Bao Su was scared out of his wits at the very instant the fourth prince was mentioned. He steeled his heart and vowed to never show any weakness again for the rest of his life, and followed behind her with a determined expression on his face.
Du Weng noticed them returning and he quickly approached them, " Young master Wu, our master decided to auction this new poison on the third day of the next week. On that day, many important people are scheduled to participate in the auction. Is this arrangement according to your wishes?"
" I have no problem." Du Weng breathed out in relief after hearing the kid's confirmation. Finally no surprises anymore, otherwise his poor heart couldn't take it.
" But, I need to speak with you about another thing."
" What is it young master Wu?" The old appraiser broke into a cold sweat again.
" I want to buy most of the sick slaves in there. I don't want those who have any history of violence though." Xia Lian was interrupted by the old clown again, " Y-young master.. You want to buy them?"
" Yes, is there any problem?" Du Weng shook his head as he knew that he couldn't knock any sense into this kid. Well, if one wanted to buy them they could as long as they can afford to pay. As a result, there was no need to anger a potential future business partner over a few worthless people.
" Young master, I will sort them out as per your orders. I will remove all those with questionable history. And each one costs between 5 to 10 silvers based on their age and other factors. There are about 200 in here. After removing the criminals, the number may reach approximately 100. Let me ask you again, young master are you sure that you want to buy them all?"
" Yes, all of them." The clarification seemed to be resolute and having received a decisive answer Du Weng nodded in understanding" Then I will proceed with the work."
" Furthermore, I need some carriages and some people to transfer the sick into them. I hope you could help me arrange them." Another request was suddenly placed in front of him, but he decided to stay quiet. Actually, the old man simply did not find the courage in his heart to disobey.
After concluding the deal, Xia Lian no longer stayed in the auction house and immediately left the place with Bao Su following closely behind her. On their way they met Fan Ling and her little bunny at a tea shop. After pacifying her little brother with some cuddling, she instructed them to return to the inn, while Xia Lian and Bao Su walked around the streets for a while.
" Erm.. Master, where are we going exactly?" Bao Su could not help but ask her. It's been an hour and they were still wandering aimlessly.
" Just follow me. You will know when we go there and don't ask such silly questions again." Xia Lian's cold voice made him shut his mouth instantly.
The little girl stopped in her tracks after noticing a cloth traders shop. She immediately made her way towards it without any hesitation. One of the shop assistants observed them disdainfully, obviously because of their poor choice of clothing. But he did not say anything on the outside and asked them politely, " Young sir, what are you looking for."
" Cotton cloth.. I want huge rolls of cotton cloth." The shop assistant was immediately taken back as soon as he listened to the request, because an entire roll of cotton was indeed quite costly. After the initial shock passed, he kindly reminded them, " Young master, each roll costs about five gold coins. Well, how many rolls do you want."
Xia Lian paused for a moment before replying, " I want about 100 rolls."
The shop assistants jaw dropped to the floor as he stuttered, " Young master the entire store only possesses only 40 rolls at the moment."
" Then pack all of them and tell me where to pay the bill." The little girl spoke while taking the money pouch from her robes. Another young boy led her to the payment counter and everyone watched in awe while this tiny and plain kid easily paid about 200 gold coins.
" Young master, we can deliver them to your address." the shop owner was extremely polite to them after receiving such a huge business deal. Xia Lian didn't refuse his gesture of goodwill," Then many thanks to you kind sir. We are searching for a new house. We will come back later to give the address to you."
The shopkeeper nodded in understanding and promised to keep their purchases safe.
" Well, what are we going to buy next, master?" He simply could not comprehend as to why his master went on such a large shopping trip.
" We need to buy some pails, gourds and raw cotton."
Now it slowly dawned upon him! His master was buying all this equipment for the slaves she acquired today. Sigh! Using cotton silk to dress 100 outcasts. Anyone else on this continent would simply declare her as insane!
" By the way, get these herbs as quickly as possible and make sure to buy all the herbs available." Xia Lian handed over a list to him.
" You get these herbs and I will get the other things. I need to something and I will be late. Anyways, you go back and don't wait for me."
Bao Su accepted unwillingly, because he simply couldn't disobey her. In the end, he just sighed, " Then, be careful master."
Xia Lian nodded and both of them parted ways to complete their respective tasks.