Chapter Seven: Slaves (Part One)

Xu Kang had no memory of how much the original owner was supposed to eat at each meal, but from little Cui’er, who was sobbing uncontrollably, he realized he’d eaten too much. More importantly, in the brief moment they’d spent talking, he felt his fullness drop from a comfortable seventy percent to a mere fifty. The malice of this world, he thought, was truly profound.

“Damn it, I can accept being sent to the chaotic end of the Eastern Han dynasty, and even being made a sickly weakling, but what’s the point of turning me into a bottomless pit?”

With a trace of indignation, he turned his gaze to the sky beyond the doorway, his eyes lingering on the fluffy clouds overhead, and couldn’t help swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

“After a morning workout, nothing hits the spot like milk with soft, fluffy French bread. Pity that those days are gone for good.”

The thought brought a wave of loss to his heart. Yet when he heard Cui’er’s weeping behind him, he quickly set aside his disappointment and turned to comfort her.

“Hey… Cui’er, don’t cry. How about this: later you can go buy more flatbreads, and I’ll give you money for it.”

As he spoke, he reached into the inner lining of his robe, pulled out more than twenty coins, and shoved them all into Cui’er’s hands.

“Here, take all this. If it’s not enough, just tell me later.”

“No, no, no…”

Seeing the money forced into her hands, Cui’er shook her head repeatedly, panic in her eyes.

“There’s no need for so much, seven coins are enough. Second Young Master, this is too much. Please, take it back. If Madam sees this, it won’t be good!”

She hurried to return the coins, but when Xu Kang hesitated, she grew more anxious, tears spilling down again.

Only then did Xu Kang suddenly realize Cui’er’s true status—she was a purchased maid. In other words, a slave.

Although the Han dynasty had improved the lot of slaves compared to the Qin, their status remained unchanged, still at the very bottom of society.

To put it simply: an ox in Han times cost between four and eight thousand coins, a cart horse around eight to twenty thousand, a slave ten to twenty thousand, and only exceptionally beautiful maidservants could fetch thirty thousand.

So, a slave equaled two oxen or one cart horse in price.

But while the price might be equivalent, slaves were not livestock; they had thoughts and hopes of their own. They wished to live, not be slaughtered at their master’s whim like animals.

Because of this, they lived each day in fear, terrified of making mistakes that might bring disaster upon them.

At first, Xu Kang hadn’t thought much of it. But after seeing Cui’er so desperately anxious, he understood.

“Could this girl think I’m testing her?”

The thought was both amusing and exasperating. He quickly took the coins back, then counted out nine coins and placed them in her palm.

“All right, here are nine coins—seven for the flatbreads, and two as a reward for running the errand. Buy yourself a sweet treat on the street. Oh, and don’t forget to put the chicken soup on before you go.”

With that, Xu Kang clasped his hands behind his back and left the kitchen, leaving Cui’er staring blankly at the nine coins in her palm.

“The Second Young Master… actually rewarded me? And two whole coins?”

She stood stunned for a dozen heartbeats. Only after Xu Kang had disappeared did she recover herself. She glanced at the doorway, and seeing no one else, carefully tucked the coins into her small pouch, her face brightening with joy.

After hastily scrubbing her face with her sleeve, she quickly set about killing and cleaning the chicken, placing it in the pot to cook. She fed two handfuls of firewood into the stove, stoking the fire, and only then did she head out with her basket.

She’d barely left when Xu Fu returned.

Entering the gate, he saw Xu Kang sitting at the door and burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Little brother, your business is done!”

He beckoned toward the doorway. “You two, come in here!”

Xu Kang looked outside and saw two middle-aged men in coarse hemp clothing and straw sandals, hesitantly edging in. His brows furrowed at once.

“Brother, are these the people you found to move the chests? Where are the chests?”

A hundred chests weren’t a small matter, and it was only natural that Xu Fu would bring help. But to Xu Kang’s surprise, Xu Fu just laughed again and waved his hand.

“No, no, you’re mistaken. These two aren’t movers—they’re carpenters, the ones who’ll make the chests. With them, we could have not just a hundred, but a thousand chests made!”

Xu Kang was dumbfounded.

I asked you to buy chests, and you bring me carpenters instead? Are you out of your mind?

Watching Xu Fu’s smug expression, Xu Kang’s mouth twitched. He forced a smile, restraining the urge to curse aloud.

“Heh… Brother, I know chests are made by carpenters, but what I want are chests, not carpenters. Why didn’t you just buy some at the market? In a city as big as Luoyang, a hundred chests shouldn’t be hard to find.”

He thought he’d made himself clear, but Xu Fu, brimming with pride, just waved him off.

“Little brother, you’re mistaken. A hundred chests are nothing compared to two carpenters. A chest costs twenty coins—so a hundred is two thousand. But a carpenter is different; they can make ten chests a day, a hundred in ten days, and a thousand in a hundred. Isn’t that a better deal?”

Xu Kang was speechless.

A better deal? What, are you planning to open a chest shop? And since when do you buy carpenters?

Seeing Xu Fu so eager to convince him, Xu Kang knew there was more to the story. He waved his hand dismissively.

“Let’s not talk about whether this is a good deal or not. Just tell me—what’s with these two? There are tattoos over their eyebrows. Care to explain?”

In the Han dynasty, tattoos weren’t a fashion statement. Only criminals and slaves were branded, and those with ink over their eyebrows were slaves—worse, slaves who had once tried to escape.

Xu Fu forced a sheepish smile.

“Well, little brother, you know how tight money is at home now. Runaway slaves are cheap. If Mother asks, just say you wanted them, all right?”

Xu Kang was exasperated.

All right? You want me to be the scapegoat?

He had no intention of buying slaves—much less runaway ones who might bolt again, sending the money up in smoke.

He wasn’t a saint and had no grand ambitions to save the world. So even with Xu Fu’s hopeful look, he shook his head firmly.

“No. Since you know how tight things are, you shouldn’t be buying carpenters. Send them away before Mother finds out, or you’ll be the one in trouble.”

Given how much Xu Fu feared their mother, Xu Kang thought invoking her would be enough—but to his surprise, Xu Fu shook his head with a strange look.

“That won’t do. They can’t leave—I’ve already bought them. A thousand coins each, two in total. The money’s spent.”

Xu Kang was speechless.