Chapter 48 Buying People
Soon we arrived at the place where slaves were sold.
A small square courtyard.
After Ji Zheng explained his purpose to the broker at the door, the broker first asked a waiter to go in and pick someone, and then enthusiastically led Ji Zheng in.
"What do you want, sir?"
"Let's take a look first." Ji Zheng replied indifferently.
When I arrived at the steps of the yard, all the slaves in the yard were already lined up in a row.
There are all kinds of people, old, young, male and female.
Some of the slaves came from wealthy families whose property was confiscated because they broke the law, or from wealthy businessmen and farmers who became family slaves.
Another group of people voluntarily sold themselves into slavery.
The above two groups are relatively small, and the majority are slaves from generation to generation.
The slavery in the Jin Dynasty could not be eliminated casually, unless the higher-ups showed mercy or some major event happened, such as a new emperor ascending the throne, then a number of slaves would be given the quota to become good citizens.
Looking at these rows of ragged people, Ji Zheng frowned. If he had known the situation would be like this, he would not have brought Ji Hean with him.
"Take a look and see if there is anyone you would like to meet." Ji Zheng asked Ji Hean when he heard the voice.
Ji Hean stuck close to Ji Zheng, his eyes scanning the group of people.
The group of people also turned their eyes to Ji Zheng with expectation in their eyes.
Ji Hean frowned and looked at them for a long time, and finally shook his head. He really didn't know who to choose.
The people here have all been trained as slaves and can do basic housework.
Ji Zheng thought that Ji Hean couldn't read, so he asked, "Is there anyone who can read?"
The broker nearby shouted, "Those who can read, stand up!"
Seven or eight people stood out sparsely. Ji Zheng originally wanted to pick an old lady who was about 40 years old, but unexpectedly, Ji Hean suddenly pointed and picked a boy who looked about 17 or 18 years old.
"Alang, can I buy him?" Ji Hean asked.
"Why?" Ji Zheng asked, and then shifted his gaze to the man chosen by Ji Hean. He looked young and had fair skin. Although his clothes were tattered, the fabric was of the best quality.
He doesn't look like a slave. Perhaps he is a member of a wealthy family who has made a mistake.
"He...is a little twin like me." Ji Hean said while biting her lip.
If Ji Hean hadn't said it, Ji Zheng really wouldn't have noticed it. He thought he was just a handsome man.
Since Ji Hean brought it up, Ji Zheng naturally agreed.
In the end, they bought two people in total, one was the woman that Ji Zheng liked, and the other was the one that Ji Hean chose.
Slaves did not have names, only numbers, and their masters gave them names after buying them.
"He'an, please give them a name." Ji Zheng said while pulling Ji He'an.
Ji Hean frowned and thought for a while before saying, "Is anything okay?"
"Of course, you are the master, and they are your servants." Ji Zheng had to explain the identities of the two men to Ji Hean.
"Then...your name is Mu Ya." Ji Hean said, pointing at the little girl.
"Thank you for the name, Master." The little boy immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
"You choose this, Alang. I really can't think of one." Ji Hean looked at the old woman with a wrinkled face.
Ji Zheng found it funny and reached out to pinch the back of Ji Hean's neck, "You must be worried."
"What was your original name?" Ji Zheng asked the old woman again.
"My Lord, my original name was Ayingpo."
"Then keep calling it that." Ji Zheng rubbed Ji Hean's neck from time to time.
After paying the money and going through the formalities, there were two more servants in the house.
After buying the people, he went to the clothing store and bought two sets of coarse linen clothes for the two of them before returning home.
After returning home, Ji Zheng was in a dilemma. When he bought the person, he did not expect that his house was so small that there was no room for the two of them to sleep.
The two people who were bought were also stunned. In fact, when they first saw Ji Zheng’s clothes, they knew that he would not be rich, but they did not expect him to be so poor.
There isn't even a room for them to sleep in. Wouldn't their lives thereafter be even more miserable than living in a dental clinic? At least there they have a shelter from the wind and rain.
"You two clean up the woodshed. You will sleep there from now on." Ji Zheng pointed to a small room on the west side and said to Mu Ya and the others.
"Yes." Mu Ya and A Yingpo lowered their heads and answered in unison.
The woodshed is next to the kitchen. Although it is small, the lighting and ventilation are good.
Grandma Aying was very skillful and she quickly cleaned the house with Mu Ya.
Ji Zheng distributed quilts and some personal daily necessities to them.
"We don't have so many rules in our house for now. You just need to do your duties well." Ji Zheng scolded the two people standing in the yard.
They both lowered their heads and answered in unison.
After finishing his words, Ji Zheng waved his hand and said, "Just go do what you need to do."
...
Since his family bought a servant, Ji Zheng had more free time to study, after all, he was going to take part in the provincial examination soon.
Even though he didn't think he could pass the exam, it was still an exam after all, and he couldn't just hand in a blank paper.
Ji He'an has also been learning to read with Mu Ya recently, and has been writing big characters every day. The two of them reading and writing in the room seem to be passing the time peacefully.
With the arrival of the late Spring Festival and the provincial examination, Ji Zheng and the owner of Xiangxianglou asked for some vacation, so Ji Zheng spent all day in the academy during these days.
The students who took part in the provincial examination were asked by their teacher to stay behind after school every day to light the stove, which resulted in him returning home very late at night every time.
Fortunately, the family hired a servant, so Ji Zheng felt a little more at ease about Ji Hean being alone at home.
After he had been going out early and coming back late for a few days, the late Spring Festival arrived and the academy had a three-day holiday. Even these important people who were going to take part in the provincial examination had a one-day holiday.
Originally, Ji Zhongzi was going to go to the county with them, but his fiancé from the next village suddenly sent a message from the matchmaker, inviting Ji Zhongzi to go to the town with him to celebrate the festival.
This way, Ji Zhongzi couldn't go with them. Although Ji Hean felt a little regretful, she thought it was a good opportunity for Ji Zhongzi to take a look at who his fiancé was, and the disappointment in her heart dissipated.
Early in the morning of the Spring Festival, Ji Zheng took Ji Hean and got on a carriage and took the household registration documents to the county town.
Of course the carriage was rented.
The horse-drawn carriage was much faster than the ox-drawn or donkey-drawn carts, and they arrived at the county gate in about half an hour.
After getting off the car and looking at the scene in front of him, Ji Zheng was still a little amazed: the towering city gate, the armored soldiers guarding the city, and the rows of stalls selling food, drinks and entertainment at the gate.
The feeling of seeing it with my own eyes is very different from seeing it on TV, it's very shocking.
After queuing up and checking their household registration documents, Ji Zheng and Ji Hean were able to enter the city.
As soon as you enter the city, you will see several bright blue brick roads leading in all directions, with various two- or three-story shops on both sides of the road.
One glance is enough to give you a sense of the prosperity of the county town.
Of course, there are decorative lanterns and various decorative ribbons everywhere on the roadside, and the big stores still have small stalls giving away free food.
The Spring Festival usually starts in the evening, so it is not that lively during the day and many vendors are not out setting up their stalls.
After sitting in the car for such a long time, Ji Zheng planned to take Ji and An to find an inn to rest for a while and then go out to play in the evening.
But what I didn't expect was that after looking in three or four inns, there were no rooms available.
But God helps those who work hard, and finally a room became available at the sixth house.
But there is only one room left and it is not an upper room.
Ji Zheng took a look at the environment. Although it was not an upper-class house, it was generally acceptable.
After Ji He'an fell asleep, Ji Zheng went out to explore the way.
The county town is different. Small businesses have their own street, restaurants and teahouses have their own street, and places for entertainment also have their own street.
There is a large flow of people, and the consumption is also more expensive than in the town.
After walking around for a while and getting a basic understanding of the surrounding road conditions, Ji Zheng returned to the inn.
After staying out too late yesterday and getting up too early today, Ji Zheng returned to the inn while Ji Hean was still sleeping.
His face warmed up, Ji Zheng took off his clothes, got on the bed, hugged the person and decided to sleep for a while himself.
He slept until noon. Ji Hean was awakened by hunger. Looking at Ji Zheng who was still sleeping beside him, he narrowed his eyes and reached out to pinch Ji Zheng's nose.
Then Ji Zheng was awakened by the suffocation.
"Are you awake? Are you hungry?" Ji Zheng asked concernedly as he woke up.
Ji Hean nodded, "I want to drink sweet soup."
Ji Zheng rubbed his eyes, stood up and put on his clothes, "Okay, I'll take you there later."
After getting dressed, Ji Zheng went to the first floor to ask the waiter for a basin of hot water for Ji Hean to wash.
After everything was packed up, Ji Zheng took Ji Hean out to find food.
Ji Zheng usually judges whether a restaurant is good or not by how busy it is, so he took Ji and An to find a restaurant with a large flow of people and went in.
As soon as I entered the store, the waiter came to greet me, "How many guests are there?"
"Two." Ji Zheng answered calmly, his eyes swept across the lobby. There were many people and the noise was very noisy.
"Is there a private room?" Ji Zheng asked again.
"Sir, you have come at the perfect time. We have just one private room left." The waiter said with a smile, and then made a gesture of invitation, "You two, follow me this way."
There were too many people and it was a strange place, so Ji Hean stuck close to Ji Zheng and didn't dare to look around.
Ji Zheng squeezed his hand soothingly, and led him to catch up with the second brother.
When we got to the second floor, the noisy voices around us suddenly became much quieter, and we could even hear faint piano sounds coming from some private rooms that were not locked tightly.
The waiter skillfully opened a private room at the corner, took two steps back, and said to Ji Zheng and Ji Hean, "Please come in."
Ji Zheng pulled Ji Hean into the room, and as soon as they entered, they smelled a faint fragrance.
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