Ch 30: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

A wealthy young master had recently arrived in Anping County.

This young master was tall and elegant, with striking yet refined features. His entire presence exuded wealth, though it was not ostentatious. However, upon closer inspection, the items hanging from his waist and the ones he carried were far from ordinary—some were things that had never even been seen in this small county.

No one knew where this young master came from or why he had suddenly appeared in Anping County. He often strolled along the streets, frequenting jewelry shops and fabric stores the most, followed by teahouses and pastry shops. His spending was quite generous, often dropping a few taels of silver every so often—which might not sound like much, but for a frugal farming family, a few taels of silver were enough to last an entire year!

Many people were secretly inquiring about this young master’s origins, each with different motives—some were simply curious and enjoyed gossip, some were intrigued by his wealth and good looks and wanted to arrange a marriage, while others harbored ill intentions, hoping to befriend him and swindle some money.

Yet, this young master had quite a temper and wasn’t fond of idle chatter. Even at the fabric shop he frequented, if a shop assistant pried too much, his face would immediately darken, and he would refuse to buy anything, turning on his heel and leaving. After this happened a few times, no one dared to provoke his temper anymore—who would want to drive away a walking fortune?

Recently, however, there were rumors that this young master had entrusted a brokerage house to help him buy properties, seemingly intending to settle in Anping County. The shop owners who had built a rapport with him were overjoyed—ever since he had arrived, their businesses had noticeably improved thanks to his patronage. Who wouldn’t want such a generous customer to stay? Some merchants even tried to bribe the brokers, hoping to introduce him to properties near their shops.

At this moment, Shen The Wealthy Young Master Qing was standing in the main hall of Ruyi Pavilion, outwardly browsing the jewelry in the display case but actually eavesdropping on a shop assistant and the storekeeper as they introduced some newly arrived agate, white jade, and jadeite pieces to a wealthy lady. It seemed she was selecting a decent piece of jewelry to add to her daughter’s dowry.

Lately, Shen Qing had been extremely busy, traveling back and forth between the post-apocalyptic world and Anping County, almost as tirelessly as when he used to chop firewood. He frequently visited jewelry stores and roamed the streets with the primary goal of expanding his knowledge.

The gemstones and jewelry he had brought from the apocalypse—aside from gold, silver, and pearls—were all unfamiliar to him. If he wanted to sell them, he needed to at least recognize their worth; otherwise, he would be easily deceived. If they couldn’t be exchanged for money, those jewels were no different from a pile of rocks sitting at home. Now that he had spent some time frequenting these shops, he had gained a rudimentary understanding of gemstones and was no longer completely ignorant.

More importantly, by observing wealthy customers on the streets, he had gradually learned how to interact with these shop assistants.

The storekeeper had taken out several pieces, but the wealthy lady clearly wasn’t satisfied. Shen Qing then removed a pendant from his waist and handed it over. “Shopkeeper, could you take a look at this piece?”

Since Shen Qing often visited the shop and had previously purchased a pair of silver hairpins, the storekeeper naturally regarded him as a valued customer. He assumed Shen Qing simply wanted to showcase his collection or perhaps flaunt it a little.

How could he refuse to indulge such a guest? However, as soon as he took the pendant, he was genuinely impressed. The polish on this piece was exceptionally refined—what kind of master craftsman had created this? Certainly not anyone from Anping County! Looking closer at the material, it turned out to be an immaculate, vibrantly colored piece of agate.

In ancient times, agate was highly valued. Only the wealthy and noble could afford to wear it, and in some dynasties, it was even restricted to officials. Fortunately, the Great Chu Dynasty had no such regulations. However, due to agate’s high cost, it remained a rare sight among commoners. Even in Ruyi Pavilion, they had only two pieces available, both of which contained many impurities—yet even those were considered rare in a small county like this.

Agate had an extremely high hardness, making it difficult to mine in ancient times. But in the modern era, things were different. Ever since a certain country in the 19th century began using explosives to extract agate, its value had plummeted overnight, turning it into a common jewelry material. In fact, this pendant wasn’t even something Song Kaiji had traded to Shen Qing—it was something he had picked up from a souvenir shop in an amusement park.

“This cloud-patterned agate Ruyi lock is absolutely exquisite! Even in the provincial capital, such a fine piece would be hard to come by! Just the items I have here combined aren’t worth as much as this one piece!” the storekeeper praised sincerely.

The wealthy lady, who had been eyeing the Ruyi lock with interest, was tempted. But upon hearing the storekeeper declare that “an entire tray of goods couldn’t match its value,” she immediately withdrew her gaze.

Shen Qing: …

Maintaining his persona as a wealthy nobleman, he couldn’t just go around selling things like a peddler. And so, yet another attempt to subtly offload his goods ended in failure.

Still, at least he had confirmed that this Ruyi lock was worth quite a lot. That wasn’t a bad outcome. He had several more of these at home, all of which he had picked up off the ground…

Realizing he wouldn’t be making a sale today, Shen Qing casually wandered around the store before leaving without a word, heading next door to the pastry shop. The shopkeeper and assistants were used to his ways by now. In fact, they even felt it made sense—why would someone carrying such high-quality agate bother buying the store’s inferior goods?

This was another thing Shen Qing had figured out—wealthy people didn’t need to be overly polite! In fact, the colder and more aloof they acted, the more the shopkeepers fawned over them.

At the pastry shop, he had the assistant pack an assortment of pastries into a box. Then he stopped by the deli to buy some braised meat before leisurely heading out of the city.

Once he reached a deserted grove, Shen Qing carefully checked his surroundings to ensure no one was watching. Then, he removed his outer robe, revealing the simple attire of a farm boy underneath. He also pulled out a square cloth from his waist and wrapped up the fine robe, along with his pouches and accessories, tying it into a bundle. Lastly, he wiped off the concealer from his brow.

In an instant, he transformed from a wealthy young master into a humble farm boy carrying a bundle, as if he were on his way to visit relatives.

He had become quite skilled at this daily disguise routine. Without breaking stride, he continued his journey back to Lantang Village. By the time he arrived home, Miao Shi had already prepared dinner. Seeing him return with pastries and braised meat was no longer a surprise.

It had only been half a month since Shen Qing first traveled to the apocalypse, yet in that short time, their household had changed drastically. Now that they had ample food, Miao Shi had visibly gained weight. Her complexion and hair had improved, and with her bright-colored, half-new clothes, she looked radiant.

Yet, despite no longer worrying about survival, she had a new concern. “Your uncle sent a message asking about the food business we talked about. We took all those cabbages and radishes, but the workers from Shiqu Village haven’t seen us at the docks selling anything. Did we actually start that business or not?”

Shen Qing took a bite of his egg stir-fry, sighing inwardly. Having no money was one kind of suffering—but having money and not being able to spend it openly was just as painful.

“I’ll visit Uncle in a few days and explain everything,” he said. “Besides, I have another matter to discuss with him.”

He wiped his hands and added, “I got word from Song Ge. The thing I asked him to look into—there’s been some progress.”

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦