novelraw Chapter 158: Domestic Trifles
Chapter 158: Domestic Trifles
With the new water supply, the residents of the safe zone were able to wash their faces and clothes.
A few of the women had needles and thread, which they shared so everyone could mend their tattered clothes. In Taylor Vance’s words, though they were poor, everyone now looked spirited and full of life.
Some people still went to the collapsed sites every day, digging up soil to bring back for planting wheat. Secretary Hawthorne had set up a stone mill, and the wheat was ground into flour. It wasn’t very fine, but it smelled wonderfully fragrant.
The flour was used to make steamed buns, and at every mealtime, the aroma of wheat wafted from every home.
Ronan Kendrick and his group were gone on a fishing trip for half a month. By the time they returned, the Four Seasons Green along the path had grown taller than a person.
Evelyn Ford watched Ronan Kendrick push back a cart full of fish, but she didn’t feel happy. Seeing the look on his face, practically begging for praise, made a bittersweet feeling swell in her heart.
"Ronan Kendrick, you’re amazing."
Ronan Kendrick’s eyebrow shot up. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging to the heavens.
"Evelyn, let’s have grilled fish tonight."
"Okay. And let’s add sweet and sour fish, fish head with chopped chili, and stir-fried fish fillets in vinegar sauce."
Ronan Kendrick’s eyes widened. "Such a feast."
"Mhm. To celebrate your return, I can even open a soda for you." Evelyn leaned in and whispered the last part.
"I’ve been dreaming about your cooking for days," he said, looking utterly pitiful.
"Evelyn, do you like fish?"
"I do, but we have enough now. Don’t go out for a while. Help me expand the shed. You’ll also need to graze the sheep, and the doe seems to be pregnant, so she’ll need special care."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Alright, I understand."
The bamboo by the pond had grown quite large. Taylor Vance organized everyone to cut it down and use it to channel water to the safe zone.
They cut down several clumps of bamboo to use as pipes, securing the sections with iron wire. With everyone pitching in, it only took a day to bring the water to the zone.
They brought back even more fish fry this time, so everyone worked through the night digging a fishpond and repairing the reservoir. Taylor Vance was now the safe zone’s unofficial leader; he made the final call on all major decisions, and everyone worked together to rebuild the community.
The fishpond was huge. It took five days of digging and three days of filling with water before they could finally release the few hundred fry into it.
Now that the safe zone had water, people no longer needed to go into the mountains to fetch it. However, those who wanted to hunt for game still took a walk by the pond every day.
The grass in the safe zone was already lush, and now almost every household was raising rabbits, chickens, and ducks. Evelyn Ford’s two sheep were let out to graze every day. They would return to their pen on their own at night, no herding required.
Occasionally, birds would fly over the safe zone. Lola would watch them with longing, but she could no longer blend in with the flock. Evelyn Ford had considered setting her free, but after flying a single lap, Lola returned on her own.
Evelyn Ford pushed open her window and could see the women washing clothes downstairs, with a few children playing beside them.
"I really hope it can stay like this forever."
「」
"I’ll crochet you a sweater. What color would you like?"
"Red."
Evelyn Ford gave Ronan Kendrick a helpless look. "Be serious."
"Mhm, I want red."
Ronan Kendrick remembered when he first met her. She had been wearing a red sweater and a red scarf, looking like a forest spirit before she shot him with an arrow and stabbed him twice without any explanation.
’Ouch, that really hurt.’
"Fine, I’ll crochet you a red sweater. Come over here so I can measure your neck, shoulders, arms, back, and waist."
Evelyn Ford took out a tape measure and started taking his measurements.
Ronan Kendrick was so tall that Evelyn Ford, at one-point-seven meters, still had to tilt her head back to look up at him.
Ronan Kendrick discreetly bent down, his eyes fixed on Evelyn Ford.
"Your pupils... they’ve turned a light coffee color."
"Have they? I hadn’t noticed. Is it obvious?"
Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "They’re unique."
Evelyn Ford smiled, pressing her lips together. "Not as unique as yours. You can take your colored contacts out when we’re home."
"I’m used to them now."
Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but look into his eyes. Even through the black contacts, she could still see what his pupils truly looked like.
"Ronan, do you remember your birthday?"
Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "I don’t know."
"My birthday is in October. October fifth. From now on, let’s celebrate our birthdays together."
"For a birthday, does that mean we get to eat cake? Can you make one?" His mind always worked in such a peculiar way, forever focused on food.
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Of course. I’ll make one, and we can split it."
"Why didn’t you celebrate your birthday last year?"
"I forgot."
Ronan Kendrick frowned at her. "How could you forget that? I’ll remember for you from now on."
Evelyn Ford jotted down the measurements, then took out a skein of yarn and began to wind it into a ball.
"The yarn for one of your sweaters could make three of mine. Ronan, how did you get so tall?"
Ronan Kendrick replied with a serious look, "I don’t know the answer to that."
It took Evelyn Ford half a month to crochet the sweater. As soon as it was finished, Ronan Kendrick put it on. The red was too conspicuous, so Evelyn advised him not to wear it out and ended up making him an identical one in black.
「」
Evelyn Ford’s ewe was finally pregnant. Judging by its belly, it was carrying triplets. Black goats normally give birth twice a year, with one to three kids per litter. But now that plants and animals were mutating—chicken eggs no longer needed a full twenty-one days to hatch—goats could probably give birth three or four times a year.
Officer Graham, Taylor Vance, and Serena Lynch all came to reserve a lamb, along with several other women from the community.
At the safe zone’s current prices, a lamb was at the top of the food chain. A single one could be traded for at least fifty chickens.
The safe zone lacked many things, but chickens and ducks were not among them. Every morning, you’d wake up to a chorus of cackling and quacking.
The chili peppers Evelyn Ford planted were also thriving. She had five cayenne plants, and each one was laden with dozens, even hundreds, of peppers. Everyone said she had a green thumb, that anything she planted grew well. Evelyn even started to wonder if she had some kind of cheat ability for farming.
Now, people had switched from calling her Dr. Ford to "Ford, the one who can farm."
When the temperature rose to twenty-five degrees Celsius, the ewe gave birth to four kids.
In the end, Evelyn Ford traded the lambs to Officer Graham, Serena Lynch, Taylor Vance, and Wyatt Vaughn.
"Ford, I put in a request with you over a month ago! Why didn’t you trade one to me first?"
"Aunt Dawson, you can just wait for the next litter. It’s the same thing."
"How can it be the same? My son already built the sheep pen and everything."
So many people had come to her every day to reserve a lamb, but the ewe only had four. How was Evelyn supposed to divide them?
"Then you should raise rabbits or chickens and ducks for now."
Aunt Dawson started to sigh dramatically. "Don’t you know? My son is getting married in two months."
Evelyn blinked. ’...What?’
"She’s a young woman who escaped here a while back. Only twenty years old, a year younger than you! Even though times are tough, we can’t just do things sloppily. I just wanted to get a lamb from you to slaughter for their wedding."
’If I remember correctly, Aunt Dawson’s son is thirty years old.’
"Well, congratulations. But the lambs have already been traded. I’m afraid I can’t help you."
Aunt Dawson frowned. "Can you talk to Chester Graham and ask him to give his to me first?"
Evelyn refused. "No."