Ch 73: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

When Song Kaiji was very young, his biological father passed away—so young that he had no memory of him at all. When he was three, his mother remarried and brought him into a new home with his stepfather. From the moment he could remember, it was his stepfather who played the role of his father.

His stepfather had no biological children of his own and treated Song Kaiji as if he were his own flesh and blood. At one point, Song Kaiji’s mother even considered changing his surname to match his stepfather’s. But she hesitated, torn between her late husband—her first love—and the man she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with. Both were men she had truly loved, making the decision all the more difficult.

Even now, Song Kaiji could recall his stepfather gently patting his head, smiling at his wife as he reassured her, “Even if he doesn’t take my surname, does that mean Xiao Jie isn’t my son?” He had then picked Song Kaiji up, placing him on his shoulders. “The bond between a father and son isn’t just in a name, right, son?”

At the time, little Song Kaiji didn’t understand what the adults were talking about. He simply giggled and clung to his stepfather’s neck, filled with affection.

But while his stepfather was open-minded, others were not—or perhaps, they simply had their own agendas. His stepfather’s elder brother—Song Kaiji’s uncle—was one of them. Every time he looked at Song Kaiji and his mother, his face twisted in disapproval.

Song Kaiji had once overheard his uncle lecturing his stepfather. “You must have more money than sense, raising another man’s son! If it were a girl, fine, whatever—but a boy? Are you seriously planning to buy him a house and a car, and even help him get married? Even if he takes your surname, he’s still not a real part of our family! If you still have any sense left, you should have your own kid while you’re young. And if you can’t—” His uncle shoved his own son forward. “This is our family’s blood.”

But his stepfather never argued back. He would just chuckle foolishly and let it slide, going home and treating Song Kaiji just as well as before.

---

That evening, Mother Tang brought out the fairy chicken that had been simmering all afternoon—a dish Shen Qing had been craving for a long time. He had watched countless short videos about it.

The whole chicken was first cleaned, then marinated with soy sauce, pepper, sugar, and oyster sauce. If an oven was available, it was slightly roasted until the skin turned crisp. If not, it was deep-fried in medium-hot oil until golden brown. Whether roasted or fried, both methods created their own unique and delicious flavors.

The pig trotters were first blanched and caramelized with sugar, then simmered with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, and cooking wine—ideally huadiao wine. Once they were halfway cooked, they were transferred to an earthen pot, forming the base, while the whole chicken was placed on top. The broth from the pig trotters was poured over it until the chicken was fully submerged. Then, star anise, ginger slices, bay leaves, cloves, and angelica root were added. The dish was slow-cooked on low heat for two to three hours, allowing the pig trotters’ collagen to fully dissolve into the broth and infuse the chicken. The result was meat that was rich, aromatic, and fall-off-the-bone tender. Finally, the broth was reduced to a thick, amber-colored glaze, which was continuously spooned over the chicken to coat it evenly.

Back when Shen Qing had only seen this dish in videos, he had drooled over it. Now, as the earthen pot was placed on the table and its lid lifted, his mouth practically watered.

“You know, as much trouble as it was to make, it really does smell amazing.” Mother Tang dished out the food while casually bringing up what had happened earlier that day. “Since the chicken needed to simmer for two hours, I figured I might as well go out and check for news. I didn’t find anything about your parents, but I did run into those two people. They just arrived yesterday, and they really do seem to be from your hometown.” She glanced at Song Kaiji. “Since you didn’t give me any details about your family, I couldn’t be sure if they were really your relatives, so I didn’t bring them back.”

The last time Song Kaiji had brought Mother Tang into the base, the ordeal had been a mess. There were far too many people outside willing to fake identities just to get inside. Song Kaiji’s expression darkened slightly, and he gave a small nod. “That’s fine. Even if they’re real, I wouldn’t necessarily bring them into the base. But… just the two of them?”

“Yes, I checked their tent—there was no one else.” The people Mother Tang had met were Song Kaiji’s uncle’s two children—his cousins in name, though there was no actual blood relation. And given how much their father resented Song Kaiji, these two had always followed his lead.

As children, they had often bullied Song Kaiji. While his stepfather’s parents had never been as openly hostile as his uncle, they had always favored their biological grandchildren in any dispute. Once Song Kaiji’s stepfather realized what was happening, he had stopped bringing him to family gatherings. As a result, Song Kaiji hadn’t seen those cousins in years.

Before the apocalypse, Song Kaiji wouldn’t have wanted to see them at all. But now, for the sake of finding out about his parents, he had no choice but to go. A bad feeling gnawed at him, making him lose his appetite. While the others were focused on devouring the fairy chicken, he barely touched his food.

Shen Qing, sitting beside him, had been eating heartily. Noticing Song Kaiji’s hesitation, he picked up a piece of pig trotter and placed it in his bowl. “Try this—it’s really good. Tastes completely different from the chicken. You passed out for so long today, so you need to eat more and recover.” Seeing that Song Kaiji still looked troubled, he reassured him, “If they really are your relatives, just bring them back. We can afford to take care of two more people—you don’t have to worry about me.”

Song Kaiji shook his head. “That’s not what I’m worried about…” After a moment of hesitation, he quietly explained his family situation to Shen Qing. “If they had come with my parents, I would have no choice but to take them in, out of respect for my dad. After all, they’re his brother’s kids. But the fact that they came alone… I have no idea what happened to their parents. And honestly, I can’t stand them. I’m afraid they’ll try to latch onto me.”

Why were only the two of them here? Where were his uncle and aunt? Song Kaiji hadn’t seen his cousins in years, but he knew their personalities well. With just the two of them, could they really have made it all the way to Red City Base on their own?

Shen Qing chewed on his chopsticks, stunned. In his world, he had never seen a man willingly raise a child from his wife’s previous marriage. If a family had to adopt a son to continue the lineage, they would at least make sure to change the child’s surname. But Song Kaiji’s father—he didn’t care about blood ties, didn’t care about surnames. He just loved Song Kaiji for who he was. Shen Qing couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. “Your dad is really good to you.”

Better than his own father ever was.

“Yeah.” Song Kaiji’s voice was barely a whisper. “I miss him so much.”

If it weren’t for his father, Li Liang and Li Li could die on the roadside, and Song Kaiji wouldn’t even care. But now that they had made it all the way from their hometown to Red City Base, did that mean a larger group would be arriving soon? Song Kaiji’s heart was filled with anticipation—he hoped his parents would be in the next batch of arrivals. If his father saw that he had ignored his own cousins, would he be disappointed in him?

Shen Qing somewhat understood Song Kaiji’s dilemma. If it were him and he came across Zhao Shuan, no matter how annoying he was, Shen Qing would still give him a hand for Aunt Guixiang’s sake. And Song Kaiji’s father was much closer to him than Aunt Guixiang was to Shen Qing.

“Then, why don’t you just take them into the base, but don’t bring them home with us? As long as they get inside, they shouldn’t die too easily, right?” Shen Qing whispered, giving Song Kaiji a suggestion. “If your father has an issue with it later, just say that I didn’t allow you to bring strangers home. Your father dotes on you so much—he definitely won’t blame you.”

Song Kaiji hesitated. Instinctively, he didn’t want his father to have any bad impression of Shen Qing. But at the same time, he believed his father was reasonable. As a team leader, wasn’t it perfectly normal for Shen Qing to refuse to let strangers join their group? His father wouldn’t hold that against him.

“Alright, I’ll say that!” Song Kaiji looked at Shen Qing and grinned, showing his two sharp canines. “Thanks, boss!”

---

Outside the base, in a tattered, drafty tent, Li Liang had just had half of his cornbread stolen. Furious, he stood at the entrance of the tent, cursing for a long while, but no one paid him any attention. Just as he stepped back inside, a rock hit the top of their tent.

Taking advantage of Li Liang’s ranting, Li Li quickly stuffed her half of the cornbread into her mouth and swallowed it down before advising him, “Brother, stop yelling, or you’ll provoke someone into retaliating. It’s just the two of us—we can’t fight them off.”

Li Liang fumed. “That was my last half-piece of bread! I didn’t even get a single bite before it got stolen! And I can’t even curse about it?!” He turned to Li Li. “Where’s yours? Give me a piece!”

“How would I know someone would steal yours? I finished mine ages ago.” Li Li showed him her pouch, which was cleaner than her own face. Li Liang’s expression darkened. Just as he was about to start cursing again, Li Li quickly interrupted, “You really need to change your temper. Do you even realize what kind of world we live in now? If you hadn’t gotten into that fight before, Dad, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt wouldn’t have—”

“Shut up!” Li Liang snapped viciously. “You’re not allowed to mention that ever again!”

Today, they had come across a middle-aged woman who was searching for the parents of someone named Song Kaiji. After some questioning, they confirmed it was indeed their so-called cousin.

“That damn woman! No matter how we tried to talk her into it, she refused to take us into the base! If she had brought us in, would I still be stuck living here? Would my food have been stolen?!”

Li Li was silent for a moment before asking hesitantly, “Brother, do you really think Song Kaiji will take us into the base? We’re not even related by blood. And… if he finds out what happened to Second Uncle and Second Aunt…”

“I told you to shut up about that!” Li Liang growled, raking his hands through his hair in frustration. He brooded for a moment before saying, “If what that woman said is true, then just for Second Uncle and Second Aunt’s sake, Song Kaiji has to come find us. When that happens, we’ll tell him we have news about them—keep him on the hook.”

“When he comes, you better cry and beg him properly. He might not be Uncle’s real son, but he’s just as soft-hearted. For Uncle’s sake, there’s no way he won’t take care of us!”

Li Li’s face looked grim. She hated the thought of crying and pleading with Song Kaiji. But in a world like this, there was no other choice if she wanted to survive. Reluctantly, she nodded in agreement.

Li Liang leaned in closer, lowering his voice menacingly. “And remember—that matter stays buried in your stomach. Don’t ever let it slip.”

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