Chapter 358: Chapter 358: The Coming Storm (Part 1)
Evelyn Ford smiled. "If you want to go, why should I try to stop you?"
After a few seconds of silence, Ian Yates suddenly dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Evelyn Ford. "Thank you for taking me in."
With that, he turned and walked away. His tattered clothes gave him a somewhat tragic air. Because of chronic malnutrition, the twelve-year-old was only the height of a seven or eight-year-old.
"He didn’t take anything with him. In this cold, something bad’s going to happen to him, isn’t it?"
Penelope Parker tugged on Patrick Pence’s sleeve, warning him to be quiet. Patrick, frightened, immediately shut his mouth and looked at Evelyn Ford in alarm.
"Quincy, in two hours, take a dog and two men and check the area three or four kilometers out. You should be able to find him."
Quincy paused, stunned. "We’re going to look for him? Why?"
"Thanks to him, I discovered a few things. I can’t just burn my bridges, can I?"
"Then why didn’t you stop him when he left just now?"
"He was dead set on finding the bodies of his grandmother and Howard Quinn, so let him go look."
Two hours later, Quincy set out with Nathan Xavier and Drako, taking one of the wolfhounds with them.
The three of them rode for three kilometers and, led by the hound, found Ian Yates shivering from the cold inside a cave.
After being brought back to the farm, Ian Yates was sick for a week. Evelyn Ford had no time to visit him; fortifying the farm was an urgent matter. Ronan Kendrick was leading a team to cut logs and branches on a mountain five or six kilometers away.
Evelyn Ford led another group to reinforce the stilt house over the farm’s pond, boarding up the windows.
Refugees from Fairgate came to trade for supplies and asked Taylor Vance why the farm was being fortified. Taylor could only spin them a tale, claiming he’d seen tigers in the mountains and was afraid they’d come down to hunt for food, so they had to reinforce the farm.
Upon hearing this, the refugees recalled the previous incident when tigers had come down from the mountains and killed people, and they immediately rushed back to fortify their own homes.
After Ian Yates recovered, he still hadn’t seen Evelyn Ford. Aunt Crane had been the one taking care of him. The thought of being back at the farm made him a little anxious.
"Aunt Crane, where is she?"
"You mean the Director? She’s very busy. Just focus on getting better. The Director sent people to bring you back; she’s a good person. Once you’ve recovered, you’ll start working with the rest of us."
"So she agreed to let me stay here?"
Aunt Crane smiled. "Of course. When it’s time for dinner, go find Butler Graham. He’ll assign you some work."
Ian Yates nodded. "I understand. I’ll work hard. Can I go outside now?"
"Are you going to look for the Director? She’s not on the farm today; she went out to haul logs." Aunt Crane handed the bowl of medicine to Ian Yates.
"The Director prepared this medicine for you. Drink up. You’ll be better in no time."
Ian Yates stared blankly at the pitch-black herbal medicine, his eyes welling up. "Thank you, Aunt Crane."
Aunt Crane sighed. Remembering the bone broth simmering on the stove, she hurried back to the kitchen.
That afternoon, everyone returned after a long day’s work. Evelyn Ford pulled off her mask and took a deep breath of fresh air. The roads today had been treacherous; the truck had gotten stuck in snowdrifts several times and nearly plunged off a cliff.
"That was too close today. We shouldn’t take the truck to haul logs tomorrow. It just can’t handle the mountain roads right now." Quincy’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat, and he was still shaken from the experience.
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Agreed. We’ll still need to work in the mountains for a few more days. We need to stock up at least a five-year supply. Hurry and get the Mammoth and the horses back to their pens. Bring a few buckets of warm salt water."
Paul Pence immediately took the rope and led the Mammoth away.
Evelyn Ford handed a cup to Ronan Kendrick. He took a sip of the hot water, and the two of them went back to their cabin together.
At dinnertime, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick both went to the dining hall to announce the work schedule for the next few days.
"You’re awake?" Seeing Ian Yates helping in the kitchen, Evelyn Ford looked him up and down.
Ian Yates tensed up, standing rigidly on the spot.
"Those clothes don’t fit you. Find Butler Graham and get a new set."
Officer Graham had been promoted to Butler Graham. Evelyn Ford made the major decisions for the farm, while he handled the day-to-day affairs.
"Okay." Ian Yates’s eyes lit up, but then he quickly lowered his head again. His timid, apprehensive demeanor made Evelyn Ford chuckle.
"Weren’t you a lot braver before? How did you get so timid after just a few days?"
"Thank you for sending people to find me. I’d like to stay and work on the farm, if I may."
Evelyn Ford raised an eyebrow. "Have Butler Graham arrange it."
Ian Yates immediately found Officer Graham. The officer asked him what he wanted to do, and when Ian said he wanted to help in the kitchen, he approved the request.
The main course on the table was coarse-flour steamed buns, with a side of cabbage stewed with tapioca noodles, and radishes with pork ribs.
"The refugees over in Fairgate are all fortifying their homes. Someone came by today to trade for a machete, so I asked around. They said that while they were out chopping wood, they ran into refugees from Tarr City. Those people told them that Tarr City is driving out its refugees, and a large number are migrating this way. The Fairgate refugees are afraid the newcomers will come and steal their things, so they’re all working together to dig burrows and build defensive nets."
"Life is already hard enough, and now they have to turn on each other. It’s pathetic," Quincy said, furious.
"We’re pretty well hidden here on Immeasurable Mountain. It’s the refugee villages out there that are going to suffer."
"I’d suggest those refugees head to Oakhaven. The situation should be better there."
Miles Vaughn scoffed. "Information is shared between the bases. Oakhaven has probably already put up barricades. The refugees will freeze to death on the road long before they ever reach it."
"If it were me, I’d throw caution to the wind and hijack a truck on the road," Peter Owens offered, speaking up for once.
"The truck drivers have bodyguards, and they’re all armed."
"It’s so hard just to stay alive. This damn sleet is never-ending. It stops for a few days, then starts right back up again. It’s as intermittent as a case of the runs."
Evelyn Ford looked at the group. "In a few days, go notify the refugees in Fairgate. Tell them to block the roads outside the town. Best to use snowdrifts. And to dig some traps. They’ll cooperate."
"I’ll go talk to them," Chet Lawrence volunteered.
Evelyn Ford nodded. "You can do that. While you’re there, tell the Fairgate refugees that all our livestock have died of disease, a suspected flu virus. We won’t be trading for supplies anymore."
"Got it."
After dinner, Evelyn Ford assigned everyone their tasks.
After ten straight days of logging, they had stockpiled enough firewood to last for five years.
The surrounding mountains had filled with refugees, most of them driven out of Tarr City. To escape the cold and find warmth, they dug countless burrows into the hillsides. Some eventually discovered the farm’s existence and came with their children to beg. A few even tried to trade their children for food, clothing, or a source of fire.
"We have enough logs and branches now. Block the gate with stones. We need to seal off the road outside as well."
"We’re not going out anymore?"
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "Not for the time being."
What Evelyn Ford meant by "for the time being" could be half a year, a full year, or even three to five years.
