Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse

Chapter 324: Planning

Ronan Kendrick drove the truck and Evelyn Ford handled the horse-drawn cart. They returned to Immeasurable Mountain from Fairgate, traveling along a road that had been cleared and leveled, making it passable for both vehicles.

"Miss Ford is back!" As soon as the cart entered Immeasurable Mountain, Raymond Shepherd and Joelle Finch ran over excitedly.

Hearing the commotion, the others quickly dropped what they were doing and swarmed to the entrance of Immeasurable Mountain. Standing on the cart, Evelyn Ford saw that roughly three and a half acres of trees had been completely cleared, and a fence was already being built around the perimeter.

"Wow, a truck! Miss Ford, you guys bought a truck?"

Evelyn Ford smiled. "We did."

Back at the camp, everyone had gathered. They all stood by the lean-to, looking at the truck with faces full of anticipation.

"Mr. Vance, the supplies we got from this trip are all in the truck. Have everyone take inventory. I just took a look—the trees have all been cut down, so we can start drawing up the plans. We need to get the foundations for the houses laid as soon as possible. The wooden houses will only be one story, so we need to speed things up."

"Okay, understood."

"Miss Ford, what’s Tarr City like?" Wendy asked.

Evelyn Ford thought for a moment. "The city has expanded a lot, and it’s extremely crowded. There are more chemical plants, so the city is filled with a mix of all kinds of foul smells. There are a lot of refugees outside the walls, and life isn’t easy for the residents inside, either."

Evelyn Ford gave them a brief summary of the past few days. "The higher-ups should be sending people to Mount Caldera to deal with the bandits soon. After that, you won’t have to worry when you go out."

"Really?" Quincy was a bit surprised. "But I heard the bandits on Mount Caldera have a lot of weapons. Weren’t even the authorities helpless against them?"

"Well, I’m not sure about the details. Apparently, there was some internal trouble on Mount Caldera. The leadership fell apart, and a lot of bandits took off with supplies and fled."

"Serves them right! In that case, can we go to Mount Caldera and scavenge for supplies?" Miles Vaughn asked, itching for a chance.

Evelyn Ford nodded. "You could, but there are soldiers, refugees, and bandits there now. If you go, you’ll probably only find scraps."

A few of them sighed with regret.

But as they watched the supplies being unloaded from the truck, their spirits were instantly revived.

"There’s a chainsaw, a mini-tiller, a generator, gasoline, diesel, broken rice, coarse flour, lard, rock salt, seeds..."

Everyone looked at Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick. "Did you get all this for three goats?"

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "We didn’t trade the goats. We brought them back—they’re in the back of the cart. As for all this stuff... well, we ran into an old acquaintance and got it from them." Evelyn planned to let Kevin Holloway take the fall for this.

"An acquaintance?" Taylor Vance looked at Evelyn, asking tentatively, "Someone from the Holloway and Hooper Families?"

As expected of a former leader, Taylor Vance’s mind was always a step ahead of everyone else’s.

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Someone from the Holloway Family. The Hooper Family went to Frelia."

There were still outsiders present, so Evelyn Ford didn’t explain further.

Taylor Vance nodded and didn’t press the issue. After all, he didn’t have the power to rush off and take revenge right now. Based on what he knew of Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick, he was sure that robbing them was secondary; they must have given the Holloway Family a thorough beating.

"With the chainsaw, felling trees and cutting wood will be much easier. And with the mini-tiller, plowing the land will be convenient too. Distribute the daily necessities and store everything else properly. Anyone with construction knowledge, come over here. Let’s discuss how to plan the houses and the farm."

Evelyn Ford walked into the lean-to. Officer Graham brought over a table, and Evelyn took out a pen and paper, then handed them to Ronan Kendrick.

Everyone spoke their minds, sharing their ideas.

"The farm needs to be split in two: one half for livestock and the other for crops. On the livestock side, we’ll need to separate the different species into different areas. I’ve noticed the argali sheep tend to fight with the red deer, so we have to raise them separately."

"For the crops, we can use tarps to build greenhouses."

"I suggest we build a gate at the entrance to Immeasurable Mountain. It would be best to have someone stand guard there; otherwise, I’m worried refugees might wander in."

"Let’s build the houses first. Wooden houses have good insulation, but we must include fireplaces and heated brick beds. And chimneys. The chimneys should be built with a bend in them so they don’t get blocked when it snows or rains."

"It doesn’t have to be that complicated. A straight chimney would work too. We can just put a ventilation cap on top to save on costs."

As everyone talked, Evelyn Ford took notes while Ronan Kendrick sketched out the plan as they went.

"I think the most important thing is still cultivation," Taylor Vance said, looking at the group after he finished speaking. "There aren’t many cold-resistant crops. For filling staple foods, we’re looking at rice, wheat, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cassava. In this weather, growing rice will probably be difficult. We can try winter wheat, along with cassava and sweet potatoes."

"Our numbers have grown, so food and water are a major issue."

Evelyn Ford agreed. "Alright then, let’s plant the winter wheat, cassava, and sweet potatoes. Immeasurable Mountain is shielded by high peaks, so this land isn’t exactly permafrost, but we’ll still need to use the greenhouses to thaw it before we can plant."

Quincy timidly raised his hand. "I suggest we build a latrine first. For the past few days, going to the bathroom has meant hiking over a mountain. It’s exhausting."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Okay, we’ll put the latrine on the schedule. Separate ones for men and women."

"What about the kitchen?"

Evelyn Ford scratched her head. "Do we want to eat together or separately? And should the houses be attached like townhouses or built separately?"

"I think it’s better to be separate. If we eat together, we’ll have to take turns cooking and cleaning. That whole ordeal would probably lead to more conflicts."

Everyone thought Quincy’s suggestion made sense. However, to save land, the houses would be built no more than five meters apart.

With the plans settled, work would begin the next day. Evelyn Ford took the design Ronan Kendrick had drawn. ’Even though he’s never formally studied design, his drawings are on par with a professional architect’s,’ she thought.

"Everyone take a look at this design. When we lay the foundations, try to make them a bit deeper. Since the houses will only be one story, the platform needs to be raised higher too, so that standing water can’t seep in."

Evelyn Ford glanced at the time—it was already 7:30 PM. Wyatt Vaughn came over to call everyone for dinner. Officer Graham told Evelyn that Chet Lawrence and his group had been behaving well lately and working very hard. Evelyn had Officer Graham give them some of the coarse flour.

"Did you guys go to Tarr Base?"

Zion Lowell asked curiously during dinner.

"Nope." Evelyn Ford glanced at the others and cleared her throat. "Right after we arrived in Tarr City, we managed to offend the base commander’s son and put him in the hospital. That very night, Ronan Kendrick and I became wanted criminals. We probably won’t be going back to Tarr City anytime soon."

After Evelyn finished, Quincy gave her a thumbs-up.

"Still as outstanding as ever. Causing trouble wherever you go."

Evelyn Ford shot Quincy a glare and briefly recounted what had happened that day.

Wyatt Vaughn consoled Evelyn. "There are several other bases in the Southward. If we can’t go to Tarr Base, we can just go to another one."

Quincy snickered. "With Evelyn’s temper, she’s a walking disaster. Everywhere she goes is like a powder keg exploding, leaving nothing but scorched earth in her wake."

"Then you shouldn’t eat the food Evelyn traded for," Wyatt shot back.

Quincy looked at Wyatt Vaughn accusingly. "Whose wife are you, anyway?"

"If Evelyn were willing, I could be her wife."

Ronan Kendrick shot her a look, and Wyatt Vaughn immediately shut her mouth.