Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Child
The vehicle stopped. Evelyn Ford pulled open the door and jumped out, then had Chet Lawrence, who was guarding the entrance, quickly shut the main gate, leaving Ethan Dawson outside.
"Master Ford, let’s discuss this a little more."
Evelyn Ford walked away without a backward glance.
It hadn’t snowed again recently, but the wind was still strong. Combined with the low temperature, the snow on the ground had become hard. You wouldn’t sink when you stepped on it, but it was easy to slip and fall.
After shutting the gate, Chet Lawrence resumed his patrol. Evelyn Ford returned to the cabin, where Ronan Kendrick was feeding the wolfdogs. Seeing her return, he added some firewood to the fireplace.
"Have a meal, then get some more sleep."
Ronan Kendrick had already washed the clothes that had piled up over the past few days and had also cleaned the livestock area in the dimension. Evelyn Ford walked up behind him and gave his ear a rewarding little squeeze.
"What are we eating later?"
"Fish." Fish was still Ronan Kendrick’s favorite.
Evelyn Ford snapped her fingers. "No problem. Let’s have tuna. We’ll steam some and make some sashimi."
With that, Evelyn Ford took off her coat and opened the kitchen door.
"I’ll help you."
Evelyn Ford waved her hand. "No need. You go into the dimension and take care of the corn stalks we didn’t finish harvesting. Then put them in the livestock area to feed the argali and the Red Deer."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Okay."
"Also, collect the duck eggs from in there. I’m planning to make some salted duck eggs this afternoon."
"Okay."
The two of them split the work. The kitchen was too cold, so Evelyn Ford took out an alcohol stove and solid alcohol fuel, preparing three dishes and a soup right in front of the fireplace. By the time Ronan Kendrick came out with two hundred duck eggs, Evelyn Ford had already set the food on the table.
"Are salted duck eggs good?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Very good. We can also make some braised eggs, braised meat, and duck necks."
Ronan Kendrick was rather nostalgic for their time on the island. Although they had to contend with the rough seas every day, the two of them were almost completely cut off from the world, with no one to disturb them.
"Is everything taken care of over there?"
"It’s handled. The female worker had a miscarriage. My thinking might be a little dark, but I think it might be a good thing that the child is gone."
Evelyn Ford poured two cups of hot tea, raising one to clink against Ronan Kendrick’s.
"It’s not just for the female worker. It might be a release for the child, too. If other cataclysms follow after the Little Ice Age, a child so young would just have to suffer along with everyone. It’s an endless cycle of hardship. If you can’t raise a child, you shouldn’t be having one recklessly."
"Of course, there are two sides to every story. Humanity won’t go extinct as long as children are born, but that’s on the condition that the parents are capable of protecting the child until they’re grown."
Evelyn Ford looked at Ronan Kendrick, coughed, and suddenly asked, "Do you like kids?"
Ronan Kendrick froze for a moment, then shook his head. "I don’t."
Evelyn Ford smiled, just watching him.
"I really don’t like kids. Besides not wanting your attention to be divided, there are other reasons. Like you said, raising a child is full of uncertainties. This world is dangerous enough for adults, let alone children."
"Do you like kids?" Ronan Kendrick asked in return.
"I don’t know. I don’t really have any feelings about it."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "That kid next door cries dozens of times a day. Quincy is starting to get gray hairs."
He was talking about Zoe. Zoe did have a loud pair of lungs. She was relatively well-behaved when they first brought her back, but now she had become very active and cried a lot. And whenever she cried, the two wolfdogs would howl along with her. The baby’s crying combined with the dogs’ barking was sheer double torture.
"Zoe is healthy, which is a rare thing. In this day and age, how many healthy children can there be?"
After eating and drinking their fill, Evelyn Ford took a two-hour nap. In the afternoon, she started pickling the salted duck eggs. While she and Ronan Kendrick were busy, Taylor Vance came over, holding Zoe. Evelyn Ford had given everyone a couple of days off, so he didn’t have to teach classes and should have been resting in his room.
"Mr. Vance, what is it?" Evelyn Ford studied his face, relaxing a little when she saw his complexion was normal.
"It’s nothing serious. I just heard from Chet Lawrence that Ethan was at the gate, saying he wants me to go over to his place and be his steward?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Yes. I refused him."
"That was my intention as well. His father and I had a bit of a connection, but so many years have passed that it’s faded. You don’t need to feel awkward about it. Just refusing him directly is fine."
"It’s no trouble. But I’ve given an order that Ethan Dawson is not to be allowed on our farm from now on. By the way, someone will be delivering wood today. Have Chet Lawrence keep an eye out."
"Alright, I’ll let Chet Lawrence know in a bit. The others couldn’t sit still, so they all went out back to gather mushrooms."
Evelyn Ford gently touched Zoe’s little hand. She was bundled up warmly, sleeping soundly while strapped to Taylor Vance’s chest.
"No wonder you’re watching Zoe. Oh, Mr. Vance, I’ve prepared a few packets of medicinal herbs for you. Take them back and brew them."
"You don’t need to give them to me. Don’t waste medicinal herbs on me." Taylor Vance refused to take them no matter what.
With that, he turned and left, still holding Zoe. Evelyn Ford watched his retreating back and sighed helplessly.
"Evelyn, we ran into some strangers just now when we were on the mountain behind the farm gathering mushrooms. They ran off as soon as they saw us, though. They were also gathering mushrooms in the mountains back there. It was a group of seven or eight people, men and women."
"They must be refugees hiding in the mountains."
Quincy looked at her with surprised uncertainty. "Should we let them keep coming to gather things?"
"Yes. As long as they don’t come near the farm or try to climb the fence, leave them be."
"Alright then. Oh, there’s one more thing. The wind direction has changed in the last couple of days. The northwesterlies have turned into southwesterlies, and it’s gotten colder. I have a feeling it’s going to rain."
Quincy’s feeling was right. Evelyn Ford had already noticed the drop in temperature.
"Have everyone drink some cold-dispelling medicine in advance."
The two of them were talking outside the cabin when Ronan Kendrick suddenly rushed out, grabbed Evelyn Ford, and started running. Before Evelyn Ford could even react, they were already more than ten meters away. Then, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. Ronan Kendrick pushed Evelyn Ford down onto the snow, shielding her protectively in his arms. In those brief two seconds, the nearby cabins, after shaking violently, began to fall apart and collapse.
Evelyn Ford’s heart was pounding. "Mr. Graham and Wendy and the others didn’t make it out. I’m going back to check."
"No need. They’re out. The earthquake has stopped." Ronan Kendrick pulled Evelyn Ford to her feet. The earthquake had indeed stopped. It had lasted less than twenty seconds. The two cabins had collapsed, and in the livestock area not far away, the animals began to cry out.
The two of them returned to the front of the collapsed cabins. Quincy was holding Zoe, with Wyatt Vaughn standing beside him. The others had also come out, all with looks of terror and lingering fear on their faces.
Quincy glared at Ronan Kendrick. "You! Ronan Kendrick, you just grab Evelyn Ford and run, but you don’t care about me?"
Ronan Kendrick looked at him and said, "Sorry." But his face showed not a hint of apology.
"Why would there be an earthquake out of the blue? The houses collapsed... oh, what are we going to do?" Aunt Crane stood in the back, wiping her tears. Many people hadn’t yet recovered from the terror of the moment and wore dazed, numb expressions.
"The houses can be rebuilt. Is everyone unhurt?"
The moment Evelyn Ford’s words left her mouth, Ronan Kendrick yanked her back.
"Run."
