Chapter 640: Chapter 640: Strike

Tim Channing held it in for a long time, but tears still streamed down his face.

"Dr. Ford, I’ll remember this. Thank you. And thank you, soldier."

The team leader patted his shoulder. "Real men shed blood, not tears. Come on, I’ll take you to the logistics department."

After the team leader led Tim Channing away, Evelyn Ford returned to the truck, braving the howling sand.

Inside the wooden cabin’s refrigerator was a large cup of bubble tea. Evelyn took a sip. It was sickeningly sweet, almost unbearable. Wyatt Vaughn and Joelle Finch really had no talent for making desserts. She had no idea how much sugar they had put in. Evelyn took another sip, and the sweetness felt like it was shooting straight to the top of her skull.

"Is it good?" Quincy asked as he walked in from outside, holding Zoe. A gloating smile spread across his face when he saw Evelyn’s pained expression.

"Other than being way too sweet, there’s nothing wrong with it."

In the end, Evelyn finished the entire cup of bubble tea. She hated wasting food. But afterward, she had to chug two glasses of water just to quell the discomfort in her stomach.

"Auntie, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. But I don’t think I’ll want to drink any other beverages for the next six months."

"HAHAHAHA..." Quincy couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Anyone who didn’t know better would think you just drank arsenic."

Evelyn shot him a glance. "Stop gloating. I’m going to the lab. Call me when it’s time to eat."

"You can still eat? You’ve got quite an appetite."

"Quincy, it seems you’re quite fond of the bubble tea Wyatt Vaughn made. I’ll be sure to tell her. I’ll have her prepare a pot for you every day and watch you drink it all. Every last drop."

Quincy was speechless.

Zoe’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Quincy. "Daddy, can you drink a whole pot of bubble tea? You’re amazing!"

Quincy sighed. "Oh, you little troublemaker. Your auntie digs a pit for me, and you’re right there to bury me in it. You’re a real comfort, you are."

Zoe just grinned, looking completely carefree.

Evelyn Ford was busy in her lab for three hours. By the time she finished, Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling had returned. The two of them had spent the day depositing supplies in the camp’s warehouse. Rhys Chase wanted three Solar Lamps: one for the mining area, one for the desert, and another for the camp. They had been running around to so many places they didn’t even have time for lunch.

"If people get curious about how the Solar Lamps got here, what’s the base’s explanation?"

Liam Sterling smiled faintly. "That’s not a problem at all. We’ll just say the Solar Lamps are retractable. Their weight doesn’t change, but their size does. We’ll say the base flew them in by plane. The residents won’t doubt it."

"The pillars to support the Solar Lamps will have to be forged from scratch, though."

"That won’t be too hard; it can be done in a week. The power station downstream from the lake should be finished in about a month. Mr. Chase said the base will have full electricity and running water then."

Evelyn started to feel a sense of anticipation as well. Since arriving on the grasslands, everything seemed to have stabilized. It felt to her as if the apocalypse was finally over.

"Will other bases still come here? Like some of the bases from Oakhaven, Varden, and Serena."

Liam Sterling shook his head. "We can’t get in touch with any other bases. If they do come, we can accommodate them, but the main worry is having enough drinking water. The experts from the base’s agricultural science department have already gone to the grasslands and the Tass Desert. Mr. Chase issued an order: within one year, we must cultivate at least one hundred and sixty-five acres of farmland, and within two years, we must have at least three grain harvests."

"That sounds a little hard to achieve," Evelyn Ford said with a frown.

"I know what we should plant." Evelyn slapped her forehead, and everyone turned to look at her.

"Mrs. Kendrick, you have an idea?"

Even Ronan Kendrick’s gaze was fixed on her, burning with intensity. Evelyn smiled. "Of course I do. The easiest staple crops to grow in the world are potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, and sorghum. I suggest we plant these and not bother with other crops for now. These aren’t picky about climate or soil and are very easy to grow. However, if we plant cassava, it will need watering in the early stages."

Liam Sterling nodded. "That’s a great idea. We have potatoes and sweet potatoes, but we don’t have any cassava or sorghum seeds."

Evelyn cleared her throat. "I have some. I can trade them to the base. How about this: I’ll give you the seeds, and once you have a harvest, you can just give me a little of the food back."

Liam Sterling was overjoyed. "That would be fantastic! Mrs. Kendrick, I’ll accept on Mr. Chase’s behalf. I know you like gold, and the mining area is currently being excavated. If they strike gold, Mr. Chase will definitely set some aside for you as a reward for helping us in our time of need."

Evelyn smiled. "No need. I used to be quite fond of gold, but it’s useless now. Food is better. It keeps you full."

"You’re very generous, Mrs. Kendrick."

She still had several tons of cassava stems left in her storage space. Cassava was planted differently than potatoes; you could just stick the stems in the ground and they would grow. Sweet potatoes were similar and could be grown from their vines.

To get a high yield from potatoes, you could cut one potato into four pieces, coat them in plant ash, and then bury them. Plant ash was the best fertilizer; not only did it sterilize and disinfect, but it also boosted crop yields.

The next day, Evelyn sorted out the seeds for everyone. These sweet potato vines and cassava stems were all left over from what she had planted at her farm years ago.

They were perfectly preserved in her storage space, but in the outside world, several years had already passed.

That evening, Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling went to the camp’s command tent. After they told Rhys Chase about the seeds, he agreed. Considering the land hadn’t been cleared yet, they decided the seeds would stay in her space for now, since they would easily rot if left outside.

"Mr. Chase, are you still busy?"

Looking at the mountain of files and documents on the desk, Liam Sterling felt a little guilty.

Rhys Chase snorted. "Pulling an all-nighter."

"Mr. Chase, another all-nighter? You can delegate this work to your subordinates. You should get some proper rest. At your age, you can’t keep pulling all-nighters."

Rhys Chase was speechless.

"What’s wrong with my age? Am I at death’s door? Are you saying I’m so old I can’t walk? That one more all-nighter will be the death of me?"

"That’s not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean? You spend a few days working over at Ronan’s place, and look at you, all cheerful and energetic. Seems like you’re having a good time." Rhys Chase glanced at the papers on his desk, getting angrier the more he thought about it. The sight of Liam Sterling just made him even more furious.

Liam Sterling didn’t dare to speak. He could see jealousy, envy, and even a hint of grievance in Rhys Chase’s eyes.

’He’s probably going through menopause,’ he thought.

’He’s like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment. It’s terrifying.’

"Since you’re busy, we’ll be leaving," Ronan Kendrick said, getting up to go. Rhys Chase’s expression grew even more pathetic.

"You two came over tonight just to talk about the seeds?"

"Yeah," Liam Sterling answered honestly.

"Not going to invite me over for a meal? Or, like Liam, let me help you with farm work for a couple of days?"

Ronan Kendrick understood.

Rhys Chase wanted to go on strike.

"Aren’t you busy? You have so much work to do. Eldoria has over ten million people now."

Rhys Chase shot up and came to stand before Ronan Kendrick. "Liam Sterling is right. The work can be delegated. I’m the commander of the entire base. I should enjoy life a little. I’m getting a bit hungry. I wonder if there’s any dinner left."

Ronan Kendrick... ’Ridiculous.’

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