Ch 1: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Reading Guide:

This novel is primarily set in the ancient world. If you’re seeking an apocalypse-focused story, this may not be the right fit.

…

At the height of summer, under the scorching midday sun, the quiet and peaceful Lantang Village seemed to be seething with unusual restlessness.

In the Shen family’s courtyard at the eastern end of the village, Shen Qing was busy preparing for the autumn harvest. He methodically dragged farming tools out of the firewood shed, sharpening, derusting, and tidying them up.

Shen Qing was a ger—tall and lean, resembling a young poplar tree. He was nearing nineteen, whereas most gers in the village were engaged at fourteen or fifteen and married by sixteen or seventeen. Yet, he remained single.

Apart from his notoriously fierce temperament, another reason was his appearance. If it weren’t for the slightly dull pregnancy mole on his forehead, he could have easily been mistaken for a strong and handsome young man.

However, in this era, gers were considered beautiful only if they looked delicate and feminine—small, fair-skinned, and fragile. Shen Qing, with his tanned skin, thick eyebrows, sharp features, and towering height, was the exact opposite.

Even though his appearance was striking in a masculine way, villagers preferred gers who looked more like women. Elders merely whispered about his dull pregnancy mole being an omen of poor fertility, but boys his age outright scoffed at his looks, gossiping behind his back about how “unattractive” he was.

Most gers were slightly taller than women, but Shen Qing stood half a head taller than even the average man in the village. This, more than anything, made marriage prospects difficult—what man would want a ger who was taller than him?

Some families had shown interest in marrying their sons to Shen Qing, appreciating his hardworking nature. But whenever the young men caught wind of it, they threw tantrums, refusing outright. After a few public embarrassments, Shen Qing’s reputation worsened, delaying his marriage indefinitely.

Now, sitting under the window of the main house with a pile of farm tools, he carefully honed them while eavesdropping on the heated argument inside.

That morning, his two uncles, Miao Xing and Miao Wang, had arrived from Shiqu Village with six or seven strong men. Village chief Zhao Youdang was also present, along with Shen Qing’s grandparents, father, mother, and second uncle’s family. The house was packed with people, all discussing his father Shen Zhigao’s demand to divorce his mother. The argument inside was so fierce it seemed like the roof might collapse.

Just as Shen Qing focused on the conversation, a clump of mud suddenly hit his shoe, staining the dark blue fabric with a brownish smear.

Frowning, Shen Qing looked up to see his cousin, Shen Zhuang, grinning mischievously, clutching another handful of mud.

“Hey, big idiot! If Uncle divorces your mother and marries Widow Li, does that mean you have to call her ‘Mother’?” Shen Zhuang sneered.

His younger sister, Shen Xiaojun, sat nearby sewing a handkerchief. Hearing this, she covered her mouth and giggled.

Shen Qing remained silent, gripping the handle of his hatchet as he glared at Shen Zhuang. The boy’s grin faltered, but he still threw the mud and ran off.

Had it been any other time, Shen Qing would’ve shoved the entire handful of mud down Shen Zhuang’s throat. But right now, he had more pressing concerns. He scowled at the boy before turning back to eavesdrop on the main house.

The entire village knew about the scandal inside his house. Even now, people were lurking outside the walls, eager to witness the drama.

This dispute had been dragging on for over half a month. His father, Shen Zhigao, had been secretly involved with Widow Li, and now she was three months pregnant.

She claimed that a doctor in the county had confirmed it was a boy. How a doctor could determine the baby’s gender at just three months remained a mystery, but Shen Zhigao was convinced. He had rushed home, demanding to divorce Shen Qing’s mother, Miao Shi, so he could marry Widow Li.

Inside the house, Miao Shi’s sobs could be heard.

Miao Shi was a woman of misfortune. When she first married Shen Zhigao, she quickly gave birth to Shen Qing, a ger. While the family was somewhat disappointed, they remained hopeful since she was still young.

Two years later, she had a second child—a boy named Shen Zhang—bringing joy to the entire family.

However, tragedy struck during her third pregnancy when she fell and suffered complications. The baby did not survive, and the ordeal left her unable to bear more children.

At first, the family was saddened, but since they still had Shen Zhang, they moved on. But fate was cruel—when Shen Zhang was six years old, he drowned while playing in the river.

With their only son gone and Miao Shi unable to conceive again, Shen Zhigao collapsed into grief, drowning himself in alcohol. Over time, his attitude toward Miao Shi and Shen Qing turned cold.

Without her husband’s protection, Miao Shi and Shen Qing became the household’s scapegoats, bearing all the hard labor and suffering under constant scorn.

Shen Qing, once too young to resist, had grown into a tall and strong man, preventing further beatings. But by then, Shen Zhigao had already started doting on his nephew, Shen Zhuang, as his heir.

Now, with Widow Li pregnant, Shen Zhigao wanted to erase his past and replace Miao Shi entirely.

In the village, getting married was already difficult enough; divorce and separation were nearly unheard of. Shen Zhigao, who was completely illiterate, had only heard about the “Seven Grounds for Divorce” from a storyteller at a tea stall. He didn’t fully understand it, but he latched onto it as his excuse.

What he didn’t understand, however, the Miao brothers did—and they had brought someone who understood even more.

Unlike Lantang Village, Shiqu Village was closer to the county and more prosperous. It had produced two scholars and even established a school. Moreover, unlike Lantang, which was a mixed-surname village, nearly 80% of Shiqu Village’s residents shared the surname Miao. This made them a closely knit and fiercely protective community. Today, the Miao brothers had come to stand up for their sister, even enlisting the help of an old scholar from their village, who had sent his eldest son along.

This man’s surname was Miao. If Shen Qing were to trace the family ties, he would have to call him biaoshu (maternal uncle). At around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, he had passed the tongsheng exam as a child and was once considered a prodigy. Though he hadn’t advanced further in recent years, he still commanded a certain level of respect in the village.

Hearing Shen Zhigao’s argument, Tongsheng Miao leisurely rolled up his sleeves and smiled.

“The ‘Seven Grounds for Divorce’ apply to infertile women. But let’s be clear: your wife not only gave birth to Qing Ge’er (Ge’er = ger) and raised him into adulthood, but she also bore you a son in the past. The fact that he didn’t survive is your fate, not proof that our Shiqu Village’s daughters can’t bear children.

Furthermore, the ‘no children’ clause only applies to couples over fifty years old. Neither of you have reached that age, so it doesn’t apply. Even if you take this to the magistrate, the verdict will be the same—you have no grounds to divorce her!

However, you, Shen Zhigao, have a wife and yet engaged in adultery with Widow Li. Adultery is a crime! If this is reported to the authorities, both you and your mistress will be exiled!”

Shen Zhigao was stunned. He had never studied the law—he had only been fooling around with a widow. How could that lead to exile? Seeing Tongsheng Miao’s confident expression, he panicked and instinctively looked toward the village’s most knowledgeable man when it came to laws—the village chief.

Zhao Youdang, the village chief, shot Shen Zhigao a glare before clearing his throat.

“We’re just simple villagers; we don’t meddle with legal affairs. These matters are usually settled among ourselves without going to the officials.”

Adultery was indeed a crime punishable by exile, but in reality, if no one reported it, the authorities wouldn’t intervene in rural affairs. Besides, villagers rarely sought out the government, fearing its involvement. In these small communities, clan leaders, village chiefs, and local elders acted as the law. Typically, cases of adultery were settled with a beating. Only in stricter, more conservative villages would offenders be expelled—or, in extreme cases, drowned.

If the villagers bypassed the chief and took this matter directly to the authorities, it would be a direct challenge to his authority.

Tongsheng Miao chuckled, “Of course, I wouldn’t have mentioned the law if he hadn’t tried to use the ‘Seven Grounds for Divorce’ as his excuse. After all, Shiqu and Lantang villages have many intermarriages. We wouldn’t want to damage our relationship by escalating this to the county office.”

Chief Zhao felt a bit embarrassed. As the leader of Lantang Village, his duty was to protect his own people—otherwise, how would the villagers respect and obey him? But in this case, Shen Zhigao was completely in the wrong. If he sided with him, he’d lose face in front of the Shiqu villagers.

Tongsheng Miao had made his point very clear—this wasn’t just a personal dispute between the Shen and Miao families. If handled poorly, it would become a conflict between two villages.

A woman from Shiqu Village had married into Lantang, borne children, managed the household, and had done nothing wrong. She had even ruined her health trying to give her husband a son. Now, after decades of hardship, her husband wanted to cast her aside for a widow who might give him another child?

If Chief Zhao ruled unfairly, it would ruin Lantang Village’s reputation. In the future, which families—especially from Shiqu Village—would dare to marry their daughters or gers into Lantang?

Tongsheng Miao was giving him a warning.

Chief Zhao weighed the situation carefully. He didn’t want to ruin his entire village’s reputation just to protect Shen Zhigao’s selfish desires. After much thought, he believed he had found a compromise, though it would require some sacrifice on Miao Shi’s part.

Speaking gently, he said, “Our village has always followed the tradition of monogamy—we don’t take concubines or second wives. However, given that Widow Li is already pregnant with the Shen family’s child, we may have to make an exception.

Qing Ge’er’s mother, I ask you to endure this grievance and allow her into the household as a secondary wife to serve you. Once she gives birth, her child will be raised under the Shen family name, and he will have to address you as his first wife. She will be only his second mother, and he will owe his filial piety to you.”

Miao Shi lowered her head, her face blank. After years of suffering in the Shen household, she had become thin as a skeleton. With all the emotional turmoil of recent days, she looked so frail that she might collapse at any moment. Despite being Miao Xing’s younger sister, she appeared even older than him, with strands of white already showing in her hair.

Tear stains marred her gaunt face, and she clutched the hem of her clothing anxiously, unsure of what to do. Feeling utterly lost, she looked toward her brothers for guidance.

Miao Xing and Miao Wang exchanged glances. They were enraged, but considering the situation, they felt this might be the only viable solution. They prepared to negotiate better conditions for their sister before accepting the arrangement.

However, before they could speak, Shen Zhigao abruptly cut in.

“No!”

He swallowed hard under Chief Zhao’s furious glare but still forced himself to continue.

“Jiaofeng said she refuses to be a secondary wife. She insists that the son she gives birth to must not be raised by another woman. If she is not made the principal wife, she would rather take medicine and abort the child!”

Widow Li had used her pregnancy as leverage and had whispered into Shen Zhigao’s ear repeatedly. Now, he was dead set on making Miao Shi vacate her position.

Desperately, he turned to his parents and the village chief, pleading, “Father, Mother—I can’t be left without an heir! Chief Zhao, we grew up together! Please, help me!”

Chief Zhao was so annoyed that he nearly kicked him.

Shen Zhigao’s mother, however, was the one who doted on him the most. Seeing that her eldest son had grown old without a proper heir, she couldn’t bear to refuse him. If having children was impossible, then so be it. But now that there was a grandchild already in the womb, how could she give that up? The Shen family had already made up their minds to cast Miao Shi aside.

Miao Xing and Miao Wang were furious. No longer willing to negotiate with Chief Zhao, they grabbed Shen Zhigao by the collar and prepared to drag him straight to the county office.

Miao Xing was a towering man, and Shen Zhigao’s feet nearly lifted off the ground. Suspended in mid-air, his brain suddenly began to work again.

A thought struck him, and he blurted out, “Jiaofeng said she won’t be a secondary wife… but she never said Miao Shi couldn’t be one!”

The village chief’s compromise had given him a brilliant idea.

The moment Shen Zhigao spoke, the Miao brothers hadn’t even reacted yet—but outside, where someone had been eavesdropping, a sharp clatter rang out.

Shen Qing, who had been listening in silence, could no longer hold back. He tossed aside the farm tools he had been repairing, grabbed his freshly sharpened hatchet, and stormed toward the main house.

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