At the innkeeper's command, the girls were quickly led away. They were not unwilling at all and seemed quite happy to leave. The old people and babies, although they did not want to go down, did not dare to be disrespectful in front of the innkeeper and could only follow along.
The rest of the people stood there anxiously. An Shuyi ignored them and left Xia Hua in charge while she sat to the side drinking tea and waiting.
Xia Hua looked at those people and said, "Our family doesn't have a big place, and we don't need many servants. If you are bought by us, you will have to do a lot of work, and you may not even have time to rest all day. If you don't want to be bought, stand aside. We will not force you."
"Those who want to be bought by us, families, stand on one side; those who are alone, stand on the other side. Hurry up, I'm in a hurry."
Those people glanced at the shopkeeper, then began to move, and the people began to disperse, standing in three groups. Xia Hua walked over, "Your family stand over there, and your family also go over there, you, you... all go over there." Soon, more than thirty people were selected.
"Shopkeeper, we only want these. How much silver do you want? Don't be too outrageous."
She selected ten servants and ten maids from among these people, all around fourteen or fifteen years old. The remaining two households were to be placed in one of Hua Hua's houses and the other in hers. Although she and Hua Hua often lived together, someone would still need to clean the rooms when her sons came to visit.
The shopkeeper looked at the people she had picked out. Was this really not many? When the customer said they weren't buying much, he thought they would only buy a few. He didn't expect them to buy more than thirty. Looking at those standing to the side, looking regretful, he suddenly realized that this method was good. It could pick out those who were more scheming.
"Madam, these maids and servants are all trained and cost twenty taels of silver each. I can't lower the price any further. However, I can give you a discount. For those two households, adult men will cost twenty-five taels each, women eighteen taels each, girls fifteen taels each, and children eight taels each. Is that acceptable?"
"This is already the lowest price. Those two families used to live in wealthy households, but they fell on hard times and were sold here. They weren't sold because they committed a crime. Although those children are a bit young, the lady must have children at home. They can be used as pageboys."
Xia Hua nodded, "Okay, I'll take them all. Calculate how much silver it costs." She didn't know the buyer, and judging from the shopkeeper's appearance, he wouldn't dare cheat her. If he did, she would find another way to get it back. Right now, she was in a hurry and didn't have the energy to argue with him.
"Alright, you're so generous, ma'am. I'll calculate the amount in silver then." The shopkeeper quickly calculated the amount in silver.
Xia Hua saw that his calculation of the silver was correct, so she took the silver notes handed over by Shu Shu and counted them out for the shopkeeper.
"Shopkeeper, please check the banknotes. If there are no problems, I will take the person with me."
The shopkeeper took the silver note, checked it, and handed over a stack of papers from the clerk. "No problem, these are their indentures. Goodbye, ladies. If you need more people in the future, come find me."
Xia Hua took it and nodded, "Okay...keep up."
The two walked in front, and the others followed behind. Worried that there might be some kind of illness, they took the person directly to the clinic, had the doctor examine them, and only after confirming that there were no problems did they return to the mansion, taking them directly to the mansion in the very center.
After they went inside, Xia Hua sat down to one side, and An Shuyi took her place. "This house next door is still ours. We just bought it and haven't finished cleaning it yet. You can clean it up tomorrow. But first, tell us your names, starting with you!"
The man from the household that was called stepped forward and said, “I greet you both. I am Wu Yue, forty-one years old. This is my wife, Wu Tao, thirty-nine years old. These two are my eldest son, Wu Dali, and my second son, Wu Eryou. My two daughters-in-law are Wu Wang and Wu Wei.”
"These are my two grandsons, Da Mao, who is ten years old this year, and Er Mao, who is nine years old this year. My granddaughter, Xiao Ya, is eight years old this year. If you don't like them, please give them names."
An Shuyi nodded, "Let's call them that, and continue from your family." She wasn't interested in naming them; she wanted to get to know them for a while first. If Wu Yue's grandsons were alright, then they could become Xiao Liu's pageboys.
With so many children in the village, if some are good at studying, we'll need to find servants for them later. So why not train some now and save ourselves the trouble of finding servants later?
Upon hearing the order, the other family member also stepped forward and said, "This humble man, He Jin, greets the two ladies. This is my wife, He Zhoushi, my eldest son, He Tie, my daughter-in-law, Kongshi, my daughter, He Mei, and my two grandsons, Da Dan and Er Dan."
After he finished speaking, the ten servants behind him said, "None of us have families. After being sold to the brokerage, we are all called by numbers. We know a few simple words, but not many." After he finished speaking, the maids behind him nodded. They, too, had no names after being sold by their families.
After listening to them, An Shuyi turned to look at Xia Hua. She really didn't know how to name her.
Xia Hua saw her gaze and stepped forward. "My surname is Xia, and hers is An. From now on, you will take Shu Shu's surname. For boys, the surnames are: Mao Lin Xiu Zhu He Qing Hai Yan Peng Cheng. For girls, the surnames are: Mei Lan Zhu Ju Feng Shuang Yu Xue Qin Se."
"The He family will go to the house next door to clean tomorrow. We will buy the necessary items tomorrow, so please make do tonight."
“Starting tomorrow, your daily wage will be forty coins. I will also let you go out to get married and find wives. As for the indenture, I will return it to you in ten years. Wu Yue, take your two sons and go buy some steamed buns. Make do with these for tonight. We'll buy more food for tomorrow.” After saying that, he gave Wu Yue twenty taels of silver.
"You can stay here today. We'll come back tomorrow morning." With that, he led An Shuyi away.
She wasn't afraid they would take this opportunity to run away, because that was exactly what she wanted, and it was also giving these people a chance. If they ran away tonight, then it would be as if she had never bought it. If they didn't run away, then she could use it with peace of mind in the future.
The two found another inn to stay at. In the middle of the night, Xia Hua woke An Shuyi up, "Shushu, get up quickly."
An Shuyi opened her eyes, looking bewildered as she woke up. "Huahua, why are you calling me instead of sleeping?"
Seeing her dazed look, I knew she must have forgotten what she said this morning, "Didn't you want to buy bird's nest? Get up quickly, I'll take you to get the good stuff."
"Really?" An Shuyi's eyes widened instantly, sparkling. "I had completely forgotten about it until you told me. I'll change right now." She was stopped just as she took out her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).
Xia Hua tossed her a set of black sportswear. "Wear this. Those traditional Chinese dresses are too cumbersome and not suitable for running around." She pointed to her own clothes, which she had already changed into before Shu Shu woke up.
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