Ch 145: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Miao Qiuduo bit her lower lip.

She had not lived in Anping County for many years, and before returning to Shiqu Village, she had only stayed at Huang Sanlang’s house in the county for two days. She wasn’t fully aware of Shen Qing’s situation, including the details of his business.

What she had just blurted out in anger might not even be a real threat—if Shen Qing pretending to be a man in the county wasn’t a secret or if there were other circumstances she didn’t understand, she might not have any leverage over him at all. Moreover, if she truly exposed him, she would completely lose any standing in her natal family.

In the past, she might not have cared too much. But now, seeing the workshop about to be built and knowing that the Miao family was bound to prosper, Miao Qiuduo did not want to turn against her family at this time.

She paused for a moment, then chose not to confront Shen Qing directly. Instead, she turned to Miao Shi, adopting the pitiful posture she had used since childhood, her voice full of grievance. “Sister, look at Qing Ge’er glaring at me like he’s going to eat me alive… I was just trying to arrange a marriage for him. Our family isn’t bad, and our Jinbao is such a smart and capable boy. If Qing ge’er doesn’t even want this match, what kind of husband is he expecting?”

Shen Qing nearly rolled his eyes to the heavens. His little aunt could truly change her face faster than flipping a book, as slippery as an eel. After saying such words just now, she could act as if nothing had happened, turning herself into the victim instead—putting on an act as if she were in a stage play, feigning innocence and grievance.

But Miao Qiuduo knew well that her parents, her brothers, and even her sister had always fallen for this act. Since childhood, she had relied on it countless times, using it to get her way, to gain benefits, to secure whatever she wanted.

She tugged at Miao Shi’s sleeve, shaking it slightly, waiting for her sister to waver as she always had. Even if she didn’t immediately agree, she would at least soften. Then, Miao Qiuduo would press on with a few more gentle words, and within two or three days, her sister would definitely give in.

This was exactly how she had convinced her two brothers to put together an extravagant dowry for her back then—one so generous that it had nearly drained the family’s savings.

This Qing Ge’er was truly infuriating. A ger should be more obedient to be easier to manage. Running a business outside had already made Qing Ge’er arrogant beyond measure. In the future—

Before she could think further, she suddenly felt the sleeve in her hand being forcefully pulled away by Miao Shi. Miao Shi’s expression was darker than Miao Qiuduo had ever seen before. “Forget about this matter. Qing Ge’er will never marry your Jinbao. From now on—” She wanted to say, “Don’t ever set foot in my home again.” But after a moment’s thought, she realized this was Miao Xing and Miao Wang’s home, not hers, and she had no right to make that decision. Frustration welled up inside her, and she silently decided never to associate with Miao Qiuduo again.

She had once deeply cared for this younger sister. In the village, it was common for older siblings to look after the younger ones. Miao Shi had been taken care of by Miao Xing, and by the time she was five or six, she began looking after Miao Wang. Later, when Miao Qiuduo was born, she naturally assumed their bond was just as deep.

Miao Qiuduo was beautiful and had a sweet mouth, always showering compliments as if they cost nothing. Naturally, the family doted on her more. Even though she had not returned to Shiqu Village in ten years, Miao Shi and the rest of the family had willfully ignored that fact.

A married daughter had many constraints in her husband’s home. Some women married far away and might never have the chance to return to their natal family in their lifetime. Even for someone like Miao Shi, who had only married into Shen’s family in Lantang Village, she had been forced to work every day, unable to visit home. Despite the two villages being so close, she could only return once or twice a year—let alone Qiuduo, who had moved to the provincial capital.

If Miao Qiuduo had never returned, perhaps Miao Shi could have continued deceiving herself. But now that she was here, forcing Miao Shi to confront all these uncomfortable truths, she had no choice but to acknowledge that Miao Qiuduo was not a good person.

Miao Qiuduo was stunned for a moment before she began sobbing softly. “Sister, now that you have your own child, you don’t care about me anymore…”

In the past, this tactic would have worked like a charm. The moment Miao Shi heard Miao Qiuduo crying, her heart would have ached unbearably. But now, she only felt colder and even found it ridiculous—of course, she cared more about her own child.

When she divorced Shen Zhigao, she had almost been thrown out of the house. At that time, even Miao Xing and Miao Wang hadn’t dared to promise to take her in. It was her son who had stood up for her, who had taken her away, and later had gone up the mountain to chop firewood to support them both. When she was struggling the most, Miao Xing and Miao Wang had helped, but where had Miao Qiuduo been?

She wasn’t resentful about Miao Qiuduo’s absence at the time—it wasn’t her fault. But human relationships had priorities. Why shouldn’t she care more for her own son?

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Miao Wang couldn’t listen anymore. “Who doesn’t love their own child? Don’t you love Jinbao and Yu Ge’er?”

As life moves forward, new relationships take precedence. When they were younger, they only had each other. Aside from their parents, their siblings were the closest people in their lives. But now, after more than a decade, they had all built their own families, had spouses and children, and formed their own households.

Now that Miao Ren was about to get married, Miao Xing thought to himself—if Miao Qiuduo were getting married now, there was no way he would give her such a hefty dowry. His own sons needed money too! The same words and actions that had once made them feel protective of her now sounded grating and unbearable.

“Mother, I’ll visit again in a few days.” Miao Shi sighed, then turned to Miao Qiuduo. “Qiuduo, I don’t know if you understand this, but relationships need to be nurtured—they require mutual effort. You haven’t been back in over ten years, never sent home even a single coin or gift, and now you return empty-handed. Then, you immediately ask to learn the trade and want to marry my ger. And now you say that I no longer care about you because I have my own child … Well, you’re right—I don’t.”

Miao Qiuduo was dumbfounded. Her sister just admitted it? How could she? Wasn’t she supposed to panic and deny it, then prove that she still loved her?

“Qing Ge’er, let’s go home.” Miao Shi stood up and walked to Shen Qing’s side. She glanced in Miao Qiuduo’s direction one last time and said, “I’ll pretend you never came back—pretend you’ve lived your whole life in the provincial capital.”

Shen Qing helped support her as they headed for the door. But before they could step out, Huang Jinbao suddenly rushed forward, bowing deeply. “No! Aunt, this is all my fault. Please don’t blame my mother! I really do like Cousin Qing, and I begged my mother to arrange the marriage. She had no choice but to say something. Biaoge, please believe me—I will treat you well. I truly—”

“Enough!” Miao Shi suddenly snapped, all the pent-up frustration from before erupting at once. “Did we not make ourselves clear? Qing Ge’er will never marry you! Who do you think you are? A king? The emperor himself? Just because you like someone, they have to marry you? Let me tell you something—your so-called ‘love’ means nothing to Qing Ge’er!”

Huang Jinbao was dumbfounded, his face turning pale. Everyone in the room was shocked. Everyone knew that Miao Shi had always been gentle and easygoing, never one to argue with anyone. Yet today, she had said something so harsh—it was truly eye-opening.

Only then did Miao Qiuduo recover from her shock. She rushed forward to shield Huang Jinbao. “Sister, what’s happened to you? How can you speak so harshly? He’s your own nephew! How can you talk to him like this?”

Miao Shi nearly laughed in exasperation. Who had changed? Yes, she had changed—she had finally stopped being blind. Miao Qiuduo, on the other hand, had remained the same. The difference was that Miao Shi used to be too foolish to see through her.

Without another word, she and Shen Qing left the house. As they secured the carriage, Shen Qing could still faintly hear Miao Qiuduo’s crying from inside.

“…Bullying me… No sense of family loyalty at all…”

Shen Qing sighed inwardly, flicked the whip in his hand, and without needing to touch the mule, the smart creature trotted forward on its own.

“Mother, you were awesome today.”

“What’s ‘awesome’?” Miao Shi frowned. “You always come up with these strange words.”

Shen Qing said nothing more.

In truth, after just one encounter with Miao Qiuduo, he had already lost patience with her entire family. He had seen too much of the world now—whether in the apocalypse or in the county, he had met all kinds of people. Miao Qiuduo’s tricks were as transparent as glass to him.

The only reason he had tolerated it at all wasn’t because of his uncles or any sense of family obligation—it was solely for Miao Shi’s sake.

Though Miao Shi had said she would always put her own child first, the truth was, some people struggle to let go, just as some people refuse to see the truth.

Like Sun Cheng.

Shen Qing had never doubted that Miao Shi wouldn’t agree to the marriage. But the fact that she had openly severed ties with Miao Qiuduo instead of brushing things off made Shen Qing incredibly happy.

He asked, “If one day—just hypothetically—my two uncles change too, if they turn out like Little Aunt, if they forget past kindness for present profit… Mother, whose side would you take?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Of course, I’d stand by you,” Miao Shi answered without hesitation. Then, after a pause, she added, “But your uncles aren’t like that. They’re not that kind of people.”

“Mmm, I know~” Shen Qing hummed lightly.

…

The mule cart rattled back toward Shiqu Village, with many villagers greeting Shen Qing along the way. Since the workshop buildings would take some time to finish, Shen Qing decided to visit Wu Guixiang.

Fortunately, they had already built the Lantang Village workshop before, so this time, the process was much smoother.

Seeing that his uncles would likely be too distracted by family drama to manage things properly, Shen Qing turned to Zhao Shi. “Brother Shi, keep an eye on things for me these days. No outsiders near my house or the workshop—especially not from the county. If buyers come, have them meet you at your place or under the big locust tree. Keep things tight.”

Zhao Shitou quickly agreed.

At that moment, it was lunchtime at the Zhao family’s house. Seeing Shen Qing had returned, Wu Guixiang said, “Why not eat with us? Saves you the trouble of cooking again. It’s just a simple meal—don’t mind it.”

She was just being modest. Nowadays, with three members of the Zhao family working for Shen Qing, their monthly wages had significantly improved their meals. At the moment, the table was laid with a dish of stir-fried Chinese toon with eggs, a bowl of steamed locust flowers, a large plate of cabbage hearts stir-fried with pork cracklings, and a pot of bone soup with meatballs. There was meat, vegetables, eggs, and fresh seasonal greens.

“No need, we’ll just go home and make do with something simple.” Miao Shi waved her hands repeatedly. In their family, they didn’t separate tables for meals—was she supposed to sit at the same table as Zhao Youdang? That wouldn’t be appropriate.

“It’s fine, he’s almost done eating anyway.” Wu Guixiang glanced at Zhao Youdang’s bowl, then nudged him with her elbow. “Go, get a pair of chopsticks and bowls for Qing Ge’er and his mother, and serve two bowls of rice.”

Zhao Youdang’s face darkened from red to nearly black. Yet, after shoveling down his last mouthful of food, he still got up and went to scoop rice.

His two sons, Zhao Shi and Zhao Shuanzi, kept their heads down, pretending not to notice anything. Not long after, they put down their chopsticks as well. “We’re done eating.”

Wu Guixiang frowned and tapped her chopsticks against the edge of the table. “Finished eating and don’t know to take your bowls to the kitchen and soak them in water? Waiting for someone to clean up after you?”

Zhao Shi and Zhao Shuanzi quickly grabbed their empty bowls, swiftly cleared the table of leftover dishes and scraps, and dashed off to the kitchen without a second glance.

“Tsk, they never lift a finger unless I push them.” Wu Guixiang muttered, then turned to Shen Qing and Miao Shi. “Come, sit. The Chinese toon and locust flowers are freshly picked—fragrant as can be! Want some garlic? I’ll have Old Zhao make a garlic sauce for dipping.”

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