Chapter 1 Selling Oneself (1)
Li Xiaoxiao, with a blade of grass stuck in her hair, knelt in the middle of a group of refugees, waiting to be chosen by the human traffickers.
She had been in this world for over a month, having somehow managed to blend into the fleeing masses and travel at a leisurely pace until she finally arrived at a place called "Biyang County".
Every refugee was emaciated and covered in patches. Many didn't even have straw sandals and walked barefoot, not caring that their feet were being rubbed raw and bloody by the rough sand and gravel.
The reason she stopped with the refugees was that this was the only county town she encountered on the road that didn't drive them away, unlike other places that treated them like plagues, not only preventing them from getting close but also sending fierce yamen runners to whip them.
The local officials seem to be quite good; not only did they not drive them away, but they also provide them with porridge every day to prevent them from starving.
Li Xiaoxiao blended in seamlessly into the crowd, doing whatever others did. When she heard that a wealthy family in the county town was looking to buy servants, and that the slave traders were coming to select them, the refugees all knelt down and stuck grass in their heads. Li Xiaoxiao didn't understand what this meant, but she followed suit and went to the roadside to pick a blade of grass and stick it in her own hair.
Seeing her sister-in-law beside her looking at the slave trader with longing, giving him a flirtatious wink, and displaying a hint of allure, she curiously imitated her, also giving him a wink. The slave trader saw it immediately and slapped her on the head without hesitation: "You slut! How dare you give me that look?!"
Li Xiaoxiao was caught off guard and hit, her head buzzing. Without thinking, she grabbed the slave trader's leg and flipped him over.
The slave trader never expected her to dare to resist. He fell headfirst into the dirt, his hat even falling off. When he came to his senses, he angrily cursed, "Where did this wild girl come from? How dare she hit me?! Men, beat her up!"
Two old women followed behind the slave trader. Upon hearing this, they stepped forward to grab Li Xiaoxiao. Li Xiaoxiao remained kneeling and did not move. When she saw the four legs approaching her, she repeated the action she had just performed without hesitation.
The two old women fell with two loud thuds, just like the human slaves, but face down, their noses bleeding, and they immediately screamed like pigs being slaughtered.
The people surrounding Li Xiaoxiao quickly parted, forming a circle around her, staring at her like a monster, their eyes filled with fear.
Those who fled the famine together were all starving and unable to walk. Batch after batch of people collapsed along the way, and those who made it this far were all exhausted. But this slave trader was a strong man in his thirties, and the two old women were even stronger than the last. In the end, she didn't even move from her kneeling position. She grabbed his legs and flipped him over.
Even the human slave trader couldn't help but take two steps back, asking in surprise, "You—what did you do before?"
Li Xiaoxiao answered honestly, "From burning ore."
Mining? Why would they let a teenage girl do mining? Isn't that hard work that would make even a man cry and scream?
But seeing her skills, no one doubted the truth of her words.
Is that why she has such great strength?
The slave trader circled her several times, making Li Xiaoxiao dizzy, before finally asking, "How much do you want for it?"
A surge of onlookers erupted, countless envious and jealous gazes fixed on Li Xiaoxiao, wishing they were the ones being chosen.
Someone bought it; at least they can have something to eat and won't starve to death.
The young woman kneeling beside her hurriedly interjected, "Grandpa, brother, please buy me! I can do anything. I'm strong when I'm well-fed, and I can do laundry, cook, and farm. I'm no worse than a man. Please buy me, I beg you..."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately surrounded the slave trader, grabbing his clothes and begging him to buy them. The slave trader kicked them all over, coldly patted his collar, pointed at Li Xiaoxiao, and said, "You, you're the one. How much do you want?"
She's been working in the mines, and she's been starving for so long but still has so much strength. If she were well-fed, what would she be like? Buying her would be like buying two of them, wouldn't that save us the cost of one person? She's the one.
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback. How much? How is money calculated in this world? How much is a servant worth?
She honestly shook her head: "I don't know, you can give me whatever you think is appropriate."
A look of disbelief flashed in the slave trader's eyes. He instantly thought that this silly girl might have lost her family and gone mad, not even knowing her own worth. But how could he let such a good thing slip by? He rolled his eyes and said, "Five taels of silver. Come with me. I'll take you to a good place, and you'll be grateful to me for the rest of your life."
Five taels of silver? How much is that?
Li Xiaoxiao had only been in this world for a short time, and the people she encountered on her journey to escape the famine were all refugees. She had no silver on her, only a few copper coins, so she had only ever seen copper coins.
So she honestly replied, "It has to be in copper coins."
The slave trader didn't mind. Common people found spending silver inconvenient. Regardless of its quality, they had to cut it with scissors to buy things, and there was always some loss in the cuts. It was much more convenient to use copper coins. He took out two strings of copper coins from his pocket and handed them to her: "Here, this is two thousand copper coins. After you sign the indenture, I'll give you the remaining three thousand."
Li Xiaoxiao took the two strings of copper coins from his hand, weighed them in her hand, and found them to be quite heavy. She remembered that in the previous town, vegetarian buns cost one coin each, and meat buns cost two coins each. These two strings of coins could buy a lot of buns.
She nodded in satisfaction and stood up.
The onlookers wore expressions of envy; five thousand coins!
In previous years, five thousand coins would definitely not be enough to buy a young maid. You should know that the price of a maid between the ages of twelve and twenty would be at least fifteen to twenty taels. But now that we have suffered a disaster and are fleeing, it is good that someone wants her. At least she can have a place to stay and food to eat, and she won't starve to death.
Human trafficker Wei Yingjie then selected several young men and women from among the refugees. Those who were chosen had their eyes shining, but these people usually had families with them. When the able-bodied men in their families were chosen, the remaining elderly, weak, women and children immediately burst into tears.
The young men and women who were chosen comforted them while wiping away their tears. Following Li Xiaoxiao's example, Wei Yingjie gave the women two thousand coins and the men two thousand five hundred coins. These young men and women turned around and handed them all over to their families, keeping none for themselves.
After signing the indenture, there's still a large portion left. He'll have a place to go, but his family left behind will be left without any prospects. If the magistrate doesn't kick him out, maybe his family can use the money to rent a thatched hut in the area and survive by gritting their teeth.
The family members who received the money immediately clutched it tightly to their chests, hiding it while looking around warily, fearing that someone might come and snatch it.
Wei Yingjie selected four men and four women in total, and adjusted his hat, saying, "Those of you who have chosen, come with me."
Li Xiaoxiao followed the group to the back and bought five vegetarian buns and five meat buns when they passed a steamed bun shop, spending fifteen coins in one go.
The refugees walking in front of her smelled the aroma of the steamed buns and turned around to look at her, their eyes fixed on the steamed buns she could barely hold.
Li Xiaoxiao finished one bun in two bites, and soon ate four or five.
Finally, someone couldn't resist any longer, swallowed hard, stared at her steamed buns, and asked, "Is it delicious?"
Li Xiaoxiao nodded without hesitation: "Delicious!"
She wasn't lying; it really was delicious. It wasn't made from crushed insect corpses, nor was it a nutrient solution extracted from the blood and flesh of inferior pollutants, reeking of a fishy smell. The food here was made from natural crops, with a fresh and fragrant taste that Li Xiaoxiao had never experienced before.
With so many people staring at her, she showed no intention of sharing a single bite with them, which immediately displeased the man, who felt she lacked manners. He stared intently at the bun in her hand: "You bought so many, you definitely can't finish them all, right? How about I have one to try?"
The others immediately chimed in, "Yeah, you definitely can't finish it all, share some with us!"
Seeing that many people were speaking at once, they became bolder and reached out to take it.
Trying to snatch food from Li Xiaoxiao's mouth was out of the question; these few buns wouldn't even fill a gap in her teeth. Without hesitation, she took a step back, devoured the remaining buns in a few bites, and said innocently, "I can finish them all~"
The refugees watched as she ate all the buns, and inexplicably became angry: "You clearly bought ten, why won't you share even one with us?!"
"Exactly! I've never seen anyone eat all the food by themselves like this. We've all fled together and supported each other. Why should you eat all the food?"
The others glared angrily, their chests heaving violently, as if Li Xiaoxiao had committed some heinous crime.
A note from the author:
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