Chapter 732: Transportation
Chapter 732: Chapter 732: Transportation
Ethan Dawson had been looking for work lately. He was currently unemployed, and if he hadn’t met Instructor Micah Manning, he would have been content to just drift along, doing nothing. But that wasn’t an option anymore. Micah had a job—he was an instructor. Since the two of them had fallen for each other and decided to build a life together, Ethan felt that, as a man, he had to take on the responsibility of providing for their new family.
The only problem was, aside from farming, he felt he was completely useless. The post-date euphoria wore off, replaced by a growing anxiety.
"The base is really short on transport drivers right now, especially for large trucks. I think you should give it a try. A job is a job; there’s no such thing as a high or low class."
Evelyn Ford’s words snapped Ethan Dawson out of his bewildered state. The very next day, he went to the base’s transportation department to sign up and successfully landed a job as a driver. The work involved operating super heavy-duty trucks, which few people could handle. He would sometimes have to haul ore or lumber to other provinces. Despite being both dangerous and arduous, Ethan was very satisfied with the job.
It didn’t really matter whether everyone worked or not. After all, the grain they had grown in the space over the past few years was more than enough to last a lifetime. It was the result of everyone’s hard work, and they deserved to freely enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Everyone understood Ethan Dawson’s desire to work. Evelyn Ford told him that if he wasn’t going to be eating meals at home, she would provide him with a monthly supply of other things, including fruits, vegetables, clothes, and shoes.
If he were to move out, Evelyn Ford would give him his share of the monthly grain rations. This policy applied not only to him but to everyone else as well.
On the second day after starting his job, Ethan Dawson received his first assignment. He and three other truck drivers were to deliver four truckloads of goods to Central Base, a three-day round trip.
Ethan Dawson let everyone know before he left to haul the cargo to Central Base. When he returned three days later, he brought back several specialty goods produced there.
The transportation department provided food and lodging, so to make his work more convenient, Ethan Dawson moved out as well.
The courtyard grew increasingly empty as everyone found their own preferred way of life. Even Officer Graham started a small courtyard cooking class to teach his neighbors. Taylor Vance, worried about developing dementia, spent his days foraging for wild vegetables and fruits with the other seniors.
The most leisurely of all were Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick. They spent their days either tending to the flowers and plants in their yard or fishing by the lake.
Ronan Kendrick would occasionally go help out at Rhys Chase’s place. The base’s agriculture had developed rapidly over the past two years. This was partly thanks to Leo Denton and the others, who had spent two years farming in the space and brought in eight full harvests. With that grain to tide them over, the base no longer had a food shortage, and everyone could eat their fill.
Seeing how well Eldoria Base was developing, Central Base borrowed several of their agricultural experts to help with farming. They even traded ore for large quantities of grain seeds. Although Central Base’s development was slower, its proximity to Rivenia meant its land was more fertile than Eldoria’s. Given time, its agriculture was certain to surpass Eldoria’s.
Central Base completely modeled its construction and agricultural plans after Eldoria’s, even buying numerous cacti and Earth-Surging Golden Lotuses to plant.
Over the past two years, Rhys Chase had dispatched helicopters to scout the conditions in other provinces and had successfully established contact with several bases in the Central Plains. To help more people survive, Rhys Chase also provided large quantities of grain seeds to these other bases.
As for the outer territories, no one cared what became of them. The duty of every survivor was to protect their own land and borders.
Over the past two years, a number of stranded survivors had made their way to Eldoria, along with many refugees from the outer territories. They pleaded with the base to let them stay. Although many of the refugees were in a pitiful state, the base did not relent.