The male beggar who had been lying unconscious in the corner slowly opened his eyes, his pale blue irises glinting under the sunlight.
When he saw Song Shixue, his unfocused gaze paused for a moment.
"Eyeballs, pretty, Anhao wants."
Seeing the colorful, luminous object, Song Anhao's round little eyes shone with delight. His chubby little hands opened, reaching out to touch the man's blue eye.
Song Shixue swiftly grabbed his hand and pulled his arm back.
"Don't touch. You can't have that." It wouldn't be pretty if dug out.
It was only then that Qian Sanya noticed that the freebie he'd taken in, originally for his face, actually had heterochromia, and one eye was blind at that.
A blind man wouldn't fetch a high price in the dark alleys. He'd have to spend money treating his injuries too. What a waste of effort.
A murderer capable of chopping someone into mincemeat, and a blind man with blue eyes. Thinking of the slave trader who had taken the money and left, Qian Sanya cursed the man ten thousand times in his heart.
"Young lady, two taels of silver. Take both of them."
Song Jinzhao frowned and glanced at the man. Blue eyes—either a genetic mutation or foreign blood. "Let me see their deeds of sale."
Qian Sanya was desperate to get rid of the two sickly burdens immediately.
"The deed is issued by the authorities. It doesn't matter if you drag him back and he dies. He's just a servant who signed a life-and-death contract anyway."
Song Jinzhao grabbed the man's arm, checking him over thoroughly. Her brows knitted tightly, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes.
She had thought he was at least in his twenties, but judging by his pulse, he hadn't even passed sixteen.
Song Jinzhao's voice turned cold. "How old are you?"
"Fourteen." The hoarse voice sounded as if his throat was tearing with every word.
Qian Sanya's eyes widened in surprise as he looked the boy up and down.
Only fourteen? Anyone would think he was twenty-four.
Song Jinzhao pried open his mouth. His tonsils were so inflamed they were almost rotten.
His throat seemed to have been irritated by something, the entire area in a state of ulceration.
"What can you do?"
The boy struggled to raise his eyelids; his lips moved. "I've learned a little and can read. I can cook. I can endure beatings. My life is hard. If you buy me, this life will be yours. I'll be your ox and your horse; I'll do anything."
Knowing the young man was literate, Qian Sanya's expression immediately brightened with excitement.
"You can read too! That can't be thrown in for free. That's worth two taels by itself."
"Young lady, I see your younger brother and sister seem quite taken with him. How about this: four taels of silver, and you take both."
Song Jinzhao scoffed. "Limbs all broken, throat rotten down to a shred of skin, and blind in one eye. After spending over ten taels to treat him, he'll still end up crippled. Do you take me for a fool?"
Qian Sanya paused, then quickly reached out to feel the young man's limbs. They swung limply and unnaturally. They really were broken.
No wonder he was selling himself without asking for money. He was just a cripple.
He'd either starve to death, be beaten to death, or kill himself.
The servant who had been sent out returned with a physician.
Qian Sanya pointed at the young man and said to the physician, "Check him first. How much would it cost to treat him?"
After a thorough examination, the physician said, "All four limbs broken, throat damaged, heart and lungs injured. This person is covered in wounds from head to toe. The treatment is very difficult. Consultation and medicine combined would cost at least twenty taels of silver. In the end, he'll be left permanently disabled, and his throat probably won't work like a normal person's. He'll be very hoarse, practically mute."
The youth, his hair a tangled bird's nest, heard the physician's words, and the light in his eyes instantly grew even dimmer.
Song Shixue tugged on Song Jinzhao's finger. The meaning in her eyes was clear to Song Jinzhao without even looking.
Meeting him once, then twice... it really was inescapable.
Thinking that the boy was only fourteen, an age that would still be in middle school in the modern era, Song Jinzhao took a deep breath and quietly waited for the slave trader's reaction.
Hearing that treatment would cost twenty taels and still leave a blind and mute cripple, Qian Sanya's idea of making money off him vanished once more.
He waved his hand in annoyance. "No treatment. I didn't spend a single coin on him. I won't lose out even if he dies."
He then turned back to Song Jinzhao with a full smile: "The original price still stands. Two taels of silver, take them both."
Song Jinzhao pointed to the man and woman she had initially picked: "Thirty taels is too expensive for my liking. Adding these two would be just right. Otherwise, I'll go to the next shop."
"I only came to you on the recommendation of the Golden Luck Agency. If we can't make a deal, I'll come back after I've finished looking around."
Qian Sanya quickly stopped her, his face pained as he cried poverty. "Thirty-two taels of silver. I'm really not making any profit at all."
Song Jinzhao pushed his hand aside. "Thirty taels exactly. Not a coin more, not a coin less. I'll come to you next time I need to buy people."
Thinking of a murderer who could dismember people and a blind, mute cripple, Qian Sanya closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine. Thirty it is."
When that slave trader comes next time, I'll definitely get those two taels back.
With the slave trader's guarantee, they swiftly went to the magistrate's office to complete the official red-seal contracts. Holding the deeds of sale and documents for all four people, Song Jinzhao took them back.
A storeroom for miscellaneous items was cleaned out. Though small, it was fine for two servants.
As for the two men, Song Jinzhao directly arranged for them to stay in the woodshed.
Song Jinzhao asked, "I haven't asked your names yet."
The man and woman knelt down. "This humble one is Fushun."
"This humble one is Chunxing. If the young lady dislikes the names, you may bestow new ones."
Changing names with each new master was a habit they were long accustomed to.
The young man lowered his gaze. "I have no name."
Song Jinzhao raised an eyebrow. "Keep your original names. I can't be bothered to think of new ones. As for you..."
"Shixue, you were the one who wanted to save him. You give him a name. And you treat these injuries of his."
Song Shixue's hand, holding the medicine chest, tightened slightly. "Leave it to me. Is A-Jie not going to intervene?"
Song Jinzhao nodded in silent confirmation. "Have more confidence in yourself. This is your first patient."
