Ger, So Proud

Chapter 2: He Family Village

It was early autumn, and a slight chill was in the air. The men and gers of He Family Village, who usually went shirtless, had donned coarse cloth shirts. They greeted each other while heading towards their rice fields with hoes in hand.

This was a season of harvest. With favorable weather throughout the year, the crops had grown well, and everyone felt a sense of joy as they looked at the golden waves of rice.

Everyone except the He Youcai family in the west of the village.

In a somewhat dilapidated adobe house, the room was sparsely furnished with a few wicker tables and chairs, giving it an empty feel. He Ze leaned against the headboard, his forehead and arms wrapped in white cotton bandages that were faintly stained with blood. A man sat by the bed, holding a bowl of dark, bitter medicine, his eyes slightly red.

The man had deep wrinkles that spoke of many years of hardship, but his features were still distinct, hinting at a handsome appearance in his youth. A few strands of white hair at his temples stood out conspicuously against his face.

“Xiao Ze, why were you so foolish? Was it worth it for that He Bao’er? If Brother Lin hadn’t arrived in time, I… oh!” The man choked up, tears welling in his eyes. Indeed, it was a man, playing the role of He Ze’s mother.

It seemed absurd and unbelievable, but it was the truth.

Dad Li set the nearly empty medicine bowl heavily on the table, the residue leaving a brown ring at the bottom. He glanced at He Ze and sighed deeply before leaving the room with the bowl.

The child’s father hadn’t yet recovered from his hand injury, and there was no money for both father and son’s medicine tomorrow. The household needed silver everywhere, and Dad Li had to come up with a plan quickly.

Under the setting sun’s fading light, Dad Li’s back appeared hunched. If He Ze hadn’t retained the original owner’s memories, he wouldn’t have believed that this man had aged so much in just two months.

The original owner had just turned nineteen at the beginning of the year. This world resembled ancient China, where people married young. Dad Li was only in his thirties.

He should have been in the prime of his life.

He Ze frowned.

Since waking up in the forest two days ago, everything around him had been pointing to one fact.

—He had transmigrated.

He was now He Ze, but a different He Ze. Same name, different person.

Having survived the apocalypse, transmigration didn’t seem so shocking. However, the greatest “surprise” of this world wasn’t the transmigration itself, but… he seemed to have arrived in a strange world.

A world without women, only “gers.” Gers could become pregnant, give birth, and bore the responsibility of human reproduction. They looked like men and shared the same physical characteristics, but each ger had a red mole on the palm of their right hand, signifying their identity.

The original owner’s dad, Dad Li, was a ger.

He Ze opened his palm, finding it smooth and unmarked, except for being a bit fairer. Even though the memories confirmed he wasn’t a ger, He Ze couldn’t help but sigh in relief and touched his throbbing forehead.

This was an injury from that day in the forest.

The original owner had encountered a bear and fell down a slope while escaping, hitting his head on a rock. Surviving was a stroke of luck, or rather, he hadn’t survived. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have woken up as He Ze.

With mixed feelings, He Ze propped himself up and tried to get out of bed, stumbling towards the table, using a wooden stool for support.

The injury on his forehead was the most severe, while the abrasions on his arms and legs were relatively minor and didn’t significantly hinder his movements.

Scanning the room, He Ze noted the simplicity of its furnishings, confirming that this family’s financial situation was far from good.

He Ze glanced at He Youcai, the original body’s father, who was sitting at the courtyard gate, smoking a pipe and exhaling clouds of smoke. His other hand was wrapped in cotton cloth and hung around his neck.

From He Ze’s perspective, he could see He Youcai’s somewhat darkened face, full of worry.

In fact, if it weren’t for various unfortunate events, the original body’s family would have been one of the wealthier households in He Family Village.

The family owned eight acres of land, and He Youcai was a carpenter with skills. People from the surrounding ten villages would seek him out for wooden tools. Living comfortably as a family of four wouldn’t have been difficult.

But luck wasn’t on their side. The original body’s grandfather, He Youcai’s father, was a gambler. Even after his death, he left behind a mountain of debt. The family had to tighten their belts to pay off the debt while also supporting the original body’s education in town. After years of hardship, they finally cleared the debt a couple of years ago. With some savings at last, they planned to build a new house this year. However, during construction, He Youcai was hit by a falling beam, nearly crippling his right hand.

They managed to find a doctor who could treat the injury, but it cost all their savings and half of their land. He Youcai’s hand was saved, but he could no longer do carpentry or any heavy labor.

With the family breadwinner down, the burden was supposed to fall on the next man of the house—the original body.

But the original body had been spoiled since childhood. He would come home each month just to take money, neglecting his studies and picking up bad habits instead. Recently, he was even expelled by his teacher and sent back home.

Despite his return, the family was hopeful about the new house and his marriage to He Bao’er. They imagined a future with grandchildren and were content.

He Bao’er’s dad was an outsider who married into He Family Village. His husband and He Youcai were childhood friends, almost like brothers. Thus, He Bao’er and the original body were betrothed since childhood.

After He Bao’er’s father died, the original body’s family, despite their own struggles, would send rice and eggs monthly to support them. He Youcai believed they were helping future family.

Unfortunately, this kindness was wasted on an ungrateful person.

When He Youcai got injured, He Bao’er’s dad quickly arranged another marriage for him, supposedly with a wealthy family in town, with a dowry of ten taels of silver. When Dad Li tried to confront him, he was humiliated instead.

That’s right. With money, who needs a reputation?

Now, it’s come to this—his “fiance” ran off with someone else at the last moment. Unable to accept this, the original He Ze went to confront He Bao’er, only to be told, “A’ze, I’ve always seen you as a brother…”

What a load of crap.

The original He Ze couldn’t take it. On He Bao’er’s wedding day, he went up the mountain alone, leading to the subsequent events.

Such is fate.

“Xiao Ze, why are you out of bed?” Just as He Ze was piecing together his memories, Dad Li came in with a large steaming bowl, “This is chicken soup I specially made for you. Try it.”

Dad Li placed the bowl in front of He Ze. The fragrant aroma of the chicken filled his nostrils, and the oil floating on the surface made his mouth water.

These past two days, his meals had been the best he’d had in a decade.

In the apocalypse, most animals were infected with the zombie virus, either dying or mutating. The mutated animals were no longer fit for human consumption, and even if they were edible, their meat was of poor quality.

But in the apocalypse, having anything to eat was already a luxury.

He Ze lifted his uninjured hand and took a spoonful of soup. It was sweet and savory, a flavor that brought a strange sense of satisfaction.

Life is about eating and drinking; how true that is.

“Have you eaten?”

“Don’t worry about us. You eat first. I made a big pot in the kitchen. After you finish the soup, I’ll get you some meat.” Dad Li paused for a moment before smiling.

He Ze glanced at him, suspecting the truth, and slowed his movements.

He knew how difficult their situation was. In the past two days, he had eaten only chicken and fish, always dining alone. This clearly indicated something.

Before the apocalypse, his parents were the same. Unfortunately…

He hadn’t thought of them in a long time, and suddenly he felt a pang of sorrow. He set the spoon down and finished the soup directly from the bowl.

“Drink slowly; there’s more. I’ll get you some more.”

Dad Li’s smile grew even brighter.

“No, I’m full. You and my little brother should eat the rest.” The original body’s younger brother, He An, was also a “ger.”

“It’s fine, there’s enough,” Dad Li said, taking the bowl from He Ze. “Listen to me, I’ll get you more.”

Before He Ze could respond, Dad Li turned to leave.

He Ze quickly grabbed him and shook his head. “I’m a bit tired and want to lie down.”

“Alright then, have a good rest. Let me know if you want anything to eat later.”

“Mm.”

Dad Li finally looked satisfied, helping He Ze back to bed before leaving the room. The pain in his head soon lulled He Ze into a deep sleep.

As the sun set behind the mountains, the village began to light their evening fires.

Outside, Dad Li snatched the yellowed pipe from He Youcai’s hand. “All you do is smoke! Our son is in trouble and you don’t care?”

“Care? When have you ever let me discipline him? Every time I tried, you stopped me!” He Youcai retorted, standing up abruptly, his beard trembling with anger. “I couldn’t hit him, couldn’t scold him—what was I supposed to do? We scrimped and saved to send him to the academy in town, and look what happened! He got expelled and then tried to kill himself over a ger. My family can’t bear this shame!”

The original He Ze going up the mountain alone and getting into such trouble led everyone, including He Youcai, to believe he was attempting suicide.

“Keep your voice down! You’ll wake the child!… I have my faults, but don’t you? The child knows his mistakes now. He’s learned a huge lesson and won’t repeat it…” Dad Li furrowed his brow but quickly relaxed. “These past few days, I’ve seen Xiao Ze becoming more sensible. Can’t you, as his father, show some concern for your own child?”

He Youcai fell silent, took the pipe back from Dad Li, and inhaled deeply. “Let’s not talk about this. Xiao Ze is my son, the heir of the He family. How could I not care about him?”

Dad Li pursed his lips, hesitating.

“How much money do we have left?”

“…..”

“I see.” Predictably, He Youcai exhaled a puff of smoke and repeatedly rubbed the pipe with his thumb. “I told you before, if my hand is crippled, so be it. But you insisted on treating it. Now look… Oh, by the way, Matchmaker Wang from the village came to see me today.”

“What did she want?”

Uncle Wang was a well-known matchmaker in the village, highly respected. People always sought him out for matchmaking matters.

“He said someone is interested in our An-ge.”

—
(T/N: Male father is referred to as father and ger father as Dad.)