Ch 67: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

This year, only seven or eight households in Lantang Village were slaughtering pigs for the New Year, but the only one truly in need of pork was the Old Shen family. Other families had more or less bought some cheap wild boar meat from Shen Qing earlier, but ever since Old Lady Shen failed to get pork from Miao Shi at the mountain-foot cottage, she hadn’t even been able to buy tofu. This left her stewing in anger and gave the village plenty to gossip about.

“I heard from the big sister living next door to them that lately, she often hears Old Lady Shen screaming at home, like she’s lost her mind,” said someone, cracking sunflower seeds with a smirk, not a shred of sympathy on their face—only the pleasure of watching a spectacle. “And those two daughters-in-law of hers aren’t easy to deal with either. That Zhao Aiye was always—” The person glanced at Miao Shi, laughed awkwardly, and skipped over the rest. “Now that she’s up against Widow Li, it’s finally a fair match.”

Zhao Aiye was always what? Always bullying Miao Shi, of course! It might seem like he was in a tough spot now, but he was never a kind person. Back when Miao Shi was still in the Old Shen family, he treated her and Shen Qing like servants, stepping on her to elevate himself. After Shen Zhang passed away and he gave birth to Shen Zhuang, he never once regarded Miao Shi as his elder sister-in-law again. He had been full of himself back then.

Although Zhao Aiye didn’t dare talk back to his mother-in-law, just as he had never feared Miao Shi, he wasn’t particularly afraid of Li Jiaofeng either—after all, the baby in her belly wasn’t even born yet. Who knew for sure it would be a boy? He had already whispered to his close acquaintances countless times, hoping it would at least be a ger, and even a girl would do.

If someone in this family had to take on the role of “Miao Shi” and be the one getting trampled on, it definitely wasn’t going to be Zhao Aiye!

Of course, beyond competing with Li Jiaofeng, Zhao Aiye had another reason to hope she would give birth to a ger or a girl—his own self-interest. For years, he had considered all of the Old Shen family’s assets as belonging to Shen Zhuang by default. If Li Jiaofeng really gave birth to a boy, wouldn’t that mean at least half of the family property would be split away?

With such a concrete threat to his interests, this wasn’t just some petty squabble like Second Aunt Lian and Wang Shi’s fights. The struggle between Zhao Aiye and Li Jiaofeng made Shen Zhigao uncomfortable, but Shen Zhiwei—while a bit of a coward—was very close to Zhao Aiye and knew how to protect his fulang.

Although Shen Zhiwei didn’t openly defy his older brother, the two branches of the Old Shen family were already drifting apart, and the household had become a chaotic mess. Old Lady Shen couldn’t mediate the conflicts in her family anymore, nor could she suppress her two sons. On top of that, she had to endure Old Man Shen’s scolding, accusing her of being useless and unable to keep the family together. The pressure on her was immense.

So when Zhao Aiye’s family showed up, Old Lady Shen immediately assumed they were there to back him up—or maybe she knew they weren’t but just needed an excuse to vent her anger. That’s how that ridiculous scene unfolded.

“Tell me, when has our village ever seen someone slaughter a pig for the New Year and not invite guests?” someone shook their head in disbelief. “It’s not like the whole village would go—just one or two people from each family. Even if they eat as much as they want, how much could they finish? Ten pounds of meat, at most? They used to put on a decent show, but now what? Being this stingy, have they no shame?”

What else could it be? They were broke! Miao Shi and Shen Qing had a rough idea of the Old Shen family’s wealth. After compensating them for the stolen grains, paying for Widow Li’s betrothal gifts, there couldn’t have been much left. If they could save ten pounds of meat, that meant selling ten pounds instead.

There’s a saying: When a man is poor, his ambitions shrink; when a horse is starved, its coat grows long. When times are tough, who has the luxury to care about appearances? Besides, the Old Shen family was never a particularly dignified household to begin with!

“Speaking of which, have you seen Widow Li lately?” someone sitting by the brick bed asked. “I ran into her the other day—her belly is huge! No one knows when she actually got pregnant, but she looks like she’s about to give birth any day now.”

Another person lowered their voice and said, “I heard… she’s due in two months. And her belly is really pointed—who knows, maybe it really is a boy. Shen Zhigao might just get what he wanted…”

The gossip continued around Miao Shi, growing louder and louder. She couldn’t completely ignore it, and after a while, she got up, feeling uncomfortable. “I’ll go check if Sister Heliang needs help in the kitchen.”

“Oh, come on, you’re a guest today. What’s the rush? There are plenty of people helping in the kitchen, you just sit and relax.”

But Miao Shi didn’t respond, walking away quickly. Shen Qing actually wanted to listen in a bit longer, but seeing her like that, he had no choice but to follow.

Inside the room, one of the older, kinder women glared at the gossipers. “You all are too quick with your tongues, stabbing right into someone’s heart!”

Wasn’t it because Miao Shi didn’t have a son that she was kicked out of the Old Shen family?

“Ah, who knew she still cared that much? It’s been so long since she got divorced. That other woman’s baby is about to be born—don’t tell me she’s still hung up on Shen Zhigao? Is that why she looked so upset?”

“Shut up already! What kind of nonsense is that? It was bad enough before, but now you’re really crossing the line! You’re saying this in Old Lian’s house? If Second Aunt Lian hears you, she’ll tear you apart!” someone who had previously witnessed Second Aunt Lian fighting under the big locust tree hurriedly tried to stop them.

“She dares? I’m her sister-in-law’s aunt! I’m still her elder—let’s see if she even dares to touch me!” This was one of Wang Shi’s relatives, who naturally disliked Miao Shi because of her connection to Second Aunt Lian.

Miao Shi went to the kitchen, where the food was already cooking. A huge pot of sauerkraut and pork ribs stewed with blood sausage bubbled away, and another pot held sliced pork in garlic sauce. The Old Lian family had slaughtered a pig just for the sake of keeping up appearances, so of course, they put on a grand feast—big, hearty portions of real meat dishes.

It was funny how some people hesitated to let their kids eat an egg on regular days, but when it came to putting on a show, they were more than willing to splurge.

“What brings you here? Why aren’t you sitting inside?” Second Aunt Lian was mixing garlic sauce when she spotted Miao Shi.

“It was getting stuffy in there. I don’t like gossiping, so I came to see you,” Miao Shi glanced at the pot. “This blood sausage looks really well made.”

She hadn’t lacked meat this year, but she hadn’t had much blood sausage. The wild boars Shen Qing hunted had already bled out in the mountains, so there wasn’t much left to use. Seeing it now, she found herself craving it—fried blood sausage was the best, but steaming it over sauerkraut gave it a fantastic flavor, too.

Second Aunt Lian glanced around, making sure no one was looking. She scooped up a few pieces of cooked blood sausage into a small bowl and drizzled them with garlic sauce. “Here, take this. If you don’t want to stay with those gossipers, go sit in my room. The pork belly and pig’s feet I saved for you are there too.”

That night, even after a meal of rich, hearty pork dishes, Miao Shi still felt deeply unsettled.

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After visiting Scholar Miao once again, Shen Qing’s eagerness for knowledge became almost unbearable. He found that recognizing characters wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined. As long as Scholar Miao read them aloud once, he could easily match them with the text and memorize them. Of course, knowing the meaning of the words and the full meaning of the sentences was another matter entirely.

And then there was the mystery of the “ancient times”—Shen Qing couldn’t wait to uncover the truth!

Previously, he had claimed that the gunshot sounds were boulders rolling down the mountains, which had scared the villagers away from the area. Naturally, since he was the one who spread this explanation, it wouldn’t look good for him to openly wander the mountains. So, he waited until nightfall, when no one was around, before slipping out.

The winter night wind howled through the mountains. As Shen Qing walked the dark path, he suddenly heard distant howling—wolves. Though the sound came from deep within the mountains, far away, it still made him freeze on the spot.

Since crossbows were a weapon forbidden to civilians by the imperial government, Shen Qing had always hidden his crossbow in the cave, fearing trouble if it were discovered. Now, hearing wolves in the distance, he felt uneasy without a weapon in hand.

There’s an old saying: walk the night roads long enough, and you’ll eventually meet a ghost. Shen Qing tightened his grip on his basket, realizing that he couldn’t afford to take such risks. He needed to keep weapons at home. Or perhaps… he could just bring the gun home? Even if someone saw it, they wouldn’t recognize what it was, right?

He could also buy a couple of bows. Crossbows were banned, but bows were not, since drawing them required considerable arm strength. Shen Qing had never used a bow before, but he had confidence in his own strength—he figured he could learn.

Lost in thought, the journey seemed shorter. As he entered the cave and held his gun and crossbow, he finally felt a bit more at ease and began to ponder the howls he had heard.

Shen Qing had been roaming these mountains since childhood, and he had never once heard wolves in this area before. Perhaps because the land had been ruled by wild boars for so long, other predators avoided conflict with them? Now that he had wiped out all the wild boars, this place had become unclaimed territory, drawing wolves into the area…

The thought sent a cold sweat down his back. He shook his head to clear it, but the decision in his heart became firmer—he needed to bring a gun home. And not just one—he needed several. He needed good guns. If anything happened, at least he would be prepared!

And then there was Song Kaiji… If this world really was the “ancient times” of that world, had they ever struggled with wild animal attacks before guns were invented? And how did they deal with them?

Since arriving at Red City Base, Shen Qing had only heard of how fierce the mutated beasts were and how terrible their meat tasted, but he had never actually seen one. Maybe people in that world had already developed sophisticated ways to deal with wild beasts. If he could learn those methods, it would be invaluable!

With this in mind, Shen Qing quickened his pace toward the base.

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At the same time, Qu Weiwei and Song Kaiji were still awake.

Qu Weiwei had woken up early to accelerate vegetable growth. She now treated it as a serious business, getting up before dawn every day to stimulate two large baskets of vegetables, then rushing to the morning market with Mother Tang to sell them before coming home to catch up on sleep.

In the afternoon, she trained her offensive abilities—something Shen Qing had strongly insisted on. He had recruited ability users to hold power and ensure his own safety, so how could he let Qu Weiwei slack off?

Her progress was significant. Now, with just a moment of focus, she could summon vine whips as thick as a soda can—much thicker than the rolling-pin-sized ones she had before! With a flick, she smashed a large hole through the iron plate hanging in the middle of the living room. Later, when Tang Wenjie woke up, he would restore it as if nothing had happened.

Qu Weiwei was very satisfied with her strength. “If that were a zombie, its whole head would’ve been smashed!”

“But zombies won’t just stand there and let you hit them,” Song Kaiji remarked idly from the side. He was keeping records—tracking how many vegetables they grew daily, how many seeds they used, how many crystal cores they earned, and how many they consumed for ability training. Shen Qing had never checked his accounts, but Song Kaiji felt that was out of trust, and he couldn’t take it lightly.

Qu Weiwei slumped onto the couch. “Ugh, I kind of want to go out and fight zombies now.” She sighed. “People are weird, huh? I used to hope I’d never see a zombie again and just be a lazy freeloader in the base. But now that I’ve broken through to Level Four, I actually kind of miss fighting them.” She mostly wanted to see how strong she had become.

That’s right—Qu Weiwei had finally advanced to Level Four after consistently absorbing enough crystal cores and training diligently. Not only had her offensive vines evolved, but her plant-growth acceleration had also improved significantly.

Tang Wenjie had also leveled up, though only from Level One to Level Two. However, since his innate ability was already exceptionally strong, he was now nearly on par with a regular Level Four ability user. He and Qu Weiwei often sparred, and they were almost evenly matched.

“This is so unfair… I’ve trained so hard for so long, and I still can’t beat you, a newcomer!” Qu Weiwei pouted in frustration.

Tang Wenjie looked at his hands. He had to admit, their boss was truly a genius! After following Shen Qing’s advice and putting in great effort to shape a piece of silver into a yuanbao (a traditional silver ingot), his ability had improved at an astonishing rate. His control over metal was now far beyond that of other metal users.

For example, most metal ability users could only control two “main” weapons, adjusting their shape, speed, and hardness. But Tang Wenjie could already split his primary weapon into more than ten thin silver needles, attacking multiple targets at once—turning his one-on-one combat ability into a powerful area attack.

Once he realized this, Tang Wenjie trained even harder, molding that piece of silver into countless different shapes. Eventually, he managed to forge an intricately patterned bracelet, which he proudly presented to Shen Qing upon his arrival.

Shen Qing: ???

Is this what I wanted???

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