"No."
Quincy didn’t believe him. "Really?" As he spoke, he looked Ronan Kendrick up and down.
Ronan Kendrick ignored him. Quincy stroked his chin. His intuition told him it was best not to provoke Evelyn Ford for the next few days.
Evelyn Ford added several more logs next to the vegetable patch. She transplanted the mycelium from the rotting wood onto the new logs. In about a week, the mycelium would start to grow again.
The crocheted gloves for Wendy and Zoe were ready. Evelyn Ford had sewn a layer of cotton cloth inside and filled the lining with fine down.
"They’re so warm! And they’re pink! They’re so pretty! Miss Ford, I love you so much!" Wendy threw herself into Evelyn Ford’s arms and held on tight, refusing to let go.
Zoe was getting frantic watching from the side. She wanted a hug too, but Wendy wouldn’t let go of Evelyn Ford, so all she could do was fret anxiously.
"Hug," she said, holding up her arms and looking at Evelyn Ford with a pitiful expression. This made Evelyn Ford burst out laughing, and she quickly picked her up.
"Oof, you’ve gotten heavier again."
"Not heavy."
"Yes, you are."
Zoe’s brows furrowed. "I’m very light."
’So concerned about her appearance at such a young age.’ Evelyn Ford poked her chubby little face. ’Human cubs at this age really are adorable.’
"Auntie’s just teasing you. You’re not heavy at all. You’re super light."
Zoe smiled in satisfaction. Seeing how happy they were with their new gloves, Evelyn Ford’s mood brightened considerably.
"Miss Ford, we can pick the corn cobs now. The corn is ripe."
Indeed, the pumpkins in the patch had all turned golden. These were from second-generation seeds, so the pumpkins they produced weren’t as large as the first generation’s. Still, the biggest one weighed thirty to forty kilograms. With so many pumpkins, they would have enough to eat for a year or more.
Evelyn Ford gathered everyone to harvest the pumpkins and corn cobs, storing them in a dry cave. They set aside ten kilograms of corn for seed and planned to cook the rest into grits.
After months of eating pumpkin, everyone’s face had turned as sallow as the gourds themselves.
"We don’t need to save up eggs anymore. Make an egg drop soup every day to supplement everyone’s nutrition. The eggplants and tomatoes are ready to be picked too. Those two vegetables don’t store well, so there’s no need to be frugal with them."
"What should we do with the corn stalks?"
"Strip the leaves to feed the chickens, and use the stalks for firewood."
Evelyn Ford stopped Miles Vaughn. "Have everyone clean out the ash from the heated beds. After we turn the soil in the vegetable patch, we’ll spread the ash as fertilizer. It’s time to plant the second crop."
After several months, everyone finally welcomed a bountiful harvest. It really proved the saying: as long as you have seeds, you won’t starve no matter where you end up.
Besides harvesting the pumpkins and corn in the cave, the crops in her space also needed to be harvested. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were busy again, working from day to night, sporting dark circles under their eyes every day.
But watching the ever-increasing stores of grain and vegetables in her space, Evelyn Ford’s mood kept getting better and better.
In her spare time, she also had to research the special medicine. Although she had the formula and mixing ratios, developing it was not easy. The slightest error would lead to a completely different effect.
To pass the time, Quincy even carved a mahjong set. In the evenings, everyone would gather to play. Evelyn Ford didn’t know how to play cards or mahjong; she just wasn’t wired for games. She could fall asleep just watching others play, so she preferred to go work in her space instead.
A month passed after the second crop of corn and pumpkins was planted. Evelyn Ford worked overtime to finish knitting the remaining few sweaters.
Aside from red, Ronan Kendrick’s favorite color was green.
Evelyn Ford had no idea why his aesthetic sense was so peculiar.
For the entire month, no one knew what the conditions were like outside. They couldn’t hear the wind blowing. Ronan Kendrick and Ethan Dawson went out for a look.
The temperature was still very low, but there wasn’t much wind. As long as they were bundled up tightly, they could go out.
Everyone decided to chop and stockpile some firewood. To avoid any accidents, they adopted Taylor Vance’s earlier suggestion: the strong and able-bodied would do the chopping, while the others would be responsible for transport.
"My God, the ground is so slippery! It’s impossible to walk."
"Use a hoe to break up the layer of ice on the surface and sprinkle some dirt on top." Evelyn Ford brought a hoe out to them.
This was the first time Evelyn Ford had been outside in months. She wore two sets of thermal underwear and had stuck on a Warm Baby, so she wasn’t cold.
"I can’t see anything beyond ten meters. The fog is too thick."
All the trees near the cave had already been chopped down, so they had to venture deeper in. The group used hoes to dig a safe path, which made it much more convenient to transport the wood without worrying about slipping and falling.
"There’s movement," Ronan Kendrick said, raising a hand to quiet everyone. Then, holding his machete, he headed into the woods to the right.
No one dared to follow, afraid of disturbing him. After waiting for about ten minutes, an earth-shattering roar echoed out. Evelyn Ford was the first to react.
"Fall back! It’s a bear!"
Worried about Ronan Kendrick, she ran straight into the woods. The others were scared stiff. Ethan Dawson quickly pushed them back.
"I’ll go back them up. The rest of you, get back to the cave! Don’t run around or scream. Barricade the entrance."
Quincy and Miles Vaughn wanted to follow, but Ethan Dawson stopped them. "I have a gun."
At his words, everyone quickly cleared a path for him.
Evelyn Ford quickly pulled a rifle from her space. She didn’t dare call out Ronan Kendrick’s name, fearing the bear would hear her and go berserk.
A rustling sound came from not far away. Evelyn Ford scrambled through the frozen undergrowth and saw a fallen black bear and Ronan Kendrick holding his machete. The tip of the blade was still dripping blood. He pulled down his mask, panting for breath. The moment he saw Evelyn Ford, he raised a hand and waved.
"You scared me to death." Evelyn Ford checked him over. He wasn’t injured, though his clothes had some ice shards and dirt on them.
"I thought it was a pheasant at first, but it turned out to be a black bear."
Ronan Kendrick lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers.
Evelyn Ford lifted her hand and gave his arm a light punch. Hearing a sound from behind, she put the rifle back into her space.
"It really is a bear. Ronan Kendrick, you’re something else."
Ethan Dawson walked over, gun in hand. The black bear had probably come out to forage. It wasn’t skinny at all; it was rare for it to have maintained such a plump figure in this harsh environment.
"It must weigh eight or nine hundred pounds. How did you kill it? With just that machete in your hand?" Ethan Dawson still found it unbelievable.
"How else?" Ronan Kendrick wiped the blood from his machete on the bear’s fur, then looked at Ethan Dawson.
"Let’s drag it back."
"Just the three of us? We’ll never be able to move it. I’ll go back and get more people."
Ronan Kendrick gave him a slightly exasperated look.
"Evelyn, you go back first. Have Miles Vaughn and Drako come over."
Evelyn Ford took the machete and turned to leave without hesitation.
Ethan Dawson couldn’t help but laugh. "You two are really incredible."
"You flatter us," Ronan Kendrick said dryly, frankly accepting the compliment.
When she returned to the cave, she found everyone waiting at the entrance. Seeing Evelyn Ford appear, Quincy looked like he was about to cry.
"Where’s Ronan Kendrick?"