Qin Fang had no other opinion about merchants. First, military commanders did not look down on merchants, unlike civil officials. Second, Qin Fang came from a poor family. Poor people had no right to look down on merchants. They even envied merchants for being able to eat meat and wear warm clothes.
So Qin Fang nodded and said two words: "Very good."
But Aunt Fan was a little scared. She saw that the lady was gentle and polite, just like the young ladies she had seen in wealthy families, but she didn't know that the master was so tall and strong. Moreover, his cold face made people a little scared.
When it was time to eat, Aunt Fan didn't dare to eat with them no matter what they said. She just waited until they finished their meal before eating. Although the braised fish was eaten up, there were still some leftovers, such as pork belly and egg soup. For Aunt Fan, even though it was not as good as what she had eaten in the rich families before, she had never eaten such good food since she was sold.
After eating, Aunt Fan washed the dishes and went to the busy courtyard.
Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang were bored and it was still early to go to bed, so they went to the study to read together. Qin Fang learned to read characters and read basic books such as Hundred Family Names, while Yang Haiyan read the History of the State of Qi. The couple read for an hour, then took a bath and went back to bed. When they went to bed, Yang Haiyan told Qin Fang about the content of the History of the State of Qi that she had just read.
Although Qin Fang was not a court official, as a Qi countryman, he still had some contact with the court, and there was no harm in knowing the country's history. He listened to his wife talking about the history of Qi and gained a new understanding of the country.
It was also at this time that Qin Fang realized how good a wife he had married.
The next morning, Aunt Fan came. She took the initiative to go to the kitchen to boil water and make breakfast. Yang Haiyan told her what to eat in the morning yesterday, white porridge, kimchi, and boiled eggs. After Yang Haiyan finished her exercise, she used hot water to make a cup of milk powder for herself and Qin Fang. As for Aunt Fan, she did not make any. Although she didn't have the concept of being a servant, she had to learn to adapt to the customs of a place instead of bringing the customs of her original world here and letting the servants here change accordingly.
After dinner, Qin Fang went to the military camp without lunch because Yang Haiyan would bring him lunch at noon.
After Qin Fang left, Yang Haiyan took Aunt Fan to the vegetable market. I have to say that it's good to have someone to go to the vegetable market with you, so you don't have to carry a basket when buying vegetables.
Yang Haiyan bought pork liver, half a chicken, a few loofahs, radishes, peanuts, and eggs. There are not many kinds of vegetables in the vegetable market.
When Yang Haiyan bought the pork liver, Aunt Fan was very confused. She couldn't imagine that someone like Madam would actually eat this, but she didn't ask.
The two returned to the family quarters in the military camp and found Uncle Hong standing at the door with a woman and a child.
Seeing Yang Haiyan coming, Uncle Hong was a little nervous: "Hello, Madam. This is my wife, Chai Qiuping, and this is our son, who is just half a year old this year." Uncle Hong was 32 years old before he married a wife and had a son because he got married late.
In the past, his father spent a lot of money on studying and getting sick. After his father passed away, the family debts fell on him. He paid off the debts for many years, and only got married after the debts were paid off. Of course, if a woman hasn't married for so long, there must be problems in his wife's family.
Yang Haiyan nodded: "Come in and talk."
After entering the yard, Aunt Fan went to wash vegetables, and Yang Haiyan took Uncle Hong and his family into the study: "Sit down and talk."
Uncle Hong hurriedly said: "Thank you, Madam, I'll just stand."
Yang Haiyan reluctantly said: "It's okay for you to stand, but Auntie is holding the child and standing outside for a while, I'm afraid she is tired."
Uncle Hong: "Thank you, Madam."
Aunt Hong: "Thank you, Madam." She was indeed a little tired. Speaking of it, from yesterday to now, she was still in shock. Yesterday her husband suddenly came back, she was really happy and scared. Ever since her husband sold her for silver to pay for her medical treatment, she felt very uncomfortable. But after she knew it, it was too late. Her husband had already been sold, and the silver they redeemed was not enough.
She had no choice but to come to the town to see her husband every few days. As long as her husband hadn't been bought, she would still have a chance to raise money. Fortunately, her husband's leg was injured and no one wanted to buy him.
Uncle Hong: "Madam, I want to ask you, can you let my wife and children live in the yard in the busy city? They will live with me and won't occupy the rooms in the yard. We will take care of my wife's food ourselves and won't spend your money."
Yang Haiyan thought for a while and said, "I use that yard to make snacks. What if your wife accidentally sees it and has some thoughts?"
Aunt Hong stood up in fear and said, "Don't worry, Madam, I will be dumb and won't say anything."
Yang Haiyan: "But I'm not at ease."
Aunt Hong looked at Uncle Hong helplessly after hearing this.
Uncle Hong had no other choice, after all, he was a slave.
Yang Haiyan said, "If Aunt Hong is willing to sign a contract of sale, I can let you live together." Uncle
Hong said, "No, no, no, no." Owing a contract of sale was equivalent to entering slavery. He didn't want to wrong his daughter-in-law. It was enough to have a father who was a slave, but he also wanted his son to have a mother who was a slave?
Yang Haiyan said, "Maybe Aunt Hong signed a contract of sale, and the money from selling her body can heal Uncle Hong's leg. Besides, five years later, whether it is Aunt Hong or Uncle Hong, I will allow you to redeem your body, and the money for redemption is the same as the money for the contract of sale." She didn't have the habit of treating people as slaves. "After ten years, I can release you for free, and you don't have to pay me money to redeem you." Just like hiring them, but without the indenture, she was worried. After all, they didn't know each other, and there was no basis for trust.
There are two types of indentures in Qiguo, one is a living indenture and the other is a dead indenture. Like Hong Shu selling himself to the pawnbroker, it was a living indenture. But slaves with living indentures cannot be sold casually, because for slaves with living indentures, the master only has the right to use them, not the ownership. For slaves with dead indentures, the master has both the right to use and the ownership. Aunt Fan was sold because she was a dead indenture.
Many masters don't like to buy slaves with living indentures because of this. However, the law stipulates this, but the actual operation is another matter. After all, in feudal society, power is greater than law.
The working contract is five or ten years. But no matter how many years the working contract is, if the servant redeems himself, the money for redemption is several times more expensive than the money for selling himself. Otherwise, the master not only buys the servant, but also provides food and accommodation, and pays a monthly salary. Isn't it a loss?
Uncle Hong sold a five-year working contract to the pawnbroker for one tael of silver, and the pawnbroker sold Uncle Hong to Yang Haiyan for two taels of silver, also for a five-year working contract. But after five years, if Uncle Hong wants to sell himself back, it may cost twenty or thirty taels. However, generally speaking, if the servant has not made any mistakes and does things honestly, the master will not make such an unreasonable offer.
Aunt Hong was originally unwilling to sell herself. It was not that she looked down on servants, but she was worried that people would say about her children when they grew up. But after hearing what Yang Haiyan said, she was moved. If the money from selling her body could heal her husband's injured leg, she would definitely be willing to sell her body. When she heard Yang Haiyan say that she would let them redeem her body with the money from selling her body in five years, and would release the body contract without compensation in ten years, she was tempted. If she sold her body and followed the master's family, at least she would not have a problem with food and clothing. If she did not sell her body, she would still have to consider food.
In fact, Uncle Hong was also tempted. He was tempted by the fact that his leg could be healed. If his leg was healed, it would be a good thing for both his wife and the children.
Yang Haiyan is not a saint, but she is willing to help. A man who sells his body for his wife can't be bad. Besides, if they work for her together, they may be more efficient, and Uncle Hong doesn't have to worry about his wife at home. Then,
Yang Haiyan said, "You can go to the clinic first to see if this leg can be cured. If it can, how much silver will it cost to cure this leg."
Aunt Hong: "Yes, yes, thank you, madam."
Half an hour later, Uncle Hong and Aunt Hong came back. The doctor said that this leg can be cured, but it will cost a lot of money, fifteen taels of silver, and this leg cannot be tired during the treatment period, such as working in the fields, hunting in the mountains, etc. If you take good care of it, it will be cured in about half a year.
Helping in Yang Haiyan's yard, naturally, would not be tiring. At most, she would drive a donkey cart to deliver food to Qin Fang. She would not be tired even if she drove a donkey cart and sat in the cart. So Uncle Hong and Aunt Hong discussed on the way back, and Aunt Hong decided to sell herself. If selling her body could not bring five taels of silver, they could use the monthly allowance issued by Yang Haiyan to slowly treat it. At least Uncle Hong's leg could be cured, and for the couple, there was hope for life.
After hearing this, Yang Haiyan gave fifteen taels of silver without saying a word. Wouldn't it be good to have a servant with a healthy posture in half a year? Besides, this silver is not given for free. Two taels is the money Aunt Hong got from selling her body, and thirteen taels is lent to them. Three taels will be deducted from their monthly salary every year for five years. One tael will be deducted in the last year. Aunt Hong and Aunt Hong have the same monthly salary, 200 coins a month. The couple has an income of 4 taels, 800 coins a year, and food and accommodation are provided. If three taels are deducted, if they don't get sick, they can only spend some money on the children and save more than one tael. So they readily agreed and were grateful for the kindness of the host. Besides
, if they redeem themselves after five years, the redemption money can be saved. Taking a step back, even if the contract is released without compensation after ten years, Aunt Hong still thinks it is worth it.
Because they have to send lunch to Qin Fang, the Qin family has lunch earlier. But now that we have a donkey cart, we don’t have to rush like before.
Before today, there was only Yang Haiyan in this house,
but now with Uncle Hong and his wife and Aunt Fan, it has suddenly become a lot more lively. Although Yang Haiyan is a homebody, in modern times, that’s because there are computers. What kind of entertainment can’t be used to kill time on the computer? Even watching a TV series can last for months. But in ancient times, in this era without entertainment and computers, life was really hard. So now there are three servants at home, and it’s not bad for a while.
Uncle Hong was washing the donkey cart outside. From now on, it will be handed over to him for safekeeping. He washed the donkey as if it were his ancestor, and also washed the carriage.
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