Farmer's wife: My husband came back and the house was in chaos

Chapter 81: Recruiting? Buying people from the slave market

Yao Qingnian brought Liu Shuyue, Lu Mingchuan and others to the shop in the city. She had already cleaned up the backyard and bought new furniture in the house, making it no different from a residence.

"Wow! This yard is so big, and there is also this shop. Did you really buy it?!"

Liu Shuyue walked into the newly renovated shop and was amazed. Yuanniang was sorting out things for the opening of the shop. When she saw them come in, she hurried over to greet them: "Miss, is this the master and the old lady?"

"What, Master and Madam?!"

What should this girl in front of her, who was about the same age as Yao Qingnian, call them? She looked at Yao Qingnian in confusion.

Yao Qingnian chuckled: "Mom, this is Yuan Niang, the one I asked to help me with things. Her son is about the same age as Yinuo."

Although her indenture was given to him, Yao Qingnian did not treat Yuanniang as a slave.

"Hey, girl, we are both from the countryside, you don't have to be so polite, just call me Aunt Liu!"

Liu Shuyue said flattered.

"this……?"

Yuanniang regarded Yao Qingnian as her own master from the bottom of her heart. Aren’t the master’s parents the master and the mistress?

"Just listen to my mom! We don't have so many rules here, just be casual."

"Yes, miss!"

Yuanniang took Liu Shuyue and the others to settle down. Yinuo had never been to the city before, and was like a curious baby, looking around but always well-behaved. After meeting An'er, they were both about the same age, so they quickly became friends.

An'er has recovered well after the surgery and looks much better, but he is still very thin, unlike Yinuo, who has been following Yao Qingnian these days, eating everything from eggs, milk, meat, and he is a completely different person from when I first met him.

Before opening, Yao Qingnian still had one thing to do, which was to recruit two people. She, Liu Shuyue and Yuanniang might not be enough. She thought that one person was needed to prepare the braised food, two people were needed to pack the milk tea, and someone was needed to take orders at the door, etc. There was obviously not enough manpower.

So she posted a recruitment notice at the door of the shop, requiring young and middle-aged men between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five, regardless of gender, to be hired for two people, with a monthly salary of one or two taels of silver. They must be able to endure hardships and obey orders, and be given four days off a month in accordance with the modern adjusted day-off system.

As soon as her recruitment notice was posted, many people gathered to watch: "What? One tael of silver per month, plus days off? Girl, are you serious?"

Yao Qingnian simply moved a stool and sat in front of the shop to conduct on-site recruitment.

"Do you think I can do it?" An old man stepped forward first.

"Uncle, you're already this old, come on! It says on it, fifteen to thirty-five years old!"

A young man pushed the old man aside and walked forward with a smile.

"What's wrong with being old? Who wouldn't want to come for a monthly salary of one tael of silver?"

The old man was not willing to be outdone and squeezed forward again.

"You should go home and hug your grandchildren instead of hanging out with us young people!"

The onlookers burst into laughter. The old man was embarrassed and walked away dejected.

"I come!"

"Can I do it?"

More and more people came to apply for the job at the shop. Yao Qingnian asked everyone to line up and come one by one, but he failed to recruit anyone who met his requirements.

After much hesitation, she decided to go to the slave market to see if there were any suitable people to buy two. Recruiting people would always be unstable and could easily cause trouble. It would be different if she bought them. She could train them to help her manage the shop in the future and be a hands-off boss, which would be relaxing.

In the ancient slave society, slaves had a very low status and had almost no personal rights. They could be bought, sold, auctioned, or even disposed of at will. The various "selection" methods in the slave market were also full of cruelty and inhumanity.

We arrived at the slave market in Anding County, where there were all kinds of slaves. They were picked and chosen at will like commodities, and everyone's face was filled with fear and despair for life.

In the middle of the slave market, human traffickers were auctioning off newly arrived slaves. Some were handcuffed and kneeling on the ground, and some were locked in cages like dogs. The traffickers were using whips to teach those who were disobedient a lesson.

"Come, come, come, ladies and gentlemen, take a look! This slave is as strong as an ox. He can do the work of three people. If you tell him to go east, he will never go west. He is more obedient than a dog at home!"

"real or fake!"

The onlookers shouted.

The traffickers pushed the slave to the ground, placed a huge stone on his body, and performed a stone-breaking performance on him. They then asked him to bark like a dog, and the slave obediently barked "Woof woof woof" and wagged his tail like a dog to beg for mercy.

"Come on! Make your bid!"

People in the crowd began to bid, and finally, the slave was sold for twenty taels of silver.

"The next one is not ordinary. It is brought from the capital. The base price is one tael of silver. Hehe, those who want to watch the fun have to give five cents!"

A woman was brought up in tattered clothes, her face full of resistance and unwillingness.

"Although she has an extremely aggressive personality, she is pretty. Take a look at her. Come on, the highest bidder wins!"

The trafficker pinched the girl's chin, but the girl bit the man's arm hard, leaving a deep bloody mark. The trafficker was furious and started punching and kicking the girl.

"Oh! You can't have this."

They originally wanted to buy her home as a concubine, but they couldn't control her temper, so they shook their heads!

The trafficker cursed: "You little whore, you dare to bite me! I will beat you to death! Sell you to a brothel!"

"Stop! I bought this slave!"

Yao Qingnian said aloud.

"Girl, you should look at other options! This little bitch is stubborn and hard to tame. I won't sell her! She's a dead person now!"

The human trafficker stepped on the woman's head, as if he wanted to crush her to death.

"Will this be enough to buy the body?"

Yao Qingnian threw the silver onto the stage and looked at the trafficker with cold eyes. The man picked up the silver on the ground, weighed it in his hand for a few times, and then loosened his foot that was stepping on the woman's head.

"Hey, hey! If you want me, just take me away! I'll let you know in advance! Don't blame me if you can't discipline me after you buy me back!"

The trafficker took the money and gave the woman's indenture to Yao Qingnian, and continued to auction off other slaves, but everyone no longer had the desire to watch: "Let's go, come back another day! What kind of stuff are these today?"

Yao Qingnian casually threw the indenture into the space and walked to the side of the woman who was beaten half to death: "Can you still walk? If you can, get up and follow me!"

"Yes!" The woman gritted her teeth, endured the pain in her body, and crawled up from the ground. Her determined look made Yao Qingnian cast a glance of admiration at her.

She wandered around the slave market, continuing to look for her desired target.