Zhulan thought it was a good idea, as she had two little ones at home. The girl would follow Xuehan and the boy would follow Mingyun. Of course, they would only follow each other for now, and whether they would continue to follow in the future would depend 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, “I 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 site 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 slaves. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren did not take them home but took them 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 for 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 was firewood in the front yard, and there was also a kitchen in the front yard. They could boil water for washing themselves. There were also fabrics, needles and thread. Zhulan was not in a hurry to see anyone and waited for the whole family to finish unpacking.

Li Shi was so excited, “Mom, do we really have a servant?”

Zhulan: “Yeah.”

Li Shi was so happy, “Mom, will I be the Eldest Madam in the future?”

Zhulan: “You are the Eldest Madam, what about me?”

Li Shi asked as if she knew the answer but still wanted to ask, “Mother is naturally the 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. To distinguish her, she would have to add the word “Old”. She was so upset that her head hurt just looking at Li Shi!

Li Shi 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 Shi shut up, her mother-in-law got upset again. She found that her mother-in-law would get upset from time to time, and that time, it was best for her to shut up and be obedient at this time.

At lunch, Zhulan asked Li Shi to send some pancakes 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 was 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 needlework, and later when I got old I went to the farm to work as a maid.”

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 then I was a gatekeeper on the farm.”

The son continued, “I was the driver for the Master.”

Daughter-in-law, “I started out by washing vegetables in the kitchen, and later I learned needlework and did needlework.”

The two older boys, the older one, aged nineteen, was a stable boy, and the younger one, aged seventeen, was an errand boy.

There were two little ones left. The little girl was ten years old and had been learning the rules, preparing to be a third-class maid. The boy was also learning the rules but had 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 needed now was someone who did their 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 Shi.”

The couple consisted of a man named Ma Eryue and a woman who had been a servant girl sold into servitude from a young age. She had no surname, and her name, Xinghua, was given by her original master’s family.

The names of the children were not mentioned.

Old Man Ma stepped forward and said, “Madam, please give the child a name.”

Zhulan was silent. Only by giving the children 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 children a name.

Zhulan hadn’t changed their surnames, nor did she come up with any special names, as she wasn’t some kind of talented scholar. She named them according to the 24 solar terms: the 19-year-old boy was LichunThis is the first solar term, meaning “Beginning of Spring.” It signifies the start of spring and the renewal of life., the 17-year-old was YushuiMeaning “Rain Water,” this solar term follows Lichun and refers to the time when the weather warms and rainfall increases, symbolizing growth and nourishment., the 10-year-old girl was JingzheTranslating to “Awakening of Insects,” this term indicates the time in spring when the temperature rises, and hibernating insects begin to stir, a sign of life emerging from dormancy., and the 8-year-old boy was ChunfenKnown as the “Spring Equinox,” this term signifies the point where day and night are roughly equal in length, symbolizing balance and harmony during the spring season..

Zhulan then made arrangements for several people.

Based on these people’s abilities, Zhulan said, “We are going to the capital for the imperial examination, and this time we’ll take Eryue, Xinghua, Lichun, and Jingzhe. Ma Qiang and Ma Wei Shi will stay behind with Yushui and Chunfen.”

Dong Shi 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 the capital 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 was honest but not stupid. The new master had not made any fortune, and they were the first batch of slaves. As long as they performed well, they would 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 Shi cooked for Zhulan’s family, and Xinghua helped by washing vegetables, so Dong Shi and Xuehan didn’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 Xuehan and Li Shi 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 had a house in the capital. This time Zhao Bo was not going 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 caravans heading to the capital. This time, the number of people traveling to the capital wasn’t large, and without any slow-moving freight wagons, the journey progressed quickly.

This time they were not in a rush to go to the capital. After they had covered enough distance during the day, they would stop and rest early at night.

(End of this chapter)

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