Chapter 566: Family Heirloom
Life had finally settled down. The police station moved into the shelter, and crime rates dropped significantly. The base distributed a batch of oxygen bags to the general residents, and apart from the very elderly, the death rate had also fallen drastically.
The supplies from the pharmaceutical factory and cannery had been mostly collected, so Ronan Kendrick finally had some rare downtime. He began studying how to cut and carve jade. Whenever Evelyn Ford had a free moment, she would pull out all the remaining yarn to knit a sweater for him. Since entering the base, Ronan Kendrick had dyed his hair black and usually wore a hat and mask—his face was just too conspicuous.
Fortunately, there was still plenty of fine yarn left, which could be used to crochet socks. It was delicate work, and she could only manage to make one pair a day.
Wyatt Vaughn and Joelle Finch continued to learn tailoring. They mended and altered some ill-fitting old clothes, even turning them into new styles.
Evelyn Ford set aside a two-mu plot in the cultivation area for medicinal herbs and specifically had Wendy learn to grow them. The girl could already distinguish between toxic and non-toxic herbs. She was tough on herself—to practice acupuncture, she used her own body. Afraid that Wendy might accidentally hit a nerve and cause partial paralysis, Evelyn got her a copper man.
The very first piece of jade Ronan Kendrick cut successfully yielded a smooth, dense, and flawlessly white piece of Mutton Fat Jade.
He had been practicing his carving skills on wood and stone for a long time, and his work had become quite exquisite. He planned to make a pair of Unity Jades, but to get more practice, he first carved several Jade Tokens. Only when he felt proficient enough did he dare to start on the Jade Pendants.
The Jade Tokens were beautifully carved. Evelyn Ford suggested giving them to everyone as keepsakes, and naturally, Ronan Kendrick had no objections.
There were thirteen Jade Tokens in total. In addition to one for each member of their team, Liam Sterling and Rhys Chase each received one as well. The owner’s name was carved on the back, while the front was engraved with their Chinese zodiac animal or a favorite plant or animal.
"Ronan Kendrick is incredible! A man of both letters and arms, and he can even carve jade," Quincy exclaimed. "This jade looks so valuable. It’s incredibly translucent, without a single impurity. Nephrite Jade is one of China’s four great jades... this can’t be Mutton Fat Jade, can it?"
"Yes, Mutton Fat Jade. Like congealed fat—the highest grade of Nephrite Jade."
"Then I have to take great care of it! This jade will be my family’s heirloom from now on, passed down for generations," Quincy said, carefully hanging the Jade Token around his neck.
"Your family already has three of them, one for each of you," Evelyn couldn’t help but tease. "What kind of family has three heirlooms?"
"That’s true... In that case, I’ll just make it a burial object! When I die, just stuff this jade in my mouth. Who knows, maybe it’ll keep my corpse perfectly preserved."
Everyone couldn’t help but roll their eyes. "You think you’re the Empress Dowager, stuffing your mouth with jade? Watch out for tomb raiders digging you up. Besides, the Empress Dowager didn’t have jade in her mouth; it was a Luminous Pearl."
"I’ll do as I please!"
Miles Vaughn studied the Jade Token for a long time before speaking. "Top-grade Mutton Fat Jade goes for fifty to one hundred thousand a gram. A piece this large, and already carved... it would be worth over a million."
Quincy’s eyes widened. "It’s that expensive?"
Miles Vaughn chuckled. "Most of the Mutton Fat Jade on the market is fake, just artificially produced composites. Jade has always been a rich person’s game; the real thing is never cheap. The poor could never afford it. This Jade Token is absolutely worthy of being a family heirloom."
As he said this, he also hung his Jade Token around his neck.
"Wait a minute. How come your two Jade Tokens are different from ours?"
Ethan Dawson had sharp eyes and had long since spotted the Unity Jades in Ronan Kendrick’s hand. They were exquisitely carved; he had clearly poured his heart into them.
"Liam Sterling got one too? Ronan Kendrick, you really are impartial," Quincy said, suddenly feeling that the Jade Token around his neck had lost its appeal.
Liam Sterling stood to the side, grinning foolishly. He hadn’t expected to receive a Jade Token, and after hearing Miles Vaughn’s explanation, he too decided to treat it as a family heirloom.
"Thank you, Mr. Kendrick," he said. "I’ll carry it with me always. It’ll be my family heirloom."
Ronan Kendrick smiled and said nothing.
’He hadn’t even considered it. If Evelyn Ford hadn’t suggested giving one to everybody, he never would have thought to hand them out.’
But seeing how much everyone liked the Jade Tokens made him a little happy.
"Let’s take a group photo, holding up the Jade Tokens! This is a meaningful gift from Ronan Kendrick, after all," Quincy said, pulling his token out from under his collar and looking at everyone eagerly.
Surprisingly, Rhys Chase was the first to agree. Liam Sterling produced a Polaroid camera from out of nowhere, and soon everyone had a copy of the photo.
"Zoe, Annie, you can’t give your Jade Tokens to strangers or let other people see them, understand?"
Annie nodded. ’This was personally carved by Ronan,’ she thought. ’I have to take good care of it.’
"I’ll keep it safe," Zoe said. "And when I die, I want it stuffed in my mouth, too." As soon as she finished speaking, Quincy’s horrified reaction made her clap a hand over her mouth.
"What nonsense are you spouting, child? That’s bad luck, you can’t just say things like that! Quick, spit it out, spit, spit, spit."
Zoe was confused. "Then how come Daddy can say it, but I can’t?"
’Quincy instantly regretted his big mouth. ’I really have to watch what I say from now on,’ he thought. ’No more spouting nonsense.’ ’
"Daddy was just being silly," he said. "I won’t say things like that again. Now be a good girl and spit, spit, spit."
Zoe reluctantly went "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey." Wyatt Vaughn sighed from the sidelines. ’Those two,’ he thought. ’No one would ever believe they weren’t father and daughter. Both so goofy and silly, with the exact same personality.’
Taylor Vance watched everyone with a warm laugh. "I feel like everyone’s gotten happier since we all moved into the shelter. I’ve been strolling around the base these past few days, and it feels just like my old neighborhood before the apocalypse. There’s happy chatter and laughter everywhere. The oxygen bags are still inconvenient, of course. But once the surrounding plants grow up and start producing oxygen, we can finally get rid of these tanks and bags."
Zion Lowell readily agreed. "That’s right. Having the Solar Lamps has made us all feel so much more secure. Things weren’t this difficult even during the polar day, and back then we had to hide in cellars from the extreme heat."
"Human ingenuity always finds a way. We’re lucky to have the research team under Mr. Chase."
Rhys Chase gave Zion Lowell a helpless look. "Zion, you’re still treating me like a stranger. Just call me Rhys Chase."
Rhys Chase was very busy with work. He only came over occasionally to grab a meal, spending most of his time living in the office building.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK... A knock sounded at the door. Zoe skipped over to open it. When she did, she paused, surprised to see a beautiful woman standing on the doorstep.
"Ma’am, who are you looking for?" the little girl’s soft, sweet voice asked. Lynn Pierce looked down, her eyes meeting Zoe’s. She smiled and crouched down to her level.
"Hello, little one. I’m looking for Uncle Rhys Chase. Is he here?"
Zoe nodded. "Yes, he is. Please come in."
Looking at such a well-behaved child, Lynn Pierce felt an urge to reach out and pat her head, but she held back, afraid of scaring her.
"I’ll stay out here. Could you ask Uncle Rhys Chase to come out, please? I have something very important to talk to him about."