Ch 7: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

“That Shen family is a nest of rotten scoundrels—rotten to the core! There’s not a single decent person with the surname Shen!” A woman’s voice rang out angrily from inside the house.

While cursing, Second Aunt Lian pulled a few cornbread buns and a large bowl of pickled vegetables from the basket she had brought, setting them on the only table in the house. But as she turned and caught sight of Shen Qing—who also bore the surname Shen—she hesitated, awkwardly swallowing the rest of her words. Instead, she called for her young daughter to bring over a clay pot of hot water.

Looking at Miao Shi, she said, “I figured you two just moved in and are missing a lot of things. You probably can’t even cook yet, so I brought you something to fill your stomachs for now. On the way here, I ran into Sister Yanzi and the others—they all said they’d be coming by this afternoon to see you.”

Hunter Liu had collected the rent from the Shen family and left with his fulang for Xiahe Village. No sooner had the two departed than Second Aunt Lian arrived with her young daughter, carrying food and hot water.

Although Miao Shi had been married into Lantang Village for many years, she had a few close friends among the village women and fulangs. Her closest friend was none other than Second Aunt Lian. The two of them had grown up together in Shiqu Village and were from the same Miao clan. They had even married into Lantang Village around the same time.

The other women and fulangs who were on good terms with Miao Shi had refrained from visiting while so many men from Shiqu Village were still around—it wouldn’t have been appropriate. They had decided to wait until things settled down before coming over to check on her. But Second Aunt Lian didn’t need to worry about such things, being from the Miao family herself.

Shen Qing could tell that Second Aunt Lian was trying to be considerate of his feelings, but he didn’t mind. Listening to her curse the Shen family, he felt absolutely nothing. He might have shared their surname and their blood, but in his mind, they had long ceased to be his family.

Miao Shi looked at the towering stack of cornbread on the table, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes. “Why did you bring so much? You didn’t take it behind your mother-in-law’s back, did you?”

The Lian family hadn’t split up their household, and Second Aunt Lian’s mother-in-law still managed the family affairs.

There were over a dozen cornbread buns in the basket—not just for Miao Shi and Shen Qing, but enough for Miao Xing, Miao Wang, and Tongsheng Miao as well. Traditionally, when a woman’s family came to support her in a dispute like this, she was supposed to provide a meal for them in return. But as Second Aunt Lian had pointed out, Miao Shi and Shen Qing had only just moved in and hadn’t had time to set up a proper kitchen yet.

Fortunately, since they were all from the same clan, no one would be petty about it. Miao Xing and Miao Wang would simply repay the favor later.

The men from Shiqu Village had been up since early morning, hauling belongings and beating up Shen Zhigao and Shen Zhiwei. By now, it was well past midday, and their stomachs were empty. Second Aunt Lian’s cornbread arrived just in time to curb their hunger.

Still, Miao Shi couldn’t help but worry. Second Aunt Lian’s mother-in-law had a longstanding grudge against Old Lady Shen and had always disapproved of her mingling with Miao Shi. She had never treated the Shen family kindly, and Miao Shi was afraid that accepting this food might stir up trouble for her friend.

But to Miao Shi’s surprise, Second Aunt Lian actually laughed. “It was my mother-in-law who told me to bring extra.”

While she genuinely wanted to help Miao Shi, she would never have dared to take this much on her own—these were solid staples, not something their household could easily spare.

“She said that now that you’ve separated from the Shen family, you’re no longer one of them. She hates that old hag Shen—always has—but you and Qing Ge’er have nothing to do with that. Before, she only held back because of that wretched woman. Now that you’re free, she said I should visit you more often and help you whenever I can.”

Second Aunt Lian grinned. “And after seeing how our people from Shiqu Village beat the hell out of Shen Zhigao and his brother today, my mother-in-law was absolutely thrilled. She even packed extra cornbread for the men.”

She was genuinely delighted. She and Miao Shi had been close friends, but because of past grudges between their elders, she had always had to sneak around to visit. Even when she saw how badly Miao Shi was treated, she hadn’t been able to openly offer help. Now, she could finally visit as much as she wanted.

Earlier, when Miao Xing and Miao Wang had taken the Shen family’s peanuts and white flour, Old Lady Shen had wailed like her heart was being torn apart. Meanwhile, Second Aunt Lian’s mother-in-law had been so overjoyed that she had cracked open ten eggs for their family’s meal that evening.

Second Aunt Lian laughed again. “You know how stingy my mother-in-law usually is. She hoards every egg to sell at the market—never lets us eat them ourselves. That’s how you know she’s really happy about this.”

Her youngest daughter, Lian Rong, was only eight years old. Hearing about the eggs, she licked her lips, probably remembering their taste. Then, looking hopefully at her uncles, she asked, “Uncle, can you guys beat up Uncle Zhigao more often? My granny would be so happy!”

The men burst into laughter. Miao Wang reached out to ruffle Lian Rong’s hair, chuckling. “Of course! I won’t let that bastard off the hook. Next time, I’ll bring a few brothers, throw a sack over his head, and give him a good beating. Then I’ll secretly tell you, and you can secretly tell your granny, and we can all secretly enjoy it together!”

His teasing made everyone laugh.

But after laughing for a while, Miao Xing’s expression darkened.

If they were from the same village, beating Shen Zhigao wouldn’t have to be done in secret. They could have pummeled him like clockwork—morning, noon, and night—just like eating meals.

But they weren’t from the same village. On the surface, Zhao Youdang had handled the matter well—he had ensured that the Shen family provided compensation to Miao Shi and her son, helped Shen Qing sever ties in a dignified manner, and even promised to register them as an independent household.

If they continued to beat Shen Zhigao now, it would be seen as disrespecting Zhao Youdang’s authority. Worse, it could escalate into a conflict between the two villages.

In the countryside, face and reputation were everything. No one wanted to be looked down upon, and small disputes could easily snowball into long-standing grudges. Something as minor as spitting near someone’s doorstep could eventually lead to an all-out brawl between two villages.

While Miao Xing wasn’t afraid of trouble, he also didn’t want things to escalate that far. That was why they had to be more discreet when dealing with Shen Zhigao.

At the end of the day, it all came down to the fact that Miao Shi had married into another village—something Miao Xing had come to deeply regret. He often blamed himself for not choosing better, for allowing his sister to marry into the Shen family in the first place.

Their father had passed away early, leaving Miao Xing, as the eldest son, and their mother to arrange Miao Shi’s marriage. Because their mother had struggled as a widow raising four children, their family had been among the poorer ones in Shiqu Village at the time. That meant they had little choice but to marry Miao Shi into a slightly poorer neighboring village—Lantang.

Back then, the Shen family had seemed well-off, and Shen Zhigao had appeared decent enough when he was young. Who could have guessed he’d turn out to be such a worthless scoundrel?

People really should marry close to home, to families they knew well. The more Miao Xing thought about it, the more his gaze landed on Shen Qing.

Shen Qing was sitting quietly, breaking apart a cornbread bun and eating it slowly with pickled vegetables and hot water. He was caught off guard when his eldest uncle suddenly spoke.

“Chunlei, what are you planning for Qing Ge’er’s marriage?”

(Chunlei is Miao Shi’s maiden name).

Having seen his own sister suffer, Miao Xing had already decided—if Qing Ge’er was to marry, it would be best if he married back into Shiqu Village. At least then, they would know the family well, and if anything went wrong, he’d be right there to deal with it.

In fact, ever since their confrontation in the Shen courtyard, Miao Xing and Miao Wang had directed most of their questions to Shen Qing, recognizing that he was the one making decisions for himself and his mother. But no matter how capable he was, discussing a marriage arrangement was still a matter of parental authority.

Yet when the topic came up, Miao Shi instinctively looked toward Shen Qing.

Miao Xing’s face darkened. “Why are you looking at him? Can he decide this for himself?”

Having been scolded so often in the Shen household, Miao Shi had developed a reflexive fear of raised voices. At the hint of disapproval in her elder brother’s tone, she immediately shrank back, lowering her head.

Seeing this, Miao Xing’s heart ached. When she had been a young girl at home, Miao Shi had been quiet but not completely spineless. Who knew how much suffering she had endured in the Shen household to be reduced to this?

Second Aunt Lian quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “It’s all because of that wretched Shen family. Qing Ge’er is already turning nineteen by the end of the year, and he still hasn’t been engaged. They’ve wasted all these years of his youth.”

She meant every word.

In this world, men outnumbered women, and wealthier families took multiple wives and concubines. That meant there were plenty of bachelor men, but very few gers or women who couldn’t find a match. Even if Qing Ge’er wasn’t particularly handsome, he could have still married into a decent family—if not a great one, then at least a passable one.

If no one in his village wanted to marry him, there were always options in other villages.

It was clear that the Shen family had deliberately delayed his marriage.

“They wanted to keep Qing Ge’er at home as a laborer!” Miao Wang snorted. “What kind of decent family keeps a ger unmarried until nearly twenty? No wonder that bastard ended up fooling around with a widow. That whole family is rotten to the core.”

Miao Shi felt uncomfortable when her younger brother brought up Widow Li. But Shen Qing, having already come to terms with everything, was unfazed.

“In hindsight, it’s a good thing I didn’t marry.”

If he had already been married when Shen Zhigao tried to divorce his mother, there would have been no way for him to take Miao Shi away with him. Any help he offered her would have depended on his husband’s approval.

As a ger, Shen Qing had once entertained fantasies about marriage.

He had even blushed when the topic came up, especially when he was thirteen or fourteen—the age when most village girls and gers started thinking about marriage.

He had wondered what kind of family he would marry into, what kind of person his future husband would be.

There were many loving couples in the village, like Second Aunt Lian and Second Uncle Lian, whose relationship was warm and affectionate. Shen Qing had envied families like theirs. Having received so little love or warmth from his own father and family, he had longed for the idea of a loving home.

But when it came to choosing a spouse, he had no particular thoughts.

Other gers and girls would whisper excitedly about which men were the most handsome or the most strong and heroic—but Shen Qing never saw them that way. How strong could they really be?

They were all just boys he had beaten in fights before.

The memory of those same village boys, crying and begging for mercy under his fists, made any thoughts of marriage feel less appealing.

Now, it wasn’t even a matter of preference. It simply wasn’t the right time.

Swallowing the last bite of cornbread, he wiped his mouth and said, “Uncle, let’s put this aside for now. If I get married, I’ll have to bring my mother with me and take care of her. There aren’t many families that would agree to that. I’d rather focus on saving money for the next couple of years.”

It was already difficult for him to find a good match. Bringing along a sickly mother would make it even harder. Few families were willing to take in a mother-in-law to care for.

Rather than struggling to find a husband, it made more sense to work hard and save money. With enough savings, he could either bring a generous dowry to a future marriage or, better yet, take in a live-in husband himself. That way, he could dictate his own future.

Seeing that Shen Qing had clearly thought things through, Miao Xing dropped the subject.

Instead, he started making new plans.

After the autumn harvest, when things were less busy, he and Miao Wang could help Shen Qing clear some land for farming.

For village folk, farming was still considered the most stable and respectable livelihood.

If they could get the land in shape, Shen Qing wouldn’t have to risk his life venturing deep into the mountains for firewood.

After warning Shen Qing once more to be careful and not to push himself too far into the wilderness, Miao Xing and Miao Wang took their men back to Shiqu Village.

With the harvest season approaching, every household was busy. The men who had taken the time to accompany them today were truly righteous and kind-hearted.

“We’ll come back after the harvest,” Miao Xing promised. “We’ll bring you some sweet potatoes and peanuts. And don’t sell the harvested peanuts yet—wait for us to take them to the county for you.”

Though Shen Qing was strong and capable, his uncles still worried for him. If they could lighten his burden, they would.

Shen Qing agreed and walked them to the village entrance.

Between the two villages stretched golden fields of ripening crops, endless waves of autumn’s bounty.

This year, for the first time, Shen Qing wouldn’t have to toil in those fields like a beast of burden, working from dawn to dusk without even a proper meal to eat.

He turned his gaze toward the rolling green mountains.

Before winter, he would make sure to gather enough firewood to sell in town.

And if luck was on his side, maybe he’d even catch some wild game.

With that, their future would be nothing to worry about.

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