The grandfather and granddaughter chatted all the way to town. They first went to Cao family's grain store to buy some provisions, and then inquired about the town's only human brokerage.
The brokerage was easy to find, located in an alley next to a general store. The half-open, mottled black lacquer gate revealed a woman's booming scolding and a girl's crying from within.
"Cry, cry, you unlucky star! You can't even let out a full fart all day, all you know is to cry."
Just as the woman was about to continue her tirade, a creaking sound was heard. The old wooden door almost met its end in Fu Xin Ci's hands.
Looking at the rickety wooden door, Fu Xin Ci quickly let go.
The woman saw a girl of about eight or nine years old push open her dilapidated wooden door. Thinking the child was being mischievous, she was about to shift her target for scolding when she saw a thin, scholarly old man in an indigo long gown enter the courtyard, followed by the little girl.
Upon seeing the old man in the long gown, the woman's eyes lit up. In Xian Shui Town, not many people wore long gowns.
People who wore long gowns were wealthy, and wealthy people would naturally come to her to buy servants.
Thinking of the influx of money, the woman's expression did a complete 180-degree turn. She put on a fawning smile and strutted forward to greet them.
"Esteemed sir, my surname is Gao. I am the broker here. If you are looking to buy servants, please tell me."
"Yes. Bring out all the young girls around ten years old you have for us grandfather and granddaughter to see, and also bring out the strong maids to show us."
"Yes, I will go and bring them right away."
Watching the woman weave her way to bring people, Grandpa Meng took a careful look at the dilapidated small courtyard.
In the center stood three main rooms, typical of local architecture. The middle was the main hall, also serving as the kitchen, and the rooms on either side were bedrooms. The courtyard had three side rooms on each side.
At this moment, although the doors of the side rooms were locked from the outside, the paper on the windows was as worn-out as the small courtyard. Fu Xin Ci could easily see people locked in the side rooms through the windows.
The woman pulled a set of keys from her waist and easily opened the door to the east side room. She then loudly addressed the people in the main hall, "You all come out quickly. If you behave well and are chosen by the master and miss, it will be your fortune, and you won't have to suffer here with me anymore."
After speaking, Madam Fu, without waiting to see if anyone in the main hall understood, began to pull people out.
Looking at the girls being pulled out by the woman, each one was disheveled. Not only was the original color of their clothes indistinguishable, but the dirt on their faces seemed to have been there for who knows how long.
They looked worse than exiles on the road, and Fu Xin Ci couldn't help but frown.
"Auntie, can't you let them wash themselves every few days?"
The woman was about to retort, "You little brat, why so many questions?"
But she met a pair of eyes as bright as stars, and the owner of those eyes looked at her with a half-smile.
"I... I..."
If she hadn't heard that Xian Shui Town only had one brokerage, Fu Xin Ci would have grabbed her grandfather's arm and left.
Grandpa Meng also looked at his granddaughter with a helpless expression. If there were other places to buy and sell, the old man would have also wanted to leave with his granddaughter.
"Sigh."
Hearing the old man's sigh, the man who had been pretending to be dead and silent in the room quickly shuffled out in his slippers.
"Esteemed sir, please don't leave! Take another look at these girls. We can teach them manners. And the price is negotiable."
The man with the scar on his face, afraid of Grandpa Meng leaving, said ingratiatingly.
Fu Xin Ci subtly glanced at the scar on the man's face. She was certain it was a knife wound.
And the way the man jumped out of the room just now showed he knew a thing or two.
Fu Xin Ci had an intuition that this man was likely a dangerous individual.
"Squeak..." Xiao Bai in the backpack was about to peek out when Fu Xin Ci pushed him back down.
"Squeak..."
"What was that sound?" The man looked around alertly.
Seeing the man approaching her, Fu Xin Ci quickly put Xiao Bai back into the space.
The man saw the little girl obediently following the old man, her small hands occasionally touching the backpack on her back.
He used his height to easily see what was in the girl's backpack.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the backpack. He didn't find anything suspicious. But he clearly heard a sound just now. Had he misheard?
The scar-faced man's suspicion remained unresolved as he moved in the direction he suspected.
Fu Xin Ci thought: Such an alert person, being a human broker is a waste of talent.
Grandpa Meng's old eyes were not dim either. His thoughts were similar to his granddaughter's: this man had a problem.
Since there was a problem, it was best not to alert the snake.
The grandfather and granddaughter, who had been considering leaving, now focused intently on selecting people.
Six or seven young girls stood in a line before them, ranging in age from five or six to eleven or twelve.
Looking at their bodies, it seemed they hadn't bathed in at least one or two months. Their hair was matted, their clothes were stained, and they exuded a strong smell of sweat and staleness.
For a moment, Fu Xin Ci thought she was back on the road of exile.
She was now quite impressed with the brokerage madam. Where did they find these people, from beggar dens?
Grandpa Meng saw the frown on his granddaughter's brow and, with a shift in his thoughts, softly called out, "Ci'er."
"Grandfather, I'm fine."
After assuring her grandfather not to worry, Fu Xin Ci began to question the girls standing before her.
"What are your names? You first," Fu Xin Ci said, pointing to a little girl on the far left.
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Er Ni, I am seven years old."
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Da Ya, I am ten years old."
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Yu Qian, I am twelve years old."
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Nuan Nuan, I am five years old." The little girl's voice was soft and slightly naive.
Fu Xin Ci glanced again at the little girl's clothes. Although the dirt obscured the fabric, she was sure it was not ordinary material.
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Nuan Xin, I am eight years old." The girl next to little Nuan, secretly holding Nuan Nuan's hand, answered fluently.
Nuan Nuan, Nuan Xin. These names sounded like a family. They must be sisters.
Fu Xin Ci glanced at them again. Although dirt obscured the contours of their faces, their clear black and white eyes revealed an irreplaceable sisterly bond that nothing could replace.
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Shi Liu, I am ten years old."
"Replying to miss, my servant is called Shui Mei, I am ten years old."