Ch 214 (Extra 25): The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Lian Ou Side Story: Finale

Because of what happened to Lian Ou, the old Lian family became the first household in Lantang Village to split the family while the parents were still alive and both brothers were present.

It could not exactly be called a blessing in disguise, but after escaping the eldest branch and the increasingly deranged Wang-shi, Miao Hexiang’s family all breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang family’s nephew was not sent to the authorities. He paid compensation and was beaten according to village rules, breaking one leg. Afterward, he lay in bed for several months, dragging things out and unable to stand.

Because of this, Wang-shi’s elder brother and sister-in-law also looked at her with nothing but anger and disgust. Her relationship with her maiden family was essentially broken.

Lian Ou did not need to worry about any of these things. He obediently hid at home for two months, waiting for the storm to pass.

After all, there were still some loose-tongued people in the village gossiping about him. Some had sons who had never been able to reach high enough to marry Lian Ou, so now they kicked him while he was down for satisfaction. Others were simply gossipy by nature, loving to discuss every household’s affairs without caring whether the person involved lived or died.

Yet after hiding from the rumors for two months, Lian Ou discovered that Miao Hexiang no longer allowed him to go sell at the temple fair.

Lian Ou grew anxious.

“Mother, how would people in Miaoqian Village know about our village’s matters? Nobody will spread it randomly. And even if they do, I’m not afraid. I don’t want to marry anymore. In the future, I still need to make stall-selling into a proper livelihood. Are you really going to have my brother support me for the rest of my life?”

Even now, when Miao Hexiang thought back to that day, lingering fear remained.

Over the past two months, she had thought a great deal and discussed it with Miao Chunlei too. Now she said,

“It’s not that I won’t let you make a living. But your Chunlei Auntie, Qing-ge’er, and I have all discussed it. Setting up a stall still can’t compare to working in a shop.”

“Back then we were careless. Your brother escorted you only twice and then stopped, which let that Wang bastard find an opening. But your brother also can’t abandon field work every day just to take you there and bring you back.”

Miao Hexiang scraped the end of her needle lightly against her hair.

“You’ve already trained yourself well at the stall. Qing-ge’er told me too. Right now he’s heavily pregnant and doesn’t have the energy, but once the child in his belly is born, he’ll send you to work in his county shop. It’ll be safe and respectable.”

“After a couple years, once this matter fades, maybe we can even find you a good husband’s family in the county.”

Lian Ou felt anxious.

Why had the conversation turned to his marriage again?

He had not seen Huiming for two months. Earlier, the Lian family had carried gifts to Miaoqian Village to thank Huiming, but they had not let him go.

Now they wanted to send him to the county shop…

For the first time, Lian Ou truly did not want to go to the county, did not want to be ambitious.

“Mother, I already said I don’t want to marry anymore… Because of that incident, I feel sick whenever I see men now. I… I don’t want to go to the county either.”

He leaned against Miao Hexiang’s knees and whispered guiltily,

“If I go to the county, how could I stay beside Mother every day?”

Miao Hexiang felt sweet and comforted from being coaxed by her own ge’er.

But in her view, saying a ge’er would not marry was only acceptable if there was no other choice. If he could marry, especially into a good family, then marrying was still best.

“You were just frightened. You’ll recover after some time.”

For a young ge’er, having a home, having a man who knew warmth and cold and could be relied upon, then giving birth to children and living lively days, that was what counted as complete.

She stroked Lian Ou’s head and said,

“Right now, if you go to Miaoqian Village, I truly can’t rest easy. Our family and the old Wang family have become enemies now. If they block you again on the road, your father and I won’t even have a place to cry.”

“If you find home too boring, go to Qing-ge’er’s place and keep him company. The county magistrate’s young son often comes to play with Qing-ge’er. You and Rong-jie can accompany the young master around the nearby mountains, pick fruit, and play around.”

Now Lian Ou could no longer find any excuse and could only reluctantly agree.

But after accompanying Lin Ning up the mountain a few times with Lian Rong, he unexpectedly saw Huiming.

Lian Rong widened her eyes at him.

“Master, why are you in our village?”

Lian Ou’s face felt a little hot.

Everyone knew Huiming had saved him. Even if he exchanged a few words with Huiming, it should not be anything strange.

But in front of Lin Ning and the others, he truly could not say a single word. He only let his eyes circle over Huiming several times.

Huiming’s throat felt a little dry.

“I… came to gather some medicinal herbs. I heard this kind of herb grows near your village.”

His basket did indeed hold several medicinal plants.

Lian Rong wanted to help him search, but after looking at the plants a few times, she scratched her head in confusion.

Did their village have this kind of thing nearby?

“No matter,” Huiming said calmly. “If you have matters to attend to, go ahead. I’ll search by myself.”

“Oh, oh…”

Lian Rong answered. After hesitating, she still said,

“Master, if you can’t find it, maybe go look somewhere else. Our village might not have it. I’ve never seen it before. If you get tired, you can come to our house to rest and drink some water.”

She pointed toward the foot of the mountain.

“There, that new house on the west side is ours!”

Huiming nodded but did not leave.

Once they had walked far away, Lian Rong said,

“Ge, why didn’t you talk to Master?”

Lian Ou gave two little hums and did not answer.

Lin Ning, however, looked back several times.

“Don’t say, that master is actually quite good-looking. What a pity he’s a monk.”

Isn’t that right?

Lian Ou secretly thought the same.

It was a pity he was a monk.

…If only he were not.

After that, whenever they went up the mountain to play, they ran into Huiming seven out of ten times.

Lian Rong was truly full of questions.

What medicinal herbs did their village have that she had never seen before?

Lian Ou leaned against a tree to rest. Some leaves had piled up near the roots. He quietly searched through them and felt a small jar.

He hid it inside his sleeve and brought it home.

Lately, Huiming often sent him things like this. Sometimes it was scented balm for his hands, sometimes a small pair of scissors for trimming nails, sometimes little trinkets that were useless but pretty.

This time, it was a small jar of honey.

He dipped a fingertip in and put it in his mouth.

The sweetness sank straight into his heart.

Only later did he learn that the hot water the temple provided to vendors did not contain honey. Only his and Lian Rong’s bowls had it.

These days continued until the day Shen Qing gave birth.

Zhao Youwei brought villagers to make trouble. Lian Rong went to the county to ask Lin Ning for reinforcements, and halfway there she ran into Huiming.

“I was so tired then I could barely breathe, and I didn’t explain clearly. Master thought something had happened to you again.”

Lian Rong knew nothing and grinned foolishly.

“He must’ve been thinking, why does our family have so many problems?”

Lian Ou rolled his eyes at her and pierced the blister on her foot in one swift motion.

Lian Rong cried out and hissed in pain.

“Hurry and sleep. Aren’t you tired after running all day? You still have energy to think about this and that?”

He applied medicine to Lian Rong’s foot, then stuffed her entirely into the quilt and tucked her in properly.

“I’m not sleepy at all.”

Perhaps too many things had happened that day. Although her body was tired, her mind was unusually excited.

Lian Rong rolled twice inside the quilt and lowered her voice.

“Ge, Qing-ge’s baby is so ugly and wrinkled. What do you think Qing-ge’s husband looks like? Qing-ge wouldn’t choose someone ugly, right…”

“You hurry up and shut your mouth. Is that something you should say? Newborn babies are all red and wrinkled. They look better once they grow. When you were just born, you were even uglier than that!”

“Really?”

Hearing this, Lian Rong became somewhat happy.

Her Qing-ge was so good-looking. If he had an ugly child, she truly would feel sad.

If he had an ugly husband, she would also feel sad.

Even though it was Qing-ge’s business and had nothing to do with her, she would still meddlesomely feel sad.

Lian Ou: “………”

However, at that time, they had not expected to see Qing-ge’er’s husband so soon.

He was a tall man, half his body covered in blood, carried down the mountain on Shen Qing’s back.

Shen Qing ran too fast for them to see the man’s face clearly. They only saw a furry head.

Like the head of someone whose shaved hair had only recently begun growing back…

Lian Rong stood at the courtyard entrance, her eyes wide with shock.

“T-this… Qing-ge’s husband is a monk? A monk who returned to secular life? Why is his hair like that?”

The word “monk” struck Lian Ou’s heart hard.

Miao Hexiang slapped the back of Lian Rong’s head.

“What nonsense are you saying? Control that mouth of yours!”

But whether because this idle comment was overheard or because someone else thought the same thing as Lian Rong, the rumor that Shen Qing’s husband was a monk who had returned to secular life truly spread.

The story became vivid and detailed.

They said the monk had betrayed Buddhism for Shen Qing, but his sect would not allow it. He had his legs broken by an old monk, was expelled from his order, and clung to his final breath just to see Shen Qing one last time…

They said that although this love was not tolerated by the world, it was still moving enough to touch heaven and earth…

Shen Qing was guarding the unconscious Song Kaiwu and had no energy to handle outside rumors, so the story spread just like that. Even Huiming in Miaoqian Village heard it.

That night, Huiming knelt in the main hall for the entire night.

The next day, he secretly packed the money he had saved over the years and went to Lantang Village.

Shishu watched his sneaking figure and sighed.

“That boy can’t be kept.”

The abbot did not even open his eyes.

“Weren’t you the one who said as long as he doesn’t return to his birth parents, if he finds some girl or ge’er, starts a family, and has a few children, you’d be happier than anyone?”

“Of course I’m willing.”

Shishu chuckled twice.

“Anyway, if he leaves, no one will take over your work, so you can just keep doing it for a few more years. What does that have to do with me?”

Then he leaned over and patted the abbot’s shoulder.

“Say, that one from their village, whatever temple he came from, wasn’t he too ruthless? Breaking someone’s legs… Isn’t it just returning to secular life and getting married? How big of a deal is that? When the time comes, just lecture him a little. Don’t make things hard for the child.”

The abbot could no longer tolerate it and drove this chatterbox out.