Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

The next day, led by Wang Xiucai, Li Xingzhi took his little dog, Dan, to the human trafficking den. He hadn't originally planned to bring Dan, as dealing with human traffickers inevitably involved some unsavory dealings. However, he was worried about leaving Dan alone at home, so he brought him along to let him experience things firsthand!

As they traveled into the city center, they found that the bearded Kui Xishi's flatbread shop was already open! The shop was bustling with activity, the flames under the stove dancing brightly and warmly in the soft morning light. Kui Dalang, his bare arms swinging back and forth, pounded the flatbreads with a "bang, bang!" sound. Steam rose high from the stove, the heat mingling with the aroma, drawing people's attention.

By this time, Kui Dalang had already devised the braised meat recipe that Li Xingzhi had given him, and the shop was already quite crowded. It seemed that they were short-handed, and even his wife had come out to help.

When Wei Dalang saw Li Xingzhi approaching, he immediately put down what he was doing and ran over. This was his great benefactor! "Uncle Wei, you're busy. We'll just buy some cakes to eat; we still have things to do later. Little Dog Egg and I bought a house in Guiyifang. Come over and visit sometime!"

"Hey! Why bother talking about buying when you're here? Look, that recipe you sent over a while ago is selling like hotcakes!" As he spoke, Wei Xishi had already wrapped five golden and shiny sesame cakes.

This flatbread is made with wheat flour dough, spread with ghee, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and then baked in an oven. As soon as the oven is opened, the aroma of the flatbread fills the air, wafting for miles!

The aroma of sesame flatbread filled Li Xingzhi's stomach, which had barely eaten anything that morning, making him feel empty again. He swallowed hard, his saliva bubbling. Little Dog Egg also stared longingly at the flatbread. Despite all the good food he'd eaten lately, he still couldn't forget that flatbread he'd had when he was starving!

Li Xingzhi gave one to Wang Xiucai, then another to Xiao Gou Dan, and finally ate his own with relish. He thanked Kui Dalang without any pretense, and while happily munching on his flatbread, he headed towards Ya Xing.

When Li Xingzhi arrived at the brokerage firm, he was deeply shocked to see people being sold like livestock, bound and tied with ropes or with nooses around their necks.

Li Xingzhi realized for the first time how different this world was. No matter how much he had read in books, he had never witnessed anything so horrifying! As he watched these shocking scenes, he could still faintly hear the sounds of whips, shouts, savage laughter, and screams of agony.

Such cruel things did happen in later generations, but those things were hidden in the shadows and were just a joke. They were nothing compared to the shocking human trafficking that takes place in broad daylight today. His trembling heart, which had just entered the path of cultivation, began to tremble!

A hand patted Li Xingzhi on the shoulder, and Li Xingzhi was suddenly awakened. He saw Wang Xiucai looking at him with a worried expression. It was concern for the younger generation. A warm feeling slowly flowed through Li Xingzhi's heart, and he felt a little warmer, but his face was still a little pale.

The little dog Egg next to him looked at him with a worried expression.

"What's wrong? Should we go and get a doctor to take a look?" Wang Xiucai asked with a worried expression, thinking that Li Xingzhi had some hidden illness.

Sensing Wang Xiucai's concern, Li Xingzhi suppressed his discomfort and said, "It's nothing, I was just feeling a little unwell earlier, but I'm fine now." Seeing that Li Xingzhi's complexion was gradually returning to normal, Wang Xiucai was relieved.

Li Xingzhi watched as the little dog, Egg, curiously surveyed its surroundings. Though its tiny brows were slightly furrowed, there was nothing unusual about it. Li Xingzhi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Sometimes, because he came from the future, he thought his understanding was superior to others, but he never imagined that when faced with real problems, he was even less capable than a child!

Despite disliking the environment, Li Xingzhi had no choice but to endure it and watch Wang Xiucai deal with those slave traders. After all, he lived in this world and would inevitably come into contact with certain things sooner or later; what he was seeing now was perhaps just the beginning!

Wang Xiucai had clearly become familiar with the slave traders. Watching Wang Xiucai haggle with them and choose servants, Li Xingzhi couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had kept Wang Xiucai. Otherwise, who knows how much trouble he would have been in? He might still be stuck in that dilapidated temple! At the same time, he felt even more grateful to Wang Xiucai. Wang Xiucai had long since become Li Xingzhi's head steward, taking care of everything for the family, from oil and rice to money!

The servants had been purchased, and the next step was to buy several maids and playmates for Little Dog Egg. Li Xingzhi himself also needed to select a few maids. In the Tang Dynasty, keeping slaves was common; most families with a little money would keep several servants. Wealthy households and nobles would also maintain numerous private armies. According to Wang Xiucai, if Li Xingzhi went out without a few servants and maids, people would look down on him. After searching around, he hadn't found anything of good quality. With Li Xingzhi's current standards, most people were simply not good enough for him. Coupled with his unique aesthetic sense and values ​​as someone from over a thousand years in the future, finding a suitable maid was extremely difficult. He had no choice but to have Wang Xiucai contact a slave trading firm, only informing them if they found anything good. Even the people around Little Dog Egg were not to be compromised; better to have none than something mediocre!

With Wang Xiucai there, the brokerage quickly completed the contract documents, and Li Xingzhi and his entourage, along with dozens of powerful servants, headed back home in a grand procession.

As he was walking back, he suddenly noticed a crowd gathered ahead. The love of watching a spectacle is in the Chinese nature, and Li Xingzhi was no exception. He went over, ready to see what was going on!

Upon closer inspection, they saw a group of people gathered around, among whom was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl kneeling with her head down, a straw marker stuck in her hair, making it impossible to see her face clearly. Upon closer inspection, they realized that she was 'selling herself to bury her father'.

"I've run into something this ridiculous!" Li Xingzhi thought to himself.

Seeing it on TV often doesn't bother me; sometimes I even find it amusing. But seeing a teenage girl kneeling in the street, selling herself to bury her father, evokes a strange sadness. If he didn't have a cheat code, Li Xingzhi doesn't think he'd be much better off than this girl. The idea of ​​someone who transmigrates and causes chaos in a novel can only exist in fantasy.

At this moment, the servant whom Li Xingzhi had sent to inquire about the matter had returned.

It turns out that the Zhang family were originally tenant farmers in Wangjiazhuang. The mother died early, and the father and daughter lived a decent life. However, unexpectedly, the young lady of the Zhang family was pretty and was taken in by the ugly son of the county magistrate.

The ugly young master's surname was Chou (丑), he was ugly in appearance, and his character was even worse. Naturally, the Zhang family did not want to push their daughter into a pit of fire.

As a result, the ugly young master hired some local vagrants who would frequently go to the Zhang family's house to loaf around. The landlord, fearing to offend the ugly young master, dared not rent the land to them.

Zhang Jiaye was forced to his death, leaving behind a pitiful young woman! She's likely to be defiled by that scoundrel!

"Doesn't the magistrate care?" Li Xingzhi thought of the rather imposing Magistrate Cui he had met a few days ago.

"The county magistrate?" someone nearby said. "The old Magistrate Liu was a nice old man who didn't care about anything. Now I've heard that a new magistrate has come. However, most of the officials in the yamen are the henchmen of the ugly county clerk. Even if he comes, he won't know anyone here. What can he do?"

Although Li Xingzhi felt sorry for the little girl, he was more interested in this kind of melodramatic story that he had only ever seen on TV and in novels.

At Li Xingzhi's instruction, the servants brought the little girl over. The little girl looked shy and pitiful, but she was pretty and charming. The little dog, Dan, also looked at the young lady with curiosity.

Li Xingzhi's eyes lit up. Wasn't this a perfect match for Xiao Gou Dan? She wasn't young, so she could take care of Xiao Gou Dan; yet she wasn't too old, so she could talk to Xiao Gou Dan without worrying that she would control him.

At this moment, Li Xingzhi saw a group of people walking over. The one in front had an outward-pointing gait, an upturned nose, and a pockmarked face, sometimes blue and sometimes white. The most distinctive feature was a large black mole on his cheek. Next to him was a man with an oily face, and behind them were five or six servants.

The people around immediately scattered when they saw these people, as if something disgusting had come.

Li Xingzhi burst out laughing. Little Dog Egg, standing nearby, found the group's comical antics quite amusing. Having followed Li Xingzhi these past few days, he had grown much bolder and had nothing to fear. Only the young lady from the Zhang family took a step back, her face filled with terror, and carefully hid behind Li Xingzhi and the others.

Seeing the appearance of these people, Li Xingzhi already had some guesses in his mind, and found it even more interesting. He had been wondering when the ugly young master would come looking for him, and sure enough, he was right there when he heard it!

Seeing so many people in front of him, the ugly young master was still trying to figure out the identities of Li Xingzhi and his group, and how to resolve the situation. After all, he did have some cleverness; otherwise, even with his father's protection, he would have been dead many times over.

However, upon hearing the sneers of Li Xingzhi and his servants, he disregarded everything else. For someone like him, saving face was paramount. "Hmph! Do you even know who your grandfather is?"

"Who are you calling grandpa?" Li Xingzhi shouted.

Before the ugly young master could finish speaking, he was gently pulled by the dog servant next to him, and he realized that Li Xingzhi was just teasing him!

The Li family's servants sneered again, and the onlookers also laughed. Since there were so many people around, they weren't afraid of what the ugly young master might do, and they joined in the commotion.

"You—you—" Ugly Young Master pointed at Li Xingzhi, his face changing from green to white and then to shiny black, which amused Li Xingzhi greatly. Little Dog Egg next to him stared at Ugly Young Master's face, as if trying to study how his face changed color.

Seeing their young master had been wronged, the servant beside him said, "Our young master is the son of the county magistrate. Today, our young master is determined to have this young lady from the Zhang family, otherwise—"

"What else can I do? I'd like to see if there's any law left. How dare the son of a mere county magistrate be so arrogant!" Li Xingzhi, a modern man, knew the principle that the common people shouldn't fight against officials. However, having read too many novels and historical works in the Tang Dynasty, his understanding of ancient officials was still based on various novels and television shows. He had no sense of awe or respect for them. Moreover, with the system at his disposal, he had lost much of his fear.