He thought to himself, "It seems this young master must also be a highly skilled person."
Xu Han didn't say anything, turned around and went into the house, and Lu Chuan quickly followed.
Manager Wei, being very perceptive, did not follow them inside, which gave the two room to discuss their options.
Xu Han asked directly, "What do you think of those people I just asked about?"
“My wife has a good eye. Those men look like honest and hardworking people, unlike those who are cunning and deceitful. I think they are all worth keeping.”
Xu Han raised her pretty eyebrows. "So, we'll take them all?"
"Let's take them all. We have so much work to do at home anyway, they'll always come in handy."
“You make it sound so easy. There are so many people! Where will they live if we buy them? We don’t have any room for them right now.”
"That's easy. There's so much space in the mountains. We can just build houses for them on the open space in the opposite valley."
And that way they won't be living in the same courtyard as us, so they won't bother us.
Xu Han thought about it for a moment and it didn't seem like a bad idea, so she agreed.
However, Lu Chuan added, "How about we pick a few more clever people from that group? You'll still need to do business, right? You'll always need someone to help you."
"That works too. If we pick everything at once, we won't have to come back next time."
And the newly purchased house also needs people, so when you add it all up, there are actually quite a few people needed.
"Well, if we can't find anything good here, we can go to a private dentist later."
"Okay, let's go. Let's finish making our selections as soon as possible so we can go home. I'm exhausted after a busy morning."
After Xu Han finished speaking, she took the lead and walked out, saying directly, "Any of the people I just questioned have any regrets? If so, speak up quickly, or you won't have another chance later."
All of them shook their heads. Seeing that no one was going back on their word, Xu Han said to the shopkeeper beside her, "I'll take them all."
Then they selected two old women, a clever woman, and added a boy and two strong laborers.
Of course, these people were selected from those who had just stepped forward; as for those who had stepped back, the shopkeeper had already sent them back.
At the same time, he looked at them with a disappointed expression, thinking to himself, "What a bunch of shallow-minded people."
To be honest, these two owners are definitely not bad. Although they were bought back to clear land and farm, the shopkeeper always felt that this was just an excuse, a lie, absolutely a lie!
This extravagant purchase of shops and houses doesn't seem like something a farmer would do!
Although the two were dressed plainly and had no servants with them, their demeanor was different from others, and they were clearly wealthy.
Moreover, in such a chaotic and disastrous era, how could an ordinary person survive with so much money?
However, the shopkeeper was wrong about this; Xu Han and Lu Chuan were indeed just ordinary farmers.
After Xu Han made her selection, she turned to the shopkeeper and said, "These are the ones."
There were 21 people in total: two brothers, a large family of 11, plus a woman and a boy. Of course, there were also the six people who were chosen at the end.
Once the shopkeeper saw that Xu Han was confirmed, he immediately said to them, "Hurry up and pay your respects to the new master."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately knelt down in unison. Although Xu Han was very uncomfortable with this, she didn't say anything at the moment, only saying, "Get up, all of you. Work hard from now on, and I will certainly not treat you unfairly."
Logically speaking, Xu Han should be the head of this household. In this dynasty, men did not manage the inner quarters; the inner quarters were usually managed by the matriarch.
So, as soon as these people were confirmed, Xu Han said something indifferent, but to them it sounded different—like the matriarch giving a lecture!
Lu Chuan also listened attentively to Xu Han's speech without interrupting, giving Xu Han plenty of face.
After everyone paid their respects to the host, they waited aside. Xu Han and Lu Chuan, along with the shopkeeper and broker Wei, went inside to discuss the price.
Xu Han spoke first, "The shopkeeper just said he would give me eight servants, does that still stand?"
The shopkeeper nodded quickly, "Of course it counts."
"Let's just get the numbers right. Now let's calculate the extra price together."
"That's right. According to the current market price, a contract of indenture is worth about five to ten taels of silver. Madam just selected a total of 21 people. Subtracting the 8 people just now, there are 13 people left."
"Considering how much you two have patronized my business, I'll charge you five taels of silver for everything. Is that acceptable?"
Lu Chuan spoke up at the right moment, "Shopkeeper, don't forget that there are two children who are three or five years old and a child who is 10 years old here."
Not only that, there are many women here, and quite a few elderly people too. Even if we calculate it at five taels of silver for everyone, that's still inappropriate!
Lu Chuan's tone wasn't very good when he said this; you could even faintly hear some impatience in his voice.
The shopkeeper quickly smiled apologetically, "Haha, isn't there still room for negotiation?"
Xu Han wasn't stupid; she was spending her own family's money, so naturally she would do whatever it took to save money.
As for the eight indentures the shopkeeper mentioned, he didn't specify what kind of people they were, so Xu Han assumed they were all the most valuable young and strong men.
The remaining elderly, weak, women and children are naturally not as expensive as young men, so wouldn't the price be inappropriate?
Xu Han said directly, "How about this, all the houses, shops, and the contracts of these people, a flat price of 7650, is that acceptable? If so, we can go and process the contracts now."
The shopkeeper was a little embarrassed, but then he thought that if he lost such a big customer because of these ten or so taels of silver, wouldn't that be even more of a loss?
Besides, we just gave up several hundred taels of silver, so why would we care about ten or so taels of silver now?
After the shopkeeper understood all this, he nodded to the two of them and said, "Alright then, we'll do as you say, Madam Lu. We hope you'll continue to support our business in the future."
Xu Han smiled and said, "That's for sure. If I need anything in the future, I'll definitely ask the shopkeeper first."
When Wei Yaren saw that the deal was done, his face was beaming with joy. He thought to himself, "Such a big deal, this month's pay will definitely be substantial. The whole family can chip in and buy a shop together. With property prices so low now, it's the perfect time to buy."
"Once things get better, we can quickly earn it back just from collecting rent."
Thinking of this, he laughed even harder. Xu Han watched from the side and couldn't help but feel a chill. That smile was really... indescribable!
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