Chapter 61: The Sixth Year of Wude, Sixth Month

  "I'm telling you, Old Yang, this place is really hard to get around. You'd better give me some extra leg money, or I won't comply." This person's teeth were naturally self-assured, having only met his father once before, yet now acting as if they were old acquaintances.

  "Alright, alright, as long as it satisfies us, that's all that matters," Old Dad happily agreed. What's the big deal? For delivery to your doorstep, of course you have to pay some extra for legwork.

  "Don't worry, Old Yang. This time they are all maids from wealthy families who were let go for various reasons. Of course, there are also a few from smaller households who sold themselves. The quality is very good." As he spoke, a string of women emerged from behind him.

  "Alright, kiddo, you can take a look now." This was already agreed upon earlier. When guests arrive, Yang Heng should be the one to make the selection. Speaking of which, it was also Dad's luck that he ran into Lotus Sister last time. This matter still requires Yang Heng to take charge of it properly. After all, this isn't some grand transaction between wealthy families, so naturally there won't be any sinister plots involved. Whatever happens will be clearly visible on the surface. And besides, Dad is just a low-ranking officer, not even a well-known one at that. He's only known for his surname Yang, and even then, he's just a minor figure in the army. There are many officers like him, but how many can actually stand out?

  "Alright, let me take a look." First, those who looked embarrassed were exempted. These people may have been used to enjoying good fortune and would not be able to adapt to the rural life.

  Secondly, those with uneven eyebrows and eyes, or an unattractive appearance are not wanted. According to physiognomy books, such people are also not good individuals. Also, those who sell themselves out are not wanted. New brides often need to undergo training, and they may still have some strange ideas in their minds that can cause discord in the family.

  Finally, Yang Heng chose five women with dull eyes and average looks, "It's just these five."

  The old man paid the money with great pleasure and also gave some extra leg money to this tooth person. It was said that it was only at this time that someone would come to this remote place. Now, there are many sellers but few buyers, and no business is doing well. If this continues for another two or three years, after the situation has stabilized and Li Er rewards his meritorious officials, these high-quality people will be in short supply. Who will still send them down?

  "Off you go, Old Yang. Take care of your brother's business in the future." The man left with a group of women, who were all complaining about how difficult it was to walk here. It seemed that Yang Heng had made the right choice, as after selecting these five, there weren't many others he fancied.

  "Alright, uncles, each of you take one back and also take this contract away." However, it's really hard to choose, Yang Heng picked ones that looked almost the same. Not that they looked identical, but at first glance, they were similar. Upon closer inspection, however, they were actually quite different. But why did they seem so alike? It was because of their temperament. These were all people who had served as maids in large households, and their faces, even their movements, carried a standardized air about them, just like service personnel in public places in later times who had undergone training - the same movements, the same etiquette. If their looks weren't too bad, you'd take a second glance to figure out which one you saw first, it was that kind of feeling.

  "Girls, you take the lead this time." The uncles rarely showed humility, because they found that the aunts' eyes had begun to look wrong. This maid could be said to be even more beautiful than several of the aunts, but this was also bought for them, and it was naturally impossible to get angry. Of course, the uncles would not provoke the hornet's nest either. If they said they liked it, wouldn't the aunts have an opinion?

  "Well, nephew, we won't be polite then. The aunts will just take their pick first." They each took one and left with it, leaving two behind. These will be taken back for the young aunt to see which one her family wants, and the remaining one will belong to Yang Heng's household.

  Xiao Tao, this is the name of Yang Heng's second maid. She was sold to her previous master because she had committed a crime, and even so, all five maids chosen by Yang Heng were sold out for the same reason. However, Yang Heng made a good choice, as these unnamed maids were doing well in their previous households. They were sold again because their masters had committed crimes; otherwise, some of them would have saved enough money to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, when their masters committed crimes, all their savings disappeared, and they had no choice but to continue accumulating wealth. This was the feedback from the aunts over the past few days, also to thank Yang Heng. With some savings in the family, it's natural to enjoy life by adding some maids or servants. However, if one of them is a maid who will seduce the master, the family will be doomed. These five maids are quite reassuring, which is why the aunts came to express their gratitude.

  Because these maids were all former maids, they each had a name given to them by their previous masters. Yang Heng originally wanted them to change back to their original names, but none of them were willing to do so. They had already become accustomed to the names given to them by their previous masters. If their new master didn't give them new names, then they would just continue using their old ones. They were being resold again, not because they had done anything wrong, but because of their previous master's circumstances, which had nothing to do with them. In fact, they were the victims. Yang Heng also promised them that if they worked well for a few years, they could either marry one of the servants or someone from the village, and after five to ten years, he would give them their freedom. If they continued to work in these households, that was fine too.

  Here is the translation:

  It turns out that the aunts don't actually need maids to serve them, so they all sent their maids over to let Yang Heng train them. This was to prevent any of the aunts from getting pregnant without realizing it, which would be too late by then. So, to put it this way, it wasn't that the aunts had added more maids, but rather that the Yang household had added five new maids all at once. The maid in the Yang household was called Little Peach, the one in Second Uncle's household was called Little Chrysanthemum, the one in Third Uncle's household was called Spring Orchid, the one in Fifth Uncle's household was called Little Grass, and the one in Youngest Uncle's household was called Little Lotus.

  Xiaojie, Chunlan and Xiaocao all live in the west wing where Dagou used to live, while Dagou has moved to the east wing where Fengbo used to live. However, Fengbo had already moved out to a breeding institute outside. Yangheng arranged for Fengbo to build another separate east wing with three rooms, which includes a kang and a stove, allowing him to cook food for some livestock and occasionally cook his own meals, although most of the time he still eats together with everyone in the main courtyard.

  Xiao Tao and Xiao He live with Lian Jie on the floor in the east room, learning from her at all times and taking turns to attend to the two pregnant women and children at night.