CHAPTER 217: CHAPTER 217: BUY HIM OUT

Third Grandma always felt that she had seen this young man somewhere before, but her age had dulled her memory, making it unclear.

She tugged at Third Grandpa’s sleeve and whispered, "Old man, do you think the young fellow on the right, wearing a grey hemp garment and walking with a limp, looks familiar? Have we seen him before?"

Hearing Third Grandma’s words, Third Grandpa looked toward the direction she mentioned, saw a young man in his twenties, skinny as a monkey, standing on tiptoe with his right leg, frowned for a moment, then shook his head, "Have you gone senile? Where does he look familiar? I have never seen him before."

After that, Third Grandma’s mind was stirred with doubts. Could she have been mistaken?

She silently recalled all the people she had met in her life, thought for a long time, but couldn’t think of whom this young man resembled.

"Replying to Young Master, I am a person from Xing’an Prefecture in the Northwest, forty-three years of age. I worked as a Protector in Xing’an Prefecture. I escorted my previous masters all the way to the south. The masters couldn’t provide for so many people, so they sold my family to the broker," Old Zhu responded to Gu Jinli’s question.

Gu Jinli asked, "You’ve been very loyal in escorting your masters to the south. Yet they sold your family off in an instant. Don’t you harbor any resentment?"

Old Zhu was stunned for a moment, his eyes slowly reddening: "Initially, I did. But then I thought about how, along the way, the masters shared their food and water with my family, allowing us to survive. So, I no longer feel resentful."

These are hard times, and so many people died on the road fleeing famine. That his family of four could survive was also thanks to the former masters providing them with food.

Seeing that he was grateful, Gu Jinli was quite satisfied and asked him, "Who are your family members? Have them step forward, I want to see them."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu quickly called out to a few people among the group of disaster victims, "Wife, Changshou, Cha Hua, come out quickly."

Old Zhu’s wife hurriedly walked out with her daughter and son, bowing to Gu Jinli, "The servant pays respect to the Young Master."

Their whole family had been domestic servants born into their previous master’s household; their manners were impeccably good.

Gu Jinli was pleased that they knew their proper etiquette and felt satisfied with the family. She asked, "Zhu Changshou, Zhu Cha Hua, you two were previously under the service of a family from the Prefecture City. If you have to live in the countryside for the rest of your lives, would you be willing?"

"We’re willing, so willing," Zhu Changshou and Zhu Cha Hua replied, "Young Master, rest assured. We’ve suffered a lot and know how hard life is outside. As long as we have food to eat and a place to live, our family of four will be content."

Gu Jinli nodded, her gaze lingering on Zhu Cha Hua for a while before settling on Zhu Changshou, "Your father was a Protector, do you also know martial arts?"

Zhu Changshou replied, "Responding to the Young Master, I have learned some and know a bit of martial arts, but I have never worked as a Protector."

There were many servants in their previous master’s house, and it wasn’t easy to become a Protector. So he only knew martial arts but had never been a Protector. Instead, he stayed in the servant’s room, doing menial tasks.

Gu Jinli pointed at Wang Yongfu, "Wang Yongfu, spar with him."

"Yes," answered Wang Yongfu and began exchanging martial arts moves with Zhu Changshou.

Both men were quite hungry and after a dozen or so moves, just before they were too tired to continue, Wang Yongfu subdued Zhu Changshou.

Third Grandpa, watching Wang Yongfu, said to Gu Jinli, "Xiao Yu, this one isn’t bad."

Gu Jinli also thought Wang Yongfu wasn’t bad. She told Zhu Changshou to step back and asked Wang Yongfu, "How many people are in your family?"

Wang Yongfu found himself in a difficult position upon hearing these words. He knelt down towards Gu Jinli and said, "Young Master, I have a family of five. My sister’s husband has passed, and now she and her daughter live with us."

Wang Yongfu’s wife and sister saw him kneel and also knelt down with their children in tow.

"Young Master, I am Wang Yongfu’s wife, Mrs. Ma. This is our son, Liangzi, who is eight years old and can work," Mrs. Ma said shyly with a smile as she pulled a boy toward Gu Jinli.

Beside Mrs. Ma, a fragile-looking young woman knelt, tightly holding the hand of a little boy. After Mrs. Ma finished speaking, the woman said, "I am Wang Yongfu’s sister, Ms. Xu Wang, and this is my son, Xu Qing, who is six years old."

Ms. Xu Wang paused for a moment, then looked up at Gu Jinli and said, "Young Master, don’t be fooled by my thin appearance; I am in good health and can work hard. Brother Qing also can work; he’s very obedient, never cries or causes trouble, and he’s healthy. He only fell ill once while we were fleeing the famine, and got better after just two days... Please, I beg you, buy our family."

Ms. Xu Wang’s voice choked up as she spoke, but she fought back her tears, fearing that Gu Jinli would find her unlucky.

Seeing this, Wang Yongfu also pleaded with Gu Jinli, "Young Master, please buy my sister and her child; they can both work hard."

Wang Yongfu used to be an Escort Master and his family lived quite comfortably before they had to flee the famine. But after the escape, his family members either died or were scattered, leaving only his sister and nephew surviving from her husband’s family.

Gu Jinli did not look at Wang Yongfu but turned to Mrs. Ma, "Your husband wants my family to buy your sister-in-law and her child. What do you think?"

"Me?" Mrs. Ma did harbor some resentment for the burden her sister-in-law and her child brought on their family, but they had escaped the famine together, and with her sister-in-law’s husband dead, if her own family did not take care of them, they would have suffered at the hands of others.

After hesitating for a moment, Mrs. Ma said to Gu Jinli, "If the Young Master is willing, then please buy my sister-in-law and her child."

Hearing this, Wang Yongfu sighed in relief. He knew his wife had grievances because he always looked after his sister’s family, but she was his own blood and her husband was gone. He couldn’t ignore them.

Gu Jinli said, "We don’t need so many people in our house."

Mrs. Ma panicked upon hearing this, but quickly came up with a response, "Then could the Young Master help us by buying my sister-in-law and her child first? Once our family earns enough money through work, we can repay the silver coin used to purchase them; what do you think?"

Gu Jinli raised his eyebrows slightly. This Mrs. Ma was clever enough to think of borrowing money to buy people and repay it later. She was smart.

She had smarts and wasn’t cruel, still considering her family.

Gu Jinli turned to Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan, "Third Grandpa, Father, what do you think of these two families?"

While she asked, Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan had been listening on the side. They found both Old Zhu’s family and Wang Yongfu’s family to be desirable, and Old Zhu’s son was skilled in martial arts, which could be useful in guarding the workshop.

"Let’s go with these two families," Third Grandpa decided.

Gu Jinli declared, "Alright, then we will buy these two families."

The Old Zhu Family consisted of four people, and Wang Yongfu’s family had five, including two children. However, since Wang Yongfu and Mrs. Ma and Ms. Xu Wang could work, that was sufficient.

Upon hearing this, Third Grandma pointed at a familiar-looking young man and said, "Xiao Yu, buy him as well."