Chapter 384: Chapter 384: Palm Lines
The greatest difference between medicinal herbs and agricultural crops is their pickiness about growing conditions. Combined with their slow growth cycles, most wild medicinal herbs have already gone extinct in this extreme environment. Of the two acres of herbs planted on the farm, less than a third of the plants have survived so far.
Coming out of the livestock area, Evelyn Ford took a look around the water house out back. Inside the fence behind the water house, Evelyn discovered a cluster of yellow mushrooms. At first, she thought she was seeing things, but after getting closer, Evelyn confirmed that they were indeed mushrooms.
Under a thorny tree, the yellow mushrooms grew in dense clusters. Evelyn Ford dug away the surface snow and harvested the mushrooms.
They looked somewhat similar to enoki mushrooms. These yellow mushrooms were golden all over, with long stems and large caps. They were probably winter mushrooms. Even from several meters away, she could smell a faint, earthy fragrance.
Evelyn Ford glanced around. There were a few more clusters of winter mushrooms nearby. Seeing no one else around, she took out a bamboo basket and dug them all up, filling it to the brim. The cold made Evelyn shiver. The wind was so strong that fine snow had been blown all over her goggles.
On her way back, Evelyn Ford ran into Nathan Xavier and Drako, who were heading to the water house to get blocks of ice. The two men’s eyes were immediately drawn to the winter mushrooms in Evelyn’s basket.
"Farm Owner, there are mushrooms this time of year?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "There are. These are winter mushrooms, unique to the Northern Hemisphere. They’re edible."
"Where did you find them?" Nathan Xavier asked, a little curious.
Evelyn Ford pointed behind her. "In the thorny bushes inside the fence. I’ve picked this whole area clean. We’ll have an extra dish tonight. I’ll have Aunt Crane make a chicken and mushroom soup."
Hearing about the extra dish, both men were excited. "We’ll bring a bamboo basket when we’re on patrol tonight and go pick some too. Farm Owner, do you think there’d be even more mushrooms in the forest outside?"
"If you’re going out to pick mushrooms, it’s best to go during the day. It’s dangerous at night. Not to mention the refugees still out there, but if you run into tigers or jackals, you’ll be in trouble."
The two nodded. "We understand."
After giving a few more instructions, Evelyn Ford carried the mushrooms to the kitchen. Ian Yates was kneading dough, Aunt Crane was washing cabbage, and Claudia Schultz was cleaning the stove.
"Evelyn, did you come to see me?" Ian Yates rushed up to her, looking at her expectantly.
Evelyn Ford raised an eyebrow. "You’re overthinking it. I just came to drop off the mushrooms. Aunt Crane, please use these to make a chicken and mushroom soup tonight."
Aunt Crane took the basket, looking at the fresh, delicious-looking mushrooms inside. She readily agreed.
"They look like chanterelles." Claudia Schultz had lived in a small rural town and was familiar with all sorts of mushrooms, but this was the first time she’d seen the ones in the basket.
"They do look a bit similar, but winter mushrooms have longer stems and rounder caps. They’re actually a type of yellow enoki mushroom, and they only grow in winter."
Evelyn Ford left the winter mushrooms there and went on her way. She still had to go see what Ronan Kendrick was up to in the training room.
As she reached the door to the training room, Evelyn Ford heard Quincy and Ronan Kendrick talking. The moment she appeared, they fell silent. Evelyn looked at the two of them suspiciously.
"What are you two doing?"
Quincy coughed. "I was reading Ronan Kendrick’s fortune."
"Oh? Did you find out anything?" Although Evelyn Ford knew Quincy was just spouting nonsense, she came closer to listen.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Quincy’s expression was a little strange.
"Of course. Is there something I’m not supposed to know?" Evelyn Ford sat down in front of them and even poured herself a glass of water.
"It’s not that. I’m just afraid you’ll be upset if you know the truth. I was just reading Ronan Kendrick’s palm, and I discovered something very troubling in his palm."
Ronan Kendrick’s face was grim. It looked as if Quincy said one more word, he would reach out and strangle him.
But Quincy knew perfectly well who the real boss in the room was, so he chose to sell out Ronan Kendrick.
"What’s so troubling? Does he have a simian line?"
"A simian line isn’t necessarily unlucky. But his heart line is a mess, and he has several marriage lines! Evelyn, Ronan Kendrick might have several wives."
Evelyn Ford put down her glass and stared at Quincy. After a long moment, she coolly uttered a single word.
"Oh."
"Don’t be a disbeliever! Metaphysics is a wondrous thing. You can basically see a person’s entire life in their palm. Look at my palm—the lines are a jumble, but my life line is long and deep. It’s destined that I’ll live a wandering life, but a long one."
Evelyn Ford held out her right hand, bringing it close to Quincy. "Then take a look at mine. See how many husbands I’ll have."
When Ronan Kendrick heard this, he gave Evelyn Ford a wounded look. Evelyn smiled and reached out with her left hand to pinch his cheek.
"Whoa, this is bad! Evelyn, your palm is terrible! Not only will you have a short life, but you’ll also be all alone."
Evelyn Ford...
"Quincy, I think you have the lines mixed up. This one here, on the side of your palm below the pinky, is the marriage line. The vertical line in the middle of the palm is the life line."
Evelyn Ford looked at Quincy as if he were an idiot. "You should stop messing with this stuff. It’s an easy way to get punched, you know?"
Quincy was devastated. "You’re not lying to me? I really got it wrong?"
"Of course. And while they say ’left for men, right for women,’ palm reading requires looking at both hands. The left hand shows your innate potential, the right shows what you’ve acquired. You have to combine them to see the differences. Spouting nonsense like you do, you’d better watch out or you’ll get beaten up."
"Besides, you can’t just read one part of a person. You have to read their entire being—their facial features, their eyes, their overall presence. And ’overall presence’ includes their voice, the way they walk, their aura."
Quincy rubbed his nose. "You even studied this stuff?"
"It’s all part of the basics of traditional Chinese medicine. What do you think ’observation, listening, inquiry, and palpation’ is all about?"
It was rare for Evelyn Ford to explain something to him so patiently, and Quincy was a bit flattered. "Why don’t you teach me?"
"I don’t really know much about it myself. My specialty is clinical medicine."
"I do pharmaceutical research, so it’s normal for me not to know this stuff," Quincy quickly defended himself.
On the way back, Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but laugh.
"Ronan, you didn’t actually believe Quincy’s nonsense before I got there, did you?"
"Of course not. I knew he was spouting nonsense the moment he started."
"Then why were you so tense? You looked like you wanted to kill him to shut him up."
Ronan Kendrick tucked her hand into his coat pocket. "He was talking nonsense. There will never be anyone else for me but you."
Evelyn Ford smiled, but a flicker of loneliness crossed her eyes. ’My life line really is short and shallow. In my last life, I truly did die young and alone.’
Just as Ronan Kendrick turned his head, he caught Evelyn Ford staring blankly into space. His gaze darkened.
"Brrr, it’s so cold. Let’s hurry home. Hey, I was telling you, I found a bunch of winter mushrooms behind the water house earlier. We get an extra dish tonight!"
Evelyn Ford saw two wolfdogs digging in a snowdrift in front of the cabin and ran over to ruffle their ears.
Ronan Kendrick watched her back, a sudden ache in his heart. He quickly hurried after her.
"Evelyn, don’t let go of my hand."
Evelyn Ford burst out laughing. "I know, I know! Look at these two silly dogs, they’re actually eating snow. So dumb."
