Chapter 717: Picking People (2)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Village Lord Yu, you’ve come to the right person!” Tang Yuan was very capable. She quickly brought in someone who claimed to be the top government official of Wanning. He appeared to be around forty years old, with a righteous look in his eyes, and seemed very friendly. “All the customers that I’ve handled, they’ve all given positive feedback. Over these years, there hasn’t been a single case of someone wanting to return an individual.”
“Your surname is also Qian?” Ah Yu found it funny. “I once knew an agent whose surname was also Qian. He was as talkative as you.”
“Village Lord Yu is from Wangbei County, right? If I’m not wrong, the agent you mentioned should be my younger brother, Qian Deyi.” Seeing Ah Yu nod, Qian Guanya smiled until his teeth were visible. “Then you’ve really found the right person. He used to write to me often, saying that Village Lord Yu’s family is magnanimous. Over the years, you’ve taken care of his business a lot. He’s also become an official now and is working in Wangbei County!”
Back then, Qian Deyi was only an agent in charge of real estate, while this Qian Guanya was in charge of the manpower distribution. They could be considered to be in different positions in the same department.
With this relationship, Qian Guanya’s attitude became even warmer. “Village Lord Yu, if you need someone loyal, I suggest that you find a family. Any children they have in the future will also be easier to control. In addition, most of the sinful slaves with clean backgrounds and who are good at martial arts have already been picked away. If you have enough budget, and don’t mind waiting for three to five years, it’s best to use those 15 or 16-year-old boys. Although they eat a lot and are weak now, if you nurture them well, they will be more useful and loyal than those in their thirties in the future.”
Seeing Qin Huai nod secretly, All Yu nodded. “Alright, bring me to see them first.”
“You can be considered to have come at the right time. Not long ago, because of the accident at the quarry, many officials were held accountable. Some of the people with bad luck were exiled, and the servants under their names were also confiscated for the state. A batch was chosen yesterday, but there’s still a group of brats left!”
Upon arriving at the designated area, Ah Yu realized that it was a place resembling a training ground. From a distance, she could already catch a strange and musty odor in the air.
When they approached, they saw that it was a small room with many people locked up inside. Seeing that someone had come, many people lay in front of the wooden railing and stretched out their hands to shout, “Benefactor, Benefactor, look at me. I’m very capable!”
“Benefactor, use me. I don’t need a monthly salary. Just give me a bite to eat!”
“Benefactor, look at me!”
There were also some people with numb expressions who squatted in the corners with their knees bent, ignoring what was happening around them. “Who are they?” All Yu walked past a room and saw a group of young girls with their heads lowered. Their gazes were even colder than the others.
“Them? They’re a group of female slaves whose crimes are not serious enough to be exiled and can’t be official prostitutes,” Qian Guanya explained. “Most of them are the maidservants of some officials’ daughters. Some are the concubines of small officials. According to their crimes, they have to wait for the various families to choose. In the future, they’ll usually still be maidservants or concubines. However, compared to girls with clean backgrounds, these people aren’t very useful.”
The maidservants of officials’ daughters are still fine, but the nobles consider these maidservants to bring some bad luck, to a certain extent. Taking them home as coarse work maidservants is not worth it, and having them as refined maidservants is a waste of silver. As for concubines, it’s even more complicated. Families with high standards wouldn’t want concubines that have passed through the hands of an official’s office, and there are also concerns about their ill fortune.
“That’s too ridiculous. Those men were also punished along with them, but they just think that the women are unlucky?” Tang Yuan was a little angry when she heard Qian Guanya’s simple reminder. “This kind of thinking is too biased!”
Official Qian was not angry. Instead, he smiled and said, “Miss, you’re right. However, most people think like this. Those of us who work in the official’s office can’t really think of changing the thoughts of the nobles, so we can only follow their instructions. If Village Lord doesn’t mind, these maidservants can indeed be useful. They are already familiar with the rules and regulations, so you wouldn’t need to teach them extensively. Not to mention training first-grade and second-grade maidservants, even if they are only made into third-grade maidservants, or even coarse work maidservants, they would still be more useful than others.”
The servants of criminals were harder to sell than ordinary servants. Those with skills had long been picked out before they were sent to the official’s office. The remaining ones were either disdained for their so-called bad luck or for other reasons. It was always more troublesome.
Ah Yu: “I’ll buy 20 people for the time being. Both men and women, 10 of each. For the men, as you suggested, I’ll start with eight young boys, around 15 or 16 years old, and two middle-aged individuals who are physically fit and of good character. As for the women, they should be over 20 years old and willing to serve as maidservants. I am only interested in maidservants who are committed to their role; our household doesn’t keep concubines or mistresses, so 1 prefer those without ulterior motives. Other than that, there are no further requirements. Once you’ve made the selections, please have them ready and send them to the Wang residence on Three Thoughts Street tomorrow. If these individuals prove useful, we may consider selecting more in the future.”
When he heard this, Qian Guanya knew that this deal was definitely not small.
He was secretly glad that he did not neglect Village Lord Yu, who was conferred the title recently. He explained everything he could in detail, allowing this good thing to happen.
He immediately agreed. “Sure, sure. Village Lord, don’t worry. 1’11 definitely settle the matter properly for you. If there’s anyone useful in the future, I’ll get someone to keep them for you first. At that time, if you want them, I’ll get someone to send them over to you. What do you think?”
Ah Yu said, “Sure.”
“Alright, alright!”
After happily sending them away, he immediately set off to pick those who met the requirements. When they were all gathered, he would take them to train properly..