Chapter 711: Chapter 711: Time to Eat

"These Sedative Balls are incredibly powerful. To think they knocked out so many wild boars."

Everyone was wearing gas masks, so their voices came out muffled.

"Time to collect them."

At Evelyn Ford’s command, everyone put on their gloves and began dragging over the boars. Evelyn and Ronan Kendrick were in charge of putting them into the space. The team worked in perfect sync, and in just ten minutes, they had collected all several hundred boars.

"These boars are so fat. The smallest ones are at least fifty kilograms, and the biggest are nearly three hundred."

"The hide and bristles alone must weigh a good twenty or thirty pounds. Wild boar doesn’t taste as good as domestic pork. We’ll have to castrate them when we get back to base, or crossbreed them with our domestic pigs. Purebred wild boar is tough, but these ones have been eating wild greens and black truffles. Their meat might actually be pretty good," Evelyn Ford explained. She used a stick to dig a few black truffles out of the ground and tossed them to the others.

"Have a taste. A top-tier delicacy."

"This doesn’t even taste good," Peter Owens said after taking a bite and immediately spitting it out.

"Evelyn, this stuff is disgusting." Liam Sterling also looked repulsed. He’d thought it would be sweet, but it tasted like gasoline.

"So many black truffles. If this were before the apocalypse, we’d be rich." Miles Vaughn sighed and pocketed the one in his hand. He planned to mess with Joelle Finch with it when they returned to the space that night.

Ethan Dawson glanced at Miles Vaughn. "Quincy really has you figured out. All you ever talk about is getting rich."

"Can’t help it. A leopard can’t change its spots."

Evelyn Ford raised a hand, signaling for silence. "Quiet. There’s movement up ahead. Probably another sounder of boars. Grab your guns and follow me."

They crept toward a ravine up ahead and saw several dozen boars eating mushrooms off a rotten log. Evelyn Ford handed a Sedative Ball to Ronan Kendrick, who repeated his earlier trick. Once all the boars were unconscious, the group moved in to clean up.

By the end of the day, they had taken care of a third of the wild boars on Demon’s Ridge. They still hadn’t found the herd of wild bison, though. It looked like they would have to search over the next mountain tomorrow.

Before heading down, Evelyn Ford sent the others into the space. She carried six pheasants, while Ronan Kendrick and Ryan Rowe each dragged a small wild boar down the mountain.

Down at the camp, everyone except Gavin Gable and Sonny Sawyer, who were on cooking duty, was still in the marsh digging up Water Celery.

The two were thrilled to see the game Evelyn and her team brought back. Following Evelyn’s instructions, they boiled two large pots of water and began to dress the pheasants and the boars.

By the time the rest of the crew finished work and returned to camp, a delicious aroma was wafting from the kitchen area, making everyone’s mouths water.

"What’s cooking today? It smells amazing."

"Captain, we’re having ’big plate chicken’ and braised pork stew tonight. Mr. Kendrick’s team brought the game back from the mountain."

Flynn Hansen swallowed. "Is it ready yet?"

"It’ll be ready in a minute. Tell everyone to come over with their bowls and utensils."

Flynn Hansen immediately went to round everyone up to get their bowls and utensils for dinner, and Evelyn Ford’s group did the same.

There were three dishes tonight: the ’big plate chicken’, the braised pork stew, and a simple stir-fried Water Celery. After such a long day, Evelyn Ford was starving. Even though she’d eaten her fill at lunch, running around the mountains all afternoon had burned it all off. She decided she was definitely going to eat a lot.

After filling a bowl to the brim with rice and another with meat, Evelyn Ford walked back to her tent with a contented sigh. Ronan Kendrick had already set up a table and chair for her. The evening breeze was cool. In the flickering light of the kerosene lamps and the bonfire, Evelyn saw faces that were weary but satisfied.

Everyone else was sitting in small groups, eating and chatting. Laughter drifted over from time to time. Enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, Evelyn Ford raised her thermos and gently tapped it against Ronan Kendrick’s bowl.

"Cheers."

Ronan Kendrick watched her with a smile. Just as they were making eyes at each other, Ryan Rowe, Flynn Hansen, and Leo Denton came over with their plates, hoping to use the table and seating.

"It’s much nicer over here. You guys even have chairs."

Evelyn Ford pointed toward the mountains behind them. "Tomorrow, take a few men and chop some wood. It doesn’t take any special skill to make a simple bench. The wind is picking up tonight. Captain Hansen, Captain Denton, make sure you remind everyone to reinforce their tents so they don’t get blown away."

"Will do. I’ll let them know in a bit. What time do we start work tomorrow morning?"

"Eight-thirty in the morning to eight-thirty at night. Three meals a day. We have to make sure everyone eats their fill, or they won’t have the energy to work, right? Captain Hansen, assign one more person to help Gavin Gable and Sonny Sawyer. Just noodles for breakfast is fine, but let’s make lunch and dinner a bit more substantial. Lunch at noon with a one-hour break, then dinner at six. We’ll have to put in some overtime after dinner. There’s too much Water Celery, and we need to dig it up quickly before it gets too old."

’As for the Water Celery we dug up today, I’ll wait until everyone is asleep to move it into the space.’

"We could actually start earlier. They’re all used to getting up at five or six to do their drills. We’re soldiers. This kind of work is easy for us," Leo Denton said, but Evelyn Ford immediately shot him down.

"Drills are not the same as manual labor. Digging for Water Celery means being hunched over all day. It’s exhausting for your back, wrists, and legs. We have to balance work and rest. Getting the job done is important, but not so important that we should work ourselves to death over it."

"You’re right, I didn’t think it through," Leo Denton said, looking a little embarrassed.

"By the way, how did it go up on the mountain today? Everything go smoothly?" Flynn Hansen asked.

"Did it ever! Let me tell you, today we..." Ryan Rowe put down his bowl and utensils and began to vividly recount the day’s events. Everyone except Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick listened with rapt attention.

"I want to go hunt boars with you guys too," Flynn Hansen said, his eyes filled with envy.

Ryan Rowe snorted. "You just stick to digging Water Celery. We’ll only be hunting boars and bison for a few more days. After that, we’ll be joining you."

"The mountains also have plenty of wild greens, mushrooms, and black truffles. I won’t be joining you to dig Water Celery. I’m going to go foraging," Evelyn Ford said. As soon as she finished, Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow at her.

"Take me with you."

"Of course. You’re my little sidekick, after all."

Ryan Rowe raised his hand. "Me too! Evelyn, Mr. Kendrick, I can be a sidekick too! You can’t leave me behind."

Ronan Kendrick... ’Can I kill this third wheel for having no sense of personal space?’

Flynn Hansen and Leo Denton exchanged a look and sighed in unison. Looked like they’d be sticking to digging Water Celery.

After dinner, Ronan Kendrick took Evelyn Ford’s bowl and utensils to wash them. Leo Denton led a few men into the nearby woods to chop firewood. The bonfire grew larger and burned brighter, and the young people gathered around it, finding endless things to talk about. When Ronan Kendrick returned, Evelyn Ford pulled him into her tent.

Even though she was the only woman at the campsite, everyone treated her with respect, so Evelyn Ford never felt awkward or out of place.

Everyone had to be up early for work the next day, so by eleven o’clock, they had all washed up and retired to their tents.

"What time should we go collect the Water Celery?"

Ronan Kendrick ruffled Evelyn’s hair. "I’ll go. You get some rest."

Pushing her luck, Evelyn gave a mischievous grin and held out her arms to Ronan Kendrick. "Thank you for all your hard work, Kendrick. I need a hug."

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.