CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 248: EASY TO INVITE, HARD TO SEND AWAY

Yu Changhe and Sun Siyeye sat in the parlor, drinking tea and chatting.

Yu Changhe said, "I do have a way to avoid the household registration tax, but this method may be somewhat unjust to you all."

Sun Wuye responded loudly, "What’s unfair about it? Just speak your mind!"

On this journey, they had endured countless hardships. When they received porridge at the Bohai City outskirts, they suffered countless insults from government officers. He couldn’t even remember, and the watery porridge had sand mixed in it, yet they still ate it.

Right now, dignity and face are unimportant; survival is the most urgent matter.

Yu Changhe said, "The only way to avoid the household registration tax is for you to willingly sell yourselves into servitude, then sign an indenture contract with me. I will take it to the government for official stamping and archiving, so you can stay here openly and honestly."

Seeing Sun Wuye and the others all in shock, Yu Changhe quickly added, "Don’t worry, when you want to return to the Northern Land or have the ability to process white citizenship yourself, I will return the indenture contract to you."

Sun Wuye sighed. Originally, he planned to stay temporarily before returning, but on the journey, Yu Xiaolian analyzed the current situation for them. Sun Wuye also felt that Yu State was the safest place.

However, living in a foreign land is not easy to take root, and moreover, they had no money.

Even though Yu Changhe was asking for their opinion, they actually had no choice.

Sun Wuye quietly asked Sun Siyeye for his opinion. After the brothers discussed, they asked their sons’ opinions, and finally agreed to sell themselves to Yu Family.

Yu Xiaolian was unaware of everything happening inside the house. She thought her father would just admonish them, preparing to manage these people better in the future. She never imagined her father could be so ruthless, directly suppressing them completely.

Yu Xiaolian found out about this when Mrs. Sun came to ask her to draft the indenture contracts, only then she knew of it.

Yu Xiaolian postponed it on the excuse that they were about to eat and said she’d do it after the meal; then she pulled her parents and grandma into a separate room.

"Father, isn’t this inappropriate?"

Yu Changhe did not think there was anything wrong; his family indeed did not have much money now. With Yu Xiaolian away, Taotao Residence’s business was not good either. The silver earned these two months at Taotao Residence was all used to build houses in Taohua Village; there was already little silver left at home.

Moreover, so many mouths to feed all relying on him—he couldn’t afford it, as he wasn’t their son.

After signing the indenture contract, he can rightly command them to work and will pay them monthly wages. When any of them wants to leave, he will return the indenture contract to them; he wasn’t paying them selling money, so in the future, they wouldn’t need to redeem themselves with silver coins.

Yu Xiaolian looked towards Mrs. Sun and Grandma Sun, asking for their opinion.

Originally, she thought asking the Sun Family to be slaves would meet Grandma Sun’s opposition, but surprisingly, Mrs. Sun and Grandma Sun both endorsed Yu Changhe’s approach.

First, this method saves money.

Second, what reputation is there to worry about? Be it scholars, farmers, workers, or merchants, right now, surviving is all that matters.

Nowadays, food is precious. Even those major households in the city are reducing servants to save food; who would want to keep so many freeloaders now?

Grandma Sun said, "Those boys with ’Man’ characters in their names are quite capable workers. Just right, our family’s Taohua Village’s uncultivated land is not completely plowed yet. Changhe, take them with you to the fields, don’t be hesitant to command them. Those old ones can’t work, young ones can’t work, mid-aged ones won’t work—being so idle just waiting to eat."

Yu Xiaolian pouted, realizing she worried for nothing. She thought her mother and grandmother would disagree with having Sun Family sign indenture contracts.

After all, unless forced to a certain extent, who would willingly sell themselves into servitude?

"Father, perhaps not everyone should sign the indenture contract. Let Fourth Grandpa, Fourth Grandma, and Fifth Grandpa refrain?"

Yu Changhe pondered for a while, "Alright then, also good to make the old ones feel better."

"What’s with Sun Manyu exactly? Did she bully you on the way?" Yu Changhe asked.

Yu Xiaolian recounted all the incidents on the road in detail, including matters regarding Sun Manbo, she also spoke of.

Grandma Sun said, "That Manbo is a no-good one. He was such a good child before, but after marrying, his behavior changed significantly. Just because his wife didn’t bear a son, he constantly beat his wife and children.

His mother isn’t one to suppress matters; her mind keeps scheming and plotting. Every time she closes her eyes, she devises something—another plan when she closes her eyes. People may not know her, but I surely do know her, she is sly and wicked like her deceased father.

Don’t you think she wears an honest look?"

Yu Xiaolian nodded, indeed if judged by appearance alone, Sun Dalin’s wife seems more honest and thick-skinned than anyone. On this journey, she kept playing the peacemaker role, never quarreling with anyone, even when Sun Daji’s wife sometimes indirectly mocked her, Sun Dalin’s wife never reacted, as if foolishly pretending not to understand.

Grandma Sun continued, "It looks honest, but this person is full of deceit."

Mrs. Sun also knew something about Sun Dalin’s wife. Before she got married, Sun Dalin’s wife married into Sun Siyeye’s family, looking honest and thick-skinned yet always willing to use tricks behind the back; willingly tripping others up, spreading gossip behind others.

Yet, she wears a thick-skinned look that no one suspects her. But later, as she moved from daughter-in-law to mother-in-law, she no longer acted submissively as during her daughter-in-law years. She carried herself with a mother-in-law’s airs and stopped working since her son and daughter-in-law would do the work just by her command. These years, her several daughters-in-law have also tasted her ferocity, all afraid of her.

The daughters-in-law enduring grievances naturally complained behind about the mother-in-law’s bad side, gradually, as others heard often, they began to sense the truth that Sun Dalin’s wife is not one to be underestimated; she’s sinister within!

Mrs. Sun sighed, "If we don’t help them, I feel uneasy within.

Now that they are at our house, my heart is all muddled again."

Yu Xiaolian worried too, "Easy to invite the god, hard to send the god away."

Not only the Yu family but the Sun family was also anxious.

Sun Siyeye actually didn’t want to become slave registration; he agreed only because he had no other option. What else could he do if he didn’t agree?

Suddenly inspired, Sun Siyeye thought of a way to avoid becoming slave registered.

That is selling all girls of half-grown age in the family to protect the others.

Sun Siyeye asked his sons to call over their daughters. Sun Siyeye checked and found their granddaughters and great-granddaughters, adding up to six who were over ten years old.

Sun Wuye advised, "No matter how difficult the journey, we didn’t sell our children. Having finally reached here, you want to sell the children, have you lost your senses, Fourth Brother?"

Sun Siyeye felt no wrong in sacrificing the young to save the larger portion, "If left during the journey, they would’ve perished. Brought here to Luocheng, if they served as maids in wealthy families, they might eat and wear even better than we do!"

Sun Wuye frowned, "Selling them to others is the same as selling to Yu Changhe, what’s the difference?"

Sun Siyeye showed embarrassment, "Didn’t Changhe say he wouldn’t pay selling money.

With sell-money of these children, I can ensure our family registers as white citizenship."

Sun Wuye wanted to persuade more, but Sun Siyeye waved his hand, "It’s decided."