Chapter 366 - Buying People (1/2)

Looking at how much thinner her oldest paternal aunt had become, Yu Xiaocao whispered guiltily, “The pickled vegetables shop is doing well. We just need one person to man the shop, and from time to time, we need to import some goods from Tanggu Town. As for the braised food shop, Oldest Aunt must braise several hundred catties of meat every day. We would help her whenever we have time, but Oldest Paternal Aunt is still the one who is the most tired…”

Zhu Junyang glanced at Yu Xiaocao. She was already thin to begin with, but now she was as thin as a toothpick. His expression was full of anger as he said, “You can just get a few more people to work in the shops. How much more would it even cost to get a few more people? Are you unwilling to spend a little extra to get more people?”

Yu Xiaocao shook her head and said with a bitter smile, “The problem doesn’t lie in the money. As you know, in our braised food business, the most valuable item is the recipe for the braised food. Since our business is booming, it will inevitably attract people with ill intentions. Therefore, my oldest paternal aunt would rather tired herself out than hire someone.”

Zhu Junyang looked at her as if she was an idiot, “ When did this prince say you should hire people? I’m talking about spending some money to buy a few servants. It won’t cost you a lot of money either! If you aren’t willing to spend, then I will buy some and send them to you!”

Buy people? The expression on Yu Xiaocao’s face looked as if she had just seen a ghost; she was horrified at the idea of buying human beings. Oh, right! She wasn’t in the 21st century right now. In this era, the selling and buying of humans was legal. During times of disaster, the sales of children and women was very common... After someone was bought and a life contract was signed, they would be servants of the buyer. During this era, the servants were treated harshly. Even if their owner beat them to death, the owner will bear no responsibility or suffer any consequences.

Zhu Junyang frowned lightly as he stared at her; he didn’t understand why she had such an expression on her face. He asked, “You don’t have to worry about it. If you don’t want to give them a monthly salary after buying them, then you don’t have to. You can just provide them with three meals a day. Or could it be that you’re not even willing to part with this little amount of money?”

Yu Xiaocao smiled embarrassedly, “Do you think of me as such a stingy person? Money isn’t the problem, it’s just...I never expected that my family would be the ones to buy people one day.”

Zhu Junyang reprimanded her gently and said, “Look at how unconfident you are! This prince will send you a few maidservants later! In the future, when your business grows bigger, how can you manage everything by yourself? It’s better to train some helpers early on!”

“Yes, yes! Young Royal Prince is good at thoroughly examining the situation and thinking about the future. Thank you for reminding me! This little one will go to the kitchen and make a few delicious dishes to thank you…” Yu Xiaocao put on an appeasing expression on her face.

Zhu Junyang poked her forehead lightly with his finger. He jokingly scolded her, “Naughty girl! I won’t be having my lunch here. I need to stop by the prefectural yamen!”

“Then...this little one won’t delay Young Royal Prince any longer. When you return from the capital, this little one will free up some time and make you Buddha Jumps Over the Wall again to thank you for your favor!” Xiaocao acted like the palace eunuch in old palace dramas; she smoothed out her sleeves and bowed to him.

Head Steward Liu’s mouth twitched at the scene. If Miss Yu was a guy, she would definitely be able to make a name for herself if she entered the palace as a eunuch. Her expression and portrayal of palace eunuchs was perfect. Could it be that she had learned these things last time when she was summoned to the palace for the young imperial prince? Miss Yu was truly odd. She was a young lady, but instead of learning from the way the palace maids and the imperial concubines acted, she learned these useless things.

There were a lot of people present when he ate Buddha Jumps Over the Wall last time, so there wasn’t enough for everyone. This was especially true for Great Scholar Yuan, who acted like a hungry ghost. He scrambled around madly to rob people’s food, regardless of the other party’s identity. When he got back to the capital, he must visit Prime Minister Yuan and tell him that no matter how difficult their family situation was, he couldn’t treat his father so harshly! With Great Scholar Yuan, that old gluttonous foodie present, how could he have an enjoyable meal? Therefore, Zhu Junyang was very happy about how ‘tactful’ Yu Xiaocao was being. He was so happy that even his footsteps became lighter.

In the afternoon, business was so busy that they didn’t even have time to rest. When it was time for dinner, everyone was so tired from working that they had no appetite. They just boiled a pot of noodles, got some braised meat and pickled vegetables from the store, and ate a simple dinner. It had only been three months since the grand opening of their shops, but Yu Xiaocao could see that everyone had lost a lot of weight. They had to be on their feet from morning to night, performing high-intensity physical labor that even Iron Man couldn’t do! She was more resolute on her decision to buy a few people!

“Shopkeeper Yu, is Miss Yu here?” She had just put down her bowl, when a stranger's voice could be heard from the front courtyard. Yu Hai had returned to Dongshan Village, so Yu Xiaocao could only reinvigorate herself and drag her tired body to the front courtyard.

The man was dressed in an indigo robe and had a goatee on his shrewd face. When he saw Yu Xiaocao, he smiled and said, “Miss Yu, I wonder if you remember this humble servant? This humble servant is a steward working for the prefectural magistrate.”

Yu Xiaocao revealed a surprised expression, no wonder this man seemed familiar. She had seen him when he handed over the shop. This man was originally the shopkeeper for a shop owned by the prefectural magistrate. If she recalled correctly, his surname was Xu.

“So it turned out to be Shopkeeper Xu! It's already quite late, why did the prefectural magistrate send you here?” Yu Xiaocao asked politely as she secretly pondered over his motive for coming here.

When Shopkeeper Xu stepped to the side, Yu Xiaocao noticed that there were two men and two women standing behind him. Yu Xiaocao appeared even more confused as she looked at Shopkeeper Xu with a puzzled expression.