After sending Wen Zhimuo home and instructing him to collect grain from Xinghua Street himself from now on, Lu Ye and Bai Sheng went to the agency.
They planned to buy two cooks to help Tian Guihua with the meals, two male servants for miscellaneous chores, and another young girl and a woman who had raised children to specifically attend to Bai Sheng and the four little ones.
There were many people for sale at the agency. The men and women, clad in tattered clothes and gaunt, lifted their heads and puffed out their chests, looking at Bai Sheng and Lu Ye with anticipation as they approached.
In their eyes, this attractive couple seemed kind, and working in their household as servants would at least mean they wouldn't starve.
There were many people for sale, but few prospective masters came to buy servants. In the county town, many households that originally had servants had dismissed them to cut expenses.
After the agent clarified Bai Sheng and Lu Ye's needs, he selected some people, had them line up, and gave each a numbered tag. These numbers were all in uppercase, ranging from one, two, three, all the way to fifty.
Since Bai Sheng and Lu Ye were the agency's first major customers in a month, the proprietor paid great attention to them. Along with other agents, they all came out to serve the couple.
Next, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye were free to choose.
Bai Sheng didn't have much experience in choosing people, but she had a secret weapon: judging by their eyes.
If a person's gaze was clear and forthright, they were likely to have good character. As for other aspects, as long as they were acceptable to look at, it was fine.
She and Lu Ye had privately agreed to each select a group of people separately, then compare their choices by number. If they both chose the same person, they would buy them.
If their selections differed, they would handle it flexibly depending on the situation.
The agents found their method of choosing people somewhat novel, but they wouldn't interfere. As long as they could sell people and earn their commission, that was all that mattered.
The couple's gazes slowly swept over the people before them.
When the line first formed, two particularly attractive young girls had deliberately squeezed to the front, standing in the first row.
As Lu Ye's gaze fell upon them, both girls looked at him shyly, their eyes subtly releasing hints of flirtatiousness.
The mistress of the household buying servants was pregnant, and the master was so young and handsome. As a young man, he had already tasted worldly pleasures and surely couldn't endure a long period of abstinence.
If he fancied one of them and bought her, perhaps before long, she would become a concubine and no longer have to serve others in a subservient manner.
Lu Ye: Ugh, what an eyesore. Disgusting, x, not choosing!
Bai Sheng: Hmph, nothing has even happened yet, and she's already trying to seduce my man. White lotus, green tea bitch, seductive fox, x, not choosing!
As Lu Ye's gaze moved away from the two girls with disgust, disappointment appeared on both their faces.
At this moment, both girls had similar thoughts. They felt Lu Ye had poor judgment. After all, there were many people who wanted to buy young and beautiful maidens like them.
They had merely seen Lu Ye's good looks and thought that if they were bought, they might be able to become concubines.
If they were to be concubines anyway, it would be better to find a young, handsome man with strong capabilities in that regard. Although they wouldn't have the status of the main wife, they could still enjoy some pleasures. It would be thousands of times better than being a concubine to an ugly, old man.
Unexpectedly, this young and handsome master of the household hadn't even glanced at them. It must be because the pregnant woman beside him was too fierce and jealous.
What selfishness! She couldn't serve her man because she was pregnant, and she wouldn't even let her man take a concubine! Was she trying to suffocate her own husband?
This heavily pregnant woman must have no upbringing and learned the three obediences and four virtues in her gut!
The second girl, biting her lip, couldn't help but add a touch of hatred to her gaze towards Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng, naturally, was unaware that she was being hated without reason.
As far as she was concerned, her man could only have her as his woman. If Lu Ye had any other thoughts, she would turn and leave without hesitation. Of course, any woman who tried to seduce her man would be beaten to death by her!
After the two had finished selecting their choices, Lu Ye first called out the people he had chosen. The two girls looked unhappy as they saw that he hadn't chosen them in the end.
Bai Sheng looked at the people Lu Ye had chosen and giggled happily because her and Lu Ye's choices were almost identical, except for the personal maid specifically to look after Bai Sheng.
Lu Ye had chosen a sturdy-looking girl of twelve or thirteen with small, squinting eyes. Although the girl was thin now, her frame looked large, especially her shoulders, which were wider than the two young men beside her. Given time and some nourishment, she would undoubtedly be strong and robust.
Lu Ye's reasoning was twofold: firstly, this sturdy girl looked simple and honest, likely straightforward and incapable of foolish aspirations or causing trouble. To put it plainly, she wouldn't covet his looks or money, nor would she spend her days fantasizing about becoming his concubine or angering his precious Bai Sheng. He was utterly fed up with the gaudy women who clung to him!
Secondly, this girl was strong, so she would surely have great strength. In the future, she would be able to look after the four little ones, carrying two in the front and two on her back without being tired.
Lu Ye was already envisioning a double-person backpack.
Bai Sheng had chosen a bald little girl, appearing to be eleven or twelve, thin and small. Her head was so bald that it was almost "eminently wise."
The reason Bai Sheng chose her was that she had originally been wearing a ragged hat. When Bai Sheng looked at her, although her eyes held eager anticipation, she still took off her hat, revealing her true scalp.
The agency proprietor beside them glared fiercely at her. She held the ragged hat in one hand and pinched the corner of her clothes with the other, not yielding to the proprietor's stern expression.
Perhaps this little girl was bald, with a scalp like a patched-up piece of cloth. The proprietor, fearing it would affect the price, had her wear a ragged hat to conceal it.
However, this little girl didn't want to deceive people. She believed that baldness should come with a bald price and didn't want Bai Sheng to overpay. Therefore, she took off her hat herself.
This was an honest and upright child, and Bai Sheng liked her.
The two stood a little farther apart and discussed their reasons for choosing their respective maids. Bai Sheng then made the final decision on the spot: she wanted both little girls.
After all, she was going to have four children, and she would definitely need plenty of help.
However, after taking this bald little girl home, her scalp condition would have to be treated first, otherwise, she wouldn't dare let her look after the little ones.
Upon learning that she had been bought, the bald little girl's eyes immediately turned red. Her gaze towards Bai Sheng was filled with gratitude.
She knew that it was this beautiful, pregnant mistress who had decided to buy her, because she saw the beautiful mistress looking at her for a long time and smiling at her.