"The people in the workshop are all capable, and they've signed five-year contracts. Some have even signed indentures to sell their bodies. How can you expect me to treat them the same way?"
"We won't sign an indenture, but a five-year contract is fine. You can let us try out for a few days first, and then keep us if you're satisfied. We absolutely won't complain."
"Of course, most of our children are between 10 and 13 years old, so half the wages are enough. For children under 8, no wages are a problem, as long as they have food, drink and a place to stay."
"I'm going to the temple to see someone."
"sure."
"Fuwa, bring the carriage over here."
"Okay, miss."
The carriage could only stop at the foot of the mountain. Liu Yuhan walked to the temple halfway up the mountain. It was a semi-old temple. Although it looked like they were living a bit crowded, it was quite clean.
There are distinct areas on both sides, separated in the middle by firewood and coarse cloth, which should be the areas for men and women.
An old woman was sitting at the door of the temple, making a fire and cooking. A little girl was playing by herself beside her. The child was very clean and wearing a red, half-new cotton-padded jacket.
When she saw Jiang Hu, she ran over and hugged his legs. Jiang Hu picked her up and grinned with his big white teeth to tease the little girl.
"Tiger boy, what is this?"
"Auntie, this is Doctor Liu I told you about last night. Will the others be back soon?"
"It's almost there. Please take a seat, Miss Liu."
The woman took two low stools, wiped them and gave them seats.
Jiang Hu went to greet them.
Liu Yuhan saw the woman cooking white rice porridge and steaming black-faced buns in another pot, so she started chatting with her.
"We exchanged these grains with farmers. If we eat them sparingly, we can last a while and won't starve."
"When he's craving meat, Hu Zi will go hunting. He can trade his fur for coarse salt and cloth."
"All of us are thanks to Hu Zi. He could have been free and didn't have to worry about us..."
"The little girl in your arms was a child abandoned on the roadside. He picked her up. She was only a few months old and he almost died. It was Hu Zi who did hard labor and exchanged goat milk for others to slowly raise her. The child is very affectionate to him and treats him like a father."
"Girl, have I said too much..."
"No, auntie, I like listening to you talk."
"Yeah. At the beginning, there weren't so many people in the temple, only about ten. In the past two years, Hu Zi has been bringing those orphans who have no one to take care of them in the city to the mountains..."
…
A quarter of an hour later, Jiang Hu came back with a group of people.
It was indeed as he said, most of them were children around 10 years old, and there were also some older ones around 13 or 14 years old. They stood outside the cave somewhat stiffly, secretly looking at the possible future owner.
Liu Yuhan glanced over and saw that they were all wearing tattered cloth shoes and old clothes. They were in much better condition than Ku Wa and his group. Their complexions were also obviously much better. It seemed that Jiang Hu was a capable person.
Liu Yuhan refused their late lunch and left with Fuwa. Before leaving, he told Jiang Hu that he could pack his bags and wait for a day, and someone would come to pick him up the next day.
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