Chapter 686 - 354: Buying Servants (2)

Chapter 686: Chapter 354: Buying Servants (2)

Yun Ying was overjoyed. She smiled and said, "Just some grain, fish, and meat. I shouldn’t have asked for the fish and meat, but Heipi’s mother is in her postpartum confinement and recovering from an injury. She has to eat well, so these things are essential."

Juhua nodded. "Wait for Huai Zi to come back, and I’ll have him pack some for you. We’ll catch a couple of chickens and net some fish, too. He’s busy at Jing Lake right now. It’s almost dry."

Yun Ying’s eyes lit up. She wanted to say she would go take a look, but then she remembered she had other things to do and gave up the idea.

Juhua knew what she was thinking and smiled. "Don’t worry, our fishpond is also drying up. We’ve dried a lot of small fish. You can take some with you later. I know you like them, so I prepared a share for you, along with plenty of dried loaches."

Yun Ying chuckled and thanked her. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "Juhua, now that your family’s Zhang Yang has become a Scholar, have a lot of people been offering you land?"

Juhua nodded. "Yes. But that kind of favor isn’t easy to accept, so we haven’t taken all of it. You know our family isn’t overly ambitious. We prefer to live a simple life."

Yun Ying turned to look at the dark-skinned youth sitting in the courtyard, looking around, and sighed. "I know. It’s just that the Liu Family is about to sell their land. If my senior brother and I hadn’t been there these past few days, they would have sold their few meager acres long ago. They might even be selling their children by now—after you sell the land, what’s left to sell but your children? I was thinking, your family’s estate is much larger than before. I’m afraid Uncle Zhang and Huai Zi can’t manage it all on their own. Sooner or later, you’ll have to be like the Li Family and find a steward and buy servants. Instead of buying strangers from a broker, it’s better to find someone familiar from nearby. You can have more peace of mind that way."

Juhua was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "We haven’t reached that point yet. Is the Liu Family really so desperate that you, a doctor, have to act as a ’baby broker’ and find work for them?"

Yun Ying frowned. "They just finished the rice harvest, but after paying their taxes, they have no grain left. They eat corn all day, and there’s not much of that left either. Those government officers are terrible, finding all sorts of ways to exploit them, coming to their door to seize chickens and pigs. Liu Heizi can still find work at the market, but his wife needs to stay home to care for the elderly and the children now that she’s recovered. Heipi and his sister, Heiya, are eleven and nine. What can they do out there? It would be better for you to keep them by your side to help out. Otherwise, if this goes on, their parents will be forced to sell them sooner or later."

Seeing Juhua remain silent, Yun Ying added, "Their whole family is honest and decent; otherwise, I wouldn’t be meddling like this. If you take them in, they’ll have a way to survive, and your family will have more help in the future. You’ll also need to take care of your baby after giving birth, and there will be a lot to do around the house. It’s the perfect opportunity to train Heipi and his sister."

Juhua nodded. "It’s not impossible. But, Yun Ying, even though they were poor before, at least everyone was free. If they pledge their service to us, they’ll have to sign a servitude contract. You understand the complications involved without me having to spell them out. Otherwise, I’d rather just help them with a few taels of silver and consider it a good deed, which is better than inviting trouble later on."

Yun Ying shot her a sideways glance and smiled. "Do you even need to say that? I’ve seen a lot more of the world than you have. Those stories of wicked servants bullying their masters don’t just happen overnight. It’s usually after they’ve been with a family for a long time, see that their masters are kind and easy to bully, and find an opportunity. That’s when their ambition grows. That’s why I already mentioned this to Uncle Liu Heizi. He said selling to someone is still selling, so it would be better to sell to your family—he also sees that your family is honest and kind. He actually sees this as a good thing and asked my senior brother and me to help mediate. Even if you weren’t going to have them sign, I was going to persuade you to do it—I was afraid you didn’t know any better and would suffer a loss. Who knew you were such an expert? Hmph. You really don’t seem like a farmer."

Juhua ignored her muttering and said with a small smile, "Signing a servitude contract doesn’t mean it’s a dead end. Ten years from now, if their family wants to leave, they just have to tell us, and we can return the contract to them. This piece of paper is just to ensure they know their place while they’re with our family."

Yun Ying smiled. "That’s between you and them. But from what I can see, I doubt they’ll want to leave. If Zhang Yang becomes an official, being attached to your family will only benefit them. It’s not easy to get a job in a wealthy, influential household in the city, you know."

While they were talking, Zhang Huai returned. He found it strange to see an unfamiliar youth sitting in the courtyard. He strode into the house, and upon seeing Yun Ying, he greeted her.

Juhua quickly asked, "Is the lake dry?"

Huai Zi said, "Almost. We can start catching fish tomorrow. Whose kid is that sitting outside?"

Juhua then told him what they had just discussed, including the matter of Liu Heizi’s family wanting to pledge their service to the Zhang family.

Huai Zi thought for a moment, tapping the table as he nodded. "That’s good. I was just thinking about buying a maid to help you. Your brother also said we should buy some people. The household chores are piling up. We can’t go on like this. It’s better to add a few more hands."

Yun Ying shot Juhua a smile, as if proud of her own foresight.

So, Huai Zi packed some grain, caught two old chickens, and went to the fishpond to scoop up a few carp, keeping them alive in a bucket. Juhua found a bag of red dates, wrapped up the leftover pig trotters and tripe from the pig butchered for the celebratory feast a few days ago, and added some dried fish and vegetables. They planned to take it all to the Liu Family’s house after dinner.

Yun Ying felt quite embarrassed—this was, after all, what she had asked Juhua for. She quickly said, "You’re so busy. You should just let Uncle Liu come and carry it himself. He has to make a trip over here anyway. Heipi and I can take the fish and chickens over first."

Huai Zi nodded in agreement. He was indeed very busy.

By the time Zhang Dashuan returned, He had already prepared dinner. She called Yun Ying and young Heipi to the table to eat.