To put it bluntly, what they call "going through the formalities" is essentially a contract of servitude.
Indentured servitude contracts, which haven't existed in China for centuries, have now surprisingly become legal again.
How ironic!
In other words, Lu Yuan bought these two people with just two soul crystals, and it was for life.
Even beatings, scoldings, or even killings are acceptable, at least in this Tai'an settlement.
Of course, this must first be voluntary.
A contract of servitude is only valid if the person selling themselves into servitude signs and affixes their fingerprint.
Lu Yuan gave them the Soul Crystals and the Contract of Indenture, then led the group and the two slaves he had just bought towards the Maple Leaf Team's residence.
No one spoke along the way, and by the time we got back to our lodgings, it was already past 2 p.m.
At this moment, Lu Yuan began to seriously examine the two of them.
"Please briefly introduce your situation!"
"Don't be afraid, I don't eat people."
After Lu Yuan finished speaking, he gave a mysterious smile.
"Sir, my name is..."
The old man was interrupted by Lu Yuan as soon as he opened his mouth:
"You don't need to call me sir, I don't believe in that stuff."
"This is the Maple Leaf Team. My name is Lu Yuan, and these are the team members. You can just call me Captain."
After listening to Lu Yuan's words, the old man began to recount his story:
“Okay, Captain, my name is Sun Yuansheng, and this is my granddaughter, Sun Siyuan.”
"us……"
It turns out that this man named Sun Yuansheng was a retired teacher before the apocalypse.
After the apocalypse broke out, his son and daughter-in-law, who were Sun Siyuan's parents, all turned into zombies at the time of the apocalypse.
That day, Sun Siyuan happened to be visiting her grandfather, otherwise she might have been eaten by her parents who had turned into zombies.
The two hid at home for more than half a month, but they ran out of food and had no choice but to go out to find something to eat.
They encountered zombies, but luckily they were rescued by others and then brought here.
At first, things were fine; the authorities would provide some food every day. But as the population grew, the authorities could no longer afford it.
In the end, these people had no choice but to rely on themselves.
Men are a little better off; they can do manual labor or something. Women, on the other hand, can only sell their bodies.
Those who are old, weak, sick, or disabled can only wait to die.
It's normal for people to die from illness or starvation every day in refugee camps.
Sun Siyuan also wanted to go out and earn money. She had no choice; if they ran out of food, they would starve to death.
However, Sun Yuansheng just wouldn't allow Sun Siyuan to do that kind of business. If Sun Siyuan did, he would just kill himself.
With no other option, Sun Siyuan could only occasionally find small jobs, sometimes getting a full meal and sometimes going hungry.
I was lucky today; I actually got noticed by Lu Yuan.
After hearing their story, Lu Yuan didn't know what to say.
There is pity and sympathy, that's certainly there, but most of all, there is numbness.
Because he has seen and experienced too many of these kinds of things.
"Alright then!"
"From now on, you'll stay here and look after the house for us. As for you..."
"Sun Siyuan, right? Can you just take care of grocery shopping and cooking?"
The girl named Sun Siyuan nodded quickly:
"Captain, you can do it!"
"However, I only know how to cook some simple home-style dishes, and I'm afraid they won't meet your requirements."
Lu Yuan waved his hand:
"This is the end times. As long as we have enough to eat, we don't need to care about anything else!"
"Yuehan, from now on, you will be in charge of those two."
"By the way, Huanshui, why don't you get some food for the two of them?"
"Then take the two of them to buy some clothes, and also buy some vegetables and grains."
Yu Huanshui and Gong Yuehan quickly agreed.
Sun Yuansheng and Sun Siyuan quickly thanked him and then left with Yu Huanshui.
"Old Lu, have you taken a fancy to this Sun Siyuan?"
After everyone left, Lin Feng came over, produced a pack of cigarettes from somewhere, lit one for himself, and handed one to Lu Yuan.
Upon hearing this, Gong Yuehan, who had just walked to the back, stopped in her tracks and began to eavesdrop.
She wanted to know the answer to that question too.
Lu Yuan took the cigarette and took two puffs.
He hasn't smoked this stuff for over a year.
Lu Yuan, Lin Feng, and Zhao Qiang used to all smoke, but after a year in the apocalypse, even getting food was a problem, let alone smoking?
"Hey lunatic, are you just bored and have nothing better to do?"
"Do I, Lu Yuan, look like someone who can't resist beautiful women?"
Lu Yuan chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Lin Feng glanced at Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with disdain:
"Don't deny it, I think you are that kind of person."
"Why did you choose an old man when there are so many other people? You must have some ulterior motive. Confess now!"
Lu Yuan threw away his cigarette butt and kicked Lin Feng.
"Tell your sister, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure! Don't you understand?"
"Let him watch the house. As long as we treat him like family, do you think an old man like him would have any bad intentions?"
"It's the end of the world now, and I don't have the ability to help everyone, but I can help when I need it and can."
"I don't think it's wrong to be a good person once in a while."
"Besides, our team isn't short of beautiful girls, why would I need to go to a refugee camp to look for them?"
Hearing this explanation, Lin Feng nodded.
"Old Lu, what you're saying makes sense. So why don't you take down this Gong Yuehan?"
"Don't tell me you didn't know she had feelings for you?"
Gong Yuehan, who was eavesdropping behind, blushed instantly.
Was I really that obvious?
That shouldn't be the case; I'm usually very reserved!
Where is the restraint in this? It's obvious that he's practically giving away the whole team.
Lu Yuan shook his head slightly:
"Well, there are two main reasons."
"The first reason is because of Zhang Qian."
Upon hearing the name Zhang Qian, Lin Feng jumped up.
"Old Lu, you can't still forget that bitch, can you? She treated you like that, and you..."
Lu Yuan quickly gestured for Lin Feng to lower his voice:
"How could that be? Don't talk nonsense."
"What I mean is, because of Zhang Qian, I don't really believe in so-called love."
"Especially now that we're in the apocalypse, love is less practical than a loaf of bread."
"You saw it this afternoon too, those women standing on both sides of the street, before the apocalypse, weren't they all beauties one in a hundred? But now? They're just a piece of bread."
"Of course, I'm not belittling them. I'm just stating a fact: love is not the same as bread. Bread can keep you alive, but love might take your life!"
Lin Feng frowned:
"Old Lu, I don't deny what you said, but it is indeed a bit extreme."
"Let's not talk about that for now. You said there are two reasons, what's the other one?"
Lu Yuan became a little embarrassed when this was mentioned:
"We're all teammates who spend every day together, we know each other too well, it's hard for me to make a move."
End of chapter!
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