Chapter 620: Cotton Stalks
Chapter 620: Chapter 620: Cotton Stalks
Back at the cabin, Evelyn Ford quickly went into the bathroom for a shower. She didn’t come out until the smell of blood was completely gone. The others were still working in the cotton fields, so only Taylor Vance was in the cabin. He had been in charge of cooking lately. After drying her hair, Evelyn went to the kitchen, where Taylor was kneading dough.
"Is it ten o’clock already? The meal isn’t ready yet, just a little longer. You must be hungry, right? I baked some mung bean cakes today. They’re in the insulated container over there."
Evelyn poured a glass of water and shook her head. "It’s only nine. No rush."
Opening the insulated container, the aroma of mung bean cakes wafted out. Evelyn called Wendy’s name, and Wendy came running in her slippers.
"Coming, coming! What’s good to eat?"
Evelyn took out a plate of mung bean cakes. "They’re just the right amount of sweet, not greasy at all. There are three kinds: egg yolk, mung bean paste, and rose jam. Come and try them. Mr. Vance made them."
Wendy’s eyes lit up. "I’ll have the mung bean paste one."
Evelyn picked up one with rose jam filling and took a bite. It was delicious.
"Wow, this is super delicious! Mr. Vance, you have a real talent for making desserts."
Taylor Vance laughed heartily. "Wendy, then give me your review. Are my desserts better, or your dad’s?"
Wendy was quick on the uptake. "Yours, of course!"
"You’ve got good taste! I’ll make a mille-crêpe cake tomorrow. I’ll strive to knock your dad off his throne as the god of cooking."
Wendy giggled on the side. "Evelyn, Mr. Vance is like a little kid."
Evelyn nodded. "He is."
Just then, voices could be heard outside the cabin. Evelyn glanced outside, teacup in hand. It was Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling.
"Is it ten o’clock?"
"It’s only nine-thirty. The captain said the road ahead is rough, so he told everyone to stop and rest here. We’ll set off again at dawn tomorrow to avoid any accidents," Liam said, sniffing the air. "I smell braised pork belly."
"Liam, you’ve got a sharp nose!" Taylor Vance called out loudly from the kitchen.
"Haha, Mr. Vance, I’m a seasoned foodie. Need any help?"
"No need. You guys go rest. The food’s almost ready. Go tell Quincy and the others to come back for dinner."
Evelyn went to the living room, turned on the microphone, and her voice instantly blared from the speakers set up in the planting area.
"Time to clock out and come home for dinner! Tonight we’re having braised pork belly, spicy rabbit, braised prawns in oil, mapo tofu, flash-fried cucumber sticks, salt-brined fatty duck, steamed ribbonfish, and wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with cabbage."
Hearing Evelyn list the dishes, everyone in the cotton fields felt their stomachs rumble. They rushed back to the cabin at top speed. Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling had already brought out the food and set the table.
Quincy pulled Zoe into the dining area. Seeing the table laden with food, his eyes widened. "Is today some kind of special occasion? This is such a feast."
"Counting the days, the New Year should be coming up soon. Looks like we’ll be spending it on the road again this year."
Evelyn did a quick calculation. "I think the New Year is about a month away. We can write more couplets this year and put some up on the utility poles in the mining area."
"The New Year is coming again. After the New Year, we’ll all be another year older."
Ethan Dawson glanced at Peter Owens. "You’re only what, twenty-six or twenty-seven this year? And you’re already old? Does that mean an old man in his thirties like me should just be buried?"
Taylor Vance coughed. "Don’t talk about age in front of old folks pushing sixty. It’s hurtful to me and Zion Lowell."
"Can’t fight getting old. We’re about to become living fossils," Zion Lowell couldn’t help but joke as well.
Ethan Dawson quickly raised his hands in surrender. "My mistake. I’ll punish myself with three drinks."
"You’re not driving tomorrow, punish yourself with ten!" Quincy started to jeer, but Wyatt Vaughn slapped him on the back of the head.
"That’s alcohol, not a soft drink."
"The sweet potato wine is only thirteen percent alcohol. Besides, Ethan can really hold his liquor. This cup is so small, it probably only holds an ounce or two. Ethan is a bottomless pit; ten cups are nothing to him."
Ethan Dawson hurriedly waved his hands. "The gaps between my teeth aren’t that big! Stop flattering me. I might not be driving tomorrow, but I have to pick cotton, so I can’t drink too much."
Ethan drank three small cups, and then everyone started eating. Evelyn asked about the day’s cotton-picking progress. Officer Graham said that one person could pick about three hundred kilograms a day. In two days, they had already harvested over an acre and a half. The black soil was extremely high-yield, producing 250 kilograms of cored cotton from just a sixth of an acre.
"Once this harvest is over, we won’t need to plant cotton for the next twenty years."
"What should we do with the cotton stalks?"
Evelyn thought for a moment. "The stalks can be used as fertilizer or as animal feed. Most importantly, you can use them to grow mushrooms. Let’s keep them for now. The livestock in the breeding area aren’t short on fodder, and the black soil doesn’t need fertilizing."
"Evelyn, can you really grow mushrooms on cotton stalks?"
"Yes, you can cultivate *Agaricus bisporus*. That’s the common button mushroom everyone knows. They’re very nutritious."
Liam Sterling got a little excited. "Evelyn, can you sell the cotton stalks to us?"
Evelyn was taken aback for a second, then waved her hand dismissively. "They’re just cotton stalks, why talk about buying and selling? Are you thinking of cultivating button mushrooms to help feed the residents at the base?"
Liam looked a little embarrassed. "I was thinking about that, but I can’t just take them for free. After all, the stalks from dozens of acres of cotton fields would add up to a hundred tons or so."
"Don’t be so formal. Even if you weren’t doing it for the residents out there, we’d give you the stalks if you wanted them. They’re just taking up space here anyway. It’s good that they can be put to good use."
"Thank you, Evelyn. Thank you, everyone."
Quincy clapped Liam on the shoulder. "For your spirit of selfless dedication to the people, I’ll even come and help you work. For free."
"Are you reliable?" Liam looked at Quincy doubtfully.
"Of course I’m reliable! I’m as good as ten men, okay?"
Liam gave a dry laugh. "I haven’t seen that in any other area, but your bragging is definitely as good as ten men."
Joking aside, Liam Sterling was very touched. He secretly swore to himself that he would find a way to repay everyone.
Evelyn sipped her sweet potato wine and started talking to Ronan Kendrick about what happened outside that day. She also showed him the photo of Iris. Ronan had been driving all afternoon and probably didn’t get a chance to appreciate Iris after the rain.
Zoe and Annie had both helped in the cotton fields today. By dinner, they were so sleepy they could barely keep their eyes open.
Wendy seemed a bit distracted. The shock of delivering the baby for that pregnant woman that night must have been too much, leaving her with some trauma. Actually, it had been the same for Evelyn the first time she delivered a baby. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but she’d had nightmares later and felt sick all over just thinking about the scene.
Before bed that night, Evelyn found Wendy and had a private chat with her.
Wendy wasn’t the type to wallow in sorrow. Once she thought it through, she stopped dwelling on it.
"Evelyn, I understand that becoming a competent doctor means having to go through things like this. I’m not scared, I just feel... unsettled."
"You’re already a competent doctor. You’re better than me. Wendy, you’ve really impressed me, and you’ve made me proud."