After getting the person he wanted, Shen Ao was in a good mood. He looked at Qian Yan and asked jokingly, "Boss Qian, but I don't know how much money you spent on recruiting these two people?"
"If you don't want to be a boss, you can just call me Qian Yan, or Qian Yan. Many of them call me that." Qian Yan was in a good mood after getting the money. Besides, the business was done, and there was no need to hide some words. Then he smiled and said: "Your Excellency, you actually didn't spend much money on them, only ten taels in total?"
"Ten taels?" Shen Ao was really shocked by the price. Shen Ao sighed and said, "Is it only ten taels of silver per person?"
"No, the two of them have ten taels, and Tie Feng is a gift, haha." Qian Yan smiled.
Well, twelve taels of silver were resold for one thousand, two hundred taels in three months, a one-hundred-and-twenty-fold increase. This was really a good deal.
Weng Jiu got eighty taels of silver, and he was also smiling. Then Shen Ao asked him to take Bai Qiutong to pick some female slaves, and he naturally followed suit. At noon, Bai Qiutong, who had bought ten female slaves, started again. Returned to Shen Ao.
The ten female slaves were all in their prime, and all of them had good figures and upright looks. They spent a total of five hundred taels of silver. Only then did the group return satisfied. Shen Ao also greeted Weng Jiu. If there are more slaves in the slave market in the future, If you have any good stuff, you can go to the Zhongguo Duke's Mansion and tell him about it.
Only then did Weng Jiu realize that the person in front of him turned out to be a prince. He immediately bowed to him, as if Shen Ao was willing to bow to him.
In this era, if you have the support of a duke behind you, it will not only be much easier to do something, but also more face-saving. Shen Ao has no idea about Weng Jiu's desire to become a disciple or even join the house as a slave. I agree, the Duke's Mansion is short of people, especially talents, but it won't accept everyone. This is just the first contact with Weng Jiu. What kind of character he has, we still need to investigate before making a decision.
Although he was not successful, Shen Ao did not refuse immediately, which gave Weng Jiu hope. He decided to perform well in the future and do more for the Duke, so that he would not be afraid of not becoming a disciple of the Duke's Mansion.
The group of people walked back slowly along the way they came. Tie Long and Tie Feng were still walking beside the oxcart with their handcuffs on. They were surrounded by ten newly purchased female slaves. The guard Shi Lei was watching their actions. Feng Xun, who was driving the carriage, had gone somewhere, but the steward, Shen Xingxing, was in charge of the carriage.
"Master, it's done." After walking for about half an hour, guard Feng Xun appeared, along with two certificates issued by the government.
In the old days, there was a strict hierarchy. Below the emperor were ministers, below the ministers were officials, below the officials were the people, and below the people were the slaves.
Even the people are divided into scholars, farmers, craftsmen, soldiers, businessmen, etc.
Level by level is like a pyramid.
Everyone who works in the world can be divided into "good and bad slaves". Good people include ordinary people such as scholars, farmers, industry and merchants, and bad people include criminals, slaves, prostitutes, beggars, and performers. Law It is stipulated that good and bad slaves are not allowed to intermarry with each other. If you are rich, you can raise a few prostitutes for fun, but you are not allowed to marry as a wife, not even as a concubine, otherwise you will wait to be reported and punished!
Even the children born to the master's family by slaves with low status cannot escape the status of low status!
In the social structure of Daqian, the three statuses of good and bad slaves are like a natural chasm, which is not easy to cross. Slaves with low status cannot be regarded as "human beings" in essence, and can be bought, sold, exchanged, beaten and scolded by their masters at will. Like livestock.
Not to mention slave status, no one treats you as a human being, and you don't even have the right to marry and have children. Once discovered, the child will be aborted, and the mother will also be killed.
But this seemingly strict class difference is nothing in Shen Ao's eyes. Although it is not easy to do such a thing as "get rid of the lowly and return the slave status to a good man", it is not something that the master just agrees to. The "qualification review" by the government is quite strict and cumbersome. It is easy to change from a good citizen to a lowly one, and a slave.
Shen Ao is an honorable man, and his words are enough to change the lives of Tie Long, Tie Feng and their descendants. As long as he is willing to give some money to the government, it is not difficult for slaves to become good men. Of course, the money cannot be given too little. A slave costs two hundred taels of silver, and a lowly slave costs one hundred taels of silver, which may not be acceptable to ordinary people.
"This is the power and beauty of power." Shen Ao raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a playful smile, and then handed the good citizen certificate just issued by the government to Tie Long's hand beside the carriage, "Yes Yes, do you know the words?"
"I know some people. When I was young, my family was not bad. I learned calligraphy from my husband." He raised his head, Tie Long looked confused. He didn't understand why Shen Ao asked him such a question. Shouldn't slaves do the heaviest work? Living and eating the minimum amount of food? What does it have to do with being literate?
"Just learn how to read, these are for you. Feng Xun, please take off the shackles of the two brothers and sisters." Shen Ao smiled, as if saying another innocuous thing. Then he got into it again. When he arrived at the bullock cart, he was accompanied by Bai Qiutong. There was a refreshing smell in the entire bullock cart shed, which he liked to smell.
Shen Ao got into the bullock cart. Feng Xun came over and opened the shackles. Tie Long could also see clearly what was written on the paper in his hand. At this sight, his eyes widened like bull's eyes. At this time, his sister Tie Feng He also regained his freedom, came to his brother's side, looked at the paper curiously, and then became motionless as if nailed to the ground.
Ever since the iron dragon stretched out his hand and hit the centurion, he knew that this life was over. But he had no regrets in order to save his sister.
Facts have proved his idea. From a soldier to a slave, Iron Dragon is like going from the world to the underground. From then on, his life is bleak. The world is really big and there is no other place to go. Staying in the slave market is a lot. Over the months, he gradually got used to it. The only thing he could do was to eat enough and continue to live.
Only by living and persisting can there be hope in life.
But he didn't dare to think about it. Hope came so quickly. In the blink of an eye, he changed from a slave to a good citizen. He was now free!
"Brother, we have to kneel down to our benefactor." While Tie Long was still wandering around in the world changing so fast, his sister reacted first and reminded him in a low voice.
"Yes, kneel down, kneel down to your benefactor." Tie Long nodded repeatedly, and at the same time bent his knees, and the unyielding legs that were kneeling to the sky and his parents softened at this moment.
With a thud, the brother and sister knelt down on the street. The sound was so loud that even Shen Ao in the bullock cart heard it clearly. Shen Xing, who was driving the cart, also stopped the cart and looked back at the Tie family brothers and sisters. , with a thoughtful look on his face.
The Young Master first spent 1,200 taels of silver to buy the Tie family brothers and sisters. Although Shen Xing thought it was a bit expensive, he could accept it. After all, the Young Master is very profitable now, and Guochanglong pays dividends every day. I don't know how many there are.
But then he asked Feng Xun to go to the government and transfer the two slaves to good status. This was what he couldn't understand. But he couldn't understand it. He fully respected Shen Ao. In his eyes, the young master Since he has grown up, there must be a reason for him to do this.
The bullock cart stopped, and Shen Ao saw the Tie brothers and sisters kneeling through the curtain. Shen Ao's removal of the Tie brothers and sisters from their slave status was tantamount to giving them the opportunity to straighten their backs and start a new life. From now on, you can be protected by the law, and you can run your own family business freely, marry a wife, and have children in a legitimate manner. This is no different from rekindling a relationship. It is common sense for them to kneel down and thank you.
Thanks are thanks, and Shen Ao didn't want them to repay him. Tie Long served in the border army and killed the barbarians, which was already a contribution to Daqian. Such people should have their own freedom and their own lives. Not because It is unfair to become the lowest slave for the sake of self-protection over a trivial matter.
Naturally, there are so many unfair things in the world, and Shen Ao can't take care of them one by one, and he can't handle them. But now that he is encountered, he must take action, even if it is to buy peace of mind, it is worth it land.
"Let's go!" Shen Ao waited for the Tie brothers and sisters to kneel down and kowtow three times each, and waited for them to express their gratitude. After he accepted it calmly, he softly uttered one word, Shen Xing waved his riding whip, and Lao Niu mooed. With a sound, he slowly continued walking forward.
In the cattle shed, Bai Qiutong already knew what was going on outside. When Shen Ao arranged for Feng Xun to go to the government to apply for a certificate of good citizenship, he did not let her avoid it. She was even more puzzled, "Master, why are you doing this? ?”
"Why? Haha." Shen Ao smiled self-deprecatingly, thinking that in later generations the People's Liberation Army was so respected by others, and that was why we had a strong motherland. He then said: "When soldiers contribute to the country and defend their homeland, they even have to sacrifice their lives. Life, they are respectable, and they should also enjoy the best treatment. What the young master is doing is just giving them what they deserve."
"But...but others don't think so. Isn't joining the army just for food and clothing, and you can also get paid?" Bai Qiutong naturally couldn't understand.
Shen Ao had no intention of continuing to explain. He knew that even if he said it, others would not understand it, let alone understand it. He simply shrugged his shoulders and said: "There is a kind of happiness in the world called spiritual joy. I'll be happy just to buy one. But it's less than two thousand taels of silver, so it's nothing."
What Shen Ao said was an understatement, but it was completely different in Bai Qiutong's eyes. There were little stars in her eyes. At this moment, she seemed to see a halo appearing around Shen Ao's body. In her eyes, he was so great, just like the saints written in the book.