The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 689 Picking people
The arrival of the envoy from the Western Wind Kingdom had no impact on the current royal family; they only listened to it briefly before ignoring it.

Old Wang, on the contrary, tensed up, worried that it was the same group of people from before, coming to snatch Ayu away.

Over the years, the Western Wind Kingdom has only sent some things over, without leaving a single word for Ayu. It seems as if they have abandoned her, making it impossible to figure out what they are thinking.

Ayu is about to turn twelve, and is ostensibly ten years old, so Old Mrs. Wang is not afraid that Ayu will want to follow the people of Xifeng Kingdom.

It's a good thing that the child is growing up, has his own ideas, and has the right to make independent choices. She won't make arrangements for him anymore.

After all, Ayu is different from her silly sons. She was carefully raised by herself and was protected by a deity, so she wouldn't do anything stupid.

Ayu was unaware of these things; she had only heard a brief account of what was happening in the village from Old Mrs. Wang, and after learning that there was nothing seriously wrong, she felt relieved.

The next day, while on duty in the carriage, Ayu asked Qin Huai a question: "Brother Ayou, what do we need to train our own people?"

Qin Huai: "Why are you suddenly asking about this? Is it because I don't have enough manpower for you? I'll transfer some more to you."

He didn't ask Ayu why she suddenly needed manpower. He just thought to himself that the group of people he had trained needed to be tested again to see if they were useful. The people assigned to Ayu must not be allowed to have any rebellious tendencies.

Ayu said, "No, the people you left at home are enough, but I still want to train some of my own people. I just don't know what the procedures are, and whether they are in compliance with the rules."

“As the head of the village, according to the law, you are allowed to have soldiers to guard your residence, but the number is strictly controlled. You are only allowed to have no more than 20 people. The salaries of 10 of them are paid through the public account, and the salaries of the remaining 10 are paid by yourself.”

However, despite this, the guards of each noble family usually number more than 20. Those with titles may have 50 or 60 guards, but the number will never exceed 100. To exceed this would be a serious overreach.

Moreover, soldiers guarding the courtyard are different from ordinary servants. Training them is very expensive and time-consuming. They are not ordinary servants, and they are not usually ordered around for trivial matters. Sometimes, these people can even be considered half masters. If the master cannot control them, something bad may happen.

Unless they were enemies with many families, guards were not very useful on a daily basis. Therefore, many families did not even arrange proper guards, but instead had servants perform multiple roles.

"Oh, where should I find these people? From the conscription office or the Ministry of the Interior?"

Qin Huai: "This matter is complicated. If you are really interested, we might as well discuss it further. Recently, in order to receive the envoy from the Western Wind Kingdom, some people from the Hanlin Academy have been transferred, and some matters have been put on hold. I have some free time, so I will take you to see it after I finish my shift."

"it is good."

Qin Huai was a man of his word. He kept this in mind and, before his shift ended, took advantage of his time at the Hanlin Academy to consult more relevant classics, found many methods, compiled them into a book, and gave it to A Yu as soon as he finished his shift.

“There are quite a few places to choose from.” Ayu took the booklet Qin Huai had given her, flipped through the detailed introductions, and said, “I’m planning to train a group of useful people for the family. The most important thing is loyalty; ability is secondary. Anyway, Grandma can help with those who lack ability. In that case, being a family member of a disgraced official is actually quite good; at least you don’t have to teach them manners. As for the conscription office, forget it; there are too many unruly soldiers there, and they’re hard to manage. Sigh, let’s find a broker to ask them. They’ve handled many people, so they’ll probably know more details!”

Official brokers are registered and recorded in the government office, and the people who handle their affairs are all clean; you can even trace their ancestors back several generations. They are comfortable to use.

Ayu had a sudden inspiration. She hadn't thought of it before, but now she realized that her family couldn't rely on Ayou's Chi-surname guards. Regardless of whether they had other tasks, her family needed to have its own people.

She may not mind, but who knows if the rest of the family will?
With Brother Ayou hiding in their home year-round, even if the Wang family gets used to it, when the Wang family enters officialdom in the future, they will inevitably be gossiped about behind their backs. When they encounter officials with differing political views who ostracize and suppress them, they will be subjected to all sorts of harsh words.

It would be better to eliminate these problems from the beginning.

The Wang family only needs loyal people, but they don't need to risk their lives like secret guards. As long as they can protect the Wang family members in critical moments, they are qualified.

"Yu Xiangjun, you've come to the right place!" Tang Yuan was very capable and quickly found a man who called himself the number one broker in Wanning. He looked to be about forty years old, with clear features and a very amiable appearance. "The people I, Lao Qian, have handled all have received rave reviews from their clients. In all these years, there hasn't been a single case of someone wanting to return someone."

"You also have the surname Qian?" Ayu found it amusing. "I once knew a middleman who also had the surname Qian, and he was just as talkative as you."

“You’re from Wangbei County, aren’t you, Yuxiang Jun? If I’m not mistaken, the middleman you mentioned should be my younger brother, Qian Deyi.” Seeing Ayu nod, Qian Guanya grinned from ear to ear. “Then you’ve really found the right person. He used to write to me often, saying that Yuxiang Jun’s family is very kind and has taken good care of his business over the years. Now he’s also earned the title of Guanya and works in the prefectural city of Wangbei County!” However, the original Qian Deyi was a middleman in charge of real estate, while this Qian Guanya is in charge of population circulation, which are different positions in the same department.

With this connection established, Qian Guanya's attitude became even more enthusiastic: "Lord Yuxiang, if you need loyal servants, I suggest you find someone from a family. If they have children born into the family, they will be easier to control. Also, most of the former clean-cut criminal slaves with good fighting skills have already been selected. If your budget allows, and you're not afraid to wait three to five years, using those fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys would be best. Although they eat a lot and are not strong now, if properly trained, they will be more useful and loyal than those in their thirties in the future."

Seeing Qin Huai nod secretly, Ayu also nodded: "Okay, then take me to see the person first."

"You're quite lucky. Not long ago, there was an accident at the quarry, and many officials were held accountable. Some of them were unlucky and their families were exiled. Their servants were also taken over for future use. A batch was selected yesterday, but there's still a bunch of greenhorns left!"

When they arrived at the location, Ayu discovered that it was a place similar to a drill ground, and a strange, musty smell could be smelled from afar.

As they got closer, they saw that the rooms were small and filled with people. When they saw someone arrive, many of them leaned over the wooden bars, stretched out their hands, and cried out, "Honorable sir, benefactor, please look at me! I'm ready to work!"

"My sir, please employ me! I don't want a monthly salary, just give me a meal!"

"Please look at me, sir!"

Some people had blank expressions and squatted in corners, oblivious to what was happening around them.

"Who are they?" Ayu walked past a room and saw a group of young girls, heads bowed and huddled together. Their gazes were even colder than those of the others.

"What about them? They are a group of female slaves whose crimes do not warrant exile, nor can they be used as official prostitutes," Qian Guanya explained. "Most of them are maids of daughters of officials, and some are concubines of minor officials. According to their crimes, they are to wait for selection by various families, and in the future, they usually remain maids or concubines. But compared to girls with clean backgrounds, these women are not very useful."

The young ladies' maids were fine, but noblemen felt these maids were somewhat unlucky. They were unusable as rough maids, and it would be a waste of money to make them fine maids. As for concubines, it was even more out of the question. Respectable families would not want concubines who had fallen into the hands of officials, and some even thought they brought bad luck.

"You're all being ridiculous. Those men were also convicted, yet you insist on thinking they're unlucky?" Tangyuan said angrily after Qian Guanya's simple advice. "Such thinking is far too biased!"

Qian Guanya was not angry, but smiled and said, "What this young lady said is true. However, most people think this way. We, as brokers, can't expect to change the minds of nobles. We can only go along with it. If the village lord and others don't mind, these maids are useful. They don't need to be taught proper etiquette. Even if they are just third-class or low-ranking maids, they are better than others."

The servants of disgraced officials are harder to sell than ordinary servants. Those with special skills are picked over long before they are sent to the official brokers. The remaining servants are either considered unlucky or have some other reason, so they are always more troublesome.

Ayu: "I'll buy twenty people for now, ten men and ten women. For the men, as you said, I'll find eight boys, fifteen or sixteen years old is fine, and two middle-aged men and women, all healthy and honest. The women must be over twenty years old, and they will all be maids. I only want those who are willing to be maids. Our family doesn't keep concubines, so we don't want anyone with other intentions. That's all the requirements. You can choose the people and send them to the Wang family on Sansi Street tomorrow. If these people are suitable, we will choose more later."

Upon hearing this, Qian Guanya knew that this deal was definitely not insignificant.

He secretly rejoiced, thankful that he hadn't been negligent just because Yu Xiangjun was a newly appointed lord. He had told him everything he could, big and small, which was why he had this good fortune.

He immediately agreed, saying, "Of course, of course. Please rest assured, my lord, I will handle things perfectly for you. If any useful people come up in the future, I will have them reserved for you first. If you want them later, I will have them sent to you. Is that alright?"

Ayu: "Okay."

"Good good!"

After Qian Guanya happily saw the person off, he immediately set about finding people who met the requirements.

Fortunately, there were quite a few people, and half of them were women, so it was quick to gather them. Once the people were selected, they were immediately sent to be trained, told to do what they were supposed to do and not to cause trouble for themselves, and then the master's requirements were explained. That was it.

On the way back, Qin Huai asked, "Are you planning to train staff for the girls' academy?"

"You figured it out?" Ayu smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I had this plan in mind. Anyway, I need to find someone useful, so why not start training them now? In three or five years, they'll be ready to be put to use."

(End of this chapter)