Chapter 58: Buying People

Looking at the few taels of broken silver in her hand, Tian Mi felt disgusted. This was the least amount she had earned since starting her life of robbery.

She ignored the three men lying on the ground, groaning in pain, and was about to continue on her way to the dental shop. When she looked up, she saw Bai Mucheng.

This was unbelievable! Why did she always run into him? Her image as a little fairy was completely ruined.

Sigh! Forget it, she never had much of an image in front of him anyway. He had already seen her in all sorts of ugly and bizarre forms.

She could only force a smile and say, “Your Highness, what a coincidence!”

Bai Mucheng happened to pass by and saw the three scoundrels following Tian Mi, so he sensed that she was in danger. When he hurried over, he overheard Tian Mi ordering them to hand over the silver.

He couldn’t help but laugh. He had overestimated things—these few men were no match for her!

Smiling, he said, “Sorry to interrupt your fortune-making.”

Looking at the few broken taels of silver, Tian Mi muttered, “What fortune!”

“These hooligans just need a little lesson,” she added quickly, changing the subject. “Your Highness, I heard you’re planning to go to South County City. I wish you success!”

Bai Mucheng stared at Tian Mi for a long moment, his eyes filled with something unsaid. It made Tian Mi feel a bit uncomfortable.

Just looking at Bai Mucheng’s face was electrifying, like he was emitting some sort of magnetic force. Those with weak composure couldn’t resist, and it was enough to drive a person mad!

He finally spoke, “Mm! I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

Tian Mi smiled brightly and said, “Then I wish Your Highness a successful journey. I still have something to do, so I’ll take my leave!”

She gave a quick wave and turned to leave, feeling a bit unnerved by him. It was best to get away quickly.

Bai Mucheng watched her leave without saying another word.

The three men on the ground were in so much pain they didn’t dare make a sound. There was only one person in Qinghe County who could be referred to as “Your Highness.”

Sigh! They say that chubby people are potential stocks, who knows!

Tian Mi took a few deep breaths in front of the dental shop, trying to calm her emotions. She couldn’t let herself be distracted by someone so handsome.

The head of the dental shop was a sturdy woman in her late thirties, with a rough face, reminding Tian Mi of the original owner of this body. She wasn’t as strong as the original, and her figure was already getting a bit heavy.

When she saw Tian Mi about to enter, the woman quickly greeted her, saying, “Oh, my! A beautiful young lady, are you here to buy people? Let me tell you, my name is Granny Chen, and we have all kinds of people here. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

Tian Mi smiled and said, “Yes, please show me.”

The dental shop was quite large, a spacious mansion. Granny Chen asked Tian Mi about her needs.

Tian Mi wanted workers, both male and female, two older, more stable ones, and a few younger ones, around ten or so years old. She also wanted some who could be trained, to groom them as part of her foundation for a wealthy woman’s life.

It would be ideal if there were two who could read.

Granny Chen immediately called a few big men and brought out a group of young male servants. In this time period, the dental shop sold two types of slaves: one was an official slave, marked with tattoos, and their transactions were registered with the government. The management of official slaves was strict. If they escaped or betrayed their masters, it was a death sentence. And once they were alive, they were slaves forever. The other type was privately sold, such as poor families selling sons, daughters, or wives. These slaves were managed by the masters themselves and, if the master wished, could have their status as commoners restored.

All slaves were bought and sold freely, and their life and death were controlled by their masters.

Granny Chen explained, “Official slaves are well-trained and loyal for life, so they are more expensive. These private slaves are all honest and obedient. We’ve trained them well, and their price is a bit cheaper.”

“If they have skills and can read, they cost more. We’ll look at this batch first, and you can choose.”

Granny Chen was clearly an experienced saleswoman.

Tian Mi, who wanted to live a peaceful life as a rich woman without adding complications to her household, decided to buy only official slaves. After all, she had money, so she wasn’t worried about the cost.

Tian Mi chose seventeen people in one go: ten boys around sixteen years old and eight girls of the same age.

Granny Chen’s eyes narrowed with a smile. A big customer!

She quickly brought over the literate ones—both men and women—but they were all older, ranging from their twenties to forties. There were six of them, five men and one woman.

Literate people were rare these days.

The woman looked almost thirty and had the word “slave” marked on her forehead.

Tian Mi asked, “How did you become an official slave? And how did you learn to read?”

The woman lowered her head and took a step forward, bowing to Tian Mi as she spoke, “I’ve been a slave since childhood. I served as a personal maid to Master Chen’s second daughter, who taught me to read. Later, I followed my mistress to Qinghe County, but her family was killed and robbed by the son of Prince Yu. All the slaves were sold, and I was among them.”

Tian Mi nodded and asked the other men about their backgrounds.

Three of them were official slaves, one was raised by a wealthy family from a young age, only twenty-six, and served as the master’s personal bodyguard. Not only could he read, but he was also skilled in martial arts.

He had been the personal bodyguard of a young master, but after his master and mistress died, the household was taken over by another family, and he was sold.

Two others were in their thirties or forties: one was an accountant from a merchant family, the other was a shopkeeper. Both had been sold after their families were robbed and murdered by Bai Dongyuan.

Tian Mi bought all four of them.

In total, these seventeen people cost her 320 taels of silver, proving that official slaves were truly not cheap.

The main reason for the high cost was the four literate ones. The young man skilled in martial arts alone cost 80 taels, which was unaffordable for most people. At his age, he was certainly worth it, and if he hadn’t been an official slave, he might have been sold as a bodyguard.

After paying the silver, Tian Mi took their sale contracts and left. Granny Chen smiled broadly as she saw them off, saying, “Miss Tian, if you need anything else, don’t forget about me, Granny Chen! I have houses, land, and people for sale.”

Goodness! This girl not only looked like a fairy but was also so rich. And it wasn’t just the money—she was so generous, picking out so many people, and all of them the expensive ones. Granny Chen really liked people like her. From now on, whenever she had something good, she’d be sure to ask if Miss Tian wanted it!

Tian Mi brought them home, arranged the women in the back courtyard, and the men in the side courtyard in front. She took clothes and bedding from her space that she had collected from the county office, telling them to tidy up the rooms and freshen up before coming to meet her in the main courtyard.

Before long, they had cleaned up and put on the clothes provided by their master. Although they were simple, they were new and pristine.

Tian Mi sat on a chair, drinking tea and eating small tomatoes.

The seventeen people came to the main courtyard and respectfully bowed to her.

Tian Mi motioned for them to rise. After taking a sip of tea, she stood up and said, “My family name is Tian. We have my father, my mother, and two younger siblings. Our family used to be bodyguards, traveling south, battling north, fighting in wars, and dealing with bandits. My requirements for you are simple—work hard and obey orders. But most importantly, be loyal. My family’s slaves will never be sold again. If anyone is disloyal, they will be executed. Understood?”

All seventeen, trained as official slaves, immediately responded, “Yes, Miss.”

Tian Mi then gave them new names based on their gender and age.

The women were named from Chun Yi to Chun Jiu.

The men were named from Qiu Yi to Qiu Ba.

She arranged their daily tasks: Qiu Yi and Qiu Er were familiar with Qinghe County and had some knowledge. Tian Mi asked them to buy a stone mill and a donkey, and for the other to find someone to turn a side room in the back courtyard into a proper kitchen with a stove and large iron pot, adjacent to her former soy sauce and vinegar-making yard.

The rest of the young men were tasked with looking after the horses at home. Her uncles and cousins would send her the horses from Qinghe County, so now there were twenty-two horses in her courtyard.

This three-entry courtyard was spacious, with many courtyards. Adding a few workshops would be no problem.

Tian Mi had Chun Yi tally up all the skills these seventeen people had. She wanted them to learn whatever they could.

She’d arrange more work for them tomorrow.

Bai Mucheng would be leaving Qinghe County tomorrow, and then she could bring her father and the others over.