Chapter 143 Rename
The matchmaker now felt a little regretful that she had spoken too hastily and told the buyer that the woman was sold because she made a mistake. She thought that the young man must be a little bothered by this.
She quickly tried to make amends, "Sir, I don't know exactly why she was sold, but don't worry, we don't want anyone who has committed a serious crime."
The matchmaker turned around and said to the woman viciously, "Hurry up and tell this young master what mistake you made to be sold out by the master's family?"
"My lord, I used to be a cook in the back kitchen. It was the old steward of the family who fell in love with me. Although my husband had died long ago, I was a person with a sense of shame and knew what loyalty meant. I refused to obey him until my death, and this angered the old steward. He falsely accused me of having dirty hands and feet, and the lady of the mansion had me beaten with a stick and even sold me." The woman was so aggrieved that she burst into tears when she talked about this.
Qianhuan was also very angry when she heard about her experience. This damn feudal society without human rights was full of injustices! As long as she was not a slave who betrayed her master, she could accept it.
"Broker, how much is each of these people?"
When the matchmaker saw Qianhuan asking about the price, she knew he must want to buy it, so she quickly started to explain the price.
"Although these five young men are lowly actors, they can sing and please their masters, so they are all worth 10 taels of silver each. This woman is an excellent cook and can do needlework, so she is the most expensive, 15 taels of silver."
Qianhuan originally thought that the most expensive money was needed to buy an actor. After all, she knew that a person who could sing an opera would need to learn for at least three to five years before being able to perform on stage. Even the most talented person would need one or two years.
Unexpectedly, this woman was the most expensive. She thought that it might be because actors in ancient times were like prostitutes, with a very low status, even lower than ordinary slaves, so the price was cheaper.
This is good, as she happens to need to buy a lot of actors, and a cheaper price can save her a lot of money.
Although Qianhuan was very satisfied, she was still picky on the surface and said, "Although this woman can cook, she is a bit old after all. Isn't 15 taels a bit too expensive? If this woman only sells 10 taels of silver per person, I will take all of it."
"Sir, how can you pay so much at once? How about this? You should give me 13 taels of silver for this woman."
"Matchmaker, I want 70 taels of silver for all of them, including that brother and sister. In short, if it's okay, you just bring their indentures here and I'll pay them immediately; if not, I'll have to go to another house to have a look." Qianhuan didn't say any more words to her.
Seeing that she had sold eight people at once, the matchmaker was afraid that Qianhuan, the big buyer, would run away, so she nodded and agreed quickly, "Okay, sir, I'll go get you the indenture right away."
The others who had not been bought were still clinging to the railings, stretching out their hands to pull Qianhuan, and they kept shouting, "Kind sir, please, buy us too..."
Qianhuan quickened her pace and followed the matchmaker out. She was afraid that if she looked at her for one more moment, she would feel sad.
This is an era without human rights. She herself is just a powerless peasant girl. She has limited abilities and cannot help these poor people. It is better for her to turn a blind eye.
And Master Cai followed closely behind her. He used his arms to block the hands reaching out from the iron cage and carefully protected Qianhuan.
Qianhuan paid the matchmaker a total of 70 taels of silver, then took everyone's indentures and went to the county government with the matchmaker to go through the transfer procedures. After the case was filed and the official deed was obtained, she and Mr. Cai took their people away.
These eight people had been locked in iron cages. Their clothes were dirty and torn, and they gave off a sour and smelly odor. Qianhuan found it unbearable.
She thought that she would have to make them all take a bath and change their clothes when she got back. She couldn't make so many sets of clothes at once using the cloth she had, and buying new ready-made clothes was too expensive.
Finally, Qianhuan took them to a clothing store, where she picked out a set of suitable second-hand clothes and old shoes for each of them.
Then she went to buy some coarse cloth and a few bags of cotton. Qianhuan planned to ask the woman who knew needlework to make a new set of clothes for everyone to change into.
Heiya quickly took the initiative to help carry the things she bought. She was really strong and she carried all the clothes, cloth, and cotton by herself with ease. Her brother wanted to help carry some, but she refused him.
Even though Qianhuan bought so many servants back home, fortunately there were many servant rooms in the backyard of Jixiang Restaurant, so they could all accommodate each other.
Moreover, the people from the Ma family did not take away the original quilts in those rooms, so now they can be given to these people to use, and she can also save a lot of money on buying bedding.
Originally, everyone was feeling a little uneasy about being bought, but now that they saw their new masters had left the pawnshop, they immediately bought them clothes and shoes. Even though they were old clothes, they were very satisfied.
Several people felt that the new master seemed to be relatively kind, and everyone couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
When they arrived at the teahouse, Qianhuan first asked Mr. Cai to take them to the backyard, assigned them rooms, and then let them take a shower and change clothes.
Although Heiya was bought to follow her, she did not plan to take her back to the village for the time being, so she also placed her in the teahouse.
After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes and shoes, they all felt lighter both physically and mentally. Qianhuan had their torn clothes thrown away.
Qianhuan looked at the people whose faces and bodies were washed clean, and only then did she see their original appearance clearly.
The five actors had fair skin, delicate flesh and extremely pretty looks. Qianhuan could already imagine that if they were asked to put on costumes and pretend to be women, they would be so beautiful that it would be difficult to tell their gender.
Heiya and his brother indeed have very dark skin, probably because they have been exposed to the wind and sun at the seaside for many years.
At first glance, the facial features of the siblings seem ordinary, not particularly outstanding, nor particularly ugly, but after a few more glances, you will find that the two are actually very attractive, especially Yin Hua, who has a pair of lovely almond eyes. It's just that her dark skin lowers her appearance. If she gets whiter, she should be considered above average in appearance.
The cook was a little thin, but she was energetic and full of spirit. She had her hair neatly combed behind her head, with only a cheap wooden hairpin in her bun. It was simple and elegant, making her look calm and capable.
Qianhuan thought: She is worthy of having worked in a wealthy family. Even though she is just a cook, she is different from other people.
Qianhuan said to everyone, "From now on, I will be your master. As long as you are loyal to me and help me, I will not let you go hungry as long as I have something to eat. But I have to warn you, I hate people who betray me the most. If you have second thoughts, don't blame me for being merciless."
"Yes, master, we will serve you loyally." Everyone immediately knelt down and kowtowed to show their loyalty.
Qianhuan gave them all new names. Because she had given names to so many people today, Qianhuan was too lazy to think of any more names, so she simply used some modern plant or thing names to name them.
Heiya used the name of a plant and named it Silver Birch; her younger brother Dagang used the name of a thing and named it Milky Way.
Qianhuan used the modern name of vegetables to name the 30-year-old cook, and named her okra.
As for the remaining five actors, Qianhuan liked the opera master Mr. Mei Lanfang very much, so she gave them the surname Mei and named them after rivers, lakes, seas and streams: Meilanjiang, Meilanhe, Meilanhu, Meilanhai and Meilanxi.
The eight people were very satisfied with their new names.