Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 97: Chapter 94 Buy People

After arriving in Linguan Castle, Yang Zhenshan asked Luo Shang to introduce him to a broker.

The broker, in his early forties, immediately kowtowed respectfully upon learning Yang Zhenshan’s identity, and said: “Greetings, Master Yang!”

People like these brokers are backed by influential brokerage firms and deal with many shady activities.

However, the last people they want to offend are officials, especially those with real power, such as military officers.

As a households defense officer, Yang Zhenshan might not be a bigshot inside Linguan Castle, but outside, he could demand their lives.

With men and blades at his disposal, who knew what he could do if truly offended.

It’s known that Chongshan Town was never short of soldiers and bandits.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t waste words and directly stated, “I would like to buy some servants. Do you have any good candidates here?”

“What kind of servant does the master wish to purchase?”

The broker asked with a smiling face.

There are different kinds of good servants.

A capable servant is a good servant; a servant with good looks is also a good servant.

He didn’t know whether Yang Zhenshan preferred capable servants, or just capable ones.

Unaware of the broker’s sly thoughts, Yang Zhenshan pondered and said, “Preferably an entire family.”

He had two requirements for servants: capability and loyalty.

Capability cannot be forced; as long as they are not deceitful, that’s acceptable, but loyalty is a must.

It’s hard to predict human nature, and even holding their servitude contracts couldn’t guarantee their loyalty.

However, if their families were involved, it could ensure the servants’ loyalty to the greatest extent.

“A whole family! I do have several families here for selection!” replied the broker.

“Show me,” said Yang Zhenshan.

Then, the broker took Yang Zhenshan and Yang Mingcheng to a dilapidated courtyard in the western part of the city.

“Come out, everyone, come out!”

The broker shouted as he entered.

In just a moment, more than twenty people emerged from various parts of the courtyard.

It was clear from their placement that these servants belonged to different families.

“Master, there are four families here. This family is surnamed Liu with eight members. They were previously servants of the Zhang family. After the Zhang family moved out of Linguan Castle, they sold them to us.”

“This family is surnamed Yang, with six members. They used to serve in the household of Mr. Ji from the Governor’s Office. After Mr. Ji was imprisoned, they were also sold.”

“This family is surnamed Wu, with four members. They were servants of a merchant family. After the merchant family fell into ruin and moved back to their hometown, they were sold to us. Old Man Wu here used to be a butler and is quite capable.”

“They are surnamed Ding and were also servants of the Zhang family with training in Martial Arts.”

As the broker introduced them, Yang Zhenshan swept his gaze over the faces of the crowd.

These servants were decently dressed and seemed to have not been mistreated too harshly.

This was normal since the brokerage firm had bought these servants with silver, counting on them to bring profits, and naturally, they couldn’t afford to let them starve or freeze.

However, their mental state was not very good; some looked panicked, some uneasy, and others utterly lost.

Yang Zhenshan glanced over everyone, with his gaze finally settling on the last family introduced by the broker.

“You are surnamed Ding!”

He stepped forward to a middle-aged man.

“Replying to the master, I am surnamed Ding!”

“Previously you served the fourth young master of the Zhang family?” Yang Zhenshan asked again.

He recognized this man. That time when Zhang Chen was bullying someone on the street and was whipped by Zhou Lan, this man surnamed Ding had been by Zhang Chen’s side and had even caught Zhou Lan’s whip.

“Yes!” the man hesitated, then nodded.

“You should possess cultivation in the Postnatal Realm; why are you a servant?” Yang Zhenshan asked curiously.

Even modest Postnatal Martial Artists wouldn’t generally be sold into servitude.

“I am a house-raised child of the Zhang family!” the man replied.

A house-raised child, namely a servant’s child; a servant’s child remains a servant, binding generation after generation unless the master willingly dissolves the contract.

He was a Martial Artist nurtured by the Zhang family.

Even for a servant who receives training from his master and becomes a Postnatal Martial Artist, it’s extremely rare.

This indicates that this man has considerable Martial Arts talent. Otherwise, he absolutely wouldn’t have reached the Postnatal Realm; Yang Zhenshan didn’t believe the Zhang family would spend substantial resources on a mere servant.

“How do you view the Zhang family?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

The man looked up, glanced at Yang Zhenshan, and said, “The Zhang family got what they deserved! But I am grateful for the Zhang family’s nurturing grace!”

After Zhang Yude was taken back to Capital City, it didn’t take long for the Zhang family’s properties to be confiscated, with many members tried and punished. Some, with lesser charges, were sent back to their hometowns.

Regarding Zhang Chen, it seems he was beheaded.

Yang Zhenshan hadn’t paid much attention to the details since he wasn’t closely involved with the Zhang family and naturally didn’t concern himself with their fate.

Yang Zhenshan merely nodded slightly in response to the man’s answer.

Actually, the reply didn’t matter.

The Zhang family had fallen, and even if this person remained loyal to the Zhang family, returning was impossible, nor could the Zhang family rise again.

As domineering as the Zhang family had been previously, now they were equally miserable.

“It’s just your children!” Yang Zhenshan looked behind the man at his three children.

Two boys and one girl; the oldest seemed about twelve or thirteen, and the youngest was a girl around four or five years old.

Besides the children, there was also a woman in her thirties.

“Yes!” the man responded.

Yang Zhenshan turned to the broker, “How much for this family?”

The broker immediately smiled and said, “Master, this person is a Postnatal Martial Artist, so his price is much higher than the others!”

“500 taels!”

“…”

Yang Zhenshan glanced at him, somewhat speechless.

That was indeed an exorbitant price.

“It’s not that Postnatal Martial Artists aren’t valuable, it’s just that the servants of Postnatal Martial Artists are somewhat of little use.”

“If it’s a Martial Artist trained by one’s own family, that’s naturally a good thing. However, not many people like these Martial Artists bought midway.”

“The reason is simple, it’s hard to determine their loyalty.”

“For ordinary servants, even if they are disloyal, the harm they can cause is limited.”

“But it’s different for Martial Artists. If they hold grudges, it could lead to the destruction of the family.”

“Two hundred taels, not a tael more!”

Yang Zhenshan didn’t want to waste words and started bargaining hard.

“This, my lord, this is too low!” The slave trader found it difficult to agree.

“I am talking about one hundred taels for each family, not just for him alone. If you find it inappropriate then forget about it!” Yang Zhenshan said as he pointed at the Ding Family of five.

Seeing the slave trader still hesitating, he added, “You plan to keep them over the new year!”

Although it was his first time buying servants, it didn’t mean he didn’t understand anything about it.

When did the Zhang family get their property confiscated?

Last September, it’s been four months since then!

After four months and still not being able to sell this family, would the slave trader not be anxious?

Maintaining so many people also costs silver, the longer it takes, the more it costs.

The reason why it’s so hard to sell the Ding family is not difficult to understand.

Firstly, because the man is a Postnatal Martial Artist, which ordinary people can’t control.

Secondly, because they are from the Zhang family, even though the Zhang family has already fallen, many people still deeply dread it.

“My lord, my lord, add fifty taels, two hundred fifty taels, let’s establish a good relationship with my lord!” The slave trader said with a pleasing face.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t respond and turned to look at the Wu family nearby.

“I will take their family too, give me a fair price!”

The Wu family included an old couple in their forties; the man had been a steward, though just for a merchant, he should have some capability.

There were also two teenage boys who could be directly assigned to different tasks, unlike the Ding family’s three children who were too young and would need several more years to be useful.

The slave trader pondered for a moment then said, “My lord, what do you think about three hundred taels?”

Yang Zhenshan thought about it and then nodded his head, agreeing to the price.

A family of four for just fifty taels of silver?

Yes, now the servant market in the castle town was such that people were cheaper than animals.

Even a young maid with a bit of beauty was only worth twenty-some silver taels, and older servants were worth just a few taels.

“Find four more obedient and honest young maids in their teens for this official, don’t bring troublesome people!” said Yang Zhenshan.

“Yes, yes, my lord, please wait a moment!”

About a two-hour span later, Yang Zhenshan, holding a deed of sale, left the castle town with a group of servants.

On the way, they also visited Linguan Castle, mainly because Yang Zhenshan wanted to buy a batch of cotton clothes for the servants from Linguan Castle.

In this period, the tailoring workshops in Linguan Castle made a name for themselves in the castle town with their low prices, and many wealthy households knew that they could get cheap coarse cotton clothes from Luo Shang’s fabric store.

These cotton clothes were naturally not for the masters, but for the servants in the house.

It was Chinese New Year, and having the servants wear new clothes would showcase the master’s benevolence.

So, the time before New Year’s was the busiest time for the tailoring workshop in Linguan Castle.

Besides, the tailoring workshop was now not just limited to orders; they also sewed some coarse cotton clothes to be sold at Luo Shang’s fabric store.

However, Yang Zhenshan still custom ordered a batch of coarse cotton clothes at the tailoring workshop, as the workshop’s stock did not have clothes for children.

When they returned to Yinghe Castle, it was already evening time.

It was getting late, and Yang Zhenshan did not immediately assign tasks to the servants, but let them temporarily stay in the rear living rooms.

The next morning, he gathered everyone together.

The members of the Yang family looked at this group of servants with various expressions.

Yang Mingcheng did not need to say much; he had always been with Yang Zhenshan and had accepted this reality.

Ms. Wang looked somewhat peculiar, especially at the teenage maids.

What is Dad thinking?

Why buy so many young maids?

Yang Minghao was also staring at Yang Zhenshan with a puzzled look.

But he wasn’t thinking about the maid’s issue; rather, he was pondering if Dad would assign him a servant.

Thinking that he could also have a young servant made Yang Minghao’s chest puff with pride.

“What is your name?”

Yang Zhenshan asked the man with the Ding surname.

“Replying to the master, I was previously called Ding Qiu!” said Ding Qiu very respectfully.

“Previously called Ding Qiu! Let’s keep it as Ding Qiu then!”

“And you!”

Yang Zhenshan looked at the man with the Wu surname.

“I am called Wu Hai!” replied Wu Hai.

“Everyone, introduce yourselves!” Yang Zhenshan was too lazy to ask one by one, and simply let them introduce themselves.

Wu Hai and Ding Qiu exchanged glances, Wu Hai then pulled his wife forward.

“Master, your humble servant was previously a cook, managed a kitchen!”

“Master, this young man is called Wu Da, I am sixteen this year, previously served by the master’s side!”

“This lad is named Wu Er, I am fifteen this year, previously worked as a gatekeeper!”

The Zhang family introduced themselves, and then the Ding family took their turn.

“Your humble servant was previously a seamstress at the Zhang family.”

“This boy is called Ding Cheng, I am twelve years old!”

“This boy is named Ding Lu, I am nine years old!”

One more young maid was left, looking bewilderedly at Ding Qiu and Madam Song.