Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 497: Artisan Slaves (Seeking Subscriptions)
Zhao Hai looked at Lin Li and smiled slightly, “Your eyes are indeed excellent; you should keep them for yourself.” After saying that, he walked into the store, and Lin Li hurriedly followed him inside.
Once inside, Zhao Hai was taken aback. This place didn’t look like a shop at all; instead, it resembled a homey living room, with furnishings arranged like that of an ordinary household, quite nice indeed.
Lin Li quickly invited Zhao Hai to sit down. Zhao Hai didn’t stand on ceremony and directly took a seat on the sofa. Lin Li immediately had someone bring in Kaya. Only then did he respectfully stand beside Zhao Hai and say, “Marquess, how may I assist you?”
Zhao Hai looked at Lin Li and smiled slightly, “What can I do here? Of course, I’m looking to purchase some slaves, both male and female. I’ve just bought a castle, so I need some slaves to fill it.”
Lin Li nodded eagerly, “Understood. How many slaves does the Marquess require? How many males and how many females?”
Zhao Hai waved his hand, “Let’s not discuss those details just yet. Can I first see the goods? I want to assess the quality. If the quality is good, I’ll buy a large batch. If not, I won’t take any.”
Lin Li smiled, “Marquess, please don’t worry. I assure you, in this valley, no one will sell subpar goods. Everyone who comes here to buy slaves in Karsen City has a certain status; we can't ruin our business.”
Zhao Hai shook his head, “Stop with the useless chatter; let’s move on.” Lin Li complied and led Zhao Hai to the back of the store.
Behind the shop was a large cave, which contained many smaller caves of various sizes. Inside these caves were people, all dressed in the simplest garments that could barely cover important parts of their bodies, leaving most of their skin exposed.
Each cave held between ten to a hundred individuals, segregated by gender. Here, the semblance of a slave market became apparent, as these people hardly looked human; they resembled wild beasts waiting to be sold.
Zhao Hai observed these slaves and had to admit that they were quite good, all young individuals. Moreover, judging by the skin visible outside their clothes, they appeared to be very healthy.
At first glance, Zhao Hai recognized that these slaves had undergone strict training. Their eyes were lifeless, their expressions blank, as if they were nothing more than walking corpses. If it weren’t for their breathing, Zhao Hai would have thought they were undead beings.
Zhao Hai calmly gazed at the slaves; as a noble, he couldn’t show any pity towards them, or he would be looked down upon by other nobles.
This was how it was on the continent; no noble would show compassion towards slaves, so Zhao Hai maintained a calm demeanor.
After inspecting the slaves, Zhao Hai nodded and said to Lin Li, “Not bad. All the goods here are good quality. Very well, I’ll take two hundred male slaves and two hundred female slaves. With these people, my castle should be sufficient.”
Lin Li quickly nodded, “That’s not a problem at all. The Marquess can take them at any time. If you wish, we can also deliver them to your specified address as quickly as possible.”
Zhao Hai nodded and turned to Lin Li, “Manager Lin, do you have any special slaves, like artisan slaves or war slaves? I want any slaves with special abilities, no matter how many you have.”
Lin Li’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he quickly said, “Marquess, please, let’s discuss this in the living room; this isn’t the place for such conversations.” Zhao Hai nodded and followed Lin Li back to the earlier living room, where they had already replaced the earlier Kaya with a new one.
To be honest, Lin Li had felt a bit disappointed earlier. Two hundred male slaves and two hundred female slaves were just small business for them; altogether, it was only about three to four hundred gold coins, and they wouldn’t make much profit. Most nobles typically bought slaves in the thousands or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, which counted as big business. Compared to that, Zhao Hai’s small order of a few hundred was trivial.