The guest looked at the child in Cai Tou's hands and said, "Don't carry him like that, let him down."
Cai Tou subtly stepped on the child's foot, signaling him to be smart and say nice things, but the child remained indifferent and knelt directly on the ground after being put down, not lifting his head.
Cai Tou could only forcibly explain, "He's been raised in the countryside his whole life, hasn't seen much of the world, so he's scared. But there's a benefit to that, he's honest and won't run away no matter how much you scold or beat him, just give him a full al and he's fine."
The guest ignored Cai Tou's sales pitch and scrutinized the child carefully, asking, "Does he have a na?"
"Yes, yes!" Cai Tou replied hurriedly, opening his mouth to call out the child's na but suddenly realizing he didn't actually know it, he quickly pushed the child hard, "The gentleman is asking what your na is, hurry and say it!"
The child said woodenly, "Xia Sheng."
"Right, that's his na," Cai Tou grinned with a chuckle, "I rember this kid, his family was wiped out by disaster, originally I didn't want to take him in. But his mom knelt on the ground and kowtowed to , not asking for money or food, just begging to take him in and give him a bite to eat, and that's when I softened and took him in."
"Definitely a well-born child!"
The guest was a little hesitant, seed a bit moved, thought for a while and shook his head, "He's too old."
Cai Tou was dumbfounded, blurting out, "Nine years old is still old, sir? I'm not falsely reporting his age like so unscrupulous ones who report seven or eight years old as eleven or twelve."
Upon Cai Tou's words, the other traffickers imdiately glared at him fiercely.
The guest didn't explain, just shook his head, "Nine is too old."
With that, he was about to leave, and Cai Tou beca anxious, reaching out to try to catch up but didn't dare, furiously about to kick Xia Sheng twice on the spot. Just as the first kick was about to land, Xia Sheng suddenly raised his head and spoke, "Sir, I was born before the New Year. According to the custom at our place, if you're born before the New Year, you add a year, and for the false age, you add another year. I say I'm nine, but if you count completely, I'm only seven."
Xia Sheng's words stopped the guest, who turned back and looked at him, asking, "Have you studied?"
"There's an old student in the village, my mom once gave him a piece of cured at and asked him to teach a few characters. I know a few, learned a bit about accounts."
Cai Tou was anxious: "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Cai Tou's face was full of regret saying he should have ntioned this skill earlier; he would have sold him by now.
The guest nodded in satisfaction and asked Cai Tou, "You just said he sells for four and a half taels of silver."
Cai Tou was a bit reluctant, "Sir, that was earlier, now..."
"He was previously sold to for only three string of coins, other custors thought three strings were expensive, I'm not even worth four and a half taels of silver," Xia Sheng spoke again.
"You talk too much, little brat!" Cai Tou was furious and was about to kick him when the guest stopped him.
"I'll take him for four and a half taels. It's too late now, I'll take him back first, and tomorrow at the ti of the dragon, wait for at the inner city's gate to sign the contract." With that, the guest handed the money to Cai Tou.
Cai Tou, upon receiving the money, imdiately smiled brightly and repeatedly said, "Alright, alright, thank you, sir. Tomorrow, I'll definitely be waiting for you at the city gate first thing in the morning!"
The guest said no more, gesturing with his eyes for Xia Sheng to follow him. Qin Huai, curious about such a generous custor, quietly followed to listen in more.
"My na is Chen Qiusheng, not so official, nor a businessman, just an ordinary cook. You won't live a life of riches with ."
"The reason I bought you is simple; my wife passed away early. There's just a sickly only child and an old servant at ho. Recently, a friend reminded I should perhaps buy a student attendant for my son to study with. I need a child from a good background, who knows etiquette, is smart, and preferably knows a few characters, and the age must be younger than my son."
"Understand?"
"I understand, sir. I will certainly serve the young master well in the future," Xia Sheng replied.
"In a mont, I'll buy you a new set of clothes. Go to the bathhouse, clean yourself, and shave your hair. I'll also buy you so dicine to apply. My son's temperant is good, even a bit timid. If I find you secretly bullying him, don't bla for not showing rcy and sending you to the governnt, or rather, the police bureau now."
"I understand, sir."
Seeing Xia Sheng maintaining his respectful posture, head down while speaking, Chen Qiusheng sighed and asked, "Are all the things that broker said about you true?"
Xia Sheng was stunned, paused, and nodded, "Yes, it's true."
"We've had a drought for three years at ho, the family's fields were sold, and to save on food, my grandparents hanged themselves, my sister sold herself, my mom also wanted to sell herself but the brokers wouldn't take her because of her age."
"At first, the brokers didn't want to take either, thinking I was too young to survive. But my mom knelt on the ground and kowtowed to them, nurous tis, with blood all over the place. In the end, my dad gave the last half-bag of sweet potatoes at ho to the broker, begging him to take away, to a new place, and sell to a good family, at least let have a full al."
Chen Qiusheng stopped, looking deeply at Xia Sheng, "I don't know if what you told is true or if you're saying this to prove you're of good birth and character, eting the requirents I have for a student attendant, but at least it proves you're a smart child."
"And also."
"The one behind us, who has been following all along. Whether it's scouting or robbing, it's ti to show yourself now, right?"
These words from Chen Qiusheng startled Qin Huai. His first reaction was, "Damn it, how did he know I was following?" But then he realized it wasn't about him.
Then a muddy figure erged.
Qin Huai: ???
Qin Huai suddenly realized that, having followed all along and not hitting an air wall, it ant Zhao Cheng'an had also been following Chen Qiusheng and Xia Sheng.
The muddy figure, covered in mud and straw which made it impossible to tell if he was clothed, chuckled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and in a clear voice asked loudly, "Master, I'm not robbing or scouting, I followed you all the way just to ask if your ho is still hiring?"
Chen Qiusheng: ?
Xia Sheng: ??
Qin Huai: ???
Zhao Cheng'an continued, "I've been squatting outside the city for two months, seeing a variety of buyers. From those picking girls in the alley, big families picking maidservants, buying wives, and wealthy ones buying sons, to so who won't say what they're buying people for, just exchanging glances but they all seem to understand."
"There are generous ones, stingy ones too, but you're the only one who stopped soone from kicking a child."
"I can't read, don't know if I'm considered a well-born child, the city's hiring people chase out, but I want to find work."
"I think yours is pretty good, are you still hiring?"
Qin Huai: …
Wow, what kind of Boss Direct is this?
Squatting on the human trafficking market for bosses, Zhao Cheng'an you're really sothing, you Mayflies indeed have unique mindsets.
Chen Qiusheng, too, was left speechless by Zhao Cheng'an's talk and went silent.
Seeing the future boss silent, Zhao Cheng'an thought his job application declaration wasn't forceful enough, so he added, "Oh right, I also have a skill; I'm great at stealing!"
"You can ask him, all the things lost around there recently were stolen by !"
The three of them: ...
Faced with Zhao Cheng'an's sincere eyes, Chen Qiusheng continued in silence.
At tis like this, a sensible person would quietly leave. But Zhao Cheng'an wasn't a typical person, nor was he sensible, so he just stood there, waiting for Chen Qiusheng to respond, seeing that Chen Qiusheng had no intention to hit him.
"I'm a cook at Taifeng Building," Chen Qiusheng directly stated his background, "My family doesn't lack people, but Taifeng Building is about to recruit a batch of apprentice workers. There's no pay, no accommodation, just food."
"I can help introduce you. If you get the job, my house has an empty woodshed you can rent for free."
After speaking, Chen Qiusheng looked at the mud-covered Zhao Cheng'an and sighed, "You co along too, and bathe with Xia Sheng."
"Looking like this in the city will get you hired by no one."
Zhao Cheng'an happily grinned, showing his big white teeth, and eagerly followed.
As he caught up, he leaned quietly next to Xia Sheng, whispering, "Brother, you have a keen eye, picking this reliable buyer."
"I still have two black bread from your previous owner that I haven't finished. Want to give you one and in return say a good word for to your current owner to buy too?"
Xia Sheng: ...
Xia Sheng silently moved two steps aside.
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