Zhao Lin nodded and said, "Very good, everyone stay."
The matchmaker said happily, "Young Master Zhao is very generous. One hundred taels of silver for a guard and ten taels of silver for a maid. What do you think of these prices?"
Zhao Lin's face darkened. "How dare you lie to me? Do you really think I don't know the market price?"
The matchmaker complained, "Master Zhao, calm down. I'm really offering you the cheapest price. Look at these guards. They're all healthy and strong enough to fight. One hundred taels of silver isn't much. These maids, some of whom can cook, some of whom do needlework, are definitely worth the money. All of you, quickly demonstrate for Master Zhao."
The six guards looked at each other, and the oldest one stood up, saluted Zhao Lin with a fist, and then began the performance.
His performance was very military-like. Although each move was simple, it was a killer move. Zhang Fan nodded and said, "Although he's a bit older, he's still okay."
The matchmaker smiled and said, "Age has its advantages. We have a wealth of experience. Don't worry, sir. We are a century-old shop and we are honest."
Zhao Lin snorted coldly: "50 taels for the guards, 5 taels for the maids. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, leave."
The matchmaker groaned, "You're bargaining too hard. So, I'll take the loss a little bit. Eighty taels for the guard and eight taels for the maid. How about that? If you don't believe me, go out and ask around. You won't find a better price than mine."
Zhao Lin thought about it and said, "Well, let's just leave it at that."
The matchmaker said happily, "People say you scholars are oblivious to the world outside your window, only focusing on the sages' books. I didn't expect Mr. Zhao to be such a bargainer. Six guards total 480 taels, and the maid 24 taels, for a total of 504 taels. I'll round off the difference and give you 500 taels. What do you think?"
"OK."
Zhang Fan took out a banknote and threw it to the matchmaker, saying, "Change."
After checking, the matchmaker found that it was a real silver note and was secretly amazed. Everyone said that Mr. Zhao was an orphan who grew up in a charity, but she didn't expect him to be so rich.
The matchmaker took out a silver note for five hundred taels and gave it to Zhao Lin along with the indenture. With so much going on, the one thousand taels had become five hundred. Zhao Lin felt a little distressed and said, "They'd better do as you say, or I'll go and smash your signboard."
The matchmaker quickly said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhao. It's okay if he almost beats me to death."
"Okay, you can go now."
Zhao Lin waved his hand and the matchmaker left quickly.
Only Zhao Lin, Zhang Dashan, the six newly bought guards and four maids were left in the huge courtyard.
Looking at the thin indenture in his hand, Zhao Lin felt a little dazed.
This thing had been abolished long ago in my previous life. I didn't expect to see it here, and I even bought it with my own money.
"Tell me your names, your origins, what your city is, and why you are selling your bodies." Zhao Lin said.
"My name is Shen Yuan."
The oldest guard sighed and said, "To be honest, Master, we are all from Shenjia Village in Qingzhou. Because our hometown suffered a disaster and we couldn't survive, we had no choice but to come out to seek survival."
Zhao Lin asked curiously, "You guys are quite capable. You shouldn't sell yourselves even if you've suffered a disaster."
Shen Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "Ordinary people would be fine, but we have offended others. We have no choice but to leave our hometown. Not long ago, because the second girl fell ill and we had no money, we had no choice but to sell ourselves for some money. At least we saved our lives."
One of the four maids' eyes turned red: "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be like this."
Shen Yuan sighed, "It's only a matter of time. These days, few people who leave their hometowns have a good ending. At least we are still alive, but those people are all dead."
These words made the eyes of these people red.
Zhao Lin racked his brains to recall his previous life's memories, but unfortunately he had no recollection of the disaster. He could only ask, "What disaster did you suffer?"
Shen Yuan, the oldest and the leader of the group, answered, "Flood."
Zhao Lin finally found relevant memories from his previous life and became even more curious. "I know Qingzhou suffered a flood last year, but didn't the imperial court allocate money and grain for disaster relief? And the Crown Prince personally led the relief efforts. How come you couldn't survive?"
A young guard couldn't help but say, "There's no relief money or food. It's all been embezzled by those corrupt officials."
"Chen Huai!" Shen Yuan scolded hurriedly.
Although Shen Huai stopped talking, there was still a trace of resentment on his face.
Zhao Lin frowned and said, "Didn't the disaster relief money and food fall into your hands?"
My previous life didn't have many memories of this. I only heard a few words occasionally when Zhao Jingzhou and Han Yuehua were talking. The two were very dissatisfied that disaster relief, which was easy to do and would bring fame, was not given to the Second Prince, Prince Yu, but to the Crown Prince.
But he didn't say that such a thing would happen.
Zhao Lin said: "Tell me in detail."
Shen Yuan hesitated and asked, "Master, are you interested in these?"
Zhao Lin said, "Don't be afraid. I'm just an orphan. I have nothing to do with those people who are providing disaster relief. I just want to know the specific situation. And if I'm not mistaken, you came to Beijing not just to escape, right? Are you here to file a complaint?"
Ten people were shocked at the same time, and those who reacted quickly reached out to touch their waists.
Zhang Dashan immediately stood in front of Zhao Lin, picked up a stone nearby, and stared at these people with a fierce look.
Shen Yuan hurriedly said, "Don't move. We are the master's servants. Why are you moving around?"
The few people finally quieted down, but they still stared at Zhao Lin.
Shen Yuan glanced at the stone in Zhang Dashan's hand and thought to himself that this big fool was very strong and not easy to mess with. He explained to Zhao Lin, "Master is right. We originally came here to complain, but they fell ill one after another on the way. They had no money and could only sell themselves into slavery. We thought we could survive first and talk about the complaint later. I didn't lie to you."
Zhao Lin nodded and said to Zhang Dashan, "Don't be nervous. Unless they want to die right now, they won't do anything."
Zhang Dashan stood aside, but still stared at them worriedly.
Shen Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "Master is right. We are not afraid of death, but we don't want to die now because we still want to file a complaint."
Zhao Lin asked again, "Since you're in the capital, why don't you go to Shengjing Prefecture to file a complaint?"
Shen Yuan said: "I dare not. There are more than just us who came. Some people left before us, but we haven't seen them since."
Officials protect each other!
This word immediately appeared in Zhao Lin's mind.
That was something the Crown Prince personally led his men to do, and even if it had nothing to do with the Crown Prince, if the officials who did it had connections with people in Shengjing Prefecture, they would definitely help cover it up and kill people to silence them.
There are too many such things.
In his previous life, Zhao Lin worked hard to pass the physical fitness exam, so why did he leave?
It was because he didn't want to go along with some people's actions, and reporting them was useless, so he had no choice but to leave.
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