Chapter 389: Chapter 389: Women
"Evelyn, Happy New Year."
He took out a small rabbit he had carved from wood and placed it in Evelyn’s palm. The little rabbit was only the size of her pinky, and it was exquisitely crafted.
"Did you carve this over the past few days?" Evelyn was born in the Year of the Rabbit, and Ronan had made her a rabbit puppet for her zodiac year.
Ronan smiled. "Mm, it took me two days."
Evelyn caressed his palm, and Ronan held her hand back. "This leaf has been around for some years, hasn’t it?"
"I picked it up back when I was at Broken Cloud Mountain."
Ronan raised an eyebrow. "Very meaningful, then."
The barks of the wolf-dogs echoed from outside as the wind picked up. Evelyn glanced at the time—1:30 AM. After they finished a New Year’s film, the roosters in the coop began to crow.
The next day, Evelyn gave the farm workers three days off. But before she had even gotten out of bed, Ethan Dawson had already come looking for her.
Evelyn yawned, looking speechlessly at Ethan Dawson and the man beside him.
"Sorry to bother you so early, but this is rather urgent. We have a pregnant worker on our farm—she’s his partner," Ethan Dawson said, gesturing to the man beside him.
"She started having mild abdominal pain last night, but they didn’t think much of it. This morning, she started bleeding and then passed out. That’s when he came to find me. Our farm’s doctor doesn’t specialize in gynecology, so I had to come find you."
Evelyn didn’t say anything. Ethan Dawson continued, "He’ll send a cartload of wood over later as payment. Can you go take a look?"
Evelyn glanced at the man beside Ethan Dawson. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and he kept his head lowered.
"Did you drive over?"
Ethan Dawson nodded. "The car is parked outside your farm. By the way, I’ve discovered something new. Those refugees from before might be living in Three-Cloud Mountain, right next to Fairgate. I saw smoke rising from the mountain yesterday."
She hadn’t found any new footprints outside the fence lately. Evelyn didn’t care where the refugees were living and had no intention of driving them away. As long as they stayed out of each other’s way, it was fine.
"Noted."
"You’re not planning to drive them out?"
"Why would I drive them out? I’m not some bandit. Let’s go. The patient comes first."
Evelyn went back inside to grab her medical kit and then left with the two men for Fairgate Farm. Ethan Dawson was driving a small truck, and the trip only took ten minutes.
This was Evelyn’s second visit to Fairgate Farm, and the place had changed a lot. The moment she walked in, she was met with a cacophony of crowing chickens, so loud she wished she could plug her ears.
"Over here." Ethan Dawson led Evelyn to a wooden house where several female workers were gathered. When they saw Ethan return, they quickly made way for them.
Evelyn moved closer. The thick smell of blood made her stomach churn. "Did she fall?"
"Yes. Yesterday afternoon, Monica went to the latrine, but the path was covered in a thin layer of snow, and she slipped. She was wearing thick clothes, so she said it didn’t hurt at the time, and I didn’t think anything of it." The man’s face was etched with regret.
Evelyn examined the woman on the bed. The situation was grim. "She’s had a miscarriage."
"Wh-what? It’s just some bleeding, how could she have a miscarriage? Master Ford, please, check again! Is my son... really gone?"
The man looked as if he’d been struck by lightning, staring dumbfounded at Evelyn.
"All of you, please step outside. I need to treat her. She’s in poor condition and will likely need several days of bed rest."
"Alright. Thank you."
Ethan Dawson nodded at Evelyn and was the first to leave the house. Seeing him go, the others followed suit, though their gazes lingered on the woman on the bed. Their expressions were a mixture of pity, sympathy, numbness, and even impatience.
"Is the baby really gone? Master Ford, could you have made a mistake? Our Dr. Scott didn’t say Monica had a miscarriage."
Evelyn shot the man a look. "Ethan Dawson just told you, your farm’s doctor doesn’t specialize in gynecology."
Ignoring him, Evelyn placed a few pills in the unconscious woman’s mouth.
Half an hour later, Evelyn opened the door to find the man squatting outside, vomiting. She found it a little amusing. Halfway through the procedure, the man had started to turn pale, so Evelyn told him to get out. She hadn’t expected to hear the sounds of retching just a moment later.
"I’m done. I’m heading back now. Make sure he brings that wood over."
"How is she?"
Evelyn shook her head. "She’s extremely weak. It would be best if she never gets pregnant again."
Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to say anything more blunt, but Ethan Dawson understood her unspoken meaning.
"Victor Wood," Ethan said, turning to the man. "You and Monica are to be separated from now on." He then pointed to two other women. "You two will take care of Monica until she has fully recovered."
Victor Wood immediately protested. "Boss, Monica is my wife! How can you separate us? Besides, I can take care of her. There’s no need to trouble them."
"On this farm, my word is law. When I say you’re separated, you’re separated. If you don’t like it, you can leave the farm."
Ethan’s tone brooked no argument. Victor Wood didn’t dare say another word, terrified of being kicked off the farm.
"I’ll walk you out." Seeing Evelyn lost in thought, Ethan Dawson cleared his throat beside her.
Evelyn nodded. "Alright."
On the way back, Evelyn was still thinking about the woman at the farm when Ethan Dawson suddenly called her name.
"Before I took those women in, they offered to ’serve’ the men on the farm. They used that exact word, ’serve.’ All the men here were tempted; we have far too many bachelors. I figured that taking in a few women to balance the male-to-female ratio would be good for the farm’s long-term stability. I let them choose their own partners, and I made it clear this isn’t a brothel—monogamy is the rule. But with more men than women, some who weren’t chosen got upset. I had to deal with a couple of them before the others stopped causing trouble."
Ethan’s brow furrowed. "I’m busy, so I appointed two people to help manage the farm. But they turn a blind eye to things like domestic violence. They even seem to think it’s normal, so they never report it to me."
"There have even been male workers who sexually assault other women."
"Without any laws to restrain them, these people are incredibly difficult to manage."
Evelyn remained silent.
After rambling on for a while, Ethan cleared his throat and asked tentatively, "If... I wanted to ask Mr. Vance to come help me manage my farm... Master Ford, would you let him leave?"
Although the people on his farm feared him, Ethan Dawson had no trusted confidants or friends, making it exhausting for him to manage the farm alone.
Evelyn finally understood what he was getting at. She looked at him, her face devoid of expression. "Not a chance."
"What if I offered three barrels of gasoline in exchange?"
Evelyn pulled a small, compact pistol from her sleeve and began toying with it. "Ethan Dawson, do you have a death wish?"
"I’m a junior to Mr. Vance. My father knew him. I just want to ask him to be a steward at our farm for half a year. I mean no harm, and this isn’t a business transaction."
"From this moment on, Ethan Dawson and all other trash are forbidden from entering Immeasurable Mountain Farm. If you dare set foot inside again, I will kill you."
Ethan Dawson was speechless.
