After Sun Changyuan returned, the villagers' lives improved considerably, and those who worked for the Sun family, like Zhuzi, were rewarded.
In particular, Zhu Zi has always been conscientious in his work, but this time he was misunderstood by Zhang Laozei, which caused a lot of embarrassing things. Sun Changyuan gave him compensation, the biggest of which was covering Zhu Zi's mother's medicine expenses for the next year.
Although Jiang Jiuniang changed the prescription to use inexpensive herbs, it still cost a considerable amount throughout the year, which was a great help to Zhuzi's family.
After the family had their last argument, Zhu Zi's father never mentioned selling his daughter again. Several times, Zhu Zi's mother said she was going to start saving up for her daughter's dowry, and Zhu Zi's father didn't say anything.
After everything had settled down, Zhu Zi and his sister approached Jiang Jiu Niang. Upon meeting her, they bowed deeply and kowtowed before saying, "Madam, my sister and I have come to express our gratitude. You saved our family!"
Jiang Jiuniang led the two inside and asked Gou'er to fetch some snacks to serve them. The siblings didn't dare to eat, but just stood there properly.
"Sit down, don't be shy with me."
Jiang Jiuniang looked at the two siblings, especially Mingzhu's obvious smile, and felt quite pleased.
The siblings then sat down and placed some of the seafood they had brought beside them.
"Madam, I once asked you to help me. I was willing to sell myself into slavery. I am here today to fulfill that promise."
As he spoke, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Jiang Jiuniang glanced at it and saw that it was a contract of indenture.
"Are you really willing to sell yourself into slavery?"
Jiang Jiuniang looked at him with interest, finding the child quite amusing. If he hadn't mentioned it, she would have forgotten what he had said before.
"You need to understand that my family is from out of town. We're only here for a few months, and we'll definitely be leaving afterward. If you sell yourself into slavery, you'll have no choice but to leave with us, and you might never see your parents and relatives again in your life. Are you really willing to do that?"
Jiang Jiuniang looked at him with a very serious expression.
I thought Zhu Zi would think about it for a long time, but to my surprise, the boy nodded directly and said with a mature look, "Yes, I made it clear to my parents last night. I said it, and I must keep my promise."
"Then what about your parents?"
Jiang Jiuniang looked at him with a relaxed expression, barely able to suppress the smile on her lips.
“My parents are being taken care of by my older sister. She is better at taking care of people than I am. In the future, I can ask her to find a husband to come home and take care of my parents together. Moreover, I will send money home regularly to ensure that my parents and older sister can have enough to eat.”
There was a rule in those days that slaves also received a monthly wage, it just depended on how much their master gave them, but generally, families who could afford to employ slaves wouldn't give them very little.
He could save his monthly salary and send it all home, which would be considered fulfilling his filial duty.
Jiang Jiuniang raised an eyebrow, glanced at Mingzhu, and then asked Zhuzi, "I thought your family would be more willing to sell your sister. How did you convince your parents?"
Mingzhu, who was standing next to her, was taken aback when Jiang Jiuniang mentioned her. But she quickly smiled and said, "If Madam is more willing to buy my daughter, my daughter will make the same choice as my brother."
Zhu Zi became anxious and said, "These troubles are all my fault, they have nothing to do with my sister. I said before that I was selling myself, Madam, you can just buy me! My sister has taken care of me since I was a child, she still has to live her own life, she shouldn't ruin her life for me!"
He naturally had a big argument with his father at home. He knew that in his father's heart, he was the most important person, but he refused to give up and insisted on protecting his older sister. His mother also stood up to speak on his behalf. His father lost his temper, but eventually agreed.
Besides, even though he was sold into slavery, he was still capable of producing offspring for his family. He could marry and have children later, and then send the children back to his parents to be raised. In this way, nothing would be delayed.
Seeing that he was really worried that she had taken a liking to Mingzhu, and even made a gesture to block Mingzhu, Jiang Jiuniang couldn't help but laugh out loud and said, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Since you're willing to sell yourself, then it's you."
Jiang Jiuniang took the indenture and gave him ten taels of silver.
"This is the money you received for selling yourself. Take it back to help support your family."
Zhu Zi was very surprised and held the two five-tael silver ingots in both hands: "Madam, you have given too much!"
The most they can sell themselves for here is two or three taels of silver; no one has ever sold themselves for ten taels of silver.
“It’s okay. In my opinion, you’re worth that much money.”
This child has sound values and good character. If he is properly nurtured, he can become a valuable asset to the dog in the future. Spending ten taels of silver on him is well worth it.
Praised by Jiang Jiuniang, Zhu Zi blushed with embarrassment. He didn't think he was any great; in fact, he had always caused trouble for his family since he was a child and was called a troublemaker by those around him.
But with Jiang Jiuniang, his personality and thoughts were recognized and respected, which warmed his heart.
"Thank you, Madam. Then, I'll see my sister out, and when I get back I'll sweep the yard and then cook. I can do anything!"
Having been given a contract of indenture and money, he is now a servant of the Lu family and should handle everything properly for his master.
He handed over the task of feeding the horses to his elder sister, and from now on, he only needed to take good care of the Lu family.
Jiang Jiuniang said, "No rush. You should go home tonight, have a proper meal with your parents, and come back tomorrow at noon. I have something else to tell you."
Zhu blinked, looked towards the kitchen, and hesitated, "Then..."
"You don't need to worry about those things, go ahead."
Jiang Jiuniang picked up her teacup and took a sip. The siblings then hurriedly stood up to say goodbye.
"Then we'll head back first. Oh, by the way, we caught all this seafood ourselves. Madam, please pick out whatever you like to eat!"
He carried the basket he had brought to Jiang Jiuniang. Inside were some clams and oysters, which looked very fresh and must have just been caught.
Jiang Jiuniang took them and said with a smile, "Thank you, these are all my favorite foods."
The siblings were overjoyed to receive Jiang Jiuniang's affirmation once again, and happily took the money home.
Jiang Jiuniang poured the seafood from her basket into a basin to soak, then called the dog over and asked, "Would you be willing to let Zhuzi be your study companion for a few months?"
The dog nodded and said, "Okay, Mother, I will teach him to read and do arithmetic."
Jiang Jiuniang chuckled and praised, "Not bad, you already understand your mother's intentions!"
The dog proudly raised its chin and said, "Mother, if you want to do business here, you naturally need to train your own people. You have been kind to Zhuzi, and Zhuzi is of good character and has great potential. You have also taken his indenture, so you are not afraid of him betraying you. It is only right that I put in the effort to teach him. After all, these are the people that Mother has trained for me. Don't you think so, Mother?"
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