Chapter 401: Chapter 401: Baking in the Sun 6
During the day, the farm workers rested in their cabins while Officer Graham assigned a few people to patrol duty.
Once the sun set, everyone emerged from their cabins to start the day’s work.
Today, they had to till the fields where they had previously planted sweet potatoes and cassava. There were still some missed sweet potatoes in the ground that needed to be collected.
"I’m planning to make some hardtack biscuits," Evelyn Ford said, finding Officer Graham and Quincy to share her idea.
"Hardtack? Are you worried we’ll get separated when the next disaster hits?"
Evelyn nodded. "It’s best to be prepared."
"That’s definitely a good idea," Quincy said, a lingering fear in his voice as he recalled the memory. "During the seawater incursion, if we hadn’t had our backpacks with canned food, we probably would have starved to death before the savages even got to us."
"But don’t hardtack biscuits need things like cocoa butter and cream?"
Evelyn shook her head. "It doesn’t have to be that complicated. We’ll use minced meat and flour. The point of hardtack is to be filling. Half a biscuit should make you feel full. The taste isn’t really important."
"Alright, then. When do we start?"
"Tomorrow night. Come to our cabin. We should make a lot. After all, you can never be too prepared."
Everyone spent the entire night tilling the fields in the greenhouse, finally gathering all the missed sweet potatoes. Although they weren’t large, the haul still came to about 220 pounds. To them, 220 pounds of sweet potatoes was like a massive fortune. Everyone wore a satisfied smile on the way back as they carried their prize.
The sweet potatoes could be made into dried sweet potato strips or used to brew wine. The pumpkins in the fields were also maturing and would be ready for harvest in another half a month.
Lately, the number of refugees outside had been dwindling. Evelyn and Ronan Kendrick made a special trip to the border to check. There were no vehicles on the road. The houses at the border had all collapsed, their contents long since looted by the refugees who had previously passed through Fairgate.
Ethan Dawson had also built a cistern. On their way back from the border, the two of them went to take a look.
Ethan had made extensive preparations for the great drought, piling up large amounts of firewood and fodder.
His group of survivors from the Fairgate area had once numbered fifteen or sixteen people. Now, including him, there were only fourteen left.
Most of them were women and children, or elderly people over fifty. There were only three other young men like him.
After drinking the Gold and Silver Flower tea for a few days, the color had returned to Ethan Dawson’s face. And, for the first time in ages, he had shaved his beard.
Ethan had a handsome, stern face. Combined with his menacing glare, he didn’t look like a good person, even without the beard.
"Don’t you recognize me? Master Ford, Ronan, what brings you to my place?"
Evelyn studied his tanned face and coughed. "With the beard gone, I almost thought you were someone else."
Ethan Dawson smiled. "Couldn’t help it. It’s just too hot."
"We just came from the border," Evelyn said. "We noticed the tire tracks on the road are very faint. It looks like no vehicles have passed through for a long time. There are no refugees on the road either. It all feels a bit strange."
Ethan’s expression grew serious. "Could the road have collapsed?"
That’s what Evelyn was thinking, too. After all, the earthquake three months ago had flattened the cabins on the farm.
"By the way, Master Ford, would it be possible to trade for some of your farm’s pumpkin seeds later on?"
Evelyn watched him quietly. "You still owe me a batch of supplies."
"Master Ford has a great memory," Ethan couldn’t help but tease. He then went to his warehouse and returned with a bottle of gasoline. Evelyn glanced at it; it looked to be about five liters.
"This is the only thing of value I have right now."
Evelyn took it. "Gasoline is good stuff."
"Without roads, even with a car and gasoline, you can’t get anywhere."
Evelyn agreed. "True. If the roads are broken, repairing them would be a massive undertaking. Besides, there’s no need to repair them now anyway."
Ethan’s gaze was intense. "Master Ford, I want to make a deal with you."
Evelyn guessed his intention immediately. She gave a small smile, then coolly refused. "I don’t do deals where I lose out. Ronan, it’s time for us to go home."
"How could it be a losing deal? Master Ford, one vehicle and five hundred liters of gasoline. Think about it."
’During the trip to Mount Lumin, Ethan had scavenged two tons of gasoline. He’s being pretty stingy, only offering five hundred liters.’
Besides, Evelyn had plenty of cars in her space and wasn’t short on gasoline either. This really would be a losing deal for her.
"I have a few other trinkets here, but they’re not worth much anymore. Just consider it a little something extra to sweeten the pot."
As he spoke, he pulled a gold bean from his pocket.
Evelyn blinked, staring at him in disbelief.
"A single gold bean to trade for one of my prize horses? Ronan, hit him."
Ronan nonchalantly cracked his knuckles, and Ethan threw his hands up in surrender.
"Don’t! Let’s talk this out! It’s not just one. If Master Ford is interested, I’ll go get them now."
’Gold... How could she possibly not be interested?’
Evelyn feigned indifference. "You said yourself it’s not worth much. You can’t eat it, you can’t trade it for food. It’s less useful than a sweet potato."
Ethan nodded. "You’re right. But what if the disasters end one day? When they’re over, everything will go back to normal. From ancient times to the present, gold has always been a universal currency."
Evelyn was silent for a moment before asking, "How much do you have?"
Ethan stood up. "Wait here. I’ll be right back."
After he left, Evelyn looked at Ronan.
"Ronan, what do you think? Should we trade with him?"
Ronan patted her shoulder. "It’s your call. If the quantity is substantial, there’s no loss in trading with him. And with Gold, you might even be able to upgrade."
Evelyn’s eyes lit up. "That’s right."
Half an hour later, Ethan returned, carrying a cloth sack covered in damp soil.
"It’s all in here. It’s not a lot, but there are a few heirlooms I need to pick out. They were my mother’s."
With that, he opened the sack, revealing a wooden box inside.
The wooden box opened to reveal three tiers. He set aside eight pieces of jewelry—some jade, some gold, and some pearls.
He pushed the rest toward Evelyn and Ronan.
"It’s all real. There isn’t a lot, but it’s all exquisitely made. It hasn’t been damaged at all after all these years," he said, giving his best sales pitch.
Evelyn glanced inside. The items were jumbled together, but she could see the fine craftsmanship. There was even a blood-red gemstone.
Too bad her eyes were only for the Gold.
"Since you’re so sincere, and we are neighbors, and you’re a junior to Mr. Vance... I’d feel bad not trading with you. Alright, then. I’ll trade you one horse."
A smile touched Ethan’s lips. "Thank you."
With all this Gold, Evelyn had actually hit the jackpot. She could probably expand the black soil by about half an acre with it. Plus, two of the mares in her space were about to foal. No matter how she looked at it, Evelyn wasn’t losing out.
"We’ll be going, then." Evelyn put the box away.
"I’ll go with you and bring the horse back."
