Ch 25: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Anping County was the closest county town to Lantang Village and one of the four counties directly under the jurisdiction of Haozhou Prefecture. It was less than eighty li from the prefectural city, making it a relatively prosperous place. From Lantang Village, it was less than twenty li before the city gates came into view. Local villagers didn’t need to pay an entry fee, but if they wanted to set up a stall in the market to sell goods, they had to pay a few large copper coins as a stall fee.

Shen Qing entered the city but didn’t head toward the market. Instead, he skillfully maneuvered his cart toward a familiar brokerage. This brokerage served as a middleman for transactions, introducing buyers and sellers and earning a commission, while also profiting from reselling goods at a markup.

Most of their business involved real estate and the buying and selling of people, but they also dealt in smaller trades like charcoal, silk, livestock, and even grain and mountain goods. As long as there was profit to be made, there was no business a brokerage wouldn’t do.

The one Shen Qing was familiar with wasn’t a large brokerage; it mainly handled small trades for common folk. The owners were a couple who worked alongside their nephews and a few hired clerks. They were fair-minded and offered reasonable prices, never giving Shen Qing a hard time just because he was a lone ger. Besides, though the brokerage slightly undercut the price of firewood, it was still more cost-effective than paying a stall fee. Today, Shen Qing had other matters to attend to and had no time to sit around waiting for buyers.

“Shen family’s Ge’er, you’re here! It’s been a while—we’ve been looking forward to seeing you,” the brokerage owner’s wife greeted him warmly as soon as she spotted him. Firewood was in high demand during the winter, and Shen Qing’s deliveries were always neatly cut to the same length and thoroughly dried. The moment they arrived, sharp-eyed housewives and husbands would snatch them up.

“These days, firewood prices have gone up again—by two more coins! If you work a little harder and bring in a few more loads, you’ll have a good New Year.”

“Aunt Zheng,” Shen Qing greeted as he let the clerks unload the firewood while he chatted with the owner’s wife. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to bring much. I was unlucky and ran into a wild boar on the mountain. Barely escaped with my life, but my arm got injured and isn’t strong enough for heavy work now.” He rolled up his sleeve to show her the wound. “If I can manage one more trip before the New Year, I’d already be lucky.”

After Wu Guixiang’s “guidance” last night, Shen Qing had been thinking about how to become a “better speaker.” Now that he had such a big secret, he would inevitably have to cover things up in his conversations. Today was a small test.

In the future, he planned to keep making trips to that other world. Naturally, he wouldn’t have time to keep chopping firewood, nor was there any reason for him to continue such exhausting labor. However, if he suddenly stopped chopping wood yet continued heading into the mountains, people in the village would get suspicious. Winter was the slack season for farmers, and with no fieldwork to keep them busy, they had plenty of time to gossip about their neighbors.

So, his plan was to cut some firewood along the way as a cover. Since many people already knew about his injured arm, it wouldn’t be surprising if he started bringing in less firewood.

The owner’s wife clicked her tongue in sympathy when she saw his injury. “Oh my heavens, running into a wild boar is no joke! It’s a miracle you made it out alive. That’s a deep cut—you need to take care of it properly.” She sighed, feeling both relieved and regretful. With firewood prices rising before the New Year, it was unfortunate that Shen Qing wouldn’t be able to take advantage of it. She knew his life wasn’t easy. If his family wasn’t struggling, why would a ger resort to being a woodcutter? Out of sympathy, she rounded up the payment, adding an extra two copper coins. “You should go to a clinic and have that looked at. It may not be easy to get infected in winter, but it’s still a long wound.”

Shen Qing knew his own injury best and wasn’t worried about it. But since she was speaking out of kindness, he nodded in agreement. Then he asked, “Aunt, can I leave my cart here for now? I need to buy some supplies before the New Year, and bringing the cart around is inconvenient.”

“Of course! Leave it here, and if you buy anything heavy, just have the shop send it here. I’ll have the clerks load it onto your cart for you,” the woman replied cheerfully.

With that settled, Shen Qing handed his mule cart over to the clerks and left the brokerage, heading straight for the pawnshop.

On the way, he debated between going to a jewelry shop or a pawnshop and ultimately chose the latter. For one, he had been to a pawnshop before, having accompanied his family to pawn items in the past, so he had some knowledge of how things worked. Unlike a jewelry store, where he would be walking in blind.

Secondly, with his tattered clothes, the clerks at a jewelry shop would likely look down on him and might not even take his items seriously. If the deal fell through, he’d have to endure their condescending remarks. At least in a pawnshop, money was money, and there wouldn’t be too much of a difference in pricing—just a small cut for craftsmanship.

With this in mind, Shen Qing stepped into the pawnshop.

Most of the clientele here were from struggling households. After all, no one would pawn their belongings unless they were in a tight spot. The clerks were used to dealing with people in rough conditions, so they didn’t sneer at his worn clothes. One of them simply led him to the counter.

Behind the high counter sat an elderly man with graying facial hair, dressed in a long robe. He sat on an elevated chair, making him appear even more imposing. Shen Qing placed two jade bracelets and a silver lock onto a tray and pushed it forward.

The elderly appraiser carefully picked up each piece with a cloth, examining them one by one. Then, he narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Shen Qing for a long moment before speaking in a deep, deliberate tone:

“Where did you get these?”

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