Zhao Ming packed five chests of items, including plain fabrics, newly made bedding covers, a chest of silk floss, and various porcelain cups and bowls.

Of course, there was also a chest of money, and he had tucked some coins into each chest. Considering his father’s generosity and constant nagging, he even added two silver ingots, making it extraordinarily lavish.

Zhao Hanzhang was deeply moved upon receiving this gift and almost relented to stay a few more days. However, considering that the group of people Ji Yuan had brought were still not properly settled and were still waiting in Quyang, she suppressed the impulse and expressed with great emotion that she would frequently return home to visit in the future.

Besides Zhao Song, the other households also sent gifts.

Knowing that Zhao Hanzhang and her group had lost their luggage on the road and currently lacked everything except money, people sent all sorts of things.

Those who had good relationships with Zhao Changyu or remembered his kindness were all very generous. Even Zhao Hu, cursing and grumbling, clearly disliking Zhao Hanzhang who had once offended him, still had someone send over two chests of items and a sum of money.

He was even generous enough to give Zhao Hanzhang several servants.

Seeing the servants bound together with rope at their wrists, Zhao Hanzhang’s forehead twitched slightly. “Seventh Great-Uncle, where did these people come from?”

“I bought them with money, of course. They’re quite useful. I’ve had them examined—they’re all in good health. You lost so many servants earlier, how can you manage without people to serve you? These people are all yours.”

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze fell on the rope binding them, her meaning unmistakable.

Zhao Hu thought she was being too fussy and said dismissively, “They were just bought back, still not quite obedient, but discipline them for a few days and they’ll be fine. Do you know how to discipline servants? Should I send you a steward to help with the discipline?”

Zhao Hanzhang declined the steward, thought briefly, then accepted all these people. She even opened her mouth wide like a lion, saying, “Seventh Great-Uncle, how is sending just these few people enough? Summer harvest is imminent, and we’re short of people in the fields. If you’re going to give, why not send their families along with them as well?”

Zhao Hu turned to ask his chief attendant, “They have families?”

They really did. Although Zhao Hu had only casually ordered people to pick a few disobedient servants to send to Zhao Hanzhang, those beneath him didn’t dare actually select only disobedient ones. They added many conditions, such as: disobedient, but with family members in their grasp.

Everyone knew Zhao Hu and Zhao Hanzhang didn’t get along well. Who knew what his purpose was in sending servants now?

If he remembered this matter later and wanted to use these people, they could gain favor by saying the families were still in their hands, and might even be rewarded.

So the chief attendant had picked people who all had families, and quite a few family members at that.

The attendant didn’t dare deceive him and bowed his head. “There are indeed some family members.”

Unaware of the details, Zhao Hu saw Zhao Hanzhang asking him for people and felt he was being sought after, which made him quite proud. So he waved his hand generously. “Fine, bring all their family members here and give them to my grand-niece.”

The chief attendant: …

Zhao Hanzhang first smiled at Zhao Hu. “Thank you, Seventh Great-Uncle.” Then she looked at the attendant with a half-smile. “Remember, all of their relatives.”

The attendant went off and then brought back a group of people. Most of them came empty-handed, with only a few carrying small bundles.

Very shabby, but… they couldn’t help that there were so many of them.

Zhao Hu’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

He had originally selected exactly eight people—four men and four women. But their relatives numbered as many as twenty-one.

Zhao Hu: …

Zhao Hanzhang was already smiling and thanking him. “Thank you, Seventh Great-Uncle.”

Zhao Hu’s face twitched as he forced out a smile. “No need.”

He turned to leave, and Zhao Hanzhang called from behind, “Seventh Great-Uncle, remember to give me all their contracts of servitude too.”

Zhao Hu quickened his pace.

After he left, Zhao Hanzhang looked at these twenty-nine people who had been sent over, had someone untie the ropes, and asked, “How did you come to the Zhao family fortress?”

The people looked at each other. A thin young man said in a deep voice, “We were captured by soldiers and sold here.”

“How much were you sold for?”

The young man replied, “I’m young and have more strength, so I was sold for three strings of cash.”

Cheaper than an ox.

Zhao Hanzhang rubbed her forehead and asked, “Was your whole family captured?”

“Last year there was a drought in Yingchuan, and this year it still hasn’t rained much. We couldn’t survive, so we wanted to come to Runan to seek relatives. We’d barely left when we were captured by soldiers and sent here.”

Zhao Hanzhang understood. This situation was very common in this era. She said, “This is Xiping. Where are your relatives? If you still want to seek them, I can return your contracts of servitude to you, and you can leave with them.”

The young man fell silent after hearing this. After a long while, he said quietly, “I need to discuss this with my family.”

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand, letting them go find their families to discuss it, and said to Chengbo, “We’ll leave early tomorrow morning. First find a place to settle them.”

Chengbo acknowledged the order.

Fu Tinghan watched in stunned amazement, following closely behind Zhao Hanzhang. “Soldiers capturing people to sell? Why?”

“For money, of course.”

Fu Tinghan’s expression was somewhat grim. “Can the government and military still have any credibility this way?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied, “This is the Jin Dynasty. If the court and military had credibility, would my grandfather, as the former Minister of the Central Secretariat, have sheltered refugees on a large scale and privately trained retainers?”

Fu Tinghan: …

Zhao Hanzhang continued, “In the Central Plains region, the most active military forces in capturing and selling people all come from under the command of the Eight Princes. Even now, with Prince Donghai holding high status and controlling the entire court, those great generals under his command are still enthusiastic about buying and selling people.”

“Spending very little money to buy people and then reselling them at a profit—that’s considered relatively conscientious behavior. Many soldiers follow orders to directly capture passing refugees or even ordinary people on official roads, then take the captured people elsewhere to sell them. This is historically confirmed behavior. One of the Jin Dynasty’s great enemies, Shi Lei, was repeatedly captured and sold as a slave.”

Fu Tinghan pressed his lips together. His reading of literature and history was insufficient, but he knew of Shi Lei. He knew this was a chaotic era, but hadn’t expected it could be chaotic to this extent.

The court and military, which should have been protecting ordinary people, had become the most direct perpetrators of harm.

“If you release them, what if they encounter soldiers capturing people again when they leave?”

“That’s why I’m giving them a choice.” Zhao Hanzhang said, “Only they themselves understand their own hearts. What if they have people they urgently want to see? Of course, if they’re willing to stay, I’ll do my best to protect them.”

Not only had Zhao Changyu left her large amounts of farmland around Shangcai and Xiping, she had also exchanged so much with Zhao Zhongyu. These past few days she had asked Zhao Song and learned that due to unfavorable weather in recent years, plus occasional passing refugee armies, many tenant farmers and hired workers had fled, leaving much land lying fallow.

She desperately needed people now.

In fact, the entire Zhao family fortress needed people—one could tell from Zhao Hu’s large-scale purchasing of people.