Chapter 161: Buying Slaves
Su Wan didn't know yet that the name he chose for his house was the same as Jiang Yu's.
When my eldest brother wrote to me, he only said that the letter should be sent to No. 28, Furong Lane, Kyoto, but he didn't mention that it was also called Furong Cottage.
The main reason is that Kyoto is so big and there are so many houses. It would be difficult to find them all based on the names, so the alley and house number are clearly marked.
The kitchen had not been cleaned up yet and the firewood had not been delivered yet, so they couldn't cook for the time being. Su Wan simply took his family out to eat and discussed the matter of buying slaves.
"Now, the residence and workshop have been decided. The most urgent thing is to clean up the workshop. Then I plan to go to the pawnbroker to buy some people to work. If I hire them, I'm afraid the recipe will be leaked, which is not safe. I might as well buy slaves and hold their indentures in our hands. They won't dare to betray us, so I want to ask for everyone's opinion."
Su Wan's worries are not groundless. If you hire someone to do something without the restriction of a contract, those greedy people may do something for profit.
However, having the indenture in hand was enough to restrain them. They did not dare to act rashly, nor did they dare to let themselves, or even their descendants, be trapped in slavery for the rest of their lives for the sake of profit.
These people who were born into slavery only wanted to escape from slavery all their lives. At worst, they could meet a better master and live a decent life.
Su Wan will be a good boss and will give them the respect they deserve.
"You're the boss, you can handle this matter on your own. We have no objection."
Su's mother didn't understand these things either, so she couldn't express her opinion.
"Wanwan, you've really thought it through. Indeed, to be on the safe side, it's more reliable to hire someone to do the work."
Su Yi thought this was a good idea. After all, their family was not a cruel and vicious family, so they would not treat them unfairly.
"Yes, your uncle will help you keep an eye on them while you're away. If anyone dares to leak it, I'll be the first to break his legs."
Su Wan said from the beginning that she would leave the workshop affairs to her uncle, while she would run around to open up business channels.
She is determined to expand the goat milk soap business across the country.
"Second brother, third brother, what do you think?"
Su Chen and Su Mu have not expressed their opinions yet, and Su Wan wants to hear them.
"Wanwan, just handle it yourself. I don't understand business matters." Su Chen scratched his head and answered embarrassedly.
He only does manual labor like running errands. If you ask him to do the math, he can't do it.
"Since you've made up your mind, go ahead and buy her. Just be sure to look out for her character. Don't buy someone with bad character. I'll go with you to choose and help you check!"
Su Mu felt that the idea of buying slaves to do things was not a bad one, but one must be careful when choosing people. Some people are born bad and hide very well. They can deceive you if you are not careful. If you keep them around, there will be endless troubles.
Su Wan nodded. His second brother was a very rational person and he was trustworthy in everything he did.
…
Su Wan has been to the dental clinic for the third time. He brought his second brother Su Mu to the clinic early in the morning.
But this time, she was here to buy someone, so she had to go to the right.
They were received by a middle-aged woman who was overweight and had a shrewd look. She worked in the dental industry and was called Madam Yang.
"My lord, when you choose a slave, do you want a male or a female slave?
Are there any age requirements? Are there any appearance requirements? Do you want someone who can do fine work or rough labor? Do you want someone who is good at gardening or cooking in the kitchen?"
There were also some rules for selling slaves. Those who did delicate work and served closely, and those with decent looks were sold at a higher price.
The cheapest job is menial work, which involves sweeping, cleaning, washing clothes, and cooking, and there are no requirements for appearance.
Su Wan naturally chose young people. Young people are smart, work efficiently, and most importantly, are motivated.
"Younger, careful, strong, and good-tempered. There's no requirement for good character or appearance, as long as someone can see the work. Also, they need to be upright and not have bad intentions. Two men are needed, and three servants are needed."
Nanny Yang wrote down Su Wan's requests one by one, then took Su Wan to the backyard, moved stools for her and her second brother, served tea, and sat them under the eaves.
This place is like a large staff dormitory, where all the sold slaves are.
When there was no one to buy, they would help the pawnshop with work. The men would help with house renovations, while the women would help with plantations.
When the pawnshop builds a new house, the labor force comes from here, so they are never left idle.
But doing these things is really tiring, so they look forward to being bought by a good family every day so that they can have a stable and leisurely job.
Nanny Yang called out dozens of people and lined them up in two rows, men and women respectively. All of them were selected according to Su Wan's requirements: they had good tempers, were efficient, and were young.
The youngest is only thirteen or fourteen years old, and the oldest is only in his early twenties.
Su Wan asked them to introduce themselves one by one. Those who were not shy or stuttering were kept, and then he carefully selected them.
After a round of screening, there were twelve left, seven women and five men.
The reason I bought two male servants was because I thought they could do any heavy work in the workshop.
However, selecting flowers, distilling floral extracts, drying flowers, and packaging are all delicate tasks, so they require a few attentive maids.
Let's buy five for now. Her uncles and others help her usually, and she will also go to the workshop to help. She needs so many people in the early stage, and if there are not enough in the later stage, she can buy a few more.
Su Mu asked about the backgrounds of the remaining people one by one, including how many people were in their families, where their hometowns were, and where they had worked in the past.
In the end, we chose those with simple family relationships and few brothers and sisters.
If there are less things to do at home, there will be less trouble, and things will be simpler and there will be no mistakes.
There were three maids, one named Mangzhong, one named Guyu, and one named Xiaoman. They were all fifteen years old and had ordinary looks.
However, from what I just learned, these people are not timid and are smart.
The main thing is that their parents both work for wealthy families. Su Wan thought that they must be smart people because of their words and deeds.
There are many rules in wealthy families, and they should also know what to ask and what not to ask.
The two men were brothers, one sixteen and the other eighteen years old. Su Wan saw that they were strong and sturdy, and it was obvious that they were not the kind of people with many schemes.
The older brother is called Dashu and the younger brother is called Xiaoshu.
Men don’t need to be too smart, as long as they are strong.
Work more and ask less.
Their names are all based on the solar terms, which is quite interesting.
Finally, Su Wan and Su Mu decided that these were the only people they wanted, and they negotiated the price with Nanny Yang.
The prices of these are in the middle range, not expensive, but not cheap either.
Sixty taels each, the total is three hundred taels.
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