Ch 12: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Although he was utterly shocked, this world already had zombies—monstrous creatures—so having something akin to immortals’ magic didn’t seem too far-fetched. Shen Qing quickly regained his composure and replied, “My name is Shen Qing.”

Song Kaiji was slightly taken aback before he smiled. “Qing, as in ‘serene as the moon and gentle as the breeze’?”

Shen Qing lowered his gaze. “Qing as in the color green.”

He didn’t know which “Qing” Song Kaiji was referring to. He had never been to school and only recognized a few common characters. His name was simply given to him because the sky was a deep greenish-blue when he was born.

But the moment he said it, Shen Qing regretted it a little. As a young man—especially a ger—he wasn’t supposed to give his name so casually to strangers, particularly to a man. His village wasn’t overly strict about such things, but it still wasn’t appropriate. So he quickly added, “Just call me Shen Xiao Ge’er.”

Song Kaiji nodded, but he couldn’t help sneaking another glance at him. So, not only was this guy a fan of traditional Chinese clothing, but he was also into Daomu Biji?

(T/N: Daomu Biji, also known as The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles or Tomb Raiding Notes, is a Chinese adventure novel series. It follows Wu Xie, a young man from a long line of tomb raiders, as he embarks on a series of dangerous expeditions to uncover hidden secrets, mysterious relics, and ancient conspiracies.)

Xiao Ge (Ge = brother) and Xiao Ge’er—just one extra syllable, but the meanings were vastly different. However, Shen Qing didn’t notice the difference. There was an uncle in Xiahe Village who had fled from the far south and couldn’t pronounce the -er sound, so Shen Qing assumed Song Kaiji was the same.

He stepped forward and scanned the items on the counter, his eyes widening even more.

Just as Song Kaiji had claimed, there was a little bit of everything, including many things Shen Qing had never seen before. Not wanting to reveal too much about himself, he didn’t ask about them. Instead, he quietly took note of their shapes before focusing on the things he recognized.

Aside from gold and silver jewelry and jade pendants, there were also a few sets of clothes and—two long knives and several crossbows.

Yes, Shen Qing had seen crossbows before. Back when Hunter Liu’s father was still alive, Shen Qing had secretly followed behind him up the mountain and learned how to set traps. The old hunter had plenty of hunting weapons, and Shen Qing remembered them all clearly. He had always envied them. He had seen the hunter use bows, spears, and crossbows.

Crossbows were actually forbidden weapons by imperial decree because they were far more powerful than bows and easier to use. The government did not allow commoners to own them. But the old hunter was a skilled craftsman—he had made one himself, though he only ever used it for hunting.

That was a wooden crossbow, and the ones on the stall had similar designs, though some looked even more refined and were made of materials he couldn’t identify. Shen Qing had never held one, but he had seen the old hunter use it to shoot down a wild goose in the sky with ease.

Earlier, the bolt that pierced the zombie’s head had likely come from one of these crossbows. And these seemed even more powerful than the old hunter’s.

If… if he had one of these, wouldn’t he be able to kill the wild boar still waiting for him under the cave? He had been gone for a while now, and he wasn’t sure if the boar had left or if it had summoned its companions.

With a crossbow, it wouldn’t matter. He wouldn’t have to fear encountering wild beasts on the mountain anymore—he could even go on the offensive and start hunting.

And perhaps… he could return to this world. His gaze flickered toward the scattered souvenirs in the shop.

These exquisite trinkets had no owner anymore, and women and gers loved such things. He could search through all these abandoned shops, gather as many as possible, and take them back to his world. At the market or in the county town, he could set up a stall or carry them on a shoulder pole to sell. At the very least, he could earn a few hundred wen.

Winter wasn’t the best time to go up the mountain to chop firewood, so this could fill the gap.

Shen Qing wanted a crossbow more than anything. But it was bound to be expensive. If he couldn’t buy it, could he rent it? Clutching the hem of his clothes, he nervously asked, “What can I trade for?”

“Hm? Everything’s up for trade. How much do you want to trade?” Song Kaiji glanced expectantly at Shen Qing’s basket.

“All of it.” Shen Qing took off his basket, removing the rope, water pouch, and cloth bag containing his food, then pushed it toward Song Kaiji. “See how much this is worth. Can I trade it for a crossbow?”

Song Kaiji: !!!

He knew it! Being kind, doing good deeds, and having a good heart was the way to go! Lady Luck was smiling upon him!

On his way back from hunting zombies, he had felt soft-hearted seeing this person shaking with a knife, too scared to strike. So he had lent a hand—and now, karma had immediately rewarded him!

The basket was heavy—probably nearly ten pounds! With that much, what couldn’t he trade for? Nothing in his stall was particularly expensive—if it were, it wouldn’t be on a street stall but in the black market.

Elated, Song Kaiji enthusiastically introduced his wares. “Of course, of course! I also think you need a crossbow. I sell knives too, but against zombies, ranged attacks are much safer. That little knife of yours is useless.”

He gestured toward the wooden crossbows. “These wooden ones are handmade by me, following the base’s official design. Not to brag, but my work is better than most others you’ll find. If you don’t believe me, try it out—I just used one to kill that zombie. Usually, I sell these for five pounds of food or fifteen crystal cores.”

After the zombie outbreak, many people lacked proper weapons to fight back. Shortly after the Red City Base was established, officials released some basic weapon-making guides, including how to make crossbows. Song Kaiji had strong and dexterous hands, so his crossbows were sturdy, well-made, and had excellent firing power—much better than the average ones on the market.

Then he pointed to two other crossbows, made of materials unfamiliar to Shen Qing. “I found these at a hunting gear store while making my way to the base. They’re professional-grade compound crossbows, imported brands, with much greater power and guaranteed quality. But they’re a bit heavy—doesn’t suit me well.” Song Kaiji had survived getting to the base thanks to one of them. It was easy to use, highly effective, and powerful, but due to its steel components, it was heavy and tiring to carry. “These go for ten pounds of food or thirty crystal cores. Honestly, for fighting zombies, the wooden ones are enough.”

Unexpectedly, Shen Qing picked up one of the compound crossbows with a single hand and gave it a few test lifts. “Not heavy at all.”

He carried over a hundred pounds of firewood daily—this was nothing.

Song Kaiji: …

This guy wasn’t taller or bulkier than him, and his muscles weren’t even that pronounced—yet his strength was no joke.

Shen Qing held the crossbow, reluctant to put it down. When he turned back, he saw Song Kaiji casually stretch out his hand—and just like that, a flat object appeared in his palm.

Even knowing that Song Kaiji had some kind of magical ability, Shen Qing was still startled.

Song Kaiji placed the electronic scale on the ground and emptied the basket. “Let’s weigh it properly. My scale is precise to two decimal places—honest trade, no tricks!”

When the contents spilled onto the counter, Song Kaiji was even more pleasantly surprised. He had thought the basket only contained mushrooms and hawthorn berries—he hadn’t expected a thick handful of wood ear fungus at the bottom.

However, mushrooms and wood ear fungus weren’t heavy. Even with the hawthorn berries, the total weight was only about 8.9 pounds.

Shen Qing was a little disappointed. The crossbow cost ten pounds of food—he was still short. He hesitated over whether to haggle but felt it would be ungrateful since Song Kaiji had saved his life.

Then he remembered—he still had his food pouch! Though cooked, it was still grain. Could it count toward the trade? Just as he was about to ask, Song Kaiji spoke first.

“Let’s round it up—I’ll count each pound of these as two pounds of food. So, twenty pounds total. Sound good? Consider it a friendship deal—if you ever get more of these good things, remember to come back to me.”

Mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and fresh fruits weren’t priced the same as regular grain. The grain biscuits distributed at the base were mixed with a lot of coarse grains, making them rough on the throat. Song Kaiji’s offer was quite fair, even giving Shen Qing a bit of an advantage.

But no matter how clearly Song Kaiji explained, Shen Qing didn’t understand at all—how could one pound be counted as two?

In their village, grain was the most valuable thing. Wild mountain goods and fruits were picked for free. While they weren’t worthless, they never sold for a high price. The traveling merchants who bought them always drove the prices as low as possible.

Especially hawthorns—they were so sour they made your teeth ache, and there was no sugar to pair them with. If not for Miao Shi enjoying them brewed in water for some flavor, Shen Qing wouldn’t have even bothered picking them. And now these counted as two pounds of grain?

He also had no idea how to read Song Kaiji’s scale. But although his mind was filled with questions, his expression remained neutral, and he simply nodded calmly. One thing was certain—he could now trade for the crossbow and still have some extra left.

Song Kaiji then took out a few matching arrows. Some were entirely wooden, while others had wooden shafts with stainless steel arrowheads. He introduced them one by one. “The all-wood ones trade at five per pound of food—I made these myself. The ones with stainless steel tips trade at two per pound.”

Shen Qing didn’t take the wooden arrows, though he examined them closely. He figured he could carve similar ones from wood himself, so there was no need to buy them. But the arrows with “stainless steel” tips intrigued him. He didn’t know what stainless steel was, but they felt like a mix of iron and copper—hard and incredibly sharp. Thinking about the wild boar he had seen in the cave below, Shen Qing gripped the crossbow bolt, itching to try it out.

“This… Can you teach me how to use it?” His face remained expressionless, but inside, he was nervous. His palm, gripping the arrow, was slightly damp with sweat. He was terrified of saying something wrong and making Song Kaiji suspicious, realizing he wasn’t from here.

Song Kaiji didn’t overthink it. Although crossbows were a fairly common weapon nowadays, different models had variations, and many privately made crossbows had unique customizations. It was perfectly normal for buyers to ask for instructions.

He stepped behind Shen Qing, wrapping around him to guide his hands. “This one is the simplest to use. Just place the arrow here, pull it all the way back, then press this button…” As he explained, he demonstrated step by step. The moment his hands covered Shen Qing’s, he immediately felt the body in front of him tense up.

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