After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 728 Qiu Family
Ma discussed with Hu in a low voice for a while.

Haitang was standing nearby and could vaguely hear their conversation: "He does look like an honest person."

"I just asked him. He knows the rules and can speak Mandarin well. The man in charge knows a few boxing moves, so he can be a guard."

"The son is quite clever, and the daughter is a bit ordinary, but she seems to be quite well behaved."

The Qiu family consists of four people, the middle-aged couple Qiu Shugen and his wife, with a son and a daughter. The son is about seventeen or eighteen years old, and the daughter is fifteen years old, both of them have flat heads and straight faces. The daughter is not outstanding in appearance, nor is she a smart and capable person. She was a simple maid in the original owner's family, mainly doing miscellaneous work that was not too delicate, so she was not taken in by Master Jiao. When she was sold, she was able to stay with her family, and was not torn apart and sold as a beautiful maid for a high price. In a way, this is also a kind of luck.

Ma had just heard from the matchmaker that Qiu Shugen knew a little martial arts, could drive a carriage and raise horses, and could also do general errands; his wife Qiu Jia was in charge of washing clothes in the original owner's house, and she also knew a little cooking, but she was not as good as the woman in the other family, who was a full-time cook, so Qiu Jia was originally just helping out in the kitchen, and she could do needlework, but she was not very proficient; their son Qiu Bai, had followed his father to learn since he was a child, and he had learned a little bit of what his father knew, but he was not as proficient as his father, so he could still be a long-term servant; as for their daughter, her current name is Xiaoguo, she has all the skills a maid should have, but she is not outstanding, at least she is honest and obedient.

The four members of this family were not particularly skilled, but as they were from the capital, they were familiar with the situation in the capital. Qiu Shugen used to be one of the long-serving followers who followed the master when he went out. Because he was honest and not smart enough, he could never get promoted. When he got older, he was assigned to work for the young master. However, as a former follower of the head of the imperial merchant family in the capital, he was familiar with the situation in the capital and probably knew a lot of news in the officialdom, which should be of great use to Hai Xiya.

Ma hesitated for a moment, then bought the family of four. The price was not cheap, but the people she bought were useful, so the deal was worth it. Even if she asked the caravan from the capital for information on the other side, she would have spent more than this amount!

The matchmakers all showed happy expressions. To be honest, the Qiu family was not easy to sell. They did not understand the local customs of Chang'an, spoke with an accent different from the locals, had ordinary looks, mediocre skills, were unwilling to leave their families, and always missed their hometown. However, they were also very valuable, so the rich families in Chang'an would not easily buy them, thinking it was not worth it.

The matchmaker had thought that if they couldn't sell the women, they would force them to separate and sell them separately. As long as they sold the two men of the Qiu family to different buyers, the remaining two women would be obedient. However, if they really did this, they would have to be wary of the Qiu family father and son refusing to give in, and using force to resist, injuring the matchmaker's people and causing trouble. Now that an official family was willing to pay the money, they had to accept it quickly to avoid any complications.

When Qiu Shugen, the head of the Qiu family, heard that his family had been kept and would not have to be separated from their loved ones, he relaxed completely. He turned around and looked at his wife, who also had tears in her eyes.

They had no opinion on their new master. Even if the rank was not high, the local sixth-rank official was respectable enough. It was true that their old master was an imperial merchant, but the backers behind him were not strong. When they met a truly powerful official, they could not stand up straight. It was said that the Hai family had a close relationship with the Zhenguogong Mansion, and this backer was much stronger than the old master's imperial merchant.

The four members of the Qiu family kowtowed to the new mistress on the spot. Ma accepted the greeting and ordered them to retreat outside the house and wait in the yard.

She hasn't bought enough people yet. Her granddaughter still needs help. The maid named Xiaoguo is a little clumsy. Even if Haitang didn't ask, Ma didn't think her granddaughter would be happy to keep such a maid around her. It's better for her to stay in the house and serve. Ma and Hu had discussed it long ago. Whether they want to buy or hire people, they will try to pick those with Beijing backgrounds, or at least those who have no close relatives in Chang'an, so that they can take them to Beijing next year. The matchmaker knew their needs, so she recommended the Qiu family first. This is also a coincidence. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, how can it be so easy to buy servants from Beijing in Chang'an?

The matchmaker brought a few young maids to Ma, and Ma asked Haitang to pick one herself. However, Haitang looked at them and felt that these maids had no affinity with her.

Some of them were pretty, but you could tell from their eyes that they were not the type to keep to themselves; some had ordinary looks, but they still admired wealth and fame. They only looked at the jewelry on Ma, Hu and Haitang's heads, bodies and hands, and even paid close attention to the clothes they wore, but they didn't notice the expressions of the three at all; others looked neither good nor bad, but were dull, stuttered and gave irrelevant answers. Even if the matchmaker repeatedly praised them for being "honest and obedient", the women of the Hai family didn't want to spend time teaching them slowly.

In the end, they didn't pick any girls. The matchmaker wasn't in a hurry. With the four people in the Qiu family, she had made a big deal today, and the others were all free money.

The broker who came with her recommended two other people to them: "There is a mother and daughter, surnamed Li. They were not sold to our brokerage firm, but we are familiar with that brokerage firm. I heard from the broker in that brokerage firm that they were from a village outside Beijing and followed their husband to Chang'an to make a living. The husband was not ambitious and was addicted to gambling. In order to pay off his debts, he sold his wife and daughter. The mother and daughter cried and screamed all day long and wanted to commit suicide. If the ladies are interested, you can send someone to ask them. I heard that they were also from a good family and were most afraid of being sold to a dirty place. If they can come to your house to be maids and women, they may have the hope of returning to their hometown in the future. It would be their good fortune."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu asked hurriedly, "Do they still want to return to their hometown? Do they have relatives at home? If they came to our house and then went to the capital, wouldn't they be redeemed by their relatives? We want to buy people because we want to have more people to serve us. If they can only stay at home for a year or two..."

The broker hurriedly said, "Don't worry, grandma. It shouldn't be that serious. I heard that there is no one in their family. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sold their house and land and followed the man to Chang'an to make a living. They just miss their hometown in their hearts."

Ma asked about the address of the dental shop and the life of the broker. The broker said, "I will go back and tell him right away. Madam, when it is convenient for you, just tell me and I will ask him to bring someone to you to take a look!"

Ma said, "In that case, come over tomorrow afternoon."

After the matter was settled, Ma sent the matchmaker away. When Aunt Cui went out to call the Qiu family in, she turned around and told the family: "Qiu Shugen should go out with the master. His wife can work with Caixia first. We should also ask her if there are any rules for washing clothes in Beijing. We should learn them as soon as possible. The boy in his family is called Qiu Bai, and he can be renamed Baisheng in the future. He should learn the rules for a few months. If he is honest, he can be allowed to go out with Baoshun in the future. As for the daughter Xiaoguo, I see that she is wearing green clothes today, so I will change her name to Cuiguo and let her serve in the upper room first. After I meet the mother and daughter of the Li family, I will decide whether to arrange them with Tangtang."

Mrs. Hu had no objection, so Little Stone immediately jumped up and ran out to see his future attendant. Haitang also agreed with her grandmother's assignment. But she was a little puzzled: "Grandma, I thought you should have chosen the person before lunch today, why did you wait until now? It's almost dark outside!"

(End of this chapter)