Ger, So Proud

Chapter 89

After sending Lin Yu home, He Ze returned to find that Dad Li and He An were already asleep. He washed up and went to bed, but despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t sleep.

Today had been a great day—the flower shop had finally opened successfully, providing the family with a steady income.

The moonlight tonight was… well, not great, but the person under the moonlight was wonderful. They felt as sweet and happy as a modern couple.

Everything seemed perfect.

Reflecting on his life as He Ze in He Family Village for over half a year, it felt like a dream.

His sudden death had transported him to another world, giving him a new identity, with new parents and a younger brother, all of whom he felt responsible for. He had plans to ensure they lived well. During this time, he had also fallen in love with a man, a gentle ger, and wanted to spend his life with him, raising children together, growing old together, filled with love and happiness.

He realized he hadn’t thought about his past life, struggling to survive in the apocalypse, for a long time.

It was like a previous life.

Was his current life so happy that it had washed away all past sufferings?

He Ze got up and picked up a pot of green pothos placed by the window, slowly raising his hand. The pothos began to grow rapidly, its stems and leaves flourishing, soon trailing down to the floor.

This was his wood-based ability.

Everything felt so perfect, so real.

Whether it was a gift from above or a miraculous accident, he had truly been given a new life. From now on, he would live as He Ze, taking care of his parents and younger brother, marrying Xiao Yu, having children, becoming a husband, a father, growing old, and dying peacefully.

He no longer had to worry about zombies, food, or living every day in bloodshed and fear. He didn’t have to worry about dying the next moment; even the air was fresh. It was a beautiful future.

His emotions surged, and He Ze couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat, almost bringing him to tears.

He knew that even without the betrayal, he wouldn’t have lived long. Life had been too difficult, with no hope in sight. Ten years of day-after-day struggle was enough.

Enough.

The past was like a death yesterday; let go of what needs to be let go, forget what needs to be forgotten. He was He Ze, and he was also “He Ze.” There was still a long road ahead, and having someone to walk beside him made it all the better.

At that moment, the burdens of the past—the bloody and heavy memories he never dared to recall—seemed to turn into dust and scatter with the wind.

He Ze felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Outside, the bright moon had disappeared, but the stars were still shining.

…

Early the next morning, He Ze got out of bed feeling refreshed and in excellent spirits.

Since they needed to head to the flower shop early, Dad Li woke up almost immediately after He Ze. He then woke up He An, and He Ze went to pick up Lin Yu. By the time the family arrived at the town on their ox cart, it was still early. Fortunately, He Youcai had already risen and opened the door from the back courtyard for them.

They hadn’t prepared any food, so along the way, Dad Li bought seven or eight large meat buns and some wheat cakes to make do for breakfast. They hadn’t finished tidying up when Cai Xing arrived.

“Uncle Cai, the flower shop has just opened, and this is our first time running a shop. There are many things we haven’t prepared properly, so we might need to trouble you quite a bit over the next few days,” He Ze said apologetically.

They hadn’t hired a bookkeeper, and the only official employee was old Cai. Dad Li needed to look after the house, and after the initial busy period, He Youcai would return to his woodworking shop. Although He An could help, he couldn’t read or understand flowers and plants, so he could only run errands. Lin Yu was the same, and even He Ze couldn’t stay at the shop all the time.

After all, he hadn’t forgotten his promise to Dad Li to personally prepare all the items for the proposal.

Luckily, the flower shop dealt with few transactions but large amounts of money, so there was little chance of mistakes. Moreover, with He Ze taking care of the plants, there was no worry about them having problems. The remaining issues could be resolved in the next few days after discussing them with He Youcai.

“It’s no problem at all. This old body of mine feels invigorated just being around these flowers and plants, especially yours—they make me feel even better, haha!” Plus, the new boss was generous, so these small tasks were nothing.

Cai Xing laughed heartily and waved his hand dismissively.

The flower shop opened at the same time as yesterday, during the si hour (9-11 AM).

At this moment, the flower stands were considerably emptier. The previous day’s sales exceeded He Ze’s expectations. Out of forty-nine pots of flowers, three were given as prizes, and seventeen were sold. It’s important to note that the cheapest pot sold for seven taels of silver, enough to feed and clothe a family of five for two years.

Predictably, if yesterday was bustling with activity, today was much quieter. Over half an hour passed with only two visitors, neither of whom made a purchase, likely drawn in by the “Best in the World” gimmick at the entrance.

However, He Ze wasn’t overly concerned. He had previously mentioned that the flowers he prepared for the opening were rare and valuable, and selling one pot every three or four days would be considered successful. Without the influence of Magistrate Zhou, they might have sold only seven or eight pots at most.

Given the circumstances, the results were pleasantly surprising.

Up front, Cai Xing was taking advantage of the downtime to teach Dad Li, He An, and Lin Yu some basic knowledge about flowers and plants. Meanwhile, He Youcai hurriedly pulled He Ze into the backyard.

“Look at this, this is the money the shop made in just one day,” He Youcai took from under the bed a box, dusting off his pants. “I didn’t sleep a wink last night, afraid someone would steal the box!”

“I counted,” he whispered, leaning close to He Ze’s ear, “there’s a total of 297 taels and six qian in here. I’ve never seen so much silver in my life! And that’s after giving a 10% discount!”

He Youcai spoke with a bit of pain in his voice.

“Alright, Father, it was just the first day, and the raffle event brought in a lot of people. It’s normal for business to be good,” He Ze took the box from He Youcai and opened it. Inside were several large silver ingots and some loose silver pieces, with very few copper coins. “We can’t just leave this money lying around; it’s too conspicuous. I’ll go to the bank later to exchange it for silver notes, keeping some cash on hand for necessities.”

“That’s fine!” He Youcai patted his chest and lit his pipe. “If I had to look after this much money again, my heart might jump out of my chest!”

“Father, you’d better get used to it. Our family’s earnings will only increase from here,” He Ze said with a smile.

After He Youcai exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at He Ze for a long time without saying anything, he patted He Ze’s shoulder heavily. All his fatherly pride and joy were conveyed in that gesture.

With that matter settled, He Ze brought up the topic of hiring staff, which He Youcai also supported. They decided not to hire an accountant immediately, as they didn’t have a suitable and trustworthy candidate. For now, Cai Xing would help keep the books, and He An would assist with oversight.

As for hiring workers, He Ze wanted to help his childhood friends Liu San and He Dalang. Cai Xing would train them for a few days to see if they could manage. If not, they would look for others. Additionally, He Ze planned to offer delivery services to the flower shop customers, and if Zhao Cheng was willing to join, it would be beneficial. Only people they knew and trusted from the village would be considered, as He Youcai couldn’t be at ease otherwise.

Once everything was discussed, He Ze remembered that Guan Duo might come today to convert the Soft Fragrant Red flower into cash. He mentioned this to his father before heading to the bank to exchange the silver for banknotes and then hurriedly returned to the village with the ox cart.

When he brought up the topic of hiring workers, Liu San and He Dalang immediately agreed. He Dalang scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly, “Actually, we wanted to ask you about this earlier, but we didn’t get a chance to speak up because it was so busy yesterday.”

Both Liu San and He Dalang were known as the slackers of the village, usually idle at home. Liu San’s situation was slightly better since he was the third son in his family, and although Uncle Liu often scolded him, he still took care of things for him. He Dalang, however, was the eldest in his family and had a younger brother who had recently been arranged a marriage, while no one had shown any interest in He Dalang. This realization struck him hard; if he continued like this, he might not even be able to marry.

But wanting to succeed and make money was easier said than done. He had neither the brains nor the skills and had even considered hard work to get rich, but his family’s few pieces of land couldn’t yield more no matter how much he worked.

Thus, He Ze’s offer was like a timely rain in a drought. “Don’t worry, we’ll do our best! If we can’t satisfy you, feel free to say or even scold us, and we won’t complain.”

“Of course, friends are friends, but business is business. There’s a two-week probation period. If you do well, you stay; if not, you’re out. I won’t be lenient,” He Ze said, raising an eyebrow. “But if you do well, I’ll give you a commission based on your performance. You won’t be shortchanged.”

“Don’t worry, just watch us!” Liu San patted his chest and exchanged a determined look with He Dalang.

With those two sorted, Zhao Cheng also agreed after some consideration. They didn’t wait for the next day and immediately drove He Ze’s ox cart to the town. He Ze didn’t go with them as he needed to hire some villagers to help till the land they had just bought and plant the new crops.

There was a lot to do!

But to ensure more free time later, He Ze sighed and went to find help right away.

……

Half a week later, the flower shop operations were gradually running smoothly, and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Dad Li didn’t go to the shop as often anymore. With He Ze’s insistence, they hired people to plant all the medicinal herbs, and Dad Li supervised while He Ze occasionally checked in.

He Youcai, worried that He An wouldn’t be able to handle the flower shop alone, made several trips a day with the ox cart to bring wood and tools to the shop’s backyard. He ended up staying there and continued working on the various diagrams He Ze had given him, spending his days carving wood in the yard.

Fortunately, the backyard was large enough, so there was no worry about him causing trouble.

Thus, He Ze finally had a bit of free time.

At this point, it was only about ten days until the proposal date.

On this day, He Ze specifically went to check on the new house. Once completed, the family had taken the time to clean it thoroughly.

It was meant to be the new home for his son’s marriage, as well as a new home for the family. He Youcai, now not lacking money, was willing to spend on the best materials. The new house was built with blue bricks and red tiles, with two large red-painted pillars at the entrance, standing taller than the surrounding houses. The new house was as large as three or four old ones combined and stood out prominently in He Family Village, rivaling the most affluent landowners in town.

He Ze walked in and discovered that the house was divided into a front yard and a back yard, with a total of more than ten rooms. He went into each room to take a look and only came out reluctantly.

In the backyard, He Youcai had specifically had a well dug, and the water was sweet and refreshing. He Ze drew up half a bucket of water and drank a couple of sips. With this, he also had a plan in mind for the “decorations” of the new house.