The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 436 Life and Death (Part Two) (Thanks to the Alliance Leader "Promise to Become King" for the generous donation!)

After their food rations ran out, Cai Tou could only eat dry biscuits and sweet potatoes with the other goods. He became increasingly irritable, and whenever he saw someone who looked like a potential buyer, he would rush up to them from afar and eagerly try to sell his goods.

Qin Huai also tried to find out where Zhao Cheng'an was.

It's hard.

This time, Qin Huai's operation covered a wide area, allowing him to move almost freely throughout the entire trading market. He could go to the more remote suburbs or even the huts closer to the outer city. It was difficult to determine Zhao Cheng'an's location based on the scope of his operation, given the large number of people in the area.

Shi Dadan had told Qin Huai that mayflies in their land are naturally buried in the soil or water and dormant all year round. If Zhao Cheng'an were to do what Chen Huihong did and dig a hole to bury herself, Qin Huai would have no chance of finding her on the surface.

We can only wait for him to come out and steal again.

As a result, two days passed.

Because of the cunning thief who could go anywhere, human traffickers dared not spend lavishly on fine wine, meat, and vegetables anymore. They quickly sold off their good goods and went into the city, leaving only human traffickers like Cai Tou, who had unsold goods, struggling to sell them outside the city.

Nothing has been stolen in the last two days, probably because there's nothing worth stealing. But the traffickers are terrified of being robbed, so even when nothing's stolen, they keep an eye on each other while cooking porridge.

Seeing his peers selling off their goods at low prices and enjoying themselves in the city, while those who hadn't finished selling at least got a bowl of hot porridge every day, Cai Tou, who could only drink cold water and eat flatbread every day, felt extremely resentful. He wanted to kick anyone who passed by, whether it was a person or a dog.

Every day, he'd either sit on the ground cursing his goods or stand up cursing them. But goods can't be sold just by cursing. Qin Huai had been in this market for two days and could roughly tell that the quality of Cai Tou's goods was really bad; they were mostly children, and they often lied about their ages.

They look only five or six years old, but they might actually be seven or eight. They'd rather claim to be eleven or twelve. Their sales pitches are also very limited. When asked, they just tell you to go home, eat something nice, and they'll recover in a couple of days.

These children, so thin they could be blown over by the wind, can't be raised simply by feeding them well.

After selling the last woman he had, Cai Tou stared fiercely at his most valuable possession—the child Qin Huai had first seen showing off his teeth to the customer.

“If you still can’t sell them by tomorrow, you won’t be eating any more pancakes. I’ve already contacted the leather mill, the coal mine, and the brick kiln. I’ll deliver them all to you tomorrow night.”

Upon hearing this, the children, who were already lying on the ground too weak to even sigh, couldn't help but flinch and tremble.

The child threatened by Cai Tou didn't react much and lay quietly on the ground.

"What bad luck." Cai Tou really wanted to kick it hard, but he held back. He went back to his belongings (which were actually just a few cloth bags), took out a hard cake that could be used to crack walnuts, soaked it in cold water, and ate it.

The sun is about to set.

Qin Huai stayed here for two days and had a general idea of ​​when the guests would appear. The guests mainly appeared between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The guests who had spare money to go out of the city to buy people mostly stayed in the inner city. It took time to get from the inner city to the outer city, whether by carriage or rickshaw.

Too early and the customers can't get up; too late and it's unsafe to return after sunset. The traffickers usually relax around 3 or 4 pm each day, as it's time to go home.

Just as the sun was about to set, someone arrived.

While the other traffickers were still drinking porridge around the pot and hadn't reacted yet, Cai Tou, who was in a hurry to sell his goods, put down his flatbread and cold water and rushed over, beaming with the smile of a god of wealth arriving. He seemed to want to pull people toward him, but he also kept a good distance of more than a meter from the customers.

The guest was dressed very well; his clothes were a black cotton long gown without patches or wear on the buttons, and he wore cloth shoes that looked brand new. Most importantly, the guest was robust, yet he seemed quite amiable and easy to talk to; it was clear at a glance that he was wealthy, had plenty of money, and was easily fooled.

None of the people who stayed outside the city were clean; many children were covered in mosquito and flea bites, and the traffickers were no better off.

Any human trafficker with professional ethics knows that while they may be attentive, they must never directly touch their customers.

"Sir, what kind of goods do you want? I have a complete selection, and the prices are fair and reasonable. Look, I have boys from seven or eight years old to teenagers, mostly from Shanxi. Don't let their thin appearance fool you; they've been traveling and starving all this time. Shanxi has been suffering from drought for years, and people have even resorted to cannibalism. You've probably heard about what happened there. Those who have survived are the ones with good constitutions. You can feed them a few good meals when we get back, and they'll recover."

Hearing Cai Tou's sales pitch, the traffickers sitting by the pot drinking porridge gave each other disdainful smiles, exchanging glances that clearly indicated there was no way he could actually close the deal.

Upon hearing Cai Tou's question, the customer immediately asked, "Do you have any boys around eight years old?"

Upon hearing there was hope, Cai Tou's eyes lit up. He rushed to his territory, grabbed his only valuable possession, and dragged it toward the customer. Skillfully, he pried open the child's mouth: "Look at this. He's a nine-year-old farmer's son. This is the best I have. Someone offered four and a half taels of silver before, but I didn't sell it. I wanted to find this child a good family. I see you're a respectable person. If you really want him, I'll sell him for four and a half taels of silver."

The guest looked at the child in Cai Tou's arms and said, "Don't carry him, put him down."

Cai Tou quietly stepped on the child's foot, signaling him to be smart and say something nice, but the child didn't react. After being put down, he knelt on the ground without raising his head.

Cai Tou could only offer a forced explanation: "Those raised in the countryside year-round have never seen the world and are afraid. But there are advantages to this kind of behavior; they are honest and won't run away no matter how much you beat or scold them. As long as you give them a full meal, they'll be fine."

The customer ignored the radish's sales pitch, carefully examined the child, and asked, "Do you have a name?"

"Yes, yes!" Cai Tou hurriedly said, opening his mouth to call out the child's name, but suddenly realized that he didn't know what the child's name was at all. He quickly pushed the child away, "Master is asking you what your name is! Hurry up and tell me!"

The child said blankly, "Xia Sheng."

“Yes, that’s his name.” Cai Tou grinned. “I remember this child. His family was wiped out in a disaster. I didn’t want to take him in at first. But his mother knelt on the ground and kowtowed to me, begging for money and food, only asking me to take him in and give him a bite to eat. I softened and took him in.”

"Absolutely a good kid!"

The guest hesitated, seemingly tempted, then shook his head after a moment's thought: "I'm too old."

Cai Tou was stunned and blurted out, "Nine years old is still old, sir. I am absolutely not lying about my age, unlike some unscrupulous people who say they are eleven or twelve when they are only seven or eight."

Upon hearing this, the other human traffickers glared at him angrily.

The guest didn't explain, but simply shook his head: "Nine years old."

After saying that, he was about to leave. Cai Tou was immediately anxious. He reached out to chase after him but did not dare to. He was so angry that he was about to kick Xia Sheng twice. Just as he was about to kick him, Xia Sheng suddenly looked up and said, "Sir, I was born before the New Year. According to the custom in my area, people born before the New Year are counted as one year older, and the traditional Chinese age is counted as one year older. My name is 9 years old, but if we count all the time, I am only 7 years old."

Xia Sheng's words kept the guest there. The guest turned around, looked at him, and asked, "Have you been to school?"

“There was an old scholar in the village. My mother once gave him a piece of cured meat and asked him to teach me a few characters. I recognize a few and have learned a little accounting.”

Cai Tou got anxious: "Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Cai Tou's face was practically screaming, "If you'd told me you had this skill, you would have sold it already!"

The customer nodded in satisfaction and asked the head cook, "You just said he sells it for four and a half taels of silver."

Cai Tou was a little reluctant: "Sir, that was just now, now..." "He only sold me for three strings of cash before, and the first few customers thought three strings of cash was too expensive. I'm not worth four and a half taels of silver at all." Xia Sheng spoke up again.

"You little beast, you talk too much!" Cai Tou was furious and raised his foot to kick him, but was stopped by the guest.

"I'll take the four and a half ounces. It's too late now, so I'll take the person back first. Wait for me at the inner city gate at 9:00 AM tomorrow to sign the contract." With that, the customer gave the money to Cai Tou.

Cai Tou took the money and immediately beamed with joy, saying repeatedly, "Great, great, thank you, sir! I'll be waiting for you at the city gate first thing tomorrow morning!"

The guest didn't say anything more, but gestured for Xia Sheng to follow him. Qin Huai, curious about where such a generous guest came from, quietly followed, wanting to hear more.

“My name is Chen Qiusheng. I’m not an official or a businessman. I’m just an ordinary cook. You won’t live a life of great wealth and luxury with me.”

“My purpose in buying you is very simple. My wife died early, and I only have a sickly son and an old servant. Some time ago, a friend reminded me that I should buy a page to accompany my son in his studies. I need a good family background, who is polite, intelligent, and preferably knows a few characters. He must also be younger than my son.”

"understand?"

"I understand, sir. I will definitely serve you well from now on," Xia Sheng said.

"I'll buy you a new set of clothes later. Go to the bathhouse, wash yourself clean, and shave your head. I'll also go to the pharmacy to buy you some medicine powder to apply to your body. My son has a very good temper and personality, even a bit timid. If I find out that you've been secretly bullying him, don't blame me for not showing any mercy and sending you to the authorities. No, it should be the police station now."

“I know, sir.”

Seeing that Xia Sheng spoke respectfully without looking up, Chen Qiusheng sighed and asked, "Is what that broker said about you true?"

Xia Sheng was taken aback, paused, and nodded: "It's true."

“My hometown suffered a severe drought for three years. We sold all our fields. To save a bite to eat, my grandparents hanged themselves. My sister sold herself. My mother also wanted to sell herself, but the brokers refused to take her because she was too old.”

“At first, the broker didn’t want to take me in, saying I was too young to be raised. My mother knelt on the ground and kowtowed to them many, many times, until blood flowed all over the ground. In the end, my father gave the last half bag of sweet potatoes that we had left to the broker, begging him to take me in and take me away from here, to a new place to sell me to a good family, so that I would at least have enough to eat.”

Chen Qiusheng stopped and looked at Xia Sheng intently: "I don't know if what you're telling me is the truth, or if you're trying to prove to me that you're a well-born, virtuous page who meets my standards, but at least it proves that you're a smart child."

"besides."

"The one behind has been following us all the way. Whether it's scouting or robbing, it's time for it to show itself."

Chen Qiusheng's words startled Qin Huai. His first reaction was, "Holy crap, how did he know I'd been following him all this way?" Then he realized, "Wait a minute, he wasn't talking about me."

Then a little clay figure appeared.

Qin Huai: ? ? ?
Qin Huai suddenly realized that he hadn't encountered any invisible walls along the way, which meant that Zhao Cheng'an was following not only Chen Qiusheng and Xia Sheng, but also them.

Covered in mud and straw, making it impossible to tell if he was wearing clothes, the little mud figure chuckled, revealing a set of white teeth, and asked in a clear, loud voice, "Sir, I'm not robbing anyone or scouting. I've been following you all this way just to ask if your family is hiring?"

Chen Qiusheng: ?

Xia Sheng:? ?

Qin Huai: ? ? ?
Zhao Cheng'an continued, "I spent two months outside the city and met all sorts of buyers. There were girls picking girls in the alleys, maids from wealthy families, wives to buy, sons from rich families, and some who didn't say what they were buying but just gave each other meaningful glances."

“There are generous people and stingy people, but you are the only one who would stop someone from kicking them.”

“I am illiterate and I don’t know if I am from a respectable family. The people in the city who recruit workers would chase me away as soon as they saw me, but I want to find a job.”

"I think your place is pretty good. Are you hiring?"

Qin Huai: ...

Holy crap, what kind of recruitment platform is this?

Zhao Cheng'an, you've really got some nerve, camping out at the human trafficking market. You mayflies really do have a unique way of thinking.

Chen Qiusheng was speechless after hearing Zhao Cheng'an's words and fell silent.

Seeing his future boss fall silent, Zhao Cheng'an thought his job application statement wasn't strong enough, so he added after a moment's thought, "Oh right, I also have a skill; I'm really good at stealing!"

"You can ask him; I stole everything that went missing over there during this time!"

Three people:......

Looking into Zhao Cheng'an's sincere eyes, Chen Qiusheng remained silent.

At times like this, a sensible person would quietly leave. But Zhao Cheng'an was neither human nor sensible; he just stood there waiting for Chen Qiusheng to give him a reply, since Chen Qiusheng didn't seem inclined to beat him up anyway.

"I'm a cook at Taifeng Restaurant," Chen Qiusheng introduced himself directly. "My family doesn't need any help, but Taifeng Restaurant is looking to hire a batch of apprentices. There's no pay, no accommodation, but meals are provided."

"I can help you get a job. If you get the job, I have an empty woodshed that I can rent to you for free."

After saying that, Chen Qiusheng looked at the clay figure of Zhao Cheng'an and sighed: "You should come along too, and take a bath with Xia Sheng."

"Looking like this, no one will hire you in the city."

Zhao Cheng'an grinned, showing his bright white teeth, and followed excitedly.

As he caught up, he leaned close to Xia Xiasheng and whispered, "Brother, you have good taste. You picked a reliable buyer."

"I still have two black steamed buns that I stole from your former employer that I haven't finished eating. Do you want me to give you one? Could you put in a good word for me and ask your current employer to buy me too?"

Xia Sheng:......

Xia Sheng silently moved two steps to the side.

(End of this chapter)