Ch 106: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

The Miao family hesitated slightly at first, but as rural folk who toiled in the soil for a living, their desire to own a draft animal eventually won out, and they accepted the silver with flushed faces. However, Miao Xing made the final decision, declaring, “Then let’s say this animal belongs to all of us. Our share of the silver will come out of future dividends, and we’ll repay it little by little. We can’t just let you take the loss—it wouldn’t be right!”

Shen Qing didn’t mind the money, but his uncle’s attitude warmed his heart. He agreed readily, saying, “There’s no need to rush the repayment. Cousin is about to build a house and get married, and Xiao Yu is also arranging a match—everywhere needs money. Just take three to five years to pay it back slowly.”

Spread over several years, the repayment would only be one or two taels of silver per year. With the help of the animal, they could free up manpower for other tasks, produce more tofu, and make up for the expense with a bit of hard work. Hearing this, the Miao family became even more grateful to Shen Qing.

After sitting for a short while, Shen Qing took Miao Shi back to Lantang Village. There was still a whole pile of matters at home waiting for him to handle: deciding on the location of the workshop, determining who would learn the technique of making starch sausages, and appointing a manager—everything needed his decision!

The first priority, in Shen Qing’s opinion, was to build the workshop near the courtyard at the foot of the mountain. Firstly, that courtyard was already somewhat isolated from the rest of the village, with an open space in between—just about enough to build a workshop. Secondly, Shen Qing had started this whole enterprise to ensure his family’s security. Once the workshop was completed, he planned to use the excuse of guarding the goods and protecting the secret recipe to have the village head organize some strong young men to form a security patrol to guard the area daily.

He wasn’t just bluffing Miao Yu or making empty promises to amuse children—he was serious about this plan.

If the workshop was built next to the courtyard at the foot of the mountain, then the security patrol would naturally protect his home as well, preventing any more trespassing or theft.

The only issue was that the courtyard belonged to Hunter Liu; they were only renting it. Shen Qing planned to visit Xiahe Village in a few days to ask if Hunter Liu was willing to sell it. After living there for a while, he found the place quite to his liking. The materials were solid, and if he could buy it outright and make some minor renovations, it would be much more convenient than purchasing land and building a new house from scratch.

If Hunter Liu refused to sell, he would then look for another plot of land to build both the workshop and a new home together.

As for the starch sausage technique, Shen Qing intended to teach it to Second Aunt Lian’s family. Second Aunt Lian herself, along with her husband Zhao Yu, Lian Ou, and Miao Shi—these four would be the ones to fully master the skill. After that, they could hire additional workers for simpler tasks like chopping meat, mixing ingredients, stuffing sausages, and grinding sweet potato starch.

For workshop management, he would rely on Aunt Guixiang, the village head’s wife, as well as the village head’s eldest son, Zhao Shi, and his wife, Yingzi. If everything went as expected, Zhao Shi was next in line to become the village head. He had been learning how to manage affairs under Zhao Youdang for two years already, so managing a workshop should be well within his capabilities. This experience would also help him develop leadership skills for when he took over village affairs in the future.

On the way home, Shen Qing carefully explained his plans to Miao Shi, then added, “Later, we should buy a draft animal for our own household too. I don’t think we even need a mule—we should get a tall, sturdy horse instead. It’ll be good for transporting goods and traveling. We can just say a benefactor arranged it for deliveries to the city. That way, when you visit your family, we won’t have to walk anymore—we can ride in a carriage in style!”

Miao Shi quietly listened, watching Shen Qing excitedly outline his vision for the future. Then, out of nowhere, she asked softly, “Qing Ge’er, did something happen while you were away? Are you unhappy?”

Shen Qing’s smile gradually froze.

Even though he had hidden his emotions well, Miao Shi could sense a faint heaviness between his brows. Perhaps it was a mother’s intuition—back at the Miao family home, he had excitedly praised Miao Yu’s progress, paid for the draft animal, and now he was talking about buying a house and a horse. All of it made Miao Shi feel that Shen Qing was trying too hard to make himself happy. He was making the Miao family happy, making Miao Yu happy, making her happy—as if surrounding himself with their joy would let him absorb some of it.

He was working so hard to feel happy, which only meant that he wasn’t happy to begin with.

“It’s nothing…” Shen Qing originally wanted to brush it off, but when he saw Miao Shi’s worried expression, he couldn’t keep up the act. “I just… I just ran into some things over there that I can’t quite figure out. It’s not dangerous, don’t worry. I think I’ll understand it soon enough.” He murmured, “I suppose… I’ll have to make a choice sooner or later.”

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When they arrived back at the mountain courtyard, they found Second Aunt Lian and Lian Rong waiting at the door—they had come to return the house key. While Shen Qing had been away and Miao Shi had stayed at Shiqu Village, the chickens at home had been entrusted to Second Aunt Lian to feed.

“Perfect timing, Aunt,” Shen Qing greeted them with a smile. “Now that you’re here, why don’t you stay for a bit?” Then he turned to Lian Rong and said, “Go home and call your eldest brother, sister-in-law, and second brother to come over. I’ll teach you all how to make starch sausages. Stay for lunch too.”

“Oh my!” Aunt Lian’s face lit up with joy. “You mean the deal with the benefactor went through? You’re really going to teach our family this?” She had already heard rumors floating around the village—Shen Qing’s few words from that morning had spread like wildfire, with people adding their own embellishments. She had planned to come and see for herself, but she hadn’t expected Shen Qing to offer to teach her right away! “But… isn’t this the benefactor’s secret recipe? Can we really learn it?”

Shen Qing nodded. “But let’s set some ground rules. I’ll teach you, and it’s fine for your family to make some for yourselves now and then, but you can’t sell it. And you definitely can’t share the recipe with anyone else. If the benefactor gets upset, I’ll be in trouble too.”

“Of course! We wouldn’t even make it for ourselves, let alone spread it around. Our family isn’t like that!” Second Aunt Lian swore repeatedly, then nudged Lian Rong. “Go home and call them over—but keep your voice down. Don’t let anyone overhear. If anyone asks, just say Miao Shi came back from her mother’s house, and we’re chatting while staying for lunch.”

The whole village had their eyes on this workshop. Seeing how Miao Xing and Miao Wang’s tofu shop was always bustling with customers, everyone was envious and eager to get on Shen Qing’s good side for a job in the workshop.

Lian Rong was sharp and quick to respond. “Don’t worry, Mother! I know what to say!”

Shen Qing, however, stopped her. “Wait a moment. Your family still has quite a bit of sweet potato starch stored, doesn’t it? Bring some over—take as much as you can. I’ll settle the payment with your grandmother later so she doesn’t have to worry.”

Shen Qing knew that Second Aunt Lian’s family had a stash of sweet potato starch. It all stemmed from an old incident: when Old Lady Shen had stirred up trouble, Zhao Youdang had punished Shen Zhigao by making him grind sweet potatoes into starch at the noodle workshop for ten days. Second Aunt Lian had taken the chance to get revenge for Miao Shi, bringing in all her family’s sweet potatoes and even having her maternal relatives deliver another cartload. Poor Shen Zhigao had been utterly exhausted from the labor.

For this matter, Second Aunt Lian’s eldest sister-in-law had made plenty of snide remarks at home. This time, though, no one could blame Wang Shi for being petty. The sweet potatoes, which were originally delicious whether roasted or cooked in porridge, had all been ground into starch. Even if they were made into vermicelli, one could eventually grow tired of eating them. If used to steam buns, the starch ground from the vermicelli workshop was different from regular sweet potato flour. Wasting the household’s grain just to vent her sister’s anger—how could Wang Shi be pleased? Even her mother-in-law wasn’t entirely happy about it.

Unexpectedly, the starch turned out to be useful now, which was a pleasant surprise for Second Aunt Lian.

This starch sausage was made with one part meat and eight parts starch, then mixed with seasonings like salt, sugar, five-spice powder, ground pepper, soy sauce, egg whites, and ginger juice. If red yeast rice powder was available, it could be added for coloring, but it wasn’t necessary. Since today was just a test run, they hadn’t prepared everything, so they skipped it.

Shen Qing’s family still had quite a bit of frozen wild boar meat, so he cut half a pound of lean meat. He wasn’t keen on chopping the meat himself, so he left that laborious task to Lian Shi.

Once the meat was finely minced until there were no visible granules, they mixed it thoroughly with four pounds of sweet potato starch and seasonings, stirring it into a paste before stuffing it into casings.

“Will this even taste good?” Lian Rong was still young, so they didn’t let her help. Since the entire second branch of the family had come, they even brought Lian Qiao over, letting Lian Rong hold her. The little girl was curious and stood on a bench watching from afar. “Isn’t this just eating noodles? There’s barely any meat.”

“It’s the starch that makes it delicious. Too much meat wouldn’t be as good,” Shen Qing said. He especially liked the taste of starch sausages. He had eaten meatier sausages before but found them less appealing. Besides, if they added too much meat, where was the profit? “Get down from there. You’re still holding Qiao, standing so high—what if you fall?”

Half a pound of meat cost only a few coins, and sweet potatoes were practically worthless. This entire batch cost at most ten coins but yielded twenty-five large starch sausages. They put them in cold water and simmered them gently until they set. Then, after peeling off the casing, they cut the sausages into flower shapes, skewered them on bamboo sticks, and pan-fried them in oil, releasing a tantalizing aroma.

A simple sprinkle of pepper salt and chili powder made them incredibly fragrant. Lian Rong took a bite and had no more doubts. Even little Lian Qiao, who couldn’t speak properly yet, tugged at her little aunt’s hand, wanting some.

Since the chili-flavored ones weren’t suitable for Lian Qiao, Miao Shi pan-fried a separate piece, sprinkled only with pepper salt, cut it into small sections, and fed it to him.

“It’s still missing something,” Shen Qing said after taking a bite. Back in the apocalypse, they had made this several times. Mother Tang used to add beef powder, spices, umami boosters… Though Tang Wenjie mocked it as all technology and additives, it was undeniably delicious. She even experimented with making sausages that tasted like meat without actually using any. “The seasoning mix also needs improvement. Today’s version is too rough.”

Starch sausages weren’t just good for pan-frying, deep-frying, or roasting—they could also be sliced and cooked in dishes. For lunch, they decided to make stir-fried starch sausage with eggs and black fungus. If it weren’t winter and vegetables weren’t scarce, stir-fried starch sausage with green peppers and potato slices or with garlic sprouts would also be delicious!

They could create their own delicious seasoning mix and set up a fried starch sausage stall. The sausages didn’t have to be exclusively sold at their stall either—they could also sell uncooked starch sausages for others to use in their cooking or even to set up their own stalls elsewhere.

Anping County was big, and there were many nearby towns. Shen Qing wasn’t worried about others copying his business. As long as he held onto the secret recipe for making starch sausages, no matter how many stalls opened, they would all have to buy from him. The money would still flow into his pocket.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing told Lian Rong to go to the village chief’s house. “Call Aunt Guixiang over for lunch. I need to discuss the workshop’s management with her.” Since their production was successful, he wanted to give Aunt Guixiang a heads-up first. Once things were settled, he would invite the village chief’s family for a proper discussion.

Lian Rong left with half a sausage in her mouth but didn’t return for a long time. By the time the food had been reheated twice, Second Aunt Lian was getting restless. “Where did that girl run off to? And Guixiang hasn’t come either. Did something happen?”

She was about to send Lian Shi to look for them when Madam Guixiang returned, pulling Lian Rong along. Her expression wasn’t good, and Lian Rong’s face was pale.

“What happened? Did some brat bully you?” Second Aunt Lian quickly pulled her daughter into her arms, but she saw no tears on Lian Rong’s face—only fear.

Madam Guixiang glanced at Miao Shi and then lowered her voice. “That widow Li from the Shen family has gone into labor.”

Miao Shi and Shen Qing were both stunned, and the room fell silent. After a moment, Miao Shi said, “The timing isn’t right, is it?”

No one knew this better than she did. Based on calculations, Li Jiaofeng wasn’t due until the end of February. How had she gone into labor already, when it wasn’t even mid-January yet? A bad feeling crept over her. “Did something happen to her?”

Madam Guixiang looked at Miao Shi in surprise, not expecting her to guess so accurately. She nodded. “She took a fall and went into labor early. Shen Zhigao is in a panic and came to borrow a cart from us. Say what you will about her, but a life is still a life. My husband has some ties with Shen Zhigao, so he lent him the cart and helped carry her. That’s why I was delayed. Li Jiaofeng started bleeding, and when Rong came to find me, she got scared.”

She sighed. “There’s a saying—babies born in the seventh month survive, but those born in the eighth month don’t. She’s just over eight months along and already bleeding. Sigh.”

Second Aunt Lian stroked Lian Rong’s head. “Touch your hair to calm yourself, rub your ears to ease your fear.” Lian Rong pressed her lips together, buried her head in her mother’s arms, and said nothing.

The room fell into silence. Did Li Jiaofeng and Shen Zhigao deserve this? Even Miao Shi, the one most wronged by them, couldn’t bring herself to wish death upon the unborn child—especially when she remembered her own baby, the one she had lost after struggling in labor for two days.

She, too, had fallen back then.

“How did she fall?” Miao Shi idly arranged the dishes on the table, only asking after everyone had sat down.

Madam Guixiang hesitated for a moment before answering, “There was a light snowfall the other day, right? The snow on the eaves melted and dripped onto the doorstep, then froze again overnight. This morning, Li Jiaofeng didn’t notice and stepped right onto the ice. She slipped and fell hard.”

Clicking her tongue, Madam Guixiang added, “I went with them to pick her up, and there really was a huge patch of ice—solid as a rock. My husband even said we should go door-to-door warning people. If an elderly person were to fall, they wouldn’t recover easily. You can’t be lazy in the morning—the first thing you should do is clear the ice!”

Miao Shi nodded without saying a word. It all sounded reasonable—it was a common cause of falls in the village. But a nagging doubt lingered in her mind.

Not about Li Jiaofeng, but about herself and the child she never got to hold.

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