Chapter 283: Extreme Cold 29

Evelyn Ford came out holding three jin of coarse salt. She carefully opened a corner of the bag for the man to inspect. Upon seeing the salt, his eyes went wide.

"How come it’s coarse salt?"

"Who can afford fine salt these days? This coarse salt is all we’ve managed to save. If you don’t want it, I’ll just put it away."

"No, wait! Coarse salt is fine."

The man reached out to grab the salt, but Evelyn Ford dodged him. "Let’s do this properly—payment upon delivery."

"Heh, you’re a sharp one. Alright, follow me." The man tore his gaze away from the bag of coarse salt and led the two of them to the entrance of the base.

"Drake, it’s coarse salt."

Drake wasn’t surprised. These days, you were lucky to get coarse salt at all. There was no room to be picky.

Drake stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the bag in Evelyn Ford’s arms. "Okay, you two wait here. I’ll have my men bring out the sweet potatoes and cassava—six hundred jin of sweet potatoes and seven hundred jin of cassava."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Alright."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look. They hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. Apparently, these people weren’t short on food.

Drake told the man beside him to get people to move the provisions. He then walked over to the argali, patting one, then another.

"Why aren’t you keeping one for yourselves?"

"Live animals are a hassle on the road. Sweet potatoes are more practical."

Drake nodded. "That’s true enough."

A little while later, several men came out carrying the sweet potatoes and cassava in bamboo baskets. They also brought a steelyard scale with them.

"I’d like to weigh the coarse salt, if you don’t mind."

Evelyn Ford readily handed it to him. "Of course."

Drake took the bag of coarse salt, opened it, then pinched a little and tasted it.

"Good salt."

He placed the salt on the scale. To his surprise, not only was the weight correct, but it was even a little over. He immediately had his men add another fifty jin of sweet potatoes.

Evelyn Ford was a bit surprised, but the man just waved a hand dismissively. "We’re not short on sweet potatoes. After eating them for the past two years, we’re about sick to death of them."

With six hundred fifty jin of sweet potatoes and seven hundred jin of cassava now in their possession, Evelyn Ford herded the five argali over to their side. The men inspected the sheep and confirmed they were all healthy and plump. Both parties were very pleased with the transaction.

"We also have some sweet potato wine, actually. If you’re interested, we could trade some of that as well."

A look of pleasant surprise crossed Evelyn Ford’s face. "Well, since you’re offering, Drake, how about I trade you the remaining two jin of coarse salt I have?"

Drake slapped the man beside him on the shoulder in excitement. "Straight to the point, I like it! Leo, go get ten jin of sweet potato wine."

Evelyn Ford smiled and went back to the carriage to get the two jin of coarse salt.

The sweet potato wine was fragrant and mellow, with a high proof and a strong kick. Evelyn Ford was genuinely surprised and pleased that she could trade for it.

Drake’s hands trembled slightly as he looked at the two jin of coarse salt Evelyn Ford handed him.

"Ma’am... do you have any vegetable seeds? I’d like to trade for some. To be honest with you, we haven’t eaten a single vegetable in over two years."

Evelyn Ford was speechless.

"What a coincidence. I happen to have some cabbage and white radish seeds. Not much, just two packets. You can have them."

Drake’s eyes widened. He had only asked on the off chance, never expecting she would actually have any. For a split second, he wanted to fall to his knees and kowtow to Evelyn Ford, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"R-really? What do you want for them? I can give you another hundred jin of sweet potatoes."

Evelyn Ford smiled. "I’ll take twenty jin of sweet potato wine."

’She’d bought the vegetable seeds wholesale before the apocalypse for one yuan a pack.’

Evelyn Ford felt she’d made a killing. Drake and his men felt the exact same way. Though no one let it show, they were all ecstatic.

"Done. We don’t have much sweet potato wine left, but this trade is a must." Drake waved, and one of his men went to fetch another twenty jin of the wine.

Ronan Kendrick had already loaded the sweet potatoes and cassava onto the carriage. Evelyn Ford handed the cabbage and radish seeds to Drake. He took one look, saw that the seeds were plump and whole, and quickly stuffed the packets inside his jacket.

With thirty jin of sweet potato wine secured, Evelyn Ford uncorked a jug and took a sniff. The aroma was rich and mellow. ’She’d definitely scored big time.’

"Ma’am, sir, it feels like fate that we met. Why don’t you stay here for a few days before you go? It’s freezing out, and traveling must be exhausting."

Now that the trade was done, the man had become exceptionally warm. Evelyn Ford smiled and declined his invitation.

"We can’t, we still need to get to Frelia to find our family. We’re grateful for your generosity, Drake. If you hadn’t traded us this food, we might have starved on the road."

Drake laughed heartily and gave a fist-and-palm salute. "You’re too kind, ma’am. Until we meet again."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Until we meet again."

"Wait a minute! Are you sure you don’t have any medicine?" The man standing beside Drake hurriedly blocked Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick’s path.

"My dad broke both of his legs a year ago. We don’t have any medicine, so they got infected. The rot is severe... I just need some antibiotics."

Drake sighed. "That’s Leo. His father broke his legs saving a few kids. If you have any medicine, I’m willing to pay double the food we just traded."

"Alcohol can be used as a disinfectant."

"We tried that, but we didn’t know what we were doing. It only made my dad’s legs worse."

"We don’t have any medicine... but I was a medical student. I can take a look for you." As soon as Evelyn Ford finished speaking, Leo fell to his knees with a THUD.

"Miss, you’re really a doctor? Please, you have to save my dad."

"I can’t promise anything until I’ve examined him. Where is the patient?"

Drake quickly had someone open the main gate. "He’s in the base. Please, come with us."

"Can the Mammoths come in?"

"Of course, of course. They don’t eat people, do they?"

Evelyn Ford smiled. "Of course they don’t."

"I apologize for our conduct earlier. We shouldn’t have searched you, but we had to. We were attacked by raiders before... we lost a lot, and many people died."

Evelyn Ford waved a hand. "It’s alright. We understand."

The Mammoths followed behind the pair. They looked ferocious, yet were surprisingly tame. The men found it remarkable.

The base wasn’t very large. Most of the buildings had collapsed, but a few low-slung houses appeared to have been built more recently.

There weren’t many people in the base, maybe fifty or sixty in total. Evelyn Ford was curious but didn’t press for details.

It was Drake who brought up the base’s history. "Three years ago, it rained acid for a solid month. Tens of thousands died. The ones who survived that all got sick and were dead within a few months. We’re refugees from Eldoria. When we got here, there were still one or two thousand people alive in this base. Eventually, they all died off too."

"Eldoria got acid rain too, but only for ten days. It was much worse here in Khoros. All the trees died out. If it hadn’t been for the torrential downpours that came later and washed the corroded soil, we wouldn’t be able to grow sweet potatoes and cassava."

"We’re here. Leo’s family lives here."

As they entered an adobe house, Evelyn Ford was hit by the thick stench of rot. An emaciated old man lay on the bed, a small coal stove burning beside him.