Traveling to another world and becoming a local owner

The two were shocked when they heard this. Just as they were about to explain, they heard Ye Qingmei sobbing softly, "No, no, I was sold voluntarily."

"What's going on? Come on, let's talk outside." Zhang Ling pulled her up. Although the smell in the room was not as pungent as the previous one, it still made him feel unbearable.

Ye Qingmei followed Zhang Ling closely and walked out of the dim hut. As she walked, she did not forget to tidy up her hair and clothes that were covered with grass debris.

"What happened?" Zhang Ling asked impatiently when she came out of the house.

"Yes, my childhood cousin, how did you get sold to the pawnshop?" Liu Jie, who was standing by, also had a puzzled look on his face and asked quickly.

"It was me who asked my father to sell me out." Ye Qingmei wiped her tears, lowered her head and answered in a low voice.

"Why?" Zhang Ling was very confused when he heard this and asked immediately.

"Yesterday evening after work, my father and I just returned home and saw my mother unconscious at home with a high fever. We called the doctor from the next village, but he was also helpless and asked us to send her to the Ci'an Hall in the county. My father and I pushed a small wooden cart to bring mother to the county town." Ye Qingmei started crying as she spoke, and her tearful appearance made people feel distressed.

"Then what? Why are you here?" Seeing that she was crying more and more sadly, Zhang Ling had to divert her attention.

"After examining my mother, the doctor at Ci'an Hall said he could cure her, but that he would need ten taels of silver for the consultation fee. Before my father left, he took all the money in the family with him, but he could only scrape together four taels. It was late at night and the city gates were closed, so it was too late for my father to go back and borrow money. The clinic said that if my mother didn't get treatment quickly, she might not make it until dawn. My father and I knelt down and kowtowed to the doctor, begging him to treat my mother first and to go back and find a way to get the remaining money at dawn. But the doctor wouldn't agree. In the end, there was no other way, so I begged my father to send me to the pawnshop. Originally, I could only be sold for five taels of silver, but my father and I begged and pleaded, and later the manager of the pawnshop heard that I had studied for a few years and could read, so they gave me one tael more and made up the money for the treatment." After Ye Qingmei finished speaking, tears kept falling.

"Don't they say that doctors have a kind heart? This quack is only interested in money. What about your mother? Is her illness cured?" Zhang Ling was obviously angry after hearing this. He couldn't help but curse a few words, and then asked with concern.

"I don't know. My father took the silver and told me to wait while crying. He said he would go back to borrow money and redeem me after his mother's illness was cured. Then he went straight to the clinic. I don't know how my mother is doing now." When the girl thought of her terminally ill mother, she immediately started crying again.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang. I was there last night too. The old man told us to treat his daughter, the young lady in front of us, well. He said that in a day or two, he would come to redeem her even if he had to sell all he had, and asked us not to let his daughter suffer." The broker at the side interjected these two remarks at the right time, hoping to deepen the good impression he made on Zhang Ling.

"Did they bully you?" Zhang Ling ignored Ya Lang and asked softly with his head down.

"No, they just locked me in this room and didn't insult me." Ye Qingmei wiped her tears with her sleeves and replied while shaking her head.

"Well, that's good. Don't wait for your father. I'll take you back now." Zhang Ling said, pulling Ye Qingmei's arm and walking in the direction they came from.

Everyone behind him looked at each other, and for a moment they didn't know what to say.

"By the way, Brother Ling, if you want to buy a maid, can you buy the one named Miss Lin? She is a nice person and well-read, but her family is broken up and her life is miserable. If you don't buy her, she will definitely be sold to a brothel." Ye Qingmei was held by Zhang Ling's arm, with an unnatural blush on her face. She seemed to suddenly remember something, and immediately stopped and said.

"Well, I'll listen to you. There are so many girls in the house. It's fate that we meet. I don't bring much silver this time. If it's enough, I'll buy them all!"

"There are fourteen in total, including me." Ye Qingmei answered in a low voice.

"Manager Wang, please take a look at the woman in the previous room, the five young men, and the girl in this room. How much do they cost in total?"

"There are seventeen women in total, but they have six children. Do you want these children? I can give them to you for free, but they are too young, and some of them can't even walk. They can't do anything, and they need to be fed and kept alive for several years. But it's hard to bear to see them separated from their biological mothers at such an age." Shopkeeper Wang asked carefully with some concern.

Generally, women bought from pawnbrokers don't have to pay for their children, because children are too young and basically no one wants them, and they are difficult to raise. Women don't want to abandon their children, so most buyers don't like it. But the pawnbroker's rule is to sell both adults and children together. But in the eyes of Shopkeeper Wang, Zhang Ling is Zhou Yixing's friend, so he is a little embarrassed, so he asked this question.

"It's okay. Let the children live with the woman. Separating mother and child is against harmony. We don't care about such a small amount of food." Zhang Ling heard this without hesitation.

"Mr. Gaoyi! Seventeen women, five young and strong, thirteen women of marriageable age, four of whom are literate, a total of two hundred and eighty-five taels. Mr. Zhang, please give an integer, two hundred and eighty taels, how about that?" Shopkeeper Wang muttered to himself, counting on his fingers and doing a simple calculation, and said immediately after confirming that it was correct.

"Thirteen? Didn't Ye Qingmei just say that there were fourteen women of marriageable age, including her?"

"Since this lady is an old acquaintance of yours, I dare not charge you for her money. I hope you will not make it difficult for me."

"Well, in that case, I would like to thank Shopkeeper Wang for his kindness. Here is a three hundred tael silver note. Please check it."

"Okay, young master." Shopkeeper Wang took the banknote with a smile on his face, checked it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, he carefully put it away. Then he took out twenty taels of silver and handed it to Zhang Ling, saying, "Young master Zhang, this is the twenty taels of silver for you."

"No need, Manager Wang. Use the silver to buy some food, and the rest to buy some coarse cloth clothes. It doesn't matter if they are old, as long as they are clean. Let those women who are half-naked change into them, so that they can go back with me later."

"Young master is a kind-hearted person. I will ask someone to do it right away." Shopkeeper Wang handed the twenty taels of silver to the broker beside him, who took the silver and trotted away.

"Everyone, please follow me to the lobby and sit for a while, so that I can hand over these people's indentures to the young master." Shopkeeper Wang stepped aside and made a "please" gesture.

"No problem." Zhang Ling nodded and pulled Ye Qingmei towards the hall where they came from, and the group followed.

In the hall of the pawnshop, the man in green clothes showed displeasure: "Master Zhou, those people are obviously country folks, not even students, why treat them so politely. Although the poem before was amazing, who knows if it was plagiarized."

Hearing this, Zhou Yixing took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Brother Ma. The provincial examination is coming soon, and my father has told me to make more friends with talented people. I think Mr. Zhang has an extraordinary demeanor and should not be a plagiarist. I will know his depth after meeting him again later."

As soon as the two finished talking, they saw people slowly approaching from outside the hall. Zhou Yixing immediately stood up and went forward to greet them, saying, "Is Mr. Zhang's matter settled? If there is any inconvenience, please let me know. I will do my best to help."

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Zhou. Now that we have settled the matter, I will have to trouble you again."

"Brother Zhang, you are too kind. Who is this girl?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ling looked at Ye Qingmei behind him and said awkwardly, "Oh, this is my cousin's distant cousin, yes, yes..."

Seeing him hesitating, Zhou Yixing immediately understood and changed the subject: "It's almost noon, and Brother Zhang has finished his work. How about I host him and go to Fulai Inn so that we can have a chat?"

"Well, I just bought a lot of maids and servants, and I was going to take them back home to settle down." Zhang Ling wanted to refuse, but he had to make this excuse.

"Eh? Brother Zhang, don't refuse. I'll ask the people from the pawnbroker to help escort us. You can just appoint someone to lead the way. There's no need for you to go there in person." Zhou Yixing waved his hands, looking somewhat displeased.

Seeing that the other party had said so much, Zhang Ling could only smile helplessly and said, "In that case, I'd rather obey than be respectful!"

Just as they finished talking, Shopkeeper Wang handed a stack of indentures to Zhang Ling.

Shopkeeper Wang was also a careful and shrewd man. He picked out Ye Qingmei's indenture and put it on the top to prevent him from having to look for it again.

Zhang Ling carefully checked the contract. It said: Old man Ye Kui has an only daughter named Qingmei, who is sixteen years old. Because his wife Liu is seriously ill and in urgent need of life-saving, he asks for mediation and voluntarily sells Qingmei to Qianfu Dental Clinic for six strings of copper coins. I am afraid that there will be no future proof and I will never return. I will write the word "sell" as a proof. Three sides make it clear...

After confirming that it was correct, Zhang Ling picked up Ye Qingmei's indenture and tore it apart.

"Brother Ling!" Ye Qingmei, who was standing by, burst into tears upon seeing this. She wanted to stop him, but it was too late, so she could only cry silently.

In those days, people who sold their bodies were treated like goods, and could be ordered around by their masters. Even if they were beaten to death, it was like slaughtering their own chickens and ducks, and the government would not pursue the matter. As long as the body contract was in hand, all their descendants would be slaves.

Because the slaves sold by the slave companies were similar to the intermediaries of later times, the slaves had not yet gone to the government office to register as slaves. They had to wait until the buyer completed the transaction and then go to the government office with the contract to go through the relevant procedures.

"After Mr. Zhang confirms that everything is correct, please give the contract to me and take it to the county government office. After the slave registration is completed, I will give it to you. The cost of the procedures will be paid by the pawnshop. If you have something to do, you can also send someone to go with you. Afterwards, the pawnshop will send someone to deliver the slaves to your house." Manager Wang has been in business for many years, and he is always flawless in his words and deeds. If the merchants in the Dayi Dynasty had not been lowly, he would never have been able to stay like this.

"Then I'll have to trouble Shopkeeper Wang. Danniu, you will follow Shopkeeper Wang later. After you are done, take them back to let Aunt Wang settle them down. I will be back later." Zhang Ling turned around and gave the order.

"Okay, Brother Ling, don't worry." Upon hearing this, Daniu patted his chest and made the promise.

"Brother Ling, I want to go to the clinic to see my mother first. If she is not here, I want to go back and see her first to avoid making my father worry." Ye Qingmei lowered her head, a little embarrassed.

"Well, that's fine. Then you can go with Daniu so that someone can take care of you on the road." Zhang Ling said softly with a smile.

After a few people left with Manager Wang, Zhang Ling, at the invitation of Zhou Yixing, went to Fulai Inn, the largest restaurant in Yingyang County.

As they walked and talked on the road, Liu Jie found an opportunity to quietly pull Zhang Ling a few steps behind him and whispered, "Lingzi, I think these people must have some purpose. If not, let's not go."

"No, Brother Jie, others have treated us with courtesy no matter what, and they have helped us. It is reasonable for us to make this trip." Zhang Ling knew that Liu Jie was worried that this was someone else's territory, and he was afraid of being at a disadvantage if the other party had bad intentions.

"Then if you have anything to do later, go first. I will ask Zhuzi and Shunzi to stop them. By the way, Lingzi, when did you learn to write poetry? Did you copy it from somewhere?" Seeing him say this, Liu Jie could only think of a way out helplessly. As he was talking, he remembered the question that had been in his mind for a long time.

"Haha, it was indeed copied, but I copied it in a dream, haha!" Zhang Ling said, no longer paying attention to Liu Jie who was confused, and quickly walked forward to meet Zhou Yixing and others.

Fulai Inn is located on the most prosperous street in Yingyang County, just across the street from the government office and county school, and is visited by many scholars, officials, merchants and wealthy people.

Several people entered the private room on the second floor. Zhou Yixing asked Zhang Ling and Liu Jie to sit down one by one, and then asked the waiter to serve good wine and delicious food.

After everyone sat down, Zhou Yixing introduced the two people accompanying him and said, "This is Xia Wenshan, the young master of Xia's Trading Company."

"Hello, Mr. Xia." Zhang Ling bowed, as if to greet him. Xia's Trading Company was one of the largest companies in Yingyang County, dealing in grain, oil, and cloth.

"Mr. Zhang, you are polite." Xia Wende replied indifferently. He was indifferent and serious by nature, and he hardly said a few words along the way.

"This is Wang Huan, the son of the county school instructor." After the two men greeted each other, Zhou Yixing raised his hand and introduced the man in blue shirt beside him.

"Greetings, Young Master Wang." Zhang Ling understood and knew that the other party was of some importance, so he bowed again.

"No problem." Wang Huan had been offended before and was still a little unhappy at this moment, so he replied indifferently.

Liu Jie on the side was so angry that if the other party was not the son of an official, he would have wanted to slap him twice. But he had no choice but to keep silent.

Zhou Yixing saw that everyone had met before, so he asked with a smile, "Does the poem about lotus that Brother Zhang just recited have a name?"

"It's just a casual creation, I haven't given it a name yet." As the dishes had not been served yet, Zhang Ling had to drink a sip of tea and said calmly.

"Oh? I wonder if Mr. Zhang has any other masterpieces." Before Zhou Yixing could speak, Wang Huan on the side immediately said.

"I do occasionally get something when I have nothing to do, but it's just something I do for fun in my spare time, and it's not worthy of being presented to the public." How could Zhang Ling not understand the meaning behind the other party's words, so he said deliberately.

"Eh? Mr. Zhang, don't lie to me. The previous poem was so amazing, I'm sure your other masterpieces will also be refreshing. How about you recite two of them to broaden our horizons? I hope you won't refuse." There was some contempt on Wang Huan's face. He had always suspected that the other party must have plagiarized, so he spoke deliberately to make things difficult for Zhang Ling.