Chu Wenbi nodded: "Do you still have anything that needs to be moved over from Anlin Village? How about we move it back together this afternoon while your mother and I are here?"
Chu Nanzhi recalled it in her mind, and found that there were actually no valuable items there.
The original owner's dowry and even Lin Jinxiao's books and documents had long been lost by the original owner, and the remaining few valuable items were taken to the Chu family after Chen broke the door last time.
Now all that can be moved here are some insignificant daily necessities, which is sad to say.
After thinking about it, she said to Chu Wenbi: "Let's buy some household supplies in the city today. I will go back to the village when I have time to take a look. I will pick up what I need."
"Well, although Dalang, his wife, and Mrs. Zhou have arranged everything well, it's difficult to cover everything. There are still a lot of things missing at home, so let's go now."
After Liu Yun finished speaking, she went to take out the one hundred taels of silver given by Lin Jinxiao and handed it to Chu Nanzhi together with the package.
"Mother, keep it."
Chu Nanzhi pushed the silver bag back into her hand: "Raising horses is a big expense every month."
Although the horses sold in the horse shop are not considered good horses, the carriages cost seventy or eighty taels of silver and are the simplest in decoration.
And to raise an ordinary horse, the monthly fodder would probably cost another two to three taels of silver.
After saying that, he took the quadruplets and Liu Yun and his wife out and went to the teahouse at the West Gate to order some snacks and mutton cakes. After everyone filled their stomachs, they went to the horse shop.
The horse shop is located in Qinghefang in the west of the city. It mainly deals with the sale of livestock and human slaves.
Chu Wenbi's legs were weak, so it was only a few steps away. It took almost half an hour for everyone to see the front door of Qinghefang.
As soon as I entered through the east gate of Qinghefang, I saw a familiar figure coming up to me.
Chu Nanzhi took a closer look and found that it was Guan Erbai. She couldn't help but asked happily: "Guan Langjun, why are you here?"
Guan Erbai cupped his hands towards Liu Yun and his wife, and replied with a smile: "Mrs. Chu, Master Lin specially asked me to wait here. The horse carriages are not easy to buy, so they need to be booked in advance. I came to make the reservation yesterday.
I thought my wife would come here earlier, so I waited here early in the morning."
"Oh, I'm really sorry, some things have delayed me."
Chu Nanzhi replied sarcastically.
Although Guan Erbai didn't go to Chongrenfang, there was a murder case at the head of the Lin family and it was already widely spread. She must have gone there to join in the fun, so she didn't ask any more questions.
He took the initiative to help Chu Wenbi, who was staggering, and led the group of people towards the horse.
There are many large and small markets in the square, selling horses, cattle, etc. From time to time, you can see some slaves locked in iron cages among the livestock.
It was the first time for the little ones to come to a place like this. When they saw people locked in cages and treated worse than animals, they couldn't help but feel sympathy.
Sibaolin Ruijia held Chu Nanzhi's hand, her little eyes kept rolling, and she weakly called out: "Auntie, look at those people in the cage, how pitiful they are."
"Um."
Chu Nanzhi picked up Si Bao and whispered in her ear: "These people are pitiful, but we can't help them. When someone buys them, they can live a better life if they have work."
Already."
In this era, the hierarchy was relatively strict, and there was a distinction between the good and the bad. Poor families who were in better circumstances sold their children and daughters to work for wealthy families to do menial work and earn some loose money to supplement their family income.
Those who are in a bad situation can only sign a death contract and become a private slave of a wealthy family. This kind of people's life and death depend on the word of their master.
But those are all "friendly sales", and at least they can suffer less abuse.
Those who were imprisoned in the tooth shop were even worse. Although they came from different sources, their experiences were similar to those of official slaves in the imperial court, and their status was equal to that of slaves.
Liu Yun looked at the slaves in the cage who were beaten to a bloody pulp, and couldn't help but sigh: "The imperial labor force has been heavy in recent years, and many people in the village have no choice but to sell their sons and daughters because they cannot pay taxes."
After saying that, he leaned in front of Chu Nanzhi's ear and whispered: "I heard before that the Qi family has made a lot of money from the dental shop business in recent years."
"The Qi family still does dental business?"
Chu Nanzhi looked surprised.
"Well, you girl still hasn't seen much of the world."
Liu Yunxi said: "It's true that the Qi family has money, but people with money will not be content with the status quo. He also wants to earn more money. If the court imposes additional taxes, many people will not be able to farm land, so they can only
He sold his land to the Qi family at a low price and became tenant farmers. The Qi family was the richest in Luyan Port, owning tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. If his family's rent increased, other wealthy families would also follow suit.
The tenant farmers who have lost their land and still can't pay the rent have no choice but to sell their sons and daughters, and everyone in the tooth shop has to thank the Qi family. In this way, both parties benefit, and he can naturally earn a lot of money."
"I see."
Chu Nanzhi was enlightened upon hearing this.
No wonder Lin Jinxiao said when he was in Haikang County that the first thing he did after taking office was to clean up the powerful and evil gentry in Luyan Port.
The reasoning behind this is self-evident.
If the common people really reach the point where they have no way to survive even as sharecroppers, then they should not rise up.
When she was in Haikang County, she had already witnessed the ability of the officials and gentry to enclose land. Half of the cultivated land in the tiny area had fallen into the hands of the dirty officials and gentry. Although this huge Luyan Port seemed to be in various aspects at the moment,
Everything is peaceful, but there are also many hidden worries.
At this moment, she could finally feel how heavy the burden on Lin Jinxiao was.
He not only has to take on the management of people's livelihood in Luyan Port, but also has to shoulder the heavy responsibility of coastal defense in the six eastern counties. Thinking about him taking Lin Jinhui away in a hurry today, the resentment in his heart is no longer so heavy.
The group of people continued to walk in, and when they reached a horse market, Erbao Lin Ruixi suddenly stopped and stared into the distance with her little eyes.
Liu Yun pulled the little guy without knowing why, but her feet seemed to be rooted and refused to move.
Seeing this, the other little guys also looked over.
Chu Nanzhi followed the line of sight of the little ones and saw a tough man standing next to an iron cage in the distance, swinging a long whip towards the iron cage.
The little guys thought about their own experiences in the past, and as if they felt the same, they rushed over angrily, shouting at the rough man with their young voices: "You are not allowed to hit anyone."
Before Liu Yun could react, she found that the little treasures had run far away, and she was so frightened that she quickly chased after them.
Chu Nanzhi followed closely with Si Bao in his arms.
When I arrived at the gate of Deyaxing, I saw a middle-aged man sitting on a wicker chair next to me and swinging a cattail leaf fan as he slowly stood up.
With heavy steps, he walked up to the three little guys with a contented look, and glanced at the adults behind him. When he saw the figure of Guan Erbai, the official, he couldn't help but frown slightly, but then he immediately turned calm.
He said loudly and without fear:
"You little bastards, what did I do to you by teaching my slaves a lesson?"
Just as Guan Erbai was about to draw the knife, Chu Nanzhi immediately stopped him and whispered: "We really have nothing to do with this matter."
She secretly took a look at the two slaves held in the cage. They looked dirty, but they could be roughly distinguished as a man and a woman, and they were blond and blue-eyed. They did not look like they were from the Dahe Empire.
Even if such slaves come from improper channels, the government will probably not get involved. They should be prisoners of war obtained through government channels.