Zhou Wan was used to hardship and toil, and when the food was ready, she ate it by herself.
Zhou Qionghua weighed the pros and cons, but was at a loss for what to do.
They were starving but still had to eat.
Meanwhile, Liu Cuiming arrived at a brothel.
Under the cover of night, the brothel was bustling with activity, filled with the sounds of people welcoming and seeing off guests.
"Sir, you have some free time to come and see me today?"
"Oh, you must be talking about that little peach blossom who can play all kinds of instruments and sing. She's perfect, absolutely perfect."
"Grandpa, come in and have some fun."
Several women in flowing red sleeves were laughing and grabbing passing men. Many men went inside. Liu Cuiming stood outside and watched for a long time before finally deciding to go inside and try her luck.
With her brilliant social skills, she quickly met the madam.
The madam was an old woman who was over fifty years old.
Judging from her heavily made-up appearance, she clearly doesn't accept getting old.
The rouge and powder on her cheeks were heavy, about the thickness of a copper coin, and her face was full of smiles, as if "hypocrisy" was written all over it.
“So,” the madam said, cracking melon seeds with her pinky finger raised, looking at Liu Cuiming, “you have three people here: a widow, a boy, and a girl, isn’t that right?”
After Xu Yuehuai went to investigate the matter, Liu Cuiming seized the opportunity.
If she could successfully sell Zhou Wan and the others to a brothel, she would immediately make a fortune.
Then, naturally, she left, intending to start a small business in an unfamiliar place, which would make her quite wealthy. Hearing the madam say this, Liu Cuiming hurriedly corrected her, "Although she is a widow, she is still incredibly beautiful."
"What about the boy? We don't need boys here."
"My dear sister," Liu Cuiming stood up excitedly, "My sister, there are plenty of men who become male concubines, and this young man is quite handsome, so tender and youthful. As for the young woman, you haven't seen her, so even if I describe her in the most eloquent way, it's useless. You should see for yourself."
The madam hesitated for a moment, then clicked her tongue in surprise, "Don't try to fool me. Are you really their relative? Do you really know them inside and out?"
“We are refugees from a place thousands of miles away. She is all alone and helpless. This is the best opportunity. I don’t need much from you. Just give me twenty taels of silver for the three of us.”
After pondering for a long time, the madam finally nodded.
“My people need to inspect the goods in advance. If there are any problems,” the madam pointed to Liu Cuiming across from her, “it will all be on your shoulders. If you deceive me, the imperial court will investigate and find out that this is a crime of buying and selling people. You will lose your head.”
"Buying and selling people is impossible. If you buy them, you'll be doing a good deed."
At this point, Liu Cuiming sneered inwardly.
What do you mean by buying and selling people? Aren't you already buying and selling just as many people as you have?
But she says sweet words to everyone.
After agreeing on a price, Liu Cuiming went downstairs. "I'll arrange for them to be separated one by one. You can just catch them then. I guarantee you'll make money. Zhou Wan is a charming and beautiful young widow. You won't lose out."
"That's good, that's good."
They escorted Liu Cuiming to the entrance of the brothel, and Liu Cuiming left with a smile.
On the other side, Xu Yuehuai had already brought the food to Zhou Wan.
"What happened? Everything was fine just a few days ago."
“It’s just typhoid fever,” Zhou Wan said with delight, looking at Xu Yuehuai. Perhaps due to excessive excitement, she coughed violently, feeling as if her internal organs were shifting in all directions. “I just need to rest.”
"I'll find a doctor to take a look at you."
Xu Yuehuai said anxiously, "You are the backbone of this team. If something happens to you, everyone will suffer."
Soon Xu Yuehuai took Zhou Wan to a clinic. The doctor took one look and said, "This is caused by overwork and malnutrition. You just need to take good care of yourself for a period of time and you will recover. It is best not to do physical labor. Rest is the best medicine."
Zhou Wan knew perfectly well that she was destined to worry.
How could we possibly avoid physical labor?
Despite taking medication and resting, Zhou Wan's condition was not good at all. Seeing that Zhou Wan was not in good condition, Jiang Qianqian took the initiative to serve her, which immediately angered Zhou Qionghua.
She grumbled, "You're so biased! I've raised you into an ingrate!"
No matter what Zhou Qionghua said, Jiang Qianqian remained unmoved.
"Let's all keep quiet for a bit." Xu Yuehuai knew that this internal conflict couldn't be resolved in just a few words. "Alright, let's eat something."
She handed the money she had borrowed from Qi Guze to Zhou Wan, saying, "It's the middle of the night, so you'd better keep a close eye on this money."
"Mother, what have you been doing lately? We can't live without you here."
"I'm investigating some things, I'll meet up with you soon, don't worry."
Zhou Wan nodded. "Please be careful."
"You need to be extra careful. We're surrounded by powerful enemies, so you need to be mindful of your finances. This money is all borrowed," Xu Yuehuai gave him some more instructions before preparing to leave.
With tears in her eyes, Zhou Wan reluctantly saw Xu Yuehuai off.
After emerging from inside, Xu Yuehuai began to analyze the miners' situation.
“I’ve already summarized it. They’re from the vicinity of Wuming County. Almost every village has had people arrested. And since this is a recruitment notice issued by the government, many people won’t suspect anything.”
"yes."
Qi Guze nodded.
Xu Yuehuai said, "We should go to the yamen (government office) now."
"Walk."
Xu Yuehuai felt that being with Qi Guze was sometimes very interesting and sometimes very boring. The two walked one after the other and soon arrived at the Wuming County Government Office. She thought that at this time, the place would be dark and gloomy, but to her surprise, it was brightly lit.
People were coming and going to deliver congratulatory gifts, so it seemed that something exciting was happening at the mansion.
I found out that it was Magistrate Wang Ping'an's birthday.
"Shall we go in and take a look?"
"Wait a minute, we must prepare a gift too." Qi Guze prepared a gift for Wang Ping'an, and that gift was actually... stolen.
Xu Yuehuai was stunned to witness Qi Guze blatantly stealing.
What Xu Yuehuai found even more unbelievable was that... despite it being theft, the person who was robbed was completely unaware.
Seeing that the two had prepared gifts, the guards who were greeting them at the door beamed with joy.
"Wishing you boundless happiness and longevity, my lord. This little trinket is but a token of my respect."
At this point, Qi Guze opened the box.
Upon closer inspection, the guard immediately understood that the red coral in the box was priceless, and his face lit up with a smile.
"Go inside quickly."
The two were led to the main hall.
Xu Yuehuai was surprised as soon as she arrived here.
Before this, she had visited other ancient buildings of high standard, but those buildings paled in comparison to the house of County Magistrate Wang Ping'an.
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