Ch 167: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

When it comes to psychic abilities of the brain, to put it bluntly, it just means having a well-developed mind but simple limbs. Someone like Feng Hao, who has survived for six months in the apocalypse yet doesn’t even dare to fight a single zombie and only dares to push others forward to buy time, doesn’t even deserve to be killed using psychic powers.

Chen Jiaxi wiped her dagger clean and put it back in her pocket, then placed the mutated plant closer to Feng Hao’s corpse so that the adorable little thing could have a delicious breakfast of brain matter when it woke up in the morning.

Afterward, she asked Song Kaiji to take her away.

“What I said last time was true. I’m very sorry. If Shen Qing, or you, ever need my help, just ask. I’d be happy to offer you some advice.” Chen Jiaxi extended an olive branch to Song Kaiji once again. “Even though I once considered taking my family to Shen Qing’s world, I never thought of betraying or harming him. You can still trust me.”

Song Kaiji remained silent for a long time before nodding. They had faced many difficulties before, the toughest being that time in Zizhou when they encountered a group of cannibals. However, through their own efforts, though they suffered some losses, they ultimately managed to pull through.

But this time was different. This time, they were up against both the government and the military. Once those shackles were on, their abilities were completely useless. If they wanted to fight head-on, they couldn’t even access their spatial storage.

Without even a chance to put up a fight, all they could do was be locked up and restrained.

Their little tricks and small efforts were utterly insignificant in the face of absolute power. Song Kaiji sighed and glanced at Chen Jiaxi—at her mind, to be precise. At least for now, it was best not to cut ties with their allies. “Thank you, Jiaxi jie. I’ll discuss it with Qingqing. If he needs help, we’ll let you know.”

Feng Hao’s death still caused some waves at the Red City Base. The authorities always emphasized public security, and it was rare for a mid-level researcher to die in their own home. Moreover, Feng Hao had been at the research institute for quite some time and had made a few friends and disciples. Their first reaction was disbelief that he had died in an accident—especially since, by the time his body was found, a third of it had already been devoured by the mutated plant.

Naturally, Shen Qing’s squad became prime suspects. However, on the night Feng Hao died, their entire team had returned to the villa and never left again—thanks to Feng Hao’s previous attempt to lure Shen Qing into a zombie trap at their villa, they had installed numerous cameras around the place, covering every angle with no blind spots.

Of course, it was still possible that they had bribed someone else to do the killing, but there was no evidence. In the end, despite all the noise, the matter was left unresolved.

Shen Qing had been resting for nearly two months now, taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor from Anping County. Song Kaiji had also gathered folic acid, calcium tablets, vitamins, fish oil, and other supplements for him, combining both traditional Chinese medicine and modern medical approaches to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Now five months along, his belly wasn’t very big, but he felt stable and hadn’t experienced any of the previous discomforts.

At first, Shen Qing was worried that people might notice he was pregnant, but one day, Qu Weiwei stared at his belly for a moment and sighed, “Looks like we’ve been living well. We’ve been slacking off on missions so much that even the boss has grown a beer belly.”

What was a little belly in the grand scheme of things? Before the apocalypse, there were men with beer bellies as big as those of women seven or eight months pregnant. Besides, Shen Qing didn’t look particularly pregnant—his limbs hadn’t gained weight, and once he zipped up his tactical jacket, there was no visible sign at all.

Although they hadn’t been hunting zombies lately, they had been scouting around the base, looking for a safe fallback location. If they ever ran into trouble again, at least they would have a place to retreat to.

The fewer people who knew about this location, the better. Only Song Kaiji, Qu Weiwei, and Tang Wenjie went out searching, and at night, they returned to discuss their findings with Shen Qing. But such places weren’t easy to come by. Each potential hideout had its flaws, and they hadn’t settled on one yet.

“Honestly, I think we might as well just move to another base,” Qu Weiwei murmured. “We don’t have to go to Chi City, but if we go somewhere new, we could lay low and live an ordinary life. We’ve gained some recognition here, but I keep feeling like the people at the research institute are secretly watching us.”

Tang Wenjie fell into deep thought at her words.

With their iron cage tactics, they weren’t afraid of zombies surrounding their base, and they had plenty of supplies. But at the end of the day, humans were social creatures, and being in too small a group was unsettling.

Song Kaiji glanced at Shen Qing’s belly. “…We’ll think about it. Let’s revisit this in a few months.”

Shen Qing was also considering the feasibility of relocating. Perhaps they could move to a base a little closer to Lantang Village, where he could visit once a month or two. If the journey could be kept within two days, Song Kaiji could use teleportation to bypass any blocked roads.

But even if they decided to leave, it would have to wait until he gave birth and fully recovered.

These days, Shen Qing went to the medical clinic in Anping County every week for a pulse check, treating it like a prenatal checkup. With all the nourishment he was getting, his health had been improving, even surprising the elderly doctor. Meanwhile, Song Kaiji had developed a great curiosity about the pregnancy of gers. Combining various sources of knowledge, both traditional and modern, he speculated that the pregnancy mark between Shen Qing’s brows might be linked to estrogen levels—the more estrogen, the more fertile; the less estrogen, the harder it was to conceive, with no correlation to overall physical strength.

“So, gers have male appearances, which means they naturally have less estrogen than women, making it harder for them to conceive?” Song Kaiji mused, stroking his chin. According to Shen Qing, in his homeland, gers who looked more feminine were considered more attractive. Was this purely aesthetic preference, or was it a subconscious desire for fertility?

Shen Qing was stunned by this new perspective. Was that really how it worked? He absentmindedly touched the pregnancy mark between his brows. He had always thought it became more vivid because of his pregnancy. But then he recalled others in his village—none of them experienced a color change after conceiving.

“Maybe… it’s because your uncle started a tofu workshop, and you’ve been eating a lot of tofu?” Song Kaiji guessed randomly. “Soy products boost estrogen, after all.”

It was just a joke, meant to amuse, but watching Shen Qing’s serious reaction, Song Kaiji found it incredibly adorable.

The problem was, Shen Qing actually believed it.

Not long after, two gers who worked at the tofu workshop ended up pregnant. One of them was Zhao Yu. Second Aunt Lian was overjoyed. She immediately announced that Yu Ge’er wouldn’t be doing any more work—he was to stay home and focus on his pregnancy!

The meals at the workshop were handled by the village chief’s daughter-in-law, Qin Yingzi. She was very tactful—food was food, after all. Since Shen Qing’s uncle’s family sold tofu, she often went to buy from them, and as a result, the workshop workers ate tofu every other day. This time, besides Yu Ge’er, the other pregnant ger was expecting their second child. It was a huge surprise—of course, they had to be pampered!

After all, most gers in the village could only give birth once in their lifetime. Back then, Zhao Aiye was able to stand so tall because, as a ger, he had given birth to two children—one of them even being a son!

Shen Qing had an epiphany: So this was what the elders meant when they said eating tofu was nourishing?

However, while most of the Lian family was thrilled about Yu Ge’er’s pregnancy, Wang Shi just couldn’t bring herself to be happy. Originally, the only male descendant of the second branch, Lian Shi, had only given birth to a single ger, Lian Qiao. It was almost certain that the second branch would eventually die out. As long as the family wasn’t split, all the property would naturally fall into the hands of the eldest branch’s son sooner or later. Who would’ve thought Zhao Yu would end up pregnant again?

On top of that, since Zhao Yu had stopped working at the workshop to rest during pregnancy, Lian Ou’s earnings were now being quietly saved for his own dowry instead of being contributed to the household. The family’s income was shrinking, and Wang Shi was beyond frustrated. But as much as she wanted to act like Shen Zhiwei and be ruthless, she didn’t have the courage to take a life.

Still, she had to come up with something. By the time Shen Qing found out, the Lian family was already in the middle of a huge dispute over splitting the household. This time, the commotion was no less than when Miao Shi demanded a divorce. Several men from Shiqu Village had come, led by Second Aunt Lian’s own brothers, claiming they were there to help her separate from the family.

“Will this actually work?” Shen Qing was shocked. Whether a family could be split wasn’t just about how many people supported it—it also depended on whether they had a legitimate reason. The unspoken rule in the villages was that households were only divided after the parents passed away. If all it took was bringing in a few brothers to back you up, wouldn’t that be utter chaos? Shen Qing and his mother had only managed to leave so smoothly because Shen Zhigao was clearly in the wrong.

“The Lian family is in the wrong, too!” Miao Shi said angrily as she grabbed her shoes and headed out. “You just got back, so you don’t know—Wang Shi has her eyes on Lian Ou’s marriage and insists on matching him with her nephew. When Second Aunt Lian refused, Wang Shi had that little bastard ambush Lian Ou on the road, even trying to— That son of a bitch! He should piss on the ground and take a good look at himself!”

Even someone as composed as Miao Shi was cursing. Shen Qing was stunned—Wang Shi was truly shameless and bold!

Their relationship with Second Aunt Lian was already beyond repair, and she still dared to scheme about marrying off Lian Ou? How could that even be possible?

But that was precisely why, knowing it wouldn’t work out, Wang Shi encouraged her nephew to harass Lian Ou on the road.

This all started when Shen Qing had Lian Ou and Lian Rong go to Miaoqian Village’s market to sell defective goods. Lian Ou was skilled, and the discounted prices made up for minor flaws, so business was good.

The May Festival market wasn’t as grand as the New Year’s market, but it was still lively. After making their sales and deducting the share owed to Shen Qing, both Lian Ou and Lian Rong had a decent amount of money left. They couldn’t resist spending some of it at the market.

They bought small, pretty fabric scraps—too small for adult clothing, but just right for making a little jacket for Lian Rong. With summer approaching, bamboo mats and woven fans were also popular. There were rare, delicious fruits… Before they knew it, they had bought a whole bunch of things.

When their family asked about it, the siblings nervously pushed the blame onto Qing Ge’er, saying it was a gift from him. It wasn’t like the adults would actually confront Qing Ge’er about it—he was already generous and had given them things before.

Old Lady Lian knew they were up to something but couldn’t be bothered to expose them, so she just turned a blind eye. Wang Shi, however, was different—she refused to believe it and took it seriously. With Yu Ge’er not working at the workshop and not earning money, every coin Lian Ou and Lian Rong spent felt like it was coming straight from her own pocket.

How could she get her hands on Lian Ou’s money?

After much contemplation, Wang Shi came up with an idea—marrying Lian Ou to her nephew. Lian Ou had skills, and with Shen Qing looking after him, he was bound to make money in the future.

But the moment she mentioned it to Old Lady Lian, she was scolded harshly.

“Save your breath! Even the village chief of Shiqu Village once proposed for his youngest son, and Second daughter-in-law still refused—she wants to find a good match for Lian Ou. Now that his work is selling in county shops, many families are interested in him. Do you really think he’d look twice at your nephew?”

It wasn’t that Old Lady Lian didn’t care about wealth—well, actually, she did. So what? If her own child could marry well, why should they settle for anything less?

Forget Second Aunt Lian—even Old Lady Lian looked down on Wang Shi’s nephew!

“Mother, don’t you think about your eldest son at all?” Wang Shi stomped her foot in frustration. “That sharp-tongued woman Lian is slipping away from us! She’s making money but isn’t contributing to the household anymore. If Lian Ou marries my nephew, at least for his sake, she’d have to support her older brother’s family. She wouldn’t be able to abandon us completely!”

Old Lady Lian had no patience for her nonsense. “If you don’t want to be embarrassed, shut your mouth and drop this idea! Second daughter-in-law already doesn’t like you—if you bring this up, she’ll chase you through the village, cursing all the way!”

Wang Shi bit her lip unwillingly. Since Old Lady Lian wasn’t on her side, she had to take matters into her own hands. She wouldn’t approach Second Aunt Lian directly—why set herself up to be mocked? But just because she couldn’t discuss marriage with her didn’t mean she couldn’t make it happen.

Lian Ou was always running off to Miaoqian Village or Shen Qing’s place—never sitting still for a moment. Well then, why not have her nephew take matters into his own hands? If the rice was cooked, Lian Ou wouldn’t have a choice but to marry him!

Shen Qing’s anger surged. Pregnancy already made his emotions unstable, and now he felt the rage rush straight to his head. “How can someone be so shameless?!”

In a village steeped in tradition, even if Lian Ou was forced to marry Wang Shi’s nephew, he would still be subjected to endless gossip!

“How is Lian Ou now?”

“He’s fine,” Miao Shi replied. “Lucky, really. That day, Lian Rong ran home first with their purchases, leaving Lian Ou alone. When he passed through the grove near our village, Wang Shi’s nephew ambushed him. Thankfully, a monk from Miaoqian Village showed up and beat him off—saved Lian Ou’s innocence.”

“A monk from Miaoqian Village?”

“Yes. Lian Ou’s been selling goods there and made some connections. Apparently, this monk is quite capable—he’s the reason the market was revitalized. That small, rundown temple has now become well-known in the village.”

After returning home, Lian Ou told Second Aunt Lian everything. Shocked and distressed, she and her son cried together before she finally gritted her teeth and decided to push for the family separation.

If they spoke openly about what happened, even though Lian Ou wasn’t harmed, just the rumors could ruin his marriage prospects. But Lian Ou didn’t care.

“Mother, I can’t take this for another day! How can there be people this evil? If he had touched me, I wouldn’t want to live anymore!”

Luckily, someone had saved him in his moment of despair.

“I don’t care about my reputation—I’d rather never marry and become a monk myself than let them get away with this!”

So today, Second Aunt Lian called her brothers from her maiden family and caused an uproar in front of the Lian household. She was willing to risk Ou Ge’er’s reputation to force a family split.

At first, Old Lady Lian was stunned, but then she grew furious. Wang Shi, with her head lowered, dared not make a sound at first. But as Second Aunt Lian scolded her more and more harshly, she finally snapped. “You just open and close your mouth and start slandering my nephew? My nephew is the only male heir of our family! If he were to marry, he’d marry a proper young lady! Why would he marry a ger? Maybe it’s your Ou Ge’er who’s been running around outside too much and got himself into trouble, and now you’re pinning it on my nephew—”

“I’ll tear your filthy mouth off!” Second Aunt Lian didn’t even wait for her to finish before lunging at her. The scene quickly became chaotic.

Second Aunt Lian was one of the best brawlers among the village women. She had clashed with Wang Shi many times before, but this was the first time she had truly fought her. And she was absolutely thrilled—years of resentment had built up, and now she finally had the chance to vent it all. She pinned Wang Shi down and slapped her across the face over and over.

Wang Shi shrieked, “Miao Hexiang, you wretched woman! How dare you hit me!”

“I hit you because you deserve it!” Miao Hexiang shouted back. “What kind of eldest sister-in-law treats family like this? You actually dared to say such things—clearly, you never considered Ou Ge’er as part of this family at all!”

She hit hard, as if venting years of old and new grievances all at once. At first, Wang Shi cursed and screamed, but soon, all that was left were muffled sobs.

How could the eldest Lian just stand there and watch his wife get beaten? It wasn’t that he particularly loved Wang Shi, but letting someone hit her was like losing face himself. Just as he was about to step forward and say something, he was dragged away by Second Aunt Lian’s brothers.

Miao Hexiang landed two more slaps on Wang Shi before standing up with her hands on her hips. “That settles it—separation!”

Old Man Lian and Old Lady Lian immediately objected. “Second daughter-in-law, you’ve hit her, you’ve vented your anger. We, as elders, even sat back and let you beat your sister-in-law without saying a word because we knew you were wronged, and she truly did go too far. But you can’t just throw around the idea of separating the family so casually! We’re still alive, after all!”

Miao Hexiang looked at her in-laws and felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Before coming here, she had already made arrangements with her brothers—if they refused to separate, she would divorce Lian Lao’er, take the children, and return to Shiqu Village. The fried dough workshop there had just been built and was in need of someone experienced to run it. If she returned, she could take over seamlessly!

Times had changed. Back when Miao Shi divorced, her brothers had been worried and reluctant to take her back. But now, with Miao Hexiang and her children working under Shen Qing and financially secure, her brothers were more than happy to welcome her home. This time, she had even more leverage than Miao Shi had back then!

“Father, Mother, I was lucky to marry into this family. I have never been unfilial or disobedient. But my children are my bottom line. After what she has done, I can no longer call her my sister-in-law, nor can I live under the same roof as her!” Miao Hexiang said firmly. “Either you two elders come with us, and we won’t ask the eldest branch for a single grain of rice—your care will be our responsibility from now on. Or, you stay with the eldest branch, and we won’t take a penny or a single brick from this house—we just want peace!”

Wang Shi, already in tears from the beating, cried even harder from shame and pain as she covered her face. “What kind of life is this? Marrying into this family… You’re saying I did this? Where’s your proof?”

“The monk from the temple personally drove him away. Isn’t that proof enough?” Miao Hexiang scoffed, her hands itching to strike again. “I suggest you agree to the separation—otherwise, I’ll take this to the magistrate! Our Ou Ge’er can go his whole life without marrying, but your nephew? He might not have his life!”

In this era, if a woman or a ger went to court accusing a man of violating their purity, even if it wasn’t true, as long as they staked their reputation on it, the accused man would never escape punishment. The lightest sentence would be exile three thousand miles away; the worst would be execution.

Wang Shi never expected Miao Hexiang to be so ruthless. She always spoke about how much she cherished gers and daughters, but now, just for the sake of separating the family, she was even willing to risk a ger’s reputation! Wang Shi was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

Miao Hexiang continued, “Ever since this workshop opened, our second branch has been working there, and you still weren’t satisfied—you insisted we also help with household chores! Tell me, hasn’t the money we earned been spent on your family? On your son? We work outside and still have to do housework—what do we owe you? I can’t stand another day of this!”

Unexpectedly, her words struck a chord with many villagers. Back when Wu Guixiang selected workers for the workshop, she had chosen just one person per household. But in this era, families were made up of multiple branches—resentment like Miao Hexiang’s was bound to arise.

For example, in Wang Liuzi’s household, since Wang Liuzi had offended Shen Qing, his entire branch wasn’t chosen. Instead, it was his uncle who got a job at the workshop. Over time, even their family started having similar grievances.

As a result, people began changing their stance, no longer seeing Miao Hexiang as unreasonable.

“If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t put up with it either. The second branch works to support the whole family, and yet she’s scheming against Ou Ge’er? Ou Ge’er is such a good ger—his reputation nearly ruined by that brat.”

“That brat should look at himself first—does he even deserve Ou Ge’er?”

“Our family has the same problem. We can’t even talk about it, or we’ll be accused of already having it good just by working at the workshop. But I don’t see where this ‘good fortune’ is coming from—wasn’t it earned through our own hard work and reputation?”

“Exactly! Why did Wu Guixiang choose me instead of them? Because I work hard and clean! It’s not like my family stopped her from applying…”

The murmurs grew louder and louder, and Old Man Lian and Old Lady Lian were visibly embarrassed.

Miao Hexiang stood tall, her brothers at her back. Before long, Miao Shi arrived and stood beside her. Shen Qing, worried about the chaos and protecting his belly, remained at a distance, observing.

Wu Guixiang arrived with Zhao Youdang. After listening for a while, before Zhao Youdang could even speak, Wu Guixiang was the first to say, “Either separate, or divorce. Otherwise, forget about going to court—even by our village’s rules, attempting to violate an unmarried ger is punishable by drowning!”

At the mention of drowning, the entire village shuddered. Shen Zhiwei had died that way—this village truly carried out drownings!

The words rang in Wang Shi’s ears like a death sentence. She finally realized the gravity of the situation. Wu Guixiang was Miao Hexiang’s close friend—of course, she was siding with her! And her brother had only one son—if he were drowned, he’d never forgive her!

She hated her nephew for being so useless, for failing to succeed. She hated the meddlesome monk from Miaoqian Village. But most of all, she resented Miao Hexiang, Wu Guixiang, Shen Qing, and all of them for living better lives than she did while refusing to help her!

She covered her face and wept. “Fine, we’ll separate! Just as you said! But you leave now, and you take nothing with you—not a single thing from this house!”

Old Man Lian and Old Lady Lian’s expressions grew even uglier.

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