He could only talk, but his mother was gone. His hometown was full of saline-alkali land and no crops grew on the land, so his father followed people around doing odd jobs and couldn't take care of him, so he left him at home to nurse him.
Unexpectedly, his milk ran out last year. His second aunt coaxed him and said she would send him to learn a trade. Little did she think that she would sell him to the palace to be a eunuch.
"That Mr. Li is very famous in our area. Who doesn't know what he does? When people buy girls, he buys handsome boys. He also lies to people that the palace is a good place. I won't go!"
He looked down and said: "Without the power, my family has become extinct. I took advantage of them and ran away from the boat. When I heard you said you were going to Peking, I wanted to follow you to Peking to find my father."
Huo Xi suddenly thought of that boy Shen Luo. If it weren't for her and her uncle, that boy would probably be staying in the palace now.
What's going on? Is there such a shortage of people in the palace? Are all the palace people from the previous dynasty buried with them?
I couldn't help but look at the boy in front of me. After looking at him, I felt a little bit sour.
I didn’t expect that the word “husband” here meant eunuch. I was grinding my teeth.
Vanilla felt that this boy was dishonest: "You are going to find your father, and you just said you would sell yourself to my master!"
The black boy pursed his lips and looked at Huo Xi timidly: "How about, when I find my father, I will sell myself to you with my father?"
Selling oneself to a wealthy family, where one can have clothes to wear, a bed to sleep on, and enough to eat, is better than living in one's hometown.
"I'm afraid your dad doesn't want to beat you!" Vanilla glared at him.
"My father won't beat me. If I can survive by selling myself, my father is also willing to do so. There are no crops growing in the fields over there, and many people are looking for work. If there are no meals outside, it's better to sell yourself to Others can still have a good time."
Except for Huo Xi, everyone present actually understood his thoughts.
In a world where the jungle prevails, no one can survive. If you sell yourself to others to seek shelter, you may not be free, but at least you can survive.
If they could meet a good master like them, they must have burned high incense in their previous life.
"Are you telling the truth?"
Huo Xi stared at his eyes. He looked so dark. What did husband Li see in him? Was he not afraid of dirtying the eyes of the nobleman when he was sent to the palace?
"I, Ji Chuyi, swear on the name of my parents that every word is true! My dear, I really didn't lie. My dear, please keep me, I'm very useful! I, I can find something for you!"
"You're looking for something for me?" What kind of skill is this? She often loses things?
Ji Chuyi nodded sharply, yes, it was useful to him.
He talked about his skills. He said that as long as his nose smells something, as long as the smell persists, he can find it.
Everyone didn't believe it. Vanilla was eager to try, so Huo Xi asked her to try him.
After a while, Vanilla came back excitedly: "Miss, he has a dog nose!"
Wow La La told me that she went to hide something, but the guy found her out several times. She hid it in the cracks of the ship and covered it with something, and she could still find it.
After saying that, she looked at Huo Xi with a look, this man is as useful as herself, the girl should keep him.
Huo Xi didn't know what the use of Ji Chuyi's skills was. Thinking that he was only eight years old and couldn't bear to have him captured as a eunuch, he kept him.
He didn't sign a physical or living deed with him. He just said he would give him a ride until he found his father.
Ji Chuyi was a little disappointed, but when he saw that he was left behind, he became happy again. He got a piece of old clothes from the moon, so he happily ran to wash up.
After he was washed, Huo Xi took a look and said, "Hey, he has a pretty handsome face. No wonder someone is willing to spend ten taels of silver to buy him. This will not stain the eyes of nobles. I am afraid that once he enters the palace, he will always be rewarded and prosper."
Finally he was left behind.
Without further delay, the ship left Jining Pier at dawn and continued northward.
After a day's sailing, we arrived in Linqing.
Linqing is one of the five major grain storage warehouses along the canal. The canal is crowded with grain transport ships.
I heard that the Linqing Warehouse can store millions of grains and is a transfer station for grain transportation from the south to the north. Grains from all prefectures and counties in Shandong and Henan go to Linqing for exchange. Many grain merchants will also come to Qingqing Wharf for grain transactions.
Huo Xi and the two stewards went ashore, checked the shops, and bought some food at the dock. They did not spend the night in Linqing and continued northward.
The next stop is Cangzhou, Hebei.
I checked the store's accounts and bought a lot of pears, dates, donkey-hide gelatin and other local products at Cangzhou Wharf.
On the first day of the lunar month, I ate so much that the roasted pork and roasted pork were so full that I even bought some to eat on board. Until the ship arrived at the Tianjin pier, the roasted roasted pork and roasted pork had not yet been finished.
"You should finish your meal quickly. You can't let it go in this weather. When we get to Tianjin, there will be more good things. Are you afraid that you will be full again?" Vanilla was a little disgusted.
Ji Chuyi escaped from Yaren's boat and hid on the dock, not daring to show his face at all. He was hungry for several days.
Now I see that my master is kind-hearted, buying him things to eat, and letting him eat every meal, which he cherishes very much. When he is afraid of hunger and worries about whether he has eaten the last meal or not, he always eats some and leaves some.
The boat was full of grain, and Vanilla was afraid that he would attract insects and rats by hiding the food, so she glared at him every day.
Now that I can meet a good host and live a good life, it must be my poor mother’s blessing from heaven. I wanted to wait for it since the first day of the new year. When I saw delicious food at various piers, I didn’t dare to ask for it.
, I cherish it very much when the owner buys it, I always eat half and leave half.
Seeing Vanilla scolding him, he explained weakly: "Sister Vanilla, you won't attract rats and insects. I pay attention to it every day."
Seeing Xiang Xiang staring at him, she hurriedly said, "I'll finish it soon." She took out the stored food, stuffed it into her mouth and ate it fiercely.
"But finish your meal quickly. You act like this, as if we will starve you." People looked at this and thought that the girl treated the servants poorly and did not give them enough to eat. Hmph.
I've told him several times, but I'm still hiding it! Vanilla stared at him keenly, and would not let him off the boat until he finished eating.
Huo Xi glanced at them, just smiled and didn't pay much attention, and got off the boat first.
When we arrive in Tianjin, we are very close to Peiping.
Tianjin was one of the five major granaries of the imperial court and the last stop of the south-to-north grain diversion.
Tianjin is near the sea. After the opening of the port, various merchants gathered here, either transporting goods to Liaodong for trading, or going out to sea by ship to sell goods to North Korea and the Japanese state. "The land is the strategic point of Jiuhe and Jin, and the road is connected by boats and cars from seven provinces."
Location is very important.
In the river, people transporting grain and various materials gathered at Tianjin Wharf, which was very lively.
Guangfeng Shui's shop in Tianjin was given to a local aristocratic family in exchange for 20% of its shares in order to seek protection. It has been open for more than a year, and it is quite satisfactory, with not much profit.
But Huo Xi felt that this place not only had the convenience of inland water transportation, but also had sea transportation. There were also many merchants from Korea and Japan, and business would definitely pick up in the future.
If the capital is moved in the future, Peiping will become the national capital, and the political and cultural affairs from the south will move northward. Overseas tribute ships and private merchant ships will all come to Tianjin Port, and this place will become another major port for foreign business.
Huo Xi planned to sell the remaining one hundred stone peppers here.