The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Upon hearing his daughter's words, Zhuge Laifu gave her a sharp rap on the forehead.

“Your father isn’t stupid. I don’t need a little girl like you to worry about these things. Before buying them, I had already investigated their character. Otherwise, would I have dared to bring them home?”

Hearing her father say this, Zhuge Yunshu covered her head and asked curiously, "Dad, tell me more about it."

Zhuge Laifu coughed once, and Zhuge Yunshu immediately understood. She quickly poured the tea and brought it to her father.

Then, she accidentally caught a glimpse of her mother's resentful expression. There was nothing she could do but treat everyone the same and pour two more glasses—yes, one for her too.

"To be honest, I was quite worried before I started buying people. After all, they would be working in the shop, so I should be more careful. In a dilemma, I came up with a plan: I would go to the slave market every day to learn how the managers of wealthy families bought servants. Haha, I never expected that I would find a family of eight that I could get for free."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

No way, even a traditional storyteller wouldn't dare write something like this! An entire family of eight selling themselves at once—just how tragic is that?

But then again, is her family really that wealthy? Could they afford to buy a house for eight people?

Before Zhuge Yunshu could react, Zhuge Laifu continued, "Originally, the steward of that household only wanted to buy a guard, two servants, and a cook. Unexpectedly, the family had a large number of people and insisted on being together. It seemed that if they were all young and strong, he would grit his teeth and buy them. However, the family had old people, young children, and three patients who urgently needed medical treatment. He had no choice but to hesitate and give up."

Zhuge Yunshu: "???"

Finding a bargain? A patient? And three of them? Her father must have a misunderstanding about what "finding a bargain" means!

But then she thought that her father wasn't some saint, and she felt that there would definitely be a twist later, so Zhuge Yunshu didn't interrupt Zhuge Laifu and continued to listen.

"At first, I didn't intend to target their family. But for several days in a row, the stewardesses of wealthy families took a liking to them. However, in the end, they were all persuaded to turn away by the sick ones."

Zhuge Yunshu: Isn't this the kind of decision a normal person should make?

In ancient times, getting sick was very dangerous, and even someone as cold-hearted as her would prioritize the safety of her loved ones above all else.

"I thought to myself, wealthy families are so picky when choosing servants, so for them to be chosen by so many families, they must have something special about them. Plus, they insisted on not giving up on their sick elderly and children, so they must be a kind family. So, on a whim, I brought a doctor to treat them, mainly to see if there was any hope of curing their illness, but I didn't expect it to be a rather severe cold. Actually, when I heard the result, I was thinking of giving up, but I felt so sorry for them, so I gave them some medicine. Unexpectedly, a few days later, a slave trader from the market came to my house, saying that the three patients in this family had gradually recovered from their cold thanks to my medicine. To thank him for saving their lives, the family insisted on selling themselves to my family, even at the lowest price. I thought I could get three free if I bought five, so I had no choice but to buy them all."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

This plot twist was truly unexpected, mainly because it was such a cliché; even the novels she read in modern times didn't use this kind of storytelling.

Dad, do you think all these people can fit in the house?

Zhuge Laifu did not notice Zhuge Yunshu's unpredictable expression. He took a sip of tea and continued, "The most surprising thing is that the whole family is literate. The old man is a traveling doctor in the village, the old woman is an excellent cook, and it is said that their ancestors ran a restaurant. The eldest son used to work in a security escort agency, and the second son worked as a courier in a restaurant in town for half a year before being dismissed for offending a noble person. The eldest and second daughters-in-law are very good at managing the household."

After saying that, she pointed to the yard and said proudly, "Dahua, look how much cleaner our yard is than before."

Zhuge Yunshu: There really is.

Zhuge Laifu ignored whether his daughter paid him any attention or not, and continued, "The most important thing is that their youngest son is a good student; he almost took the imperial examination for the first degree. Now they can even save on the family accountant..."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

She wondered if her father was some kind of middle-aged male protagonist, given how lucky he was.

In short, her father was lucky; he spent the least amount of money to buy the most capable family.

So you could say it was a lucky find.

But will a pie fall from the sky?

"They're so capable, making money shouldn't be a problem for them, so why did they have to sell themselves?" Zhuge Yunshu still had many things he didn't understand.

Even if someone in their family is sick, they are all craftsmen; surely they could earn enough to buy medicine!

Zhuge Laifu was pleased to see his daughter being so cautious, so he patiently explained: "People like these who are wandering around due to natural disasters and man-made calamities do not have household registration. People without household registration cannot even enter the city gates, let alone earn money to support a large family. Their only option is to wait for the imperial court to provide disaster relief. Those who cannot wait can only wait to be selected by human traffickers and sold to wealthy families as servants."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

She thought that since women in this era could take the imperial examinations, it would at least be more open than the dynasties she knew in her previous life. She never expected that it would not only be inferior to them, but also more backward than some of the dynasties she knew in terms of dealing with refugees.

Take, for example, hired laborers and servants. Without the imperial decree, displaced people would not even be able to dream of earning money.

Zhuge Yunshu felt that he still knew too little and realized that he could not rely solely on books because of the imperial examinations. In this closed, fictional ancient world, there were still many things that could not be learned from books.

No wonder the ancients always emphasized that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. These wise sayings are all experiences summarized from the painful lessons of our predecessors!

Otherwise, why would those powerful families always risk their lives to send their outstanding young talents out to travel, learn, and train?

This also shows that the household registration system only restricts people at the bottom of society.

It's best not to mention the families of the powerful and wealthy.

Seeing his daughter's expression, Zhuge Laifu assumed it was admiration from her, so he straightened his back and grinned from ear to ear.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Oh my, his dad must be so excited!

Just as Zhuge Yunshu and his family were talking, an old woman with a sallow complexion, who looked to be around fifty years old, led two other women, who also looked unwell but were slightly younger, toward them.

When they were about a meter away from them, the old woman in front led the way in bowing and said, "Greetings to the master, madam, and young lady. The meal is ready. Shall we go to the front hall for our meal?"

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

This was the first time she had been treated like this, and for some reason, she felt as if an electric current had passed through her body, leaving her inexplicably embarrassed.

However, this also shows that the human traffickers were giving this family special attention. Judging from their words and actions, they probably wanted to sell them to a wealthy family to make a fortune.

However, an unexpected incident occurred along the way, and they managed to snag the bargain.

"Oh dear! Aunt Wu, I've told you so many times, we're just an ordinary family, there's no need for these formalities." Zhuge Laifu quickly stepped forward to help her up, saying helplessly.

I don't know how many times I've told them, but this family still does whatever they want.

However, it's not without progress; after all, a group of people kneeling is far more frightening than bowing.