With the yamen runner's threat, the procuress didn't dare to say anything else. However, she actually didn't lose anything because she hadn't paid yet. Even though the contract had been brought over and the young lady's brother had signed it, there was still the last step of the transaction. In other words, before the procuress had the time to pay, the young lady had already made a fuss.
In this way, as long as the procuress said that she didn't want to buy her, the loss could be stopped in time. An ordinary person from a small family could only accept it and couldn't make any trouble.
"Anyway, the deal hasn't been official. It has nothing to do with us. Let's go back."
With a cold face, the procuress went back with several thugs and let go of the girl by the way.
"Don't go. You haven't paid yet."
The girl's brother was anxious and shouted loudly.
"I won't buy it."
The procuress threw a sentence from a distance.
"It's all your fault. Why are you making a scene? I sold you so that you can live a good life. There are many rich childes in the brothel."
The girl's brother didn't get the money, so he vented his anger on his sister. His sister did nothing but cry.
"It's useless to cry. If you don't buy it from this one, then we'll go to the next one. I'll definitely sell you tonight."
The girl's brother took a tough attitude and didn't care that there was a majestic yamen runner next to him. After all, he was now the head of the family and had the right to deal with the people in his family. Even the yamen runner had no right to interfere.
This was the case in the Tang dynasty. It was a matter of course for parents to sell their children. If the father died, the elder brother would be in charge of the family. It was also acceptable for the elder brother to sell his sister. No one would stop this behavior, and no one had the right to stop it.
"Don't sell me. Don't sell me. I want to go home."
The girl cried with grievance.
"Go home? Go home? There's only your lame mother left. If you dare to make trouble, I'll sell you and your mother together tomorrow morning. Maybe you can sell more."
The man scolded angrily.
The girl was angry and cried, "She's your mother. How can you be so cruel? You're a beast."
"He even dares to sell his mother. This boy is really heartless. How can there be such a person?"
"Such a person doesn't deserve to live."
"Old Chen, people like him should be arrested."
Most of the onlookers dispersed, but a small number of people who didn't leave were very angry when they heard this.
In the Tang dynasty, it was a matter of course for parents to sell their children. It was just like the emperor killing his courtiers. If the emperor ordered his courtiers to die, the courtiers had no choice but to die. That was normal. But it was not normal the other way around. That was treason. This was the concept of hierarchy in this era, which had been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
The bailiffs were generally people who understood the law, but in this era, they couldn't help but give this shameless man a punch.
"Why did you hit me? Why?"
"Because of your treachery. Brothers, beat him up!"
The leader of the bailiffs, Old Chen, was really angry. Although he was slippery, he was at least a filial son. When he heard this, he immediately flew into a rage. If he didn't beat the man up, he wouldn't be able to vent his anger.
After a violent beating, Old Chen was still angry. He directly ordered the bailiffs to take the man back and teach him a lesson first. After all, the bailiffs had heard the man say treacherous words. There were also many onlookers who could testify. So, their actions were legal. They didn't beat the man up for no reason.
After the man was beaten up, his temper was gone. He was taken away by the bailiffs without saying a word. The onlookers were driven away again.
At this time, Yan Ruyu, who was not too far away, appeared. She sympathized with the girl, so she decided to help her sincerely.
"Little girl, why did your brother sell you?"
Yan Ruyu asked gently.
"He owed a gambling debt. The debt collectors came to the door. He wanted to sell me to pay off the debt. Boohoo …"
The girl said.
"What about your mother? Didn't she protect you? "
Yan Ruyu asked.
"Father and Mother have always spoiled my brother. They gave him whatever he wanted. Even if he sold me, no one would protect me."
The girl said.
"What a poor girl. Since Mother can't protect you, why do you still want to go home? Do you still want to go home? "
Yan Ruyu asked.
"But I have no relatives. After Father died, I only have Mother and Brother. She doesn't love me. I have to go home. Otherwise, where else can I go?"
The girl said helplessly.
Yan Ruyu said gently, "If you want, you can follow me and work in my workshop. You can support yourself."
"Can I really support myself?"
"As long as you want, you can."
"But my mother's legs are not good, and her eyesight is not good. Every time she sews clothes for others, I have to thread them. I also carry the firewood from the mountain."
The girl hesitated.
"You are worried about your mother. You are afraid that she can't live a good life at home alone. What else can your mother do besides needlework?"
Yan Ruyu asked.
"My mother can do laundry, cook, and needlework. She is just a little slow."
The girl replied.
"That's easy. Let your mother work in my workshop with you! She will provide food and accommodation, and you will get paid. "
Yan Ruyu said.
"Really? Thank you, benefactor. Thank you … "
The girl said gratefully.
Then, a guard led the girl to the workshop. If there were no problems, she could live there.
"Madam, you are so kind. You want to help the poor people when you see them. You must have helped a lot of poor people in the past few years!"
Ang Lee asked.
"The sisters in the workshop are all poor people. Some were recruited as servants, and some were taken in when they met on the road."
Yan Ruyu replied.
"Madam, you took in the poor people when you saw them, regardless of how well they worked. Are they really good people? "
Ang Lee said.
Generally, there were not many people who could do this. When a workshop recruited workers, they needed to be strong and able to endure hardships, not poor people. This was because the workshop also needed to survive. Only by recruiting people who could work, the workshop could operate at the highest efficiency, and the boss could also earn more money. In other words, the workshop was a money-making organization, not a charity organization. What they wanted was real benefits, and Yan Ruyu had obviously violated this.
In the fiercely competitive society of the future, Yan Ruyu's actions were tantamount to suicide. But things were different in the Great Tang. Li An possessed far too much knowledge, and the workshops that Yan Ruyu was in charge of were basically monopolized. As a result, even if he found a few inefficient workers, it wouldn't have much of an impact on the business. After all, the products they processed were all extremely profitable, and the labor cost wasn't very high. Even if it was a little higher, it wouldn't have much of an impact.
"Saving a life is better than building a seven-floor pagoda. When you see someone in need, you can accumulate good karma. Since you have the ability, how can you be at ease if you don't help?"
Yan Ruyu replied.
Her words were clear enough. When you see someone in need, you should find a way to help. Otherwise, you will feel uneasy. If you can't see someone in need, then forget it. Doing something will make you feel better.
"Haha! Madam, you are so kind! Even the Goddess of Mercy is like this! I hope I won't meet such a poor person again tonight. "
Ang Lee shook his head and said.
"What's wrong? You don't want me to help these poor people?"
Yan Ruyu asked with a little disappointment.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Of course not. I just don't want there to be so many poor people in the world. The more poor people you meet, the more it shows that there are more poor people in the Tang dynasty."
This was a probability concept. If you could meet a lot of poor people just by going out, then it was enough to show that the proportion of these poor people was very large. How could this be a good thing?
"Oh, I see! Then it's better not to meet them. I really hope there will be fewer poor people like this. The fewer, the better. "
Yan Ruyu said.
This was just an unrealistic ideal. In reality, it was very difficult to achieve. No matter how fair a society was, it was impossible to eliminate the situation of lack of food and clothing. There would always be unexpected situations. For example, some people were bored and wanted to gamble. How could a gambler not squander money? If they squandered money, they would sell their children and there would be many pitiful people.
Even if everyone in the family was normal, it was inevitable that someone would fall ill. Once someone in the family fell ill, the medical expenses would definitely not be a small amount. It could completely drag down an ordinary family and make everyone in the family a poor person.
In any era, an ordinary family could not afford to be tossed around. Once there was a mistake, it would be beyond redemption. Illness would drag down the family. If the family had bad habits, it would also drag down the family. If someone in the family failed in investment, it would seriously drag down the family. In short, people in ordinary families had to tread on thin ice in everything they did. Any small mistake could destroy the family.
The lanterns in the capital were too wonderful. There were all kinds of creative lanterns everywhere. Even Li An couldn't help but be amazed by many of the lanterns. He felt that the designer of the lanterns was smart enough to come up with such an idea.
However, the longer they strolled, the more tired their legs and feet became. After all, the flow of people on the street was too large. Even the rich had to go shopping. No one could take transportation. Otherwise, it would cause more pressure on the waiting traffic.
Of course, on such an occasion, it was not that there were no vehicles at all, but there were some special vehicles. For example, the hawkers who had paid money could push their food carts in, but there was a time limit. They had to arrive at the designated location before dark. Then, they could not move at will. As for going home, they had to wait until midnight.
Although Chang 'an City of the Tang dynasty was a veritable city that never slept, only a few people could really stay up until midnight. Most people would go home to sleep before midnight. Otherwise, they would not be able to get up on time the next day. These hawkers who sold snacks and small goods could only choose to leave after most people had left. Of course, there were also some hawkers who did not intend to go back. They would stay overnight and not go back until the next morning. In this way, they could sell more breakfast and earn more money.
In order to make more money, these hawkers worked hard. They did not have much time to sleep. After all, after going back, they could not sleep for long in the morning. In the afternoon, they had to prepare the ingredients. Before dark, they had to prepare to arrive at the designated area of the lantern festival. There was not much time to sleep at all. It was already very good if they could sleep for two or three hours in the morning and afternoon.
However, there was almost no decent business at night. Therefore, these hawkers had time to take a nap at night. Moreover, when there were many people, as long as one person was responsible for watching the stall, the others could hide in the temporary small tent and rest. If the situation was better at night, they should be able to rest for two or three hours. The two periods of rest should be able to reach the standard rest time of eight hours, which was enough for them to recover their strength.
"Madam, are you tired? Do you want to take a rest?"
Seeing that Yan Ruyu seemed to be a little tired, Ang Lee asked.
Yan Ruyu pursed her lips and said, "How can I not be tired after walking so long? I'm really tired! I can't walk anymore. Why don't I sit down and take a rest? "
There was a snack stall next to them. There were not many customers, so it was not a problem to make some snacks to take a rest. However, if they did not order some dishes and just sat for a while, it would be too embarrassing. This was equivalent to taking advantage of the hawker. Although some people would do this when there was not much business, the stool was idle, and the hawker would not have any opinions. However, it was somewhat inappropriate to do so. At least, Ang Lee did not like it.
"What's delicious? Give me two servings of everything. Have a taste."
After Ang Lee sat down, he began to order.
This stall was much smaller than the one they had eaten at before. There were only three people working at the stall, and there were not many tables and chairs. There were only six sets of tables and chairs, and a maximum of twenty-four people could sit at the stall. When Li An arrived, there was only one table of people eating, and another table of three people sharing seats.
After sitting down, Yan Ruyu gently rubbed her calf, and Ang Lee saw it.
"Madam, your leg hurts. Do you want me to rub it for you?"
Ang Lee asked with concern.
"There are so many people coming and going. My husband is still …"
Yan Ruyu naturally would not agree.
"Sir, there are only three kinds of snacks in this hawker. Please have a taste."
Soon, six side dishes were served. They were all very ordinary snacks. There was nothing special about them. They did not look appetizing.
"Madam, have a taste? Since you have ordered, you have to have a bite. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
The two of them ate a few mouthfuls of each dish. However, the taste was really ordinary. Perhaps it was because they had eaten a lot earlier, but they really didn't feel like eating at the moment. They left the rest in their bowls.
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