Ch 82: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

The more Madam Guixiang expressed her concern for their family, the more embarrassed Miao Shi felt! After all, this whole “everyone in the village suffers” situation was something their family had caused…

She had known that Shen Qing went to town today to buy East Mountain, but she hadn’t expected things to move this fast. Shen Qing hadn’t even returned yet, and the officials responsible for the land survey had already arrived. Now that Madam Guixiang had brought up the topic, Miao Shi lowered her voice and said, “I won’t say this to anyone else, but I’ll tell you the truth. That workshop? It’s almost a done deal. Qing Ge’er has already made the arrangements, and after the new year, construction will begin.”

“Really?” Madam Guixiang was overjoyed.

Miao Shi nodded, and surprisingly, the lie came out of her mouth effortlessly. “That nobleman thinks highly of Qing Ge’er and has entrusted him with the entire project. Qing Ge’er doesn’t plan to stay in the village to manage the workshop himself, though. Once it’s built, he’ll need you and your husband to help run it, along with Sister Hexiang’s family. Qing Ge’er has seen a lot of the world now, and his ambitions have grown—he can’t sit still in one place anymore.”

This was a story she and Shen Qing had prepared in advance. Since Shen Qing was planning to go to Zizhou soon, he had thought ahead—he might often need to spend extended periods in the post-apocalyptic world. There needed to be a proper explanation for his absences in the village. The idea of traveling as a merchant was the perfect cover. No matter how much money they brought home, they could always claim it was from trading. Even if he occasionally brought back rare goods like face cream or other luxuries, he could simply say they were bought from his business trips. Who would be able to verify otherwise?

“Traveling outside is a good thing,” Madam Guixiang sighed. “If Qing Ge’er hadn’t been going to town frequently, would he have met this nobleman? Would this opportunity have come to us? If this works out, the whole village will have Qing Ge’er to thank.”

She was starting to understand the old saying the bold get rich, the timid starve. Most young women and ger in the village wouldn’t dare to travel to town alone. But precisely because they didn’t dare—including herself—they never encountered such opportunities.

Now, she was full of admiration. “I just wonder what kind of business this nobleman does and what kind of workshop they’re setting up in our village.”

Miao Shi thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t know the details, but I heard he owns both a mansion and shops in town. The workshop will be producing food, which will then be transported to his stores for sale.”

This was indeed Shen Qing’s plan!

While Boss Jin and the officials went to Lantang Village, Shen Qing didn’t rush back. He didn’t want to be seen returning with Boss Jin, as that might expose his connection to the purchase. Instead, he made his way to the house he had previously bought in town.

Currently, only six young servants lived there, and the four storefronts in front remained tightly shut. Shen Qing walked around the area and observed his surroundings.

This part of town was close to the city gate, and the residents weren’t particularly wealthy. It was home to middle- to lower-class families—people who weren’t rich but weren’t struggling in extreme poverty either.

Shen Qing’s house was by far the largest and most luxurious in the area, which explained why it had been left vacant for so long.

Those who could afford it preferred to buy homes in the wealthier districts, where the environment was better, and the neighbors were of higher social standing. Meanwhile, those who lived here simply couldn’t afford a property like his.

That said, the area was far from desolate. The streets were lively, with many small businesses on both sides. Aside from Shen Qing’s shuttered storefronts, there were shops selling food, groceries, yarn, and tea. Each store was only one or two units wide, but the street itself was bustling with activity.

This place wasn’t bad at all.

Shen Qing stroked his chin, deep in thought. If he planned things right, this could become his base of operations in the county.

Shen Qing strolled around and made some quick calculations in his mind. Those four empty storefronts were just sitting there, unused. Why not rent out two of them and use the remaining two to sell starch sausages and grilled gluten?

Starch sausage was one of his favorite foods from the other world! He had watched numerous videos on how to make it, and Mother Tang had even demonstrated it once. Once he understood the recipe, he was amazed—such a delicious food, yet so inexpensive!

It was made of 90% starch and only 10% meat, yet it had an incredibly rich, meaty flavor. The cost of making it was low, and the taste was excellent, making it perfect for selling in this middle-to-lower-income neighborhood.

Shen Qing was certain the business would thrive. But even if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a problem—after all, this shop was also a front for laundering money. Whatever didn’t sell could simply be transported to the post-apocalyptic world, where demand was endless.

The only issue was finding the right people to run it. His most trusted option was, of course, his uncle’s family. But the Miao family was already swamped with their tofu business. Miao Xing and Miao Wang had a knack for business, and with the network in Shiqu Village, they had no trouble selling tofu, bean curd sheets, and dried tofu to restaurants in town.

They had even started supplying tofu products to nearby villages, earning close to one tael of silver per day. With that kind of workload, they had no spare time for another business.

Then there was Second Aunt Lian’s family, or perhaps Madam Guixiang’s family, or even Yanzi’s mother’s household.

Shen Qing hesitated. When you actually needed people, you realized just how few trustworthy ones you had. But the workshop hadn’t even been built yet—there was still time to decide.

He bought some food on the street and had the butcher shop deliver some meat to his mansion.

Aside from the day he had bought it, he hadn’t visited this house since. Now that he was here again, he noticed how much had changed.

The six young servants he had purchased had initially been nervous, unsure of what to expect. But since Shen Qing barely visited, leaving them in the mansion for days on end, their anxiety gradually faded.

All of them had come from rural backgrounds, used to hard labor. But in this house, aside from cleaning and tending to their own needs, there wasn’t much for them to do. Feeling idle, they had taken it upon themselves to clean up the overgrown and rotting plants in the courtyard.

Though they didn’t know much about tending to flowers, they were skilled in fieldwork. Now, while the courtyard wasn’t exactly beautiful, it looked neat and full of life.

Shen Qing was pleased. He also noticed that the children were now wearing new clothes. Though the stitching was a bit clumsy and rustic, their spirits were much brighter than when they first arrived.

“The new year is almost here. Our family won’t be staying here, so keep these supplies for yourselves—don’t go hungry.”

The children kept their heads down, not daring to look at him. Shen Qing also felt awkward. He still wasn’t used to being anyone’s “master.”

Earlier, Mudan had clumsily poured him tea, and he hadn’t even known how to accept it properly.

He felt like he was raising these kids for nothing—they had barely any duties, and he still had to come by and take care of them. But if he didn’t have them here, this massive house would be left unguarded, vulnerable to any shady characters who might sneak in.

After sitting for a bit, he decided to leave. The atmosphere in the room was unbearably awkward—he felt uncomfortable, and so did the children. It was frustrating—why did he feel out of place in his own house?

Mudan hesitated before speaking softly, “It’s getting late, would the young master like to have a meal?”

They had been trained at the brokerage before being sold. They had been taught basic etiquette—how to serve their master, when to speak, when to pour tea, when to serve meals. But their training wasn’t in-depth since every household had different customs. Usually, older servants would train new ones after purchase, but Shen Qing had never had servants before.

Peony had dredged up this line from her limited memory of servant etiquette.

Shen Qing had already stood up but paused at her words and sat back down. “You can cook?”

He then glanced at the other children. “I remember two of you can cook. Who are they? And the rest—can you at least start a fire and help in the kitchen?”

Until now, he hadn’t figured out who would run the starch sausage shop. But these kids were just sitting around—why not put them to use?

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By the time the sun had nearly set, Shen Qing figured the clerks had finished their work in Lantang Village, so he made his way back.

Many villagers greeted him along the way, stopping him for a chat. Part of it was due to the rumors about the workshop—everyone was trying to get close to him. But another reason was that today had been a big day for the village, and everyone wanted to talk about it.

“…Our ancestors have relied on this mountain for generations, and now some noble just comes along and says we can’t go there anymore.” An older woman grumbled. “Where can we even argue about this? Qing Ge’er, what do you think? Will you still go up the mountain to chop wood?”

Shen Qing felt a little guilty. “…If it’s just picking wild vegetables and as long as we don’t go near their estate, I don’t think the nobleman will mind.” He quickened his pace. “I should hurry home—my mother is waiting for me.”

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That night, Miao Shi had cooked a large pot of clay pot noodles, packed with meatballs, crispy pork, ribs, and eggplant fritters. There weren’t many actual noodles in the pot—the focus was on the toppings.

The eggplant fritters were the ones she had fried earlier with Madam Guixiang. They had sliced long eggplants thin, stuffed them with minced meat, coated them in batter, and deep-fried them to a crispy golden brown. They were crunchy on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside, and absolutely delicious. Frying together had also helped save oil!

“I was thinking about what Madam Guixiang said today, and I felt so embarrassed,” Miao Shi sighed. “Getting rich behind people’s backs—why does it feel a little guilty afterward?”

Perhaps it was because the people she was deceiving were those who genuinely cared about her. If they weren’t on good terms, she wouldn’t feel a thing.

“I figured since tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve, I wouldn’t cook too much tonight,” she said, placing the clay pot on the table.

Shen Qing, however, let out a small burp—he had already eaten plenty in town.

The four children at the mansion had cooked several dishes for him to taste.

The two girls and two gers were still young, but they had managed to put together a decent meal. In the village, boys weren’t usually taught how to cook, so the two boys didn’t know how, but they were good at tending the fire and assisting in the kitchen.

“Mother, when you have time, you should go visit them and teach them some cooking skills. I plan to have them sell starch sausages in town once the workshop starts producing them.”

Starch sausages and grilled gluten might seem simple to prepare—just grilling or frying and adding seasoning—but controlling the heat was tricky. It would be best to train them in cooking first so they developed a better feel for it.

The biggest issue Shen Qing noticed was how stingy the kids were with ingredients.

Probably due to their impoverished upbringing, even though Shen Qing’s storeroom was packed with rice and flour, the children were reluctant to use oil or salt. The food they made was plain and flavorless—barely seasoned at all.

“Is this a big deal?” Miao Shi asked. “Aren’t they too young? If it were me, I wouldn’t trust food sold by kids.”

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