Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

Nandu City was the former capital, where high-ranking officials and nobles from all dynasties gathered.

The east and south of the city are where wealthy businessmen and powerful people live.

Beggars are not allowed in these places. Firstly, it affects the appearance of the city, and secondly, if they offend the nobles, they will die.

Anyone who is somewhat familiar with the city of Nandu knows that beggars are only allowed in the west of the city where wealthy families live, and in the north of the city where ordinary people live.

However, when Huiyun and Huiming took a dozen female Taoist priests from Cihang Temple and wandered around the north of the city for half a day, they still couldn't find the little beggar they were looking for.

Even if there are some, they are carried by a group of big beggars, and there is most likely a blood relationship between the two.

It would be a waste of time to continue searching aimlessly.

Huiyun directly asked Huiming to take twenty copper coins and ask the beggars on the street.

"Hey, let me ask you something!"

Huiming first threw ten copper coins to the beggar.

The beggar looked at the copper coins in the bowl and said lazily:

"What do you want to ask? Tell me."

"Where are the little beggars in the city?"

The beggar looked her up and down.

Seeing Huiming wearing a Taoist robe, he was a little surprised:

"I thought it was a human trafficker, but it turned out to be a Taoist nun. What's the matter? Do you want to give alms to the little beggars?"

Huiming did not reveal his true purpose and nodded in agreement.

The beggar said:

"Then you're late. If you want to make a donation, go to the Charity Bureau! They search for little beggars in and around the city every few days. They just did a search yesterday!"

Huiming's family lived in the village when he was a child. After being sold, he worked as a laborer in Cihang Temple and didn't know much about what was happening in the city.

Hearing this, I sighed:

“The Salesian Bureau is quite dedicated and responsible.”

The beggar sneered when he heard this:

"Devote yourself to your duties? It's all hard-earned money, how can you not pay attention? If they don't work harder, they will be captured by the traffickers!"

Huiming then understood what was going on.

He returned to Huiyun in silence.

"How about it?"

Huiming told what he had learned.

Seeing her dignified expression, Huiyun gently touched the top of her head.

"Tomorrow we will select a group of people to help them escape from their suffering."

"Will you go tomorrow? Isn't it still early today?"

Huiming was puzzled.

Huiyun said:

"Today, I will go buy some daily necessities for the children. Tomorrow, after they have changed their clothes, I will go to the Salesian Bureau."

After all, with so many new people coming, the clothes, bedding, bowls and chopsticks in the Taoist temple will definitely not be enough, so you can buy them in advance.

More importantly, if the Salesian Bureau knew that they were recruiting people to open a Salesian church, they would definitely regard them as competitors.

If you want to buy someone, you will either be given a hard time or be charged a high price.

Since she was in charge of the temple's purchasing affairs, she would naturally not let the temple master be the scapegoat.

It would be best to change into secular clothes tomorrow so that the Charity Bureau cannot figure out my origins.

Huiming was thoughtful after hearing this:

"Thank you for your teachings, Senior Sister!"

Being able to explain everything to her in such a way that he could break it down into pieces, really meant that he was teaching her without holding back.

Huiming is not an ignorant person and he knows how rare such an opportunity is.

Huiyun smiled gently:

"Why thank me? The abbot asked you to stay with me so that I could teach you. Seeing that our Cihang Temple is getting bigger and bigger, we need more and more managers. The abbot values ​​you, so you have to work hard."

Huiming immediately forgot his previous depression and was greatly encouraged.

It turns out that the temple master has such high expectations for her. She must not let the master down and must grow up quickly!

*

After buying daily necessities, Huiyun returned to Cihang Temple. After dinner, she reported to Chen Qingzhu and apologized for her wasted trip and failure to complete the task.

Chen Qingzhu shook his head:

"You are very thoughtful, and this is the way it should be."

In this world, wherever there is a little profit to be squeezed, there will always be a few blood-sucking leeches.

They just want to do some good deeds and achieve their goals at the lowest possible cost, so why should they be suckers and give money to those people?

The next day, Huiyun and others changed into secular clothes and came to Nandu City again.

This time he still did not go directly to the Salesian Bureau. Instead, he went to a nearby brokerage firm first, asked the human traffickers about the price, and rented several horse-drawn carriages. Then he took his people to the Salesian Bureau.

Not to mention the east and south of Nandu City, every inch of land is worth a lot of money.

Even in the west of the city, land prices are not cheap.

Nando was once the capital, and is now also the capital. It has a lot of government funding and private donations, so the Charity Bureau is very large, so it is located in the north of the city where the land is the cheapest.

When we walked outside the Salesian Church, we saw a large house with very high walls.

The black door was closed tightly, and above it hung a plaque with the words "Government-run Children's Charity Bureau" inscribed in gold on a red background.

Huiming went to knock on the door, holding a note from Captain Li, claiming to be a servant of Captain Li's relative, and came to buy some young children to serve in his home.

When dealing with people in government offices, it is naturally best to have an official background.

Captain Li took so much money from Chen Qingzhu, so to show his sincerity, he naturally left her a business card for her to use when she needed it.

When he came to the Charity Bureau today, Chen Qingzhu asked Huiyun to bring Captain Li's business card.

The gatekeeper was used to it. "Wait, I'll report it to the chief."

After a while, they were allowed in.

Upon learning that Captain Li was the brother-in-law of Minister Qian of the Ministry of War, Ju Zheng's attitude became more enthusiastic.

Take Huiyun and others to see the people first.

After entering a yard, not long after, forty or fifty children, who were dressed neatly and had good looks, were driven into the yard by a steward holding a whip.

"Look, girl. The children here are all very energetic and obedient. You will definitely be very impressive if you buy them back!"

When I asked the price, I was told it was twenty taels each.

People are the least valuable these days, especially children who have not grown up.

In the hands of human traffickers, a very good-looking little girl of seven or eight years old only costs twenty or thirty taels each.

(Of course, this is the selling price. The price will be lower when buying. For example, if someone like Chen Qingzhu was arrested to pay off his debts and deliberately made himself look ugly, the price would be greatly discounted.)

The more ordinary ones are about five taels each.

Girls can be raised for a few more years to give birth and be exchanged for dowry, while boys can do heavy work when they grow up. At this point, each has their own strengths, so the prices are similar.

Huiyun came to recruit people mainly to fill the staff of the Charity Bureau. It made no difference to her whether there was a show or not.

The price-performance ratio was her first consideration. Without even bargaining, she said directly:

"We buy them to work. They don't need to be good-looking, as long as they are smart and obedient."

Hearing this, Ju Zheng's attitude suddenly turned cold.

"Then let the steward take the girl to another courtyard. I have something else to do, so I won't accompany you any longer."

Huiyun followed the steward to another courtyard.

It was far inferior to the previous yard house, and as soon as you entered, you could smell a sour odor.

Among Kun Dao, someone couldn't help but cover his nose.

Seeing this, the steward who led the way explained:

"Oh, girl, don't be disgusted. Children are more likely to get sick if they take a bath in winter, so they are a little dirty. It will be the same if they are clean. Look, how skillfully they work!"

Huiyun and others looked into the yard and saw that there were at least sixty or seventy children in the large yard.

The oldest one was no more than ten years old, and the youngest was probably only three or four years old. Their hair was disheveled, their faces were covered in dirt, their clothes, shoes and socks were tattered, and their hands and feet were covered with frostbite.

Everyone was either sitting or standing, with something to do.

Some were pasting paper boxes, some were making silk threads, some were washing clothes, and some were sharpening arrows. No one was idle.

There were also several fat stewards with whips in their hands supervising.

His fat and bloated appearance formed a sharp contrast with the skinny children.

"Girl, five taels each, take your pick."

Then he called out to everyone:

"Okay, everyone, stop what you are doing, stand up, and raise your heads so that this aunt can take a good look at you."

"This is the aunt from a wealthy family. She is here to take you to live a good life!"

Many of the children stood up obediently, except for one little kid, about six or seven years old, who kept his head down.

The steward whipped him on his thin back:

"I told you to lift your face up, you're deaf!"

The little child screamed in pain, with a crying tone, but did not dare to scream too loudly. His hair was pulled, and he raised his head tremblingly.

Huiyun frowned:

"I'll take this one."

The child was immediately pushed aside.

"For the same goods, the slaves in the pawnbroker only cost five taels each. I'm afraid the price is a little lower. I want a large quantity."

The children in the Charity Bureau cannot be enslaved by the government openly, so the buyers have to find a way themselves, so the price should naturally be cheaper.

After some bargaining, the two sides agreed on a price of four taels of silver per piece, to be sold in packages, with no choice.

In addition to the little boy, Huiyun asked for forty-nine more, for a total of two hundred taels.

The managers of the Salesian Hall took out hemp ropes, tied the children's hands one by one, and carried them to several horse-drawn carriages of the Cihang Temple.

Many children were thrown into the car, leaning against the wall with numb expressions and not moving.

They didn't believe a word I said about living a good life in a rich family.

Those who were actually sold to wealthy families in the past were all good-looking.

I thought they were going to live a good life, but according to the companions who had sneaked out, two or three of them were found dumped in a mass grave.

His whole body was covered with bruises and his lower body was completely rotten.

Many of them were already aware of the situation and had seen many similar things in the Salesian Affairs Bureau, so they naturally understood what their so-called companions who were living a good life had encountered.

And for those of them with ordinary looks, their fate won't be any better if they are sold.

The family that could choose people like them is not a real wealthy family.

Just to save some money.

The Salesian Bureau caught them from the streets at no cost, but still forced them to work day and night.

These so-called wealthy families spent so much money to buy them back, and in order to make their money back, they had to whip them and force them to work until they died.

They were merely transferred from one hell to another.