Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 378

Chapter 378: Chapter 370: Deep Routine_1

Some large families would buy children and train them to become devoted fighters.

Others would build private armies.

However, in this world where everyone could practice martial cultivation, private armies made up of ordinary people were not very effective. When encountering powerful adversaries, they were easily destroyed.

Qin Niu selected a stall with the largest scale.

He liked to buy from strong and well-established sellers when shopping. A large scale generally meant that the seller’s integrity was not a problem.

The quality of goods would also be more reliable.

Because only those who operated their businesses with honesty could grow them significantly.

“Wan Yan, you pick! Let’s not buy male servants for our home for now.”

Although he already owned a hundred acres of good farming land, he hadn’t considered buying some slaves for agricultural work yet.

After all, farming was a skilled job.

He thought it was more cost-effective to either lease the land or hire long-term laborers.

The slaves that were bought were often only thinking about escaping, slacking off, or regaining freedom; getting them to willingly work for their owner was basically impossible.

They would only work if someone was standing behind them with a whip to give orders.

Wang Wanyan approached the stall and eyed the rows of female slaves.

There were tall and short, fat and thin ones.

The younger ones were only about ten years old, very small. The older ones were in their forties, already considered old women.

These people were sold into the slave market for various reasons.

For example, a father who gambled and incurred debts sometimes had no choice but to use his wife and daughter to pay off the debts when he could not repay them.

It must be mentioned that rural houses, unless they were made of bricks and tiles, were worthless.

Some were so worthless that nobody would want them even if given away for free.

In some poor families, the only valuable thing was the people themselves.

Especially women, who were in great market demand.

“Let’s take her!”

Wang Wanyan picked out a girl of about twelve years old.

She had a reasonably pretty face, smeared with grime, and her eyes were filled with fear.

“Pick one more, one isn’t enough to bring home! Besides, she’s so young, perhaps consider getting someone a bit older, who can work more efficiently?”

Qin Niu frowned upon seeing her choice of a young girl.

They already had Xiao Qing at home.

Bringing another young girl back was really unnecessary.

She must have picked the young girl out of compassion.

“I’m thinking of going to that stall later!”

Wang Wanyan was still thinking about the frail girl who was being whipped by the stall owner.

“What’s the big deal, we’ll just buy three! It’s not like we can’t afford it.”

Qin Niu said.

“Then you pick one as well, my husband!”

She had no choice but to agree.

Qin Niu was never sentimental when it came to women.

He immediately chose a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, who was quite ordinary-looking but seemed sturdy. Such a girl could be very effective at housework when brought back home.

The girl had a spirited look in her eyes, probably indicating she was quite clever.

“Boss, how much for these two female slaves?”

“The younger one is eleven taels of silver, the older one is thirteen. Since you are buying two at once, I’ll give you a discount. Let’s say a total of twenty-three taels and five copper coins.”

The price for a maid was really cheap.

One could be bought for just over ten taels of silver.

“Twenty-three taels of silver then! That’s about the going rate with everyone else!”

Wang Wanyan bargained from the side.

“In the entire black market, my place arguably sells the cheapest. Plus, every slave I sell is very clean. But since it’s your first time doing business with me, I’ll give you a further discount of five copper coins, so let’s do it your way, twenty-three taels.”

The stall owner laughed proudly after hearing this.

From his tone, his business seemed to be the biggest in the black market and probably the most legitimate one as well.

The phrase “the slaves are clean” had two meanings.

First, it meant that the female slaves had not been defiled; second, it implied that their sources were legitimate.

They all came with proper documentation.

Qin Niu was pleased with this.

When buying slaves, one looked for peace of mind and assurance. If the slaves bought had issues, such as being trafficked, and if the victims reported it to the authorities, it could mean trouble if they came knocking.

It was easy to get entangled in legal issues.

It could end up with both property and money lost at best, and in some cases, one might even be arrested by the authorities for crimes.

Money was paid on the spot, and they received the slavery contracts for the two female slaves, along with a proof of purchase from the boss.

With these two documents, there were no worries at all.

“Thank you for the discount; we’ve settled our accounts, and now we’ll take the person with us.”

“Haha, thank you for your patronage. If Master Qin needs anything in the future, you are most welcome to come to me.”

The vendor said with a smile.

“You… you know me!”

Qin Niu was somewhat surprised.

“Master Qin is a newly ascended noble of the Black Tiger Gang. You’ve recently made quite a stir in Black Tiger City; of course, I know you.”

“Farewell!”

Having heard this, Qin Niu cupped his hands in salute and left with the two female slaves.

“Husband, let’s also buy the girl from that stall!”

“As you wish!”

Qin Niu nodded in agreement.

Wang Wanyan immediately quickened her pace to the stall ahead to inquire about the price.

Qin Niu, along with the two newly-purchased female slaves and Green Ox, strolled through the black market at a leisurely pace.

There were all sorts of goods for sale here.

Some particularly rare insects and animals could be found here.

There were even fierce tigers and lions locked in cages.

Some people were even selling pythons.

The prices weren’t particularly high; a python over four meters long cost only three Taels of Silver.

A six-meter-long rock python was more expensive, requiring nine Taels of Silver each.

“Husband, come here.”

Wang Wanyan waved to Qin Niu.

He immediately walked over.

“What’s the matter?”

“The owner is asking for twenty-five Taels of Silver; help me bargain with him.”

The price Wang Wanyan quoted genuinely took Qin Niu aback.

He glanced at the small girl crouched on the ground, then turned his head to the vendor.

The vendor was tall with triangle eyes and an indistinctive face—most likely a cunning merchant.

“Owner, we sincerely want to buy this little girl. Let’s not haggle over the price. How about ten Taels of Silver?”

Qin Niu cut straight to the lowest price.

“It’s not for sale! Don’t be fooled by this little girl’s skinny appearance; she was very expensive when I bought her, costing twenty-three Taels of Silver. Now I’m just selling her for twenty-five Taels, barely making any profit.”

The vendor wouldn’t budge an inch.

“If it’s not for sale, then forget it. These two I bought were only eleven Taels of Silver each, and the quality is much better than yours. You can keep her and sell her slowly!”

Qin Niu gave Wang Wanyan a meaningful look.

But seeing the girl covered in bruises, Wang Wanyan couldn’t bear it and hesitated, reluctant to leave.

“Wan Yan, let’s go! There are plenty of female slaves in the black market. Not only are they cheaper elsewhere, but their quality is also much better than this one. This girl is already so thin and has been beaten to this state. It’s uncertain if she’ll survive. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on buying two acres of good land?”

Qin Niu pulled her away.

Merchants like this vendor could only exploit the soft-heartedness of people like Wang Wanyan.

For Qin Niu, such tactics designed to appeal to the customer’s sympathy were utterly ineffective.

Wang Wanyan, led by him had not walked far when the sound of the vendor whipping the girl echoed from behind them.

“You money-losing wretch, nobody wants to buy you even for twenty-five Taels of Silver. I might as well beat you to death today.”

The whip cracked loudly, hitting flesh with each blow.

The little girl cried bitterly.

“Husband, let’s buy her! She’s too pitiable!”

Wang Wanyan almost pleaded.

“You’re usually clever; why can’t you see through this now? They’re waiting for you to fall for the trap, don’t you understand? If you buy that little girl at a high price now, the vendor gets a taste of easy money and will use the same ploy next time.”

Qin Niu whispered to her in a low voice.

Without looking back, the two had walked about ten meters when the vendor, throwing down his whip, caught up with them.

“Hey, hey, young master, how about I sell her to you for fifteen Taels of Silver, and I’ll take a loss of ten. After all, she was acquired to settle a debt.”

The vendor was indeed an extreme swindler.

“Ten Taels of Silver is my final offer, not even one copper coin more.”

Qin Niu spoke firmly, leaving no room for negotiation.

After an inner struggle, the vendor finally gritted his teeth and agreed.

“Alright, all right, I’ll sell her to you for ten Taels of Silver. I’m annoyed just looking at that money-losing girl.”

The vendor compromised once more.

Qin Niu then turned to walk toward the stall.

But upon seeing the little girl on the ground, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately shook his head, saying, “She’s been beaten to her last breath by you. If I buy her, I’ll end up having to spend money on her funeral. I don’t want her. Deal with her yourself!”

Indeed, the girl on the ground already seemed to be barely moving.