Chapter 6 Voluntary Slavery

  Zi Xingwen sat on the kang for a long time without speaking after hearing Liu's words.

  Liu was anxious and feared being vetoed by him, so she touched his arm and said: "You'd better say something."

  Qī Xìngwén raised his head and looked at her, "This probably isn't a good idea. Lǎo Sān and his wife are both gone, leaving behind two young ones, we can't just sell Qī Zhēn'ér, that's not right."

  Xing Wen Liu is quite perceptive, he must also be thinking of selling Zhen Er, with such a large sum of money in front of him, she doesn't believe he won't be tempted, isn't it just because he's afraid of being poked in the back? By afternoon, Liu had already thought of a countermeasure. "What if Zhen Er herself is also willing to sell her body?"

  Zi Xingwen smiled and looked at Liu Shi: "Doesn't Zhen'er know what it means to sell herself? There's still a Ping'er in our village, doesn't she know her situation? How could she be willing to sell herself?"

  Liu was reluctant to elaborate on this matter and vaguely said: "Don't you worry about that, just tell me if she is willing to sell herself, do you agree or not?"

  Zi Xingwen saw that she was unwilling to say more and didn't pursue the matter, anyway he believed Liu Shi had a way to deal with Zhen Er, "If she's willing on her own, we can't stop her, right?"

  Liu was delighted and pushed him forward, laughing: "I knew you were a good one, thoughtful for your niece."

  Zi Xingwen was delighted to hear such compliments. He thought of the two elderly people at home and asked, "Should we tell her grandfather and grandmother about this?"

  The Liu family has already thought about it, and outsiders all say that Old Qi's family is in charge, but this matter still needs to be communicated with the two elders, otherwise, if there are any problems in the future, they will find her. "Don't worry for now, wait until it's settled before telling them, so they won't worry about it."

  Zi Xingwen had no objection to this, of course. By then, it would be a done deal and the two old men wouldn't be able to oppose it even if they wanted to. Moreover, they didn't have much say in this family anyway.

  Qifeng heard her parents' plan outside the window and was furious. Such a good thing, her mother didn't think of her, but instead benefited Qizhen that dead girl, saying that she couldn't let her succeed, letting her have the opportunity to show off in front of herself.

  Qizhen'er and Huzi are picking vegetables in the kitchen, which will be eaten tomorrow morning. If they don't pick them now, they'll have no time to do so tomorrow morning. These wild vegetables are different from those grown in their own garden, and if not handled properly, the taste is far inferior.

  Qifeng walked to the kitchen door and heard the laughter of her sister and brother, she privately thought that Qizhen had already known that she was going to be a maid and enjoy herself in the county town at the Qi's house, and felt even more unbalanced. Suddenly pushing open the door, she glared fiercely at Qizhen and her siblings.

  Qizhen'er was talking to Huzi when Qifeng'er pushed the door open and startled them. Seeing her face, they became even more puzzled - how did they manage to provoke her like this?

  Qifeng imagined Qizhen wearing decent and brightly colored clothes, speaking in a shrill voice, looking at her with disdain. Losing her composure, she rushed towards Qizhen and shouted: "Qizhen, you're dreaming! I won't give you the chance to ruin me like this!" After that, she stormed off angrily.

  Huzi was startled by her expression and didn't know what she was up to, so he asked in confusion: "Sister, have you offended Feng'er?"

  Qizhen shook her head and continued to pick vegetables: "Don't mind her, who knows what stimulation she received somewhere." Qizhen thought that Liu Shi must have discussed with Qi Xingwen to sell her into the Qi mansion and was overheard by Feng'er.

  Huzi also knew that Qifeng didn't play by the rules and didn't bother to make sense of her nonsense.

  The next day after finishing breakfast, Liu called out with a smile to Qi Zhen'er who was busy collecting the dishes.

  Although I know what's going on, Liu still hates her and pretends to like her, calling her with a gentle voice is just annoying.

  "Great Aunt, what did you call me for?" Qizhen carefully walked up to Liu's side and asked timidly.

  Liu was very satisfied with her attitude, she was still the easy-to-bully Qi Zhen'er, and a few days ago she dared to argue with her, it must be that she was hurt and felt unfair in her heart.

  Liu gently pulled up Qizhen's hand: "Zhen, you've also heard that the Qi family in the county town is going to find a concubine for Young Master Qi, and the treatment is very good. Do you have such thoughts?"

  Zi Zhen'er heard these words and couldn't help but tremble slightly, raising her head to look at Liu Shi with a timid gaze without saying a word.

  Liu saw that she wasn't speaking, so he knew she was going to say something harsh: "Zhen'er, you also know the situation in our family. Your brother is already 16 this year, but until now, no one has come to propose marriage for him. Your second brother is already 14 years old, and it's time to start talking about his engagement too. Our family is struggling, and I have no way out. At the beginning of the year, your uncle said that we should push back other things, but we must let Hu'er start school as soon as possible. This is what I think too." He looked at Qi Zhen'er as he spoke.

  Qī Zhēnér raised her head, her eyes filled with longing and trust as she looked at Liú Shì, asking in a low voice: "Really?"

  Liu saw that Qizhen finally had a reaction, and she was very happy. This is what moved her. So she continued to persuade: "Huzi has been smart since he was a child, if he goes to school, no matter what, he can take the imperial examination and become a top scholar. In the future, you will be the sister of a top scholar." Her tone changed as she sighed: "It's a pity that he was born in our kind of family, wasting his talent."

  The tone of Liu's words made people who didn't know her true nature think that she was really considering the tiger's son.

  "What did Auntie mean?" Qizhen'er asked with a pretended puzzled expression.

  She was very satisfied with Liu's attitude, and the matter was soon settled: "Your brother is a good friend of Mr. Wu, I'll let him put in a good word for you, how about becoming a maid at the Qi manor?"

  Zhen'er's eyes shone with longing and joy when she heard this, but soon turned to anxiety and worry. She looked at her clothes and said: "I've grown up like this, I'm afraid the steward from the Qi family won't think much of me. I heard Ping'er say that recently, large households are particular about their servants' attire, they must be dressed neatly and cleanly. Especially their hands and feet must be delicate... I often do chores, my hands..." She trailed off, sobbing softly.

  Liu heard this and also started to worry, this Qi Zhen'er's body shape really looked small, which didn't look like a nearly ten-year-old at all, but rather seven or eight years old. And her hands were even thicker than hers, saying this, it was indeed possible that she wouldn't be chosen.

  "Then you don't have to work for the next few days, just wash your hands frequently. I'll bring you Feng'er's hand cream and lotion later, take good care of your hands." After thinking about it for a while, Liu still decided to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. For the next few days, let Qizhen rest first and see if her hands can become more delicate.

  Qī Zhēnér listened to her say this, and had no reason to refuse, smiling and nodding in agreement. "Then I'll trouble Dàbó Niáng with the pig, chicken, and cooking."

  Liu was worried that her absent-minded waving would make her leave.

  Qizhen'er left the main house, feeling very happy. The first time Liu's family came to find her in her past life, she didn't agree because she wasn't at ease with Hu Zi, but who knew that this would instead cause Hu Zi to fall down the mountain and become seriously ill? In this life, she wanted to change this situation and absolutely wouldn't allow Hu Zi to be bullied by them again. She agreed to sell herself to them, so they definitely wouldn't have any ideas about harming Hu Zi.

  He beckoned to Tuzi, who was feeding the chickens. Tuzi saw his sister calling him and ran over excitedly: "Sister, what's up? I still have to feed the chickens." Tuzi was actually a diligent little guy, he knew he couldn't do anything else, so he carefully fed the chickens to alleviate Jun'er's burden. Every time Jun'er saw him being so sensible, she felt both heartbroken and relieved.

  Qī Zhēn ér leaned in close to Hǔ Zǐ's ear and whispered something. Hǔ Zǐ didn't know why his sister was doing this, but he still nodded seriously, after all, whatever his sister did was right.

  Qizhen'er saw Huzi running out of the door and looked in the direction of the main house, silently laughing.

  Hutou ran to the next door to find Huan Ge, and told him what Zhen'er said. After sending off Huan Ge, Hutou jumped back home, nodded at Zhen'er, meaning it was done.

  Qī Zhēn ér's attention was not here, she made a silencing gesture to Hǔ Zǐ, and carefully ran to the window under Qī Fèng ér's room, eavesdropping on their conversation.

  Huzi watched his sister's movements and felt more and more that he didn't understand her. His sister hadn't had the guts to eavesdrop before.

  Qī Zhēn ér was listening seriously under the window, and soon Qī Fèng ér's voice became sharp, accompanied by a sob.

  "Why should I give my stuff to that dead girl? This cost me five coppers, I won't give it, I just won't!"

  "You give it to her, and after taking her selling price, mother will buy you that twenty copper plates one box of, that kind is more fragrant and better."

  "No way, I won't give it to her. Anyway, even if I gave her one or two silver coins, her hands wouldn't be as delicate as mine. I really don't understand why you want her to go, can't I just go instead?"

  Liu's face sank, and she still had this idea now. She didn't even bother to say anything more to her, snatched the perfume and cream, and went out the door.

  Before long, a sorrowful and mournful cry echoed from inside.

  Zhen'er had already left when there was no sound inside, holding a basin of water and seriously washing her hands.

  Liu was very satisfied with her attitude, listening to her words and being obedient. Such a niece is the easiest to control, and even if she enters the Qi manor in the future, she will bring benefits to them.

  Hand over the fragrant pastry from Qifeng to Qizhen and say: "Zhen, this is what your sister Feng gave you. Your sister Feng really cares about you, I just said it was for you to use, she didn't say a word and gave it to you, you must remember her kindness."

  Liu said it sounded good, if she didn't know Qifeng's temperament, maybe she would have been deceived by her. Qizhen nodded and firmly said: "I remember every bit of your kindness to me, elder sister-in-law."

  Although she felt that her sentence was a bit strange, Liu still didn't think about it in other ways. After all, Qi Zhen'er grew up under her eyes since childhood, and she knew what kind of temperament she had. Even if she borrowed courage, she wouldn't dare to oppose her, let alone with Hu Zi in her hands.

  "You'd better wash it well and don't ruin the perfume." Liu was still willing to give Qizhen a good face, this money tree.

  Hutou carried a small bucket of pig feed, swaying gently towards the direction of the pigpen. Qizhen'er let out a sharp cry and ran towards him, taking the bucket from his hand and pouring it neatly into the feeding trough.

  Liu heard the scream and turned around just in time to see Qizhen's actions, her face sank: "Zhen, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you not to work? It seems like you took my words as nothing."

  It seems that she also realized what she did was wrong, Qizhen'er said stiffly: "But, Huzi is going to be a top scholar in the future, how can he do this kind of thing?"

  Liu heard this and was about to burst out laughing, but then she remembered that it was actually the pie she had drawn for Qizhen, so she swallowed her words instead. Her face turned even darker.

  This was Qiang pushing open the door and coming in, happily calling out: "Mother, what did you call me back for?"

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