Chapter 677: Chapter 677: School

Over the past six months, Dr. Turner had helped Evelyn Ford a great deal. Despite their significant age difference, the two had become friends. Yolanda Lawrence and the two other apprentices had been under Evelyn’s tutelage for a long time, and she was sad to part ways with them. So, Evelyn decided to invite them all to her home for dinner. As it happened, she also had gifts for the four of them.

The four of them agreed to come to her courtyard home for dinner after work tomorrow afternoon. Evelyn Ford was worried they wouldn’t be able to find their way—the trip took over half an hour by tricycle and would likely take even longer on foot. So, she arranged to pick them up at five-thirty tomorrow afternoon.

After leaving the hospital, Evelyn Ford rode her bicycle back to the courtyard home. Quincy was busy in the shop, while Wyatt Vaughn was in the warehouse making clothes at the sewing machine. The two children weren’t out of school yet.

"Business is good, huh? Sold out of today’s stock again?"

Quincy showed Evelyn Ford the various ration tickets in the box. "We’ve gotten a lot more custom orders these past few days. We’re swamped."

"With so many tickets, you can go trade them for goods at the base."

"Help me take these tickets into the space and distribute them to the others. Let them go shopping at the base’s mall. They can buy whatever they want. I’m rich now."

’How rare,’ Evelyn thought. ’Who knew I’d ever hear Quincy make such a wonderfully cocky statement?’

"Yes, Mr. Quincy." With a wave of her hand, Evelyn Ford stored away all the tickets from the box.

Quincy reached out and clapped Evelyn Ford on the shoulder, a smug look plastered on his face. "You’ve got a sharp eye, Ford. I’ve got high hopes for you."

Evelyn Ford slapped his hand away. "Get lost. By the way, I resigned from the hospital. I’m having guests over tomorrow, so close up the shop a little early."

"Alright."

Evelyn Ford left the shop and headed into the warehouse, which was piled high with all sorts of fabrics, clothes, and boxes of sewing thread.

Wyatt Vaughn was sitting by the window, making a duvet cover.

"Is this a custom order from a neighbor too?"

Wyatt Vaughn looked up at Evelyn Ford, then went back to his work. "Yeah. I’ve taken fifteen orders for duvet covers and bedsheets in just the last two days. How come you’re off work so early today?"

Evelyn Ford smiled. "I quit. Starting tomorrow, I don’t have to go to work anymore."

"It’s been six months already? Time flies. I heard our community’s service center is hiring a community doctor. The pay is better than at the hospital. Evelyn, do you want to give it a shot?"

"The base has trained a lot of doctors now, and the community doctor position is a great opportunity. It should go to someone who needs the work. I’m feeling a bit worn out after working for over half a year. The whole reason I resigned was because I don’t want a job anymore. Honestly, dealing with so many different people every day left my nerves frayed. Right now, I’d rather just farm with everyone. Besides, the wheat we planted in the cotton field is almost ready for harvest."

Wyatt Vaughn stopped what he was doing and took out a handful of candies from a small drawer on the side of the sewing machine, offering them to Evelyn Ford.

"You’ve worked hard."

Evelyn Ford smiled. "Thanks."

After chatting with Wyatt Vaughn for a while, Evelyn Ford went to pick up the children from school for them. She had been there once before, so she knew where their classrooms were. The first floor housed the younger children, where the teachers would lead them in games, songs, and dances, as well as teach them simple escape and survival skills. The second floor was for the older kids, all under thirteen. They had a broader curriculum that even included Self-defense Skill, farming, observing the climate, and wilderness survival techniques.

Even though things were peaceful now, the base was still preparing for a rainy day, instilling all kinds of survival knowledge in the children from a young age. They even brought in soldiers to build up the children’s physical fitness.

Evelyn Ford sat in the schoolyard for a while. It was five in the afternoon, but the sun was still strong and the wind was hot. She felt drowsy, especially with the sound of children reading aloud, which made her start to nod off.

A teacher at the school saw Evelyn Ford lying on a bench and, thinking she was unwell, hurried over to check on her. Evelyn had just fallen asleep when she was woken up. Seeing a crowd of people standing around her, she quickly sat up.

"Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell? Do you need us to take you to the hospital?"

"No, no, it’s fine. I’m one of the students’ parents. It’s still a while before school lets out, so I just wanted to lie down for a bit. I didn’t expect to fall asleep."

The teachers all breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing she was okay. If someone had died at the school, they would inevitably be held responsible, and the students would be terrified.

Evelyn Ford was also a bit embarrassed. She had felt sleepy just a moment ago, but now she was wide awake.

"Which student’s parent are you?"

"Zoe Quincy from the younger class, and Aaron Underwood from the older class. I’m their aunt."

Before enrolling in school, Zoe had talked with Quincy and Wyatt Vaughn about her surname—why her last name was Hughes, not Quincy or Vaughn. Quincy and Wyatt didn’t plan on letting Zoe know her true identity, so they just made up a story. However, Zoe wanted to change her name, so when filling out the enrollment forms, Zoe Hughes became Zoe Quincy.

"School lets out in five minutes. You can wait for them at the entrance. The kids in the older class spent a long time practicing their horse stance today. If you can, have him soak his feet when you get home."

"I will."

Evelyn Ford took note of everything. After the teachers left, she went to the classroom entrance. The five-thirty bell rang, and the children rushed out in a swarm. For convenience, Evelyn went to the second floor to get Aaron first. When Aaron came out of the classroom, he was chatting with two other little boys. Evelyn called his name, but the boy, thinking he’d misheard, dug a finger in his ear and kept walking.

"Aaron." Evelyn walked up behind him and gently tapped his shoulder.

"Aunt Ford, why is it you? Where’s Uncle Quincy?"

"I was free today, so I came to pick you two up. Are these two your good friends?"

The two little boys were about his age. After politely greeting Evelyn Ford, they stood to the side, making funny faces at Aaron.

"They’re my classmates," Aaron said.

Evelyn Ford smiled. "Nice, nice. Glad to see you’re making friends. Your teacher told me you guys practiced the horse stance today. Are your legs sore?"

"They don’t hurt. I can handle it."

Evelyn Ford gave him a thumbs-up. "That’s amazing. Come on, let’s go downstairs to find Zoe, and then we’ll go home for dinner."

The two classmates looked at Evelyn Ford curiously, then started whispering behind her back.

Aaron turned and glared at them. The two classmates immediately smiled at Evelyn Ford.

"Miss, you’re really pretty."

"She’s my aunt, not your sister," Aaron said, his lips pursed. His tone was a little fierce.

"Aaron Underwood, can we come over to your house to play?"

"No."

The two classmates looked disappointed. One of them looked eagerly at Evelyn Ford. "Auntie, why don’t you come to my house to play?"

Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but laugh. "Auntie is very busy today, so I can’t go to your house."

The little classmate was disappointed. "Okay, then I’ll go home. Goodbye, Auntie."

Evelyn Ford waved to them. "Goodbye."

Aaron looked a little nervous. "Aunt Ford, the guy who just asked if you wanted to go to his house has an uncle. He definitely wants you to be his aunt. Don’t go. I’ve seen his uncle. He’s tall and dark and looks really mean. He’s not as handsome as Uncle Ronan Kendrick."

"Don’t worry, I definitely won’t go." Evelyn Ford didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Children were just too amusing, their little heads filled with the most peculiar ideas.

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