"Alas, this old Fang, it's really not easy..." Old Jia sighed, not wanting to spoil the fun, he returned to the original topic and said: "Young Master, you can buy that house, which also relieves a pain in my heart. There is no need to thank you."

The old man beside him was dressed in ordinary clothes, but his demeanor was even better than that of the old man. Hearing what he said, he smiled and said to Zhao Hao, "This old man is not being polite to you. He is always worried about the broken house. What should he do if it collapses? Does he have to pay for it to be repaired?"

"Why are you talking about something else?" The old captain smiled indifferently, took a sip of millet porridge, and asked Zhao Hao casually, "I heard from Gao the blacksmith that the young master is looking for a book boy for your father?"

"Old Captain, do you have anyone to recommend?" Zhao Hao nodded. Gao the blacksmith had suggested that he could go to a pawnbroker and buy a bookboy, which would only cost a few dozen taels of silver. But he couldn't get over the psychological barrier of buying and selling people, so he still wanted to hire one from the neighborhood.

"There really is a suitable one." The old captain smiled, turned around and said to the stall owner who was carrying a few steaming steamers, "Didn't you ask me to help your kid find a job? How about being a book boy for Mr. Zhao?"

"Uh..." The stall owner Fang was a little undecided and said, "I still have to discuss it with my wife."

"Your wife is right by the river." The old captain said, waving behind Zhao Hao and said, "Fang Wen, come here and let Master Zhao take a look at her first. If he doesn't like her, it's useless to ask."

Zhao Hao was stunned when he heard this. He hadn't noticed that there was someone behind him.

When I looked back, I saw a boy of the same age as me, wiping the table with his head down.

After hearing what the captain said, the child put down the rag and came over shyly.

"Hey, stall owner Fang has a son, but I've never seen him before." Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha, he helps out at the stall every day!" The old captain laughed and asked the child, "Tell me, how many times have you seen Mr. Zhao?"

"Three times..." The child named Fang Wen answered timidly, "Four times including this time."

When Zhao Hao heard this, his eyes widened. He thought to himself that he had only been here four times.

That is to say, this child is always here every time I come here, but why have I never noticed him?

"Mr. Zhao, don't be surprised. I have been eating breakfast here for a year. If I didn't know that the stall owner has a son, I would have often forgotten about this person." Old Jia said to Zhao Hao with a long smile.

The old man beside him nodded in agreement and said, "At first I thought it was haunted..."

"Alas, this kid, you can't do anything even if you hit him with eight sticks. He doesn't attract attention even when standing in the sun." The stall owner Fang tapped his son's head in frustration and said, "It's a big sin to have delayed Mr. Zhao's business."

Zhao Hao was very happy when he heard this. He was dizzy because of Zhao Shouzheng's noises all day long, and he wished that the rest of the family would be dumb...

Looking at the child again, although he was not outstanding in appearance, there was nothing wrong with his thin eyebrows and eyes. The only problem was that he was too ordinary and could not be found in a crowd.

But isn't it just right for such a little transparent person to be a book boy? What if he has a lot of tricks all day long and leads his simple father astray?

"Can you read?" Zhao Hao asked the child.

"I studied in a private school for a few years, and dropped out after reading half of the Analects of Confucius." Fang Wen said in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

"It's him!" Zhao Hao made the decision on the spot.

As for a book boy, isn’t his job just to hold an umbrella and grind ink? What special talents or special abilities does he need?

"This..." After hearing this, the stall owner Fang was both happy and a little worried. He said with a twinkling voice, "I'll go and talk to my wife..."

Zhao Hao turned a deaf ear to him and said to himself, "He won't sign a contract to sell himself. He just needs to work for three years. After three years, he can leave or stay."

The stall owner Fang's expression was obviously relieved when he heard this. The reason why he didn't want to take this opportunity was that he was most worried about signing a contract to sell his son. In that case, his son would become a slave of the Zhao family for generations. But Zhao Hao didn't mean to do that at all.

If it's just a three-year contract, even if it only provides food and accommodation, he would consider it.

But Zhao Hao continued, "You will be paid two taels of silver per month, including food, clothing and lodging. At the end of the year, you will receive a bonus, the amount of which depends on your performance. If you are willing to stay after working for three years, your monthly salary will be increased to three taels. If you want to return home, you will be given twenty taels of silver to settle down."

"Oh..." The captain's old friend couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, "Young man, can a sixty-year-old book boy be used? I can still read and write."

The conditions Zhao Hao offered were very generous. In Nanjing, a full-time laborer could earn at most two taels of silver after working very hard for a month. Of course, skilled workers such as machine workers and dye workers could earn more. Fang Wen, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, had not fully grown his strength, had no skills, and was so shy and taciturn that even if he could read a little, he could only be an apprentice in the store.

And during the long apprenticeship period, there is no salary...

"You are joking, old man. How can you run errands for Mr. Zhao when you can't even move your legs?" But the stall owner Fang said hurriedly, "My son is young, nimble and quiet, and he is born to be a book boy..."

"Oh, you can't make your own decision?" The old man laughed teasingly, "You should discuss it with your wife. If she disagrees, don't ruin my future."

"That being said, I am the one who has the final say in my family..." Stall owner Fang laughed awkwardly as he felt squeezed.

"Hahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter and the atmosphere was very joyful.

~~

As everyone was chatting and laughing, there was a loud bang. The steamer in front of the stall was kicked over by someone, and the steamers scattered and the buns flew everywhere!

Gao Wu quickly raised his hand to block the steamer that flew towards Zhao Hao and caught a few buns.

Zhao Hao was startled and thought that there were hooligans causing trouble. When he turned around, he saw an official wearing a long green cloth gown with arrow sleeves and a square flat-top hat with a red feather on it, standing there menacingly with a few white servants without red feathers.

The official stepped on the fallen stove, looking like he was going to kill someone. "Fang, get over here!"

"It's Li Chaye," the stall owner glanced at the food on the floor with concern, and hurried over to apologize carefully, "Why do you have to come?"

"Do you think I am willing to come?" The official held up a ruler and tapped the stall owner Fang's chest again and again, saying viciously, "I told you ten days ago that you had to pay me the money you owe me before the end of the month! Today is the first day of the new year, where is your money?!"

"I'm just a small business, I really can't afford that much money..." The stall owner Fang was about to cry, and he kept bowing and said, "Please give me a few more days, Mr. Li."

"If I give you some time, who will give me some time?" Officer Li gnashed his teeth and was about to say, "If you don't pay, I'll take your things away." But when he saw the shabby things in this stall, which were not worth even a tael of silver, he couldn't help but get angry and said, "If you don't pay today, I'll sell your daughter to pay off the debt!"

On the other side, Qiaoqiao had already been alarmed, but was held tightly by her mother and could not come over.

Hearing the official's foul language, Qiaoqiao could no longer hold back. With red eyes, she pointed at him and cursed, "Li Jiutian, are you talking like a human being? Why don't you sell your daughter?!"

ps. The first chapter has been sent, please vote for recommendation and comment on it~~~