Between the fort’s interlinked inner and outer gates stood two slaves, a man and a woman. The man looked to be around 23 to 24 years old, while the woman looked younger by a couple of years. They both looked normal with no distinguishing features on them.
The two saw Zhao Hai coming out and immediately knelt down to salute to Zhao Hai. They both said, “Master Wanan[1].”
Zhao Hai nodded, waved his hand, and said, “Stand up and speak.” Only then did the two stand up, albeit their bodies were still bent, their expressions cautious as they did so.
Although these slaves knew Zhao Hai was kind, they had previously undergone enslavement education. Thus, when they saw Zhao Hai, they couldn’t even try to be impolite. They stood up after Zhao Hai told them, which was already very good progress for them. If it were normal slaves, even if they were told by Zhao Hai, they wouldn’t dare to stand up.
Looking at the two, Zhao Hai didn’t bother to be polite as he asked, “Are you the ones who wish to get married?”
The two people lowered their heads and bent themselves further down, then the man said, “Yes Master. We both want to get married. We seek the help of Master.”
Zhao Hai nodded and asked, “What are your names?”
The male slave immediately answered, “Master, my name is Chee[2] and she is called Schee[3].”
Zhao Hai nodded and looked at them. “Alright, very good. Since you took the initiative to ask me to help you get married, it’s fine then. I will help you today. Grandpa Green, please prepare a gift to be given to them today.”
Green complied immediately. Meirin smiled and said, “This calls for a celebration. Master, I’ll go tell the slaves to rest for the day.”
The two slaves actually both knelt down together as the man panicked and said, “Master, we little ones don’t deserve such treatment. Our lives are cheap and Master allowing us to get married is already a huge fortune. We wouldn’t dare ask for any more from Master.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. Since you are the slaves bought by Grandpa Green, and the first couple to be married, we should take this opportunity as well and make it as lively as possible. This isn’t just for the two of you.” The couple stood up afterwards.
Green led the couple away, leaving only Meg to stand beside Zhao Hai. Right now, Zhao Hai wasn’t missing anything, and his monthly income could feed a hundred people without a problem.
Zhao Hai didn’t help in the preparations and instead led Meg back to the fort’s living room and sat down. He had just told Green to give them whatever they needed, so if there was anything required for the preparations, Green could take care of them.
After they arrived in the living room, Meg poured a cup of tea for Zhao Hai and placed it on the table. Zhao Hai then told Meg, “Sit down, let’s talk about this wedding.”
Meg sat down, looked at Zhao Hai, and said, “Master, why did you do it in such a big way? Did you want the other slaves to see them?”