Daming 1805

After disembarking, more than 1000 of the most special servants were separated according to gender, and sent to two temporary transfer dormitory buildings for concentrated living, waiting for subsequent disposal and arrangements.

In a room of just over ten square meters, there are six bunk beds with bunk beds, and twelve people are stuffed in each room.

Twelve maidservants from several princely and noble families in the capital were assigned to Room [-].

The leading woman is called Xianglan, she is a good-natured woman.

The name Xianglan was also chosen when she arrived at the master's house. She doesn't even remember her original name in her hometown.

That was more than 30 years ago, before I was seven or eight years old, and my memory has long been blurred.

Xianglan is 44 years old this year. She is the oldest of the twelve people in this room, and she has two daughters with her, so she was temporarily appointed as the head of the dormitory for the twelve people.

Xianglan pushed open the unlocked door, looked at the situation inside, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"The house is fairly clean, there are mattresses and thin quilts on the beds, just spread our sheets..."

Xianglan's two daughters, Aoxue and Lingshuang, poke their heads from behind:

"Mother, I don't know how many people have lived in this so-called transfer dormitory."

"The person who slept on this mattress before didn't know what it was like, whether there was any disease..."

Xianglan rolled her eyes at the two daughters, smiled wryly and sighed:
"We are all slaves, and we are not qualified to ask for too much. I don't know who is the best person to live in before. I just hope that I can meet your father and your brother again..."

Xianglan's family is all servants, and after the age of 20, the house was not confiscated by the owner, so she was married to the family's male servant.

Two daughters and two sons were born successively, and their names were also given by the master and the young master of the family.

She should have continued to work as a domestic servant and maidservant for the master's family, but now she came to Mozhou as an immigrant because of the emperor's order.

When the temporary dormitory was allocated, the two daughters followed him into the women's dormitory, and the two sons followed their husbands to the men's dormitory.

Most of the time when they were servants, the male servant and the maidservant lived separately. Although they could not be happy with this arrangement, they had no choice but to accept it silently.

Xianglan walked into the room carrying the package, and looked at the lower bunk next to the door:
"I live at the door, Xue'er, Shuang'er, you live on my upper bunk and opposite side, and you can choose the other seats yourself."

The other women followed suit, each going to choose a bed to tidy up while chatting in a hurry.

"The quilt is quite clean..."

“The duvet cover and sheets looked freshly starched.”

"We were so lucky, just in time to change the bed sheets and quilt covers."

"We can't just wash once for a group of people. It's probably because we are really lucky."

Among the twelve women, the youngest were Xianglan's two daughters. They were obviously relieved to find that the sheets and quilt had been washed.

A group of people are all working as maids, and it is the most efficient way to make the beds, and soon each of them tidied up their own territory.

Everyone wandered around on the boat for more than half a month, and now they all slept first after tidying up their places.

In the evening, I went to the restaurant downstairs to have dinner, and continued to sleep when I came back.

When they got up the next morning, a group of people went to wash in the large washroom in the corridor.

Aoxue looked at the bustling people in the corridor, and saw that there was a queue for the faucet, and her expression was ugly:
"I can't live in this kind of place, now is my last chance..."

Pan Lan glanced at her daughter:
"What last chance?"

Aoxue didn't say a word, she returned to her room with a sullen head after washing, opened her luggage bag, and took out a small box.

Pick up a small mirror, open the prepared rouge gouache, and start applying makeup there.

Pan Lan frowned:
"What are you wearing makeup for?"

Aoxue kept her hands on her hands, continued to put on makeup with a stern face, and replied at the same time:

"This is the last chance. I heard that the King of Dashi is in Meng County..."

Xianglan was stunned, and then with an expression of disbelief, a series of counts began:

"Don't dream, okay, the young masters of our family didn't even think about keeping you, so can His Royal Highness Prince Dashi have a crush on you?
"Your Majesty and the maidservants of the ladies have also been sent to the Great Food Kingdom, so doesn't that mean letting the King choose?

"Besides, what chance do you have to meet the king? Really... don't dream about my daughter...

"According to what the master said, this king supports the abolition of slavery, and we will most likely be able to get rid of slavery in the future.

"Women workers here can also earn a lot of money, and they can earn [-] silver bills or even more for a month.

"Mother will save some dowry for you, and you should also save some money for jewelry and clothes, and marry a decent family and live a good life."

Ling Shuang, Xianglan's youngest daughter, nodded solemnly from behind:

"Sister, don't dream, you are already 20 years old, how could the king have a crush on you..."

The other nine maidservants in the same dormitory, although they were of different ages, all felt that what Miss Xianglan said made sense at this moment.

Most of the servants do not want to be released when they are in the master's house, mainly because they do not have survival skills and cannot obtain normal income to support themselves.

Now the situation has changed, the Ming Dynasty has issued a minimum wage standard, and there is a shortage of workers everywhere in the Ming Dynasty.

The life of workers is no longer as precarious as it was a few years ago, and they even have the qualifications to change jobs and bargain.

They have all been sent to the factory area now, and it is recognized as the factory area with the best welfare benefits.

The future is clear. Being a female worker can earn money to support myself.

You can even save money and live a fairly comfortable and stable life.

Most servants would not refuse this option.

Many servants yearn for this kind of life.

Many people didn't want to be slaves at first, but they couldn't survive and had to sell themselves as slaves.

Now there is a way, and most of them want to change.

However, after all, there are a small number of people who cannot accept this reality.

Listening to what her mother and sister said, Aoxue looked at the expressions of the group of companions around her, and her expressions became even uglier:

"I... just don't want that so-called stable life, you can't understand me at all.

"I'd rather cry in a high courtyard than laugh in a small household!"

After hearing these words, Xianglan immediately felt her eyes darken, raised her slap and slapped it directly:
"You bastard, I made you cry...now you cry for me..."

In this day and age, it is normal for parents to beat their children.

Besides, this Aoxue was really capable of doing it, and the other maidservants didn't stop her, they just said a few words of persuasion not to break it.

The mirror, rouge, and gouache in Aoxue's hand fell all over the floor, and she was slapped on the face, and the powder she just applied was also spent.

Aoxue is also completely desperate, and now she doesn't resist her mother, and just sits on the ground and weeps loudly.

Seeing her daughter's reaction, Xianglan couldn't stop beating her, she sat beside the bed and sighed.

It was time to wake up in the morning, and it was time for people to come and go outside, and the movement in the room here was quickly discovered.

After a while, the steward of the women's dormitory was Hao Zhongyi's wife, Wang Shi, and she immediately led several female officers upstairs.

Looking at the scene after entering the door, Mrs. Wang frowned and asked directly:
"Who will tell me what's going on?"

Both Xianglan and the maidservants knew that Mrs. Wang was the chief steward, and regarded her as the steward mother in the backyard of a rich family.

Now she doesn't dare to hide anything, Xianglan told the truth.

Wang had heard that this group of immigrants were all slaves from wealthy families, so she knew it would be troublesome.

Now that I see it directly, I feel even more anxious.

But Mrs. Wang has been in charge here for more than half a year, and has seen all kinds of people.

Now Wang directly waved his hand and said:
"Shut up for a day first."

Two thick-bodied officers came out immediately, directly set up Aoxue's and walked outside.

The movements are quite skilled, obviously doing this kind of thing often.

Xianglan, her daughter, and the other maidservants dared not make a sound to intercede.

From their point of view, the punishment of confinement is probably similar to that of closing woodsheds and warehouses in the compound.

If it is left unattended for a long time, it may freeze and starve to death.

But if it's only a day, it's not a serious punishment, it just makes this girl feel at ease.

Aoxue didn't dare to resist, she didn't know what would happen if she resisted.

At the end of the corridor on the first floor of the dormitory building, there are three rooms with special locks, which are the places for confinement.

Mrs. Wang took out the key to open the third door, and the two healthy women officers threw Aoxue in, and immediately closed the door again.

Mrs. Wang locked the door, shook her head and sighed, and led several officers back to her office.

An officer walked a few steps and saw no one around, so he whispered to Mrs. Wang:
"Boss, didn't you say before that you wanted to find a girl for Director Hao? I saw that the girl just now is pretty good. She looks more upright and has a good figure..."

Wang immediately shook her head and said:
"His sister is like this now, how dare I take her sister to my house? I can plan this matter myself, you don't have to worry about it, and I don't know if it is against the rules..."

The secretary didn't dare to say anything after hearing this.

Hao Zhongyi's position is getting higher and higher, and more and more people are in charge of him, and he is becoming more and more important in the factory.

Earning more and more money, food, clothing and housing conditions are getting better and better, and people's mental health is getting better and better.

The energy at night is also getting more and more abundant. Wang's menstrual event last month did not come, and she is probably pregnant.

Wang was worried that during her pregnancy, her husband would not be able to hold back and went out to find Sister Yao again.

In the past, Hao Zhongyi had no conditions, but now there are conditions everywhere around him.

So Wang considered finding a concubine for her husband, and kept Hao Zhongyi tied up at home.

According to the rules of the Great Food Kingdom, Hao Zhongyi, as a native of Ming Dynasty, can directly accept a foreign concubine.

There are multiple working adults in the family, whether it is to look after the children at home or go out to work, it is very cost-effective.

Ordinary traditional women don't think about this kind of issue at all, such as fighting for favor and house fighting as modern people think.

It is about the benefits and convenience of life, and more importantly, the cost and practical effect of money.

It's not that I can't live at home now, and it's not that I don't have food and clothing.

My husband is in charge of the textile workshop, and my uncle is in charge of the cafeteria.

Even if Hao Zhongyi is asked to raise two more concubines and have more than a dozen children, the family can afford it.

In this era, a woman of childbearing age can have six or seven children, which is a very normal number.

Zhu Yuanzhang had seven children with Empress Ma, and Zhu Di had seven children with Empress Xu.

George III and Queen Charlotte had thirteen children, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine.

Wang herself is the first wife anyway, and she is still from Daming. She has already given birth to the eldest son, and now she is pregnant again. The position of the big wife is as stable as a rock.

Wang originally thought that among the maidservants from these rich families, there should be educated and sensible people who can work.

So I'm going to make plans from inside, choose the one I like, and then go to ask Empress Chunxiang for instructions.

After contacting a lot in the past two days, Mrs. Wang quickly stopped this thought.

So he began to think, let Hao Jizhi's uncle's house or his father-in-law's house introduce Hao Zhongyi to someone who knows the basics.

At the same time, Aoxue was thrown into the confinement room.

Aoxue subconsciously thought that this must be a deserted place for everyone.

When it came in, it was spread directly on the ground.

As a result, after the eyes adjusted to the light, they found a circle of people squatting around.

This room is about the size of a normal dormitory, but there are no facilities in the room except for four barrels.

In the empty room, under the surrounding corners, there were more than 20 women squatting one after another.

Looking at this scene, Aoxue was obviously a little dazed, squatting halfway behind the door, not knowing how to react.

Among the crowd over there, someone asked:
"How did you get in?"

Aoxue was stunned for a moment, subconsciously thinking that someone was curious about her experience, or had someone to communicate with.

So he immediately responded with excitement:

"My mother and younger sister didn't understand me, so they beat me directly, so they cried and were caught by the steward..."

Aoxue stopped here, thinking that someone should continue to ask.

As a result, there was no movement on the other side.

Aoxue was stunned again:
"How did you get in?"

No one answered Aoxue, and after a while of silence, another voice appeared with a brief reminder:
"Confinement, no food, no water."

Aoxue vaguely understood that every time she ate and didn't drink, talking and wasting energy and saliva would definitely make her more painful.

So most of the women didn't even look up at Aoxue.

Even if there are a few more curious ones, just take a look and continue to squat still.

Even if they are willing to speak, they are very short words.

No one cares about her experience, no one cares what she thinks in her heart.

"No one can understand my pain..."

Aoxue said something to herself, and lay down on the ground in the middle of the room.

As a result, on the other side of the wall, a person mentioned four more words:

"Careful to catch a cold"

Aoxue turned a deaf ear and continued to lay on the ground, staring at the dim ceiling with wide eyes, thinking wildly in her mind.

Aoxue lay on the ground for a long time, but she didn't catch a cold.
In Mombasa, the temperature in the coldest second night is in the early 26s, and most of the day is above [-] degrees, and the temperature inside the building will be higher.

In the north of the mainland of Ming Dynasty, it is very likely that the act of dying will be an act of real death, but here most of them will be fine.

The kind reminders made by other people in accordance with Daming's local habits were also regarded by Aoxue as stupid and meaningless behaviors.

But one day and one night, without eating or drinking, Aoxue completely lost her energy.

When the next day dawned, Aoxue was already curled up like other women, leaning against the corner of the wall.

No one told her why she did that, but Aoxue knew it was right.

Aoxue, who was hungry and thirsty, began to think in her mind whether to accept her mother's suggestion and go to work to earn money and get married.

But when I think about the appearance of those workers I have seen before, numb and shabby, prematurely aging, ignorant and lowly, and haggling over the wages of a few copper coins, it makes people feel sick when they appear in their minds.

Compared with the master and young master in my own family, it is really the difference between the maggots and ants on the ground and the cranes in the sky.

If I had a choice, I would rather crawl under the young master's feet, be beaten, scolded, bullied by him at will, and used as a plaything by him, than to be courted and respected by those disgusting workers and farmers.