Chapter 417 Buying People
He knew exactly which family in the village might be willing to sell themselves, so he didn't need to ask each one.
Yu Xiaoyu watched Yu Xinghai go away, then turned around and couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She ran into the house and knelt in front of the tablets of Yu Mengzi and her parents, crying bitterly, "Grandpa, Mom and Dad, there is not much money or food left at home. Should my brothers and I go with you? If you are still alive, please help us!"
While crying, she took out the few copper coins in the house and threw them.
After three consecutive times, she finally made up her mind.
The two younger brothers were leaning against the door frame waiting for their sister, one with worried eyes and the other looking confused and uneasy.
The older Yu Ping'an was sensible enough. He looked up at his sister eagerly and said, "Sister, should we listen to the village chief and follow the noble man?"
Yu Xiaoyu nodded, "That's what Grandpa and Mom and Dad mean. Let's pack up first and go to the village chief's house. Be good and obedient, and try to be chosen by the noble, so you don't have to worry about starving to death."
"What about my sister? We will go wherever she goes. We don't want to be separated from her!" Yu Ping'an grabbed the corner of Yu Xiaoyu's clothes tightly with a stubborn look.
The youngest, Yu Pingshun, was so frightened that he burst into tears, "I don't want to be separated from my brothers and sisters, no no no."
The three siblings hugged each other, holding hands tightly and walked out of the house.
Su Tai and Shen Yi looked at the accounts carefully and had to say that Yu Xinghai's accounting skills were truly amazing. The couple and their four children studied it for quite a while and had to guess before they could figure it out.
"There's no problem with the number, let's leave it at that!" Su Tai closed the account book and looked at the group of people who walked into the yard one after another.
Seeing that Yu Xiaoyu and her two siblings were also among them, the couple breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Shen Yuezhang was very good at observing people's expressions. He approached Su Tai and asked in a low voice, "Mom, do you want to buy those three children?"
Su Tai nodded almost imperceptibly, "I met her once last year. She's a nice girl. We can get to know her better later."
As they were talking, four or five women with numb expressions came in, holding their children.
Yu Xinghai trotted into the house, pointed at the twenty people in the yard, and said, "My lord, my lady, they are all from our village. They have lost their pillars and are having trouble making ends meet. Of course, if they were just this young, I wouldn't dare bring them in front of you two.
These people are all hardworking, honest and dutiful, without any ulterior motives, especially the women. If they had any ideas, they would have remarried and run away, and would not stay and suffer.
These children are all orphans. They have a hard life and have to support themselves. There is no doubt that they are hardworking. The children are young and easy to teach.
Su Tai looked over one by one as Yu Xinghai said and found that two women were carrying children who could not walk on their backs, probably about one year old.
"Village chief, you are putting all the misery in the world in front of us!" Su Tai teased.
Yu Xinghai was embarrassed and hunched his back even more, "Madam is smart, this is the situation in a fishing village, as long as there are men in the family, no one will be willing to sell their children, only those who really can't survive will have such an idea.
If Madam doesn't like it, I can let them go back."
His voice was full of regret and a bit of weakness.
Su Tai chuckled and waved her hands, "Forget it, I am kindhearted! Since they are all here, they can all follow us if they want. But I have to be frank. If you want to sell yourself to us, you have to sign a contract. I only need people who are honest and obedient and keep their mouths shut. If you have other ideas, don't blame me for being ruthless. Just work hard and I won't treat you unfairly."
Su Tai gave a big stick and then a sweet date.
The twenty people were obviously shocked and nodded anxiously.
The child on a woman's back cried out at an inopportune moment, which frightened her so much that tears came out.
Su Tai said gently, "That's it! Go back and pack your luggage, we'll leave tomorrow."
Shen Yi approached Su Tai and said, "Wife, why don't you go to other villages?"
Su Tai rolled her eyes. "All the village accounts are collected in Xiaogang Village. Why go to other villages? Will it increase our risk of exposure?"
Shen Yi touched his nose and gave Su Tai a thumbs up, "Madam is still wise."
Su Tai sighed in understanding, "I know what you mean, but there are too many poor people in this world. What we did last year was enough. We'll see later."
"Listen to my wife."
The family decided to stay at Yu Xinghai's home for one night.
The fishing boats came ashore in the afternoon.
All the men in the village returned and brought back their harvests.
A group of yamen runners had already bought a lot of things during the day. When they heard that there was more stock, they rushed over immediately. There were blue crabs, small fish, octopus, squid and pomfret, all of which cost only a dozen or dozens of coins per pound. It was so cheap that they dared not even think about buying more.
I immediately started to engage in revenge consumption. I bought a portion of the food that I couldn't afford or couldn't afford to eat normally, and borrowed pots and stoves from the villagers to make a fire.
They are big customers of the fishing village, so the villagers naturally would not be reluctant to give up this little firewood. Some village women even volunteered to teach them how to cook it.
In the evening, he took the yamen runners to the beach to catch seafood, so that they could eat and have fun.
Shen Yi knew about it but didn't say anything. A man should be young until he dies.
One morning.
The twenty women and children arrived at the village chief's house at dawn and waited there.
Su Tai saw that they were dressed in rags and their bags were of strange shapes. Some were sacks and some were simply tied with ropes. They also carried torn quilts and broken bowls and chopsticks.
I couldn't help but hold my forehead.
"We still have to hurry on our way. How are you going to get through with all these things? Besides, since you're with us, we won't let you get cold or hungry. Except for the valuables, put the rest back."
Yu Xinghai and the village chief of the neighboring village each came back pulling a horse-drawn carriage. When they heard Su Tai's words, they immediately came over to persuade her.
After much persuasion and checking one by one, we finally got them to give up those useless things. In the end, some people were left empty-handed.
The yamen runners couldn't help but sigh when they saw it.
Yu Xinghai breathed a sigh of relief. Fearing that Su Tai would get angry and regret it, he quickly said, "We went to the town to buy these two carriages from a wealthy family. The price for the carriages and horses was thirty taels. We bargained for a long time and finally settled on fifty-five taels. This is the sales contract."
According to the regulations here, bulk commodity transactions must be signed to avoid disputes.
Shen Yi looked at the deed, took back the remaining silver, and let the women and children get on the carriage.
It was the first time for Yu Xiaoyu and her two siblings to ride in a carriage, and they were very excited.
After the four numb-looking women climbed onto the carriage, some emotions finally showed on their faces.
They hugged their children tightly, and tears fell as the carriage moved.
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