The husband and wife fell asleep, Zhao Fengnian carefully folded the quilt for Ruixue, and then said, "You still have a small belly now, you don't have to do anything, I'm afraid it will be sad after a while, Cui Niang They still have a job after all, and they can't always follow you to take care of it, so why don't I go to the city and buy two maids back." ”

"Maid?" Rui Xue is a person who attaches great importance to privacy, and her family was rich in her previous life, she has never hired a nanny, takes care of her mother, and is busy with business, all of which she bears alone.

Qian Heitan can't serve the child by himself, so he is bound to have to raise it with her for two or three years, and when this one in his belly is regenerated, there will be more chores at home, and he really needs to be taken care of, this is not the time to be willful, so he nodded slightly, "Okay, just buy two, if you want a good needlework, you want one who can cook." The most important thing is to be honest and responsible, I don't like to be flamboyant. ”

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you." Zhao Fengnian naturally responded, and the couple whispered a few more gossips and fell asleep.

The next day, after getting up early for dinner, Rui Xue went to see Kexin, Zhao Fengnian wrote two letters on Yanmo, and then took the car into the city, first went to the old store of the Wu family in the east of the city, Cheng shopkeeper heard the news, immediately took it out, welcomed him to the study to sit down, after the salute, drank tea and said a few words of gossip, Zhao Fengnian took out the envelope and said, "Trouble Cheng shopkeeper, send these two letters to your host, it's better to hurry." ”

Shopkeeper Cheng took it carefully, didn't even look at the envelope, put it directly in a small mahogany box and locked it, and then called Da'er Dongsheng to come in, handed him the key and the box, and instructed, "Send it to the owner together, keep it carefully, don't delay your efforts on the way, try to be as fast as possible." ”

Dongsheng should withdraw, and the old shopkeeper Cheng said, "It just so happens that Dongsheng is going to send this season's account book to Tongcheng, and the owner was in a hurry last time, so he didn't have time to bring it." ”

Zhao Fengnian nodded, said a few more words about business, and asked, "Shopkeeper Cheng has familiar people, I want to buy two maids who know the roots." ”

"Buying a maid?" The old shopkeeper said with a smile, "Congratulations to Mr. Zhao, after building the house and buying a servant, the family business is becoming more and more prosperous." ”

Zhao Fengnian smiled slightly and said, "Neiko is pregnant, and I'm afraid that she will bother, so I have to buy two stable maids and do some chores." ”

"Oh, congratulations, congratulations, such a big event, how did Mr. Zhao say, this must be celebrated with a few tables of wine banquets." The shopkeeper Cheng hurriedly said hello, and Zhao Fengnian thanked him, "In the future, when the child is 100 days old, I will definitely invite the old shopkeeper to drink." ”

"It's decided, it's decided, when the time comes, Mr. must not forget the old age." Shopkeeper Cheng refilled Zhao Fengnian with new tea, thought about it, and said, "Two streets in front of our shop, there is a person with a tooth, Aunt Cui, and I have also bought two times of manpower from her, but I am not deceiving, why don't I accompany my husband to have a look." ”

Zhao Fengnian naturally responded, the two of them went out of the shop, and they didn't have to take the car, but they walked outside the courtyard of Aunt Cui after a cup of tea, and they could hear the woman's scolding from a distance, "You cheap bones, just eat and sleep all day long, and be lazy as soon as you learn a rule, see if I don't discount your bones!" “

Then there was a low cry, accompanied by a begging voice, "Mama, don't fight, my sister is hungry and has no strength, not lazy!" ”

"Well, you're complaining that I've treated you badly, aren't you? I bought you back, gave you food, drink and clothing, and you still dare to complain? Tomorrow, the people from the peony shop will come, and I will sell you to be a flower girl! ”

Zhao Fengnian frowned slightly, in the past, these chores at home were handled by housekeepers, he had never personally bought people, and after arriving in Deyunjia Village, he was poor, and he never thought that it was the first time he had seen such a thing today.

At this time, he was walking to the door with the shopkeeper, and looked in through the half-open courtyard door, a fat woman was taking a rattan and beating two twelve or thirteen-year-old girls, among which the older one was crying and begging under the small one, but the little one clenched his fists, and his eyes were red, and he was obviously a stubborn temper.

Zhao Fengnian saw that the fat woman's rattan was about to fall again, so he couldn't help coughing, and the old shopkeeper Cheng also hurriedly shouted, "Is Aunt Cui at home?" ”

Aunt Cui looked up, her face immediately showed joy, and she hurriedly threw a rattan to meet her, and said with a smile, "Oh, isn't this the old shopkeeper Cheng, how can you be idle today?" But there is a shortage of people in the store, so come to me to take care of the business. You're the right one, all of my people here have taught the rules, and they're the most diligent and sensible. As she spoke, she had already invited the two of them into the yard, turned her head and shouted at a few little girls, "Don't move the chairs and make tea." ”

Old Shopkeeper Cheng saw that Zhao Fengnian's brows had never been opened, and he guessed that he didn't like this place, so he hurriedly refused, "Aunt Cui, don't let the children be busy, I am here today to accompany this gentleman to pick two maids, and the eldest lady looks like there are suitable recommendations for two." ”

As soon as Aunt Cui heard that the patron was Zhao Fengnian, she immediately came over with a big grin, and said with a flattering smile, "Oh, it turned out to be a gentleman, it's really sloppy." I don't know what Mr. can ask for, I have the most people here, and there is no better one in Lingfeng City than here. ”

Zhao Fengnian's eyes swept over a few little girls, and saw that they all had bad complexions, although their clothes were clean, they were also extremely shabby, and he thought in his heart, fortunately he didn't bring Rui Xue here, otherwise with her soft-hearted temperament, I am afraid that she would have to buy it back.

Several little girls were also secretly looking at Zhao Fengnian, seeing that he had a handsome face, and there was a faint righteousness between his eyebrows, which was completely different from the arrogant housekeepers or obscene Hualou stewards who had come in the past, so the intuition they had experienced in the ordeal made them immediately realize that this was a good person, and he bought it, and he would not necessarily enjoy happiness, but he would definitely not be punished for starvation.

Several little girls rushed to Zhao Fengnian and knelt down, shouting one after another, "Childe, I can do the laundry, you buy me." ”

"Childe, I'll make the bed and fold the quilt, you buy it and I'll go back."

Aunt Cui snorted heavily, and the little maids were immediately silent, but the raised eyes were full of hope.

Zhao Fengnian was looking at the two little girls who were beaten before, the two looked similar, but some looked like sisters, the little one was reaching out to wipe the tears on his face for the big one, but he bit his lips so white that he couldn't bear to cry.

I don't know why, this scene fell in Zhao Fengnian's eyes, and he remembered the last time he woke up from illness, he opened his eyes and saw Ruixue like this, no matter how sad he was, he couldn't bear to show weakness to the suffering. How stubborn, how distressing?

So he pointed to the sisters and asked, "They might buy and sell?" ”

Aunt Cui was stunned, but she didn't expect Zhao Fengnian not to choose the clean and neat ones in front of her, but instead chose the two who were injured by her lesson, and said with a somewhat embarrassed smile, "Well, sir, these two girls have only been bought in for two days, and they haven't taught the rules yet, can you look at something else?" ”

Zhao Fengnian ignored her words and asked the two little girls, "Are you sisters?" ”

The two little girls were also a little surprised, raised their eyes and held each other's hands tightly, and the little one replied, "Yes." ”

"Can you do needlework and cooking?"

The older little girl, who was relieved for a while, saw the jealous and hateful eyes of the little girls in front of her, and understood that this was an opportunity for their sisters, and hurriedly replied, "Yes, I embroider the best, I can take it to the shop and sell it on consignment, and my sister can also cook and do laundry." ”

Zhao Fengnian nodded, and asked again, "Since you can do needlework to subsidize your family, why is it still sold?" ”

This time, without waiting for my sister to reply, the sister had already gritted her teeth and said, "My father married his stepmother and gave birth to a son, so I don't want the two of us to lose money." ”

Raising a daughter to a teenager, just to help make a living, is about to get married, and also to make up the dowry, unlike a son, marrying someone else's daughter, you don't need much dowry, and you earn a labor for nothing, so the farmer is mostly patriarchal, and it is not new to sell a few daughters.

Zhao Fengnian raised his eyebrows, thinking that there would be no trouble in buying back the two sisters, so he said, "I bought these two girls, how much silver?" ”

Aunt Cui has been doing human trafficking for many years, and she has a great eye, in fact, she takes a fancy to the appearance of these two little girls, thinking that if she trains for a few years, she will definitely be a beauty when she grows up, and it will be a lot of money to sell it to Hualou at that time. In this way, she was a little hesitant and reluctant to sell.

When the old shopkeeper Cheng saw it, he smiled and said, "Aunt Cui is reluctant?" I have also bought three manpower from you before and after, and this time I brought guests here, if you push back three times, you will not give face to the old man. ”

When Aunt Cui heard that she was going to lose her old patron, she hurriedly accepted her reluctance and said with a smile, "What, the old shopkeeper misunderstood, how much money am I wanting?" I bought the two little girls back for fifteen taels of silver, and the old shopkeeper can't let me be tired in vain, so it's better to add five taels of silver to moisten my hands, a total of twenty taels, how about it? ”

The old shopkeeper Cheng shook his head, "Aunt Cui, your price is not kind, the two little girls bought it back for seven or eight taels of silver at most, you doubled your hand, and you want to earn my personal favor?" ”

Aunt Cui was exposed, and she didn't blush, and said with a smile, "That's okay, Ming people don't say dark words, and the price is fifteen taels." I was originally very useful to these two girls, but now I have to look for them after they are sold, so why should the old shopkeeper add me a hard-earned money. ”

The shopkeeper Cheng looked at Zhao Fengnian, Zhao Fengnian nodded slightly, so the price was set, Aunt Qian shouted a few dejected little girls and retreated, entered the house and turned over the deed of sale of the two little girls, Zhao Fengnian handed three silver bills of five taels over, and took the two little girls out.

The two little girls held hands with each other and followed them timidly to the shop, the shopkeeper Cheng looked pitiful, and told the little man to go to the backyard to ask for two sets of old clothes, the two little girls saluted and thanked each other, put them on, and washed their faces, which were much cleaner than just now, with clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes, and looked very pleasing to the eye.

Cheng Lao's shopkeeper said, "These two maids, Mrs. must be able to like them." ”

Zhao Fengnian was also satisfied, and after a few words of greeting, he took the two little girls back to the village in a carriage.