Chapter 326: Farm

After the inspection, everyone got back to work.

The log cabins were mostly finished, so it was time to start building the farm.

"We should build the greenhouse taller. If it’s too low, I’m worried the air won’t circulate well after we install the heated brick bed, and it might suffocate the plants."

"How tall do you think it should be?" Evelyn Ford asked Yunnis Denton.

"Around five or six meters. It’s a shame there’s no bamboo here. Using bamboo strips to support the greenhouse would be much easier."

Evelyn had naturally thought of that as well. Without bamboo, they could use wood to build a frame. While other people’s greenhouses were dome-shaped, Evelyn’s was square and boxy. Quincy even joked that it wasn’t a greenhouse, but a coffin.

As long as it kept the plants warm, Evelyn didn’t care what it looked like.

Meanwhile, the refugees who had entered Fairgate had salvaged quite a few things from the ruins and had also started to set up camp in the mountains.

The livestock were temporarily penned behind the camp. Once the farm was built, they would be able to roam freely.

Over the past few days, Zion Lowell had been making simple furniture. The tables, chairs, and benches were all matching sets, one for each house.

The log cabins had already been assigned. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick had one; theirs was a bit smaller, only forty square meters. The other cabins were all over a hundred square meters. Wyatt Vaughn, Quincy, Miles Vaughn, and Peter Owens shared one. Officer Graham, Wendy, Taylor Vance, and Zion Lowell were in another. Chet Lawrence and his group had the last one.

At first, Evelyn had considered setting up a general store, but she had since given up on the idea. Besides the farm, she also had to enter her space to plant and harvest, leaving her with no time to run a store.

Recently, Evelyn and Ronan had been preparing the rice paddies. Turning ordinary farmland into rice paddies wasn’t easy; it required building up the ridges with clay.

Her space was like a small, blank world that Evelyn had to build up, brick by brick, into a large world teeming with life.

Evelyn had never grown rice before. She had only ever seen how to transplant seedlings and harvest them in short videos.

She had been reading a lot of books on agriculture these past few days. Rice grains couldn’t be sown directly into the paddies. They needed a separate plot of land to be cultivated into small seedlings before being transplanted.

In the blink of an eye, another half-month went by. Everyone had moved into their log cabins. They divided the supplies they had brought back from Tarr City, and from then on, they would no longer eat their meals together.

On the first day after moving in, Evelyn added some firewood to the fireplace, enjoying the smell of wood that filled the house as the room warmed up.

The washroom was small, only seven or eight square meters. The outhouse was two hundred meters behind the cabin, and to prevent frostbite, a stove had been placed inside it as well.

She took out a new four-piece bedding set and spread it on the heated brick bed. Then, she placed a few potted plants on the windowsill, and instantly, it felt like home.

Hot water was heating up in the iron pot in the kitchen. Evelyn planned to take a hot bath. Starting tomorrow, they needed to dig out the marsh and create a new pond. Otherwise, getting water would be a problem, as everyone else had to go into the mountains to dig for snow every day.

Evelyn now drew water directly from the well in her space. Although it wasn’t a Spiritual Spring, the water was clean and very sweet, requiring no filtration at all.

In the past few days, a few of the argali sheep had given birth to lambs. Besides the Mammoth, the numbers of all the other animals were increasing. After moving into the cabins, the group discussed it and decided to slaughter three of the argali.

Ronan was in the living room making a bed for Mina and the others. By the time Evelyn came out, he had already finished. Evelyn grabbed a worn-out piece of clothing and placed it inside as padding. Mina and Blackie immediately lay down in it. As for the two birds, they were probably still out playing in the mountains.

"We can finally get a good night’s sleep," Evelyn said, draping herself over Ronan’s back.

"Are you tired?" Ronan lifted her onto his back.

"Not tired. It just feels like I haven’t had a proper rest in the past year or two. We were crammed into the truck when we were on the road, and other times, we were all squeezed together. This is so much better. It’s just the two of us in our home now."

Evelyn reached up and gently pinched Ronan’s ear. "Ronan, your hair is getting long again."

"Cut my hair for me."

Evelyn nodded. "Okay, let’s go to the bathroom and cut it."

Ronan was confused. "Why the bathroom?"

"It’ll be messy out here."

—

The next day, Evelyn gathered everyone to dig a pond in the marshland. With the mini-tiller, digging was much easier, but Taylor Vance and the others were reluctant to use gasoline and insisted on digging with hoes.

The marsh was frozen earth, making the digging incredibly difficult. It took them nearly four days just to clear out the mud and silt.

The groundwater seeped out in a trickle, as small as a pinhole. Evelyn had everyone pour charcoal at the bottom of the pond. The charcoal would filter out impurities, and the water that collected could be drunk after boiling.

"We need to hurry up and build the sheep pen. The wind has been strong these past few days, and the poor lambs have been bleating from the cold all night."

"Two of the mares are about to give birth, and the stable isn’t ready yet."

"Let’s transplant the fruit trees we brought back from Crystell City first. We can plant them next to the pond."

As everyone started talking at once, Evelyn pressed her temples, looking at the group with a deadpan expression.

"Starting today, I’m assigning tasks. Everyone just needs to focus on completing their own job."

Evelyn took out a piece of paper with everyone’s name and their assigned work written on it.

"Mr. Graham, Miles Vaughn, you two will be in charge of chopping wood. You only need to chop wood; you don’t have to do anything else.

Wyatt Vaughn, Quincy, you two will be responsible for cutting branches to feed the livestock. You can decide for yourselves whether to use the horses or the argali to carry the branches.

Chet Lawrence, Drako, and Nathan Xavier, you’re in charge of building the sheep pen, the stable...

Yunnis Denton, Joelle Finch, and Wendy, you’re responsible for thawing the soil and planting vegetables.

Peter Owens and Raymond Shepherd will be in charge of watering the livestock. Twice a day will be enough.

Mr. Vance and Mr. Lowell will be responsible for the farm’s security. Ronan and I will handle logistics. We’ll go wherever we’re needed.

"If anyone has any objections, you can raise them now. From today on, everyone is responsible for their own job."

The greenhouse for the vegetables was already built, so now they just needed to thaw the soil inside. Chopping wood required two people because the farm consumed a massive amount of firewood, making it necessary to have dedicated woodcutters.

"Oh, and one more thing. Aside from these specific jobs, I may reassign people at other times. It’s not that Mr. Graham and Miles Vaughn will *only* ever chop wood. Everyone else’s roles are flexible. Got it?"

Everyone nodded. Evelyn continued, "I’m going to give everyone a whistle. If you run into danger, blow the whistle immediately. If the refugees from Fairgate come to cause trouble, don’t waste words. Just drive them away. Don’t let any outsiders in, and don’t give them any food. We don’t have much food ourselves; we’re all eating coarse grains and flour. Anyone who decides to be charitable and brings trouble upon us will have to bear the consequences themselves."

"Understood."

Evelyn felt a bit weary. Taylor Vance used to manage these things, but both he and Zion Lowell had started to demur. They both hadn’t been feeling well recently, so Evelyn had no choice but to take over the management herself.

In the days that followed, Chet Lawrence and the others worked with exceptional diligence. Compared to the refugees from Fairgate, they cherished their current lives all the more.