19. Chapter 19

"Hello, madam." The grandmother who received Yang Haiyan was a middle-aged woman who looked charitable. "May I ask what your wife needs? Do you want to buy a house or someone? Or something else?"

Yang Haiyan: "I want to buy both a house and people, but I have to buy a house first and then people."

When Ya Po heard this, she realized that this was a big customer: "I wonder what your requirements are for the house? Ma'am, please sit down and talk." Ya Po has seen countless people, so she naturally has a discerning eye. The lady in front of her has an elegant temperament, a fair face, and a smile. It looked like her hands were not for menial work, so she knew that this wife could make money.

"Thank you." Yang Haiyan sat down.

After she sat down, Yapo poured her tea.

Yang Haiyan did not touch the tea. She would not drink tea outside without anyone accompanying her. It would be terrible if something happened. Yang Haiyan said: "I want to buy a shop, preferably one connected to the courtyard. The courtyard is slightly larger and can accommodate both the servants and the owner. And the courtyard must have a back door and a large hall. My husband is Officers under the Marquis usually entertain their colleagues at home when they come back. If the hall is too small, there may not be room for people. "

Yang Haiyan did not specify Qin Fang's identity, but the officers under the Marquis were enough to make Yapo cautious. To put it bluntly, this is just borrowing the power of Marquis Yonghe, but although Qin Fang is following Captain Ao Qianfu, he is indeed a subordinate of Marquis Yonghe, so it is not wrong to say so.

Sure enough, when Ya Po heard this, she took on a more rigorous attitude than before. "Please wait a moment while I check to see if any of the houses registered in Guanya are suitable for you."

Yang Haiyan: "I'm sorry."

Ya Po quickly read the brochure: "Madam, there is a big courtyard that you asked for, but there is no big courtyard with a facade. Generally speaking, big courtyards are where the rich live, where they live and do business. The place will not be in one place. Do you think it is possible to have a small yard? Or the yard and the shop are separated? "The main reason is the limited resources in the town.

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan said: "How many rooms are there in the small courtyard? Can the servants be accommodated?"

Ya Po: "Among these yards with shops, there is one yard with a better location. It is in the downtown area. There are three main rooms in the small yard at the back. If you are willing, I can take you to see it."

Yang Haiyan: "Okay, let's go and have a look."

The courtyard is in the center of the town, so it's quite close to Yaxing. It's only five or six hundred meters away.

Ya Po first took Yang Haiyan to see the shop. The shop was closed. Because the shop was in the courtyard and in a location, the prices were not cheap. "Look, madam, this is the courtyard. There are cloth sellers and rouge and gouache sellers nearby. Women pass by more often."

Yang Haiyan thought to herself that if she wanted to start a pastry business, she would have to open it in a place with a lot of traffic of women.

Yapo said again: "There are two doors in the yard. The back door is through the shop. How about we go in through the front door and have a look?"

Yang Haiyan: "Yeah."

After Yang Haiyan was optimistic about the courtyard and the appearance, she made the decision directly. In fact, this yard is really nice. The shop is at the back door, and you can entertain guests when you enter through the front door. The reason why it was not sold is that the yard was vacated not long ago and the owner of the household just resold it. Second, the price offered by the head of the household was five taels higher than the market price.

It is not easy for people in the town to make money, and five taels of silver is not a small amount for them, so even if there is a fancy buyer, they still want to pay back the price, or think about it again.

No, Yang Haiyan picked it up.

According to the market price, the house was worth thirty-five taels of silver. The buyer asked for thirty-five taels. Yang Haiyan had five hundred taels of gold, so she... paid back the price and one tael of silver, and the deal was completed at thirty-four taels.

She didn't have 34 taels of loose silver on her, so she sold 2 taels of gold. Two taels of gold = one hundred grams, 340 yuan per gram, one hundred grams of gold = thirty-four yuan. Speaking of this, the platform is also really mysterious. As long as anything traded on the platform needs to be weighed and sold, the platform will automatically divide it.

After receiving the platform currency block, Yang Haiyan bought one hundred taels of silver and spent 25,000 platform coins.

Ya Po took the head of the household and Yang Haiyan directly to the mayor's house to transfer the ownership. There was no county government office in the town, so the mayor handled these matters on behalf of the county government office. Yang Haiyan paid thirty-four taels for the house and one tael of silver as commission.

After the house procedures were completed, Ya Po became even more enthusiastic about Yang Haiyan. Who wouldn't like such a generous boss?

Then, they went to Yahang to visit the servants.

Yapo: "Madam, what kind of servant do you want to buy?"

Yang Haiyan: "Those who are diligent should preferably be around thirty-five years old and can be part of a family. Those who can read are even better, but young people and girls are not required." If it is a young man, Qin Fang sometimes takes a month She wasn't here, even if she was a servant, she didn't want to cause gossip. If it is a little girl, what if her thoughts are attracted to Qin Fang?

Therefore, Yang Hai still chooses a man and woman who are around thirty-five years old, because at this age and in this era, they can be her and Qin Fang's father and mother, and it is not easy for them to gossip.

A literate servant?

This made Ya Po a little embarrassed: "The servants who want to be literate must come from a wealthy family. But the servants who come from a wealthy family and end up in the dental industry must have been sold by the master's family. Another kind is the criminal at home. Something happened and he was betrayed by the imperial court."

Those who were betrayed by the court for committing crimes at home were called Lian Zuo.

For example, if the original owner of the Yang family is in trouble, and the Yang family is killed, they will even sit in the side line, and the side line will sometimes be sold off. This situation also exists. The court sells people, and the money earned belongs to the court.

Yang Haiyan: "Sold by the master? That's not good. What if something went wrong with the previous master? If I buy him back, wouldn't I be in trouble?"

The matchmaker: "It's hard to find literate servants in our area."

Yang Haiyan: "Then let's buy illiterate servants. Do you have any decent ones?"

The matchmaker thought for a while and said, "I really can't tell what kind of character he has." She couldn't guarantee that if something went wrong, she wouldn't be found.

Yang Haiyan: "Then call everyone out and I'll take a look."

The matchmaker: "Okay." As she said that, she went in. After a while, she came out with women and men of the right age, all around 35 years old.

Those people were wearing the clothes of the matchmaker, and their faces were not very good. Of course, the matchmaker couldn't support people for nothing. It was the most kind thing to ensure that they didn't starve to death.

The matchmaker: "This lady wants to buy someone. When she asks you questions, answer honestly."

"Yes."

Seeing that it was a beautiful and amiable lady who smiled before she spoke, the women and men were a little excited and hoped that they would be chosen, because they really had a hard time in the matchmaker, with so many people crowded together, and they couldn't get enough to eat. Even if they followed the master's family, they wouldn't get enough to eat, but they would definitely eat more than in the matchmaker.

Yang Haiyan: "Among you, regardless of gender, are there any literate people?"

Everyone was silent for a while. Literacy? What a blessing it is!

At this time, a middle-aged man came out: "Madam, I can read."

Yang Haiyan looked at him: "You can read?"

The man said: "My name is Hong Xuexi, Xue for study and Xi for hope. When I was young, I was enlightened by my father. My father once went to a private school and wanted to take the imperial examination, but later he became seriously ill and died. After my father died, I started hunting to make a living. My leg was injured while hunting. Because it was too serious, the cost of treatment was extremely high. At that time, silver had other uses, so I gave up."

Yang Haiyan: "Your name sounds like you come from a scholar's family, so how can you sell your body?"

Hong Xuexi was a little reserved: "Because my wife gave birth some time ago, she was injured during childbirth and needed silver, so I...sold myself." But he was a cripple, and it was not worth much if he sold himself. But if he didn't sell himself, there would be no silver, so he sold himself cruelly.

Yang Haiyan: "...If you sell yourself, won't you never see your wife and children again?"

Hong Xuexi: "Madam, I am a local, and my wife and children are in the countryside." He knelt down and said, "Please buy me, madam. I will definitely repay your kindness."

Yang Haiyan is not a kind person, but she felt a little sympathy when she heard that this man sold himself for his wife. She looked at the matchmaker: "How much did he sell?"

The matchmaker: "Two taels of silver." In fact, the matchmaker only spent one tael of silver when buying Hong Xuexi.

Yang Haiyan nodded and said to Hong Xuexi: "Stand aside." Then she looked at everyone: "Are there any people like you who can read?"

No one spoke. Yang Haiyan asked again: "Does anyone among you have good cooking skills?"

A woman said: "Madam, I used to be a cook in a wealthy family. Do you think I can do it?"

Yang Haiyan looked at her. It is impossible to tell what kind of person she is at first glance, but sometimes whether people are destined to be together depends on their appearance. Yang Haiyan had a good impression of this woman. At least she was thin and her face was sallow, but she looked kind. Yang Haiyan nodded: "Okay. But whether it is you or Uncle Hong, if you don't do well here, I won't keep you. It doesn't matter if you are stupid or honest. Loyalty is the most important thing between master and servant."

Uncle Hong, the woman: "Yes."

Yang Haiyan paid the money and went back with their indentures. Uncle Hong paid two taels of silver, and the woman paid six taels of silver. A total of eight taels of silver were spent, plus the thirty-five taels of silver for the house purchase and commission, forty-three taels of silver were gone.

When they arrived at the yard, Yang Haiyan asked Hong Xuexi and a woman to clean the house. The woman's name was Fan Cuiliu, and she was originally a cook in a wealthy family. The wife and the concubine of this family were fighting fiercely. Once, the concubine took advantage of the kitchen and the wife almost had a miscarriage. Therefore, the kitchen staff was replaced, and Fan Cuiliu was sold in this way.