Chapter 71: No Human Rights, No Freedom
For free? Sang Yu's eyebrows suddenly jumped again. She had to admit that she was really moved for a moment.
That was five hundred coins. She would have to make so many candies to earn it back, but the other party just wanted to give it to her with just a few words.
But she quickly regained her composure and realized that she absolutely could not accept it.
She could guess what the human trafficker was thinking. He probably mistook her for a young lady who had run away from a wealthy family and had sneaked here to buy someone to play with, but he had no money on him.
Given her status, it would be absolutely beneficial to make friends with a slave worth 500 coins or 1 string of coins for free.
In the future, if you need help at the other party's house, you can get some benefits because of this favor.
But what was Sang Yu's current situation? She lived in a hole-in-the-wall shed, without even a roof to protect her from the rain.
If she really accepted this identity now, she would be severely retaliated against if the other party found out in the future.
By that time, losing money will be a small matter, and you can't easily settle it without losing some money.
Never underestimate human traffickers. Some people may think that what they do is lowly, but because of this, they make friends with many people from all walks of life.
Once something happens, just raise your hand and countless people will respond to help, and it is easy to kill an entire family.
Sang Yu's face remained stern, but he shook his head gently: "No merit, no reward. I can't take your things for free. It doesn't look that good up close. I don't want it."
After saying that, she turned around and left without waiting for the human trafficker to answer. If she didn't leave now, she was afraid that she would not be able to escape.
The trafficker was taken aback by her words, and when he came to his senses, she had already walked a few steps away. The flattering smile on his face disappeared in an instant, and when he turned around again, his face was gloomy.
"A bunch of useless things!"
He picked up the whip beside him and whipped the wooden cage hard.
The whip made a loud cracking sound when it touched the cage, and wood chips flew everywhere.
The slaves in the cage were trembling with fear, but the little girl remained expressionless with empty eyes, completely unaware of what was happening.
Sang Yu walked out without looking back, all the way out of the market and into a small road. Only then did she stop and carefully look out.
After observing for a while and seeing that no one was following him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
If you want to save someone, you have to consider your own abilities. Don't end up not being able to save the person but getting yourself into trouble, which would be a waste of time and effort.
Although she disliked the slave trade, it was a legitimate business within the Daying Dynasty and was subject to tax and protected by the law.
As long as the source of the slaves is correct, no one can find fault with them.
What is a slave? After you buy them, you have the power to decide their life and death. They are no different from livestock, so the price is naturally not cheap.
Originally, she thought that if the price was not high, she would spend some money to rescue the girl. Now it seems that she was thinking too simply.
Sang Yu felt a little disappointed but not too guilty for not being able to save the girl.
There were quite a few slaves in District D. There were many cages on the streets, containing men, women, and children of all ages. She alone was just a drop in the bucket and could not save them all.
If she could save them, she would be happy and relieved. But if she couldn't, she wouldn't blame herself, because it wasn't her fault that they were trafficked.
My thoughts were wandering wildly. Sometimes I thought about the girl's big, empty eyes, and sometimes I thought about why slavery came into being.
When Sang Yu came to his senses again, he suddenly shouted, "It's broken!"
When he jogged back to the pharmacy, Sang Xingjia had already put on his shoes and socks and was sitting on a chair for guests.
There was also a young apprentice about ten years old standing next to him, staring at him intently, as if afraid that he would run away.
Seeing Sang Yu rushing in, Sang Xingjia smiled bitterly: "Little sister, you are finally back."
If he didn't come back, he would be taken away by the pharmacy staff to write an IOU.
This was indeed his fault. Sang Yu laughed dryly: "Haha, well, I was delayed for a while outside just now."
She actually forgot to leave the medical money for Sang Xingjia, leaving him alone in an awkward situation.
Under the supervision of the apprentice, Sang Yu paid the thirty cents for today's acupuncture, and the two of them left the pharmacy together.
After walking a few steps outside, Sang Xingjia suddenly asked, "Little sister, didn't you say you would bring me some delicious food? Where is it?"
Of course, he didn't have to eat some snacks, but he was using these things to ask Sang Yu what she had done.
Sang Yu slapped her forehead, she had forgotten about it: "Brother, I forgot, what do you want to eat? I'll go buy it for you now."
Seeing that she didn't understand what he meant, Sang Xingjia simply said bluntly: "I don't want to eat anything, I just want to know, what did you just do?"
"Well, big brother, let me tell you, I was just visiting the market and saw..."
Sang Yu told him everything she had seen in the market, and at the end she sighed, "That child looked really pitiful."
After listening to this, Sang Xingjia was silent for a moment before saying, "Little sister, do you know where these slaves came from?"
Of course Sang Yu knew the answer to this question: "People who were implicated in the family's crime." Their family almost became slaves back then.
Sang Xingjia shook his head. "No, it's not just these criminal slaves. Many more slaves were captured from neighboring small countries, the families of the rebels, and the children born to the slaves."
He did not just read books, he also had some understanding of the legal system of the dynasty and knew a little about slavery.
"Children born by slaves?" Sang Yu could understand other things, but she really couldn't understand this one.
Sang Xingjia didn't answer her question directly, but instead asked, "Little sister, do you know what the biggest difference between refugees and slaves is?"
"Can't buy or sell?" Sang Yu replied tentatively.
This didn't seem very accurate to her. After all, the refugees at the entrance of the canyon were being bought and sold, and they looked no different from slaves.
"no."
Sang Xingjia sighed and slowly explained to her, "Slaves are slaves because once they are enslaved, they and their descendants will be slaves for generations to come, and they can never escape from slavery."
In the eyes of the general public, slaves were no more than animals, or even worse than animals.
If a working ox lost a leg, the government would be held accountable, but if someone accidentally killed a slave, the most they would have to do was pay compensation.
Slaves had no names of their own, no human rights and no freedom.
Sang Yu's thought of buying the person and giving her freedom was just wishful thinking.
Slaves without household registration could not even find the most basic job. They were like dodder clinging to a tree and could not survive on their own.
After listening to his story, Sang Yu fell into a long silence, with his eyes lowered and not saying a word, his expression gloomy.
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