Bab 205: strange slave
After accompanying Du Wei for a while, Sandy finally brought them to a platform in the northwestern corner of the place.
"The slave shop here is one of the busiest in this place." Sandy's statute was quite small compared everyone else's, thus, forcing him to tiptoe through the crowded street in order to converse with Du Wei. Though Du Wei's age wasn't very old either, but the Rowling household's lineage really did give him the edge in such a situation when it came to heights.
"It has the largest business among all the shops here. In addition, the boss has the most influence in this place due to his ability to find the most slaves. And above all else, their location is extremely good!"
"What difference does it make?" Du Wei curiously asked.
"There certainly is a difference!" Sandy tirelessly explained: "their stand is right here where it's opposite to the sun. Because of the strong light shining on the slaves during the auctioning process, even the scrawniest of the slaves would look like their spirit is lifted! In this place, there are rules regarding what site a shop can take. Take a look over there. That shop may be big in appearance, but it is located near a hidden corner over at the entrance where the shade is always lurking. Think about it…. By the time buyers get to that place, they are already planning to leave for home by then."
Then at this time, a colorfully dressed clown came waltzing out onto the high stage in front of the crowd. This oddly dressed mate may seem a bit weird on the surface, but the volume in his voice wasn't to be taken lightly. With a single smack of his whip onto the ground, a dozen or so people tied together with a single string on their necks came walking out from the back. Apparently, these are what they called the "mature slaves".
"Dear ladies and gents, look! These slaves are all useful! Take a look at these heads and muscles! If you buy them home for manual labor, all you need to do is give them a little bit of food to keep them going like an animal! Also, every one of them is capable of basic farm work! Though their courage is smaller than a rabbit, but their strength can rival even a cows! Such a slave would be more than a match for three workers!"
With that, this clown like guy ran around to a male slave next to his side. Despite the fact that the slave is a bit skinny on the side, but his bone structure was extremely sturdy with a good height to match! Moving his hand, the slaver started to pull against the guy's lips to showcase his mouth: "look at it! There is nothing wrong with it! Look at the mouth! Look at his eyes! Three silver coins! With only three silver coins, you can take back with you a honest and hardworking slave! They can eat anything, so all you have to do is throw them a little bit of oatmeal or porridge every day and they will work like a horse!"
Du Wei talked it over with Rolynn because they really did need people like that back at the shop. Just as Rolynn was about to raise her hand to bid, Sandly quietly pulled against Du Wei's sleeve to mouth off a word:
"Wait a bit more."
The dozen or more so slaves were very soon purchased by several more merchants in the crowd. While they paid in the front, their followers were quick to go pick up their merchandise in the back.
Du Wei gave Sandy a puzzled look. Seeing this, Sandy quietly hid behind Du Wei and spoke in a hushed tone: "The guys just now won't do! The guy standing in the front isn't bad, but didn't you notice it? The two behind him looked like they couldn't even stand anymore. Also, one of the guy's shoulders was titled. I'm sure of it, the guy has some leg problem. Just wait; there will be even better stuff to follow."
Sure enough, the next batch was must stronger than before.
Sandy was too afraid to start blabber mouthing all the details to Du Wei. The reason is because he still needs to make a living on this street. As such, he can only quietly stand behind Du Wei and whisper a few rods to advise him: "It's good now."
On the fourth batch of slaves, every individual are fully dark skinned indigenous natives of the Southeastern Sea. Though they were all well muscled and strong, but Du Wei was surprised to find three old bones in the group. In fact, these people looked so deathly ill that he was afraid they might move on into the afterlife if they experienced some hard shock at the moment.
When such a group of slaves came out, the following people in the crowds seemed reluctant to put up a bid. Although most of the slaves in the group was good, but how can they take those old bones back with them just to waste food?
Du Wei glanced at Sandy, but the only reaction he got was a sigh. Murmuring his words, Sandy explained: "Oh distinguished young master, you won't be wrong if you listen to me. Just buy this batch. These natives from the southeastern sea are very strong. Disregarding other reasons, just the fact that these slaves can match up to two regular slaves of the empire is more than good enough to compel you to buy! Especially those old timers up there; although they don't look like much, but their role is not something you imagine!"
"What?"
"I've heard that these Southeastern natives are particularly respectful towards their elders. More often than not, the identity of those old bones up there is either a chief or an elder of some tribe! Therefore, all the young bloods would inherently be more respectful towards them and would unwilling to leave them behind….. You see, as long as you keep those elderly gramps alive at home, then those wild natured slaves won't attempt to run away. Even by the odd chance they do make a run for it, how far do you think they will get by dragging such old people with them? Sure, it may take a bit more food to feed the three deadweights, but their value lies not in their labor, but their anchoring power against the others!"
Du Wei's eyes sparked with light. In his mind, he was getting more infatuated by this little kid before him.
"But… Why are their hands shackled?" Du Wei asked: "A string is for the 'mature slaves', and a cage is for the 'raw slaves', then what is the purpose of a shackle?"
"This..." Sandy scratched his head as he spoke: "As a general rule, there are raw and mature slaves. However, there are exceptions. If a raw slave isn't locked in a cage, then that means their personality isn't very fierce and they have no records of trying to escape. In such a situation, they are relatively easy to tame. To tell you the truth, I feel the raw slaves are better than matured ones... You know, anyone can buy a slave in the empire, but once that happens, starvation and malnourishment is unavoidable. After a year or two, even the strongest and sturdiest of men would become weak and old."
Du Wei nods in understanding. Giving Rolynn a wink in confirmation, they finally started to bid.
"30 pieces of silver." Rolynn's crisp female voice really stood out in this place. Originally, there were already people in the crowd secretly looking over at this young beauty, but when she finally called out a bid; it really attracted the attention of everyone present.
When the slaver heard someone call out a bid, he immediately shouted: "Oh! 30 silver coins! This beautiful and noble Lady really knows her stuff! Look, look, 30 silver coins! Dear honorable guests, all of these slaves are good stuff! 30 silver coins is a very fair price, so is there anyone willing to do more?"
"35 silver coins." A somewhat hoarse voice came out from the crowd.
Du Wei started to smile. Looking over at Sandy, he joked: "Oh, looks like someone has the same taste as you."
Sandy smiled, somewhat embarrassed: "Oh young master, you are embarrassing me! My little bit of experience is gained by listening to others. There are a lot of people coming in and out of this place, and many of them are old hands at this. The only ones that don't know this are the dumb sheep's from afar that doesn't understand the market."
Seeing Du Wei nodded to her, Rolynn understood and began raising the price again: "40 silver coins."
"45 silver coins," the hoarse voice from the crowd continues to raise the offer.
This time around, Du Wei finally had the chance to take a clearer look at the person bidding against him as the curious onlookers in the crowd started to move away.
A middle-aged mustached man dressed in Lavender robes, though a little fat, but he was clearly quite healthy looking. And gathering around him were 3-5 young men's in servant clothes that acted like a barricade against the surround people.
"50 silver coins." Rolynn called out the offer in a light voice.
The fat man frowned with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes. After looking over at Rolynn, the guy sounded like he gave out a cold laugh before calling out his next bid in a loud voice: "60 silver coins, that all."
At this time, Sandy finally recognized who the opposition was. Rushing to stop Rolynn, he pulled against the female knight's wrist and whispered: "let it pass, stop calling."
Bab 206: breaking in halfway through
Seeing how Du Wei was looking at him, Sandy quickly lowered his voice and said, "You are from out of town, so you may not have known this. As a regular here, that guy gained quite the fame from his purchasing habits. But that's not all. His background is that of a steward for a large aristocratic family, so he is not to be trifled with."
Du Wei lets out a faint chuckle at what he just learned. Then before Rolynn could open her mouth again to raise the bid, Du Wei had already spoken: "Ten... Gold coins!"
Although "10" wasn't all that big in the numerical scale, but 10 gold coins is equal to 100 silver coins. Therefore, when the crowd heard the young kid calling out such an offer, the entire area fell into an uproar!
It's wasn't that uncommon to hear stories of wealthy individuals paying high sums of money for slaves with unique features, but this time around it, was for 10 slaves mixed with 3 elderly gramps in the batch. Such a scene really piqued the interest of everyone present.
Moreover, there are many people in the crowd that recognized the middle-aged fat man, so they knew it was bad news to mess with him.
Inwardly, all of them were thinking: This kid is out of luck.
The fat guy called Guro is not reckless, in fact, his eyes were razor sharp. As he peered over at Du Wei, his initial assessment is telling him the kid before him is not mundane. Hesitating for a moment, he finally decided let up to avoid offending the opposition.
This place is after all the imperial capital, the land under the emperor's feet, who knows if this kid is some family member of another major aristocratic family? Although Guro likes to be arrogant, but he is not foolish enough to be making trouble everywhere he went. If anything, the only people that he could in fact bully around this place are those foreigners without background.
Spending a moment in thought, he turned towards Du Wei and gave a friendly smile in greeting. To Guro, this is already the most he is willing to give up.
However, Du Wei simply ignored him and didn't even bat an eyelash as he focused his attention on the stage.
After Rolynn finished paying, a slaver from above immediately jumped down to hand them a token. This token is so they can retrieve their slaves from the back.
Luckily Sandy's assessment of others are very accurate, so the following group of slaves that came out also fell into the category of what Du Wei wanted to buy. However, something about this batch didn't quite seem right in his view:
Altogether, there are 15-13 young men in the batch – all tanned skin with muscular bodies. Even though these people are standing in a straight file across the stage, their eyes were filled with vigor and life, just like that of a wild animal.
With the red flags raised in his mind, so was his curiosity. Taking a better look at the slaves, his sight instinctively fell towards the two black sheep's hiding in the back.
One old and one young. No matter how much the white haired old grandpa tries to hide it, his prideful aura was clearly oozing out of his eyes. As for the little boy grasping onto the elder's hand, his upper body may be naked, but he was clean and appeared to be in good health.
Like this, the young men on stage somehow turned into a defensive formation trying to shield the duo from the audience's gaze.
When Sandy first laid eyes on the group, a spark of light was lit. Hurrying to whisper into Du Wei's ear: "Oh honorable Sir, this group is the best! In fact, they are the best I've seen in the past few days! Do you see that old man? I'm certain the old guy wields great influence among his people! You see those tattoos? I heard these natives would only allow their most prestigious members to branded with such symbols! If you buy such a guy back home, I guarantee those youngsters would never attempt an escape!"
But this time around, the middle aged fat guy already called out an offer before Du Wei can even say a word.
"80 silver coins." Guro's offer immediately caused the crowd to gasp in surprise.
There were many other sharp eyed buyers in the crowd, but all of them were too afraid to compete with this Guro fella. As such, their only option left was to reluctantly give up.
"Ten... Gold coins." Du Wei still spoke in his calm and unwavering voice again.
This time around, Guro became somewhat unhappy.
In his mind, he was thinking: Why is this kid always fighting with him? Didn't he already give the kid some face earlier?
Guro gave Du Wei a look before letting out a cold laugh. Then turning to a servant on his side, he passed on a few words in a low voice to instruct his subordinate. Nodding in understanding, the servant began to head over to where Du Wei was. As for the people in the crowd, they intentionally spread apart to open up a road for him.
As the servant came near to performing a standard greeting, his face remained polite on the surface. Clearly, the servants from a big noble household is much better trained in their manners.
"This young master." The servant murmurs: "Our master Guro said he already gave you some face earlier, so why not let this one go? This way, there won't be any hard feelings between us. Also, I want to mention it is our lord Count Biliaibuer that is seeking a new gardener."
His words were spoken really well, neither soft nor hard, just right with enough subtle points to indicate their identity.
Count Biliaibuer?
Du Wei made a small chuckling laugh.
So it is Count Biliaibuer's house! After the coup, this person's status also soared into the sky like Du Wei. From rumors, it is said that after Marquis Solomon fell into ruin, the one to take over the management of the Royal Household's asset is Biliaibuer.
The servant thought that after he revealed their identity, the other side would act accordingly to past practices and retreat.
But who is Du Wei? After finishing his laugh, Du Wei didn't say much and only gave Rolynn a nod.
Rolynn didn't do much, only grabbing a token from her pocket and handing it over to the servant. Then waving her hand, she dismissed the guy.
Seeing his subordinate returning with something in hand, Guro felt something wasn't quite right. Hurrying, he hastily grabbed the item and had a look. It is then when his face immediately went pale!
This is only a small wooden token engraved with several simple patterns – this token is not Du Wei's house symbol, instead, it is the symbol for his business.
The more Guro looked at the damn thing, the more frightened he became. As he lifted his head to look over at Du Wei, a realization finally donned on him!
Although Du Wei was dressed in a commoner's outfit, but Guro had sharp eyes. Earlier when Du Wei moved his hands, Guro vaguely caught a glimpse of the gold bracelet hidden underneath Du Wei's sleeve. Forged out of pure gold and engraved with a green gemstone, this is clearly a magic bracelet commonly used by a magician.
This explained a lot!
As a steward in Count Biliaibuer's house, he would of course be equipped with enough a certain level of knowledge regarding the major powers in the capital.
Looking at the token in his hand and recalling the magic bracelet from before, Guro is almost certain of Du Wei's identity now!
Losing every bit of his pride, a fountain's worth of sweat came pouring out of his forehead as he came stumbling over to Du Wei's side. After forcefully pushing through the crowd, Guro was just about to drop to his knees to beg for forgiveness when a thought stopped him at midpoint.
Du Wei's outfit!
It was obvious the kid didn't want others to know of his identity, so Guro immediately halted his falling legs with every ounce of his strength. Then in an awkward stance, he greeted Du Wei with a slight bow of his head before finally speaking in a humble voice: "Du... Distinguished young man, I apologize for not recognizing you immediately! I... I didn't think your distinguished self would come to this humble place to... I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"
After his speech, Guro didn't wait for Du Wei to say anything else when he shouted up at the stage: "20 gold coins! 20!"
After finishing his words, he took a step back before speaking in a polite voice: "Oh noble young lord, please accept these slaves from me. Consider it a present on my behalf!"
Sandy was already frozen with shock…. And the crowds around them had a lot of people whom recognized Guro's identity; yet, this arrogant guy was acting like a dog in front of a teenage kid….
This child … … What is his identity?!
Du Wei faintly smiles as he glanced at Guro: "Hmm, seems Count Biliaibuer's men knows how to do things. In this case, Rolynn, accept it."
"Thank you, thank you my lord!" Guro was so relieved that almost kneeled to the ground without intending for it. Guro is only a lowly steward in his household, so how can he expect Count Biliaibuer to stand up for him, especially when the opposition is a Duke!
The slaver that was dressed like a clown on the stage also recognized Guro. So when he saw how Guro was acting, how can this slaver not know when to advance or retreat?
Generally, when someone calls out an offer, he is supposed to cry out a few times to lure in more people to bid. But after seeing what just happened below, where would he find the guts to keep to the norm?
Just when he was about to announce the success of the sale....
But unlikely today, there seems to be a lot of things brought together by fate.
On the furthest end of the crowd, an indifferent male voice echoed out: "25 gold coins. All of these slaves, we want them."
The audience fell into a uproar!
Anda mungkin juga menyukai
Komentar Paragraf