Sandia is a thirteen-year-old boy. He has the surname of a typical person from the southern coastal area of the mainland. But because he is a little witty ghost, people who know him call him "Sandy" affectionately. Of course, those who hate him will also call him "Sandy little liar" to his face
Sandy, who was born in Chaminku, the capital of the imperial capital, certainly couldn't have the money to hire some teachers to receive an orthodox education like those children from wealthy families. At the age of thirteen, he only studied with a theology teacher for half a year in the religious center set up by the temple, and he could barely learn to write, write, and calculate. Among the children around him, he was considered smart, at least he could use the common language of the mainland to correct Write your own name. Moreover, he can also completely recite the first chapter of the scriptures of the temple, "The Creation of the Divine Records".
Unfortunately, three months ago, he still couldn't continue to study in the temple religious institute. Because although religious institutes claim to allow children from poor families to receive some education "for free", this kind of free comes at a price. All children studying in religious institutes have to serve the temple for free for three years after they become adults, and some become priests directly—they are not allowed to marry and have children for life.
As a typical southerner, Sandy's parents didn't want to ruin their family, and Sandy himself had no interest in becoming a priest. At the age of thirteen, he has already somewhat opened up about the relationship between men and women. He also often leans on the wall to peek at Ellie next door.
Maybe in two months, he will be able to understand things, and then be able to do some simple writing and calculation skills. You can be an apprentice in bookkeeping at a nearby grocery store, or you can be an apprentice with an old tailor on the street.
But these are things for the future. And now, Sandy has a very good way to make a fortune.
He would walk around the slave market every day. He is a real little local snake, and his brother is a gangster in this area, but it is a pity that he stole the purse of a noble housekeeper last year. He was arrested by the people of the public security station, and then sent to a mine in the northwest to work as a laborer.
Sandy is not like his brother, he is not a thief, and he will not do bad things. But he can bring back a few copper horns from the slave market every day.
The slave market in the imperial capital gathered traveling merchants from all over the country. Many of these outsiders from all over the mainland came to the slave market in the imperial capital for the first time, and they were unfamiliar with the place where they were born. There needs to be a local snake to help him guide the way. Help them bargain with the slave trader and introduce some "rules" when trading.
Because of these circumstances, and because of Sandy's own cleverness, he was well paid. Almost every day he could carry a few brass horns in his pocket, and even if he met that kind of rich and powerful guy, no matter how much Sandy fawned and said a few nice words, his income would be even more. Sandy's biggest wish right now is to save enough money to buy a pair of old leather boots. The brother of the little girl next door, Ellie, served in the garrison in other places, and would often show off his army-issued leather boots in front of these boys, which made them very envious.
Sandy is not only smart, but more importantly, his personality is very accurate. He can often tell which ones are fat sheep and which are veterans in the bustling crowd on the street at a glance.
Today, Sandy stood in the corner with his arms folded. After looking for a long time, he finally found his target: there was a strange pair in the crowd, a man and a woman, but they didn't look like a couple, because the man seemed to be old. It's so small, it looks like it's not much bigger than itself. The woman is in her twenties and very beautiful. Even prettier than Ellie next door.
Although these two people were both wearing casual clothes, Sandy saw a few special things at a glance: the man's eyes were looking around, it was obviously the first time he had come to this slave market, and his eyes seemed to be very curious about everything around him — This is very important to Sandy. And that woman made Sandy even more curious: she was tall, with long legs, and seemed to be a warrior. Although the man and the woman walked together, the woman seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally, always half a step behind the boy, as if she didn't dare to walk side by side with him. And in the crowd, the woman seemed to be subconsciously blocking others from getting close to the boy, and seemed to maintain a protective posture, as if a young master from a rich family brought a beautiful female bodyguard.
Yes, that's right!
Sandy confirmed his guess in his heart, then he pulled his broken hat and squeezed all the way through.
"Sir! Sir!"
Du Wei was looking around. He was really curious about the slave market. The slaves bought in the shop before were not handled by Du Wei, but by Made. Today was the first time he came to the slave market. In the civilized world of his previous life, the term "slave" was almost extinct in that world. As he was watching, he heard a slightly immature voice shouting from beside him.
A thin boy emerged from the crowd as nimbly as a loach, and stood in front of him. The boy looked very thin, like an ordinary child from a poor family. But to Du Wei's surprise, he was very clean, unlike other children whose face was covered with dirty dust. This kid is white and clean, but his big eyes are full of aura, and his eyes move around nimbly. At first glance, he looks like a little clever guy.
"Sir." Sandy said the lines he had prepared very easily, and at the same time, he did not forget the childish and pleasing smile on his face: "Sir, are you here to buy slaves? Then I think you need someone like me."
Ruo Lin saw the purpose of this kid at a glance. With her experience in the world, how could she not know the intention of this little bastard? She was about to speak, but Du Wei spoke with interest: "Oh? You? What can you do for me?"
"I can do a lot for you, and most of all, I can save you a lot of trouble... I can save you a lot of time—for a man of your esteem, time is precious. Look, there's so much People come to buy slaves.
So many slave traders are selling slaves. You seem to be here for the first time, right? I can help you introduce the situation here! I am very familiar with everything here, I also know all those slave traders, which one is more honest, which one is more cunning, which one is more black-hearted, and which one is the most fair, I also know all of them. Look, am I useful to you? "
Seeing that Du Wei was smiling, it seemed that he was a little moved, Sandy put in more effort, not daring to let go of the money he saw, and continued to add: "There are many people here, and there are many thieves in the crowd, but some I am here, and I can save you a lot of trouble in this area... You see..." At this point, Sandy lowered his voice, and gestured to the crowd in the distance with ghostly eyes. A thin guy, with a low voice He said: "Have you seen the man in gray clothes? He is a golden finger here, you have to be careful not to get close to that kind of guy, otherwise, this kind of person will steal your wallet."
Du Wei was startled, then smiled.
At first impression, he liked this kid with a sly look on his face.
"How do you know that I am a noble person? The clothes I wear are not expensive." Du Wei shook his head: "You may be mistaken. I am just an ordinary person. I just came here to take a look. I don't need a guide."
"You don't have to bully me, a kid." Sandy continued to smile. He smiled skillfully, showing a total of four teeth. Unlike other children from poor families, Sandy's teeth are very Bai, he pays attention to brushing his teeth every day, and pays great attention to his appearance, because he knows that when doing his job, those bosses are people who like to be clean.
"Although the fabric of the clothes you are wearing is not expensive, the tailoring skills are not what ordinary tailors can make. You know, I almost became an apprentice tailor. My eyes can't be wrong... And the lady next to you, oh, please forgive my presumptuousness, such a beautiful lady, but she treats you with such respect, if she is not your wife, she is definitely your subordinate. And you Your hair is clean, your complexion is good, and you can see that you are a person of status... The way you walk is also different from poor people like us. It seems to be the same as those nobles living in the north of the city!"
Du Wei took a careful look at the boy, and then smiled: "You observe very carefully."
"Of course!" Sandy hurriedly said: "I can save you a lot of precious time, I can be your guide here, and even when you buy slaves, I can save you a lot of money! Of course , in the end, you only need to reward me with two copper horns so that I can buy a piece of black bread."
Du Wei smiled, and glanced at Ruo Lin: "I like this kid, let him come along."
After speaking, Du Wei walked forward. Ruolin took a look at this little ghost, casually took out a coin from her pocket and threw it over, Sandy immediately caught it with both hands swiftly - he did this action very skillfully, obviously he had to repeat it several times a day. But after he caught the heavy coin, his eyes immediately widened!
He spat in his hand, wiped it vigorously, and then put it in front of his eyes to look carefully, and inexplicably bit it hard with his teeth...
It's actually gold? !
Sandy was very pleasantly surprised, and immediately realized that he had met a big shot today!
Usually, the people I serve will at most throw me a few copper horns at the end, and if I am more generous, I will only give myself a silver coin at most once.
But this is actually a gold coin!
One gold coin is enough for my family of three to live for more than a month! And it would get my father a small cup of the cheapest ale every day. I can also buy a pair of old leather boots as I wish!
Quickly stuffing the coins into his close pocket, Sandy chased after him with all his strength, and leaned beside Du Wei in a fawning manner, working hard.
"Are you familiar with this place? Then let me ask you, if I am going to buy a few slaves, where should I go first?"
"That depends on what you plan to buy people to do back home." Sandy received the money, but he never dared to keep it when he was working. His thin body didn't seem to be blocked in the crowd, and he was as nimble as a loach The same, the voice in the mouth was fast and clear: "If you want to buy a few maidservants, I suggest you go to the official slave workshop, the slaves there are all from rich families, trained, and understand If you only need a few coolies, then I can recommend several good places for you. Judging from your accent, it seems that you are not from the imperial capital?" At the end, Sandy A very cunning tentative sentence.
But this time the little clever ghost guessed wrong.
Du Wei's accent is indeed somewhat different from the accent of the imperial capital. That's because he was born in the Luo Lin family. Because of the tradition of the Luo Lin family, the people in the Luo Lin family, including the old Earl Raymond, all spoke with some Luo Lin plain language. accent, and Du Wei lived in Luolin Plain for another year, and the accent and traces became heavier.
Seeing that Du Wei smiled and did not speak, Sandy immediately lowered his voice and said: "Then I want to remind you that yes, in this place, although all transactions are protected by the imperial code, outsiders like you still have to Pay attention to some rules. Especially those who have washed people, don’t offend them. Those are powerful people in the imperial capital... Last month, a few foreign businessmen bought two beautiful female slaves with the imperial capital. A steward of a noble family quarreled here, and was finally given a severe lesson and thrown by the moat outside the city!"
Seeing that the little God of Wealth did not speak, Sandy felt a little uncertain, and hurriedly introduced: "Generally speaking, the slaves here are divided into several classes. The first class and the most expensive are of course official slaves. Yes. After some original rich families were confiscated and ransacked their homes, the family members were robbed of their status as free citizens and turned into slaves. Those official slaves are the most sought-after. I heard that there are a few downfalls recently. The daughter of the noble family, as well as the concubine, have all become slaves. During the auction the day before yesterday, several buyers almost got into a fight... Hey, everyone wants to buy a daughter of a noble family and go back to be a slave girl. How nice it will look in the future.”
Du Wei frowned slightly. He knew exactly who the boy was referring to as the "recently fallen nobles". To be precise, his Luo Lin's family also collapsed recently. Only because of their own existence, the family members did not suffer the tragic fate of becoming slaves.
Sandy continued: "Except for the official slaves, the second-class slaves are those barbarians from the Northwest. Those guys are all strong and powerful, and they are definitely good at work. But if you buy that kind of person and go back to do rough work, then it would be too wasteful."
"Why?" Du Wei finally asked. This made Sandy heave a sigh of relief, and he hurriedly said: "Because the greatest value of those barbarians from the northwest is not to do hard work. It's... to raise horses! Those barbarians from the northwest are especially good at raising horses." , can ride horses, and take care of livestock. If you have a ranch at home, buy a few barbarians from the northwest to go back to work, and ensure that the harvest of the ranch will increase greatly in the coming year!"
Du Wei nodded.
"However, although these savages are good slaves, you must be very careful when you buy them back. Those guys are very wild, irritable, difficult to discipline, especially like to run away. If you don't send people to step up guarding, maybe they will swarm Run away, those guys are all vicious outlaws, and they don't hesitate to fight."
"anything else?"
"Also, the third class... The third class are all people from our empire, but they are all poor people who can't live on, and they don't have any skills to do more, but these people are very honest. Eat, can eat enough, is very loyal to the master, and will not run away. It is also very convenient to discipline."
When Sandy said this, his face showed a bit of embarrassment that didn't match his age, and he couldn't help but whispered: "Hey, if it's not hard to survive these days, no one is willing to sell themselves into slavery .”
Du Weiduo glanced at the kid.
"The last ones are those guys from Nanyang. Those natives are the cheapest and the most slaves here. However, if you want to buy these people, you must carefully select them. Because there is always a mixture of good and bad. Those black-hearted slave traders , always sell a strong slave with several old, weak or young ones. These Nanyang natives are also divided into several types, and the best ones are those who have lived in the empire for many years or even several generations. People can speak the language of our empire, even if they don’t speak it, they can still understand it. It’s also convenient to buy it back and use it. Such people are called “cooked slaves”. They can speak our language, don’t understand anything, and always want to run away. Such slaves are generally called “born slaves”. In terms of price, generally speaking, raw slaves are much cheaper than cooked slaves. Of course, if some are particularly beautiful The price of a beautiful female slave is hard to say."
At this point in the introduction, Sandy suddenly turned around and shouted at two or three dirty boys who had sneaked up to Du Wei: "Go away, Dick! This is my honored guest! Didn't you see I'm here! Want to do business elsewhere!"
The two or three boys looked like scornful eyes at first glance, and they were already standing only three or five steps away from Du Wei. Seeing Sandy yelling, one of the tallest guys cursed and muttered: "Little Sandy!" Liar! You always ruin my business!"
After finishing speaking, he glanced at Du Wei and Ruo Lin unwillingly, then turned around and squeezed into the crowd.
Sandy breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Don't worry about those guys, they are irritating fingers who make a living on this street. But with me here, they won't trouble you. But you still have to be careful, There are a lot of gold fingers here."
Du Wei took a look at Ruolin, he wasn't worried about these thieves at all, although Ruolin's strength was not a master, but it was no problem to deal with a hundred or ten of these street gangsters. And his own strength, let alone.
But he became more and more curious about this kid: "Are those guys just now thieves?"
"Hush!" Sandy's face changed, and he quickly whispered:
"Don't say that! Don't say "thief". If those guys hear it, they will think it is an insult and will trouble you. Even if we mention these guys, we have to say something." "Gold Finger" will do. This is the rule of the road."
Du Wei laughed secretly, and then said: "But you ruined their business, won't they make trouble for you?"
"Huh." Sandy curled his lips: "We all grew up together on this street and fought since we were young. People here, even if they bully, they only bully outsiders, and generally they don't attack their own people. .And...my brother used to be a small leader of them. For my brother's sake, they won't embarrass me. Everyone just eats and eats. No one will really hold grudges until the face is torn apart The other party... Besides, you see, there are many foreigners here every day, and they don't have to worry about having no business."
In fact, what Sandy said is half true and half false. He made money by doing this business, and he had to offend a few golden fingers. Although he said that everyone grew up in the same street and would not really turn their faces, he still had to be beaten a few times. But every time I can earn a few copper horns to go back, even if I get punched and kicked a few times, it is worth it.
And today he actually got a gold coin, even if he gets beaten up by those guys when he goes back, Sandy still thinks it is very worth it.