Ch 153: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Lian Ou’s hands were indeed covered with calluses and rough patches. Although Second Aunt Lian was already one of the most loving and protective mothers in the village, a young ger in the countryside couldn’t avoid doing household chores like cooking, washing dishes, and feeding the chickens. Especially now that most of the second branch of the Lian family was working in the workshop, all the housework had fallen onto Lian Ou’s shoulders.

He carefully wove the thread, yet the smooth jade cord still ended up getting caught on his rough fingers, pulling out tiny strands of silk. Each time this happened, he would panic and glance at Shen Qing, only to find Shen Qing smiling at him encouragingly. With that reassurance, his nervous heart slowly settled.

Soon, he finished weaving a palm-sized butterfly. Aside from the frayed threads, the structure of the butterfly was tight and symmetrical. He didn’t even need anything to hold the threads in place—his ten fingers fluttered like orchids in midair, and a delicate butterfly with its wings outstretched, ready to take flight, was formed.

A butterfly woven from grass strands might look simple and rustic, carrying a sense of natural charm. But when woven with jade silk, it transformed into something exquisite. It wasn’t entirely lifelike, yet Lian Ou had an innate sense of design. Without anyone teaching him, he instinctively knew how to pair the two colored threads together. The four layers of butterfly wings alternated between pink and purple, and from a slight distance, if one overlooked the few frayed threads, it looked even more elegant than the decorative knots that wealthy families in the county paired with their jade pendants.

Shen Qing handed him two more pieces of string and had him thread the butterfly onto them, turning it into a hairband, which he then tied onto Lian Rong’s little bun. The peach blossom ronghua and the woven butterfly complemented each other perfectly. Lian Rong admired herself in the mirror from different angles, delighted beyond words, afraid to even move her head too much lest she ruin the look.

“I never expected my Ou Ge’er to have such a skill,” Second Aunt Lian exclaimed in astonishment. She held Lian Ou’s hands, turning them over to inspect them, before sighing with a pang of guilt. “If it weren’t for Qing Ge’er noticing from just a grass butterfly, my son’s talent would have been completely wasted! Such nimble hands, yet they’re covered in calluses!”

If their family had been wealthier, if they had been able to send Lian Ou to learn embroidery or sewing from a young age, he would have been remarkable by now.

Shen Qing believed that many people had unique talents and strengths, yet they remained undiscovered. Some people didn’t even realize their own potential, and for children from poor families, there were even fewer opportunities to explore, test, or develop their skills.

He handed Lian Ou the remaining two rolls of jade thread and went inside for a moment. When he returned, he carried a few more colors of thread, two small porcelain jars filled with hand cream, and a pumice stone. He handed everything to Lian Ou and instructed, “When you get home, soak your hands in warm water. Once the skin softens, use this stone to gently rub away the rough patches and calluses, then apply this balm. You can use more before bed. During the day, try to avoid doing tasks like washing dishes and clothes, but if you do, make sure to apply the balm afterward. Use these threads to practice and experiment with different patterns. When I return from my trade trip, I’ll bring back more designs for you to learn.”

Lian Ou carefully held the items, treasuring them as if they were the most precious things he had ever received. His heart swelled with emotion, and he didn’t know what to say. The cream in the porcelain jars was white and fragrant, even richer than what he used to moisturize his face. A whole large jar—it must be worth a lot!

He hadn’t even earned a single wen for Shen Qing yet, but Shen Qing was already willing to give him such valuable things. Clutching the silk thread and balm tightly, Lian Ou silently vowed to practice diligently and repay Shen Qing well in the future!

“I’ll have a good talk with my mother-in-law when I get back. Why is it that our second branch hands over all our earnings from working outside to the public fund, yet we still have to share the household chores? Doesn’t the first branch also spend that public money? They want to take advantage of everything!” Second Aunt Lian gritted her teeth, as if making up her mind. “If my mother-in-law doesn’t agree, then Yu and I will quit our jobs at the workshop and stay home to do the chores for Ou. Since we can’t keep any of the money anyway, we might as well all be poor together!”

The matter of Shen Zhiwei was like a stone thrown into a pond. On the surface, it didn’t cause much of a stir, but in reality, it sent ripples everywhere. Parents were now wary, fearing they might push their children into becoming another Shen Zhiwei. Meanwhile, those children who were less favored began to reflect, afraid of ending up in his position—having to sell off their daughters to support their more favored siblings. Testing boundaries, making concessions, and striving for change—across countless small households in the village, these quiet struggles unfolded.

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After settling everything on his end, Shen Qing arranged for Miao Shi to stay in Shiqu Village for a while. Now that Miao Qiuduo had left, she could supervise the construction of the fried noodle workshop there and also pick out a puppy.

As for himself, he returned to the apocalypse. By his count, it had been five or six days since he’d stayed there overnight—he could only imagine how sulky Song Kaiji must be by now.

However, as he approached the base, he spotted a massive metal cage slowly moving near the entrance from a distance. His first instinct was that it must be Song Kaiji and his crew. He was slightly puzzled as to why they had taken out a cage right at the city gate, but he didn’t think too much about it.

Excitedly, he ran over, only to discover that the people there were complete strangers. The cage wasn’t being controlled by a metal-ability user but was a pre-built structure with a door. In the center of the cage, a horizontal bar allowed people inside to push it forward without worrying about zombies reaching them. The cage was also equipped with universal wheels.

The reason it was moving slowly was that a group had tied it to the back of a car, dragging it away at a steady pace.

Shen Qing: ?

As the vehicle drove off, he saw yet another cage with the same universal wheels being pushed out. In just ten minutes at the city gate, he spotted three or four of these. It seemed like this type of cage had become quite common.

He walked straight into the base. The shop the military had assigned him had already opened, though, since it was broad daylight, most ability users who could afford to shop were out hunting zombies. Only a few scattered customers browsed the store. Watching over the shop were Yu Le, Zhang Sujuan, and two unfamiliar young women—likely hired by Yu Le or relatives of external ability users.

Seeing Shen Qing return, they were all delighted. “Qingqing, you’re finally back! My son’s been sulking for days, frowning all the time,” Zhang Sujuan teased.

Feeling a little guilty, Shen Qing smiled at her. “I got caught up in some things. I’ll be staying longer this time to keep him company.”

Zhang Sujuan, who had been managing the store, looked noticeably more energetic. Ever since she lost her husband and injured her leg, she’d fallen into a slump, rarely stepping outside. But now, sitting in the shop and handling money all day, with crystal cores flowing through her hands, her bad mood had been largely swept away by the power of wealth. She chuckled and said, “Go on home, he’s lying there waiting for you.”

“Not on a mission today?” Shen Qing was curious. Previously, Song Kaiji always led his team out during the day. Just then, another team passed by, pushing a cage similar to the ones he had seen earlier. Shen Qing asked, “What’s with these things?”

“We haven’t gone on a mission for three days. Tang ge and Weiwei jie are both away,” Yu Le explained. “Only Bingbing jie occasionally takes some external teams out. That cage? The military invited Tang ge over to help design it.”

Because of the seeds provided by Shen Qing’s team, things on the surface of the base seemed calm, but in reality, power dynamics had shifted. The military, despite opposition, had started constructing two farms outside the base walls. These farms weren’t protected by the city’s defenses, making them vulnerable to zombie attacks.

However, the military had plenty of soldiers. During the day, off-duty personnel surrounded the farms, eliminating any wandering zombies. Inside the protective ring, wood-ability users accelerated crop growth, and once harvested, space-ability users immediately stored the produce. The farms’ proximity to the base meant few zombies strayed over, and the guards didn’t have much work to do. Of course, this was only a temporary solution.

“I heard the military is now recruiting those who can’t afford entry fees to build walls around the farms,” Yu Le whispered. “They have enough metal-ability users among them to make brick production easy. Once they secure the farms, it won’t take long before they outpace the base officials in food control. And with so many refugees stuck outside the base, do you really think they’ll stop after just building walls around the farms?”

Red City was on the verge of a major shift.

“They brought Tang ge in to teach their metal-ability users, and then they realized this method wasn’t just for metal users. So they started mass-producing these ready-made cages and renting them out to ability-user teams. As long as a team has at least one wood-ability user, they can use vines to hold off zombies long enough to extract crystal cores. That’s why Weiwei jie was called in too—to train wood-ability users. Since most of our team is busy, we haven’t gone on any missions ourselves.”

Some weaker teams came up with even safer strategies—renting larger cages, using vines to trap zombies momentarily, then dragging them into the cage to slowly extract crystal cores while safely inside. One way or another, people always found solutions. The security of the iron cage tactic significantly lowered casualty rates, even encouraging some of the base’s ordinary survivors to start hunting zombies.

“This method has been a game changer. The base’s death rate has dropped drastically. The leadership is even considering using it to trade with other bases for supplies. Human survival has just taken a huge leap forward,” Yu Le continued. “As compensation—well, and also as a patent fee—the military gave us another store. It’s right over there.” She pointed diagonally across the street. “They just handed it over yesterday. Uncle Ge has already started renovations, but we haven’t decided what to sell yet. Song ge said to wait for you to decide. Since not every team has a space-ability user, they can only push these cages manually or tie them to vehicles for towing. But I heard the military is now working with researchers to install batteries underneath, turning them into something like an automated tour bus for a zoo. That’ll make it even more convenient.”

Shen Qing only half-understood, but he still marveled at how many smart people existed in this world. Reading books really did pay off.

After chatting briefly with Yu Le and Zhang Sujuan, he went to check out the new shop. It was significantly larger than the first one the military had given them. Shen Qing silently noted that the ongoing power struggle between the military and the base officials must have cost the latter quite a bit.

Back at the villa, Song Kaiji was rolling around in bed in utter boredom. “Day six without Qingqing… day six of being abandoned… day six of guarding an empty house… wuwuwu.”

Standing outside the bedroom door, Shen Qing couldn’t help but chuckle. “Let me see—who’s the one that’s been abandoned?”

“Ahhhh, Qingqing!” Song Kaiji immediately lunged forward, hugging Shen Qing tightly. “You’re finally back! Why did you leave for so long this time?”

“There was some trouble at home.” Shen Qing recounted Shen Zhiwei’s situation in a neutral tone. “My mother is holding up well, but I know she’s struggling inside, so I stayed a few extra days to keep her company.”

That was also why he had thrown himself into helping Lian Ou so eagerly. Aside from the unspoken ger-helping-ger instinct, he wanted to distract Miao Shi and give her something else to focus on. No doubt in the coming days, she would be constantly checking on how Lian Ou’s hands were healing.

Listening to all this, Song Kaiji was wide-eyed. Sure, he had an uncle who coveted his family’s assets, but that was just empty talk and manipulation. Murdering kin? The feudal era was terrifying. Hugging Shen Qing tighter, he whispered, “And what about you?”

“Are you sad?”

Shen Qing fell silent.

Ever since the truth came to light, he had maintained his composure. In fact, he had felt more anger than sorrow. But deep inside, Shen Qing was conflicted.

Shen Zhang had been a wonderful younger brother. It wasn’t surprising that Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen had favored him far more than Shen Zhuang—Shen Zhang truly had the personality of an angel. He was sweet, considerate, but not in a cunning way. He would save treats given to him by Old Lady Shen and share them with Shen Qing and Miao Shi without taking a bite himself. He would feel sorry for Shen Zhigao, rushing over with Miao Shi’s handkerchief to wipe his father’s sweat after he returned from the fields. When Old Lady Shen scolded Shen Qing, he would softly coax her into laughter before secretly signaling for Shen Qing to run away.

For a child of only five or six, he had already been so clever, so thoughtful. But Shen Qing knew—if Shen Zhang had lived, he himself likely would not have turned out the way he was now.

He would have doted on Shen Zhang, that much he was sure of. Shen Zhang had treated him with nothing but kindness. He had no doubt that Shen Zhang would have grown into a reliable younger brother—after all, even as a child, he had protected Shen Qing in his own way.

If Shen Zhang had lived, perhaps Shen Qing would have grown up like the other typical ger in the village—relying on his younger brother for protection instead of carving out his own path with his fists. In fact, he hadn’t started fighting until after Shen Zhang died.

Most of his convictions were shaped by his struggles after Shen Zhang’s death. If his brother had survived, perhaps even Shen Zhigao wouldn’t have changed. Maybe they would have remained a typical, happy family in the village. Maybe he would have grown up to be like Lian Ou…

But if he had been like Lian Ou, who would have been there to pull him up? Would he have even realized he needed someone to?

Of course, Shen Qing didn’t wish for Shen Zhang’s death. But at the same time, he was grateful to have grown into the person he was today. Watching Miao Shi’s pain over the past few days, he couldn’t help but wonder—after all his efforts to provide his mother with a better life, would she prefer this version of him? Or would she rather have the past, where Shen Zhang was still alive?

That thought terrified him. He constantly wavered between guilt over Shen Zhang and firm belief in the choices he had made. There was no one in this world he could confide in about such thoughts. Even now, speaking to Song Kaiji, he was afraid. Afraid that Song Kaiji would see him as heartless, as selfish.

But Song Kaiji only held him tighter. “Don’t overthink it. Don’t let your thoughts spiral. Shen Zhang’s death wasn’t your fault—it was Shen Zhiwei’s. It was Old Man Shen and Old Lady Shen’s favoritism that caused it… If you have to blame something, then blame the generations of selfishness in that family, which finally brought retribution upon their grandson.”

Shen Qing was just another victim of that karma. He had suffered years of hardship in that household.

“It wasn’t your doing, so there’s no reason for you to feel guilty over choices you never had to make,” Song Kaiji continued. “On the contrary, you became who you are today. You earned power and influence in the village, which allowed you to avenge Shen Zhang. Otherwise, with your village chief being the way he is, wouldn’t he have just brushed everything under the rug again? If Shen Zhang’s spirit still lingers, he would be grateful to you. He would be proud of you.”

“Besides, Qingqing, you’re too smart. Even if your brother had survived, I don’t believe you would have grown up oblivious to everything. You would have realized sooner or later that a ger is no less than a man. Maybe your brother would have supported you—he loved you that much. He would have wanted you to be the best version of yourself.”

Song Kaiji gently ran his fingers through Shen Qing’s hair. “You’ve never been in the wrong. You’ve always done your best. The one who should feel guilty has never been you… You don’t need to blame yourself.”

Shen Qing buried himself in Song Kaiji’s embrace and finally let out a low, stifled sob. This was the first time he had cried since learning the truth about Shen Zhang’s death—both for Shen Zhang and for his own release.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting warm light over the bed, dissolving the shadows that had lingered deep in Shen Qing’s heart.

This time, Shen Qing stayed in the apocalypse for a long while, only returning to the village once a week to check on the progress of the Shiqu Village workshop.

He needed to soak in more of modern civilization, to ease his mind.

As for the second shop, he hadn’t yet decided what to do with it, so he had two people run it as a general store for now. They displayed random scavenged goods and continued collecting valuables—gold, silver, antiques, jade, and books. However, business was much slower. With the government hoarding gold and prices rising, most people chose to trade with officials. There were even rumors of the government starting to collect silver, since it was needed for machine parts, meaning silver prices would soon increase as well.

“People are broke now. Nothing sells well except food,” Song Kaiji remarked. “But we already have a food shop, so we don’t need to open another. This place… well, maybe we’ll stumble upon something valuable.”

That reminded Shen Qing. “I remember we raided a bookstore before. There were some books on decorative knot tying—help me find them.”

“Knot tying? You mean… coding?” Song Kaiji looked utterly confused. Was Qingqing advancing so fast that he was learning programming now?

Shen Qing gestured dramatically before Song Kaiji finally understood. “Oh! You mean The Complete Guide to Chinese Knots?” He rummaged through his storage space. There were actually quite a few similar books, so he pulled them all out. In addition to the knot tying guide, there were books on crochet and knitting.

“That’s the one!” Shen Qing was thrilled. He could copy some of the patterns for Lian Ou to practice. He had so many jade pendants and trinkets, but they always felt a bit plain. Adding a decorative knot and a delicate box would instantly elevate their value.

Song Kaiji rested his chin on his hand, listening to Shen Qing talk about Lian Ou and the village’s latest happenings. He felt warm inside, yet also a little envious.

He wished he could fully integrate into Shen Qing’s life. The people, the stories—some endearing, some infuriating—were all things he only knew secondhand through Shen Qing’s words. He couldn’t experience them himself, couldn’t stand by Shen Qing’s side as they unfolded.

Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed Shen Qing on the cheek.

Shen Qing blushed, glancing around. “What are you doing? We’re outside.” He hesitated before adding, “If you want to… wait until we’re home.”

Song Kaiji laughed. He adored how Shen Qing could say such bold things with such an earnest expression. Hugging him tightly, he murmured, “No, I just want to hug and kiss you. Nothing else. I just want to be with you longer.”

As they were lost in their own world, a few people passing by scoffed in annoyance.

Shen Qing: ?

Wasn’t modern society supposed to be open-minded? People kissed openly on the streets all the time. They had only shared a quick kiss and a hug—why the judgmental stares?

“Ignore them,” Song Kaiji scoffed back at the retreating figures. They glared at him but didn’t say anything before walking off. “Those are some research institute guys who got demoted. They probably know the seed situation had something to do with us and are still bitter. I’ll remember their faces and let Chen Jiaxi know—she’ll make their lives miserable.”

“Don’t go looking for her too much. She’s careful about maintaining distance,” Shen Qing warned.

“Don’t worry, I just teleport into her bedroom.” Song Kaiji grinned proudly. “I’m super strong now—I can even teleport with people!” Though… so far, the only one he had managed to carry along was Ge Bingbing’s daughter, Nannan.

When Shen Qing wasn’t around, Song Kaiji had nothing better to do, so he spent his free time practicing his teleportation. Once he was able to teleport with a refrigerator, he decided to test it out with Nannan. He had to sweet-talk her a lot and bribe her with snacks before she finally agreed to be his test subject. Fortunately, his failed attempts only resulted in the child dropping to the ground without any serious harm, which was the only reason Ge Bingbing allowed him to continue.

However, teleporting an object and teleporting a living person were two completely different challenges. Nannan was smaller and much lighter than a refrigerator. After managing to teleport an entire fridge, Song Kaiji had assumed carrying Nannan would be no issue—but to his surprise, he failed. Through multiple attempts, he eventually realized that he needed to be able to teleport something at least three times the size and weight of a person before he could successfully transport a living being.

“Next time, I’ll try it with Yu Le,” he mused. Among their team members, Yu Le was the smallest girl.

Shen Qing: …

You’re casually teleporting into people’s bedrooms—aren’t you worried about interfering with their married life?

He wanted to say something but stopped himself.

“Let’s not cause trouble for Jiaxi. From now on, let’s just act like we don’t know her. Or better yet, wait for an opportunity for Shao Nan to formally introduce us—that way, we’ll have a legitimate reason to interact,” Shen Qing suggested.

Now that the military had intervened in the research institute, it was no longer entirely under the government’s control. Shen Qing thought of how Gold-Tooth had facilitated connections between him, Clerk Yang, and the Chief Registrar to form a mutually beneficial alliance in the other world. Perhaps they could create something similar here in the apocalypse.

They could act as intermediaries—Shao Nan could help Chen Jiaxi rise in power within the research institute, Jiaxi could provide the military with advantages that aligned the institute with them, and Shen Qing could source rare supplies from the other world whenever needed. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, one worth pursuing.

When that happened, what would those people who scoffed and rolled their eyes at them amount to? Getting demoted was hardly a punishment. Who knew how many awful things they had done? Eventually, they would be driven out of the research institute entirely. Only when they were forced to struggle for survival like ordinary people in the apocalypse would they finally realize just how outrageous their past actions had been.

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

Thandar: I feel like ML’s teleportation ability would somehow play into him being able to enter the cave 🤔