Gao Zhijun brought Huo Jinqian, Hongyue and Qinglong and followed the steward into the manor.
The workers inside knew what happened at the gate, and they stood together consciously, waiting for the princess's lecture.
The workers here are actually farmers.
This place was originally two villages, but due to the poverty of the villagers, some had to sell their children, and some even starved to death. It just so happened that the Second Princess passed by and thought it was a good place to build a manor. So, she used her connections and power to buy the land and build a manor. She also bought the villagers from both villages and made them work there.
Gao Zhijun stood in front of them and looked at the people below. There were about a hundred people, including the elderly and children.
"Butler, are they hired servants or bought out?"
Gao Zhijun asked the manager.
The steward was respectful to Gao Zhijun because she would be his future master.
He thought that the Second Princess would give his indenture contract to the princess after she lost Zhuangzi to her.
In fact, although Gao Zhijun won the farm and the shop, she did not know that the people in the farm were servants and that the indentures were in the hands of the Second Princess, so she did not ask the Second Princess for the indentures.
"To answer the princess, they were originally villagers and were bought back by the Second Princess to serve as servants."
"Villagers? Is this a village?"
Gao Zhijun asked the manager.
"Yes, there were originally two villages here: Changshou Village and Zhongshou Village. Due to the poor soil, the harvest was halved, and natural disasters and man-made disasters, many villagers could not pay taxes and had to sell their children. Some villagers even starved to death. In addition, the Second Princess took a fancy to this place and forcibly bought it. The villagers had nowhere to go and had to sell themselves as servants."
The steward told him everything.
He did a lot of bad things around the Second Princess, but he also sympathized with the villagers.
"This is outrageous! The Second Princess deserves to die."
"You abuse your power and rob others, you deserve to die," Hongyue said angrily.
Gao Zhijun didn't show much emotion.
This was the way of survival in ancient times: the survival of the fittest.
The strong are the ones who hold power above all others.
The weak are the poor people.
In order to survive, ordinary people allow themselves to be exploited by officials and businessmen.
"Do you have their indentures?"
Gao Zhijun asked the manager.
She couldn't change this law of survival, so she didn't intend to force her way in. If she had the villagers' indentures, she could let them decide for themselves whether to stay or leave! As for the indentures, she would return them to them.
She had just made an eyeball assessment and realized that this farm didn't need so many people working. Keeping them here would be a waste of food, so it would be better to let them go.
According to the manager, there must be a reason why the amount of grain grown here has been reduced by half.
"Yes, I will bring it to the princess right away."
After the steward finished speaking, he returned to his room to get the indenture.
"I heard that you were originally villagers and were only supposed to sell your bodies to the Second Princess. If the Second Princess loses this farm to me, I will be your new owner."
"I just checked the farm and it doesn't need so many people. Wait a minute, the steward will bring the indentures. If you want to leave, I will give them to you. If you want to stay, I will stay with you."
Gao Zhijun said to the villagers.
"Princess, are you really willing to let us go and return the indentures to us?"
The village chief of Changshou Village asked Gao Zhijun uncertainly how there could be such a master in the world.
"My word is as good as gold! This princess's words are golden, and I will keep them. You just need to think carefully about whether to stay or go. Wait for the steward to come and tell me the result!"
Gao Zhijun knew that the villagers in front of her didn't believe her, so she didn't explain too much.
The opportunity has been given, and whether they can seize it is up to them.
"Village chief, don't believe her. She's lying to us. There's no such master. They're eager to squeeze us dry. How could they be so kind as to let us go?"
"Village Chief, Old Seven is right. Don't believe her. She's just teasing us."
"Village chief, forget how the Second Princess oppressed and abused us. Don't forget that snakes and rats are all the same kind of people. They don't treat us as human beings."
"That's right, don't believe her lies, she's just lying to us."
…………
The villagers all advised the village chief not to act rashly and to believe Gao Zhijun's words.
Of course, there were also those who believed Gao Zhijun's words, which made Gao Zhijun look at them a few more times.
The fact that they can believe what she says shows that they are all smart people.
"How dare you! The princess is not someone you can criticize. My princess was kind enough to set you free, but you don't know how to be grateful and are still talking about her. You are simply heartless and ruthless. The princess shouldn't have given you back your freedom."
Hongyue listened to the villagers' discussions and became so angry that she clenched her fists, her face flushed, and her breathing became rapid.
"No defense! Hongyue, it's not worth getting angry over these people. Calm down first!"
Seeing Hongyue so angry, Gao Zhijun felt warm in her heart and hurried to comfort her.
At this time, the manager brought a stack of indentures and handed them to Gao Zhijun.
"This is your indenture. This princess will keep her word and do what she says."
"Qinglong, remember who was talking about this princess just now!"
Gao Zhijun asked Qinglong.
“Remember!”
"Remember, pull those people aside and have the steward return their indentures and let them go."
"Yes, Princess!"
After Qinglong finished speaking, he walked over to the villagers who had just been discussing the princess. Most of them were from Changshou Village.
The villagers who were dragged out were both surprised and delighted. They were surprised that the princess had truly kept her word and given them the indentures. They were delighted that they were now free men, no longer slaves.
The manager took out the indentures and gave them to the villagers, and of course also returned the indentures of their families.
Ten families, totaling forty-five people, remained, including villagers from both Changshou Village and Zhongshou Village.
Gao Zhijun gave each villager who had obtained the indenture contract one or two taels of silver as travel expenses.
Villager Xing left the village with his family, silver and bags, with a smile on his face.
Only the chief of Changshou Village had a serious expression on his face. Where should they go if they leave here?
They didn't know that they were leaving a place where they could live and work in peace and have enough food and clothing.
If years later, they all regretted it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
