Chapter 15: Meeting an Acquaintance at the Tooth

The two of them did not know the location of that mountain cave, but the old man, having lived in the area for many years, was well aware of it.

Although the old man did not ask, Jiang Jinshi had already revealed during their conversation that the two were his distant relatives who had come to seek refuge with him due to the chaos of war, and since his home was too small, he could only settle them on the mountain for the time being.

The old man was clearly a sensible person; he listened to whatever you said, and if you didn't say anything, he wouldn't ask.

Jiang Jinshi pulled Luo Feng to a place where no one was around and said in a low voice, "Our Yangguangzhai is still lacking quite a few hands. If you encounter anyone suitable, you can recruit them to join us."

Upon hearing this, Luo Feng's breathing became much heavier, and he said with a trembling voice, "I... I am only an outer member... am I allowed to do that?"

Jiang Jinshi patted Luo Feng on the shoulder: "You are my brother, I trust you, and I give you this authority. But you must remember, we don't just take any riffraff; you have to be a good gatekeeper for me on this point."

"It doesn't matter if their ability is small, and their age doesn't matter either; the most important thing is that they must be loyal. Do you understand?"

Luo Feng's gaze instantly became firm. He nodded heavily at Jiang Jinshi, and as he turned around, his back looked as resolute as if he were heading to the execution ground.

This was the first task he had received since joining Yangguangzhai; although it wasn't about raiding homes or robbing, its significance was even greater.

With his back to Jiang Jinshi, Luo Feng's eyes were already a little moist; he knew that Jiang Jinshi was grooming him.

In Yangguangzhai, what kind of person could have the authority to recruit others?

Of course, it was an internal member like a benefactor, or a Small Squad Leader who had such authority.

But now, in the short time we have known each other, he has cured my sister, treated me to a meal, and even treats me like his successor to be groomed.

Suddenly, Luo Feng's footsteps faltered, as if he had thought of something.

Hiss! If the benefactor is grooming me, then if I become a Small Squad Leader, wouldn't the benefactor be... at the very least a minor leader?

He did not understand the internal structure of Yangguangzhai, but he could be certain that the benefactor's position among the internal members would at least be elevated.

Thinking of this, Luo Feng realized that he must treat this task with even more rigor; every single person who comes in must pass through his screening.

Seeing Luo Feng's solemn face and thinking about how Brother Jiang had just called her older brother aside to discuss matters, Luo Jin cautiously asked her brother.

"Brother, what did Brother Jiang just say to you? If it's something I can't know, then don't tell me."

Luo Feng pondered for a moment, and thinking that his sister was also an outer member, he whispered the ins and outs of the matter to her.

After hearing this, Luo Jin's face was also filled with joy. She never expected Brother Jiang to be so caring toward her brother; she couldn't just sit idle either, she had to help her brother complete the task perfectly.

As for which brother she was helping to complete the task, perhaps only she knew in her heart.

Jiang Jinshi, who had already walked far away, did not think so much; he just wanted to test whether the task required him to find people personally, or if people recruited by those who had already joined also counted.

Arriving at a corner of Jiangcheng far from the market, Jiang Jinshi walked through a small alley filled with sewage. This was the gathering place for human traffickers in Jiangcheng, a human trafficking market, commonly known as a "tooth firm."

The reason Jiang Jinshi was so familiar with this place was thanks to the original owner.

This street was the gathering place for human traffickers, the next street over was the gathering place for moneylenders and pawnshops, further on were gambling dens of all sizes, and the outermost part near the river was where the brothels and flower boats were.

Without any obstruction, not even a doorman, Jiang Jinshi entered the market with ease.

Although he knew that in this era this was permitted, when Jiang Jinshi saw people locked in dog cages, his heart still could not remain completely calm.

Women with barely enough clothing to cover themselves were locked in cages, displayed like commodities, left for people to pick and choose.

Men with thick limbs were covered in lacerations, their necks bound with iron chains to prevent them from escaping.

One must know that the government officially only allowed voluntary self-sale, but the men here did not look like they were here voluntarily.

Seeing a new face enter the market, the human trafficker was not nervous; he even walked up with a smile to introduce things to Jiang Jinshi.

"The customer has a good eye. These are new goods that arrived last night. They haven't been broken in yet, but they are absolutely top-notch for manual labor or guarding the house."

The human trafficker did not look down on Jiang Jinshi because he was wearing coarse cloth clothes; after all, many villagers were also customers of the tooth firm.

Jiang Jinshi shook his head and turned his gaze elsewhere, responding nonchalantly: "What else do you have here?"

The human trafficker's enthusiasm did not wane, and he skillfully introduced their business to Jiang Jinshi.

"We have black goods and white goods here, we have 'thin horses' and servant girls, as well as young male servants and rented wives. We handle the contracts and transfers. I just don't know what the customer needs?"

Black goods refer to people who have been abducted, while white goods refer to those of clean origin who have voluntarily sold themselves.

'Thin horses' are young girls groomed to be concubines or prostitutes, servant girls are underage female children, and young male servants are male children.

Rented wives refer to renting a wife for the purpose of childbirth, which is a common option for villagers who consume services here.

Having just bought things, Jiang Jinshi only had one tael of silver left on him at the moment. He didn't expect to save many people with this little money; he couldn't even afford the price of one person.

So Jiang Jinshi put on a look of being strapped for cash and asked the human trafficker: "Do you have any of those cheap goods? The kind that are sick or dying? If you have any, let me see."

The human trafficker's brain stalled for a moment. Having been in the business for so many years, he had heard requests for plump or slender, requests for specific ages, but he had never heard of anyone looking for the dying.

But the human trafficker still had the professionalism of someone who had been in the business for many years; as long as the customer had a demand, they would satisfy it.

"We do, please come this way, customer."

Passing through two small courtyards, the human trafficker took out a key and opened a room door. The pitch-black room had no windows for ventilation.

Jiang Jinshi felt a bit disgusted looking at the excrement on the floor, but he still covered his nose and mouth and walked in.

What came into view were five people lying on the floor, three horizontally and two vertically. From the dark red ground and the tools nearby, one could judge that this place had likely served as a torture room for a long time.

The human trafficker went up one by one to check their breathing, and finally turned over the two who still had breath to make it easier for Jiang Jinshi to observe.

"Customer, how about these two?"

Because they were turned over, the wounds on their bodies began to bleed again under the pressure. The two who had already fainted were woken up by the pain, but they didn't say a word, looking like they had more breath going out than coming in.

Jiang Jinshi could be certain that under normal circumstances, these two would not live for more than three days.

The two lying there were a man and a woman, one fat and one thin. The woman looked big and burly, and her dark complexion made her look like a beardless female version of Zhang Fei.

The human trafficker followed Jiang Jinshi's gaze and began to introduce: "This is a white good, sold by her husband. The paperwork is clean, it's just that her temper is a bit too fierce; no matter how she is whipped, she won't submit to training."

Jiang Jinshi and the other person locked eyes, and the 'female Zhang Fei' glared at him fiercely.

With an expressionless face, Jiang Jinshi turned his gaze to the thin, weak man. Only after focusing did he realize that this seemed to be an acquaintance.