Xiao Zhuo thought about it and felt that what Xiao Tong said was right. He didn't know what the friendship between Xiao Tong and Xue Xiyang was, because they had known each other for a short time, and it was natural to think that they were not very familiar with each other, and it would be self-defeating to give too heavy a gift. It doesn't matter.

He instructed his men to take the gifts he was going to give to the officials, paid the bill, walked out of the shop, and walked to his own shop.

I saw that they were walking on a very busy street, but the more they walked, the colder it became, and when they came to the square where their shop was located, although there were horse-drawn carriages passing by from time to time on the road, the streets were very deserted on both sides.

This is also common sense. After all, since ancient times, no matter which dynasty or generation has opposed human trafficking, but it cannot be banned and can only be laissez-faire, but it does not mean that this is a glorious industry. Confucianism has always criticized this kind of behavior, and this is the face of the whole country in the capital, so the human market can only be in a deserted place.

However, when Xiao Zhuo took Xiao Tong over the thick wall, a heat wave immediately hit his face, and even if it was cold winter, it could not make people's enthusiasm decrease slightly.

Xiao Tongyi followed Xiao Zhuo towards his own shop, while watching the hot business on both sides of the road. Every shop has a high courtyard wall, and at night the 'population' is driven into the courtyard wall to prevent escape, and at this time, all the 'people' to be bought and sold are piled up in the open space in front of the shop, and some of the 'populous' shops are piled up in the open space.

These 'people' seemed to stand in the open space in ignorance, their eyes empty and without a trace of brilliance. Most of the male 'population' is naked, and whenever someone notices, there are men who loudly introduce where the person is from, how old he is, how strong he is, what he will do, and so on. Naturally, the introduction of the guy may not necessarily be accurate, which requires the buyer to use his own sharp eyes to distinguish.

The female 'population' wears a loose garment, but whenever a guest is interested, they are immediately asked to take off their clothes. These 'populations' also seem to have completely lost the shame that people have, and they obey the orders of their fellows with a sluggish face, and let them take off their clothes as they want, and pose whatever they want. Xiao Tong even thought that even if someone wanted to them in public, they would cooperate indifferently.

Although it was the New Year's Day, there were many men in front of each shop, some of whom were talking to the shopkeepers, and they didn't know what they were asking or haggling.

"Most of these 'people' who were bought and sold were from Nanyang, and a few were from the Ming Dynasty. It's the New Year, and everyone is busy with the New Year and won't add people to the house, and there are not many people; At its busiest, people who want to buy 'population' can completely block the road. Xiao Zhuo introduced.

"Aren't there some people who come to buy maids? Why didn't I see the woman? Xiao Tong asked with some puzzlement.

"Women?" Xiao Zhuo said with a smile: "In this kind of place, there are not too many people in the New Year, and when it is lively, if the woman who originally wanted to buy someone comes, she may become a person who is sold in a few days." ”

"Not to mention women, even young and thin men may be taken away. If a woman wants to come to this kind of place, there is no protection from four or five big men, and if you make a mistake, you may be gone. ”

"But who can have four or five big men to protect a woman who is not from a rich or noble background? How would you want to come to such a place? ”

"And a big family like the princess is that we send the female 'population' to the door for them to choose, and we don't need to come here."

As they spoke, they had come to the front of their shop. Xiao Zhuo glanced at the 'population' in front of the door, and said to the shopkeeper Liu who greeted him: "Where are the two inestimable 'populations' you just said?" ”

"The sixth master and the fifth young master come with me." Shopkeeper Liu said, then turned his head and walked towards the store, Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Tong followed.

They walked to the backyard, and the shopkeeper Liu took out the key to unlock and push the door, and then pointed to the two people inside and said, "This is the person I said is difficult to estimate." ”

Xiao Tong looked into the room, and saw two men who were not tall, but very well-proportioned, and had fair skin, leaning against the corner, lowering their heads and not knowing what they were doing, and when they heard the sound of the door, they only raised their heads slightly and lowered their heads again.

Xiao Zhuo walked in and lifted the heads of these two people, turned to shopkeeper Liu and smiled: "Old Liu, they are indeed two rare good goods. You're taking advantage of it this time. Especially the people in Nanyang are blacker than the people in the Ming Dynasty, and white is very rare. ”

"It's just luck." Shopkeeper Liu said a few words to him and asked, "Sixth Master, how much are these two 'populations' worth?" ”

"At least five hundred! If you come across a particularly good bite, you can't double it again! Xiao Zhuo looked at these two 'populations' carefully: "Look at them, they have well-proportioned figures, white skin, and they are not only handsome but also feminine, and it is a pity not to be scholars." ”

"One is five hundred, and two is a thousand." Even though Shopkeeper Liu had already expected the price, he was still very happy when he heard the price estimated by Xiao Zhuo. As the shopkeeper, he has shares in this store, and he can pay dividends at the end of the year, and the more expensive he sells, the more he earns.

Xiao Tong heard this, but felt a chill. He has already understood that these two will be sold as **. Although there are many people who play ** in this era, Xiao Tong is extremely disgusted by this.

"You'll have to serve these two." Xiao Zhuo continued: "You can't let them live in this kind of place. We have to let them sleep in the bed, and if the skin is cut, they won't be able to sell it for so much money. ”

"Got it." Shopkeeper Liu smiled: "In the past few days, I have treated them as ancestors!" Never let them have the slightest problem. ”

Xiao Zhuo nodded, and asked about the store's recent business situation.

"Sixth master, Layue sold a total of 237 people and collected 5,613 yuan. The price of each 'population' transferred from the ship to the shop was three per one, so that a total of four thousand nine hundred and two quinques were earned. ”

"Today is the first day of the first lunar month, a total of three people were sold, one hundred and nine yuan was collected, and a whole hundred yuan was earned."

"It's common for New Year's trading to be cold, so you don't have to worry about it." Xiao Zhuo comforted.

Xiao Zhuo asked a few more words, and then planned to leave here. But at this moment, a guy trotted over from the front and said to Shopkeeper Liu: "Shopkeeper, two people are here, and they want to buy the rest of our family's 'population'." But the price should be kept a little lower. ”

"How much do they give?"

"Seven hundred."

"No!" Shopkeeper Liu said categorically: "This is too little, you tell them, at least 1,200 guan!" Nothing less sells! ”

The guy was about to go back, Xiao Zhuo stopped and asked a few words, and suddenly said: "Shopkeeper Liu, such a big deal, it's better to go to the front and talk to the guests in person." ”