Chapter 35: The Brokerage I

At the same time that Li Youcai and Tian Qi were departing from the Wangjiang Tower, Wang Dayong, having disguised himself, also quietly stepped out. Rather than heading to another city, he spent his time roaming between the various slave agencies across the capital. Although Wang Dayong had lived in the capital for a long time, most of his time had been spent on duty or in the military camp. While he was aware of the trade in human beings, he had never truly come into close contact with these people. Once he entered the agencies, he realized just how miserable the lives of those who had sold themselves into slavery truly were.

Wang Dayong arrived at the entrance of one such agency, and a dealer immediately approached him with a fawning, oily smile: "Oh, you've arrived, sir! Please, come inside."

Wang Dayong gave a casual grunt and followed the dealer into the shop. The interior was plain, furnished with two tables around which a few traffickers sat, drinking tea and cracking melon seeds. It was bitterly cold today, and these men, too lazy to go out, had simply huddled in the agency to stay warm.

The dealer led Wang Dayong to a nearby table and gave it a swift kick. "Get lost and go chat somewhere else! Can't you see we have a guest? Clear the spot!"

The three traffickers muttered in annoyance but rose and moved to another table.

"Please, sir, have a seat," the dealer said, wiping the stool with his sleeve. "Are you looking to buy a maidservant or a manservant? We have all kinds of stock here."

"You have everything?"

"Indeed. Whatever you desire, we have. Seventeen or eighteen-year-old maidens, widows or young wives in their twenties or thirties, middle-aged matrons, hulking, dim-witted laborers, and even carpenters and masons with trades," the dealer said with a cunning grin.

"Oh? That is quite curious. How can someone with a trade end up selling themselves into slavery?" Wang Dayong asked out of curiosity.

"You wouldn't know, sir. In the capital, a trade might keep you from starving, but outside the city, if there's no work, a trade is useless. When they can no longer survive, what else is there to do but sell themselves?"

"And what about these maidens of seventeen or eighteen? Surely it shouldn't be hard for them to find a husband at that age."

"They would like to, but their fathers have to agree to it first. How much grain do you get for marrying off a daughter? It’s a different story when you sell them to an agency or