A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch-Chapter 186 - 151: Ding Axiang and Broker Feng (Part 2)

"Whether it's good or bad, we must take a look first."

Feng Shao Ling sat leisurely in the armchair, not even raising his eyelids. Speaking too much with these small families of Black River County seemed beneath him.

He waved his hand, and two stout tooth women rolled up their sleeves and began inspecting the "goods" one by one, mostly checking the mouth and teeth, and pinching the hands and feet to judge if there were any injuries.

In these times, the wear of teeth often reflected one's social status.

Because poor families ate coarse grains, while large households occasionally received some fine grains, the difference in tooth wear was significant.

The tooth women were trained to have sharp eyes, preventing the seller's family from lying, passing off laborers as maids skilled in feminine arts, thus raising the price.

"This time for the countryside procurement, about a hundred people are needed. Black River County has just suffered a disaster, and with spring approaching, the Red Eyebrow Bandits have killed the tax collector, which means last year's taxes are still owed and uncollected. It's as if heaven is helping me."

Feng Shao Ling mused, Yihai Prefecture does not lack laboring Servant Households, but young and strong workers who are willing to exert themselves, as well as maids with pleasant appearances, are always in high demand.

Even among slaves and servants, there is a hierarchy.

For example, with maids, the lowest grade are the rough work maids, who can only do hard and tiring tasks in the kitchen, with the lowest price and income.

Next are the personal maids who enter into the inner courtyard, usually with good looks, youthful energy, taking care of the master's daily life and needs.

This kind of purchase comes at a high price, unless during the difficult years of great disasters, they mostly sell for ten taels of silver and can earn one or two taels monthly.

The most expensive are the high-class maids who possess outstanding talents, such as skills in poetry, painting, singing, and dancing, raised only by noble and wealthy families.

Feng Shao Ling had heard that many large local families had been destroyed, hence he rushed here to do business.

"Let the tooth women ask the Ding Family if there are any younger girls, good-looking ones, to raise them for a while, and they will grow quickly."

Feng dealt in brokerage business, gathering many madams skilled in training lean horses.

Gifted girls are the top and most sought-after goods.

Thus, he gestured for the servant to pass the message.

Ding the Second was clearly nearby but couldn't be bothered to talk to him, reflecting the arrogance and conceit of the prominent families of Yihai Prefecture.

"Young girls?"

Ding the Second chuckled, his eyes revealing a lewd expression, as if understanding what Feng Shao Ling implied.

He thought this young master from a prominent Yihai Prefecture family was like-minded, and stepped forward, leaning in to say:

"Young Master Feng, you came to the right person for this matter! In Dayu Town, many are selling their daughters and their sons, the younger ones especially. Although pretty young girls are rare, just offer a good price, and it's not impossible to find them..."

Bang!

Feng Shao Ling, sitting steadily, kicked Ding the Second over and frowned, saying:

"What a filthy thing! The stench is overwhelming! Tell the tooth women to act quickly and pick seven or eight suitable ones, that should suffice."

The servant hurriedly leaned over, using his sleeve to clean the young master's black leather boots.

Ding the Second, having never practiced martial arts, was kicked straight to the ground, clutching his abdomen and vomiting bile and sour water.

He dared not speak against it, being helped up by the playmates he usually hung out with, and reluctantly retreated to a corner.

"Xiaocui, nineteen years old, with calloused palms and frostbitten skin, can only be a rough work maid, valued at four thousand three hundred coins, achievable with rice grain conversion... Wang Erchui, twenty-four years old, with intact limbs, skilled in carpentry, seven thousand in big coins..."

The tooth woman spoke loudly, while the elderly man behind the long table buried his head in writing, recording names, issuing one by one the indenture contracts.

"What's your name?"

The tooth woman looked at a dark-skinned, dull-headed boy.

"Ding Axiang."

The person answered with his head down.

"The physique is decent, oh, how come you've been beaten! If they have damaged you somewhere, you won't sell for a good price!"

The tooth woman felt around, noticing the bruised eye sockets and the broken nose, immediately slapping her thigh and shouting.

"Do not write Ding Axiang!"

Ding the Second, holding back his temper, saw the commotion and his eyes bulged out as he yelled:

"A dog who sells himself into slavery also dares to carry the name 'Ding'!"

Becoming a slave first meant losing one's name, often the master would give them nicknames like "Cuixiu" or "Ah Da and Ah Er".

This is also a reason why slaves were looked down upon for their low status.

In an era where family clan concepts were particularly strong, this matter was serious, often seen as a disgrace to one's family.

Without a name or surname, one was not worthy of entering the ancestral hall or being placed on the memorial tablet in the future.

Therefore, impoverished families selling their children often sold daughters first, and only when desperate would they sell sons.

For a slave to escape this situation, they must strive to please the master to possibly be bestowed a surname again.

But there's an underlying aspect, by taking on the master's surname, in accordance with the custom prohibiting marriage within the same surname, this could prevent one's descendants from marrying the slave's offspring.

It was not genuinely valued.

"Master Ding granted me this surname, everyone knows it."

The dark-skinned, wooden-like boy stiffened his neck.

"Nonsense! A lowly groom fantasying my father as a foster father, dreaming of becoming a young master of the Ding Family? Dream on!"

Ding the Second was infuriated, stomping his feet. His father was delusional to think of adopting a groom as a foster son.

If not for the Red Eyebrow Bandits' timely arrival, he would have had to share more of the inheritance!

"Master let me carry the Ding surname."

The dark-skinned boy, not good with words, persistently repeated this sentence.

"Lowly scum! Dog bastard! You still haven't been beaten into submission! Tooth woman, sell him to a distant bitter kiln, and I won't take a single coin!"