Da Wa chuckled awkwardly and returned the greeting, saying, "Uncle Jiang, you're too kind. There are still many things I need your guidance on!"
Jiang Daya nodded and praised Qin Sanniang, "Master is very fortunate; your son has a bright future."
Looking at her own piglet, Qin San Niang thought it was indeed a good prospect.
Before long, a row of people knelt before them. Qin San Niang selected two households with almost no effort.
Even after leaving the brokerage firm, Da Wa was still pondering why his mother had chosen those two families. Gradually, he figured out the reasons himself.
The man in the first household was twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Both his parents were somewhat disabled. His father was lame, but not severely; the man said it wouldn't hinder his work. As for his mother, although she was a capable woman, she was quite old, and no family wanted to buy an elderly woman to take care of.
There were three other men, though they were only sixteen or seventeen years old. They were from the same village and had lost their household registration while fleeing the war. They were then trafficked to a wealthy family as slaves. Later, that family suffered a misfortune, and the whole family fled south, leaving most of the slaves behind. There weren't many male slaves like that, and it just so happened that there were suitable ones. However, the three of them were as close as brothers and insisted on staying together.
“Mother, the man from the first household is a man of great loyalty and righteousness, which is why he was chosen. Besides, his father and mother are only in their forties, and they can do all the chores around the house. As for the other three men, they are just the right age to be young and vigorous, and they are perfect as servants and guards.”
Qin San Niang nodded. Their purpose in coming here was to find servants and guards. Da Wa was right. "There is another important reason. Their backgrounds are very clear, and none of the three boys are over eighteen years old."
"Eighteen years old?" Lu Song was also puzzled. Why would his aunt emphasize eighteen years old?
“Our Great Sheng land is in turmoil. If we force men to serve, all men over the age of eighteen will be conscripted, even servants. But if they don’t want to go, their masters will have to pay them tens of taels of silver. It’s practically robbery,” sighed Qin San Niang. She had heard all this from Liu Shi.
If the north falls, the barbarians will invade from the south, which will be a disaster. If the north is held, internal strife will break out, and things may not be much better. Currently, the royal court is in Lin'an, so their safety can be guaranteed in the short term. However, whoever wants to conquer the world will inevitably attack Lin'an, where the royal court is located. In that case, it will be the common people who suffer.
Lu Song paused for a moment, then said, "Auntie, if they really want to conscript soldiers, won't my father and the others all be forced into it?"
When they were in the north, one reason they fled was naturally because they couldn't get enough to eat. Another reason was that the government was conscripting men everywhere.
The able-bodied men are the family's breadwinners. If they are taken away, who will manage the land? The whole family will just have to wait to starve to death.
The three Lu brothers were all in their prime, strong men, so it would be quite difficult for them to avoid being arrested. Unless they could scrape together enough silver—at least a hundred or eighty taels according to past practice—it would be a difficult task for the Lu family!
Of course, if that really comes to that, Qin Sanniang might lend a helping hand, but there are so many households in Shiligou, and every one of them is kind and righteous. Alas, we can only deal with things as they come. If all else fails, we can only lead the villagers to the forest to take refuge.
In that case, I'm afraid I won't be able to save my own workshop and shop!
When Lu Song asked, Qin San Niang comforted him, saying, "Maybe I'm overthinking it, Ah Song, don't take it to heart."
Some things are better left unthought, and she didn't want to cause the children unnecessary worry. Some troubles are best left to the adults to worry about.
Even so, Ah Song and Da Wa felt inexplicably heavy-hearted, and seemed more confused about the future.
Qin San Niang couldn't take all six people she bought at once, so she asked Jiang Daya to take them to the charity hall, and Guo Er Hui to take them home.
It cost a total of twenty-six taels of silver. Each male servant cost five taels of silver, so the parents of the first family only cost a total of six taels of silver.
Qin San Niang couldn't help but sigh, "Human life is so cheap!" Then she turned around and felt incredibly fortunate. Although she had a bad start when she transmigrated, at least she wasn't born into a lowly status. Otherwise, escaping that status would have been almost impossible.
In that case, the house at home might not be enough to live in.
Fortunately, Gu Qingshan has now left home, and Azhi has moved back to live in her own house. The child has also offered to give up her own side room, saying that the servants can live there first.
Qin San Niang didn't stand on ceremony with her; this child was always shrewd and calculating. If she insisted on refusing, the child would feel embarrassed to stay and eat and drink at her house.
The following day, Guo Er successfully brought the servants.
"Master, these are the indentures of several people. I have already gone to the county government to formally acknowledge them."
Qin San Niang nodded; Guo Er was becoming more and more efficient in handling matters.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Go to the kitchen and rest for a while, have some hot soup before you leave."
The weather was getting colder, so Guo Er wrapped his cotton robe tighter around himself, thanked her, and hurried off to the kitchen. He was familiar with Liu Shi and knew that the Qin family's hot noodle soup was delicious. After finishing the soup, he could go to the workshop to pick up a cartload of wine, which would lighten his burden a bit.
Several newly arrived servants stood nervously in the courtyard. The steward who brought them there said that although the master's family lived in the countryside, they were a small household with kind hearts, and as long as they worked hard, they would certainly not be mistreated.
Qin San Niang said, "Come in quickly, don't you feel cold outside?"
The group exchanged glances before hesitatingly entering the main room. The moment they stepped inside, it warmed up instantly, a completely different climate from outside.
Wu Chunhua also came over this morning. She heard that Da Wa's family had a new servant, so she came along to see what was going on.
But seeing that they were all wearing only thin clothes, I started to feel sorry for them again.
Actually, she had other thoughts in mind. Fatty was not young anymore. Other girls her age were already mothers. She thought she would ask Qin San Niang to see if there were any suitable young men at the charity hall. It would be good if he was willing to marry into the family, and if he was not, they could build a tiled house next door so that they could take care of each other.
Third Sister's judgment is far superior to anyone else's...
There were quite a few aunties in the village who wanted to play matchmaker, but none of them caught her eye! They said they wanted to be like Auntie San, earning their own money and spending it as they pleased, wasn't that better?
Does it smell good? It really does!
Wu Chunhua secretly thought it was really appealing! But even if it's appealing, you still need children! Otherwise, who will you leave all that money to? You need to have an heir, right?! Your aunt, Third Aunt, has two sons! Having children, money, and no husband's family—that's true success in life!
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