Chapter 28 Buying People
The days are short in winter and as the New Year approaches, the two people who have just moved into their new home have a lot of things to do.
In the afternoon, Jiang Yuyan forced herself to get up despite her sore waist and legs, and decided to go to the pawnshop to buy some servants first.
Although Xiao Yuanyan is diligent, it is a three-story courtyard after all, and the two of them will open a restaurant in the future, so they don't have much time to take care of housework.
So the two of them drove the carriage to the brokerage shop in the west of the city.
A middle-aged man, a pawnbroker, stared at a beautiful lady walking towards him with lotus steps.
"Dear guest, dear guest!"
The middle-aged man grinned and warmly welcomed people in.
"Madam, are you here to buy someone?" Her voice was extremely flattering, as if she was afraid of scaring someone.
Jiang Yuyan looked depressed and said, "It's for family use. It needs to be clean and honest."
She turned around and discussed with Xiao Yuanyan again, "Husband, we need a personal servant, a cleaning person, a doorman, a good cook... and two guards who are good at martial arts."
When the trafficker heard this, he thought it was a big deal! He patted his chest and assured, "Madam, don't worry, we guarantee that our hands and feet are clean, we have all been trained and are very disciplined!"
So he clapped his hands, and soon a group of men, young and old, lined up to pay their respects.
Jiang Yuyan sat at the top, observing the group of people calmly, without saying anything for a long time.
When they first saw this angelic lady, everyone was surprised for a moment, but some would immediately lower their heads, while others would keep peeking at her intentionally or unintentionally.
Jiang Yuyan called upon a dozen servants who had just been very well-behaved and asked them to introduce themselves, why they became slaves, what their specialties were, their family relationships, etc.
Finally, Jiang Yuyan chose a father and son who had fallen into poverty and sold themselves here after their hometown suffered a disaster. The father was Zhang Yong, who was honest and kind, and the son was Zhang Quan, who was fourteen or fifteen years old and looked smart.
Generally speaking, those who serve women personally are half-humans, and they are all poor people who have been sold by their parents to serve others since childhood.
Jiang Yuyan chose a boy of about 17 or 18 years old, who looked particularly immature because he had been cleansed. The boy had clear eyes and didn't talk much.
The human trafficker whispered in his ear that it was because the second young master of the master's family had some quirks and often... bullied him, so he accidentally made a mistake and was sold here by the master's family.
Jiang Yuyan understood, and after a little thought, she said, "From now on, you will be called Jiang Yi. Let's start from the beginning, that is, from the very beginning."
The young man did not dare to look up, his voice trembling slightly, he knelt down and kowtowed, "Thank you, Madam, for giving me the name." It was very polite indeed. Jiang Yuyan was very satisfied.
But she didn't choose the cook and the guard. Quality is more important than quantity, so Jiang Yuyan was not in a hurry. After a round of bargaining, she paid the silver and took the three people back.
There were only two masters in the house, and Jiang Yuyan explained some basic rules to them, and then temporarily assigned Zhang Yong to the kitchen, while Zhang Quan was responsible for sweeping and running errands. Jiang Yi served personally, and was randomly assigned by Jiang Yuyan.
Xiao Yuanyan is still responsible for purchasing the household items himself. He makes arrangements with familiar merchants for daily necessities such as rice, flour, meat, and vegetables, and they deliver the goods to his door every day, so it is not too much work.
Jiang Yuyan ordered six sets of the most common men's clothes from Qin Shangyu's Jinse Shop, giving each of the servants a decent set of clothes. She also ordered some thick quilts and bedding to ensure that the servants could sleep warmly.
Several people were moved and kowtowed to express their gratitude. The lady of the host family was so beautiful and kind-hearted that the three of them worked more carefully and diligently.
Only Jiang Yi was the most at a loss. Ever since Madam Jiang bought him, he had been completely devoted to her and wanted only to live and die for her and devote himself to her until his death.
But the lady didn't assign him any work. Since morning, Mr. Xiao at home has been serving the lady alone, not giving anyone else a chance to interfere.
It wasn't until the evening that he found some work to serve. Well, because Xiao Langjun always needed water several times...
Jiang Yuyan met Qin Shangyu again before the Lunar New Year. The new clothing store had been basically renovated, and the clothes designed by Jiang Yuyan these days were also being sewn intensively. The two agreed to have a grand opening on the Lantern Festival after the Lunar New Year, and finalized some opening details.
"How is your Su Nian Jin Shi?" Qin Shangyu asked about this private restaurant.
"It's already under repair." Jiang Yuyan said, "We just need a chef. My family has some ancestral recipes, so it would be best to find a servant with good cooking skills who has signed a death contract to prevent the secret recipe from being leaked."
The Jiang family originally started out as a small restaurant business, and there were some ancestral palace recipes at home. Before the Gu family took her back, she learned to cook for a year.
Qin Shangyu nodded after hearing this. The next day, he sent a servant over. He was an honest middle-aged man named Bai Lian.
Jiang Yuyan told him a few recipes and gave him instructions. Bai Lian was able to cook the dishes almost exactly the same. Jiang Yuyan applauded!
Qin Shangyu helped a lot again. Jiang Yuyan reciprocated by writing down a few music scores and sending them to Qin Shangyu.
Qin Shangyu was amazed at the time and thought it was a fairy song, and later gave it to the entire Qin family for circulation and study.
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