246, Chapter 246

Qin Linyang, a child, ran over and said, "Mom?"

The Wei brothers also looked here: "Aunt?"

Yang Haiyan said: "Xiao Lei, Xiao Yun, you play, and I talk to my little brother."

Wei Zhanlei said crisply: "Okay."

Yang Haiyan likes to buy people who have official status, which is safer and the origin of the child is relatively clear. Even if there is a problem with the child's background in the future, there will still be official teeth to support it. Speaking of which, it is a matter of the court and has nothing to do with her.

Yapo came in with ten young boys. Although the clothes of the young boys were full of patches, they were clean. The official teeth of the capital city are naturally more sophisticated than the official teeth of the county town, because if the slaves want to buy the mansion of a noble family, they must keep it clean, otherwise the noble family will look down on them. How can the official teeth make money? All the official money must be given to the court.

Ya Po saluted Yang Haiyan with a smile on her face: "Meet Madam ‌, meet ‌ Young Master." Naturally, she also saw the little boy beside Yang Haiyan.

Yang Haiyan nodded: "You don't have to be polite, Granny Ya. Please tell me the origins of these young people."

Ya Po: "Yes. There are ten boys here. Boy No. 1 is twelve years old this year. His previous owner was a government official. His family committed crimes and was exiled. The servants who were not involved in crimes have all redeemed themselves. Those who can’t redeem them will sell them again.”

Speaking of which, Qi Guo's law is quite humane. Of course, on top of this law, there is another one, that is, if the master commits a crime, and among the servants, if the male servant reaches the age of service, he will be sent to the army. In this way, he will complete his military service. , He didn’t even need the money to redeem himself, and he became a good citizen. ‌Yes, service is also hard, and you have to fight for your life. Among the maids, those with hairpins like the original body, who are over fifteen years old, will be assigned to the army by the court. However, if they are not with hairpins, they cannot be redeemed, and they will be sent to the army again. Sold.

To put it bluntly, if you sell well to the imperial court, your reputation belongs to the imperial court, and the money you earn also belongs to the imperial court. But for ordinary people, isn’t it a way out?

Therefore, the first emperor of Qi State was still kind and wise. Otherwise, how could there be such a law? Maybe the emperor who came out of the war was different.

Ya Po continued: "This boy was born in the previous master's family. He followed the young master of the official family, so he also learned a few words."

The No. 1 boy saluted Yang Haiyan: "Hello, Madam, meet Madam ‌, meet ‌ Young Master." ‌ The servant who came out of the official family ‌ was not ‌, he just heard Ya Po saluting Yang Haiyan. When he called her "Madam", he knew that this lady had a distinguished status, because in Qi State, only those of second rank and above were called "Madam".

Yang Haiyan nodded. In fact, when she saw these boys, she knew that her family was giving birth to a baby. Otherwise, how could a normal person be willing to sell their baby? And it’s a death contract? The boys she asked Yapo to find were all boys with a death contract. "Besides recognizing words, what else can you do?"

Boy No. 1 thought for a while: "My slave has faster feet. Is this... is this an advantage?"

Yang Haiyan was a little curious: "The foot speed is faster? This is the first time I heard that running is faster?"

Boy No. 1 said: "Yes, this slave is born to be a fast runner, so he was chosen to be by the young master's side, specifically to run errands for the young master."

Yang Haiyan nodded: "Okay, Ya Po, you can continue to introduce the other boys."

Boy No. 1 was a little nervous when he heard this, and the expression on his face showed it. He didn't know what this person meant. Did you choose him? He stood, holding his clothes on his sides. No, his standing posture is better than other boys. After all, he comes from an official family and learns the rules. In fact, Yang Haiyan likes people who learn the rules. They know more than ordinary people.

Ya Po continued: "Madam, this is boy No. 2. He is also ten years old this year and he is also literate. In fact, this boy is all literate." Because when the owner came to buy the boy, he said that he must be literate. Yes, the official teeth in the capital are the largest in the country, so it is not difficult to pick out the small characters that can be read. No, literate boys usually have some background, "The former boss of this No. 2 boy was a merchant, and this guy worked in a shop. The boss suffered a loss and made a lot of money, so in order to To pay back the money, not only did I sell my property, but also some of my servants, and this guy was one of them.”

The second boy also saluted Yang Haiyan: "Hello, madam, hello, young master." His smile was a bit flattering, and when he bent down, he was a bit humble and shrewd. Because he comes from a shop, this kind of flattering is a habitual way of flattering customers. No, this kind of flattery is not annoying, and it can also be interpreted as the waiter's extra enthusiasm for customers.

Yang Haiyan said: "What about you, what are your advantages?"

Boy No. 2 smiled and said, "You know how to calculate accounts." He learned how to calculate accounts and read from the shopkeeper in the shop, secretly, because this is the shopkeeper's ability to make a living, and he doesn't want to talk to others. But he also wanted to learn more, so he learned it secretly. On weekdays, when the shopkeeper was settling the accounts, he would watch on the side. Although the shopkeeper would not take the initiative to contact him, he did not shy away from him. He also knew that he was secretly learning, so he did not care about it. After all, the waiter in the shop was motivated and still Not bad.

Yang Haiyan nodded: "Okay, you wait aside, Ya Po, continue the introduction."

The matchmaker continued to introduce: "This boy is twelve years old this year. He is a young master of an official family. His family committed a crime. Those who committed crimes were exiled, and young masters and young ladies like him were all sold."

The boy said: "Meet your Madam, meet your young master."

He was very polite and standardized. There was no expression on his face, and there was a stubbornness in his eyes, but there was no dissatisfaction or hatred. Although he was born as a young master of an official family, the women in his family could not be called Madam, and the imperial edict was not as high as the Madam in front of him, so he should salute her. His family used to be a small official, but it was also an official family, so some rules of respect and inferiority were engraved in their bones. They were very discerning and would not show off to people of noble status.

Yang Haiyan was a little surprised. She looked at the boy in front of her and asked thoughtfully: "From master to servant, do you feel resentment in your heart?"

The boy was stunned. He didn't expect the lady to ask this question. He said frankly: "No resentment."

Now Yang Haiyan was curious: "Why don't you feel resentment? When you were a young master, you enjoyed wealth and honor. Now you have become a servant. Don't you feel inferior and embarrassed? When you compare like this, don't you feel angry and unfair?"

The boy didn't know why the lady asked this, but he also had his own thoughts: "I don't feel unfair. If it's unfair, there are many people who have suffered more than me. Moreover, I have enjoyed the wealthy life brought by my father for more than ten years. Now that he has done something wrong, it is reasonable for me to bear the punishment he brought." So, he didn't blame his family.

This was the first time Yang Haiyan had seen such a clear-sighted person. Not to mention a twelve-year-old child, even if he was older, he might not think so quickly. But what the child said was very reasonable. Some things are cause and effect. If you are involved in the cause, you must bear the result. Don't say anything about whether you are willing or not, it's just an excuse.

Yang Haiyan smiled: "Go on, matchmaker."

The matchmaker continued to introduce: "This boy number four is ten years old this year. He is also from the family of a criminal. The criminal was demoted to a civilian for committing a crime, and his property was confiscated, so most of the servants in the family were sold. A ten-year-old boy like this who can't do hard work will naturally not be kept."

There is one advantage of being a matchmaker, the origins of the servants are recorded clearly. Of course, Yang Haiyan doesn't know whether these origins are 100% correct, but at least there is no problem on the surface. If there is a problem, it is none of his business.

"And this boy number five, six, and seven, like boy number four, are from the same family of a criminal official. They are all of similar age, and they all served the young master of that family before."

Yang Haiyan heard this and said, "Four of them are from the same family. Is that family from the capital? An official from the capital committed such a crime?"

The matchmaker said, "The criminal official is not from the capital, but from a county under the jurisdiction of the capital, next door. The criminal official is the county magistrate there, and he committed the crime of embezzlement." Although it was a crime of embezzlement, because it was only embezzlement and did not harm others, the family property was confiscated and the official's life was not taken.

These things on the surface can be known once you ask. In fact, many servants from the families of criminal officials were taken to other places to be sold, because if they were sold in the same city, some families would not want to buy them.

But the law recognizes this deal, even if they buy the servants of the guilty officials, no one will say anything, some people just don't want to buy it.

Yang Haiyan asked: "Do you four have any other advantages besides literacy? Or any skills will do."

The four people shook their heads, they thought they were just the young master's personal assistants, playing with him, so where did they get other skills?

Seeing this, the matchmaker said, "Next is boy number eight. He is nine years old this year. There was a famine in his hometown. His parents died. He was sold on the way to escape with his brother and sister-in-law."

Yang Haiyan said, "Isn't this kind of pawning and selling of relatives prohibited by national laws?"

Boy number eight took the initiative to say, "Madam, I did it voluntarily. My parents passed away and I am still young. My brother and sister-in-law can't even support my own children. I have to support them anyway, so I voluntarily sold myself. Because the death contract has a lot of silver, I bought the death contract."

Yang Haiyan was surprised. He could even sell himself? Some of his experiences are similar to those of Uncle Hong. It seems that this child also has some courage and boldness. "You sold yourself into a death indenture, and turned from a good citizen into a slave. You may be a slave for the rest of your life. Are you willing?"

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