At that moment, inside the house, there was sewage that couldn't be drained out, and mud falling from the walls, making everything a complete mess. Ashan and his father had no choice but to use dustpans and wooden boards to slowly shovel the sludge out into the yard.
Suddenly, Ashan's mother shouted loudly from the kitchen. Ashan rushed over to see that the coal balls stacked at the kitchen door had loosened and washed into the kitchen with the water. Ashan's mother stood dumbfounded amidst the muddy coal balls, tears streaming down her face. In her hand, she clutched a soggy matchbox. Ashan's father arrived and asked, "Ashan's mother, do you still want to cook?" She looked defeated, shook her head wearily, and managed a faint smile, jokingly saying, "Since the matches are wet and won't light, let's skip cooking for the day!"
It was only then that everyone realized they hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day. Ashan's mother quickly grabbed her purse to go buy dry rations. As she reached the door, she suddenly seemed to remember something and darted back into the room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets. Ashan's father asked, "Granny, what are you looking for now?"
Ashan's mother turned around with a smile, holding a stack of bills in her hand. "This is what I've hidden away—Ashan's school fees. Isn't he supposed to register the day after tomorrow?" Ashan looked at the wet bills and wondered if the school would accept them.
The military's response this time was relatively fast. Around nine o'clock that night, military trucks arrived in the village with dry rations. Ashan's father quickly reminded the leading officer, "What about water?" Soon after, fire hydrants were opened. "Do you have blankets? All our clothes are soaked through," he asked. The officer shook his head, saying, "Let me go back and arrange it; it might take a few days."
Nearby residents also gathered, hoping for some dry rations. With consent from the villagers, Ashan's father distributed some of the rations to those nearby.
Ashan's father caught hold of a familiar resident and asked, "How is the old farmer and his family by the river?" The resident shook his head sadly, "They're in a terrible state! Their house collapsed, and all six family members were swept away by the flood. Even the old ox tied in the cowshed drowned. There are piles of livestock carcasses in the fields behind. This Typhoon Gloria really wreaked havoc!"
此時，屋內留下來排不出去的污水，還有牆上掉下來的泥巴，真是「一塌糊塗」。阿三跟爸爸只好用畚箕及木板，慢慢地把污泥剷到院子外面去。
突然阿三媽在廚房裏大叫一聲，阿三趕去一看，原來堆在廚房門口的煤球，被水浸得鬆開來後，都沖到廚房裏來了。只見得阿三媽呆站在煤球泥堆裏哭喪著臉，手裏還抓了一個已經浸濕的火柴盒。阿三爸跟上來說：「阿三媽，妳還想煮飯嗎？」阿三媽像洩了氣的皮球，無精打采地搖了搖頭，然後勉強擠出一絲笑容調侃地說道：「反正火柴濕了也升不了火，就停炊一天吧！」
大家現在才想起來已經一天沒有喝水吃飯了。阿三媽趕緊拿起皮包要出門去買乾糧，才去到門口，又好像突然想起什麼，鑽進房間裏去翻箱倒櫃。阿三爸問道：「老太婆，妳現在在找什麼東西啊？」
只見阿三媽笑咪咪轉過身來，手中拿著一疊鈔票：「這是我藏好的東西，阿三的學費，他不是後天就要去註冊了嗎？」阿三看著這疊鈔票正還滴著水，心想這濕鈔票學校會收嗎？
國防部這次動作還算快，大概晚上九點鐘，大軍車載著乾糧到了村子來分發。阿三爸趕緊提醒帶頭的軍官，還有水嗎？只見一會兒，消防栓被打開了。「有沒有被子啊？大家所有的衣物都濕透了。」軍官搖了搖頭說：「讓我回去再安排，恐怕要過幾天吧！」
附近的居民也靠過來想要一些乾糧，阿三爸徵得村民同意後，把一部份的乾糧就分送給附近的居民。
阿三爸拉住了一位認識的居民問道：「河邊的那老農夫一家怎麼樣了？」那居民搖著頭說：「好慘啊！房子也坍了，全家六口都被洪水沖走了，栓在牛舍裏的老牛也淹死了。後面田裏面一大堆家畜的屍體，這個葛樂禮風颱真是作孽啊！」
Typhoon Gloria strikes Taiwan. The image shows firefighters rescuing residents from the Shuangyuan embankment area. Photo: United Daily News archive.
葛樂禮颱風襲台，圖為消防人員搶救雙園堤內居民脫離災區。圖／聯合報系資料照