Chapter 158 Thirteen Years a Slave

In the eyes of Shangji, the world is a huge store.

There are a wide variety of commodities in the store, garlic, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, grapes, cotton, wood, iron, cattle, sheep...they all have their own prices.

You plant wheat and exchange it for grapes; he makes wine and uses wine to replace mutton; I chop wood and exchange wood for potatoes... Everyone goes around and trades.

What about people?

Shangji has been thinking since he was a child, since good things have prices, is it the same for people?

If people can be turned into commodities that can be placed directly in the store, will it create more profits?

Why don't you give it a try?

In fact, people have a price.

Shangji has observed patiently for many years.

He found out by chatting and asking.

It's not that everyone thinks that people shouldn't have a price, but that once everyone has a fixed price, people will be turned into high-quality goods, ordinary goods, and inferior people according to the price.

Apart from this point, if people become commodities, then who are the customers participating in the transaction?

The only one who can qualify is the god, because the power of the **** is everywhere. The great Yao God created the Yao civilization and managed the world.

Shangji felt that the ubiquitous gods didn't care about such trivial matters at all.

Everyone still takes themselves too seriously.

God Yao can create lightning storms, earthquakes and fires, and destroy other evil gods... He is too busy, and the whole world needs to be overlooked and taken care of by Him.

It's like a giant and a group of ants under his feet.

Sometimes the giant finds it interesting, so he just takes a second look, but most of the time, it's just a glancehe still has a lot of important things to do.

Giving this group of ants a leaf and blocking a stream of water are all easy for this huge giant. But giants don't keep staring at a single ant.

The gods don't care what the ants think.

Ants are dealing with ants after all.

Shangji thinks that as long as the price of the transaction is clearly marked, both the buyer and the seller will agree, so why not?

How to price a person?

He spent a lot of time and made a set of detailed pricing standards.

First of all, it depends on the age of the person. Young people are more expensive, while old people are cheaper.

Then look at the physical condition, the price of the strong is high, and the price of the weak is low.

Finally, determine the individual additional price, that is, labor capacity.

People with skilled skills are worth more than people without skills.

Shangji thinks his set is very good. Let everyone know their price, clear and transparent.

As long as you follow your own way, the commodity of people will be able to circulate better.

However, Mayor Yulian and businessman leader Shang Li completely rejected his proposal.

"Business plan, you have to learn one thing first. Treat people as people."

Shangli asked back: "According to your method, there is no difference between humans and wild animals and livestock. Why do people gather together? Is it just to be bought and sold by others?"

When people are bought and sold like livestock, trust is completely lost.

Without basic trust, do you think merchants will still exist?

"Everyone will still trade according to your method and rules? Instead of directly robbing and hunting?"

"Too focused on trading, you have a problem with your thinking now."

Although he was very upset, Shangke couldn't find a reason to refute.

But he still felt that he was right.

That's how business is done.

If you don't try it, who knows if there is a way to make money?

Besides, this is a business that has never been done before, full of opportunities.

So Shangji united some businessmen, and gradually reached a consensus, and planned to go to the overseas islanders to try it first. The native islanders don't have so many taboos, and many islands already have the habit of trading people.

The overseas pilot was very successful.

The native islanders are very fond of the contrived slave trade. Shangji and others also bought a large number of slaves at sea, but these slaves could only grow wheat, potatoes, soybeans and grapes on the island, and could not enter the western continent.

After the death of Mayor Yulian, Shang Li took over as mayor.

At this time, Shang Li turned his attention to the sea. He left Yancheng, saying that he was going to the northern island to discuss cooperation with a chief.

But Shangji got inside information that Shangli wanted to rectify the overseas slave market. This time he was going to meet with some chiefs, which was a sign that he was going to do it officially.

Business plans are endless, and it is better to act first.

He bribed sailors and fishermen, scuttled Shangli's galley in the depths of the islandless sea, and completely removed this last stumbling block. It was confirmed at the scene that the sunken ship was swallowed by the ocean vortex, so the business plan was relieved.

In the past, Shangli was like a mountain, but today he has become a piece of paper.

Then it's easy.

Businessmen before the Business Alliance persuaded the vast majority of businessmen in Yancheng to promise a part of the benefits to the Yan people... Abolish the mayor, establish a citizen council, and collect taxes...

Everything is for the final goal.

The slave trade was legalized.

People are finally sent into stores as commodities and put on the streets. Everyone is clearly marked with a price and can be chosen arbitrarily.

In this way, men can buy wives, women can buy the husbands they want, old people can buy young laborers, and parents without children can choose their favorite children at will.

Business plan is very satisfactory.

In Yancheng, the slave business quickly boomed.

Slave merchants have become the hottest profession, and slave owners have also become a symbol of wealth. The number of slaves represented a person's status, and a person without slaves was considered poor.

Then slaves began to change from labor to pets, and from pets to consumables... Because slaves are property, not people, there will be no problem even if they are killed by slave owners in the street.

Shangji gradually realized that the slave trade was out of control.

But he could no longer stop this huge chariot. Although he is the head in name, he actually represents the interests of the slave merchants, the salt tribe and others.

Against all those who gain, the end will not be better than commercial profits.

Business has no regrets.

He didn't think he was too stubborn.

Doing business has profit and loss, but this time the price is a bit high, not only I have lost too much, but other people in this city have also lost too much.

I would like to admit defeat and try again.

After a few years of planning, a group of pirates quietly emerged. This group of pirates called themselves the [Northern Temple Army], and they kept attacking the merchant ships of slave merchants at sea, snatching slaves and killing merchants.

The leader is a man named Tonghai. Because his wife was sold as a slave, he pulled this group of people together, claiming to smash the slavery system and liberate all slaves.

Shangji sent people to contact the [Northern Temple Army], and found that this group of people was indeed not another group of businessmen, but really wanted to declare war on the entire slave system.

This makes Shangji very happy.

External forces will be a great boost to oneself, and under high pressure will help regulate the slave market.

Then he found out that he was wrong, the town council was not even willing to strengthen the stone wall.

Many businessmen were even ecstatic.

"Now all kinds of goods can be directly increased in price! Because there are pirates, the delivery is expensive."

"Slave too, will be worth more!"

"There are fewer ships now, and our business is easy!"

Business plan can't help but remember the words of business profit.

Too focused on trading.

Shangji finally understood the meaning of this sentence.

He is tired.

Doing business, for the first time, made Shangji feel tired and bored.

Let it all be destroyed, shuffle and start over.

hurry up.

So when Tonghai led the [Northern Temple Army] to attack the city aggressively, the city responded immediately and broke through the city very smoothly. It was not only the result of their internal response arrangements for many years, but also the vigorous promotion of business plans behind it.

After breaking the city, Shangji fled overseas.

Then he was caught by a group of islanders, and after they robbed all the valuables on board, the people on board were also sold as slaves to a group of islanders.

An old business plan is only worth three sheepskins.

Only then did he realize that he was so worthless.

I have been a slave for thirteen years, I have grown potatoes and grapes, raised pacing birds, and now I am growing cotton.

He was sold back and forth by islander slave owners, and now he is in the hands of a young man.

The young slave owner treated him pretty well. He didn't beat him too much, gave him water to drink, and allowed him to put on clothesthis is already a good treatment for a slave.

During the slave period, Shangji discovered that there was a large bug on the island.

They have an arched carapace, and the red carapace has seven stars on it, which looks very beautiful. This bug emits a strong aroma, and man-eating crabs protect it.

Shangji spends all his time observing this kind of bug, which makes him feel happy and peaceful.

Smelling that fragrance made him feel that he had returned to Yancheng, thousands of miles away, and returned to the normal order of urban civilization.

He used charcoal to record the insects on coconut shells, recording their appearance, their flying posture, their smell, what they eat, what they do during the day and what they do at night...

In the end, "Ladybug" was born on a large bunch of coconut shells.

When a galley came to the island, Shangji gave the string of coconut shells to a scholar and asked him to take it back to Yaocheng or Yancheng.

The other party was very surprised to see the handwriting on the coconut shell.

"You are a very learned man. May I have your name?"

On Shangji's dark face, wrinkles were crowded together, showing a somewhat reserved smile.

The slave owner next to him pulled the rope around Shangji's neck, and said in the unfluent Yao language: "He is called Sanyangpi! Slave, who can write, slave."

The scholar looked at Shangbai: "I will go back to raise money to help you regain your freedom. You should go back to Yaocheng or Yancheng."

"Eight sheepskins."

Slave owner quote: "He ate a lot of my food, and I taught him to pick cotton and grow potatoes."

Watching the galley sail into the sea, Shangji prayed silently.

Master Yao, I only hope that you can bless me and spread the book I wrote... I hope everyone can find that wonderful bug from this book and get the simplest happiness and peace.

Half a year later, the scholar came back by boat again and found the slave owner: "I want to redeem freedom for that Mr. 'Three Sheepskin'."

"Oh, San Yangpi, dead."

"Dead? How?"

"Stomach pain, diarrhea, diarrhea to death."

The scholar said angrily: "He is your slave, why don't you save him!"

"The herbs on the island are very expensive, and your merchants sell them expensively."

The slave owner took it for granted: "It is more expensive than three sheepskins... no, eight sheepskins."

(end of this chapter)