The family falls into debt, and the creditor seizes the opportunity to demand their newly built house. Even the heroine's childhood engagement is called off. Having foreseen that a mountain flood will inundate the river flats in five days, she pretends to sell the house to obtain cash and moves her family to an abandoned stone fortress halfway up the mountain. She arranges for her relatives to purchase moisture-proof supplies and provisions, stockpiles firewood, seals the gaps in their shelter, and completes every necessary flood-prevention measure in advance as they await the disaster.