Widow Dong brought out the prepared order, and Li Xiaoxiao checked it and found it to be complete. These were all tools for making paper, including more than twenty wooden yellow barrels, more than twenty stone mortars, and twenty press boards. These items cost a total of five taels of silver.
Li Xiaoxiao checked them one by one, and soon a group of porters brought all the tools over. A dozen steps away from the back house that Li Xiaoxiao had built, there was still an empty acre of land. Some empty houses were built there. These empty houses that were added later cost another five taels of silver.
After selecting them, Li Xiaoxiao ordered them to be placed in different locations.
She still needed to find five servants and sign a death contract before she could feel at ease manufacturing.
Widow Dong could tell at a glance that Li Xiaoxiao was up to something big. After taking stock, she hesitated before speaking, "Madam Li, if you need manpower, could you add me? Of course, I know the going rate and can sign a contract guaranteeing that your skills will not be spread."
Last time, Li Xiaoxiao made a profit of 600 coins from fish balls, so she tried to imitate her, but only made 30 or 40 coins. Later, there was almost no market for them, and she could barely sell them for 2 fish balls for 1 coin, leaving almost no room for profit.
Li Xiaoxiao was once again guided by the immortal. If she could join him, she might have become rich in the past. Now she only has five or six taels of silver to her name, and her daughter doesn't even have a good place to go.
"If the village head is to act as notary, would you be willing?" Li Xiaoxiao considered it carefully. Widow Dong was a good candidate. She had no husband's family, her family had a good reputation, and she was eloquent and well-liked in the village. She was a good choice.
Widow Dong nodded quickly; this was the only chance she could have.
“Okay, let’s do the notarization together later.” Li Xiaoxiao nodded.
After tidying up, Li Xiaoxiao closed the warehouse door and went with Widow Dong to the village head office to get a notarized document.
I happened to run into a brother and sister on the street. The little brother, who was only four years old, was laughing mischievously and running around. The older sister, on the other hand, was kneeling on the ground with a calm and indifferent expression.
The four large characters "Selling oneself to bury one's father" hanging in front of her were particularly eye-catching. The characters were written crookedly, clearly written by herself.
The noisy crowd occasionally cast strange glances, then shook their heads. The girl remained calm and composed, seemingly indifferent to everything. For some reason, her aloof aura attracted Li Xiaoxiao. She slowly approached the girl. "Are you selling yourself to bury your father?"
The girl looked up at Li Xiaoxiao, then calmly said, "Yes, two taels of silver."
There was no attempt to ingratiate herself, nor was she driven by the urgency to obtain money. Her composure and calmness were very attractive. However, when Li Xiaoxiao got closer, she discovered that the real girl exuded a murderous aura and had a sinister look in her eyes.
If it weren't for the vigilance developed during the apocalypse, no one would have noticed anything unusual.
"How old are you?" Li Xiaoxiao took out two taels of silver from her bosom and played with it in her hand. Only then did the girl look up and look at Li Xiaoxiao seriously.
"Seven years old."
"Is it convenient to talk further? If the conversation goes well, we'll sign a contract, and I'll pay you one tael of silver every month. I'll also take care of your and your brother's daily needs." Li Xiaoxiao offered a condition, and the girl's eyes flickered before she nodded in agreement.
The girl picked up the child who was playing and followed Li Xiaoxiao into a street alley. Li Xiaoxiao checked several times to make sure no one was around, and finally asked Widow Dong to watch over the area while she held the child. The child asked inexplicably, "Sister, where are you going?" Widow Dong gently patted the child's back, "Don't worry, your sister is not far away."
Once they reached a corner, Li Xiaoxiao finally spoke, asking, "You killed someone? Who was it?"
The girl's calm eyes suddenly flashed with murderous intent, but when she looked directly at Li Xiaoxiao, she found that there was a mountain in front of her that she could not shake at all.
“My name is Bai Yi. I did kill someone. It’s the dead man you see here. He did beastly things to me and now he wants to sell my brother to some perverted rich young master for his pleasure. My mother has already been sold to a brothel by him, so he deserves to die.”
Bai Yi pointed to the words on her chest, her eyes filled with a frenzied hatred, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She then forced herself to calm down and revealed her wrists. Only then did Li Xiaoxiao see the scars, and she was shocked. Finally, she felt a little emotional and picked up the two taels of silver, placing them in her palm. "Thank you for your hard work. Are you willing to come with me? Here are two taels of silver. Let's go to the village head's office to have it notarized."
The girl glanced at the silver coins in Li Xiaoxiao's hand. "Is this a brothel?"
Li Xiaoxiao shook her head, "I won't do that kind of thing."
The girl then nodded, "I'm willing."
Widow Dong watched as Li Xiaoxiao came out with a smile, then put the child in her hand on the ground, and the child ran towards Bai Yi with a whoosh.
Bai Yi picked him up.
The three of them went to the village head's office to have the documents notarized, and finally signed a death contract and a labor contract.
Li Xiaoxiao then took her brother and sister back home, and also gave Widow Dong an advance payment of one tael of silver. When they arrived at the Li family home, they found that there were five rooms that had been built, which were just enough for the Bai siblings to live in.
Upon entering the small room, Bai Yi was completely bewildered, cautiously observing her surroundings. She had assumed that the man had bought her to be a servant, but to her surprise, she found herself in a separate room, fully equipped. Since this was just a village, there was no danger.
"You can rest here. You need to train your martial arts skills and make something. This technique must not be passed on to outsiders." Li Xiaoxiao led Bai Yi into the warehouse and showed her all the tools one by one. Bai Yi was stunned and really didn't understand what was going on.
"This is papermaking." Li Xiaoxiao said mysteriously. Bai Yi froze. It was papermaking. How could an ordinary person master this technology? But since her master wanted to do it, it meant that it might be true. What good luck! She originally thought she would go to a brothel and work as a servant in a wealthy family to support her young brother.
At this moment, Bai Yi's life was filled with hope.
He walked around the stone mortar once.
A hint of relief unconsciously appeared on her face. Li Xiaoxiao then pulled the two of them to the kitchen and gave her some fried chicken nuggets. Bai Yi looked at the strange fried chicken nuggets with some confusion, but still obediently ate them.
The first bite is a burst of crispy, dry flavor, with firm meat and delicious chicken juices that make your taste buds dance.
Bai Yi looked at her younger brother standing to the side, took out another piece of food, and Li Xiaoxiao gave another piece to the child's mouth.
"Little cutie, come and have something to eat. What's your name?" The little boy didn't take anything; instead, he turned to look at Bai Yi, his eyes full of inquiry and longing.
Bai Yi's tears instantly welled up, and she quickly wiped them away with her tattered sleeve.
"It's edible, Xiaohan, eat up and say thank you, Master."
After wiping away her tears, Bai Yi knelt down with a thud. "Master, his name is Bai Han. From now on, Bai Han and Bai Yi will obey your every command and swear that we will never betray you, or we will be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."
Seeing his elder sister kneel, Bai Han obediently ran to her side and knelt down as well, softly saying, "I won't betray you, betrayal is unforgivable...may I die a horrible death."
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