. Even if we're late, as long as we don't offend them, like today, they'll help us. We won't starve."
"Help?"
"How is that not help? They already told us the routes and about the supermarkets and cooperatives having no supplies. That's good enough. They don't have to tell us. It's just that we don't believe them and want to check ourselves. If you ask me, we shouldn't waste time now. We should organize people to go find supplies."
Su Han looked at the flooded water already reaching the 4th floor and said worriedly, "The current outside isn't too strong, but the rain is still heavy. For the first trip, I suggest experienced people who can swim go first."
With many people around, there was no shortage of volunteers. A tall man said, "I can paddle a kayak. I'll go. But will I go alone?"