"We haven't raised all the money yet, but we're getting close. It'll probably take another half a month or so," Xian He said after thinking it over. "Boss, could I see them? I brought them something to eat."
Xian He pulled two Wild Vegetable Dumplings wrapped in cloth from his robes.
"Are they poisoned?" the Black Merchant asked warily.
He had carefully raised Sister Flowers from childhood. They were worth a total of one hundred thousand Copper Coins, so he had to be cautious, cautious, and more cautious still.
The Black Merchant wasn't willing to take that gamble.
No matter how Xian He tried to explain, he wouldn't agree.
"You can see them, but absolutely no feeding them!" the Black Merchant said firmly.
Xian He sighed and tucked the Wild Vegetable Dumplings back into his robes.
He went to the Iron Cage for a brief look at Sister Flowers. They seemed even thinner and weaker than last time.
They didn't seem to recognize Xian He. They were still wary and on guard, like two little cats with their fur standing on end.
"All right, cover it up. Don't disturb them," Xian He said, waving a hand. There was no point in visiting if he couldn't do anything. He still couldn't afford to buy them and save them from their miserable lives; all he could do was make himself more anxious.
After seeing the Sister Flowers he had been longing for, Xian He returned to the roadside to meet up with Grandma Chen.
The old woman had already picked out four female slaves. Every one of them had an ugly face, a thick waist, and a broad backside.
Xian He felt his stomach churn.
For some reason, he felt that these four female slaves resembled the Four Fragrances—Chuxia, Qiuxiang, and the rest—from Hua's residence in Flirting Scholar, except they'd all been kicked in the face by the Deadly Scholar's Face-Destroying Foot.
The last one Grandma Chen picked was a female slave with lips like sausages.
"Glamorous Sister Pomegranate?" Xian He swallowed.
Grandma Chen really should be the one picking out slaves. When she chose them, he didn't feel the slightest bit of that kind of interest.
The four slaves belonged to three different slave traders. Grandma Chen had picked only Sister Pomegranate from the Black Merchant; the other four had been chosen from two different traders.
He wondered if she'd done it to get back at the Black Merchant.
Whether she had or not, Xian He trusted Grandma Chen two hundred percent.
After paying, Xian He had only a few dozen Copper Coins left. He was still a long way from having one hundred thousand!
The Four Fragrances and Sister Pomegranate left the slave market with the old woman and young man, followed by the envious and jealous stares of the other slaves.
Back in the secluded spot where he had summoned Grandma Chen, Xian He took her and the female slaves into the Mountain River Society Diagram.
He trusted Grandma Chen to handle them.
Xian He put the Mountain River Society Diagram into his Soul Sea and headed back to the Congee Shop with a spring in his step.
He didn't want to walk home at night with his heart in his throat anymore. The distance between his house and the Congee Shop was considerable, and if he ran into another assassin on the way, he might not be able to handle it.
The Congee Shop was in the center of the Sky Fortune Tribe, where the Security Patrol often made its rounds. It was relatively safe.
So Xian He decided to keep the Mountain River Society Diagram at the Congee Shop.
He went around behind the shop, buried the Mountain River Society Diagram in the dirt, and weighed it down with a brick. Only then did he feel safe enough to enter it.
Although he had spent less than ten minutes on the Tianyun Plateau, two days had already passed in the Inner World.
After Grandma Chen's training, the Four Fragrances and Sister Pomegranate had begun to acquire the bearing of maids.
However, their clothes were far too shabby; they were still draped in tattered pieces of hemp cloth.
Xian He had no good solution for that. Everyone in the family wore coarse hemp clothes with patches all over them, except for his Second Madam, Xiao Xue.
Cloth was expensive in the Sky Fortune Tribe. One chi cost one hundred Copper Coins.
For now, Xian He didn't want to waste money on looking nice. As long as they had something to cover themselves and keep from freezing, that was good enough. What more could they ask for?
Good clothes could raise the chance of his wives bearing children with better constitutions by twenty-five percent, but his Tailor Level was still zero. Even if he had the finest materials, he couldn't make good clothes.
After several months of training and settling in, the five maids had grown accustomed to their new lives.
Xian He assigned Chunxiang and Xiaxiang to Chen Jingjing, Qiuxiang and Dongxiang to Xiao Xue, and Sister Pomegranate to Grandma Chen.
The old woman was getting on in years and needed someone to look after her, so Sister Pomegranate was just right.
As for their rooms—
First Madam Yun Ling lived in the North House Main Room of the Old Courtyard. The children were temporarily staying with Ziyan in the West Room; once they were a little older, he would move them to the East Wing Room.
Grandma Chen was temporarily staying in the East Wing North Room, while Sister Pomegranate lived in the East Wing South Room.
Third Madam Chen Jingjing lived in the West Wing North Room, while Chunxiang and Xiaxiang stayed in the West Wing South Room.
Muyang had it a little rougher. She was still living in the Dazuo House in the front courtyard of the Old Courtyard.
That was mainly because she was in charge of two chicken coops, so it was more convenient for her to live in the front courtyard.
Second Madam Xiao Xue lived in the North House Main Room of the New Courtyard, while Qiuxiang and Dongxiang stayed in the West Room.
Xiao Xue and Chen Jingjing were both nearing their due dates, so he had the maids stay in rooms close to theirs to make it easier to care for them.
Several months later.
Xian He practiced the Groin Kick Technique while looking after his wives and children. His life was wonderfully full.
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