Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade

Chapter 107: Chapter 107 Righteousness_1

Chapter 107: Chapter 107 Righteousness_1

Hearing the heart-wrenching cries, Shopkeeper Cui’s heart softened. He hadn’t encountered the scene, but now that he had, he couldn’t ignore it and stepped into the neighboring courtyard.

Since Middleman Wong had no choice but to follow suit, he tried to calm the man in the yard who was hopping mad and cursing, “Brother Li, we can talk this out gently. No need to be like this.”

As they entered, Qian Yixiu also dragged her brother into the courtyard.

What Qian Yixiu didn’t realize was that the courtyard they entered was the very place where Lady Wu had bought their mother years ago. Because their mother had been taken out of this courtyard by Lady Wu, her fate had been altered, enabling her to escape the abyss of certain doom.

In the courtyard, two men were seen tying up a young girl with blood on her forehead, while another man and a woman were restrained from getting closer. A boy of about eleven or twelve and another boy of about eight or nine were crying as they rushed to pull at the girl. It was clear that they were a family, all with disheveled hair and ragged clothes, pleading tearfully.

Qian Yixiu had thought that the girl who was to be sold to a brothel would at least be a much older teenager, around fifteen or sixteen, but was shocked to find a delicate girl of barely twelve or thirteen, still displaying traces of childishness. The girl, blood trickling down her forehead, was so exhausted from crying that she let the men drag her along.

A thin man and a plump matron were cursing and stomping around the scene. Upon seeing Middleman Wong, the man approached him and complained, “Today’s just my bad luck, dealing with such a dramatic case. She was destined to go to the brothels and enjoy a life of luxury, but she’s refusing.”

The crying man knelt and begged, “Please, master, sell our whole family to the mountains. My daughter is willing to endure hardships there, she doesn’t want to ‘enjoy’ that kind of life.”

Disgusted, Middleman Wong spat at him and berated, “Where you are sold is for me to decide. Who said you get to choose?”

He then turned to Shopkeeper Cui with a smile, “Are you here to buy? I have good stock here. What are you looking for?”

Shopkeeper Cui pointed to the girl who was being tied up and said, “I’ll buy her.”

Li Yaren gave Shopkeeper Cui a once over and chuckled, “Oh, she won’t do. We’ve got several other untouched girls who are quite attractive. Why don’t you take another look?”

Shopkeeper Cui replied displeased, “Why won’t she do? Are you afraid I can’t pay?”

Li Yaren quickly bowed and hastened to explain, “You misunderstand, master. I have no other choice.” Pointing at the family, he continued, “They offended their previous master and were thus sold from the capital to a remote place like ours. The trader who sold them explicitly instructed that they be sold into the mountains to suffer. You look wealthy, sir, and if I sell them to you, wouldn’t it be like letting them enjoy the good life with you? In this business, we must abide by our rules, or else who would entrust us with good merchandise in the future?”

This was about the dark secrets of some households.

Shopkeeper Cui asked the man, “Which family owned you before?”

Li Yaren quickly interjected, “My lord, these matters shouldn’t be discussed here. Loose lips sink ships, and we still need to make a living.”

Shopkeeper Cui quickly apologized, “That was my mistake.”

Seeing that someone was willing to buy them, the man hurriedly knelt before Shopkeeper Cui and implored, “Please, master, buy us. We aren’t wicked slaves; we were just loyal to our former mistress and fell out of favor with the new one, which is why we were sold here…”

Li Yaren scolded, “How dare you spout nonsense here? Do you believe that I would pull out your tongue?” Then, pointing at the girl with blood on her face, he ordered, “Take her away quickly. Once she’s in the brothel, dying won’t be so easy.”

The two burly men dragged the little girl outside, while the two adults and two boys cried out and lunged toward the girl, only to be kicked and beaten by several fierce-looking individuals.

In her past life, Qian Yixiu’s job was specifically to serve the broad working class, and being a busybody was her professional habit. Witnessing such a horrific scene, her sympathy had already overflowed. Without much thought, she shouted firmly, “Stop it! This is outrageous, is there no law anymore!”

When these people heard such righteous words from a childlike voice, they all looked in astonishment at the frail little girl.

Having scolded them, Qian Yixiu realized everyone was looking at her and then remembered she was in a feudal society without human rights, and she was just a six-year-old country girl, which made her a little scared.

Qian Yeejin immediately stood in front of his sister with his little chest puffed out, as if to say that anyone who wanted to hit his sister would have to step over his body.

Li Yaren was stunned at first but then found it amusing and said, “Where did these country bumpkins come from, daring to make trouble here.”

The others glared at her with menacing expressions.

Qian Yixiu, knowing the times, hurriedly said, “Mr. Li, I meant no disrespect. I just wanted to buy this family. Hehehe…” and then she broke into a goofy laugh.

Li Yaren looked at the little girl in plain clothes and cursed, “Whose brat is this, causing trouble here? If no one takes her away, believe it or not, I’ll sell her off as well.”

Shopkeeper Cui hastily pulled Qian Yixiu aside to explain, “This is a young girl from a friend who happens to be buying fields from Brother Wong.” Then, giving Qian Yixiu meaningful looks, he said, “Yixiu, go back now; your grandfather is waiting on the other side. These middlemen are treacherous; don’t offend them.”

Qian Yixiu said to Shopkeeper Cui, “I’m not talking nonsense; I really want to buy this family.” She then addressed Li Yaren, “Aren’t you going to sell their entire family into the mountains? My family lives at the foot of the mountains. We just bought dozens of acres of land with no one to farm it, so I thought of buying them to work the land.”

After hearing this, Shopkeeper Cui also thought it was a good idea. He couldn’t help this family himself, and since the Qian family lived in the countryside and was poor, they fit the requirements of the middlemen. The Qian family also wanted to buy some servants, which was perfect.

He nodded and said, “A transaction that meets everyone’s needs isn’t bad.”

Although Qian Yeejin didn’t want to buy this family, sensing they might cause some trouble, he couldn’t ignore what his sister had said, and since the middlemen were not to be trifled with, he had to buy them.

He deliberately scolded his sister, saying, “Sister, you always get your way. Didn’t you realize that these people were formerly servants of a wealthy family? Our family is so poor, living in an adobe house; we’re lucky to eat meat once a month. They’re used to comfort; how could they be willing to suffer at our home?”

By saying this, Qian Yeejin had two aims: to inform the middlemen that his family was poor, which met their criteria of making the family suffer, and to test whether the family really wanted to endure hardship in the countryside.

The man hurriedly kowtowed to Qian Yeejin and Qian Yixiu, saying, “We are willing. As long as the family is not split up, we are willing to work like oxen and horses.”

The others also knelt down and said they were “willing.”

Shopkeeper Cui looked at Qian Yeejin approvingly. It was no wonder the young master of his house spoke so highly of the two children of this family; they truly had both courage and strategy.