Chapter 160: Wild Boar

When Evelyn Ford returned, she told Ronan Kendrick what had happened.

Ronan Kendrick was silent for a long time before he said quietly, "Quincy... he’s only thirty-one?"

’That cut deep. It was a good thing Quincy didn’t hear him.’

"What do you think of him and Wyatt Vaughn?"

"They’re good together."

"I think so, too."

Evelyn Ford took out a watermelon and cut it in half. They each took a half and ate it with a spoon. A tablet on the table was playing a horror movie. The two of them watched, chatting intermittently.

The tree seeds scattered around the safe zone had grown into saplings. The wind had been strong lately, starting to blow sand and dust into the area. But with the trees and the head-high Four Seasons Green, people no longer had to cover their faces against the dust storms every day.

Lately, she had been focusing all her energy on planting. Now that life in the safe zone was stabilizing, she could finally take a break and relax a little.

When Ronan Kendrick wasn’t out fishing or gathering firewood, he took care of everything, leaving Evelyn Ford with nothing to worry about. She pulled out the cookbook, which Ronan Kendrick had nearly read to tatters, and decided to make more prepared foods to restock her dimensional space.

"How about we make some pork jerky, Dried Beef, spicy fish fillets, spicy fish tails, spicy strips, and mala duck necks?"

Ronan Kendrick looked at her with pure adoration.

"Okay," Ronan Kendrick agreed without hesitation.

Evelyn Ford also planned to make some pickled radishes and sauerkraut. The vegetables in the garden were growing so fast they couldn’t possibly eat them all. She stored some in her dimensional space and turned the rest into dried or pickled vegetables.

She had also pickled several jars of chili peppers, along with kimchi, cabbage, and pickles. Evelyn Ford had plenty of vinegar and white liquor on hand, more than enough for her to experiment with.

Evelyn Ford lived on the top floor, which was perfect for placing solar panels on the balcony to charge her batteries. To keep them hidden from the neighbors, Ronan Kendrick had boarded up both sides of the balcony.

She used that amazing range hood to vent all the spicy aromas, and with a wall between them and the outside, no one could smell a thing.

They had to cull a batch of chickens and ducks every month, or the coop would get too crowded. Every day, Ronan Kendrick went down with a bamboo basket to collect eggs, bringing back several hundred each time.

"I have tea leaves in my space. We should make some tea-leaf eggs." During the heatwave, she had scavenged a clubhouse for supplies and found a large amount of pressed tea cakes and loose-leaf tea, all of which were still piled up in her dimensional space.

Evelyn Ford carefully brought out a propane tank. She set a large iron pot on the gas stove and began to boil the eggs.

’To be honest, she feared neither heaven nor earth, but she was terrified of propane tanks, pressure cookers, and tanker trucks on the road.’

’Whenever Evelyn Ford saw these things, she’d get paranoid, terrified they would explode at any second.’

’When she was stockpiling supplies, she’d actually considered forgoing propane tanks altogether. She was even afraid a tank might explode inside her dimensional space and destroy it. But in the end, she conquered her fear. She stockpiled not only propane tanks but also liquefied gas cylinders.’

She also had cotton seeds in her dimensional space, but she couldn’t just materialize them out of thin air. The residents of the safe zone had already scavenged plenty of clothes. They were tattered, but not so much that people were left indecent. Now, with down and feathers from the chickens and ducks, they could stuff the linings of their clothes for extra warmth.

’Life had to be taken one step at a time. It was never wrong to be cautious.’

’She could be a doctor, an expert farmer, but she could never be seen as some otherworldly being who possessed a magical treasure.’

Wyatt Vaughn and Quincy went out to catch snakes but came back with a whole drove of wild boars instead. When the two of them herded the five boars back into the safe zone, everyone was stunned, including Evelyn Ford.

’Well, I’ll be. So much for his low self-esteem. They’re already going out to hunt wild boars together?’

’Men...’

Evelyn Ford could clearly see Quincy’s smug look, even from a distance.

"Quincy’s really struck it rich. He went and caught wild boars without a peep."

"I bet Wyatt Vaughn caught them. That girl is fierce—she catches snakes with her bare hands. Quincy’s no good; he’s not that brave."

When Evelyn Ford heard those three words, "Quincy’s no good," she almost burst out laughing.

"Quincy, how are you two going to split them?"

"Five is an awkward number to split. If you can’t figure it out, you two might as well just get together. Miles Vaughn, what do you think?"

Standing in the crowd, Miles Vaughn stared at his sister, his expression unreadable.

"That bully, Miles Vaughn... you think he’s going to let Quincy get a share? I bet he’ll take them all for himself. Poor Quincy."

"Not necessarily. Evelyn Ford, Ronan Kendrick, and Chester Graham are all on Quincy’s side. They wouldn’t let him get taken advantage of."

"There’s gonna be a fight! Fight, fight, fight..."

"Miles, Wyatt caught the boars. I just helped her herd them back." Quincy had no intention of claiming a share of the boars, since he hadn’t caught them.

"But you got kicked by a boar helping me. Brother, I want to give one to Quincy." Wyatt Vaughn looked delicate, but you can’t judge a book by its cover—she really had caught the boars herself.

"Fine. Handle it yourself."

Everyone had thought Miles Vaughn would refuse, but surprisingly, he didn’t react at all, showing no signs of anger.

The gawkers hoping for a show were a little disappointed, but their eyes turned red with envy as they stared at the drove of boars.

"Wyatt, where’d you catch them?"

"Just in the mountains. They were really aggressive, so I had to beat them into submission before I could herd them back."

Wyatt Vaughn gave a medium-sized boar to Quincy. He was reluctant to accept, but after a glare from Miles Vaughn, he took it immediately.

"Quincy’s got some good luck, getting a whole boar out of it. It really looks like Wyatt Vaughn has taken a shine to him."

"Hey Miles, you okay with Quincy becoming your brother-in-law?"

The hecklers started up again. Miles Vaughn glanced at the crowd and, for once, didn’t lose his temper.

"That’s Wyatt’s personal business. I’m staying out of it," Miles Vaughn said flatly.

"Then why did you drag her along to try and scam Mr. Graham before?"

At the mention of this, the crowd burst into another round of laughter. Miles Vaughn looked embarrassed; after all, he really had been reckless that time.

"None of your damn business. Who I go after is my problem, not yours. Are you trying to stir up trouble here?"

The man who’d been shouted at looked grim, but he didn’t dare confront Miles Vaughn directly, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

"Wyatt, let’s go home."

Wyatt Vaughn glanced at Quincy and whispered, "Are we still going snake hunting tomorrow?"

Quincy sighed and looked at her seriously. "Not tomorrow. How about the day after?"

Wyatt Vaughn’s face lit up immediately. Miles Vaughn, unable to watch any longer, started herding the boars and dragged his sister away.

"Mr. Quincy, you have a pig!" Wendy looked even happier than Quincy himself, grabbing the boar’s tail and patting it all over.

"It’s a sow. If she has piglets, I’ll give one to you."

Wendy was even more delighted. "That’s great! Then if my lamb has babies, I’ll give one to you, too!"

Quincy smiled and nodded. "Okay, then we can be shepherds together."

The boar weighed over forty pounds. It was long and lean, with limbs of a decent length. SNORT, SNORT. It rooted at the grass with its snout.

Though the onlookers were jealous, no one would dare try to steal it. Everyone had memorized the rules Taylor Vance had established for the safe zone.

No robbery or theft. Anyone caught would be exiled from the safe zone.