Ch 110: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

A thick layer of straw was spread over the bare wooden cart. A newly delivered woman often bled heavily, and to avoid soiling the bedding, straw was the only option.

At least they remembered that a woman after childbirth couldn’t be exposed to the wind, so they had covered her tightly with a thick quilt.

Lying on the cart, Li Jiaofeng was being pulled back from the medical hall. With every jolt of the mule cart, the wounds from childbirth tore at her, sending waves of unbearable pain through her body. This was her first time giving birth—she didn’t know if it was supposed to hurt this much, but she blamed everything on the person who had caused her to fall. She also blamed herself for being careless.

She was a smart woman. She hadn’t gotten involved with Shen Zhigao for romance or passion—she was securing her future. Once she had set her sights on him, she made sure to dig into every detail of his family affairs. And back then, she had already guessed that Miao Shi’s miscarriage, even Shen Zhang’s death, had not been accidents.

How could things be so coincidental? Only Shen Zhigao and Miao Shi were foolish enough to be completely oblivious, without a single doubt in their minds. But for Li Jiaofeng, this knowledge had been an advantage. Naturally, she hadn’t been kind-hearted enough to warn anyone—why should she stir up trouble? What if the truth came out and Shen Zhigao suddenly felt guilty for Miao Shi and started longing for her again? Wouldn’t she just be making things easier for someone else?

Besides, she prided herself on being clever. Since she had guessed the truth ahead of time, she had been on guard. How could she possibly lose to Zhao Aiye?

Yes, just like Miao Shi, Li Jiaofeng had always suspected Zhao Aiye. That was why Old Lady Shen had always thought Li Jiaofeng was intentionally giving her a hard time by only bossing Zhao Aiye around—it infuriated her. But in reality, that wasn’t the case at all. Li Jiaofeng was indeed pampered and wanted to be taken care of, but she also truly didn’t want Zhao Aiye anywhere near her.

To Li Jiaofeng, Shen Zhigao’s child had died, so the family estate naturally fell to Zhao Aiye’s son, Shen Zhuang. That could only mean Zhao Aiye was the one responsible. So when Zhao Aiye returned to his parents’ house for a few days, she let her guard down, thinking she had nothing to worry about. Who knew that was exactly when disaster would strike?

Fortunately, she had been alert. The moment she felt her foot slip, she had instinctively braced herself, using her arms to protect her belly. Otherwise, she might have ended up like Miao Shi… A dark expression crossed her face as she clutched her newborn son tightly.

Her arms still ached. Thankfully, nothing was broken, but bruises covered her skin, and any small movement sent waves of pain through her muscles. Lifting her arms was a struggle. But when they arrived at the Shen household and Old Lady Shen eagerly reached out to hold her grandson, Li Jiaofeng endured the pain and refused to let go.

“Mother, it’s cold outside. Don’t pass the baby around and risk exposing him to the chill. If you want to see him, come inside.”

She had made up her mind—she would never be separated from her son, not even for a moment. Even when he grew up, she wouldn’t let her guard down. Hadn’t Shen Zhang been a cautionary tale? Her gaze swept over everyone in the Shen family. Zhao Aiye was still at his maiden home and had not returned.

Who was it? At this point, she didn’t even trust Old Lady Shen anymore. Clutching the child protectively, she turned and went inside.

Old Lady Shen’s expression immediately darkened at being rebuffed. “Eldest son, your wife has no respect for me! I’m the child’s grandmother, yet I’m not even allowed to hold my own grandson? What kind of nonsense is this?”

Shen Zhigao frowned impatiently. Right now, his mind was entirely focused on his newborn son. Li Jiaofeng had done him a great service by giving birth to a boy—she had even more value now. He was even more protective of her than before.

“Mother, after what happened, Jiaofeng is obviously scared. It’s normal for her to want to keep an eye on the child. If you want to hold him, just do it inside where she can see,” he said. The baby had been born weak due to the fall. He was already hoping Jiaofeng would recover quickly so she could bear him more children. In a farming family, more children meant more prosperity.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhigao added, “Mother, make a bowl of brown sugar egg soup for Jiaofeng. And cook some pig’s trotter soup tonight—it’ll help her produce milk. The boy is weak; he needs to drink plenty of milk to grow strong.”

“Where am I supposed to get eggs from? Do you know how much the medical hall charged us? Two days and one night, and our savings are completely drained! Forget eggs, we even had to sell a chicken just to afford that rich-folk’s medical care!” Old Lady Shen grumbled as she stomped toward the kitchen.

But despite her words, she had been surprisingly willing to pay at the time. After all, she had been through this once before. Back then, Miao Shi hadn’t gone to the medical hall—she had called the village midwife first and only sought a doctor later, but by then, it had been too late.

They had spent a fortune marrying Li Jiaofeng, and she had been carrying their grandchild. If they hadn’t saved her and she turned out to be infertile, that would have been a devastating loss.

But she wasn’t exaggerating. The Shen family had spent too much money in the past six months—compensating Miao Shi and Shen Qing, paying for Li Jiaofeng’s bride price, and now this medical bill. They had already borrowed several hundred wen from relatives. There was no money left for eggs or pig’s trotters.

Still, the grandson had to eat. “We’ll take some grain and trade for millet. If there’s no milk, we can cook millet porridge and strain out the starchy water for the child to drink.”

Ignoring Shen Zhigao’s deep scowl, Old Lady Shen turned toward the kitchen and scooped a ladle of sorghum flour. “As for your wife, she can have some lumpy porridge. It’s not that I’m being cruel, but we simply don’t have the money! If she wants better food, she can pay for it herself or have her family send some over.”

Shen Zhigao finally understood what it meant to be a “hero trapped by a lack of silver.” He ruffled his hair in frustration but couldn’t come up with a solution. He could only return to his room in defeat.

Old Lady Shen snorted, then turned to see Shen Zhiwei squatting outside with his son, Shen Zhuang. Her irritation flared up again.

“Second son, is your wife never coming back? You can’t even keep your own husband in line! Do you have any pride as a man? Go fetch him and Juanzhi back—we have a house full of work to do! Do you want me to die from exhaustion?”

Shen Zhiwei’s head nearly touched the ground. Old Lady Shen had thoroughly offended the Zhao family. If he didn’t bring a hefty gift, there was no way they would let Zhao Aiye return.

After hesitating, he muttered, “Mother, give me some money. I can’t go empty-handed…”

Before he could finish, Old Lady Shen wailed, “Didn’t you hear me? Your sister-in-law doesn’t even have eggs to eat! We borrowed hundreds of wen just to pay the medical hall! And now you want money? Are you trying to kill me?”

Shen Zhiwei tasted bitterness in his mouth. What was he supposed to do then? Go to his father-in-law’s house empty-handed, kneel down, let them curse and beat him, and beg Aiye to come back? Old Lady Shen had stormed into the Zhao household just to vent her own anger, never once considering his predicament.

After scolding for a long time, Old Lady Shen finally grew tired. She glared at Shen Zhiwei and said, “Go tell Zhao Aiye that if he has the guts, he should be like that Miao fellow—divorce and never come back! Don’t think you can play hard to get with me. I won’t give their family a single coin!”

At the mention of divorce, Shen Zhiwei shuddered and suddenly looked up at his mother. “Mother, if Aiye really divorces me, will you let me marry another wife? Like how my elder brother remarried, with a bride price of five or six taels of silver?”

Old Lady Shen, caught off guard by her usually silent younger son’s question, choked on her words for a moment before replying, “Where do we have money for that now?”

“Then am I supposed to be single forever?” Shen Zhiwei turned to look at Shen Zhuang, who was squatting nearby, too afraid to speak. The boy was already thirteen or fourteen years old—just a couple of years away from needing a wife himself. Right now, their family had no money and was even in debt. Forget remarriage for himself—who knew if there would even be enough silver for Shen Zhuang to get a wife in the future?

More than that, Shen Zhiwei simply did not want to divorce Zhao Aiye. He shook his head and said, “I won’t say it. Aiye has given me children and lived with me for over ten years. His heart is with me—I won’t divorce him.”

Zhao Aiye was the only one who truly stood by his side.

After saying that, Shen Zhiwei no longer cared about Old Lady Shen’s reaction. He silently turned and went back to his room, shutting the door behind him. Old Lady Shen, furious, threw a clay pot on the ground. “What kind of nonsense is this?! I wasn’t telling you to actually divorce! You just need to scare him a little so he’ll come crawling back!”

But the only response she got was her son’s usual silence. This time, however, there was something different about his silence—something stubborn, something determined. It made Old Lady Shen even more stifled with frustration. She glanced at the chaotic kitchen, where they were running low on everything—firewood, rice, oil, salt. There was no one to lend her a hand, and yet every single one of them seemed to be against her. She had the urge to smash everything in sight.

But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she collapsed onto the floor, wailing, “What kind of miserable life is this… My daughters-in-law are all lazy, my sons are unfilial, and now they even dare to show me attitude… I can’t live like this anymore…”

Shen Zhuang was so startled by her crying that he took two steps back, then turned and ran off without looking back. No one came to check on her, and no one helped her up. She sat alone on the kitchen floor, sobbing, until Old Man Shen finally knocked on the window from inside the house and grumbled, “Stop embarrassing yourself!”

…

The walls of a rural courtyard were never good at keeping secrets. In just two days, word of the Shen family’s troubles had spread throughout the village. Using the threat of divorce to force a son-in-law to return home—such a thing was laughable. But right now, no one in the village was paying much attention to them. After all, the starch sausage workshop was about to open!

“Qing Ge’er really is capable! It’s only been a few days since he mentioned it, and now the deal is settled and the silver has been allocated!” These days, whenever villagers gathered, the workshop was the hottest topic of discussion. “I wonder how he managed to get in touch with such important people. I’ve been to the county town a few times, but I don’t even have the courage to ask for directions!”

Madam Guixiang had hired a fortune-teller, who chose an auspicious date three days later to start construction. In the meantime, cartloads of bricks and tiles were being delivered to Lantang Village. Since Shen Qing had spoken up, Zhao Shi practically lived at the construction site now, making sure not a single brick or tile went missing. These days, the talk of the village revolved around the hiring for the workshop and the firm grip Madam Guixiang’s family had on the project.

“Qing Ge’er is certainly capable, but that Wu Guixiang is going too far, acting so high and mighty.” Wang Shi held Lian Bao in her arms, her face looking rather displeased as she joined the village gossip. “The other day, my Lian Bao just wanted to touch one of those tiles, and Zhao Shi immediately rushed over to shoo him away. What, does he think we’d steal them? As if my family doesn’t have good bricks and tiles too! A child touching them—so what if he broke one or two? He’s just trying too hard to curry favor with Qing Ge’er.”

Her tone was filled with sour resentment, but the other women exchanged glances and didn’t echo her complaint. Instead, they smoothly changed the topic.

What a joke—who wouldn’t want to curry favor with Qing Ge’er right now? Zhao Shi had the opportunity, while they didn’t. If they had the chance, they’d be doing the same! And besides, just because Wang Shi’s child wanted to touch the tiles, did that mean others had to let him? A single tile cost more than ten wen—if he broke one, was she going to pay for it or not?

And Wu Guixiang was the village chief’s wife, while Zhao Shi was the future village chief. What was the point of badmouthing them? No one wanted to get on their bad side.

“I heard they’re hiring men first to build the workshop so that it’s finished before spring planting. That way, once the men head to the fields, it won’t interfere with the harvest. After that, they’ll hire some women and gers to work in the workshop. But why only women and gers? Why not men too? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Someone else chimed in, “I heard the village chief’s wife say that they’re encouraging people to clear land for growing sweet potatoes this year. Maybe they don’t want all the men working at the workshop and neglecting their farms.”

Starch sausages primarily used starch—sweet potato starch, corn starch, or potato starch all worked. But sweet potatoes were cheap, easy to grow, and not picky about soil conditions, making them the best choice. Since the starch sausage business was a long-term venture, it made sense to open up more land just for growing sweet potatoes.

“But land isn’t easy to clear. The eastern hills were bought by some noble, and I heard they’re starting construction after the Lantern Festival. They’re building roads and an estate—lots of people from the city have come to look around several times.” Originally, the eastern hills had available land for clearing, but now that they’d been bought up, only the northern and southern areas remained. “My husband went out scouting yesterday. The only decent plots left are small ones—maybe a couple of fen at most. Barely enough to make it worthwhile.”

Someone laughed. “If your man found a good spot, he’d better hurry up and claim it. If you don’t, someone else will!”

The first woman thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s true. We should go register with the village chief. Even two fen of land is still land.” If they officially registered the cleared land with the village chief, they’d have to pay taxes on it, but at least it would be legally theirs. Some people had tried to avoid taxes by leaving land unregistered, only to have it taken over by others after a year or two. While most villagers wouldn’t do such a thing, every village had its share of troublemakers.

Wang Shi’s face turned red with embarrassment—no one had backed her up. Worse still, someone seemed to deliberately rub salt in the wound by asking, “Lian Family’s eldest daughter-in-law, your family is close with Qing Ge’er. Do you know what exactly the workshop will be making? How are they hiring people?”

She did know. That day at Shen Qing’s house, they had tested the starch sausage recipe. The leftovers had been divided between Madam Guixiang and Second Aunt Lian, and when Second Aunt Lian took hers home, she had cooked up a big plate of stir-fried starch sausage that very night. It tasted amazing. But when Wang Shi asked how it was made, Second Aunt Lian refused to tell her a thing. And she was even more secretive about the hiring process, as if guarding a treasure.

But now, with everyone’s eyes on her, Wang Shi couldn’t act completely ignorant—that would make her look foolish. So she reluctantly said, “It’s a food business. I suppose they’ll be hiring people who are good at cooking.”

“If it’s about cooking, then no wonder they’re only hiring women and gers.” One of the women thought it over. She considered herself an average cook—would she qualify? Glancing at Wang Shi, she added, “I’m so jealous of you. With your family’s good relationship with Qing Ge’er, you’re sure to get a spot. I hear the pay is quite good.”

Wang Shi’s smile froze completely.

After sitting there for a while, she lost interest in the conversation and took Lian Bao home. Just as she reached her doorstep, she saw Second Aunt Lian and Grandmother Lian happily escorting Madam Guixiang out, all smiles.

Madam Guixiang had come to recruit workers for the workshop. She had gone door to door, making sure to give every household at least one spot—except Old Shen’s family, of course. But if any family didn’t want the work, she wouldn’t force them.

She had chosen diligent, hardworking men who weren’t lazy or deceitful. Naturally, closer acquaintances were given two slots—both Lian Da and Lian Er were included.

This was a huge blessing for the Lian family, which was why Grandmother Lian was grinning from ear to ear. Wang Shi should have been happy too, but instead, she felt an inexplicable bitterness in her heart.

Over at Wang Liuzi’s household, Madam Guixiang hadn’t let Wang Liuzi himself join but had recruited his younger uncle instead. This was still a concession, thanks to Zhao Youdang’s words the other night—otherwise, she wouldn’t have even stepped near their house. But even so, choosing an older man over a young and capable one was a clear message. Wang Liuzi sat sullenly on the side, too ashamed to lift his head.

Zhao Youdang’s concerns hadn’t been entirely wrong. The workshop hadn’t even broken ground yet—Madam Guixiang had merely gone around recruiting workers—but already, countless villagers were scrambling to build ties with Shen Qing while distancing themselves from Old Shen’s family.

Shen Qing, however, had no interest in village politics and wasn’t paying attention to any of this. He had made several trips to the county, using the space inside his jade pendant to stockpile grain. He also arranged for a broker to rent out three of the four storefronts at his county estate, keeping just one at the street corner for a fried starch sausage shop.

With the convenience of his storage space, Shen Qing now truly felt how invaluable it was. Not only could he transport goods between the apocalypse and this world, but even when buying ingredients for starch sausage production, he could discreetly store them in his county house first before moving them into the pendant to bring back to the village. It was safer and saved him from drawing attention. And once business expanded, anyone trying to copy his operation would find it nearly impossible to track down exactly what he was buying.

The process of making starch sausages wasn’t difficult, but in this era, it was an entirely new concept. Even if someone got ahold of the ingredients, they wouldn’t necessarily know how to make them. Shen Qing wasn’t worried.

In fact, if the local sweet potato supply ever ran short, he could even buy from other regions and store them in the pendant. This gave him another idea—he could go into trade.

Traveling merchants made huge profits, but they also faced risks—bandits, natural disasters, and other dangers. But with his pendant, those risks were eliminated. Even if he and Song Kaiji never returned to the apocalypse, they could still make a fortune in this world through trade.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing wished his pendant space could be even bigger.

He absently touched the jade pendant and thought of Song Kaiji again.

Once the workshop construction started and everything was running smoothly, he planned to return to the apocalypse to find him. He hadn’t given Song Kaiji a firm answer when he left. It had been a long time since he last went back—was Song Kaiji wondering if he had abandoned him? Crying like a lost puppy?

A soft smile unknowingly curved Shen Qing’s lips.

Several young women and gers shopping for thread at a roadside stall looked up and, for a moment, were completely mesmerized.

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