Chapter 583: Water Storage Tanks

Evelyn felt a little shy. It was as if a feather had brushed across her heart, ticklish and tingly. In the charged atmosphere, she raised a hand to touch her ear.

"That’s so cheesy."

Ronan’s ears and neck flushed red. "I’ll call you that often from now on. Once you get used to it, it won’t feel so cheesy."

Evelyn felt like her head was about to start smoking. He used to be so innocent and awkward, like a clumsy puppy who would wag his tail and circle her all day. All she had to do was pat his head, and he would gaze at her with big, shining eyes. But now, he had evolved into a smart and cunning wolf. He made no secret of his possessiveness and love. He seemed to wish he could bare his fangs and claws at any moment to devour her whole.

"Alright, I’ll try to get used to it. But you can’t call me that in front of other people." ’Otherwise, I’ll die of embarrassment right then and there.’

Ronan nodded. "Okay. Whatever you say, darling."

Evelyn quickly moved to cover his mouth. "Only once a day! It’s too potent; I need a moment to recover."

Quincy had said their relationship was like a middle school romance, and Evelyn suddenly thought his description was spot on.

——

After her birthday, October was drawing to a close.

The plants in the base’s cultivation area were thriving. The plastics factory began producing large quantities of water storage barrels, and Rhys Chase sent over a hundred of them. Each barrel could hold twenty cubic meters of water.

There was no shortage of water in her space. Even before the well had formed, Evelyn had stored vast amounts of water, snow, and ice. After the well appeared, she kept the unused water in reserve. Now that the well had expanded into a river, she was in even less need of water.

Still, Evelyn was happy that Rhys Chase had sent the barrels. Even if she didn’t use them for water, they could be used to store pickled radishes, spicy cabbage, other pickled vegetables, and pickled pears. Evelyn also planned to make some soybean paste and white vinegar.

With a seemingly endless supply of grain in her space, Evelyn figured they could brew a few more barrels of liquor. She assigned this task to Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell, as they were the experts.

The base was producing water barrels so that people could store clean drinking water. No one knew what the future held. The previous cholera outbreak had come from the water supply. If the water sources were contaminated again, how would the base’s population of over a million people survive?

Rhys Chase planned to store five hundred barrels of emergency drinking water in The Undercity and another three thousand inside each shelter. The remaining barrels would be distributed among the various factories.

The medicinal herbs in the space wouldn’t be ready for harvest for another six months, and the cotton’s growth cycle was about four months. However, with the boost from the black soil, it could probably be harvested in three. This meant everyone was idle for the time being, so Evelyn decided to assign them tasks. Taylor Vance, Zion Lowell, Peter Owens, and Ethan Dawson would be in charge of brewing liquor, while the others would follow Evelyn to make soybean paste, soy sauce, and white vinegar.

The things taken from the Hooper family were piled haphazardly in the storage area, so Evelyn took Quincy and Officer Graham to go sort and organize everything.

"So much canned food and instant noodles, and even bottled water. The Hooper family really hoarded a lot of supplies at their house."

Evelyn smiled. "They were pretty impressive. They built a small shelter inside their villa, one similar to The Undercity. It could have survived a magnitude-20 earthquake without a scratch. It’s a shame we couldn’t take the whole thing with us, so Ronan and I dismantled it. See this? This door was the entrance to the shelter. It probably weighs a ton. It’s incredibly thick."

"Whoa, this door is intense. I bet a Gatling gun couldn’t even punch through it."

"We should keep this door. It might be useful later." With a thought, Evelyn moved the door to a nearby corner.

"The Hooper family really had a lot of good stuff. So many handguns and bullets... these boxes are all medicinal herbs, and the ones over here are finished pharmaceuticals." ’Pharmaceuticals and herbs need to be put in a separate area,’ Quincy muttered to himself as he worked.

Once the spoils were sorted, Evelyn went to inspect the cars they had acquired. They were all new. With a wave of her hand, she told everyone to pick whichever one they liked, considering it a gift.

Quincy howled with excitement, picking a black off-road vehicle. Ethan Dawson chose a pickup truck. Miles Vaughn had his eye on a motorcycle in the corner, but its design was too flashy and clearly wasn’t suitable for riding outside, so he ultimately chose a white SUV. Peter Owens wasn’t interested in cars and instead took a liking to a mountain bike, which Evelyn generously gave him.

Everyone had already cleared a vehicle path through the cultivation and livestock areas. The space was so vast that they had to drive tricycles just to get around while farming. After getting their cars, the group excitedly drove them for several laps around the space.

"It’s great to be young," Taylor Vance couldn’t help but remark.

"If you’re that envious, aren’t there still several tricycles and bicycles left? You can take one for a spin, too."

Taylor Vance shot Zion Lowell a look. "It’s impossible to have a conversation with you."

Zion Lowell frowned. "Don’t tell me you want to go for a spin outside? At your age, you’d better take it easy. The oxygen out there is still thin. Be careful you don’t drop dead from hypoxia."

"If I were thirty years younger, I would beat you up without a second thought."

"Taylor Vance, don’t be ungrateful. I’m just showing concern for you, and you want to beat me up?"

Taylor Vance put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, thanks a lot. Your ’concern’ is making my chest hurt. If I die, it’ll be all thanks to you."

"Now you’re just trying to pin the blame on me," Zion Lowell said, looking utterly speechless.

"Mr. Vance and Mr. Lowell have such a great friendship. To still have friends by your side in your fifties and sixties... it’s really enviable," Wyatt Vaughn sighed. "I used to have several good friends, too, but after the apocalypse, I never saw them again. I don’t know if they’re still alive."

Joelle Finch rubbed her eyes. "Me too. My best friend from middle school was my neighbor. We grew up together and went to school together. Before the apocalypse, her family went traveling abroad. I don’t know how she is now... I really hope she’s all right."

"I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing, hoping you’re all right," Evelyn said, patting both of their shoulders. "Okay, let’s not get all melancholy. Come with me to wash soybeans. We’re going to make tofu and soybean paste. Let’s heal everything with good food!"

"Auntie, what’s for dinner tonight?" Zoe and Annie came running over, hand in hand.

Evelyn pointed to the nearby fishpond. "Braised fish, sweet and sour fish, steamed fish, spicy crayfish... What do you feel like eating?"

"All of them!"

Evelyn ruffled Zoe’s hair. "No problem. You two can take a net and a plastic bucket and go catch some fish. Just be careful not to fall into the pond."

Zoe snapped to attention and saluted. "Roger that! We’ll get the job done!"

Annie grinned. "Me too!"

"Go on, you two."

Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell went to the riverbank to wash sweet potatoes. Everyone still fondly remembered the delicious sweet potato liquor they had traded for while on the run, so they planned to brew about three hundred and thirty pounds of it.