Evelyn Ford took out a mirror and studied her reflection for a long time. She had definitely put on some weight, and she was wearing so many layers that she looked like a cocoon.

Evelyn Ford took a deep breath, cut a lemon in half, and walked over to Ronan Kendrick.

When Ronan Kendrick saw Evelyn Ford approaching, his eyes sparkled. He looked at her, head tilted up slightly, like a little cat waiting to be petted.

The corners of Evelyn Ford’s mouth curled up. She pinched his chin, forcing his mouth open. A blush crept onto Ronan Kendrick’s face, and there was even a strange hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Evelyn Ford squeezed the lemon, bursting it and squirting the juice into his mouth. The sour taste made Ronan Kendrick’s face contort into a grimace.

"Eat it."

Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "Ugh, it’s too sour."

"You need to eat it to clear your head."

Evelyn Ford watched him with a wide grin, then stuffed the lemon into his mouth. "Good boy. Chew it slowly and swallow it down."

The corners of Ronan Kendrick’s eyes were a little red. As he looked at Evelyn Ford’s face, he frowned and finished eating the lemon.

Seeing how easy he was to tease, Evelyn’s hands started to itch. She suddenly had the urge to see him eat stinky tofu and durian.

"Evelyn Ford, you’re not fat at all. You’re just wearing too much. You’d look slim if you just took off your clothes."

Evelyn Ford... suddenly missed the days back on Broken Cloud Mountain when she could beat him up.

’Such a perfectly fine person, if only he didn’t have a mouth.’

「The next day」

Fred Rowe and Kurt Rowe came over again. They were planning to go into the mountains to hunt. Now that the black bear was gone, it was much safer. Fred Rowe said there were roe deer and Red Deer in the mountains, and Quincy and Miles Vaughn were immediately tempted. They came looking for Evelyn Ford first thing in the morning to get some weapons.

"Fred Rowe said they want to capture the Red Deer alive, but I’m still worried we might run into other ferocious beasts. We’d better bring the guns."

Evelyn Ford remembered how the two of them had fallen into a pit and passed out last time, and she couldn’t help but feel this plan was a bit sketchy. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Get two more people to go with you."

"I want to go." Though Donovan Irving had a limp, his reflexes were sharp and he was efficient. Evelyn Ford thought he could go with them.

"I want to go too." Peter Owens came scampering over, a look of keen anticipation on his face.

"Alright. If you run into trouble, use the whistle."

After giving them the weapons, Evelyn Ford prepared to go chop some branches herself.

"Mr. Kendrick, why don’t you come with us?" Fred Rowe invited Ronan Kendrick to go up the mountain, wanting to compete to see who could catch a Red Deer first.

Ronan Kendrick was deeply troubled. He felt like Evelyn Ford was looking at him with murderous intent. He wracked his brain but couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong, so he was in no mood to hunt.

"I’ll pass. There’s some activity on the mountain to the left. You all should go."

Before Fred Rowe could say anything more, Quincy and Miles Vaughn dragged him away.

Evelyn Ford went to check on the sheep. Wyatt Vaughn told her one of them wasn’t doing well. Upon inspection, Evelyn discovered it had broken a hind leg, and she quickly tended to the injury.

"Evelyn Ford, can I borrow the curved needle for a bit? The upper of my shoe is damaged, and I need to mend it."

"Sure, I’ll get it for you in a bit."

"Did you and Ronan Kendrick have a fight? He seems really out of it today."

Evelyn Ford raised an eyebrow. "No, he probably just didn’t sleep well."

"Did you two get in a fight last night?"

Evelyn Ford glanced at Wyatt Vaughn. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Wyatt Vaughn chuckled. "I wouldn’t dare. I’m afraid Ronan Kendrick would beat me to a pulp. He’s one way in front of you, but when you’re not around, he’s a cold-faced killer and tight-lipped as a clam."

"If you’re comparing people to vegetables, what’s Quincy?"

"A winter melon, I guess. Not much to look at, but delicious."

Evelyn Ford frowned. "That gave me goosebumps."

「In the afternoon」

Quincy and the others returned, and they had actually herded back a group of Red Deer. However, Kurt Rowe had sprained his back and was being carried piggyback by Fred Rowe.

"We went to that big mountain on the left. After walking for two hours, we saw a herd of Red Deer gnawing on tree bark. And get this—Fred Rowe actually knows how to tame deer! He went over and worked on them for a little while, and they just started following him. But on the way back, Kurt Rowe took a fall."

Evelyn Ford counted them—there were eight in total.

The Red Deer were massive, with beautiful antlers. They really did look a bit like horses.

"So does that mean you guys came back empty-handed?" Wyatt Vaughn couldn’t resist teasing Quincy and Miles Vaughn.

Fred Rowe quickly waved his hands in dismissal. "We’ll split the Red Deer evenly. It was Mr. Kendrick who said there was activity on the left mountain. They pulled me over, and that’s how I spotted the herd. Taming them isn’t really a special skill; I learned it back in the army. If you’re interested, I can teach you."

Quincy raised his hand. "I’m interested. I bet Ronan Kendrick knows how, too, but he definitely wouldn’t have the patience to teach me."

"I want to learn too."

"Me too."

Peter Owens and Miles Vaughn also wanted to learn. After all, learning another skill now meant a better chance at survival.

Fred Rowe was more than happy to teach everyone. But when he heard Ronan Kendrick also knew how, he got the urge to have a friendly competition with him again.

"Mr. Vance, I need to talk to you about something." At that moment, Taylor Vance arrived, and Fred Rowe immediately walked up to him.

"I’d like to trade Red Deer for horses, if that’s okay?"

If the Red Deer were split evenly, he and Kurt Rowe would only get four. While large, a Red Deer was only about the size of a donkey and still fell short compared to a horse.

Taylor Vance seemed hesitant.

"I only want to trade for one horse. I know you need yours to pull supplies. To be honest, I want to take my family to the Northwest too. Even after the snow melts, we don’t have any grain or seeds back home. No seeds means no crops. My whole family needs to find a way forward. I saw you have wagons. I studied them all last night and plan to build one to haul our own supplies."

Taylor Vance felt a mix of emotions after hearing Fred Rowe’s words.

"The horses aren’t my decision to make. However, we do have a few foals. I can ask Evelyn Ford and the others for you."

Fred Rowe’s eyes lit up. "Foals are fine, too! I’m sure I can raise one into a magnificent steed."

Taylor Vance patted his shoulder and then went to the kitchen, where Evelyn Ford and Wyatt Vaughn were making steamed cornbread. He got straight to the point and explained the situation.

"He only wants to trade for one horse? And he’s the one who brought all eight Red Deer back."

Taylor Vance nodded. "He did say just one horse. A foal would be fine. They’re also heading to the Northwest after the snow melts."

"Then let’s trade him two foals. It would be hard on them to take them on the road with us anyway."

"I’ll go tell him."

After Taylor Vance told Fred Rowe, Fred was thrilled. He left the Red Deer and took the two foals home.

A little while later, Fred Rowe came back again. He had come specifically to teach Quincy and the others how to tame deer.

"Was your cousin okay with that? You trading away the Red Deer."

Fred Rowe waved his hand. "It’s fine. He was on board with it."

"And how’s his injury?"

"I know some basic first aid. I’ve already taken a look at him. It’s nothing major, but he’ll need to rest for a few days."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that Kurt Rowe was okay.

Taming the deer was no easy task. Fred Rowe taught for several hours, but only Peter Owens seemed to be getting the hang of it.

The group was set to leave the next day. That evening, everyone gathered together again around a pot of meat stew.

To thank Fred Rowe for teaching everyone how to tame deer, Zion Lowell drew him a simple diagram for a wagon body and wheels.