After more than a thousand of the most special slave immigrants disembarked, they were directly separated according to gender and sent to two temporary transit dormitories to live together, waiting for subsequent disposal and arrangements.
The room, which was just over ten square meters, had six bunk beds, and twelve people were crammed into each room.
Twelve maids from several noble families in the capital were assigned to room 318.
The leading woman is called Xianglan, and she is a Japanese woman.
The name Xianglan was also given when she arrived at her host's house. She didn't even remember her original name in her hometown.
That was more than thirty years ago, something that happened before I was seven or eight years old, and my memory has long been blurred.
Xianglan is forty-four years old this year and is the eldest among the twelve people in this room. She also has two daughters, so she is temporarily appointed as the dormitory leader of these twelve people.
Xianglan pushed open the unlocked door, took a look at the situation inside, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"The house is quite clean. There are mattresses and thin quilts on the bed. Just put our sheets on it..."
Xianglan's two daughters, Aoxue and Lingshuang, poked their heads in the back:
"Mom, I don't know how many people have lived in this so-called transit dormitory waiting to be allocated."
"I don't know what it was like when someone slept on this mattress before. Is there any illness..."
Xianglan rolled her eyes at her two daughters, smiled bitterly and sighed:
"We are all slaves, and we are not qualified to ask for too much. I don't know who lived in the house before. I just hope that I can see your father and your brothers again..."
Xianglan's family were all slaves, and even after she turned twenty, she was not taken over by the owner of the house, so she was married to the family's male servant.
They gave birth to two daughters and two sons, whose names were given by the master and young master of the family.
She was supposed to continue working as a servant and maid for her master's family, but now she came to Mozhou as an immigrant because of the emperor's order.
When the temporary dormitories were divided, the two daughters followed him into the women's dormitory, and the two sons followed their husband into the men's dormitory.
During most of their time as slaves, male servants and maidservants 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 near the door:
"I'll live at the door. Xue'er and Shuang'er will live on my upper bunk and opposite me. You can choose the other seats yourself."
The other women filed in, each choosing a bed to tidy up while chatting away.
"This bedding is quite clean..."
"The quilt cover and sheets seem to have been recently starched."
"We are so lucky, we just happened to change and wash the sheets and quilt covers."
"You can't just wash it 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 covers had been washed.
A group of people were all serving as maids, and cleaning the bed was the easiest way to do it. They quickly arranged their own areas.
Everyone had been wandering around on the boat for more than half a month, and now they all took a nap after tidying up.
In the evening, I went to the restaurant downstairs to have dinner, and then went to sleep when I came back.
When they got up the next morning, a group of people went to the large washroom in the corridor to wash up.
Aoxue looked at the bustling people in the corridor and saw people queuing up to use the taps, and her expression became ugly:
"I can't live in this kind of place, now is the last chance..."
Xianglan glanced at her daughter:
"What last chance?"
Aoxue didn't say anything. After washing up and returning to the room, she opened her luggage bag and took out a small box.
Pick up a small mirror, open the prepared rouge and gouache, and start applying makeup there.
Xianglan frowned as she looked at it:
"Why are you wearing makeup?"
Aoxue kept her hands on her hands and continued to put on makeup with a straight face, while replying:
"This is the last chance. I heard that the king of Dashi is in Meng County..."
Xianglan was stunned, and then with a particularly unbelievable expression, she started to criticize a series of words:
"Can you please stop dreaming? None of the young masters in our family want to keep you. How can His Highness Prince Dashi like you?
"Your Majesty and your ladies' maids have also been sent to the Great Food Country. Doesn't that mean they are left to be chosen by the King?
"Besides, what chance do you have of meeting the king? Really... don't dream, my daughter...
"According to the master, this king supports the abolition of slavery, and we will most likely be able to get rid of our slave status in the future.
"Female workers here can also make a lot of money. If they work well, they can earn 20 silver coins or more in a month.
"Mom will save some money for your dowry, and you can also save some money for jewelry and clothes. Then you can marry a decent family and live a good life."
Xianglan's youngest daughter Ling Shuang nodded seriously from behind:
"Sister, please stop dreaming. You are already twenty years old. How can the king like you..."
Although the other nine maids in the same dormitory were of different ages, they all felt that what Sister Xianglan said made sense.
The vast majority of slaves do not want to be released when they are in their master's home, mainly because they have no survival skills and cannot earn 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.
Workers' lives are no longer as precarious as they were a few years ago, and they are even qualified to negotiate for job-hopping.
They have all been sent to the factory area now, which is recognized as the factory area with the best welfare benefits.
The future is clear. As a female worker, you can make money to support yourself.
You can even save money and live a fairly comfortable and stable life.
Most slaves would not refuse this option.
There are many slaves who yearn for this kind of life.
Many people did not want to be slaves in the first place, but they just couldn't survive at that time and had to sell themselves into slavery.
Now there are ways, and most of them want to change.
However, there are still a small number of people who cannot accept this reality.
Aoxue listened to what her mother and sister said, and looked at the expressions of her companions around her, her expression became even more ugly:
"I... just don't want that so-called stable life. You can't understand me at all.
"I would rather cry in a high-door courtyard than laugh in a small door!"
After hearing these words, Xianglan felt her eyes darken immediately. She raised her palm and slapped it directly:
"You bastard, I made you cry... now you cry for me..."
In this day and age, it is natural for parents to spank their children.
Besides, this Aoxue is really capable, and the other maids didn't stop her, they just tried to persuade her not to break her.
The mirror, rouge, and gouache in Aoxue's hand fell to the floor, and she was slapped on the face, and the powder she just applied was also spent.
Aoxue was also completely desperate, and now she did not resist her mother, but just collapsed on the ground and cried loudly.
Seeing her daughter's reaction, Xianglan couldn't help but continue beating her. She sat on the bed next to her and sighed.
It's time to get up in the morning, and people are coming and going outside. The movement in the room here was quickly discovered.
After a while, the steward of the female dormitory building was Hao Zhongyi's wife, Wang. She immediately led several female officers upstairs.
After entering the door and looking at the scene, Wang frowned and asked directly:
"Who will tell me what's going on?"
Xianglan and the maids all knew that Mrs. Wang was the big steward, and treated her like the stewardess in the backyard of a wealthy family.
She didn't dare to hide it now, so Xianglan told the matter honestly.
Wang had heard before that this group of immigrants were all slaves from wealthy families, so she knew they were in trouble.
Now that I have seen it directly, I feel even more distressed.
But Wang has been in charge here for more than half a year, and has seen all kinds of people.
Now Wang waved her hand directly and said:
"I will be detained for one day first."
Two stout clerks came out immediately, directly lifted up Aoxue's special girl and walked out.
His movements are quite skillful, and he obviously does this kind of thing often.
Xianglan, her daughter and other maids did not dare to say anything to plead for mercy.
In their opinion, the punishment of confinement is probably similar to the punishment of confinement in the firewood shed and warehouse in the compound in the past.
If you leave it alone for a long time, you may die of cold and starvation.
But if you were locked up for just one day, it wouldn't be a serious punishment, and it would just make this girl feel better.
Aoxue did not dare to resist, not knowing 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 door locks, which are the places of confinement.
Mrs. Wang took out the key and opened the third door. The two muscular office workers threw Aoxue in and immediately closed the door again.
Wang locked the door, shook her head and sighed, then led several officers back to her office.
A clerk walked a few steps and saw that no one was around, so he whispered to Mrs. Wang:
"Boss, didn't you say before that you wanted to find a little girl for Director Hao? I thought the girl just now was 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 lead her sister into my family? I can just plan this matter myself, you don't have to worry about it, I don't know if it's against the rules..."
The director didn't dare to say anything after hearing this.
Hao Zhongyi's position is getting higher and higher, he is supervising more and more people, 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.
She also became more and more energetic at night. Wang's menstrual period didn't come last month, so she was probably pregnant.
Mrs. Wang was worried that during her pregnancy, her husband would be unable to hold back and go out to look for Sister Yao again.
In the past, Hao Zhongyi had no conditions, but now there are conditions everywhere around him.
So Mrs. Wang considered finding a concubine for her husband and keeping Hao Zhongyi tied up at home.
According to the rules of the Dashi Kingdom, Hao Zhongyi, as a native of the Ming Dynasty, can directly take a foreign concubine.
It is very cost-effective to have multiple working adults at home, whether they are looking after children at home or going out to work.
What ordinary traditional women think about when it comes to this kind of issue is not at all what modern people think about fighting for favor and fighting in the house.
It's about the benefits and convenience in life, and more importantly, the cost of money and the actual effect.
It’s not that we can’t live in our house now, nor that we don’t have food and clothing.
My husband is in charge of the textile workshop, and my brother-in-law is also in charge of the canteen.
Even if Hao Zhongyi is asked to raise two more concubines and give birth to more than a dozen children, the family can still afford them.
In this era, it is a normal number for a woman of childbearing age to have six or seven children.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma had seven children, and Zhu Di and Empress Xu had seven children.
George III and Queen Charlotte had thirteen children, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children.
Mrs. Wang herself was the first wife anyway, and she was from the Ming Dynasty. She had already given birth to her eldest son, and now she was pregnant again. Her position as a lady was rock solid.
Mrs. Wang originally thought that among these maids from wealthy families, there should be some who were well-educated and capable of working.
So I'm going to plan it out, choose the one I like, and then go ask Empress Chunxiang for instructions.
After having many contacts in the past two days, Wang quickly gave up this idea.
He began to make plans to ask Hao Jizhi's uncle's family or his father-in-law's family to introduce someone to Hao Zhongyi who knew everything.
At the same time, Aoxue was thrown into the solitary room.
Aoxue subconsciously thought that this must be a deserted place for everyone.
As soon as I came in, I laid it out on the ground.
As a result, after my eyes adjusted to the light, I found a circle of people squatting around me.
This room is about the same size as a normal dormitory, but there are no facilities except for four buckets.
In the empty room, more than twenty women were squatting under the surrounding walls.
Aoxue looked at this scene, obviously a little dazed, squatting 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 with whom she could communicate.
So he immediately answered quite excitedly:
"My mother and sister didn't understand me, so they beat me directly, so I started crying, and the steward found out..."
Aoxue stopped here, feeling that someone would continue to ask questions.
As a result, there was no movement on the other side.
Aoxue was stunned again:
"How did you get in?"
No one answered Aoxue. After a moment of silence, another voice appeared, briefly reminding:
"Confinement, no food, no water."
Aoxue vaguely understood that it would definitely be more painful if she talked and wasted energy and saliva before eating or drinking.
Therefore, most women did not even raise their heads to look at Aoxue.
Even if there were a few more curious ones, they would just take one look and continue squatting without moving.
Even those who were willing to speak could only say a few words.
No one cares what she has experienced, no one cares what she thinks.
"No one can understand my pain..."
Aoxue muttered to herself and lay directly 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:
"Be careful of catching cold"
Aoxue turned a deaf ear and continued to lie on the ground, staring at the dim ceiling with wide eyes, thinking wildly in her mind.
Aoxue lay on the ground for most of the day, but she didn't catch a cold.
In Mombasa, the coldest temperature in the second half of the night is over 20 degrees, and it is above 26 degrees most of the time during the day. The temperature inside the building will be higher.
In the north of the Ming Dynasty, people who seek death are likely to die, but here most of them will be fine.
The kind reminders made by others in accordance with the local customs of the Ming Dynasty were also regarded by Aoxue as stupid and meaningless actions.
But after one day and one night of not eating or drinking, Aoxue completely lost her spirit.
When it dawned the next day, Aoxue was already curled up and leaning against the corner like the other women.
No one told her why she did it, but Aoxue knew it was the right thing to do.
Aoxue, who was hungry and thirsty, began to think about whether she should accept her mother's suggestion and work to earn money to marry.
But when I think about the appearance of those workers I have seen before, they are numb and shabby, prematurely senile, ignorant and lowly, and they care about a few copper coins in wages. 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 maggots and ants on the ground and cranes in the sky.
If I had a choice, I would rather crawl under the young master's feet, be beaten, scolded, bullied, and used as a plaything by him at will, than be fawned over and respected by those disgusting workers and farmers.
