Ch 45: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Shiqu Village, Miao Family.

Liu Yue’e and Li Yanzi were busy preparing lunch. They had eaten some fresh meat from the pig leg that Shen Qing and Miao Shi had sent over, but the rest had been cured into salted meat. Now, they sliced it thinly, steaming it together with winter bamboo shoots, and garnishing it with mushrooms. The sweet and crisp bamboo shoots absorbed the salty meat juices, creating an incredibly rich flavor.

Winter bamboo shoots were rare in the north. The family’s two little girls had stumbled upon a small patch while collecting firewood in the mountains. They immediately ran back to call their older brothers to help dig them up. Finding such a delicacy made the whole family happy. Miao Xue clung to the kitchen window, drooling as she watched Li Yanzi slice the salted meat. “Mother, cut a little more! It’s so rare to have bamboo shoots, we need enough meat to cover every piece so they all soak up the flavor!”

Li Yanzi shot her daughter a glance. “You greedy little thing! It’s fine at home, but you better not act like this once you get married. If you keep it up, your future mother-in-law will have to teach you a lesson!”

She glanced at Qiao Niang, the eldest daughter of the first household. She was only two years older than Xue Niang and was also eyeing the meat eagerly, but she knew better than to ask—how sensible.

Miao Xue pouted in protest. “Why do I have to marry and let someone else teach me? I want to stay with you forever!”

Li Yanzi chuckled and shook her head, not taking her daughter’s foolish words seriously. What girl didn’t get married eventually? Children were just debts from past lives. With only Miao Yu and Miao Xue, she already felt like she had endless worries.

These past few days, Miao Wang hadn’t dared to bring up the marriage proposal again, but the argument from before had strained their relationship. They were still feeling awkward and barely speaking.

Despite her words of complaint, Li Yanzi still sliced a few extra pieces of meat. The pig leg Miao Shi had sent was large, and she was cutting it very thin—there would still be plenty left to last until spring.

Meanwhile, Liu Yue’e was preparing soup. Fried meatballs with tofu and spinach, finished with a poached egg. Everything was soft and easy forOld Lady Miao to eat. Just before serving, she sprinkled some pepper into the pot. A single bowl of this would warm the whole body.

The kitchen was filled with warmth and laughter—until a sudden, urgent knocking rattled the courtyard gate, so forceful it seemed like it might break through the wooden boards.

Liu Yue’e frowned in displeasure. She wasn’t just worried about the door—who knocked like that? Didn’t they know the rules? It was like they were announcing a funeral!

As it turned out, the words from outside weren’t far off from a death announcement.

“Anyone home? Are Miao Xing and Miao Wang here? The boy from Hesiang’s family came running from Lantang Village—he said something happened to Chunlei’s family! Qing Ge’er went up the mountain and got gored by a wild boar or something!”

Liu Yue’e was so startled she nearly dropped her ladle. “What?! Qing Ge’er just killed a wild boar, how did he run into another one?” If he really got gored, would he still be alive? Winter wild boars were the fiercest! Liu Yue’e felt the world spinning around her. “Is this confirmed? What about Chunlei? Where is she now?”

The messenger smacked his lips. How was he supposed to know how Chunlei was? Hesiang’s boy hadn’t said anything! He had only overheard the news at the village entrance and rushed over. So he made a guess, “If their only ger got gored by a boar, how well do you think Chunlei could be? She’s probably already fainted from grief, which is why they sent Hesiang’s son to deliver the message.”

Li Yanzi immediately grabbed Miao Qiao and Miao Xue. “Go to the fields and find your father! Tell him your cousin got gored by a wild boar and is dying. Your aunt fainted from shock—he and your uncle need to rush to Lantang Village immediately!”

The sound of gunfire had reached Shiqu Village as well. Miao Xing and Miao Wang had been out in the fields with other villagers, watching the sky and wondering if it would snow heavily.

The two young girls knew this was urgent and ran out of the courtyard as fast as they could. Li Yanzi paced the room twice before turning to Liu Yue’e. “We should keep this from Mother for now. If she hears it, she might not be able to handle it. Also—” Li Yanzi hesitated before gritting her teeth. “If Qing Ge’er really is seriously hurt, we need to be ready to take out as much money as necessary. Saving a life is the priority!”

Even though she didn’t want Qing Ge’er as her son-in-law, she wasn’t heartless. A child’s marriage could be postponed—there would always be chances in the future. But a life was only one. If they didn’t save him, he would die. Even if they were just his aunts by marriage, they couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Liu Yue’e nodded, just as anxious. “Sigh, our men kept saying Qing Ge’er shouldn’t go up the mountain, that it was dangerous. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now look—this really happened!” It was too late for regrets now. Liu Yue’e rushed inside, hesitated for a moment, then gathered half of the family’s money and called her son Miao Ren and Miao Yu from the second household.

“Your fathers rushed off to Lantang Village empty-handed. Take this money and deliver it. If your aunt’s family needs help, stay and assist. If the money isn’t enough, come back and let us know—we’ll find a way to gather more.”

She sighed again. “What kind of fate is this for Chunlei? She finally started having better days and sent some things to her family, and now she’s got to pay it all back tenfold. If anything happens to Qing Ge’er, how will she live?”

And so, how do rumors spread? It’s when each person adds their own interpretation, exaggeration, and assumptions. The messenger always believes their own version makes the most sense.

A young ger goes up the mountain alone and encounters wild boars—what other possible outcome could there be?

All Miao Shi had told Lian Shi was that Qing Ge’er had gone up the mountain. She had heard loud noises and felt uneasy, so she asked her brothers to come help bring him back.

Lian Shi was an honest boy. He called Miao Shi “Aunt,” though technically, she was his mother’s cousin. Since she was family, he took the message seriously and ran straight to Shiqu Village. Seeing how anxious he was, the villagers naturally asked what had happened.

Still out of breath, Lian Shi gasped, “Qing Ge’er… Qing Ge’er went up the mountain to hunt wild boars. He’s been gone a long time. Aunt Chunlei is worried something happened, so she sent me to find her brothers…”

“What? Qing Ge’er went up the mountain and got into danger?”

“Qing Ge’er went up the mountain and ran into wild boars—he’s in trouble?”

“What?! Qing Ge’er went up the mountain and got gored by wild boars?!”

…

By the time Miao Xing and Miao Wang arrived in Lantang Village, they were already on the verge of tears.

“Chunlei, Qing Ge’er… Qing Ge’er didn’t make it?” Miao Xing slapped his thigh. “I told you he shouldn’t have gone up the mountain!”

Miao Shi: ???

“What do you mean he didn’t make it? What nonsense are you talking about?!” Miao Shi spat twice, cursing the bad luck. “Qing Ge’er is perfectly fine! I just asked you to come help him carry the wild boars down the mountain. By now, he’s probably already finished hunting. How did Lian Shi spread this message?!”

Hearing this, and seeing that Miao Shi wasn’t grieving, the brothers finally let out a sigh of relief. “Tch! Can’t entirely blame Lian Shi. Those gossiping villagers probably twisted the words a hundred times over!”

They knew that, but when they first heard it, panic had taken over. Feeling guilty, Miao Xing scratched his head. “Why did Qing Ge’er go up the mountain again? It just snowed—the paths are dangerous.” Then, realizing something, he frowned. “Wait, are you saying he went up there just to hunt wild boars?”

“Of course! The village was worried about the wild boars ruining the crops, so Qing Ge’er took it upon himself.” Miao Shi saw Miao Xing’s disapproving look and quickly changed the subject. “Enough talk! Just go up and help him already! Head east up the mountain, follow the straw-marked branches!”

By the time Miao Xing and Miao Wang followed Shen Qing’s trail of markers and footprints, they were met with an astonishing sight—Shen Qing standing before an enormous mountain of meat. The sheer scale of it left them completely speechless.

“Uncles, you’re finally here!” Shen Qing stood up, patting the dust off his pants. “Why are there only the two of you? Didn’t my mother tell you to bring my cousins along? This one wild boar alone is over four hundred pounds—how are the two of you supposed to carry them all?”

Miao Wang smacked his lips in disbelief. “Your mother did send a message, but by the time it reached us, the story got twisted. People were saying you… Never mind, let’s not repeat that unlucky talk. My heavens!” Miao Wang circled around the massive pile of wild boars. “You took all of these down by yourself? How in the world did you manage that?!”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I learned a lot from Hunter Liu’s father.” Shen Qing briefly explained how he had lured the wild boars into a trap using the net before taking them down with bows and spears—carefully omitting any mention of guns or crossbows. “The key is making sure the net is sturdy enough to hold them in.”

“Good grief, even if you taught me step by step, I wouldn’t dare try it myself!” Miao Wang marveled. Just seeing this many wild boars in one place would have made his legs go weak. How big of a gut did Qing Ge’er have to pull this off?

Shen Qing hadn’t expected there to be this many either—the sheer number of wild boars had far exceeded his expectations. “Maybe we should tell the village chief and get more people to help carry them down. Fourteen wild boars—even with Miao Ren and Miao Yu, it’ll take ages to move them all.”

Miao Wang, however, waved his hand dismissively and rolled up his sleeves. “No way! With this much meat, if we call more people, they’ll all want a share. We may not have any fancy skills, but your uncles have plenty of strength—we’ll get this done ourselves!”

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