AGN -Chapter 436 Shengsheng (Part 2)

After the rations ran out, Caitou could only gnaw on dry flatbread and sweet potatoes together with the “goods.” His temper grew worse and worse. Whenever he spotted someone who looked like a potential buyer, he would rush over eagerly, desperate to sell what he had on hand.

Qin Huai also tried to investigate where Zhao Cheng’an was.

It was difficult.

This time, Qin Huai could move around over a very large area. He could travel almost unhindered throughout the entire trading market. Whether it was the more distant outskirts or the shanties closer to the outer city, he could go there freely. It was impossible to judge Zhao Cheng’an’s location based on movement range alone—there were simply too many people here.

Shi Dadan had told Qin Huai before that mayflies on their side usually spent years buried in soil or underwater in dormancy. If Zhao Cheng’an had copied Chen Huihong’s method and dug a pit to bury herself in, Qin Huai would never find her from above ground.

He could only wait for her to come out and steal again.

But that wait lasted two whole days.

Because of the thief who could seemingly go anywhere, none of the traffickers dared buy lavish food or alcohol anymore. Those with good merchandise hurriedly sold everything and entered the city. Only traffickers like Caitou, who were stuck with unsellable stock, remained outside the city desperately trying to peddle their goods.

Nothing was stolen during those two days. Or perhaps there was simply nothing left worth stealing. Still, the traffickers had become so frightened that even when cooking porridge they kept watch over each other.

As one同行 after another sold their stock cheaply and swaggered into the city, while even the unsold traffickers at least got a bowl of hot porridge every day, Caitou—who could only drink cold water and chew stale flatbread daily—became completely unbalanced mentally. Whether it was a person or a dog passing by, he wanted to kick them.

Every day he either sat on the ground cursing at his goods or stood there cursing at them. But merchandise couldn’t be sold through insults alone. After staying in this market for two days, Qin Huai could tell that Caitou’s batch really was terrible quality. Most were children, and their ages were frequently exaggerated.

Children who looked only five or six were being advertised as eleven or twelve. The sales pitch was equally pitiful: “Just feed them well for a couple days and they’ll recover.”

But these children were so skinny that a strong wind could knock them over. How could a few good meals possibly restore them?

After finally selling the last woman in his possession, Caitou viciously glared at the most valuable item he still had—the child Qin Huai had first seen displaying his teeth to customers.

“If you still can’t be sold tomorrow, forget about eating flatbread too. I’ve already contacted a tannery, coal kiln, and brick kiln. Tomorrow night I’ll send all of you over there.”

The moment those words came out, even the children lying on the ground, too weak to sigh anymore, couldn’t help trembling in fear.

The child being threatened by Caitou showed almost no reaction, merely lying there quietly.

“What rotten luck.”

Caitou badly wanted to kick him hard, but restrained himself. He returned to his belongings—really just a few cloth bundles—pulled out a flatbread hard enough to crack walnuts, soaked it in cold water, and started eating.

The sun was nearly setting.

After spending two days here, Qin Huai had roughly figured out when customers usually appeared. Most buyers came between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Those wealthy enough to leave the city to buy people generally lived in the inner city. Traveling from the inner city to the outer city took time, whether by carriage or rickshaw.

Too early, and customers wouldn’t be awake. Too late, and returning after sunset would be unsafe. Usually by three or four in the afternoon, the traffickers relaxed—it was basically quitting time.

Yet just as the sun was about to set, someone arrived.

The other traffickers were still gathered around the pot drinking porridge, slow to react. But the desperate-to-sell Caitou immediately tossed aside his flatbread and cold water and lunged forward in one stride. His face radiated the smile of someone welcoming the God of Wealth himself. Judging from his posture, he practically wanted to drag the man over, yet he still kept a professional distance of more than a meter.

This customer was dressed very decently. He wore a black cotton long gown without patches, the cloth buttons showed no wear, and the cloth shoes on his feet looked quite new.

Most importantly, the man was broad and sturdy, yet appeared gentle and easy to talk to. One look told you he was wealthy, not short on money, and easy to fool.

No one staying outside the city remained clean. Many children had insect and flea bites rotting on their skin, and naturally the traffickers themselves were no better.

Any trafficker with professional standards understood one thing: enthusiasm was fine, but under no circumstances should you directly touch the customer.

“Sir, have a look and see what kind of goods you want. I’ve got a full selection here, all reasonably priced. Take a look—boys from seven or eight up to teenagers, mostly collected from Jin Province. Don’t mind how skinny they are now; they’ve just suffered from the long journey and hunger. You’ve surely heard about the droughts in Jin Province these past years—people were even eating each other. Anyone who survived until now has a strong foundation. Feed them a few good meals at home and they’ll recover.”

Hearing Caitou’s sales pitch, several traffickers drinking porridge nearby sneered and exchanged looks, their eyes clearly saying: “If he closes this deal, hell must have frozen over.”

The customer listened and directly asked: “Do you have a boy around eight years old?”

The moment he heard that there was interest, Caitou’s eyes lit up. He hurried back to his territory, grabbed his only valuable merchandise, and dragged him over to the customer. Skillfully prying open the child’s mouth, he said: “Take a look at this one. Farm boy, nine years old. This is the best item I’ve got. Someone previously offered four and a half taels of silver and I still didn’t sell him. I just wanted to find the child a good family. But seeing how respectable you are, sir, if you sincerely want him, I’ll let him go for four and a half taels.”

The customer examined the child in Caitou’s grip and said: “Don’t hold him like that. Put him down.”

Caitou secretly stepped on the child’s foot, signaling him to be clever and say something nice. But the child remained unresponsive. After being set down, he simply knelt on the ground without raising his head.

Caitou could only force an explanation: “Raised in the countryside all his life, never seen the world, so he’s scared. But that’s actually a good thing—obedient. Won’t run no matter how much he’s beaten or scolded. Just feed him and he’s fine.”

The customer ignored the sales pitch and carefully observed the child.

“Does he have a name?”

“Yes, yes!”

Caitou answered hurriedly, opening his mouth to call out the child’s name—only to suddenly realize he had no idea what it was. He immediately shoved the child hard.

“The master’s asking your name! Speak already!”

The child said woodenly: “Xia Sheng.”

“Right, that’s the name.”

Caitou grinned obsequiously.

“I remember this child. His whole family died in the disaster. Honestly, I didn’t want to take him at first. But his mother knelt down and kowtowed to me, asking for neither money nor grain—just begging me to take him in and give him a bite to eat. I softened and accepted him.”

“Definitely from a respectable family!”

The customer looked somewhat tempted but hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

“He’s too old.”

Caitou froze.

“Nine years old is old? Sir, I absolutely didn’t fake his age! Unlike some black-hearted people here, claiming seven- or eight-year-olds are eleven or twelve!”

The moment those words came out, the other traffickers glared at him furiously.

The customer still didn’t explain himself. He merely repeated:

“Nine years old is too old.”

Then he turned to leave.

Caitou panicked immediately. He wanted to chase after him but didn’t dare. Furious, he turned as if about to kick Xia Sheng. Just as the first kick was about to land, Xia Sheng suddenly raised his head and spoke:

“Sir, I was born before the New Year. Back where I’m from, children born before the New Year count as one year older, and nominal age adds another year. So I’m called nine years old, but if you count properly, I’m really only seven.”

Xia Sheng’s words stopped the customer.

The man turned back, looked at him, and asked:

“You’ve studied before?”

“There was an old licentiate in our village. My mother once gave him a strip of cured meat, and he taught me to write a few characters. I can recognize some words and learned a little bookkeeping.”

Caitou grew anxious.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”

His face clearly read: If I’d known you had that skill sooner, you’d already have been sold!

The customer nodded in satisfaction and asked Caitou:

“You said just now he costs four and a half taels of silver?”

Caitou suddenly felt reluctant.

“Sir, that was just now. Now…”

“He was originally selling me for only three strings of cash. The earlier customers all thought even three strings were too expensive. I’m not worth four and a half taels of silver at all,” Xia Sheng spoke up again.

“You little bastard, you sure talk a lot!”

Caitou exploded in anger and lifted his foot to kick him, only to be stopped by the customer.

“I’ll take him for four and a half taels. It’s too late today, so I’ll bring him home first. Tomorrow at the hour of Si, wait for me at the inner city gate so we can sign the contract.”

With that, the customer handed the money over to Caitou.

The moment Caitou received the silver, his face bloomed with joy.

“Alright, alright! Thank you, sir! I’ll definitely be waiting at the city gate first thing tomorrow morning!”

The customer said nothing more and merely signaled Xia Sheng to follow him. Curious about what kind of person would spend money so generously, Qin Huai quietly followed behind as well, hoping to overhear more.

“My name is Chen Qiusheng. I’m not some official nor a businessman. I’m just an ordinary cook. If you follow me, you won’t live some life of great wealth and luxury.”

“My reason for buying you is very simple. My wife passed away early, and at home there’s only my frail and sickly only son along with an old servant. Recently, after a friend’s suggestion, I started considering buying a study companion to accompany my son while he studies. I need someone from a decent family, someone polite, clever, preferably able to recognize a few characters, and most importantly younger than my son.”

“Do you understand?”

“I understand, sir. In the future, I’ll definitely serve young master well,” Xia Sheng replied.

“In a moment, I’ll buy you a new set of clothes. You’ll go to the bathhouse, wash yourself clean, and shave your head. Then I’ll stop by the pharmacy to buy some medicinal powder for your skin. My son has a very good temperament—if anything, he’s a bit timid. If I ever discover you bullying him behind my back, don’t blame me for turning you over to the authorities. No… these days it should be called the police station.”

“I understand, sir.”

Seeing that Xia Sheng remained respectful the entire time, speaking without even lifting his head, Chen Qiusheng sighed and asked: “Was everything that broker said about you true?”

Xia Sheng froze for a moment, paused, then nodded.

“It was true.”

“There was a drought in my hometown for three years. All our farmland was sold off. To save food, my grandparents hanged themselves. My older sister sold herself away. My mother also wanted to sell herself, but the brokers thought she was too old and refused.”

“At first, the brokers didn’t want me either. They thought I was too young and wouldn’t survive. My mother knelt on the ground and kowtowed to them over and over until blood covered the ground. In the end, my father gave the brokers the last half-bag of sweet potatoes our family had left and begged them to take me away from there—to sell me into a good family somewhere new so I could at least have enough food to eat.”

Chen Qiusheng stopped walking and looked deeply at Xia Sheng.

“I don’t know whether what you just told me is true, or whether you’re simply trying to prove to me that you come from a respectable background and possess the character I’m looking for in a study servant. But at the very least, it proves that you’re a clever child.”

“And also…”

“The one behind us. You’ve been following us the whole way. Whether you’re scouting targets or planning a robbery, it’s time for you to show yourself.”

The moment Chen Qiusheng said that, Qin Huai nearly jumped in fright.

His first reaction was: Holy crap, how does he know I’ve been following him this whole time?!

Then he immediately realized:

Wait, he shouldn’t be talking about me.

And then a little mud-man appeared.

Qin Huai: ???

Qin Huai suddenly realized that he had followed them the whole way without hitting any invisible barrier at all. That could only mean that not only was he following Chen Qiusheng and Xia Sheng—

Zhao Cheng’an had been following them too.

The tiny mud-covered figure, wrapped head to toe in mud and straw so completely that nobody could tell whether he was even wearing clothes, grinned broadly and revealed a mouthful of white teeth.

“Sir, I’m not robbing anyone or scouting targets. I followed you all this way just because I wanted to ask—are you still hiring people?”

Chen Qiusheng: ?

Xia Sheng: ??

Qin Huai: ???

Zhao Cheng’an continued:

“I’ve been squatting outside the city for two months and seen all kinds of buyers. Men picking girls for alleyways, rich families choosing servant girls, people buying wives, wealthy households buying sons, and some who never say what they’re buying people for, just giving meaningful looks that everyone else somehow understands.”

“There are generous buyers and stingy buyers. But someone like you, who actually stopped someone from kicking a child—you’re the only one.”

“I can’t read, and I don’t know whether I count as coming from a respectable family. The labor recruiters in the city chase me away the moment they see me, but I want to find work.”

“I think your place seems pretty good. Are you hiring?”

Qin Huai: …

What the hell is this, Boss Zhipin?

Squatting in a human trafficking market to recruit a boss—Zhao Cheng’an, you really are something. Mayflies truly do have bizarre ways of thinking.

Even Chen Qiusheng was rendered speechless by Zhao Cheng’an’s words and fell completely silent.

Seeing his future boss go silent, Zhao Cheng’an assumed his self-recommendation speech hadn’t been forceful enough. After thinking for a moment, he added: “Oh right, I also have a special skill—I’m extremely good at stealing things!”

“You can ask them! Everything stolen over there these past days was stolen by me!”

The three others: …

Looking into Zhao Cheng’an’s sincere eyes, Chen Qiusheng continued to remain silent.

At moments like this, a sensible person would quietly leave.

But Zhao Cheng’an wasn’t a person—and he definitely wasn’t sensible.

He simply stood there waiting for Chen Qiusheng to give him an answer, since Chen Qiusheng didn’t seem interested in beating him up.

“I’m a cook at Taifeng Tower,” Chen Qiusheng finally said directly. “My household doesn’t need more people, but Taifeng Tower has recently been recruiting apprentice assistants. There’s no wage, no lodging provided, but meals are included.”

“I can introduce you. If you pass the recruitment, my family has an empty woodshed you can stay in for free.”

After saying that, Chen Qiusheng sized up mud-man Zhao Cheng’an and sighed.

“You should come along too. Wash up together with Xia Sheng.”

“No one in the city will hire you looking like this.”

Zhao Cheng’an grinned happily, flashing his bright white teeth as he excitedly followed behind.

While following, he even leaned over to whisper beside Xia Sheng:

“Brother, you’ve got good judgment. The buyer you picked is reliable.”

“I still have two black-flour buns I stole from your former owner that I haven’t finished eating. Want one? Help put in a good word for me and ask your current owner to buy me too.”

Xia Sheng: …

Xia Sheng silently moved two steps farther away from him.