Ch 202 (Extra 13): The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Qu Weiwei Side Story 2

It was a face that perfectly matched Qu Weiwei’s tastes.

Not the delicate style popular among ge’er these days. His features carried faint sharpness, not feminine, yet not as strongly masculine as Shen Qing either.

He looked somewhat like the idol boys from boy groups before the apocalypse, the kind fans jokingly called “wife” and endlessly doted on. A pretty little beauty.

Hiss… haa…

And somehow, this pretty little beauty looked strangely familiar.

Qu Weiwei rubbed her chin and fell into thought.

Li Nan lowered his head slightly, feeling only that his life was bitter.

His family lived in the northern district and had originally been very poor. Fortunately, their ancestors had left behind a well. By selling water and doing odd jobs, his parents managed to raise their three children.

Later, Boss Shen came to the northern district and opened many shops. His parents took the opportunity to set up a shaobing stall while also selling well water for a single copper coin per drink. There were always people who had eaten spicy food but were unwilling to spend extra money on sweet drinks. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Selling water cost them nothing, and with those two businesses combined, their family’s life finally improved somewhat.

Li Nan’s appearance was not the kind men usually liked, and he was tall too. Fortunately, Boss Shen appeared in their northern district, someone even less delicate-looking than Li Nan himself. After Boss Shen became successful, there were fewer people criticizing Li Nan’s looks, because Boss Shen’s businesses were everywhere and he had many connections in the yamen. Anyone who dared insult that kind of appearance might suddenly get verbally attacked by someone nearby.

Even so, Li Nan still did not get engaged until he was nineteen.

The man he was matched with was Zhao family’s son, who was not particularly good. He was three years older than Li Nan and used to loaf around without proper work, which was why he could never find a spouse. Later, because he was good at flattering people, he attached himself to Young Master Wang as an attendant and gradually began earning some income.

Outside, the Zhao family boasted constantly about how highly Young Master Wang valued their son and how he would surely become a steward someday.

Nobody believed them.

Who didn’t know that stewards in wealthy households usually had to sell themselves into servitude first? Even the famously kind Boss Shen required people to enter servitude before releasing their household registration years later. Who would trust outsiders?

After many twists and turns, Auntie Qian, who sold cloth scraps at the end of the alley, finally introduced the Zhao and Li families to each other.

Neither side was particularly satisfied, but neither had the right to dislike the other either. Commoner families simply made do and partnered together to survive.

Yet less than half a year after the engagement was settled, Zhao family’s son was beaten with the rod. Old Master Li bribed a medicine boy serving the doctor with two shaobing and a fried chicken cutlet, only to learn that Zhao family’s son had his waist broken and would never stand again.

The Zhao family urged Li Nan to marry over immediately as a “good fortune bride,” but Li Nan’s parents truly cared about their child. Whether it meant forcing Li Nan to care for a bedridden cripple or become a widow shortly afterward, they refused both options.

The two families argued for some time. Then Zhao family’s son died, and now the Zhao family demanded that Li Nan die alongside him as a burial companion.

Among commoners, strict chastity customs were usually not emphasized, especially before marriage had even taken place. But the Zhao family was shameless. They blocked the Li family’s home and caused disturbances every day, making it impossible for them to do business and threatening their livelihood.

Old Master Li stood protectively in front of his ge’er and grabbed a yamen runner’s sleeve pleadingly.

“Where in this area do we have such customs? We already returned their betrothal gifts long ago. Even the pastries and the bowl of dumplings that old Madam Zhao brought over were repaid in silver! How about this, our family will add another tael of silver as funeral condolences. We truly can’t afford more than that.”

But the Zhao family refused.

“The engagement was already settled! Our son is dead, so why should this ge’er still be alive? Our Zhao Da is buried all alone underground. This ge’er should go down there to accompany him and serve him!”

“We don’t lack that one tael of silver, and we don’t care about those betrothal gifts! Hand the person over, and we’ll carry the gifts right back this instant!”

After hearing Zhao family’s son had died, the Wang family felt a little guilty and recently sent over some money along with a fairly decent coffin. The Zhao family no longer lacked money. What they had was hatred.

They dared not hate the Wang family, so they irrationally dumped all their anger onto the Li family ge’er who refused to marry over for the good fortune ritual.

Mudan’s husband and the other two yamen runners spent a long while trying to reason with them politely. This was still the style established when Magistrate Lin governed the county. They were not supposed to “enforce the law violently.”

But the Zhao family refused to listen and continued causing a scene, which finally irritated one of the yamen runners enough that he drew his saber halfway from its sheath.

“That’s enough! What kind of nonsense is this? A perfectly healthy ge’er is alive, and you want to kill him for burial companionship. On what grounds? If you truly pity your son, take your money and go find a dead child in some village below the mountain to match with him. Our upright magistrate absolutely will not allow you to harm innocent lives like this!”

The Zhao family lowered their heads and cried silently, but they still refused to leave. They continued squatting in front of the Li family home, preventing them from going out to do business and stopping neighbors from coming to buy water.

Yamen runners were difficult to find and much more expensive. How could they compare to obtaining the Li family ge’er with only a modest betrothal gift? Any suitable dead child had long since been claimed by wealthier families.

Families with deceased children usually preferred to match them with wealthy households in hopes of earning blessings in the next life. Some were even particular about the dead child’s appearance and character. But the Zhao family lacked both money and status. On top of that, they had grown to hate the Li family and absolutely could not bear seeing Li Nan live well.

One yamen runner muttered quietly:

“If you wanted to take this ge’er in as a gate widow and keep him at home serving you two elders, that would at least be discussable. But wanting to kill someone? Do you think the yamen is just decoration…”

Mudan’s husband immediately frowned.

“Old Ding!”

The yamen runner called Old Ding instantly slapped his own mouth.

“Ow!”

But the Zhao family’s eyes lit up.

If they brought the ge’er into their home, then whether he lived or died would be entirely up to them. In summer they could leave him baking in the heat without water. In winter they could deny him blankets. If he died, they would simply claim he was weak and sickly.

Standing at a distance, Qu Weiwei and Mudan both frowned.

Mudan stared at Old Ding for a while, then suddenly smacked his forehead.

“His wife’s younger brother seems to have married Zhao Da’s cousin. No wonder this has dragged on for almost a month and such shameless demands still haven’t been resolved. So there’s an insider helping them!”

Anping County was only so big. It was hard to say which families were connected to which through marriage.

Mudan was furious. For one, he could not stand seeing the Zhao family bully people like this. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. For another, his heart ached for his own husband, who was standing under the blazing sun in this heat, trying to mediate the fight until his head was covered in sweat. He immediately wanted to go forward and expose Old Ding’s true face to his husband.

But Qu Weiwei held him back. She felt around in her clothes for a moment and pulled out a pouch of silver.

“Help me ask the Li family. Their ge’er probably won’t be easy to marry off now, right? Why not sell him to me and let him work for Shen Qing instead?”

The pouch held roughly twenty-some taels.

“If he’s willing to sell, any price is fine. If it isn’t enough, help me cover it first. I’ll have the estate send more over later.”

It took Qu Weiwei a while to remember. Wasn’t this the ge’er she had stared at outside the Cuihua shop the first time she came to Anping County? Back then, he had still been young, tender and fresh, like a juicy fruit that would drip water if pinched. Now, after several years, he had grown into his features and looked even more like a man.

She had liked this ge’er’s appearance back then and had stared until he felt embarrassed. Running into him twice could be considered fate. From the look of it, Old Master Li was someone who loved his child. If he was smart, he should understand that selling his ge’er to her right now was the best choice.

The Zhao family had a yamen runner relative, while the Li family did not. Mudan’s husband could not protect the Li family at all times. If Old Ding showed even a little favoritism, it would be enough for the Li family to suffer. Otherwise, they would not have been harassed for so long.

The Zhao family bullied the weak and feared the strong. They did not dare hate the Wang family, and they would be even less willing to hate her. If the Li family took the silver from selling their ge’er and moved somewhere else, hiding from the Zhao family for a while would be good too.

This hateful feudal society already did not treat women and ge’er as people. Even Mudan’s husband spoke casually about buying a dead child for a ghost marriage. But the Zhao family was even more vicious. On top of not treating women and ge’er as human beings, they wanted to crush their bones and suck out the marrow.

She only feared Old Master Li would not be smart enough… And it would not be good for her to forcefully buy someone’s ge’er as a servant. That would make her look like some kind of tyrant.

How could Mudan not understand what she meant? People like them, including Lian Ye next door, had all escaped suffering only because their master bought them. In the past, how could he ever have dared imagine that one day he would marry a yamen runner in official clothes with a great saber at his waist?

He immediately tucked the money pouch away and rushed over in a flurry.

The Zhao couple were currently tugging at his husband’s robe hem, crying about how Zhao Da was their only son. They said the Li family ge’er did not have to be buried with him, but he had to go to their home as a widow, serve the two elderly parents, and see them through to the end of their lives.

Old Ding chimed in every now and then with, “What they’re saying isn’t wrong,” making Mudan’s husband so angry his face turned green.

Mudan stepped forward and spat at Old Ding first.

“Bah! You think I don’t know? Your useless brother-in-law got married last month, and the one he married was this old woman’s niece. I was wondering why you usually laze around all day and make my husband cover your shifts, yet recently you’ve been so diligent about patrolling. So it turns out you’re wearing that uniform to take sides! Be careful, or I’ll go tell my own family too. Who doesn’t have a few relatives?”

Old Ding’s face instantly flushed red, sweat pouring down his neck.

“Sao-fulang, what are you saying? I’ve never interfered in my wife’s maiden family’s affairs. I was just casually saying a few words. If you think I’m talking too much, then I won’t say anything.”

After saying that, he turned his back and walked off to the side.

Mudan glared at him fiercely before turning to the Li family.

“Congratulations to you two elders!”

The Li family had no idea what was going on. Their family had already become this unlucky. What joy could there possibly be?

Mudan first helped Li Nan, who had been sitting on the ground, to his feet. Goodness. Once he stood up, he was more than half a head taller than Mudan. He really did seem to suit his master’s household’s tastes.

“My master’s sao-furen was sitting in the shop just now and overheard some of this. She also saw that your family’s ge’er is clever-looking and presentable, and she happens to need someone like him by her side. If you’re willing, take this pouch of silver and let your ge’er follow our yitai-tai. You know our household never mistreats servants. In a few years, your ge’er might be like me and earn himself a good future!”

In his heart, Mudan recognized only Shen Qing as his master. Song Kaiji was merely his master’s spouse, so he referred to Song Kaiji’s sister as yitai-tai.

Li Nan’s face had already gone pale. Hearing Mudan’s words, everyone looked toward Mudan’s shop. Qu Weiwei abruptly became the focus of the crowd and awkwardly shrank half a step behind the door panel, but Li Nan still saw her clearly.

It was her…

In his life, very few people had ever praised his appearance. But when he was fifteen, his father had earned some money after selling shaobing for several months. Happily, he had given Li Nan a few coins and told him to go buy some flowers and trinkets, the sort of things little ge’er and young girls liked.

Li Nan and his friends had gone to the shop beside the starch sausage stall. Then they happened to run into Boss Shen’s family coming out of the estate.

This woman had stared at him with a scorching gaze. It had been appreciative, admiring, passionate, and carrying a hint of aggression…

No one had ever looked at him like that before.

Later, Li Nan learned that she was the elder sister of Boss Shen’s husband.

Not long ago, this young lady had gotten married and become Boss Shen’s husband’s sister-in-law.

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