Chapter 2: Selling Oneself as a Slave

Early morning, the sky was slightly bright.

Chen Mo was woken up by hunger early on; he felt somewhat fortunate that he could still wake up.

He could no longer remember when he had last eaten, and he had no spare strength to think about it.

Waking his companion, the two did not speak much, silently hurrying forward.

Not knowing how far they had walked, the world remained a desolate expanse, yet on the yellow earth beneath their feet were tracks left by carts and horses.

Seeing these traces, Chen Mo's spirit could not help but lift; this meant that if they kept going, there must be human habitation, and if the livestock hadn't been eaten, it meant there was no shortage of food there—there was a way to survive!

Chen Mo tried his best to quicken his pace, yet no matter how hard he tried, this body, nearing the end of its oil and wick, could not go much faster.

It was visible to the naked eye that the number of disaster victims around them was gradually increasing, no longer like before when they wouldn't see a single person for an entire day.

Clearly, they had also seen the nearby cart tracks and knew there was a way to survive here, so they were all gathering toward this place.

From time to time, disaster victims would collapse on the road; no one paid them any mind, all just keeping their heads down and hurrying along.

Chen Mo found a large, sun-facing tree and leaned against it to rest; he dared not sit, let alone lie down, for fear that once he sat, he wouldn't be able to get back up.

Chen Mo took a black, hard cake from his Huai, broke it in two, and handed one piece to his companion.

Even the crumbs that fell when he broke the cake were collected in his palm and carefully licked clean.

This was the only food the two of them had left; if they couldn't reach a place with a way to survive after eating it, they would meet the same fate as the other victims collapsed on the road.

After finishing the cake, Chen Mo dared not linger, continuing forward along the road beneath his feet.

Perhaps it was because they had eaten the cake, or perhaps it was seeing hope, but the two's pace was clearly much faster.

By the time the sun in the sky shifted, the outline of a town slowly emerged.

Chen Mo's brain, which had been numb and sluggish for many days, finally had some emotions belonging to a human.

Although they were still far from the town, he seemed to smell the fragrance of food.

As they drew closer to the town, the number of disaster victims within it was actually not high, which meant there was likely truly a way to survive in the town.

Even if it meant selling oneself as a Slave, it was better than starving to death.

Chen Mo rummaged through his layers of clothing; he remembered he had money.

Once, when he stripped the clothes off a corpse, he had been lucky enough to find seventeen large coins; compared to other refugees who had nothing, his situation was still a bit better.

Seventeen coins was not much, but it should be enough to buy some food.

Walking into the town, the residents saw the two of them without any surprise; it seemed they were already accustomed to disaster victims.

At first, they would help the victims, but as the number of victims grew, they could only turn a blind eye.

After all, in this world, no one's life was easy.

"How much for a bowl of noodles?" Chen Mo asked as he walked up to an open-air noodle stall.

"Seven coins for a bowl of noodle soup, three coins for a cake." Although Chen Mo was a disaster victim, the boss didn't show any sign of looking down on him and still greeted him with a smile.

"Two bowls of noodle soup, one cake," Chen Mo smiled.

Being able to eat, he was in a very good mood now.

"Pay first," the boss said; it seemed many victims had eaten for free before.

Chen Mo took out the copper coins, and the boss immediately became much more enthusiastic.

"Alright, sir, please have a seat."

Chen Mo chose a spot further away from the other guests to sit down.

He had been fleeing from famine for months; he could adapt to the smell on his own body, but others might not be able to.

Chen Mo gestured for his companion to come over; having not eaten, he still didn't want to talk much.

"I have no money," the companion moved to Chen Mo's side and spoke in a hoarse voice.

The two had previously traveled together, even entrusting their lives to each other.

That was a helpless move during their flight.

Now that there was a way to live, the alliance made out of necessity should naturally dissolve.

Although there was a way to survive in the town, they hadn't seen it yet.

And food was precious; being able to eat one more bite meant one more chance to survive.

"It's fine, eat first," Chen Mo managed to squeeze out a smile.

Both of them were now on the verge of collapse, having reached the town purely by willpower; if they didn't eat something, they wouldn't last until they found a way to survive.

Even if he and his companion were to sell themselves as Slaves later, if they could be sold into the same household, they would inevitably still have contact in the future.

Even if they couldn't, the two had at least traveled together for a long time and saved each other's lives.

Now that they finally had a chance to live, Chen Mo could not watch him die.

"Many thanks," the companion smiled and thanked him, only then daring to sit down opposite Chen Mo.

Two bowls of hot noodle soup were quickly brought over.

The noodles were the simplest boiled noodles, with no seasoning other than salt.

Chen Mo could not describe the taste; to him, this was the most delicious thing in the world.

With a bowl of hot noodle soup in his stomach, Chen Mo finally felt like a living person.

He asked the boss for a bowl of noodle broth and took the freshly baked cake; Chen Mo broke off a piece to share with his companion, but he was unwilling to take it.

Chen Mo didn't stand on ceremony with him, eating half the cake with the noodle broth and hiding the remaining half on his person.

"Brother, is there any way to survive in this town? Just a bite to eat will do," Chen Mo handed the noodle bowl back to the boss and asked with a chuckle.

"On the east side of town, there are several wealthy families in Beihe County taking in Slaves; you can go try that. Walk sixty li to the east to Qingmu Collection; the Imperial Court is recruiting soldiers there, so if all else fails, you can go there too," the boss thought for a moment and said.

Chen Mo and his companion had arrived too late; any decent way to survive or make a living had long been snatched up by the victims who arrived first.

Only selling oneself as a Slave and joining the army remained—two paths one would only choose if absolutely forced.

"Many thanks, brother!" Chen Mo thanked him earnestly.

The Great Gan divides the common people under its rule into countless household registrations based on their occupations, and none are more noble than the Scholar.

Being a Slave is the lowliest registration, and as for the Military Household, while it is not the lowest on the register,

the treatment they endure is likely worse than that of a Slave.

Not only do they not receive a single cent of military pay, they must also till the land for their superiors, endure beatings and scoldings from veteran soldiers, and are used as cannon fodder when a real war breaks out.

A Great Gan saying goes: better to be a Slave than a Soldier.

Being someone else's Slave, at least one will not be forcibly conscripted onto the battlefield.

Furthermore, joining the army requires traveling another sixty miles, and one might not even survive the journey to get there.

"There is a wealthy family at the east end of town taking in Slaves; let's go take a look," Chen Mo said in a low voice to his companion, not mentioning the matter of joining the army at all.

"Alright." The companion gave a bitter smile; having eaten food, there was finally some sign of life in them.

If they had any choice, no one would want to be someone else's Slave. But they had no choice; what did it matter if they became a slave or a maid, at least they could survive.

The two moved their feet, slowly walking toward the east of town.

Here, someone had set up a few thatched shacks, and over a dozen refugees were squatting inside resting.

"Are you here to sell yourselves?" A short, stout middle-aged man walked over, sizing the two up with the gaze of someone inspecting goods.

"Yes." Chen Mo spoke in a deep voice, trying to make his voice sound as resonant as possible.

"Man or woman?" the short, stout man asked coldly.

The disaster victims who could escape to this place, regardless of gender, were all disheveled, gaunt, and had weak, hoarse voices.

Never mind not looking closely, even if one did look closely, it was impossible to tell.

"Man." Chen Mo spat out the word.

"Don't want men." The short, stout man waved his hand with a hint of disgust.

Seeing this, the companion hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "I am a woman."

"Sun Pozi, come inspect the goods!" Hearing this, the short, stout man shouted toward a carriage beside the shack.

A middle-aged woman with dark skin and a tall, thin build, wearing a gray floral cloth robe, jumped out of the carriage.

"Which one is the woman?" Sun Pozi walked up to the two in a rush and asked in a somewhat shrill voice.

"Me." The companion slowly shuffled forward.

Sun Pozi looked her up and down with a hint of disgust in her eyes, reached out to touch her body carefully, and only then nodded, "Fine, come with me."

Looking at the companion beside him, Chen Mo did not know what to say; he wanted to offer congratulations, but did not know how.

What kind of world is this! Selling oneself into slavery has become a good thing!

"I am not selling myself; he is selling me!" the companion said listlessly.

"You are selling her?" Sun Pozi glanced at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo was silent; having traveled to this world for so long, he might not be clear on other things, but he was crystal clear on the difference between selling oneself and being sold by another.

Selling oneself means selling one's own person, with no chance of redemption; one is a Slave to others for life, and even one's children and descendants are destined to be Slaves.

There is not much difference between being sold by another and selling oneself, except for one point: one can be redeemed and still has a chance to shed the Slave status.

The reason he knew this was because he had sold himself before.

At the beginning of his transmigration, in order to survive, he followed several refugees and sold himself to a landlord.

Later, as the number of refugees grew, the landlord was looted clean, and only then did he continue to flee.

"Come with me." The companion reached out and tugged at his sleeve, and Chen Mo followed closely behind.

Moving to a withered tree not far away, the companion finally stopped.

"I don't want to sell myself as a Slave; you sell me, and the money goes to you, how about that?" the companion said in a low voice.

Chen Mo did not rush to speak; although he and the other were companions through life and death, that was a forced necessity.

He did not believe that the other would give him the money from the sale for no reason.

As long as people are alive, they will need money, even if they are sold as Slaves; having money on one's person is always better than having nothing at all.

"But if you take the silver, you must promise me one thing: in the future, you must find a way to redeem me." She did not want to be someone else's Slave for her whole life.

In reality, if there were a choice, no one would want to submit to being a Slave.

She knew that even if she gave all the silver to Chen Mo, it would likely be very difficult for him to redeem her in the future.

It was not that she did not trust Chen Mo, but because she knew that it was hard enough for disaster victims to survive, let alone save up enough silver to redeem herself.

Yet she was still willing to do this; having a hope was better than having nothing at all.

After she finished speaking, she said no more, just quietly looking at Chen Mo.

Even if Chen Mo did not agree to this, she decided that she would still give him some of the silver later; the other had been willing to treat her to a meal and let her survive, so she would also help the other.

"Alright, I promise you; as long as I don't die in the future, I will definitely find a way to help you redeem yourself!" Chen Mo pondered for a long time before promising.

He rarely made promises, but once he did, he would definitely do his best to fulfill them.

Seeing Chen Mo agree, the companion tried her best to pull off a smile that was not very pretty.

The fact that the other had thought for so long showed that he had truly considered the problem carefully, rather than agreeing without a thought just for the silver.

Redemption might no longer be a hollow, ethereal hope.

"My name is Zhao Yu, and you?" the companion said.

"Chen Mo."

The two had known each other for a long time, and only at this moment did they exchange names.

The two discussed it in low voices again before going to find Sun Pozi to sell her.

Before long, Chen Mo received a bill of sale; with Sun Pozi acting as the middleman, he sold Zhao Yu to the Liu Family of Beihe County as a Slave in the capacity of Zhao Yu's husband, receiving five qian of silver.

This was something the two had agreed upon beforehand; if he had no connection to Zhao Yu, he would not have been able to sell her.

"Take it." Sun Pozi counted out five hundred wen of cash and tossed it to Chen Mo.

He took the money and counted it, one coin after another.

A living person, in a year of disaster, could only be sold for five coins of silver.

"Rest assured, not a single cash will be missing," Sun Pozi said with a beaming smile; selling to others fetched much less than selling to her, and she could skim quite a bit off the top.

As for redeeming oneself?

If Chen Mo didn't redeem her, she would profit; if he did, she would profit even more!

"Keep this document safe. If you can really scrape together twenty taels of redemption silver, come find me at the East Market in Beihe County," Sun Pozi said, then grabbed Zhao Yu and prepared to leave.

"Please wait a moment, let us two talk a little longer," Chen Mo requested with a fawning smile.

"Fine, but I'll be watching from the side; don't you two think about running." Sun Pozi was actually quite easy to talk to.

Although she wasn't worried that two disaster victims who could barely walk could outrun her, she still habitually threatened them.

"Take some of this money." Chen Mo divided the five strings of cash and stuffed three into Zhao Yu's hands; he had sold himself before and knew that even as a Slave, it was best to have some money on one's person.

"I can't use this much, you take more." Zhao Yu only took one string of cash.

Although she was selling herself as a Slave, at least she wouldn't starve to death from here on out; having no money would just mean suffering a bit more.

But if Chen Mo had no money, he might really starve to death.

"Alright." Chen Mo didn't continue to decline, and divided the remaining money into three portions to hide close to his body.

"I won't be needing this anymore, you take it." Zhao Yu took the water skin she carried with her and handed it to Chen Mo; it was the only valuable thing she had.

"Okay." Chen Mo did not refuse.

After taking the water skin, the two looked at each other in silence.

"Let's go." Zhao Yu grinned at him, then slowly turned and walked toward Sun Pozi.

Chen Mo also forced a smile.

Whether it was to survive or to find a way to redeem Zhao Yu, he now had only one path left.

Join the army!

(End of chapter)