8mi Chapter 349: Farm Daily Life 21
Chapter 349: Farm Daily Life 21
The girl was brought back shortly after. She was in bad shape; the combination of hunger and cold had caused her to pass out.
"The father and daughter were living in a shelter made of branches. When we got there, the fire was still going, but she had already passed out."
Evelyn Ford checked her over. The child was around ten years old but looked to be only five or six. She was so thin her ribs protruded, her limbs were limp, her hair was dry, yellow, and sparse, and she was missing several teeth.
"Bring over a bowl of plain congee."
The man had already eaten a bowl of plain congee. Their bodies were severely depleted, so they could only eat liquid foods.
The man was very emotional but couldn’t speak. Evelyn Ford had examined him and determined his condition was caused by extreme emotional highs and lows. He would slowly recover once his emotions stabilized.
"Don’t worry, she’s fine. She’ll wake up in a little while."
The man nodded, his expression relaxing considerably. He started making hand gestures, and Evelyn Ford guessed he wanted to go to work.
Quincy said with a helpless sigh, "You can start tomorrow. You can’t even hold a bowl right now. Just rest up today. There’s plenty of work to do on the farm, so there’s no rush."
"By the way, what are your names?"
The man rummaged through the bag Chet Lawrence had brought back and pulled out a tattered household registration book.
Evelyn Ford took it. The book listed a family of eight, but now only the father and daughter remained.
"So you’re Austin Moss, and your child is Claire Moss?"
Seeing him nod, Evelyn Ford gently closed the registration book and handed it back to him.
"You can live next to Paul Pence and the others. Claire Moss, you can stay with Wendy. Wendy, is that okay?"
Wendy nodded. "Of course! I finally have a roommate! Miss Ford, will Claire Moss be raising rabbits with me?"
"When she wakes up, you can ask her if she wants to raise rabbits with you."
Wendy was thrilled. "Raising rabbits is really fun, I’m sure she’ll want to! But their pee really stinks."
Everyone broke into laughter.
Even though it was snowing, there was still a lot of work to do on the farm. They had to patrol daily to ensure the fences were intact, and all the livestock needed regular check-ups to prevent any sudden outbreaks of infectious diseases. From clearing snow to feeding the animals, every post was a flurry of activity.
Evelyn Ford prepared some herbal medicine for Austin Moss and his daughter. After Claire Moss woke up, she was still very weak, but she was well-behaved and accepted Wendy’s invitation to raise rabbits with her.
The next day, Austin Moss started working. His clothes and shoes were too tattered, so Officer Graham, in his role as the farm’s steward, gave both him and his daughter new cotton-padded clothes and shoes.
Evelyn Ford was exercising in the training room while Ronan Kendrick watched her, holding a training stick.
"Who taught you to do this?"
"Quincy, of course. He said this would motivate you to improve."
Evelyn Ford chuckled. "That Quincy, he’s really one of a kind. Old habits die hard. Just wait, I’ll get him for this."
Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow, adding fuel to the fire. "He was the one giving me bad ideas. He even told me to use a small leather whip."
Evelyn Ford clenched her fists. "Tell the kitchen they don’t need to make dinner for Quincy tonight."
—
Over the next few days, people continued to arrive, some to trade for supplies, others hoping to stay and work on the farm. However, the farm’s population was already at capacity. Taking in more people would upset the balance.
Just then, the authorities suddenly sent people to conduct a population survey and collect taxes. Everyone was stunned by the news.
"Taxes? What kind of world is this that we still have to pay taxes?"
The official’s attitude was firm. "Anyone living on this land who has a productive enterprise must pay taxes. It’s a head tax. Since your farm has more than twenty people, you need to pay double the rate. It’s collected once a year. If you don’t pay, you’ll be sent to the mines to dig for coal."
Evelyn Ford didn’t argue. She just wanted to know where the grain they handed over would ultimately end up.
"Will this grain be distributed to the refugees, or will it feed the leaders?"
The official glanced at Evelyn Ford. "That’s not your concern. Just pay your taxes obediently, and your farm will receive protection."
They got what they came for, taking three hundred pounds of wheat, two hundred pounds of cabbage, and one sheep.
"I hope those things actually reach the refugees." Aunt Crane clasped her hands together, spending the whole day praying.
"Doubtful," Miles Vaughn said, his eyes cold. "The refugees will be lucky to get wheat bran."
"Let’s just consider it a necessary loss to avoid trouble," Evelyn Ford said, looking calm as she continued to assign tasks to everyone.
"The artemisia in the wheat fields has sprouted, so we can pull some up for stir-frying. Two of the mares are about to give birth, so keep a close eye on them for the next few days. Over at the rabbit hutches, the rabbits have dug some more holes. Mix some wet earth later to fill them in. The pond out back has frozen over, so be careful when you’re breaking the ice. Everyone, carry a whistle with you. If you run into danger, blow it immediately."
"Also, the roof of the screening room is leaking. Nathan Xavier, go patch it up later."
Nathan Xavier nodded. "Got it."
"The wheat is taller now, so we can spread the plant ash, Mr. Graham. Please find someone to arrange it."
Officer Graham nodded. "Will do."
Everyone received their tasks, and the meeting concluded.
"What I’m worried about now is the authorities coveting our farm. No matter the era, it’s hard to guard against petty schemers."
Evelyn Ford thought of the Gatling gun in her dimensional space. ’If it really comes to that, I wouldn’t mind testing the power of my new weapon.’
"Don’t be so pessimistic. Immeasurable Mountain isn’t a place just anyone can waltz into."
"Didn’t you see the look in their eyes? They wanted nothing more than to kick us out and seize the farm for themselves. The world has changed, and people’s hearts are not what they used to be."
Everyone was very disappointed with the authorities. They had come, conducted a population survey, and registered the number of living people, but showed no intention of improving the plight of the refugees.
As for Austin Moss, no one understood the hardships of being a refugee better than he did. The harsh environment could be overcome, but one constantly had to be on guard against all sorts of troublemakers.
A little girl like Claire Moss could easily become a target for some people—those who had lost their humanity, preyed on their own kind, and were no different from devils.
"There’s one possibility: the temperature at the base is even lower, and the snow is heavier. Some of their industries have probably ground to a halt, so they came up with this method to expand their granaries."
This was Evelyn Ford’s guess, but if it was true, it made the base’s actions even more infuriating and shameless.
"There’s no place in this world that’s absolutely safe anymore."
They had barely survived a natural disaster, only to face the judgment of human nature.
"The farm is safe. I’ll defend it to my death," Yunnis Denton said suddenly.
Everyone looked at her. She smiled. "I love my life now. I’ll protect this place with my life."
"Same here."
"Me too. Even if I die, I’ll defend the farm."
Evelyn Ford cleared her throat. "Everyone, calm down. Trust me, it won’t come to that. Just focus on your work. It wasn’t easy to survive this long, so let’s not use the word ’die’ anymore."
"What if they come back for more grain?"
"Could the base be controlled by merchants? They take our grain and then turn around and sell it, or trade it for other supplies."
This whole affair left everyone feeling very anxious.
Evelyn Ford pressed her temples. "If it’s merchants, then things will be much easier to handle."