When they went to bed that night, Fan Sheng and Luo Suyue suggested that they go to the brokerage to buy two maids and servants.
"Why do you suddenly want this? We only have so much work to do at home, we don't need maids or servants," Luo Suyue said with a soft laugh.
Fan Sheng held his wife's soft hands: "Who said we don't need them? There are so many things to do at home, cooking, washing dishes, laundry... With a maid or servant, you can rest more."
Luo Suyue nestled into his arms: "I'm not that delicate. I'm used to doing these things."
"What's this about getting used to it? I was useless before, and you suffered a lot following me. It's settled then. Tomorrow you'll come with me to the brokerage to pick out people," Fan Sheng said firmly, giving off an air of unassailable authority.
Luo Suyue was naturally gentle, and when she heard him make such a firm decision, she naturally couldn't argue with him anymore.
The next day, Fan Sheng took Luo Suyue to the brokerage to choose a person.
Upon hearing the couple's purpose, Granny Tian immediately beamed with joy: "What kind of person are you looking for? Do you want someone honest and hardworking, or someone clever and literate? I have them all here."
"Could you take us to see it first?" Fan Sheng asked.
“No problem, you two follow me,” Granny Tian waved her handkerchief and led the way.
There were more than twenty people standing in the courtyard, men and women, young and old, and without exception, all of them had a numb look on their faces.
If given a choice, who would want to be someone's slave?
Granny Tian smiled and pointed at the people, saying, "These people have all signed a life contract. Madam, you see those two over there are literate. They used to work for wealthy families. And these people over here..."
She enthusiastically promoted her product to the group in front of her, while Fan Sheng and Luo Suyue listened quietly without saying a word.
After she finally finished speaking, Fan Sheng asked, "Is there anyone who is good at cooking?"
Granny Tian nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, this one used to be a cook in a wealthy family, hehe... she made a small mistake and was sold off, but her cooking skills are really good, the food she makes is so fragrant."
Luo Suyue followed the gaze and saw a cook who looked to be in her early twenties. She had dark skin, an ordinary appearance, and thick calluses on her hands.
She asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Qiulian," the cook replied, her head bowed, her voice barely audible.
"Let's choose her. How much silver?" Luo Suyue asked Granny Tian.
Granny Tian rolled her eyes and replied obsequiously, "Qiulian has a skill to rely on, so she is a bit more expensive. She costs seven taels of silver. It is a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for. Madam, you won't regret buying it."
Luo Suyue nodded, agreeing that it was reasonable for skilled cooks to be a little more expensive: "Okay, then let's settle the bill."
"Hey, old woman, I'll find Qiulian's indenture right away," Granny Tian said happily.
She thought Luo Suyue would try to negotiate the price with her. Actually, if she really wanted to negotiate, she could lower the price a little more. Seven taels of silver was already the price of a strong man.
"Wait a minute," Fan Sheng suddenly said.
Granny Tian's smile froze; she thought Fan Sheng had finally realized what was happening and was going to try to negotiate the price.
But Fan Sheng clearly didn't mean that. He stepped forward, took Luo Suyue's hand, and said, "Wife, since we're here, let's pick a couple more."
Finally, at Fan Sheng's request, Luo Suyue selected a twelve-year-old girl, a fourteen-year-old boy, and a stout, rough-looking old woman. This old woman was with her husband, so Luo Suyue simply bought them all, as they could serve as gatekeepers or drivers.
Granny Tian was overjoyed: "A total of twenty-two taels of silver."
Fan Sheng paid the silver and obtained the indentures of the five men before returning home with them.
When the group returned, Xia Qingqing had just gotten up. She had stayed up late reading a novel in bed the night before and couldn't get up in the morning.
She looked curiously at the five people following behind Fan Sheng: "Brother Fan, sister-in-law, who are these people?"
"These are the servants your sister-in-law and I just bought from the brokerage. You can just tell them what to do if you need anything," Fan Sheng said with a smile.
Xia Qingqing nodded, surprised that Fan Sheng had acted so quickly; she had only mentioned the matter yesterday and he had already bought the person back today.
Fan Sheng called out his children and asked the newly bought servants to recognize them: "These are the young master and young lady of the family. Liu'er, you will be responsible for taking care of the young lady from now on, and Awen, you will be responsible for taking care of the young master."
"Yes, sir," the little maid named Liu'er replied respectfully.
Awen glanced at Fan Siyuan standing next to Fan Sheng, and quickly bowed respectfully like Liu'er: "Yes, sir."
Fan Yao looked at Liu'er curiously: "Father, did you bring this older sister back to play with me?"
Liu'er was startled by the word "sister" and immediately knelt on the ground to admit her mistake: "This servant is unworthy of being called 'sister' by Miss. Miss can just call this servant Liu'er."
"Ah, sister, Liu'er, get up quickly!" Fan Yao saw her kneel down with a thud and hurriedly went to help her up.
Fan Sheng grabbed her sleeve and said, "Yaoyao, this is the maid your father bought to serve you. Of course, you can have her play with you if you want. You can ask her to do anything. If she doesn't listen to you, you must tell your father and mother, understand?"
His daughter was young and had never been exposed to these things before. He was worried that if he didn't make things clear now, the maid would eventually rise above her master.
Fan Yao blinked in confusion: "Okay, I'll listen to Daddy."
She automatically extracted the meaning from Fan Sheng's words: Liu'er was bought by her father to play with her. Hehe, she'll have a little friend from now on, and she won't have to play house alone anymore.
Fan Yao hugged Xia Qingqing and rubbed against her, saying in a coquettish tone, "Aunt Qing, can I play with Liu'er with the toys you gave me?"
She remembered what Xia Qingqing had said before: those toys couldn't be taken out and seen by others. So even if she wanted to play with Liu'er, she would obediently ask Xia Qingqing for her opinion.
"Of course you can, Liu'er isn't an outsider," Xia Qingqing said with a smile, gently rubbing her little head.
Watching the interaction between the two, Fan Sheng suddenly remembered that he hadn't introduced Xia Qingqing to the servants yet, so he quickly added, "This is the lady of the house, you can just call her..."
"Just call me Miss Xia," Xia Qingqing replied with a smile.
“Yes, Miss Xia,” they all replied in unison.
Although they didn't understand why Xia Qingqing, as the aunt of the family, had a different surname from the head of the family, these things were not their concern.
Luo Suyue arranged for the five people to stay in the south-facing rooms. Since there were enough rooms, everyone except Granny Zhang and her husband had their own room.
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