ccnovels Chapter 334: Farm Daily Life 6
Chapter 334: Farm Daily Life 6
Early the next morning, Evelyn Ford was called away by Penelope Parker and Patrick Pence. A Red Deer was about to give birth. The two of them had no experience delivering fawns and were thoroughly frightened by the anxious deer. After finding Evelyn, they apologized profusely, terrified they would be kicked off the farm because of this incident.
"Ma’am, this is all my fault. I didn’t notice something was wrong with the Red Deer in time."
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you. I already knew the Red Deer was going to give birth in the next few days. If something like this happens again, you can just come get me directly."
Evelyn Ford put on gloves and entered the pen, preparing to deliver the fawn.
"You two go wait outside for me. Have Aunt Crane boil a basin of hot water."
Penelope Parker nodded quickly. "Okay."
Evelyn Ford checked the Red Deer’s condition. She had extensive experience delivering animals by now. In less than five minutes, a fawn was successfully born. The mother deer was not in good shape. After Aunt Crane brought the hot water, Evelyn added some salt to it and had the mother deer drink it.
"Ma’am, is the fawn okay?" Patrick Pence asked nervously. He was about the same age as Wendy, but his personality was completely different—he was even a bit timid and cowardly.
"It’s fine. The fawn is very healthy. It’ll be able to stand up in a few hours. There are a few more Red Deer and argali that are also about to give birth. I’ve marked all of them. If there’s an emergency, just blow your whistle, and I’ll come right away."
Patrick Pence was pleasantly surprised. "You’re not going to kick us out?"
"You haven’t done anything wrong, so why would I kick you out?"
Wendy came over from the rabbit hutches and comforted Patrick Pence like a little adult. "A lot of animals get grumpy when they’re giving birth. You just have to get used to it. I’ll teach you how to tame them later."
Patrick Pence nodded quickly. "Okay. Do rabbits get grumpy too?"
Wendy sighed. "Rabbits even bite people. Snow Rabbits have an even bigger temper than gray rabbits. They also climb walls and dig holes. But that’s no challenge for me. Mr. Ronan taught me how to tame them. Starting tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to tame the Red Deer."
"Wendy, I want to learn too." Penelope Parker, who was carrying some branches, heard Wendy and hurried over.
"Can I learn too?"
"Of course. It’s really simple."
Once the fawn could stand, Evelyn Ford gave a few instructions and left. She needed to go to the greenhouse to check on the winter wheat. Recently, the diluted manure from the chicken coops and rabbit hutches had been spread on the wheat fields. Combined with the bright sunlight, the wheat was growing better and better, and it would be ready to harvest in about three months.
Perhaps because of the extreme cold, there weren’t many insects in this weather, but Evelyn Ford still prepared some pesticide just in case.
Yunnis Denton and Joelle Finch were transplanting bok choy and napa cabbage. With the application of farm fertilizer, the vegetables grew fresh, tender, and vibrant. Evelyn Ford gave Yunnis a packet of celery seeds to plant. Celery is a cold-hardy plant that doesn’t require much sunlight and is easy to grow.
Back in the cabin, Evelyn Ford began to research how to cultivate mushrooms. She still had some unwashed desert mushrooms in her space, and she had also stockpiled many cultivated mushrooms, their roots still intact.
Evelyn Ford decided to first prepare the growing medium. Conveniently, she had wheat and rice straw in her space, which she would soak for a few days and then compost.
She could use chicken and rabbit manure for the compost. However, this was also Evelyn Ford’s first time trying to cultivate mushrooms, so she called Quincy over to study it with her. After all, Quincy was a pharmaceutical researcher; cultivating mushrooms should be simple for him.
"Evelyn Ford, I never thought there’d be something you couldn’t handle," Quincy said smugly.
"If you can get these mushrooms to grow, I’ll give you a bag of flour."
Quincy looked Evelyn Ford up and down. "Really? Then I’ll definitely make it happen. But how many pounds is in a bag of flour?"
"Ten pounds. Can you do it or not?"
Quincy snorted. "Are you kidding me? Of course I can. I’m a top student from the research institute. However, this is actually my first time dealing with mushroom cultivation too. Give me three days."
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Alright. If you succeed, I’ll take you along next time we go trade for supplies."
"When are we going?" At the mention of this, Quincy’s interest was piqued.
"Next month. I’ll have Ronan Kendrick take you."
"Deal. I’ll get a radio too. Evelyn Ford, do you have any cassette tapes?"
’Of course I have tapes, but I don’t want to give him any.’
"None."
"Then I’ll have to trade for a few tapes as well."
Evelyn Ford didn’t want to banter with him. "Just hurry up. If you cultivate the mushrooms, everyone will have another dish to eat, and it’ll all be thanks to you."
"Alright, I guarantee I’ll figure it out for you in three days. Do you have any mycelium or spawn?"
"I have rotten wood and mushroom soil."
Quincy made an OK gesture. "That’s enough. I can get it done in three days."
To focus on cultivating the mushrooms, Quincy put Wyatt Vaughn in charge of the television. Three days later, Evelyn Ford went to their cabin to check on the results. When she saw Quincy, she was stunned.
His hair was a mess, his eyes were swollen and vacant, and he had heavy dark circles and bags under them. His steps were unsteady, and he looked like he might drop dead at any second.
"I succeeded. They’re in the cultivation room. In another three days, the mushrooms can be harvested."
Evelyn Ford raised an eyebrow. "What kind of mushrooms are they?"
"Hard to say. It’s a hybrid. Let’s just call it the [Quincy Fungus] for now."
Evelyn was speechless. ’What a lunatic.’
"Where’s the flour? I want to eat steamed buns and meat buns."
Evelyn Ford went back to get the flour for him, and he finally went back to sleep, satisfied.
Quincy really was a talent. He had mixed the soil from the cultivated mushrooms and the desert mushrooms. It was unclear which step he’d gotten wrong, but he had actually managed to cultivate a type of white, trumpet-shaped mushroom. Moreover, its flavor was exquisite, and it even gave off a fragrant aroma.
The mushrooms could be cultivated on a large scale, but Evelyn Ford didn’t plan on trading them, lest it attract trouble.
"I was originally trying to cultivate these into hazel mushrooms, but I ended up with some kind of mish-mash mushroom instead. Good thing it tastes great and isn’t poisonous."
After sleeping for a full day and night, Quincy finally recovered. Because of this, he was incredibly smug, showing off his magnificent achievement to everyone he saw.
The farm now had a new dish, and everyone was very grateful to him. This, in turn, made Quincy a little embarrassed.
"Evelyn Ford, is the deal to go to Tarr City still on?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "It’s still on. Go ask Ronan Kendrick when he plans to go. You can just go with him."
Quincy was confused. "Aren’t you going?"
"Didn’t you say I was a jinx who brings disaster wherever I go?"
"I was joking! If you don’t come with us, I’m afraid Ronan Kendrick will beat me up on the way."
Ronan Kendrick didn’t want to deal with Quincy at all, but he had to go trade for a harvester and a rice transplanter, so he had no choice but to bring the dead weight along.
Although Ronan Kendrick’s consciousness could also enter the space, there was a drawback. As soon as the two of them were more than ten meters apart, Ronan couldn’t enter the space anymore; he could only take things out of it or put things into it.
Although it was a bug, it wasn’t a major issue.
So, Evelyn Ford ultimately agreed to let Ronan Kendrick drive to trade for supplies. Since Quincy had been wanting to go to Tarr City, they would bring him along too, so the two would have company.
Though Ronan Kendrick didn’t think he needed any.