Time travel, quick transmigration

Shi Yan and Xiao Die walked along the street until they saw a crowd of people not far ahead, seemingly watching something. Shi Yan's heart stirred, and she quickened her pace slightly.

Upon arriving at the scene, Shi Yan saw a middle-aged man wearing a dark brown round-necked robe whispering with a merchant dressed in foreign attire. After finishing his conversation with the foreign merchant, the middle-aged man instructed two of his men to bring two men from a makeshift tent. The men were dark-skinned, curly-haired, shirtless except for black and white sashes draped diagonally across their bodies, and wearing only knee-length shorts. Although not particularly tall, they were very strong and powerful. They walked to the front of the crowd.

Shi Yan pulled Xiao Die towards the front of the crowd, trying to get as close as possible to the small platform in the center made of wooden planks.

As Shi Yan and Xiao Die walked to the inner perimeter, the middle-aged man on the small platform began to give a brief introduction and hawk the two Kunlun slaves.

"These two Kunlun slaves are top-notch goods from the South China Sea. They are not only skilled in swimming, animal taming, and music and dance, but also energetic and strong. They are also excellent at farming. They would be great to buy them as servants to guard the house, or to take them back to the manor to work on the fields."

In the Tang Dynasty, owning a Kunlun slave was a symbol of status and wealth; otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many people watching, attracting even those who wanted to show off their status to come and choose.

"Come, come, come, anyone who's interested can choose for themselves. This batch of Kunlun slaves was carefully selected by our Persian friends and brought to Chang'an from the South China Sea. The two you see here are the finest of the batch."

"Let's start bidding now. Ten strings of cash for each of these two Kunlun slaves. Whoever makes a bid, hand over their indentures on the spot. Whoever can afford the price can take the person and the indentures with them."

This was the first time Shi Yan had witnessed the slave trade in a feudal dynasty so directly. Those at the bottom, like the Kunlun slaves, who were sold from Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Middle East, and other places to the Tang Dynasty, had even less human rights and could be called commodities or livestock.

She looked at the two Kunlun slaves, their faces expressionless, their expressions numb, their eyes lifeless, as if they were used to their situation.

Shi Yan wasn't being overly compassionate; she simply felt the stark class divisions and cruelty of ancient times, where some were destined to remain at the very bottom of the exploited class system. In any era, the strong are respected. The prosperous Tang Dynasty attracted tribute from all nations, drawing not only foreign envoys but also countless foreign merchants. The practice of keeping household slaves among the nobility created a demand, naturally leading to the slave trade.

It's impossible not to feel sympathy, but Shi Yan wouldn't proclaim herself a savior in hopes of changing the status quo of her time. At most, she would do something practical within her capabilities.

"Xiaodie, how much money did you bring with you?"

Seeing that the two Kunlun slaves had been bought by two men dressed as stewards in the crowd, Shi Yan whispered to Xiao Die for a question.

"My lady, before I left, I put some loose silver and six gold leaves in my purse. The loose silver alone is about ten taels, and with the gold leaves, it's quite a lot."

Shi Yan nodded upon hearing this.

"Yes, that's good, it should be enough."

Shi Yan mentally calculated that one string of cash was roughly equivalent to one tael of silver. The highest price the two middle-aged men had quoted, ten strings of cash, was about ten taels of silver. According to 0804, in this era, one gold leaf was equivalent to ten taels of silver, so the six gold leaves that Xiaodie was wearing were equivalent to sixty taels of silver.

"Xiaodie, come with me."

Upon hearing this, Xiaodie immediately followed Shi Yan and walked towards the middle-aged man who was standing to the side talking to the Persian merchant.

"Hello! I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you two. Would it be possible to come inside the shed to talk?"

Because Shi Yan was wearing a veil, apart from her noble demeanor and graceful figure, the middle-aged man and the Persian merchant could only vaguely glimpse her beautiful and charming facial features through the pure white veil.

The middle-aged man, who had traveled extensively in his youth, immediately recognized Shi Yan's extraordinary status. He hesitated for only a moment before exchanging a few words with the Persian merchant in Persian.

Shi Yan watched as the Persian merchant nodded occasionally and glanced at her from time to time, completely unaware of what the two of them were talking about.

"My friend here agrees to discuss a deal with you. Please come inside and discuss the details."

The middle-aged man waved to his subordinate, who then took his place.

Then, Shi Yan led Xiao Die into the makeshift shed under the guidance of the middle-aged man. As soon as Shi Yan entered, she found that the space inside was quite large and it was relatively clean.

The middle-aged man was about to speak to Shi Yan when Xiao Die invited him to sit down at a long table not far away. She then whispered a few words to the Persian merchant.

Shi Yan turned to look at another corner where six Kunlun slaves, guarded by two men, were huddled together, frequently glancing in her direction. She especially noticed a young man among them whose skin was slightly fairer than the others, whose features resembled those of a Han Chinese, and whose slightly long, straight hair was scrutinizing her with deep, melancholic eyes. Shi Yan wondered what kind of background the young man had, and why he was different from all the other Kunlun slaves, possessing such melancholic eyes.

"Since you two want to talk business with us, let's get straight to the point."

The middle-aged man's words brought Shi Yan back to her senses.

Shi Yan made up her mind to use the money she brought to buy the remaining six Kunlun slaves. In order to save time, she was very direct.

"Instead of repeatedly hawking them, why don't you two sell all six Kunlun slaves over there to me?"

In order to persuade the middle-aged man and the Persian merchant to sell her the six Kunlun slaves, Shi Yan decided to make a big promise.

"To be honest, we are here to find a group of Kunlun slaves for our master. Our master is of noble status and enjoys collecting rare foreign items. Perhaps we will do business with you again next time if we need anything."

"Business is about give and take, and it's all about getting what you need. A continuous flow is the key to long-term success."

Seeing that the middle-aged man was clearly interested, Shi Yan pressed on.

"Xiaodie, give me the purse."

Xiao Die paused for a moment, then immediately took out the bulging pink and white embroidered purse wrapped around her waist and handed it to Shi Yan.

Shi Yan held the heavy purse in her hand.

“You asked for six strings of cash for each of the two Kunlun slaves in the second batch. I’ll calculate the price for each of the six here as five strings of cash, which is thirty taels of silver.”

"I think this amount of money should be enough."

Shi Yan took out three gold leaves and a piece of silver and placed them on the table in front of her.

The middle-aged man and the Persian merchant exchanged a glance, then chatted for a while, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings. Both knew perfectly well that Shi Yan's price was very fair and exceeded their expectations. The Kunlun slaves placed later in the list became less valuable and had less selling appeal; they knew the remaining slaves were relatively weaker, and judging from their six thin, bony figures, they definitely couldn't fetch five strings of cash. They were naturally happy to make a profitable deal for thirty taels of silver in one go, and Shi Yan's earlier words had truly tempted them. A long-term business opportunity was presented to them, and they couldn't bear to refuse.

"Alright, you can take them. This is their contract."

The middle-aged man had his subordinate bring him a box, and then took out several indentures and handed them to Shi Yan.

Xiaodie reached out and took it.

Shi Yan wasn't worried that the middle-aged man and the Persian merchant would try anything; she still believed in the integrity that ancient merchants valued. The middle-aged man also intended to do more business with her in the future, so he wouldn't break his promise and deceive her at this time.

"Happy cooperation!"

"Farewell!"

Shi Yan stood up and smiled as she said goodbye to the middle-aged man.

Hearing Shi Yan's soft laughter, the middle-aged man vaguely sensed a hint of carefree ease hidden within her charming aura. He stood up to see her off, only to see Shi Yan walk up to the six Kunlun slaves and bend down to look at them.