Chapter 656: Chapter 656: Mr. Kendrick

"You have to brush your teeth morning and night, and eat fewer sweets. Have you been slacking off lately?"

Zoe nodded with tears in her eyes. "Auntie, I don’t want to get cavities."

"Don’t be scared, Auntie has a way to get rid of them. As long as you brush your teeth properly from now on, you won’t get any more."

"Really?" Zoe wiped away her tears, looking at Evelyn Ford with anticipation.

"Of course it’s true. Okay, let’s get to work. You two bring over the egg cartons, and I’ll teach you how to make seed starters." Before the apocalypse, Evelyn Ford had bought a lot of chicken and duck eggs. After they were all eaten, the leftover cartons were just sitting around, and now they were perfect for starting seedlings.

Evelyn Ford used a sieve to sift out fine soil, then had the two little ones fill the indentations in the cartons. The soil had to be packed down firmly. Once a carton was filled, it was set aside, and then the seeds were planted.

To tell the different fruit seedlings apart, Evelyn Ford took some cardboard and made labels. After planting the seeds, she sprinkled some water, then spread another even layer of fine soil on top. Finally, she used bamboo strips to create a simple frame and covered it with a thin plastic film.

The three of them were working up a storm. Zoe and Annie had both taken off their jackets, their shoes and pants covered in mud. When Ronan Kendrick arrived, he saw Evelyn Ford squatting on the ground, completely absorbed in planting seeds.

"How many more?"

Evelyn Ford looked up, saw Ronan Kendrick, and immediately ordered him to go sift more fine soil.

"A few hundred apple and orange trees will be enough. For the watermelons, we need to plant three acres, which means starting tens of thousands of seedlings. We don’t have enough cartons, so tomorrow we’ll use bamboo or wooden planks to make a set of seedling trays."

"Sichuan pepper trees, star anise, cassia, fennel... we need to plant some of all of them. I don’t have many spices left in my stockpile, probably enough for another two years."

Evelyn Ford wasn’t wearing gloves, and her fingernails were caked with dirt. She patted her hands on her clothes, stood up, and shook out her legs. She had been squatting for too long, and they were a little numb.

"Take a break. I’ll handle this."

Zoe and Annie were still huffing and puffing as they worked. Evelyn Ford told them to go drink some water and rest for half an hour, but the two little ones weren’t happy about it.

"Auntie, we have to work faster and plant the fruit trees, so we can eat fruit next year. We can’t be lazy."

Evelyn Ford was amused by her. "Auntie isn’t being lazy."

"The moment Uncle came over, you didn’t want to work anymore."

Called out by a child, Evelyn Ford wasn’t embarrassed at all. Instead, she leaned against Ronan Kendrick as if she didn’t have a bone in her body.

"Your uncle said he would help me."

Zoe sighed. "Alright then, you can go rest for a bit, Auntie."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick glanced at each other, and both of them smiled.

"Are the medicinal herbs we dug up today washed?"

"All washed."

"Then let’s keep planting seeds. We need to hurry up so we can hopefully eat fruit next year."

"Besides watermelon, the other fruit trees will take at least three to five years to bear fruit." Ronan Kendrick had read quite a few books on agriculture. Although crops grown in the black soil had shorter growth cycles, it was still impossible for them to blossom and bear fruit within a single year.

"Eating fruit isn’t so easy, huh? We still have to wait so many years."

Ronan Kendrick chuckled lightly. "The best time is now. It’s never too late."

Ronan ’Life-Coach’ Kendrick had suddenly come online. Evelyn Ford suppressed a smile and nodded. "You’re right, Mr. Kendrick. The student has been taught."

"Is that so?" Ronan Kendrick bent down to inspect the seeds Evelyn Ford had just planted.

"Then let me inspect Ford’s work. Hmm, this one wasn’t planted well. The seed isn’t in the very center. And this seed is bad, see? It’s shriveled. You can’t start seedlings with shriveled seeds. Ford wasn’t paying attention to her work. I’m going to have to punish you."

Evelyn Ford...

When he said the words "punish you," Evelyn Ford’s mind went straight to the gutter.

"Don’t punish Auntie! Uncle, don’t you hit Auntie, or I’ll cry right here for you to see!" Zoe ran in front of Evelyn Ford, stretching out her arms to shield her, and glared fiercely at Ronan Kendrick.

Ronan Kendrick shot Evelyn Ford a meaningful glance, then crouched down and patted Zoe’s head.

"How about we teach Auntie how to plant seeds, then? Auntie isn’t working very carefully, so we have to criticize her."

Zoe shook her head. "You can’t criticize Auntie! She didn’t do it on purpose. From now on, I’ll help Auntie with her work. She’s only like this because she’s tired today. Uncle, you can’t bully Auntie, or I’ll have the birds poop on your head."

Ronan Kendrick pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Alright, I won’t criticize her. But you can’t have the little birds bully me, either."

’A poop attack... the destructive power is too great.’

"Okay." Zoe was so easily swayed. Evelyn Ford, who had been thoroughly enjoying the show from the back with her arms crossed, suddenly found Ronan Kendrick staring at her.

’Danger! Danger!’

"Back to work! Ronan Kendrick, hurry up and sift the soil. Zoe, you and Annie, get those cartons filled. We’ll finish up for the day after we do another twenty trays."

"Coming!"

After all twenty trays were seeded, Evelyn Ford stood up, pressing a hand to her lower back. ’From ancient times to the present, being a farmer is the most tiring job.’

"You’re a filthy little kitten."

Evelyn Ford huffed. "And you’re a puppy."

"Mmm, I’m a puppy. Take me home. I’m hungry."

Evelyn Ford took Ronan Kendrick’s hand with one of hers and Zoe’s with the other. Zoe, in turn, held onto Annie. The four of them had just returned to the cabin when the others got back as well.

"Everyone’s back? Do you want to shower first or eat first?" Taylor Vance asked, emerging from the kitchen with a spatula in his hand.

Evelyn Ford pounded her lower back. "Shower. I’m covered in sweat and dirt."

"Alright, then I’ll make one more dish." With that, Taylor Vance disappeared back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

"Oof, after chopping medicinal herbs all day, my hands smell like I’ve been pickled in them."

"Then you can plant seeds tomorrow. Playing in the mud is perfect for you."

Quincy nodded. "No problem. I’m a jack-of-all-trades. Wherever I’m needed, that’s where I’ll go. This family can’t live without me!"

"You’re so full of yourself." Wyatt Vaughn grabbed him and dragged him straight to their bedroom. "Stop your jabbering and go get cleaned up. Zoe, come here, let Mommy carry you."

Zoe took Wyatt Vaughn’s hand. "I can walk by myself. Mom, you’ve been working hard all day, you don’t need to take care of me."

"Why are you being so well-behaved today?"

"Because I’m a big kid now. And I can’t eat any more sweets. I promised Auntie I’d brush my teeth properly. I’ll never be lazy about it again, or the worms in my mouth will just multiply."

Wyatt Vaughn gave Evelyn Ford a thumbs-up. She had tried everything from coaxing to scolding but had never managed to break Zoe’s bad habit of not brushing her teeth at night. It was amazing that a single word from Evelyn had made the child so obedient.

No wonder Quincy said Evelyn Ford was a natural with kids, that children were just drawn to her.

"That’s wonderful. As a reward, Mommy made you a little dress."

The moment she heard "little dress," Zoe jumped up. "Really? Mom, I want to wear it right now! Quick, let me see what it looks like."

"Alright, let’s go to our room and change into your little dress right now."

Zoe skipped happily back to her room with Wyatt Vaughn. Evelyn Ford ran a hand through her hair, feeling the fine soil mixed in. Her fingernails, especially, were a complete mess. ’This is unbearable,’ she thought. ’I need to get back to my room and wash up immediately.’

"Want to wash up together?" Ronan Kendrick asked.

"I’m going first. I could probably shake two pounds of dirt off me."

"What I mean is, I can help you wash."

If Evelyn Ford didn’t understand his meaning by now, she’d have wasted her thirty years of life.

"Can I refuse?"

"You can, but I’m not a very moral person, so your refusal is invalid."

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