northernbook Chapter 95 Buying People to Work
Chapter 95 Buying People to Work
It was another winding and circuitous journey, even involving passing through other people's yards.
After walking with Zhong Ya for almost half an hour, Cheng Ruo'an and her two daughters arrived at the busiest street in Huangyang Town—Ta Ma Street.
"Good heavens, so many carriages and horses passing by! No wonder it's called Horse-Treading Street." Cheng Ruotong exclaimed in surprise as she protected her mother and made way for a carriage.
Zhong Yaren chuckled and said, "The town's entrance archway is in the southwest, and this is right at the end of the town, so the flow of vehicles and people is quite large."
Cheng Ruoan nodded in understanding, "No wonder the east side of town is relatively quiet; the bustling city center is to the west. In that case, the rent for a three-courtyard house must be quite expensive, right?"
Zhong Yaren just smiled and said, "Let's go take a look first. If the place doesn't suit your taste, my lady, what's the use of it being cheap?"
"That's the truth."
Zhong Yaren pointed to the towering blue brick wall about thirty or forty feet away, "Look, ladies, we're almost there in just a few more steps."
Cheng Ruoan hummed in response, but caught a glimpse of three familiar figures out of the corner of her eye.
One adult and two children, a father and his two sons.
Si Shaoheng was choosing books at a small stall in front of a bookstore, holding one child by the hand and carrying another in his arms.
Cheng Ruoan told Zhong Yaren to stop for a moment, then went over to call the father and his two sons.
Cheng's mother and Cheng Ruotong followed her gaze and also saw Si Shaoheng and the others.
The two laughed and said, "Now that the whole family is here, it's easier to choose a courtyard."
Cheng Ruoan walked up to Si Shaoheng, intending to scare him, and prepared to pick up Xin Ge'er and run away.
To everyone's surprise, little Si Nian saw her first and immediately wiggled her chubby body, calling out, "Mommy~ Come quick, come quick! There are so many storybooks here~ Daddy said you'd definitely like this one, 'The Romantic Scholar and the Charming Embroiderer'~"
On the street, Cheng Ruoan almost stumbled.
Sure enough, the next moment many pedestrians on the street looked at Cheng Ruoan.
Cheng Ruoan: ...
This perfectly good little cotton-padded jacket, how come it's suddenly letting in the wind!
She quickly took Si Nian from Si Shaoheng's arms, covered her mouth, and carried her away, saying, "Let's not buy storybooks anymore, let's go buy a courtyard, hurry up!"
Si Shaoheng watched her flee in disarray, a smile playing on his lips as he shook his head.
Then he took out two taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to the bookstore clerk, bent down and took the book "The Romantic Scholar and the Charming Embroiderer" from the book stall.
That woman's mind is now completely focused on making money. How could we not arrange such a lucrative business as writing storybooks for her?
He remembered that when she was in modern times, she loved to listen to all sorts of domineering CEO novels and domineering prince novels to fall asleep.
Looking at the best-selling romance novels of this dynasty, one could probably write a lot of stories to sell.
Si Shaoheng, holding Si Xin's hand, followed closely behind Cheng Ruoan to meet up with Cheng's mother and Cheng Ruotong.
After another round of greetings, the family followed Zhong Yaren to the three-courtyard mansion.
"The house has three courtyards. Just look at this row of rear-facing rooms and you'll know how big the layout is inside."
Zhong Yaren pointed to the row of blue bricks connected to the main gate and explained to everyone like a tour guide.
"Oh my, from the outside I thought it was just a wall, but it turns out this whole row is rooms!" Cheng Ruotong was very surprised.
Cheng Ruoan looked at the row of houses facing backwards and had some ideas, but she decided to look at the whole thing before asking.
Entering through the main gate, you are greeted by a brick-carved screen wall with lotus patterns. Beyond the screen wall is a small front garden, not large, but exquisite.
The small garden was well-maintained, and there was a small pond, barely two square meters in size, but the water lilies and fish in it were growing very well and were very lively.
Cheng Ruoan recognized the flowers in the yard; they were peonies, chrysanthemums, and roses, and they were blooming beautifully.
The hanging flower gate is flanked by symmetrical covered walkways, and passing through the hanging flower gate leads to the main courtyard.
"There is a small courtyard in each of the east and west wings. If you two sisters bring your husbands and children to stay, it will be just right for each room to have its own courtyard, so it won't disturb anyone."
Zhong Yaren was quite dedicated. By observing their expressions, he half-guessed that the two women came from wealthy families and that even if they didn't marry into the family, their husbands were often staying at their parents' home.
Even Cheng's mother was satisfied this time. After touring the east and west wings, she smiled and said, "The structure is indeed quite good."
After visiting the main house, Cheng Ruoan felt that it was no different from the presidential suite of a modern hotel.
The main house is at least 60 square meters inside and out, and it is fully furnished with all kinds of furniture and items, all made of the best quality wood.
To the west of the main house is a spacious study, and to the east is a passageway, which serves as the third entrance to the house. Entering through there leads to the backyard.
The backyard is also divided into two small courtyards, east and west, separated by a small landscaped garden, with a row of rear buildings at the far end.
During the visit, because the two children, like their aunt, were very excited and surprised, Cheng Ruoan didn't let Si Shaoheng hold one of them or hold their hands; instead, she left them to her mother and older sister to take care of.
She herself was looking at the house and discussing with Si Shaoheng whether it was worth buying.
Cheng Ruoan: "I counted, and the entire house, not counting the east and west wings, the two small courtyards in the backyard, the main house, and the study, already has fifteen rooms."
This excludes the number of side rooms used as kitchens and outhouses.
Although this place is far from the Suzhou-style garden I imagined, lacking the beautiful scenery of waterside pavilions and terraces, it is undeniably highly practical.
Si Shaoheng looked at her: "So many rooms, what are you planning to do?"
"Think about it, in the future, Mom will run a tofu workshop, my eldest sister will run a pastry workshop, and my brother-in-law will help me make hand cream or other businesses. This family will have many more workers."
There are workers who have indenture contracts.
"If the house has many rooms, then there's no worry about where the people will have a place to live after they buy it."
Si Shaoheng was somewhat surprised that she had so directly connected with the spirit of the Great Xia Dynasty.
He laughed: "I thought you would think this is inhumane and would shout for equality for all."
Cheng Ruoan rolled her eyes: "Please, I want to be the richest woman in Great Xia, not the president. Let great people do great things like abolishing slavery. I'm just a businesswoman."
Cheng Ruoan didn't consider herself a good person. Since she couldn't change the various systems of feudal times, if her family wanted to do business and needed people for the recipes, she would naturally buy people instead of hiring them.
Who says that people in ancient times were all simple and honest? There were also purely bad people, you know?
When it comes to people whose lives are at stake, we still need to keep their lives in our hands.
“I won’t mistreat people I buy. As long as they work hard and don’t try to harm or kill their employers, this indenture is no different from the confidentiality agreement in a modern office worker’s employment contract.”
Si Shaoheng chuckled: "Yes, my wife is right."
Cheng Ruoan snorted and continued analyzing the pros and cons of the house, completely ignoring how Si Shaoheng addressed her.
They've been here for two months now, and apart from taking care of the child to sleep at night, they're really no different from any other ordinary couple from ancient times.
They treat each other with the utmost respect.