The child reluctantly handed over the candied hawthorn in his hand.
Ling Yao took it and bit down hard.
Unexpectedly, there was a "crack."
Ling Yao pulled away, and stuck to the bright red candied hawthorn was a clean white tooth.
Wuwu, her teeth were starting to fall out too.
The child was so scared he dropped the candied hawthorn and ran away.
Ling Yao had intended to give him money to buy another one, but in the blink of an eye, he had disappeared.
Her mouth felt a bit leaky, and she cried, "It's not that I'm not biting it to eat, it's that I can't bite it anymore."
Ling Yao threw away the tooth, crying and licking.
It seemed she had to find a deep mountain to hide in, and could no longer blindly move forward.
Rolling up the crumpled portrait, Ling Yao continued on her way, licking the candied hawthorn.
After passing through another town, there was a mountain. She had asked people, and that mountain had no fierce beasts and was rarely visited.
She decided to wait for her nirvana there.
Picking up a stick on the road to use as a cane, she walked unsteadily through the street.
Although the town was not large, there were quite a few people. A group of people rushed over, pushing her off balance, and she accidentally fell to the ground.
Pairs of feet ran over her hands. By the time they passed, her hands were rubbed raw, and her legs were terribly bruised from the fall.
The people here truly had no compassion. Didn't they understand respect for the old and love for the young? Not a single person offered help!
With great difficulty, she managed to get up and walked forward, leaning on her stick. She saw that the group of people from before were all gathered in one place, making a lot of noise about something.
She wanted to see, but couldn't squeeze in. She guessed it might be a monkey show, like the one Xiao Shan had taken her to see.
But that didn't seem right either; everyone gathered around was a man, and she didn't see any children.
She was bumped again and fell to the ground. This time she couldn't get up; her leg was broken.
"Old woman, don't even think about extorting money from me. I have no money."
The person who bumped into her walked away without looking back. It was a young man behind her who helped her up.
"Old woman, are you alright?"
Ling Yao's leg hurt. How would she get to the mountain now? Would she crawl there?
"Young man, can you carry me to Baiyun Mountain? I'll give you money."
"Ah?" The young man was surprised and conflicted. He glanced at the crowd, "But, but my mother told me to come buy a wife to bring home. I'm afraid they'll all be sold out by the time I get back."
What? They were selling people inside?
She hated this kind of thing the most!
"You go in and buy everyone inside!"
"Old woman, where would I get the money? I don't even have enough to buy one! I have to wait until everyone is bought and pick from the leftovers."
The young man sized up Ling Yao, intending to slip away. This old woman seemed a bit mentally unstable!
"I have money. Go in and tell the human trafficker that I'll buy them all!" Ling Yao took out a silver note from her shoe and waved it.
Since the money was of no use to her anymore, she might as well spend it all here!
The young man's eyes widened. If he wasn't mistaken, the old woman was holding a silver note, wasn't she? He had never touched a silver note in his life! The smallest silver note was fifty taels. The old woman really had money!
"I'll go tell them right away. Old woman, remember to save one for me. My mother gave me six taels of silver, buying a whole and unbroken one will do!"
After the young man finished speaking, he ran inside. Soon, the human trafficker parted the crowd and came over.
Ling Yao looked and saw ten raggedly dressed women standing foolishly in a line.
They were much better off than she was back then; she had been locked in a cage.
"Old woman, did you say you wanted to buy them all?"
The human trafficker looked Ling Yao up and down, examining her clothes and her aged appearance. He didn't seem to believe it. Even a housekeeper from a wealthy family wouldn't be this old. Was she speaking nonsense?
"How much in total?"
The human trafficker looked at her, "If you take them all, it'll be 150 taels. None of them are sick, and some were sold off by wealthy families. They all look good, so you won't lose money buying them."
So expensive. She had only sold herself for half a tael of silver.
Ling Yao took out three silver notes and gave them to the human trafficker, hearing the gasps from the surrounding crowd.
"That's all the money I have, it's all gone."
She deliberately turned her clothes inside out to show others.
Then, the human trafficker nimbly handed the deeds of sale to Ling Yao. Ling Yao checked them and saw a familiar name.
Xu Da Niu.
She narrowed her eyes and looked towards the women. Her eyesight wasn't good, and she couldn't see clearly, so she moved closer.
The human trafficker thought she was checking if the people were healthy and casually said, "Auntie, please rest assured. We are a legitimate agency, registered with the government. Everyone in this town knows that you won't have any trouble after buying them."
"What about her? Who sold her to you?" Ling Yao pointed to a thin, emaciated woman.
The woman flinched. She was so dark and thin, like a skeleton, and her long hair was gone, dry as winter grass.
"Her? She can't bear children, so her husband sold her. She's still good for doing chores, but don't think about making her a wife."
So pitiful?
She still remembered when she used to tie her two glossy black braids and stand at the fence, looking at her with disdain.
She had even said: I am a girl from a respectable family. Do you think I'm like those you buy, who have been with many men!
And now? She was being sold like an object.
Sold like a working animal.
Alas, forget it, forget it. It's just that this world is too cruel to women.
What if she was born into royalty? Didn't she still fail to escape?
They were all pitiable people.
Ling Yao put away the deeds of sale and called out to the ten women. Two who looked more alert immediately supported her.
"This old woman didn't intend to buy anyone today. I took pity on you, so I acted. Let's go, there are soldiers ahead. Let them send us back to the royal mansion in the capital."
Ling Yao spoke deliberately loudly, just for people to hear.
Human hearts are wicked. Today she had revealed her wealth, and it was possible she would be targeted. And these women, they were all so weak, if they were targeted, it would be like going from the wolf's den into the tiger's lair.
After saying this, the crowd dispersed with whispers.
Only the young man from before lingered, still thinking about his wife!
"As I said, if you carry me to Baiyun Mountain, I'll give you a wife."
"Ah? Old woman, aren't you going to the capital?"
"Stop talking nonsense and do as you're told!"
And so, the young man carried Ling Yao on his back, followed by ten frail women, and they all went to Baiyun Mountain.
Arriving at the foot of Baiyun Mountain, the young man wiped the sweat from his brow. Fortunately, the old woman wasn't heavy, otherwise he would have been too weak to walk this far.
"We're here. Old woman, why are you coming here? No one usually comes here. How will you get back?" The young man was quite worried.
Ling Yao took out the deeds of sale and scattered them on the ground. "Find your own, and then go. Be more careful in the future, don't get tricked. If you want to find someone to marry, keep your eyes open, and don't find those with black hearts. If you are sold again, no one will save you." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Everyone's mouth hung open in disbelief.