After accompanying Du Wei for a while, Sandy finally brought them to a platform in the northwestern corner of the place.
"The slave shop here is one of the busiest in this place." Sandy's statute was quite small compared everyone else's, thus, forcing him to tiptoe through the crowded street in order to converse with Du Wei. Though Du Wei's age wasn't very old either, but the Rowling household's lineage really did give him the edge in such a situation when it came to heights.
"It has the largest business among all the shops here. In addition, the boss has the most influence in this place due to his ability to find the most slaves. And above all else, their location is extremely good!"
"What difference does it make?" Du Wei curiously asked.
"There certainly is a difference!" Sandy tirelessly explained: "their stand is right here where it's opposite to the sun. Because of the strong light shining on the slaves during the auctioning process, even the scrawniest of the slaves would look like their spirit is lifted! In this place, there are rules regarding what site a shop can take. Take a look over there. That shop may be big in appearance, but it is located near a hidden corner over at the entrance where the shade is always lurking. Think about it…. By the time buyers get to that place, they are already planning to leave for home by then."
Then at this time, a colorfully dressed clown came waltzing out onto the high stage in front of the crowd. This oddly dressed mate may seem a bit weird on the surface, but the volume in his voice wasn't to be taken lightly. With a single smack of his whip onto the ground, a dozen or so people tied together with a single string on their necks came walking out from the back. Apparently, these are what they called the "mature slaves".
"Dear ladies and gents, look! These slaves are all useful! Take a look at these heads and muscles! If you buy them home for manual labor, all you need to do is give them a little bit of food to keep them going like an animal! Also, every one of them is capable of basic farm work! Though their courage is smaller than a rabbit, but their strength can rival even a cows! Such a slave would be more than a match for three workers!"
With that, this clown like guy ran around to a male slave next to his side. Despite the fact that the slave is a bit skinny on the side, but his bone structure was extremely sturdy with a good height to match! Moving his hand, the slaver started to pull against the guy's lips to showcase his mouth: "look at it! There is nothing wrong with it! Look at the mouth! Look at his eyes! Three silver coins! With only three silver coins, you can take back with you a honest and hardworking slave! They can eat anything, so all you have to do is throw them a little bit of oatmeal or porridge every day and they will work like a horse!"
Du Wei talked it over with Rolynn because they really did need people like that back at the shop. Just as Rolynn was about to raise her hand to bid, Sandly quietly pulled against Du Wei's sleeve to mouth off a word:
"Wait a bit more."
The dozen or more so slaves were very soon purchased by several more merchants in the crowd. While they paid in the front, their followers were quick to go pick up their merchandise in the back.
Du Wei gave Sandy a puzzled look. Seeing this, Sandy quietly hid behind Du Wei and spoke in a hushed tone: "The guys just now won't do! The guy standing in the front isn't bad, but didn't you notice it? The two behind him looked like they couldn't even stand anymore. Also, one of the guy's shoulders was titled. I'm sure of it, the guy has some leg problem. Just wait; there will be even better stuff to follow."
Sure enough, the next batch was must stronger than before.
Sandy was too afraid to start blabber mouthing all the details to Du Wei. The reason is because he still needs to make a living on this street. As such, he can only quietly stand behind Du Wei and whisper a few rods to advise him: "It's good now."
On the fourth batch of slaves, every individual are fully dark skinned indigenous natives of the Southeastern Sea. Though they were all well muscled and strong, but Du Wei was surprised to find three old bones in the group. In fact, these people looked so deathly ill that he was afraid they might move on into the afterlife if they experienced some hard shock at the moment.
When such a group of slaves came out, the following people in the crowds seemed reluctant to put up a bid. Although most of the slaves in the group was good, but how can they take those old bones back with them just to waste food?
Du Wei glanced at Sandy, but the only reaction he got was a sigh. Murmuring his words, Sandy explained: "Oh distinguished young master, you won't be wrong if you listen to me. Just buy this batch. These natives from the southeastern sea are very strong. Disregarding other reasons, just the fact that these slaves can match up to two regular slaves of the empire is more than good enough to compel you to buy! Especially those old timers up there; although they don't look like much, but their role is not something you imagine!"
"What?"
"I've heard that these Southeastern natives are particularly respectful towards their elders. More often than not, the identity of those old bones up there is either a chief or an elder of some tribe! Therefore, all the young bloods would inherently be more respectful towards them and would unwilling to leave them behind….. You see, as long as you keep those elderly gramps alive at home, then those wild natured slaves won't attempt to run away. Even by the odd chance they do make a run for it, how far do you think they will get by dragging such old people with them? Sure, it may take a bit more food to feed the three deadweights, but their value lies not in their labor, but their anchoring power against the others!"
Du Wei's eyes sparked with light. In his mind, he was getting more infatuated by this little kid before him.
"But… Why are their hands shackled?" Du Wei asked: "A string is for the 'mature slaves', and a cage is for the 'raw slaves', then what is the purpose of a shackle?"
"This..." Sandy scratched his head as he spoke: "As a general rule, there are raw and mature slaves. However, there are exceptions. If a raw slave isn't locked in a cage, then that means their personality isn't very fierce and they have no records of trying to escape. In such a situation, they are relatively easy to tame. To tell you the truth, I feel the raw slaves are better than matured ones... You know, anyone can buy a slave in the empire, but once that happens, starvation and malnourishment is unavoidable. After a year or two, even the strongest and sturdiest of men would become weak and old."
Du Wei nods in understanding. Giving Rolynn a wink in confirmation, they finally started to bid.
"30 pieces of silver." Rolynn's crisp female voice really stood out in this place. Originally, there were already people in the crowd secretly looking over at this young beauty, but when she finally called out a bid; it really attracted the attention of everyone present.
When the slaver heard someone call out a bid, he immediately shouted: "Oh! 30 silver coins! This beautiful and noble Lady really knows her stuff! Look, look, 30 silver coins! Dear honorable guests, all of these slaves are good stuff! 30 silver coins is a very fair price, so is there anyone willing to do more?"
"35 silver coins." A somewhat hoarse voice came out from the crowd.
Du Wei started to smile. Looking over at Sandy, he joked: "Oh, looks like someone has the same taste as you."
Sandy smiled, somewhat embarrassed: "Oh young master, you are embarrassing me! My little bit of experience is gained by listening to others. There are a lot of people coming in and out of this place, and many of them are old hands at this. The only ones that don't know this are the dumb sheep's from afar that doesn't understand the market."
Seeing Du Wei nodded to her, Rolynn understood and began raising the price again: "40 silver coins."
"45 silver coins," the hoarse voice from the crowd continues to raise the offer.
This time around, Du Wei finally had the chance to take a clearer look at the person bidding against him as the curious onlookers in the crowd started to move away.
A middle-aged mustached man dressed in Lavender robes, though a little fat, but he was clearly quite healthy looking. And gathering around him were 3-5 young men's in servant clothes that acted like a barricade against the surround people.
"50 silver coins." Rolynn called out the offer in a light voice.
The fat man frowned with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes. After looking over at Rolynn, the guy sounded like he gave out a cold laugh before calling out his next bid in a loud voice: "60 silver coins, that all."
At this time, Sandy finally recognized who the opposition was. Rushing to stop Rolynn, he pulled against the female knight's wrist and whispered: "let it pass, stop calling."