Read Novel Full Chapter 318: Buying Servants ( 2 )
Chapter 318: Buying Servants ( 2 )
While Yao Zhi’s clothes were clean and neat, their quality was average. Thinking that she didn’t have much money, the clerk was not as enthusiastic as when she visited using Lei Feng’s identity.
Yao Zhi was not offended by his dismissive behavior. In the modern era, people often judged others based on their appearance, so she was used to it.
Standing in front of the counter, she said, "Sir, I’m looking for servants who are good at farming or raising livestock. Do you have any available?"
Hearing this, the clerk finally looked at her more attentively.
Normally, people came to buy slaves who were good at serving others to be used as household servants. This was the first time he had heard someone looking for people skilled in farming.
Although he had his doubts, the clerk still replied, "Please wait a moment, I need to check the records first."
Yao Zhi nodded and smiled. "Okay."
The clerk opened the booklets placed in the lowest drawer. These booklets were used to record the list of lowest-grade slaves.
He flipped through the pages for a while before saying, "There are several slaves who know how to farm, but they have a requirement, and the price they ask is not low."
Except for state slaves, most slaves were children sold by their parents during hard times or people who sold themselves in hopes of having a place to stay and food to eat. This was a common practice during famine or wartime.
Although they were cheaper, they could set requirements for their future master. After all, as long as they were not bought, they were still free citizens, unless they were children sold directly to brokers by their families.
Yao Zhi nodded and asked, "Can I meet them first?"
The clerk was surprised by how easygoing she was, and his impression of her changed. He nodded and gestured for her to follow him. "Lady, this way, please."
Unlike before, she was not led to a back room but into a yard instead. She and Xi Yi waited in a small pavilion while the clerk went to fetch the people.
Not long after, the clerk returned with a large group.
Since she didn’t set an age requirement, the people brought over ranged from children as young as 8 years old to elderly individuals as old as 60. All of them were thin and had yellowish skin, a sign of malnutrition.
"Miss, these are the people who know how to farm and raise livestock," the clerk said with a smile.
Yao Zhi nodded and glanced at Xi Yi. Receiving her Master’s signal, Xi Yi went over to take a closer look at them.
After a while, she returned and whispered something to her Master. Yao Zhi nodded and pointed at the selected people. "I only want them."
As soon as she said this, two people chosen by her knelt and kowtowed to her.
"Lady, please save my children and wife," one of them begged.
"Lady, I refuse to serve you unless you also buy my sister," another said.
Hearing this, the clerk’s face darkened, but he still forced a smile. Turning to her, he pointed at several people and said, "Lady, these people are one family."
Raising her eyebrows, Yao Zhi asked, "Is this the requirement you mentioned earlier?"
The clerk nodded and explained, "These people sold themselves because they couldn’t survive the famine."
"Before, there were buyers who wanted them, but they insisted on staying with their families. It has been months, but no one was willing to accept them together."
Yao Zhi looked at their family members and understood why no one wanted them. They looked sickly and weak. Even if someone bought them, they wouldn’t be able to do heavy work, and additional money would be needed to hire a physician.
While others might hesitate, she had no such concerns. As long as they drank water mixed with her spiritual spring water, they would recover over time.
Seeing her fall silent, the clerk thought she was unwilling to buy them and grew anxious. After a moment of thought, he said, "Lady, I can lower the price if you are willing to take them."
Rather than keeping them and spending money on food, it was better to sell them at a lower price.
Yao Zhi was interested but kept her expression neutral. She sighed and said, "Sir, look at them. They are so thin and weak. Even if I buy them, they won’t be able to do much work. I might even need to hire a physician if they get sick."
Hearing this, the clerk quickly said, "Lady, how about this? You only need to pay half if you take them."
Yao Zhi shook her head. "That won’t do." She pointed at the list and added, "Even at half price, they still cost me 3 taels of silver each."
Fearing she would refuse, the clerk hurriedly said, "2 taels of silver. As long as you take them all, it’s 2 taels each."
Yao Zhi was delighted but pretended to hesitate. After a long pause, she sighed and said, "Alright then. I will take them all."
As soon as she said this, the slaves kowtowed repeatedly. "Thank you, Master."
Even though she felt uncomfortable with so many people kowtowing to her, Yao Zhi held back and said, "Sir, give me the total price."
The clerk’s abacus clicked rapidly as he calculated. After a moment, he said, "Lady, there are a total of 21 strong men, each costing 6 taels of silver, totaling 126 taels."
"There are also 12 women and children, each costing 2 taels, totaling 24 taels. The total comes to 150 taels of silver."
Yao Zhi nodded and took out a pouch from her sleeve. She handed over 15 pieces of 10-tael ingots and took their slave deeds. After completing the transaction, she stood up and glanced at her newly bought slaves. "Let’s go."
"Yes, Master," her newly bought servants replied as they followed her.