Today's harvest was quite good. Vegetables and eggs brought in 107 wen, hair products 70 wen, and the 18 wen the oxcart passengers took, minus the city entrance fee, left 12 wen. A total of 190 wen.
After closing the stall, they took Xiaokang for a stroll on the street. It was Xiaokang's first time in the county town, and he looked around like a curious baby.
We hadn't eaten since we left this morning, so we bought six vegetarian buns: one for Tian An, two for Xiao Kang, and three for Daniu. We also saw a street vendor selling candied haws and bought two more.
Finally, she went back to the store where Tian An and her friends had bought shoes and bought some needles, thread, and rags from the owner. Hair ornaments were selling well today, and she planned to continue this business for the long term.
After buying things, they took a ox cart to the suburbs west of the city.
"Brother Daniu, what are we going to do in the suburbs west of the city?" Tian An asked curiously.
Big Ox looked at the road ahead and drove the oxcart cart. "Aren't we looking for farmhands? I've inquired these past couple of days, and the cheapest farmhand costs around 400 coins. But a lot of refugees from the north fled to our county years ago, and they're willing to work as long as they're fed."
Tian An understood immediately: "Wow! Brother Danniu, you are so smart! This way we can save a lot of money."
Xiaokang asked with his eyes twinkling, "Brother Daniu, how do you know they're in the northern suburbs? And why is it the northern suburbs?"
"I heard about it a couple of days ago when I was delivering game to the tavern. The county magistrate was afraid they would cause a disturbance if they entered the city, so he designated a piece of land to house them and had yamen runners guard them to prevent them from entering the city."
I have to say that the county magistrate was too cautious. The victims were resettled too far away from the city!
The three of them rode in a swaying ox cart and it took them more than an hour to arrive.
At first, the three of them were talking and laughing, but later they really couldn't talk anymore. In addition, they went to bed late last night, so Tian An and Xiaokang actually fell asleep.
When the big ox saw that they were asleep, he drove the ox cart slower.
But when Tian An woke up, the ox cart had already stopped for a while. The big ox was leaning against the ox cart, drinking water. Seeing Tian An wake up, she handed the kettle to her.
After drinking the water, Tian An got out of the car and saw a lot of large thatched huts made of tree trunks not far ahead, with only roofs but no walls.
A group of people dressed in rags huddled in the straw hut, men and women, young and old, all with pale faces and thin bodies.
Near each hut stood a yamen runner, sword in hand, watching. In the middle of the open space, some people knelt on the ground, their hair covered in grass. Some people dressed like wealthy men were judging them, their reasoning unclear.
When Xiaokang woke up, he saw that his sister and brother Danniu had already gotten out of the car, so he got out as well and walked over. Looking at the scene before him, he asked in confusion, "Sister, why are they kneeling on the ground with so much grass stuck in their heads?"
Tian An shook her head at him. She had never seen such a situation before!
"Because they are selling their bodies, they have grass stuck in their hair. If anyone wants to buy them, they can go to the registration office over there to register."
I only heard a clear female voice coming from behind me, and when I listened carefully, there was a hint of pity in her tone.
Tian An turned around and saw a young girl wearing a white veil and a light green dress, all with matching accessories. Next to her stood a girl with twin buns, who was clearly a maid.
Just when she was thinking that this must be the daughter of some rich family.
The girl spoke again: "What are you kids doing here?"
Xiaokang looked at her and said, "Sister, our family is too small and we can't finish farming. We want to find a farmhand to help us farm."
The girl frowned and said, "Where are your parents? Why did you let a few kids come to a place like this?"
Xiaokang rubbed his eyes twice, then revealed a pair of moist eyes and said: "Sister, our family's adults are gone, I only have you and brother Danniu. That's why we can't finish farming."
The girl looked at the three of them again and asked, "Do you have enough money to hire a farmhand?"
Xiaokang said happily: "We came here today after selling vegetables. We have money."
The girl thought, how much can you earn from selling vegetables? Are you sure you can afford to hire a long-term worker?
"You are too young. It's not safe to hire a farmhand. You don't know his background. If he turns out to be a bad person, he might hurt you." said the girl.
Xiaokang was frightened and quickly hugged Tian An and said, "Sister, I'm scared. Why don't we just not hire a farmhand?"
Tian An rubbed his back and said, "But if we don't hire farmhands, we won't be able to farm and will starve. It's okay, your brother Daniu is very capable, they can't hurt us."
Xiaokang looked at Danniu and nodded.
The girl opposite listened to Tian An's words, then looked at Da Niu, not knowing what she was thinking.
After a while, she continued, "If you have money, you can go over there and buy people. Once you have their indentures in your hands, you won't have to worry about them betraying their master." The girl pointed to the people kneeling on the open space.
Tian An looked at them for a while and then turned to the girl and asked, "Miss, do you know how much silver it would cost to buy those people?"
The girl looked Tian An up and down before saying, "I see you're having a hard time too. If you want to buy something, I'll talk to them and they'll give you a lower price."
Tian An was shocked: "Is this still negotiable?"
The little maidservant next to her said proudly, "Others are not allowed to do that, but my young lady is the county magistrate's daughter, so they naturally have to give her some face."
Tian An thought, "So she's the county magistrate's daughter! That's great! It's also good to save more money."
He immediately said, "Sister Qianjin, I'm really sorry to trouble you. You have such a kind heart and look like a fairy."
The girl was flattered and felt happy: "Come on! I'll take you there. I think you are nice people. It's a blessing for them to sell to you."
After all, if a servant is sold to a bad master, he will suffer a lot!
Several people followed the girl all the way to the place where human trafficking took place. Seeing the person kneeling on the ground, they felt sad. Sometimes human life is as worthless as grass!
Xiaokang pulled Tian An's hand and said, "Sister, they are so pitiful!"
Tian An looked at Xiaokang and said, "Xiaokang, we were also very poor before. It was Brother Da Niu who took us in, and that's how we are today."
Xiaokang turned around and took Daniu's hand and said, "Brother Daniu, thank you for taking us in. You are such a kind person and you treat me so well too."
Danniu looked at him and said nothing, but he didn't shake his hand off either. The three of them walked together hand in hand.
Seeing someone coming, the person kneeling on the ground raised his head and looked at the person.
Some people lowered their heads in disappointment when they saw that the three of them were children.
Several attractive girls looked at the three men's attire with a look of disdain. Truly pitiful people must have something hateful about them! It's obvious they can't endure hardship, and they have so many thoughts. They couldn't afford to support such a big Buddha. They immediately walked forward quickly.
There were two little girls who looked at the three of them holding hands, with envious expressions on their faces.
When Tian An was about to pass by them, the older girl shook her sister's hand, gritted her teeth, raised her head and said, "Please, young lady and young master, buy us sisters!"
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