Chapter 389 Zhao Ying
"You bought them all?"
Zhao Ying looked at the girl in front of her with confusion, her fingers tapping the table unconsciously.
She couldn't understand what kind of family would buy hundreds of children, so she asked tentatively, "May I ask how many brothers and sisters do you have?"
"About ten." Gu Jiayue thought about it, but still didn't tell the truth.
Mainly because he was afraid that the other party would raise the price after knowing the real purpose, he continued to make up stories and said, "You know, in a family like ours, children need a lot of people to take care of them from a young age."
Zhao Ying expressed understanding, but could not accept it.
Ten or so children need hundreds of servants? Only the royal family can be so arrogant, right?
But the servants they serve would not just buy them from outside, they have been carefully trained.
Zhao Ying frowned even more tightly, feeling that the man in front of her had other intentions, and the wariness in her eyes became even heavier.
"I'm sorry, miss." She stood up, her tone firm. "Although I'm in the human trafficking business, I have to be responsible for these children. I can't sell the children to you before I understand your true purpose."
Gu Jiayue was stunned. Is this the rule of the dental clinic?
In the novels and TV shows she had read before, as long as one had money, one could buy and sell anything. Who would ask about the purpose?
She pushed the silver ingots on the table forward and raised her voice: "Just sell people, I have no shortage of money. As for the use and purpose, I can only say that I will not deal with these children casually." I will take good care of them, feed them, let them study, learn a skill, and let them be good people in the future.
Seeing Gu Jiayue's impatience, Zhao Ying's doubts grew even more serious, and she felt even more unable to let go.
This kind of impatient person can be seen at first glance as someone with special fetishes who buys children and then tortures them in this way or that way.
The two were at a stalemate, and Zheng Qinghe, who was standing by, quickly spoke up to smooth things over: "Boss Zhao, this girl is a good friend of mine. She does have many younger brothers and sisters who need playmates. These children won't all be servants. Some will be well-trained and become pillars of their families in the future."
The so-called family support means letting them study, change their names and surnames in the future, become members of their family, and pave the way for real family members.
Only then did Zhao Ying remember that the person sitting next to him was the magistrate of Annan County.
Zheng Qinghe had a very good reputation in the county. Although he had only been in Annan County for a short time, everything he did was always for the benefit of the people. Over the past year, the lives of the people in Annan City had improved significantly, so the people remembered his kindness.
With the county magistrate as guarantor, her guard relaxed slightly, but she still wasn't completely down. "Since County Magistrate Zheng is guaranteeing me, I'll be frank. These children are all miserable, and I don't want to sell them to a family that will exploit them. You must explain your true purpose for buying the children before I can decide whether to sell them or not."
Gu Jiayue was a little surprised. She didn't expect that Boss Zhao was such a kind-hearted person.
She had always believed that even if people involved in human trafficking were not extremely evil, they would not be so kind-hearted.
The person in front of her overturned her preconceived impression.
Since that was the case, she decided to speak frankly. "To be honest, I opened a school in Taohua Village. I felt sorry for these children, so I wanted to buy them back and set up an orphanage to provide them with clothes and education, so they wouldn't have to waste their lives as servants."
Zhao Ying jumped to her feet, her eyes wide open, her face filled with disbelief. "Is that really the case?"
Gu Jiayue smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, you should at least believe County Magistrate Zheng, right? He won't lie to you."
Zheng Qinghe also stood up and solemnly assured her. "Don't worry, Manager Zhao. Principal Gu has indeed opened a school in Taohua Village. If you don't believe me, you can go back with her and take a look."
Zhao Ying looked at the young girl in front of her. She looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. How could she open a school?
Then, she seemed to remember something.
My uncle had said before that he would send his children to a place called "Qiushi Academy" in Taohua Village to study next year.
"Are you the principal of Qiushi Academy who produced more than thirty scholars last year?" Zhao Ying's voice was filled with surprise.
Last year, all the students from Wutong Academy and Kyoto who took the imperial examination passed and achieved good rankings. This news had already spread throughout Juzhou City!
All families with children would think of sending their children to Qiushi School.
However, the rules of this school were strange. Unlike other schools that offered students admission at any time, it only accepted students twice a year, in spring and autumn. Those wealthy families had no choice but to wait for the autumn enrollment.
Gu Jiayue hadn't expected her fame to spread so far, and smiled a little sheepishly. "It's not all my credit. There are many other teachers in the academy, and those children are naturally smart."
child?
Zhao Ying found this interesting. Many of those students were older than her, yet she still called them "kids".
"Okay, with County Magistrate Zheng guaranteeing me, I'll trust you for now." Zhao Ying nodded and added, "But I have to check on the children every month. If they're not doing well, I'll buy them back at the original price. Is that okay with you?"
She would regularly visit the people she sold, whether they were children or women. If they were wronged by their owners, she would redeem them at the original price, as stated in the contract.
If the owner doesn't agree, she would rather not do this business than push anyone into the fire pit.
Gu Jiayue agreed without a second thought: "No problem at all, Manager Zhao is welcome to come and inspect at any time!"
"How many does the girl plan to buy?" Zhao Ying breathed a sigh of relief and gave the details. "I have about 500 children here. Girls are one tael of silver each, and boys are a little more expensive, two taels each. However, there are fewer boys, only a hundred."
Even in times of famine or drought, boys were rarely abandoned. Most of the boys here had lost their parents and were buried by other relatives.
Many girls were abandoned or sold by their families at the beginning of the drought.
Zhao Ying didn't want to take Gu Jiayue's money, but the accountant had just said there was no money in the account. If she wanted to continue rescuing the children, she would have to pay the parents who sold the children.
She needed money to help those poor children, but she only calculated the cost price and didn't ask for a penny more.
Before coming here, Gu Jiayue asked Zheng Qinghe about the price. As soon as she heard it, she knew that Zhao Ying didn't raise the price. She admired her even more in her heart: "Okay, I want all the children. If you get a child in the future and send it directly to the school, I will buy it at this price!"
Both parties were frank and honest with each other, and the transaction went smoothly. The broker was even willing to provide a carriage to take the children to Taohua Village.
"Miss Gu, there is another dental clinic in the county town that also accepts many children. Would you like to take a look?" Zhao Ying hesitated for a moment, but still said it.
She knew that this was an excessive request, but the owner of another dental clinic was not as kind-hearted as her. He would sell the animals as long as she was paid, and never cared what they did with them. He also provided the children with very poor food and accommodation, and only guaranteed that they would not die.
She couldn't bear to see those children end up like this.
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