A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 8 The Great Philanthropist Li (Please add to your favorites and recommend)
Li Weizhou was unaware of what had happened at the Li family's old house, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

He is satisfied with his current life. Although he is not rich or powerful, he lives a peaceful and unhurried life.

Although his current savings are not enough to buy a decent two-bedroom apartment in Shenzhen.

But so what?
If I can't afford it in Shenzhen, I'll go back to my hometown in the southwest to buy it.

Although it is not as prosperous as Shenzhen, it is my hometown.

Moreover, Li Weizhou doesn't feel anxious at all right now, because he knows that these are all trivial matters, and with his efforts, they are all inevitable...

When you have confidence in your heart, you will be composed.

Early this morning, the composed Master Li, accompanied by brokers, rode in a carriage to the labor market to select staff for his soon-to-open restaurant.

The slave trader was introduced by someone from Zuixianglou, but frankly speaking, few restaurants would buy servants to work as waiters.

Because if you hire workers from outside, you only need to pay them wages.

However, if you buy slaves to serve as employees, you not only have to pay a "huge" amount of money to buy the slaves, as well as a monthly salary, but you also have to provide food and lodging, and even take care of their birth, old age, sickness, death, marriage, funerals, and so on.

The cost has increased several times over.

The only advantage is that it can control the life and death of its servants, thus ensuring relative loyalty.

Although the laws of most dynasties prohibited masters from arbitrarily abusing or killing servants, there was a great deal of room for maneuver in this regard.

If someone were to report a sudden death from an acute illness, the government wouldn't be so foolish as to seek justice for a slave.

A murder case is a major event that can affect promotions and performance evaluations...

Therefore, it is not uncommon for the master to kill several servants in a fit of rage.

Of course, such families usually have a bad reputation outside...

As a model youth born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze, Li Weizhou would certainly not do such a thing; he only considered himself to be doing a good deed.

It's not like they've never been slaves before; it's time they experienced what it's like to be a master...

He arrived in a horse-drawn carriage with human traffickers at a market at the southernmost tip of Qingzhou County.

The place is not large or complicated, with only a few rows of rough thatched houses, but the people who come and go are usually well-dressed.

At the entrance to the market, Li Weizhou asked to get off the bus; he wanted to observe the darker side of the world…

It was indeed a dark side; the area around the thatched hut was very dirty, and the smell of excrement was impossible to conceal.

Behind the high fence stood rows of living people, but they stood there lifeless, like pigs and sheep waiting to be chosen.

For Li Weizhou, it was somewhat shocking.

He had thought he might encounter a fallen phoenix, someone he could recognize and discover, but the cold reality told him he was really overthinking it.

It's not that they're ugly, it's just that none of them are even remotely pleasing to the eye...

Li Weizhou didn't hide his question: "Where did all these people come from?"

The slave trader was a clever man. He smiled and said, "Young master, you must have felt compassion. You are truly kind-hearted. But rest assured, everyone in the slave market has been registered with the government. They were registered once at the place where they sold themselves into slavery, and when the broker sold them, they were registered again with the local government, leaving their slave register. Things are different now than in the previous dynasty. In the past, these things were not considered, but now the court is most averse to enslaving innocent people. This is a capital offense punishable by a thousand cuts, and no one dares to do such a thing in a legitimate slave market. So you can rest assured, it is all truly voluntary."

Li Weizhou asked in bewilderment, "So many people are willing to sell themselves into slavery?" He bluntly stated without any reservations about his past, "When I was in trouble before, I went to Zuixianglou and found a menial job, and I was able to survive."

The slave trader, somewhat unable to bear it any longer, chuckled dryly and said, "Young master, you jest. Qingzhou City is only so big, and few people don't know of your reputation for filial piety. Add to that Prisoner Li's influence… and of course, your own character, which is why Zuixianglou hired you. If it were anyone else… Besides, many people have suffered disasters in their hometowns and have no other choice. When people are starving, they'll even resort to cannibalism, let alone selling themselves into slavery. Our Great Qian Dynasty has 1,800 prefectures and counties, a vast land; not every place will have good weather. There will always be unfortunate places. If luck is bad, three years of disaster can wipe out a considerable number of people."

Li Weizhou understood. Yes, compared to the tragedy of exchanging children for food, selling oneself into slavery was indeed nothing...

Seeing that he was no longer asking any questions, the broker was happy to have some peace and quiet. He led him to a fence, exchanged a few words with the people at the gate, and then led Li Weizhou inside. He boasted, "Young master, please take a look. I dare not say much about other things, but just to say that every year, the number of people that Zuixianglou buys from our Fule Brokerage is no less than this."

Li Weizhou watched as he gestured the number "eight" with his thumb and forefinger, not bothering to ask if it was eight or eighty. As far as he knew, the girls at Zuixianglou were all trained from a young age. Those courtesans skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—there certainly weren't any here.

Li Weizhou's gaze swept over the crowd standing in two rows, one side men and the other side women.

This feeling is actually somewhat terrifying, because it always makes him unable to help but empathize, wondering how he would feel if he were to stand in such a place one day...

Never mind, a month ago, he wasn't much better off on the other side of Earth.

That's the beauty of human sentimentality: even when people are struggling with their own lives, they can't stand seeing the suffering of others...

Li Weizhou walked closer and saw that numbness was the common color on their faces, but there were also some younger women in the group who were looking at him with hope in their eyes.

Li Weizhou asked, "Is there anyone who knows how to cook?"

The slave trader laughed, "Yes! We have all kinds you want! There are also barbarians from the grasslands in the fenced area next door; their roasted meat smells delicious. Would you like some, young master?"

Li Weizhou actually thought about it and nodded, saying, "Two of those are fine too."

"I'll definitely pick out two of the best for you!"

The slave trader was overjoyed and quickly offered another suggestion: "Young master, how about we hire some servants to guard the manor? They're all skilled in martial arts..."

Li Weizhou cautiously said, "If it's a powerful person, what if they end up harming the master's family?"

The slave trader's expression changed, and he said sincerely, "Hey, young master, you really underestimate us. Do you think we, who are in this line of work, would leave such a flaw?"

Li Weizhou asked, "How should I say it?"

The slave trader said, "When we bought them, these people were all good. We didn't want the criminals; besides, such people wouldn't sell themselves into slavery. They're good enough to do bad things. Furthermore, even if someone sells themselves into slavery, as long as they perform well and save enough money, they can negotiate with their master to leave and redeem themselves. Generally, they part amicably, with no need to harm their master. Because if they dare to do evil… let alone evil, even a runaway slave is courting death! Heh heh, the law is set by the wealthy and powerful; how could it allow wicked people to benefit? Don't you agree?"

Furthermore, if you, young master, are truly worried, you can buy one that includes a family. With a wife and children by his side, would he dare to cause trouble? Rest assured, if anyone dares to cause trouble, you won't need to lift a finger. Just send someone to deliver a message, and we'll definitely help you resolve the situation. We can even replace him, until you are satisfied.”

Looking at the fierce-looking human trafficker, Li Weizhou smiled and nodded, saying, "I understand." Then, curiously, he asked, "Just how powerful are these experts?"

The slave trader looked at Li Weizhou with some confusion, seemingly not understanding why a young master from the Li family would ask such a question. However, he still replied, "Young master is joking. They are just some strong young men who know some basic skills and are a bit strong, certainly not experts. Even a master who has only opened three acupoints in the lower three stages can at least lift a 300-pound stone lock with one hand. One punch from them can easily kill a person. Such people can easily find a job and don't need to sell themselves into slavery."

Of course, if you want to find such skilled guards, we can arrange that. However, the price will be much higher. Ordinary servants like these will only cost ten taels of silver each. Young women will be slightly more expensive, fifteen taels. Those with good looks will cost anywhere from twenty to fifty taels. As for martial artists from the lower three levels, they don't sign master-slave contracts, but rather patronage contracts, which will cost sixty taels of silver a year. Guards who know some basic martial arts are much cheaper, thirty taels of silver per person will suffice.”

Li Weizhou nodded in understanding and said, "I understand... We can't afford such experts for now. I'll come back to you when we can." Today, we'll buy four strong young men who know some martial arts, eight young servants around eighteen years old, two who can cook, and two who can keep accounts. We'll also hire four middle-aged women to do some cleaning and laundry. Oh, and we'll also need two ten-year-old girls to keep my sister company. That's all for now. Let's calculate the cost.

The slave trader's eyes lit up at the mention of this, and he immediately beckoned someone to bring over an abacus, saying, "Four strong young men with basic martial arts skills, thirty taels each, totaling one hundred and twenty taels. Eight young servants around eighteen years old, ten taels each, totaling eighty taels. Two who can cook, fifteen taels each, totaling thirty taels. Two who can keep accounts, twenty-five taels each, totaling fifty taels. Four rough old women, eight taels each, totaling thirty-two taels. Two ten-year-old girls, ten taels each, totaling twenty taels. Oh, and two grassland barbarians who can roast meat? Actually, they can not only roast meat, but also drive horses and pull carts."

Li Weizhou nodded and smiled, "Okay."

The slave trader's smile widened, and he said, "Twelve taels each, that's twenty-four taels, totaling..." After a flurry of clicking abacus beads, he gave the final answer: "A total of three hundred and fifty-six taels!! You're a big customer, so I'll offer you three hundred and fifty taels. What do you think?"

"can."

After responding, Li Weizhou looked around and saw that the servants behind the fence were all excited, waving their hands eagerly and saying, "Young master, take me! I can endure hardship, I can do any kind of work, just give me some food..."

Li Weizhou overestimated himself and couldn't handle the shock of the scene. He turned and left, waiting outside the market.

In a little while, the broker will send the person over.

Standing at the entrance of the market, looking back, he always felt that there was a dark mass of people. Li Dashan secretly vowed that when he became rich in the future, he would definitely buy all these people and let them work in his workshop, restaurant, teahouse and farm. Everyone would have food, drink, shelter and money to earn, and their children would also be able to go to school!

Li Dashanren's eyes moistened slightly. Compared to him, not to mention here, even capitalists on the other side of the world would have to be shot half of them!

……

P.S.: I'll be updating twice a day from now on, the first at 8 AM and the second at 5 PM. Do you have any recommendation votes? Please give them!

(End of this chapter)