Since Luo Zining went out last time, he has been busy at home growing vegetables, brewing wine, and making tofu, so he didn't take time to go out.

Boss Cheng, a local, led him out today. He brought a pen and paper and prepared to take the opportunity to draw a rough map of the city.

He took Chen Er and Zhao Xiaoyu with him when he went out, and found that Chen Bo was looking at him quietly from behind, wanting to follow but afraid that he would be slapped by him if he opened his mouth, he waved to Chen Bo: "You also follow."

Uncle Chen walked quickly to Luo Zining's side, obviously wanting to go, but said: "Is the princess really going to take the old slave? Don't you think the old slave is in the way?"

"Of course it's okay." Luo Zining took him there as if he brought a wallet. Uncle Chen gave him the account book before, but he didn't give him the money. He was afraid that Uncle Chen would run away again if he was forced to give him the money.Go to the prince's side and cry, anyway, just ask Uncle Chen to pay for what he wants to buy, it doesn't matter if you come or not.

Everyone got into the carriage together. Boss Cheng said that he had selected several locations and looked at them from far to near.

Luo Zining lifted the curtain of the car and looked outside. Originally, he wanted to say that it would be better to set up the venue in the suburbs, but when he got out of the busiest street, all he saw were thatched houses, wooden houses and the like.A few people wore clothes made of animal skins and warmed themselves by the fire in the yard.

He rubbed his eyes, did he come to primitive society?

"We can't do anything here. There are very few farmers, craftsmen, or businessmen. Those who are capable have gone outside to find a living." Boss Cheng pointed to the people wearing animal skins outside: "TheirTo make a living is to go hunting in the mountains, then sell them to me, and I will transport them outside.”

Luo Zining was a little puzzled: "How could it be like this?"

"We were pretty good more than ten years ago." Zhao Xiaoyu said angrily, "I remember when I was three or four years old, this place was quite prosperous. Since the magistrate came, we can't do it anymore."

Boss Cheng also felt deeply: "He is too greedy, not only greedy for money, but also lustful. If he can't give money, he will take away other people's daughters to be concubines, or go to his house to be a maid, and ruin many families.My brother-in-law Lin Heihu is even more over the top, collecting protection fees everywhere, beating and robbing people at every turn, making the number of people here less and less, poorer and poorer."

Zhao Xiaoyu sighed: "It is estimated that in a few years, this place will become a dead city. There is no one person, and there are ghost shadows floating everywhere."

After listening to their conversation, Chen Er retorted in disbelief: "We met the magistrate last time, he was very poor, he was dressed in tatters, and invited us to eat at his house, and the food at his house was even worse..”

"It should have been arranged in advance." Luo Zining read the original text.

Uncle Chen was more knowledgeable than Chen Er, and he figured out the way: "Master Chen, we thought he was a good guy, but it turned out that he made this place so smoky."

"We're here." Boss Cheng parked the car in front of a piece of wasteland: "A lot of people lived in this piece of land before, but then it was crushed by a snow disaster, and many people died, and the rest also fled out of the city.There are no owners of these places anymore, we just need to say hello to the magistrate, and use them as we please."

"It takes a lot of money to greet him, so he can let you use it?" Luo Zining thought for a while and turned to look at Uncle Chen: "Can the prince use the fiefdoms that no one uses?"

"The whole fief belongs to the prince, so he can use it as he wants." Chen Bo was still immersed in the anger of being deceived by the magistrate, "He still wants to take our money, he is really daring."

Luo Zining looked around, there was a river over there, and the water for brewing was easy to drain, and there was a large open space around, not only could the venue be opened up, but also a family area could be built, and later it would be builtBuild a school so that workers can put their children in school when they go to work, so they don't have to worry about the children being left unattended.

Moreover, these children can continue to go to the factory to take over from their parents after they grow up, and the winery will grow bigger and bigger.

"If the prefect is not informed, will he find out about our secret?" Boss Cheng secretly asked Luo Zining.

Luo Zining: "We meet frequently, I really thought he would not be able to guess, so we have to mislead his thinking."

"Crooked?" Boss Cheng didn't quite understand.

"Let him think that you came to meet me because you wanted to bribe me with land and get this land instead of opening a winery together." Luo Zining said.

"Oh, so that's the case." Boss Cheng thought it was quite reliable, but he was afraid that the magistrate would make things difficult for him.

"If the magistrate seeks you, you can be rude to him and say that the palace has backed you, so that he doesn't know what is good or bad. If there is any problem, let him come to me." Luo Zining wanted to meet the magistrate in person.

"By the way, I heard that there was a brick factory here before. Where is it?" Luo Zining asked Boss Cheng to take him there.

"Although that brick factory has been closed for a long time, there are still people there." Boss Cheng briefly explained the situation to him. The brick factory used to be very profitable here, but after the magistrate came, he kept asking forThe money dragged them down, and the family all went out to do hard work to earn a living, leaving the old parents here. They would come back every Chinese New Year, and they should come back after the calculation of time.

"If I want to buy the brick factory and hire them back to help, will they be willing?" Luo Zining asked him.

"This..." Boss Cheng thought for a while. They really need bricks to open a winery. It would be more convenient if the brick factory became their own. "Why don't I talk to them, I'm familiar with the people here.”

"Yes, but I plan to buy this brick factory, not only to open a winery, but also to repair the palace next year." Luo Zining expressed his attitude, and only opened the winery with him, and he wanted to open the brick factory himself.

And the brick factory existed before, not as ostentatious as the winery. Even if the prefect knew about it, the prefect would think that he opened it with bricks for the purpose of repairing the palace, and would not tell the emperor.

"I know that it is a great kindness to me that Wang Hao pulls me into business. Even if the brick factory does not allow me to participate, I will help you negotiate the matter and the price will be kept to the lowest." Boss Cheng said.

"Try to give them a satisfactory price, so that they will stay willingly." Luo Zining breathed out a puff of white smoke, "It's too cold today, since we've already looked at the place, let's go back."

Luo Zining separated from Boss Cheng and got into the carriage with Uncle Chen and the others.

On the way back, Luo Zining made the carriage go slower, and while going back, he drew a map with a notebook.

Although the city is huge, there are very few inhabited areas, and the rest of the land is almost wasteland. This is the case in the cities, and the situation in those small counties and villages will only get worse.

Luo Zining asked Zhao Xiaoyu: "Do you know how many people there are in your city?"

"Probably less than 10,000 people." Zhao Xiaoyu also guessed. There are indeed very few people in this city, and there are almost no people.to how many workers.

Just as he was thinking, he caught a glimpse of a man outside leading a group of children walking in the snow. The man was wearing a fur hat and wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, but the children were all in tatters, and their feet were wearing rags.The tattered straw sandals, the toes were purple from the cold.

Moreover, these children were tied with their hands, one by one, and were driven like livestock.

"What's the situation?" Luo Zining, as a modern person, had never seen such a situation, and habitually wanted to touch his pockets to call the police, but this is ancient times, and no one cares about these things.

Zhao Xiaoyu explained to him: "Those are human teeth. He should have bought those children from some poor families. When there were many people in the past, not only children but also adults sold themselves."

Luo Zining stopped the carriage and called out to the man in the fur hat, "Where are you taking them?"

That Ren Yazi saw the style of Luo Zining's carriage and knew it was a nobleman, so he stopped and bowed respectfully: "It was originally intended to be taken out for sale, if the nobleman has something in his fancy, he can pick one, they are all dexterous."

Luo Zining heard that he was going to take it out to sell, and thought that there were no people here, and if so many children were sold, there would be fewer and fewer people in the city in the future, but staying in this city reallyIt's better to go out and be a house slave, at least you can still have a good meal.

"How much?" Luo Zining looked at the children whose eyes were numb from the cold. They wore so little that they would probably freeze to death before they left the city. However, he didn't show any pity, fearing that Renyazi would increase the price because of this: "The price is cheap."Just pack it all up."

When Ren Yazi heard this, the corners of his mouth were almost grinning. His family was in a hurry to spend money recently, otherwise he wouldn’t have run outside after the Chinese New Year. These children are not in good health, and half of them may die if they are taken out. Now it’s good.No, he didn't need to work hard, he sold it not long after he left the house.

He kept saying auspicious words to Luo Zining, and finally set a price, saying that the ten children would be sold to him for ten taels of silver.

Luo Zining felt that he must have raised the price. He looked at Zhao Xiaoyu, thinking that she must know the local prices, but before he asked, he heard Uncle Chen say as if he had found a bargain: "It's really cheap..”

Luo Zining: "..."

Zhao Xiaoyu: "..."

After Chen Bo said so, he also lost the opportunity to bargain, so Luo Zining signaled Chen Bo to pay.

Ren Yazi happily accepted the money, Luo Zining wanted to tell Ren Yazi that there are still people who could be sent to the palace first, but he was afraid that if he really told Ren Yazi, Ren Yazi would abduct and sell children for money.

The carriage couldn't hold so many people, so Chen Er got out of the carriage and led them, leading them to follow the carriage towards the Wangfu.

When Uncle Chen saw those children, "Although they are young, they will be more loyal if they become slaves in the mansion. If they were placed in the capital, they would cost ten taels of silver each, and these ten would be one hundred taels."

Luo Zining: "... I hope you get used to the prices here as soon as possible."

Only then did Uncle Chen realize that he had done something wrong, and he hung his head and dared not speak.

Zhao Xiaoyu felt the awkward atmosphere in the carriage, and wanted to ease the atmosphere: "There are more and more things in the house, and there are so many servants, so we can be more relaxed."

"These are not servants, I'm going to buy them back for the prince to relieve his boredom." Luo Zining said.

Uncle Chen was startled, and quickly explained, "Our prince is not the kind of beast who likes little boys."

"That's not what I meant," Luo Zining deliberately teased him, "Bought these children back to be your prince's sons, lest some people say that I can't have children."

As soon as Uncle Chen heard this, he thought of the last time he said bad things about Luo Zining behind his back, and said awkwardly: "I'll go down and watch those children with Chen Er, so that Chen Er won't be able to watch them alone, and let themescape."

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