Ch 182: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Lian Ye trembled all over, as if he were a sieve shaking out chaff.

He felt like his parents had completely lost their minds! What made them think that a noble person would take a liking to him? Just because Qing Ge’er used to be the “ugly” ger that no one in the village wanted to marry, and he himself wasn’t much to look at either?

But even if someone was ugly, people were still different from one another! Even though Qing Ge’er still wasn’t the type of appearance that men favored, the aura he carried, the way he spoke and handled things—standing next to him, one was like the clouds in the sky, while the other was like mud trampled underfoot!

But when he refused to go, Wang Shi picked up the broomstick and struck him. The pain was unbearable. Ever since the family split up, Wang Shi had been dissatisfied with everything, and whenever she was upset, she took it out on him. His body was always covered in fresh wounds before the old ones had a chance to heal. His father never intervened either, just lowered his head and sighed from the side.

Today was Lian Ou’s wedding day. How much he envied Lian Ou, how much he envied Shen Qing. But he had no skills, no mother who cherished him, and no courage to rebel like Shen Qing did.

Then he might as well go, Lian Ye thought. If he didn’t, he’d just be beaten to death sooner or later. Better to go and annoy the nobleman—if he got beaten to death all at once, at least it would be quick and spare him from this slow, drawn-out torment.

But he never expected that the nobleman wouldn’t be angry. Instead, he even bought him. Lian Ye was puzzled and even more terrified—if he was taken back by this nobleman, would Qing Ge’er let him off? Thinking of Shen Qing’s ferocious track record in the village, Lian Ye trembled even harder.

However, Shen Qing only glanced at him twice before pulling Song Kaiji aside to talk. Lian Ye shut his eyes and shivered on the side, feeling as though he was just waiting for death. Every passing second was sheer agony.

After hearing Song Kaiji explain the situation, Shen Qing frowned slightly. Spending ten taels of silver to save Lian Ye wasn’t a big deal, but the way Song Kaiji handled this… “Now that you’ve set this precedent, some people in the village will think this method works. Just wait—more will come clinging to you.” He didn’t doubt Song Kaiji’s feelings for him, but this was just asking for trouble.

Besides, “I was just casually chatting with Lian Ou, and you happened to overhear it.” Shen Qing cast a glance at Lian Ye. “But who knows what’s going on in Lian Ye’s mind? The two households aren’t on good terms, and Ou Ge’er doesn’t talk to Lian Ye much. Lian Ye is pitiful, but maybe despite his suffering, he’d rather stay by his parents’ side.”

Not every pitiable person in this world was like Wang San, who, after a few words of advice from others, could muster the will to stand up and change their fate. More often than not, people struggled in the mire, constantly lamenting their misery to others—yet when someone reached out a branch to pull them out, they shrank back in fear of the world beyond the swamp.

“Why should I care what he thinks?” Song Kaiji wasn’t concerned with Lian Ye’s thoughts—he only cared about Shen Qing’s. Shen Qing wanted to save Lian Ye, so he bought him. As for whether Lian Ye needed help—why should he consider Lian Ye’s feelings? The boy had thrown himself at him, so he simply took the opportunity.

Shen Qing was momentarily stunned, a little dizzy from Song Kaiji’s way of thinking. He wasn’t sure whether to find it comforting or amusing. But since Lian Ye had already been bought, Shen Qing took the deed of sale that Song Kaiji handed over and asked, “Then why didn’t you take him back with you? Why wait for me out here in the cold?”

“How could I take him back?” Song Kaiji said urgently. “Then I’d really be in trouble like you said—I’d never be able to clear my name in the village. Who knows how many people would start eyeing me and throwing themselves at me? I didn’t argue with those two earlier because I was afraid they’d realize what was happening, but now that we have the deed of sale, what’s there to be afraid of? Just find an open position in some business and send him over. Whatever you do, don’t let him step into our home.”

A man’s reputation was his best dowry! He had no intention of letting the villagers think that aside from Qingqing, anyone else could do!

“You’re not that stupid after all.” Shen Qing was amused by his anxious, restless expression—like a puppy whose bone had just been snatched away. Song Kaiji immediately put on a smug look, as if saying, “Of course!”

Shen Qing thought for a moment and decided he should talk to Lian Ye first. He didn’t know him well and had no idea what kind of person he was. If he was going to help, he needed to see whether Lian Ye was worth saving. As he walked toward him, Lian Ye instinctively wanted to run but then remembered that his deed of sale was already in Shen Qing’s hands, and his parents had taken the money. Where could he run? So he forced himself to stay put, lowered his head, and waited for his fate.

The slap he expected never came. Instead, Shen Qing’s voice, despite the bitter cold of the twelfth lunar month, carried a trace of warmth. Lian Ye heard him say, “I heard from Ou Ge’er and Second Aunt Lian that you were pitiful, so my husband took the chance to buy you. But you should know, becoming a concubine in our household is impossible. This is a deed of sale, not a marriage contract. If you’re willing, I can send you to a shop in the county to work. After a few years, if you manage to become a foreman, you can either marry or take your deed of sale and live independently—it’ll be up to you. But if you choose this path, you’ll have to cut ties with your parents completely. If you’re unwilling…”

Shen Qing frowned slightly. If Lian Ye turned out to be someone who didn’t understand his own situation, he would have him stay at Second Aunt Lian’s house for a few days and then find a decent family to send him to—he would have done all he could. The only problem was that staying with Second Aunt Lian might bring her some trouble.

Fortunately, before he could finish speaking, Lian Ye had already burst into tears and knelt before him. “I’m willing! I’ll do whatever you ask! Qing Ge’er, please send me away! Even if you didn’t say it, I don’t want anything to do with them anymore!”

He lifted his sleeves. Despite the harsh winter, he was wearing only a thin jacket, and his fingertips were purple from the cold. But even that paled in comparison to the bruises on his arms—layer upon layer of black-and-blue welts, clearly marks from being beaten with a cane. “Ever since the family split, my mother… whenever she’s upset, she takes it out on me. Even Lian Bao doesn’t get treated as well as before, so he cries all the time. When his crying annoys her, she just beats me instead… I never thought about being a concubine—I just couldn’t take the beatings anymore. No matter where I go, I’ll probably end up dead anyway…” Lian Ye sobbed.

In the past, Wang Shi had thought that having a son made her a great contributor to the Lian family, showing off Lian Bao every chance she got. But when the family split, the old couple followed the second branch and didn’t give her much inheritance. That was when she finally realized that her so-called great contribution was nothing more than her own delusion.

Or rather, when faced with cold, hard silver, having a son meant nothing.

Faced with this massive disappointment, even Lian Bao was no longer as important to her. But since the child had been spoiled rotten by Wang Shi, he would throw endless tantrums when things didn’t go his way. When Wang Shi got fed up with his crying, she took it out on Lian Ye instead.

As Lian Ye sobbed and sniffled, Shen Qing quickly helped him up. When his hand touched Lian Ye’s arm, the boy trembled again.

This was what happened when a family had too many children—there wasn’t even parental love anymore. Even wealthy households didn’t treat their servants this cruelly. Shen Qing sighed and took Lian Ye to the neighboring workshop, where many guests were resting after drinking too much at Lian Ou’s wedding banquet.

Shen Qing scanned the crowd and found Tieshan. “Brother Tieshan, could I trouble you to take Lian Ye to my shop in the city later? Just hand him over to Ruyi and let her arrange a place for him to stay. After two days, he can start working with Mudan and the others.”

Tieshan hiccupped. He wasn’t particularly close to Shen Qing and Lian Ou growing up—after all, they were gers, and boys and gers didn’t usually play together. But they had always been on good terms. At today’s wedding, the merchants from Miaoqian Village had been drinking heavily, and Tieshan and Lian Shi had been helping block the drinks for the groom. His head was still muddled, and his tongue was heavy as he said, “Lea-leave it to me.”

Lian Shi was already passed out nearby, sprawled out in a drunken mess.

Shen Qing: “…” That wasn’t very reassuring.

Just then, a few aunts brought over a pot of hangover soup and started ladling it into the drinkers’ mouths. One of them smiled at Shen Qing. “No rush, Qing Ge’er. There’s still time—let them sleep it off for an hour first.”

Some of the guests had caught wind of the situation and were eyeing Shen Qing and Lian Ye curiously. One of them boldly asked, “Didn’t the nobleman buy Lian Ye…”

Shen Qing shot him a look, and the man immediately shut up.

“Wasn’t it that wretched couple’s doing? What decent family would force their own ger to be a concubine?” Shen Qing said coolly, clearly rebuking Wang Shi and Lian Laoda while also warning others who might have similar schemes. “My husband saw how pitiful Lian Ye was and bought him out of kindness. You see, he didn’t even take him home—he came straight to me.”

Shen Qing dusted off his sleeves. “Not just anyone can step into our household.”

The room fell silent, even the sound of the drunkards snoring seemed to lessen. Shen Qing knew that once this spread, those who had harbored thoughts of taking advantage of the situation would start gossiping. But was he afraid of some idle chatter?

He had already seen through the village’s fickleness. When he built a workshop that benefited the villagers, he was their beloved Qing Ge’er. When he shot Zhao Youwei’s gang in the legs, he became a feared demon. When he handed out porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he was praised as the benevolent Shen. He had always been Shen Qing—whether his reputation was good or bad depended only on whether people could profit from him.

Of course, those who coveted his husband and couldn’t get what they wanted would badmouth him.

Before long, Lian Lao’er arrived with Wu Guixiang’s mule cart. “No need to wait for Tieshan, Qing Ge’er. I’ll take Lian Ye to the city.”

As they sent Lian Ye away, Shen Qing and Song Kaiji returned to the estate. Song Kaiji took Shen Qing’s hand and, fidgeting slightly, asked, “Just now, in front of the villagers… what did you call me?”

Shen Qing was momentarily stunned.

Song Kaiji circled around him. “Say it again! Say it again~~~ When we first met, you called me Song ge. Now we even have a child, and you’re still calling me Song ge? Don’t you think that’s a bit too much?”

Shen Qing’s face turned a little red. “I’m just… used to it.” Suddenly changing the way he addressed him felt awkward. He only occasionally… in bed, when things got heated, would call Song Kaiji’s full name. Compared to Song Kaiji’s sticky-sweet “Qingqing,” Shen Qing realized he didn’t really have any special nickname for Song Kaiji.

But what was wrong with calling him Song ge? Even Zhao Yu called Lian Shi “Shi ge,” and that was already considered close. Plenty of married couples in the village called each other that. Some even just called their husband “the father of their child.” Was he really supposed to call him “husband” or “darling” all sweet and mushy? That would make the whole village laugh their heads off.

“Oh, now you’re afraid of being laughed at? Weren’t you the one who said you don’t care what the villagers think? But when it comes to me, suddenly you care!” Song Kaiji stood in front of him with his hands on his hips, pretending to be angry. “I don’t care! I don’t care! I want it, I want it!”

Shen Qing had no way to deal with him. Seeing that there was no one around, he could only stand on his toes and give Song Kaiji a quick peck, whispering, “Husband.”

“Hubby~~”

Ah, that was kind of embarrassing.

But Song Kaiji was utterly delighted, as if he had just taken a dose of excitement. His ears turned visibly red, and Shen Qing found it amusing. Acting on impulse, he lightly nibbled on his ear.

Half of Song Kaiji’s body went numb. He suddenly felt like he had endless energy and, in a flash, hoisted Shen Qing onto his shoulder and took off running toward home.

Meanwhile, in the estate, Zhang Sujuan was awkwardly trying to explain to Miao Chunlei. She knew her son well—Song Kaiji wasn’t the type to mess around with other people. Their family had never raised such a child. But why did he have to act so shamelessly in broad daylight?

“Dear in-law, listen to me! Kaiji must have his own reasons—he would never betray Qing Ge’er! If he dares, I’ll be the first to beat him!”

Miao Chunlei took a deep breath. “I know.” If I didn’t know, I would have beaten him myself! But even as his mother-in-law, she was a little upset by Song Kaiji’s behavior!

Just as they were speaking, Song Kaiji came rushing back like the wind, carrying Shen Qing over his shoulder, both of them laughing like silver bells.

And behind them… there was no sign of Lian Ye.

Miao Chunlei and Zhang Sujuan: “…”

Well then. They had worried for nothing. The couple was just fine.

With that, the matter was settled. Ruyi didn’t know the full details, but since her master gave the order, she followed through. She had Lian Ye rest in a residence in the north of the city for two days. When they lifted Lian Ye’s clothing, the maids and young servants were all shocked at the state of his injuries. Ruyi quickly sent someone to fetch a doctor.

Lian Ye became nervous. “These… these are just flesh wounds. It’s nothing, no need to waste money.” Seeing a doctor cost a lot, especially when they had to call one over. He had already cost Shen Qing ten taels of silver and was staying in such a good place with a proper job lined up. He didn’t dare let them spend any more money on him.

“It’s fine. It won’t cost much—we know the doctor well.” Ruyi reassured him. She had someone heat up water and gently cleaned the wounds. The doctor she referred to was the same old physician who had delivered Shen Qing’s child, later staying to deliver Zhao Yu’s child and treat Song Kaiji’s injuries. Over time, they had built a good relationship. They didn’t even need the doctor himself—just one of his apprentices. Since Ruyi and the others ran a fried snack shop, they often got burns and would have these apprentices tend to them for free.

As the maids and young servants looked at Lian Ye’s wounds, some recalled their own pasts.

“I used to get beaten like that at home too,” one murmured. “Old wounds hadn’t even healed before new ones piled on.”

“My parents weren’t watching my little brother, and he fell. My father came out and kicked me, saying I should have been looking after him.” A young maid lifted her pant leg slightly. “I hit a rock that day—there’s still a scar.”

“When I was first sold, I was terrified. If my own parents treated me like that, who knew what kind of life I would have after being sold? But I ended up here and actually have a good life.”

“That’s right.” A maid gently took Lian Ye’s hand, comforting him. “Don’t be afraid. Life here is good. Master never beats anyone. If you make a mistake, Sister Ruyi will scold you a little, but she never hits anyone. Now that you’re here, you’ll never be beaten again.”

Lian Ye sniffled and let out a soft “mm.”

Meanwhile, Wang Shi and Lian Laoda gleefully counted their silver, fantasizing about how Lian Ye’s newfound favor would push Shen Qing out of the picture. But by the time they realized what had happened, Lian Ye had already been gone from the village for days. They were completely dumbfounded when they found out that he hadn’t even set foot inside Shen Qing’s house and had been sent away immediately, let alone been favored by the nobleman.

They tried to storm Shen Qing’s house, but they couldn’t even get through the gate—several strong young men and servants guarded the estate. They thought about going to Miao Hexiang’s house to make a fuss, but what did this have to do with her? Worse still, Lian Ou had returned home to visit, and Old Lady Lian, embarrassed to lose face in front of her grandson-in-law, came out and scolded Lian Laoda and Wang Shi harshly.

“I never thought our Lian family would stoop so low as to sell their own child! Back when Old Lady Shen sold Shen Xiaojian, I spat at her! And now, my own grandson has been sold off!”

Lian Laoda and Wang Shi were ashamed, but they were still unwilling to let it go. They wandered the village aimlessly like headless flies until Wu Guixiang, the village head’s wife, stepped in and gave them a harsh scolding.

“You two sold your child. Do you even know what that means? When the Shen family sold Shen Xiaojian, that meant she belonged to her buyer. She never came back, and they never had the right to ask about her again! You sold Lian Ye to Qing Ge’er’s household, which means Qing Ge’er can do whatever he wants with him—whether that means keeping him, selling him, or even worse! Who do you think you are, trying to meddle in how someone handles their own servant?”

“We didn’t sell him to Shen Qing! We sold him to the nobleman!” Wang Shi stubbornly argued. “The nobleman wanted our Ye Ge’er as a concubine, but Shen Qing got jealous and sent him away! Why can’t we seek justice?”

“Justice?” Wu Guixiang sneered. “Justice is that the nobleman is Qing Ge’er’s husband. They’re a family. That means the nobleman bought a servant for Qing Ge’er’s household. You think just because you say he’s a concubine, it makes it true? Buying a concubine requires a proper contract—do you have one? What you have is a deed of sale for ten taels of silver. If you’re so unhappy, return the ten taels, and I’ll go talk to Qing Ge’er about voiding the contract so you can take him back.”

Wang Shi made a scene for half the day, but no one paid her any mind. Returning the money to take Lian Ye back was out of the question! A ger’s bride price wasn’t as high as a girl’s—five or six taels at best. Not everyone was as fortunate as Lian Ou, who had gotten a bride price of twenty taels.

Between ten taels and five or six, of course, she chose ten.

After this whole ordeal, many people in the village put away their little schemes. Qing Ge’er was not to be trifled with. Even if someone did become a concubine in his household, he could sell them or send them away at will without even consulting their maiden family. What would be the point then?

Meanwhile, Shen Qing and Song Kaiji spent their days peacefully in Lantang Village. When the New Year approached, Shen Qing prepared some gifts and personally took Song Kaiji to visit Magistrate Lin, along with Gold-Tooth to pay respects to the registrar and Clerk Yang.

Song Kaiji accompanied him through two rounds of drinking. He wasn’t much of a drinker before—at most, he’d have some rice wine dumplings or a bit of pineapple beer, barely even touching regular beer. But the alcohol in this era was ridiculously weak. Even after drinking quite a bit, when he stepped outside, his face was only slightly flushed, and he remained completely clear-headed.

Shen Qing cupped his face. “Are you okay?” They had visited Clerk Yang first since they were more familiar with Magistrate Lin and planned to spend more time there in the afternoon, leaving it for last. But showing up at the magistrate’s house drunk would be impolite. “Do you want to get a room at an inn, rest for a bit, have some hangover soup, and then go visit Ning Ge’er’s house?”

Song Kaiji was about to say he was fine, but at the words “get a room,” the lingering effects of the alcohol made his thoughts wander. “Mm… Mm, that sounds good too.”

He leaned into Shen Qing’s shoulder, rubbing against him. “Qingqing, I feel so dizzy.”

Gold-Tooth was still standing nearby. He had arranged the meeting with Clerk Yang and had accompanied Shen Qing. Seeing Song Kaiji’s behavior, he quickly averted his eyes, pretending not to see anything, and promptly cupped his hands to bid farewell. “I won’t accompany you to the magistrate’s house—I have matters at home to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Shen Qing felt a little embarrassed, but he still held onto Song Kaiji and nodded. “In a few days, I’ll prepare a generous gift and visit your home personally, Brother Jin.”

Gold-Tooth fled as if his feet were greased. Young Master Shen’s husband was actually this kind of person?! Even with Young Master Shen’s imposing physique, he could still act spoiled like this? Truly… truly admirable!

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