A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 54: Buying a Whole Bunch of Wives

Sanchazi Town.

Ergouzi hadn't visited for a while. The jujube tree in Li Banxian's courtyard had been uprooted and toppled over.

Not a single jujube remained on the tree.

Even the bark and root bark had been stripped away.

He felt somewhat ashamed for not taking better care of his master's property.

He had originally come to town to buy pork, but the meat stall had long stopped selling any.

Only a bloody human leg hung from the stall.

Seeing this, he realized even his favorite meat buns were off-limits now—who knew what kind of meat they contained?

Grain prices had risen again. In previous years, one sheng of grain cost at most twenty-some wen, but now it had surged to sixty wen.

Even at these prices, grain merchants hoarded their stocks, unwilling to sell, knowing prices would be even higher next year.

The marketplace was more crowded than usual, but the variety of goods had dwindled.

Only tattered clothes and broken pots were for sale—nothing of real value.

Nearly half the marketplace was filled with people selling children and wives.

Unmarried idlers took advantage of the situation, pretending to haggle while groping freely, taking every possible liberty.

Truth be told, these poor women were as thin as kindling, with withered yellow hair and bony frames—touching them would probably hurt one's hand.

When Ergouzi entered the marketplace, a man eagerly approached him.

"Young man, want to buy a wife to warm your bed?"

"Look at my wife—one of the prettiest in the village! She can work, bear children—just one dan of rice and she's yours."

"No wives!" Ergouzi shook his head in refusal.

A few years back, Ergouzi might have considered buying one or two sturdy young maidens as wives.

But now, after experiencing the dazzling city life, his standards had risen. These emaciated women held no appeal for him.

"Just take a look! No obligation to buy!"

But the man had finally spotted what seemed like a wealthy customer and wasn't about to give up.

Though the youth before him had sun-darkened skin and dressed like a farmer, his face was full, he wore cloth shoes, and his clothes were neat and unpatched.

Moreover, he looked like an honest sort.

The man practically dragged Ergouzi over to a woman.

About twenty years old with a straw marker in her hair, she was slightly plumper than the other skeletal women.

The man yanked open the woman's clothes, letting cold wind rush in and making her shrink back, head bowed.

"See? Plenty of flesh with good elasticity—perfect for childbearing!"

"Just one dan of rice! She can warm your bed, farm, bear children, wash clothes, cook—you won't regret it!"

The man praised his wife as if she were heaven-sent, unmatched on earth.

Ergouzi hadn't even married Huang Laocai's second daughter—why would he spend money on a wife now?

He turned to survey the marketplace, where several human traffickers picked through the crowd.

Sometimes checking teeth, sometimes pinching to assess fleshiness.

It reminded him of the human leg at the butcher's stall, and the Blood Marrow Pills made by Scarface and his crew.

Those bought here might become servants if lucky, at least ensuring food and shelter.

The unlucky ones? Who knew their fate.

"Fine. One dan of rice—I'll take her."

Ergouzi nodded and handed over six taels of silver for the man to buy rice himself.

"Thank you! She's yours now."

The man plucked the straw marker from the woman's hair and pushed her toward Ergouzi.

But the woman turned back, removing her padded jacket and thrusting it at the man.

"Alter this jacket—it can make coats for both children."

"Now that I'm sold, don't sell the kids. They're too young to fetch good prices."

After saying this, she stepped behind Ergouzi without another glance at the man.

"Young man, look at my wife too!"

"My wife's also quite good!"

"My eight-year-old can farm—just one dou of grain!"

"See mine..."

Seeing Ergouzi buy a wife without haggling, others swarmed around him, desperately pitching their wives or children.

This honest-looking youth spent freely—selling to him at least promised survival.

With the traffickers, who knew?

Faced with this sea of pleading faces, Ergouzi made an impulsive decision.

He'd buy everyone in the marketplace today.

"No crowding! One at a time..."

"One at a time..."

...

When Ergouzi left Sanchazi Town, over thirty people trailed behind him.

Men and women, mostly children—the oldest in their twenties, youngest just two or three. Twelve were others' wives.

Ragged, sallow, and numb, they followed silently except for occasional coughs.

Having impulsively bought so many, Ergouzi led them to Shekou Mountain's base, then realized he had no plan for housing them.

His single brick house stored grain—no living space. Leaving them outside in winter would kill several by morning.

Remembering abundant dry straw on the mountain, he used Wind Riding Technique to dash up and fetch it.

The thirty-plus stared dumbfounded—what kind of master had they gotten?

Then seeing Ergouzi descend astride his giant goose amplified their shock.

Was this the legendary immortal?

Pointing at the straw pile, Ergouzi said:

"Use this to keep warm tonight. Tomorrow we'll build grass shelters."

The crowd watched silently.

"You—what's your name?"

He pointed to the first wife he'd bought.

"Qiuyue."

"Good. You'll manage these thirty-plus people."

With so many, he needed someone handling daily affairs.

"Everyone obeys Qiuyue."

Silence persisted, only Qiuyue showing surprise.

"Qiuyue, come with me."

He headed toward the brick house.

Head bowed, Qiuyue followed nervously, unsure what her new owner wanted.

Having been sold, she was now his.

Entering the simple parlor—just one wooden table, four stools—Ergouzi opened another door revealing stored red dates and dried persimmons.

"Bag some to distribute."

"Oh!"

Suddenly energized, Qiuyue scooped handfuls into sacks, sneaking bites of persimmons.

After filling two large bags, they distributed food outside.

The purchased people—sickly, staggering, shivering—wolfed down the food, nearly choking several.

That night, they subsisted on dates and persimmons in the straw pile.

Next day, Ergouzi provided a stone mortar, iron pot, and one dan of rice for Qiuyue to organize rice-pounding and porridge-making.

He allocated one mu of land for them to build grass huts.

Over following days, Ergouzi returned to Sanchazi Town daily, buying every human commodity he found.

Having already bought thirty-plus, what were a few more?

With humans so cheap now, the total cost remained low.

Gradually, the count exceeded one hundred.

Ergouzi himself didn't understand this sudden impulse.

Perhaps prolonged exposure to Sima Yi had influenced him.

As for accumulating virtue through good deeds? He'd never considered it—this was simply unbearable to watch.