Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 230

Chapter 230: Arriving at The Ranch
The caravan set off towards Fred’s Ranch in the north.

Inside, Liam was driving while Rayne and the others were sitting in the living space.

“Ah, I’m so excited. It’s like a small camping trip”, said Ella. She occasionally looked out the window, checking out the surrounding area.

Rayne looked up from the book she was reading, “I hope you keep this same energy on the way home too”, she teased.

“Is it weird that I already miss Julian?”, she asked. This would be the first time they were going to spend so much time apart and it felt a little strange.

“Nah, girl. I miss Noah too, but I guess it’s different since we can’t spend ALL of our time together like you two can”, said Ella. Her hand subconsciously moved to touch the pearl pendant of her necklace.

Rayne giggled, “The guys are probably having an even harder time right now. I can already imagine it”

They both laughed for a while discussing their love lives and the birth of Laura’s son.

Thanks to Rayne’s experience the trip up north was relatively smooth.

–

“We should be approaching the town soon!”, said Rayne.

She could see the familiar cityscape in the distance, meaning that Fred’s Ranch should be nearby. Ella, who was currently driving, smiled at the news.

“That’s great! I’m ready to hop out and stretch my legs!”, she said and sped up down the main road.

Rayne had a map laid out in front of her in the passenger seat, ready to give directions when needed.

They made their way through the small town and towards the large pastures.

“Okay, let’s park here temporarily and greet them before we pull in with the RV. I’ll go in with Liam, the rest of you stay here to protect the caravan”, said Rayne.

Ella nodded, agreeing to her arrangement.

Liam walked down the long gravel driveway to the farmhouse, marveling at all of the cattle in the pastures.

Before they made it to the farmhouse, Fred walked over to greet them.

“Well, well! If it isn’t out lucky star! It’s so good to see you, Rayne!”, he said, reaching his arm out for a handshake.

“Hi, Fred! How are you? I’m glad to see the farm looks like it’s doing well!”, said Rayne, looking at all of the cattle around.

“Yes, we’ve been doing very well! Ever since the weather got better, our cows have nearly doubled in size. Everyone is doing well here for the most part”, said Fred.

He looked over at Liam, raising an eyebrow. “Julian sure looks different from what I remember”.

Rayne giggled, “This is Liam, he’s in charge of trading at our settlement. We’ve recently decided to try and build a small trade network between friendly settlements, and you guys were first on the list”

Fred’s eyes widened, “Wow, that’s amazing! Yes, yes, please we would love to see what items you have!”

Liam smiled and walked over to give Ella the signal to drive the RV over.

Fred noticed their polite actions of waiting to be invited over and smiled, “Next time just pull in. We will recognize you. You’re always welcome here”.

“Thank you very much”, smiled Liam. He excused himself to get all of the goods ready for trading while Rayne continued to talk with Fred.

He brought her around the ranch, showing her the progress they’ve made.

The surrounding land of the original farmhouse was fully dedicated to the cattle. Rayne saw many people in the pastures heading and washing the cows.

“Do you do any gardening?”, asked Rayne. She didn’t see any vegetable plots in the area and thought it was odd for them to ignore farming altogether.

“Oh we do, it’s just located in the neighboring lands, around the second farmhouse”, laughed Fred, pointing to a white house in the distance.

“It’s not as much as we would like, but it’s just enough for us. Next year, we’ll need to expand the farms”, explained Fred.

The last stop of the tour was the chicken coop. Rayne looked inside and saw three old hens.

“What happened? I remember you had a lot of chickens before!”, she asked, puzzled.

Fred gingerly picked up one of the hens to reveal an egg beneath, “We did have a good amount of chickens. The moment the weather started getting better we hatched a new batch of chicks–dozens of them. But we miscalculated and that night a fierce cold wind came by. By the time we came out to save the chicks, it was already too late”

Rayne felt bad for them. “It’s okay, we found a small settlement not too long ago that’s basically a huge chicken farm. It’s where we traded for our chickens”, she explained, trying to cheer him up.

“What? Truly?!”, he asked with a big smile. This was great news to him.

Rayne nodded, “You can talk to Laim and work out a deal. I’m sure he’d be willing to transport some new hens over”.

Fred placed the hen back into the coop and dusted his hands, “Well, what are we waiting for? I’m going to speak to him right now!”

They walked back to Liam, who had already begun placing items out on the fold-out tables in front of the RV. Ella and the others were helping by moving boxes of prepared goods out of the storage compartments.

Rayne walked over to help them while Fred walked over to Liam to discuss the matter with the chickens.

The workday was coming to a close so more and more people were making their way back to the farmhouse.

Many curious faces walked over to see the large display of quality items in front of the caravan.

Fred was also among these people, making mental notes on which items he needed the most. He noticed that many of his residents were eyes the products.

“Listen up everyone! I will leave a piece of paper on the table after tonight’s dinner. Everyone will be able to write down the item they need the most. I will use this list when deciding on what to trade for tomorrow!”, Fred announced.

Everyone’s eyes lit up, happy that their opinions were being taken into consideration.