Chapter 685: Chapter 685: Lease

Jonas Lucas had other things to attend to. After he left, Officer Graham and Evelyn Ford both turned to look at Wendy. Wendy touched her face and frowned in confusion.

"What are you two doing? Why are you staring at me like that? It’s a little creepy."

"Wendy, be honest with me. Did you move out because you’re dating someone?" Officer Graham’s tone was heavy. Besides worrying that Wendy might be deceived and used, he was also afraid she might leak the secret of their space.

"Dad, what nonsense are you spouting? How old do you think I am? Wait, are you suspecting something between me and Jonas Lucas? He’s already 22, so much older than me. How could there be anything between us? That’s ridiculous."

"So you’re saying it’s possible if you met someone younger?"

Wendy slapped her forehead, looking completely exasperated. "I feel like I could jump into the Xylos River and still not come out clean. Long story short, I just want to work and hone my medical skills. I only moved out because the courtyard is too far. It’s been so hot lately, and making two round trips a day is exhausting. Living here, I can eat at the hospital cafeteria, and it’s only a five-minute walk to the hospital. Stop letting your imagination run wild. I’m never going to date anyone in my life."

Officer Graham’s frown deepened. "I’m not stopping you from dating. What I mean is, you have to be sure of the other person’s character. If you meet someone with ulterior motives, you must stay away from them."

Wendy nodded. "I know. I’m not an idiot."

"That Jonas Lucas seems like a decent guy. He’s quite spirited. Twenty-two is very young, not old at all. He’s just a little dark-skinned."

"How many fair-skinned people are there on our base? I’m as dark as coal myself." After saying that, Wendy suddenly caught on. "Wait, Dad, what are you getting at? Have you taken a liking to Jonas Lucas?"

"I think he’s a fine young man, but his character remains to be seen. After all, you can’t truly know what’s in a person’s heart just by looking at their face." Officer Graham’s attitude was actually quite open. Even if Wendy really were dating, he could accept it calmly, as long as the other person’s character was sound. Then, nothing else would be a problem.

Wendy was speechless.

"Don’t even think about it. Anyway, I’ve made up my mind to never get married or have children." With that, Wendy turned and went upstairs.

Officer Graham sighed. "That child... the older she gets, the more impatient she becomes. It’s not like I’m forcing her to get married and have kids."

"Wendy knows her own mind. Let’s head back. It’s getting hotter and hotter. I’m covered in sweat." Evelyn Ford touched the seat of the tricycle; it was so hot you couldn’t possibly sit on it.

Evelyn wanted to leave a small refrigerator for Wendy, but she refused. The dorm was nothing like the courtyard. If someone found it, she wouldn’t be able to hide it. The hospital was different from other places, and she had to work during the day, so Evelyn left her a box of sun-protective clothing instead.

Back at the courtyard, Evelyn and Officer Graham were drenched in sweat. To prevent heatstroke and catching a cold, the three of them quickly ducked into the space.

It was currently 7:00 PM. Normally, the sky would be getting dark, but the temperature hadn’t dropped at all. For the past few days, even the wind in Eldoria was hot. The base leaders were worried that the grasslands and the distant forests might spontaneously combust, so they sent out patrols every day.

"You’re back? Is it dark outside? How did things go with Wendy’s arrangements? Is her dorm room nice?" As soon as they entered the wooden house, Quincy started firing off questions. Officer Graham answered them one by one, while Evelyn went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass of ice water, and gulped it down.

"It still hasn’t rained. This weather is making everyone anxious."

"Thankfully, the base isn’t short on water right now, but I heard they’ve started rationing. Our courtyard has no water during the day. We can only collect it from 8:00 to 11:00 PM, and after that, the main valve is shut off."

Hearing this, Liam Sterling, who was busy nearby, nodded. "That’s right. The base is worried the water level will drop. After all, there are too many people here. To ensure everyone’s survival, we all have to conserve water. Plus, the base has already started producing plastic water barrels. Every household needs to start storing water."

"Evelyn, should we start storing water too?"

Evelyn nodded. "The water in the space shouldn’t disappear, but just in case, we should store some too. Let’s fill up all the large vats."

Everyone felt a bit down. After all, they were living comfortably in the space, untouched by the sun, with no shortage of food or clothing, while the more than ten million residents of the base were living in dire straits.

"Let’s just pray the heavens show some mercy and send some rain soon."

"The base has been harvesting sweet potatoes and potatoes recently. I went to take a look, and the yield is excellent. The potatoes are huge, too. As long as we have food, we won’t have to fear a drought. You all don’t need to worry too much; the base has already taken many countermeasures." Liam’s reassurance was effective, and everyone’s worries instantly vanished.

"But with the sun beating down like this, the ground is going to crack. Can they even plant a second crop?"

"If they plant heat-resistant crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sorghum, they can definitely get a second harvest. They don’t require much water or labor. But if this continues, the base residents will be eating potatoes and sweet potatoes for every meal. While they have starch, they aren’t wheat or rice. Their nutritional value just can’t compare."

"As long as it fills our stomachs, who cares what kind of food it is? When there’s nothing left to eat, you’d even have to eat tree bark and leaves."

Everyone began chattering amongst themselves. Evelyn sat to one side, listening. ’There’s plenty of food in the space, but I’m not the type of person who can be completely selfless. Doing a good deed occasionally is fine, but asking me to give away the food I worked so hard to grow... I can’t do that.’

So, she ignored the looks from Liam Sterling and Taylor Vance. But she never expected that just before bed, Liam would come to see her and Ronan Kendrick alone.

Guessing what he was about to say, Evelyn’s expression became meaningful.

"Mr. Kendrick, Evelyn, please don’t get me wrong. I didn’t come here today to ask you to give your food to the base."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Then what did you come here to say?"

"This is actually Mr. Chase’s idea, but he only asked me to inquire about it. If you agree, the base has planted many mulberry trees to raise silkworms. Once the silk is made into fabric, they can give you thirty percent of the annual production. He has only one request: to lease one thousand acres of the black soil from you."

"One thousand acres isn’t a big deal to me; after all, the black soil in the space totals over ten thousand acres. But if I lease it to him, who will do the planting? And the silk—is he confident he can produce it every year? Most importantly, for how many years does he want to lease it?"

A thousand acres might not sound like much, but on the black soil of the space, a crop could be planted and harvested in about three months, allowing for four harvests a year. Moreover, the yield was three times that of the outside world.

"Mr. Chase will select thirty trusted subordinates to come in and farm. Mr. Kendrick can hypnotize them. After they finish planting, they’ll be sent out and won’t remember anything about the space. When it’s time to harvest, they’ll be brought back in to work. As for the silk production, Mr. Chase says he’s confident. The base has experts in that field."

Evelyn pressed her temples. "I need to think about this. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow."

Even though she wouldn’t be losing out on the deal, Evelyn had truly never considered leasing out the black soil before.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.