Zhulan thought it was a good idea, as she had two small children at home. The girl would follow Xuehan, and the boy would follow Mingyun. Of course, they would only follow each other for now. Whether they would continue to follow each other in the future depended on the two children's understanding.
Zhulan asked Yazi, "How much silver?"
Zhulan knew clearly that some of the slaves had family backgrounds and friends and relatives, so they were redeemed when something happened. Those who were left behind either had no relatives or had lost contact with their families. This was better as it could avoid a lot of trouble.
Yazi was very happy. "Madam, these are servants from government families. Although they are a little older, their price cannot be cheap. This family is eighty taels."
Zhulan pursed her lips and said nothing. Yazi felt uncomfortable being stared at. "Seventy-five taels is the lowest."
Zhulan really didn't know the price, so she waited until Yazi had bitten off the price before she said, "They need you to exchange their slave contract, but I won't pay the money."
Yazi paused and said, "Sure, please come this way."
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren followed the broker. This side was under the charge of an official. They did not need to go to the yamen to handle the formalities. There was a special place for handling formalities. They paid the silver and exchanged the deed for it.
Zhulan's family also had servants. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren did not take her home, but took her to the clinic first to let the doctor take a look. Fortunately, the old lady was suffering from malnutrition and poor rest, and was not sick.
Zhulan went to buy some gray and dark fabrics and then brought her people back home.
After returning home, Zhulan arranged the family to stay in an empty room in the front yard. These slaves were escorted by officials and had nothing on them except the clothes they were wearing. Zhulan found some old quilts at home and asked the eldest brother to send them over.
There is firewood in the front yard, and there is also a kitchen in the front yard. You can boil water for washing yourself. There are also fabrics and needles and thread. Zhulan is not in a hurry to see anyone and waits for the whole family to finish packing.
Li was so excited, "Mom, do we really have a servant?"
Zhulan: "Yeah."
Li was so happy, "Mom, will I be the first wife in the future?"
Zhulan, "... .....You are the eldest wife, what about me?"
Li asked as if she knew the answer but still wanted to ask, "Mother is naturally an old lady."
Zhulan, “… … ..”
She knew this was the name. She had taken good care of herself and looked young. That's right, now that she was bought back, the name at home would naturally change. In order to distinguish her, she would have to add the word "old". She was so upset that her head hurt just looking at Li!
Li saw her mother-in-law close her eyes. She didn't understand what she had said wrongly, "Mother."
Zhulan closed her eyes and pointed at the door, "Get out."
Li shut up, and her mother-in-law got upset again. She found that her mother-in-law would get upset from time to time, so it was best for her to shut up and be obedient at this time.
At lunch, Zhulan asked Li to send some cakes and vegetables to the front yard.
When Zhulan woke up from her nap, the family she had bought was already standing in the backyard. Everyone had changed into new clothes and cleaned themselves up.
Zhulan sat on the chair brought by the eldest brother, raised her eyebrows and looked at the newly made clothes. It had been two and a half hours, five hours in total, since she brought people back. And according to the eldest brother, the family had been standing for almost half an hour.
In other words, within two hours, or four hours, excluding the time for boiling water and taking a bath, eight sets of decent and fitting clothes can be made. Someone is really good at needlework.
Although Zhulan didn't pay attention to the front yard, she knew everything she needed to know. Everyone in the family had a clear division of labor!
Zhulan asked, "Who is good at needlework?"
The older lady stepped forward and said, "Madam, I am good at sewing. Later, when I got old, I went to the farm to work as a housewife."
Zhulan hummed and continued, "Can you all tell me what jobs you were responsible for in the past?"
The old man stepped forward and said, "I used to be a horse breeder, and now I am a gatekeeper in the farm."
The son continued, "I'm the driver for the master."
Daughter-in-law, "I started out washing vegetables in the kitchen, and later I learned needlework and did needlework."
The two older boys, the older one, aged nineteen, was a horse boy, and the younger one, aged seventeen, was an errand boy.
There are two little ones left. The little girl is ten years old and has been learning the rules, preparing to be a third-class maid. The boy is also learning the rules, but has not been arranged yet.
When Zhulan heard this, she realized that no one in this family was in power. They were not particularly smart people, but they were honest.
What the Zhou family needs now is someone who does his job properly.
Zhulan asked, "What are your names?"
The old man stepped forward and said, "My surname is Ma, and my name was given to me by the original owner, Ma Qiang."
The old lady stepped forward, "I am Ma Wei."
The couple, the man is called Ma Eryue, the woman is a maid who has been selling herself since she was young. She has no surname and her name was given by the original owner, Xinghua.
Some of the children did not say their names.
Old Man Ma stepped forward and said, "Madam, please give the child a name."
Zhulan was silent. Only by giving the child a name did she truly accept the Ma family. This was very important to the Ma family. Seeing the expectant eyes of the Ma children, Zhulan cursed the ancient times in her heart, but she still gave the child a name.
The surname did not change, and Zhulan did not know how to choose a name. She was not a talented woman. She named her name according to the 24 solar terms: the 19-year-old boy had the Beginning of Spring, the 17-year-old Rain Water, the 10-year-old girl had the Waking of Insects, and the 8-year-old boy had the Spring Equinox.
Zhulan then made arrangements for several people.
Zhu Lan said based on the abilities of these people: "We are going to the capital to take the exam. This time we will bring February, apricot blossoms, the beginning of spring and the awakening of insects. Ma Qiang and Ma Wei will stay with the rain and the spring equinox."
Mrs. Dong suppressed the corners of her mouth that turned up. Although her mother-in-law kept the old lady, she was at least a servant. She finally didn't have to work by herself.
The Ma family accepted the arrangement made by the master well. Although the new master was not an official, he was a juren and was about to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
If the new master became a Jinshi, they would still be official slaves, which would be much better than being bought by merchants. The Ma family's uneasiness would have long gone, leaving only joy.
The Ma family is honest but not stupid. The new master has not made any fortune, and they are the first batch of slaves. As long as they perform well, they will definitely be reused.
For dinner in the evening, the Ma family cooked their own meal in the front yard, which was prepared by Ma Wei.
Li cooks for Zhulan's family, and Xinghua helps by washing vegetables, so Dong and Xuehan don't have to do it anymore.
After two days of adaptation at the Ma family, the day for Zhulan and Zhou Shuren to set off arrived. This time, they hired five carriages. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren took one. Zhou Shuren didn't want Xuehan to be a light bulb, so Xuemei and Li took another one with Yulu and Jingzhe.
Boss Zhou took Ming Teng in one car, and the remaining two cars, one was loaded with quilts and other luggage, and the other was loaded with mountain products and food.
Ma Eryue and Xinghua take care of one, and Lichun takes care of one.
Wu Ming only hired one carriage and did not bring much luggage, while Zhao Bo hired more carriages.
The Zhao family has a house in the capital. This time Zhao Bo did not go there alone. He brought six servants with him and a lot of luggage, so Zhao Bo hired four carriages himself.
On the contrary, Wu Ming was able to employ servants, and he only bought one servant to follow him.
There were two more convoys heading to Beijing. This time, there were not many people in the convoy, and there were no encumbering trucks, so the convoy was traveling very fast.
This time we are not in a rush to go to the capital. After we have covered enough distance during the day, we will stop and rest early at night.