Chapter 163 Chapter 163 Update.
I saw that Tian was wearing a half-new jacket, a cloth skirt, a pair of gold earrings, and a flat bun on her head. She was a tall woman, and she stood there with a very shrewd look on her face, saying:
"My family paid money to hire people to do work. There's no need to report those who are sneaky and cunning. You, tell me, how old are you? Where are you from? Where did you work before? Why were you sold?"
A girl of thirteen or fourteen years old replied:
"My hometown is Anling. When I was little, I lived on Mapo Street. When I was older, I was sold to a rice farmer's family. I chopped firewood, fed the pigs and sheep, and swept the yard... He had many servants but few servants. I did the rough labor, everything. I was accused of stealing a gold hairpin, so I was kicked out."
"But is it the rice paddy messenger named Li from the street ahead?"
Tian asked, she said yes, and then said,
"I clearly heard that your grandfather was dying and you secretly treated him. This shows that you are not telling the truth."
"It's unfair! That damn old demon sold me out for a sip of wine. Even if he died of illness, it has nothing to do with me!"
"How dare you say that? This girl is dishonest. To say that shows she's unfilial. If she hadn't begged me, I wouldn't have brought her here."
The human trafficker scolded her, saying that being unfilial was a very bad character. If she had really stolen the hairpin to treat her grandfather's illness, people would have pitied her filial piety. However, in that era, selling sons and daughters was a common practice, so people would have held a grudge against her.
"Madam, please look at other things. They are all better kept."
Tian asked her to stretch out her hand for her to see. She saw that her fingers were rough and there was a layer of calluses on the palms of her hands. No sores would form even if it was cold.
"My child, I understand your feelings. I already have a golden bean at home, so you can call yourself Silver Bean."
Tian was trying to buy her, so Yindou said quickly, "Thank you, ma'am!"
Tian asked a few more people, some of whom had stolen money from their previous home and concealed it, and she found out that she could not keep such people.
She also cannot buy some older slaves who abuse their power to do evil and oppress the common people.
"Laiyazi, what kind of people are you bringing here? Do you really want to do business with my family in the future?"
The trafficker was busy trying to flatter him, "There's another one, he's an honest and decent one."
The last girl she pointed at was a small girl with a round face. When she asked her how old she was, she said:
"Ten... thirteen."
This was bought by Lai Yazi himself, so it is very clear.
"Her family is from the eastern suburbs. When her mother died, they had no money to bury her, so her grandfather sold her for two taels of silver and buried her."
Tian also asked how many people were in her family, what they did for a living, and whether she had the intention to redeem her in the future.
She was a dull girl. It was her first time to visit such a rich man's house. Tian had interrogated those stubborn servants in front of her with great majesty. Now she was trembling with fear and could not speak fluently.
"Useless things,"
The trafficker answered the question for her.
"Her family has seven or eight people, including four children. This is the youngest. She was sold when she was a teenager and needed food. Well, her family is a farmer, and I feel bad about it, but how much money can you earn from scraping food in the fields? Even if you wanted to redeem her, where would you get ten times the redemption money? She does farm work at home, too. She's a bit wooden. You could buy her back and teach her a lesson, and she'll become smart."
Tian thought about it and bought her. Because she was born with a round face, she named her "Banadou".
After selling the two people, the trafficker took the money, said many auspicious words, and was about to leave when he heard a commotion next door.
"I'll let you steal money, I'll let you steal money!"
It was Jin who was beating the maid.
"Who stole your money?"
Tian Dou refused to admit it, and Jin became even angrier.
"Still being stubborn? If you hadn't stolen my money, how could you afford to eat Hu Bing?"
It turned out that Jin had found the Hu pancakes that she had hidden in her clothes and was reluctant to eat. She asked her where they came from, but Tian Dou only said:
“It was given to me by someone else.”
"Who gave it to you? Tell me, why did they give you the Hu Bing?"
Tian Dou couldn't answer, Jin Shi pulled her to sell it.
"The human traffickers are right next door. My family can't keep you anymore. I'm selling you today!"
The trafficker said:
"If you're serious about selling her, I'll take her away for 1,800 yuan."
She bought people in the Sanfu area, and the price for those who were not yet adults was about 2,000 coins. However, Tian Dou was a person who had been sold and then returned, which ruined her reputation. It would be difficult for her to resell her in the future, so she deliberately lowered Jin's price.
Ji Yuan and his companions said, "Sell this troublesome girl to save the family from unrest."
Jin also said to sell it, but Ji Zhi was the only one who said nothing. He stood there holding the corner of his clothes, feeling extremely scared.
The Hu Bing that Tian Dou had was given by her. It all started from the last time when she found out that she was stealing Jin's money and threatened her to buy her Hu Bing every day. How could she have the money to buy her Hu Bing every day? Jin seemed to have noticed that the money in the cash box at home did not match the amount, so she watched it more closely.
She coaxed and begged him not to tell anyone. Sometimes it would be ten or eight days later, and when he couldn't coax her anymore, he would buy one, or eat half himself and give the other half to her. In any case, Tian Dou didn't tell anyone for these few months.
I'm afraid she will tell everything now, and Jin will beat her too.
"This troublesome thing in the family, just sell it and it's over!"
Jin was no longer willing to keep her and dragged Tian Dou out, who refused to leave.
"I'm not going, I'm not going anywhere!"
The human traffickers had to eat coarse food, live in a cowshed, and be beaten. Tian Dou stayed there and refused to leave. Ji Yuan and Jin worked together to drag her out of the yard and threw her at the feet of the human traffickers.
The traffickers quickly tied her hands and feet, so that she could walk but not run away.
"Now that you're here, if you continue to hesitate, you'll have something to worry about!"
The human trafficker threatened, saying that the bamboo stick in her hand could hit people much more painfully than Jin's. Tian Dou lost her shoes while struggling, and her bare feet and hands hung there. She stopped throwing a tantrum, but there were tears on her face. She glanced at Ji Zhi who was watching by the door.
Ji Zhi was still holding the half of the Hu pancake that Jin had taken from her arms, and he stuffed it back into her arms, lowering his head and not daring to look at her.
Ji Yuan called Ji Zhi:
"Come here, what do you have to say to this evil creature of hers?"
Jindou advised:
"Where did your Hu Bing come from? If you tell me clearly, I won't have to sell you. Do you want to go back and live with the cattle and sheep?"
Jin and Tian Shuangdou were sold here on the same day, but they couldn't stand her anymore and returned her to the human traffickers.
Tian Dou said nothing, but Tian Shi understood a little bit. Ji Zhi's face looked strange. She knew that this child had a habit of stealing since he was young. He had even stolen her purse before the family split up, and she had quarreled with Jin Shi for this. However, Jin Shi felt that Ji Zhi was deliberately framing her child.
Jin was still trying to bargain with the traffickers for more money, but she heard Tian say:
"Jin Cuiru, sell it to me for two thousand coins. I didn't pick enough people today, so I just happened to get this bean."
Jin was momentarily shocked, then delighted, thinking: "How could this Tian Guinu be so greedy? She's bought a troublemaker back home. One day she'll steal eggs, the next day she'll steal money. I'll torment her to death!"
Yin said, "If I sell it to your family and there's money missing, you can't ask me to return it. I won't agree to that."
As soon as Tian agreed, she immediately said:
"Okay! You take her with you!"
Jin received the money and gave the bond, and the trafficker was not unhappy about it. He untied Tian Dou and scolded her:
"When you come to this house, you must do your work well and don't steal or cause trouble. You will lose my trust."
After pushing her away, Jin Shi felt relieved to have sold off the troublemaker. She went back and muttered:
"If you say that Tian Guinu is a cheapskate, then there will be something interesting to watch next door."
Tian said, "There are already three Dou in the family. You should still be called Tian Dou. Don't change it."
Yin, Tian, and Candou were standing there, listening to Tian's warning:
"Now that you've entered my house, I won't question your past behavior. Everyone has scars on their bodies. But from now on, you must abide by the rules of my house. You can't bring family matters outside, you can't steal money, you can't fight or cause trouble... If you break any of those rules, don't blame me for being ruthless."
After saying some harsh words, he ordered Jindou to take the three of them to wash and rest, and he would teach them how to do things starting tomorrow.
Only after they left Tian did they dare to look around.
This house is indeed a wealthy family's, with one hall and three rooms, a large kitchen, two courtyards in front and back, cattle and horse stables, and a firewood shed. I heard that there is also a warehouse rented out to other families.
Among them, broad beans were the most inexperienced and were stunned by what they saw.
Although Tian Dou was sold out because her family was poor, she had lived in the Jin family for several months and had heard a little about the prosperity next door.
Yindou had previously served at the Rice Field Messenger's house. Although it was not as good as here, she had seen more than them and remained calm.
They followed Jindou to a small room in the backyard, which was used for bathing. The window was tall and small, and it was a little dark inside. They could see two large wooden barrels, soapberries, toothbrushes, and bamboo salt on the shelves, and hooks on the wall with various towels hanging on them.
"When the weather is warm, I wash here. When it's freezing, I occasionally carry water inside to wash."
"This bucket is for the masters to wash, and this one is for us to wash. We need to clean it every day. Usually, we should wait until the ladies have finished washing first, and then we can wash it. We should not wash it all on the same day, otherwise the kitchen will be too busy to boil water.
If you need to wash your hair in the future, please let me know in advance and pick a day that's not busy. Today is your first day here, so you should wash from head to toe. Do you have any lice on your body or hair?
They all nodded, and Jindou gave each of them a new soapberry and a towel.
"It's okay. You can boil some Tianmingjing hay in water and wash it a few times to get rid of it. I had it too. The lady bought some hay and taught me how to wash it. Gradually, the itching stopped. There's still some hay left. The lady told me to give it to you guys a long time ago."
"The young lady of this family treats the maid so well?" Yindou asked.
"Yes, she is a bodhisattva, unlike some wealthy local tycoons who are harsh on their servants.
"The Madam is a bit strict with her servants, but she has good intentions. You'll understand after spending some time with her," said Jindou.
After boiling water, the three of them washed one by one and put on Jindou's clothes first.
Yindou said thank you.
Tian Dou took a deep sniff at the clothes, which had a pleasant smell of soapberry, and touched the cuffs carefully.
"What a nice dress, made of fine cloth. Mr. Jin wouldn't be so generous."
After thinking about it, he stuffed the Hu pancake back into his arms.
Broad Bean was still holding onto the tattered clothes. Golden Bean said:
"Why are you still holding on to tattered clothes that are crawling with lice? Why don't you throw them away? When you get married, the lady will make clothes for you."
Only then did Candou reluctantly throw away the dirty and rotten clothes.
While they were taking a bath, Tian and Jindou had already prepared dinner. Jindou could cook, but Tian wanted to stir-fry the food to suit her daughter's taste, so she cooked it herself.
There were only four dishes: stir-fried bacon with green garlic, minced meat and tofu, stir-fried turnips, and violet palm soup. They were all served in double-handled ceramic bowls as big as those used to sell braised food, and the quantity was sufficient.
"Erfeng, it's getting dark. Light up your lantern and go to the alley to greet your sister."
Tian had to wait for Ji Xu to come back every day and wait for the whole family to be together before she could start eating.
"Why."
Ji Feng lit a lantern and went out, bumping into him and shouting:
"Sister is back, sister is back!"
On the way into the courtyard, he quickly mentioned the matter of buying someone for his family.
"There are three of them. The youngest is slightly older than me."
In the kitchen, Jindou pinched Tiandou's hand as she tried to steal food, "You silly girl, you forgot what I just told you? There will be a time for you to eat."
Pulled the three of them out to see Ji Xu. Jin Dou was the first to arrive here. Now he taught them,
"This is Miss, why don't you know how to call someone?"
The young ladies who had heard Jindou talk about this many times were all secretly looking at him. He said that the family fortune was accumulated by cooking. The chefs they were used to seeing were mostly middle-aged fat men with vulgar manners. They never thought that there was such a young and lovely girl.
Her black hair was like silk, her face was fair and clean, she wore a scarlet cloak over her lotus-colored jacket, and sheepskin boots on her feet. When the chestnut horse behind her moved, she gently stroked the horse's neck and looked at them tenderly and amiably.
Suddenly I wasn't so timid anymore.
"Miss, I'm Yindou."
"I'm Tian Dou."
"I...I'm a broad bean."
"Okay, I understand. It's only your first day here, so you must be hungry. Let's go eat."
Ji Xu said that they didn't need to be served when eating here. Four dishes were served and another portion was given to the maids. Then Tian's mother and daughter ate at the table in the main hall.
Jindou and the others were in the kitchen, lighting the oil lamp.
"Be good, we don't have to eat what they left."
Tian Dou looked at the dishes without even touching his chopsticks. When he lived next door, there was not even any vegetable leaves left, let alone minced meat. It was a blessing to have a little soup.
"Everything is served like this. We eat whatever the master eats. There is enough food, enough for three meals a day."
"No wonder you look so fat on your face, it turns out you eat so well every day."
Tian Dou said to Jin Dou, I see that the steamer is not full of steamed corn rice. Mr. Jin has four people in his family, so he only cooks one liter of rice each time, which is just right.
She used a clay bowl as big as her face to hold the rice, which was pressed firmly.
She had seen the shiny bacon drying in the yard next door a long time ago and had been craving it so much that she had dreamed of having a bite. But she had never imagined that one day, when she put it in her mouth, she shuddered all over.
“It’s delicious.”
One mouthful of meat can make up seven or eight mouthfuls of rice. Even at home, she can't eat such good meat.
When the bowl was empty, I would add more rice. By the end of the meal, my stomach was so full that it hurt to move at all.
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