Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 243: An Wazi and Uncle Ping

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: An Wazi and Uncle Ping

Hu San watched their movements and laughed, saying, "If you’re interested, I can take you to see now?"

"Ok, thank you."

The slaves were all locked in the backyard, which was large and was specifically divided in the middle. On one side were various livestock, and on the other were several small rooms, where people of different ages and genders were kept separately.

Hearing the sound of someone opening the door, the younger ones huddled in corners, too scared to come out, while others craned their necks, curious to see what kind of person the new buyer was.

When they saw the two girls, they instantly lost spirits.

A younger boy asked the man who sighed, "Uncle, why are you sighing?"

The man glanced at him, rubbing his unruly hair, and slowly said, "Two young girls, how much silver can they afford? An Wazi, it’s better for you to be bought by a good family. Otherwise, you’ll suffer."

An Wazi didn’t quite understand. He was a slave now. Where could there be any significant difference in being a servant?

"It’s in this room." Hu San said, pushing open the wooden door, and a gust of cold wind made the people in the room shiver slightly.

"Uncle Ping, come out, a master wants to see you."

Hu San was always gentle with the people here. Other slave traders only said they were inferior people being sold, but Hu San, having been a refugee himself, knew what it felt like.

"Alright." The man called Uncle Ping looked about forty years old. He was wearing coarse brown clothes that were white from washing, and his looks were ordinary. But there was a sense of steadiness in him, which after just one look, made Nanzhi somewhat satisfied.

Uncle Ping got up, brushing off the grass from his clothes, before he stepped out of the room.

"Greetings to the two young ladies." Uncle Ping looked calm, only giving a slight nod of respect, then kept silent.

Hu San chuckled and moved aside, "Miss Nanzhi, Miss Miaomiao, have a look."

"Uncle Ping, I wonder where you served as a steward before."

Without beating around the bush, Nanzhi asked directly.

Uncle Ping was somewhat surprised. In the past half month that he had been here, many wealthy families from Yan City had taken a look at him, but they only asked about his age and his previous duties.

This young lady had the audacity to ask about his previous household.

"My former master was Minister Ye of the Ministry of Works. I served as a steward there for thirteen years."

Hearing his words, Nanzhi nodded. In her mind, she was carefully considering whether the original text had mentioned the Minister of Works. It would be great if she could find a bargain, but she was afraid she might inadvertently cause trouble.

Seeing that Nanzhi didn’t say anything, Miaomiao just stood by her side, watching her anxiously.

But Hu San was somewhat puzzled. How come they went silent after asking about his origins?

"I wonder why Uncle Ping was sold?" Nanzhi was a bit curious. This steward who had served for thirteen years, how could he be sold just because he "inadvertently" discovered the private affairs of the master’s family?

"..."

Uncle Ping was silent for a while and did not speak, but his eyes dimmed a bit.

He was thirty-six this year. Since he was bought by Master Ye at the age of seventeen, he had been serving Master Ye all the time.

Initially, he was a servant boy. After that, thanks to good luck, he became Master Ye’s trusted aide. But that hardship lasted six years, before he finally served as a steward for thirteen years.

Unexpectedly, he was sold one day and ended up like this.

"It’s just that I saw something I shouldn’t have."

Uncle Ping’s voice was a bit hoarse.

"I see." Nanzhi could see the regret in Uncle Ping’s eyes and could guess there were other reasons. Seeing that he didn’t want to say more, she didn’t pursue further.

"Uncle Ping, can you do bookkeeping?"

"Of course, I can."

Uncle Ping looked surprised. If he couldn’t do bookkeeping, what then was his thirteen years of stewardship for?

"Brother Hu, how much silver is needed to buy Uncle Ping?" Nanzhi looked at Hu San and asked.

"Well, Uncle Ping will cost twenty taels of silver." Hu San hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much the two girls could afford. But he spent fifteen taels when Uncle Ping was brought here. After considering the cost of accommodation and his own efforts, he should make some profit.

"Twenty taels?" Having lived in Yan City for a long time, Miaomiao also knew the prices.

If one wanted to buy a maid or a young boy in Yan City, if they looked pretty, eight taels of silver would do. If they looked ordinary, six taels of silver would do.

Those older women or servants would also cost only five or six taels of silver. So why would Uncle Ping cost twenty taels?

"Well, I spent a lot of silver when Uncle Ping arrived." Hu San didn’t speak confidently. After all, they only wanted to hire a steward. He said he had a suitable one for purchase, and it’s indeed somewhat too much to ask for twenty taels.

"Brother Hu, after all, we treat you as a big brother, and we have supported your business back in Lihua Village. Apart from buying a person today, we still need to hire people from you, right? Twenty taels is really too much."

As Nanzhi was bargaining with Hu San, Miaomiao was looking around the house to see if there were any other suitable people.

Nanzhi had just said that if they saw a suitable one, they would buy two and send them back to the restaurant to learn some skills, which would also be a help.

"I understand that your business is hard. In that case, let’s calculate it as eighteen taels of silver." After weighing the price in his mind, Hu San said.

Uncle Ping had arrived half a month ago. He spent fifteen taels on buying him and about two hundred wen on catering for half a month. Even if he sold him for eighteen taels, he could profit more than two taels.

Furthermore, since Nanzhi was willing to spend more than ten taels to buy a steward, it showed that their business was not so small. Now that he had made a good impression with her, it would be convenient for future business, right?

"Eighteen taels of silver?" Nanzhi was a bit hesitant. It was worthwhile to spend eighteen taels to buy a competent steward, but if such a reputable person could stay here without being bought, there must be some inside information.

"Then I’d better check out some other people first." Nanzhi didn’t say whether she was going to buy or not, but turned her head and started looking at the other people with Miaomiao.

To facilitate buyers to select, the windows of these rooms were very large, and standing in front of the window alone, one could see all the people inside.

Hearing their bargaining with Hu San, those who were somewhat dispirited just now perked up. Everyone wanted to go there and be bought by them, but they were afraid of getting a beating, so they quickly cleaned their faces and straightened their backs, just to show their good bodies.

"Miaomiao, have you found anyone you like?" Nanzhi did not plan to pick for herself, but instead turned to Miaomiao.

She trusted Miaomiao’s judgment of people.

"That child, he looks good." Miaomiao pointed to An Wazi in the corner.

The child had clear eyes and looked honest with his thick eyebrows and big eyes.

Having been pointed at, An Wazi was stunned. He hadn’t thought that they would choose him.