Published: March 12, 2025
CHAPTER FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT: WEDDING (Please Subscribe)
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "I want some young slaves. Can you help me contact someone to see if there are any suitable ones? The price is negotiable."
Lin Li nodded and replied, "How many young slaves does the marquess want? I can still help you contact them."
Zhao Hai thought for a moment and said, "Let's do this. Right now, there is a high demand for slaves on Golden Island. The four hundred slaves I need today will be placed in the castle here in Karsen City. Since there aren't any on Golden Island yet, can you see if it's possible to buy some slaves as families? This way, I would have young slaves, experienced older ones, and little slaves, making it easier for me to manage them."
Lin Li couldn’t help but look at Zhao Hai with new admiration. Although buying slaves seems quite straightforward, most people prefer to buy young and strong slaves. Rarely do they consider purchasing older slaves, as those who have done heavy labor for years often have poor health and might not last long after being bought. Thus, no one is willing to buy them.
However, Lin Li, who has been in the slave trade for a long time, knew that older slaves could sometimes be immensely valuable. Though they might not be literate, many of them have spent their entire lives farming, so they know the land very well—the kinds of diseases that plants can suffer from, the best times to sow seeds, and some can even roughly predict the weather. This is undoubtedly an impressive ability.
Unfortunately, many nobles don’t realize this. Those with estates may have never even set foot on their own land and are completely ignorant about farming. Nobles without older slaves often find their land revenues significantly lower than those who do.
This gap, however, often goes unnoticed by the nobles, who only care about whether the slave is strong. As a result, many slaves die from overwork long before their time.
The older slaves who can live out their years are actually treasures. In Lin Li's eyes, older slaves should be more valuable than younger ones. The sad truth is that many nobles fail to see this; when older slaves can no longer work, they often die a miserable death.
Zhao Hai's desire to buy some young slaves was also understood by Lin Li. These young slaves are highly malleable; if trained as craftsmen, their value can multiply several times, often skyrocketing when they grow up. Many slave traders do this—buy young slaves and then specifically find some craftsman slaves to teach them. Once these young slaves mature and finish their training, they can be sold at a craftsman’s price, resulting in substantial profits.
Zhao Hai’s plan to purchase slaves in family units would indeed simplify management. Lin Li had seen too many slaves go mad when their children were sold, often leading to tragedy. Slaves are also human, and Lin Li understood this, which made him more supportive of Zhao Hai's approach.
Seeing Lin Li's expression, Zhao Hai asked, "What's wrong, Lin Li? Is there a problem?"
Lin Li snapped back to reality and quickly shook his head, "No, no problem at all. How many slaves does the marquess want?"
Zhao Hai pondered for a moment and said, "About a hundred thousand. It doesn't matter if it's a bit more, but it cannot be less."
Lin Li was even more pleased and immediately said, "Rest assured, marquess. A hundred thousand slaves can be prepared within a month, and I can deliver them to Golden Island."
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "Once you have them ready, come to my castle and notify me, and then I will instruct you where to send them. Also, deliver the slaves I bought today to my castle and calculate the total cost."
Lin Li responded and quickly went to calculate: "Marquess, the total is two hundred and thirteen thousand gold coins. You only need to pay two hundred and ten thousand; the three thousand coins can be disregarded."
Zhao Hai smiled slightly, revealing two crystal cards. Both cards were anonymous—one was worth two hundred thousand, and the other one was worth ten thousand. As long as he presented these cards at the bank, he could withdraw money. They are generally used by nobles.