Not Invited, Yet He Arrives

Author: Xi Juan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: First, let me say this upfront—yapo, an ancient term for "recruiting labor." In ancient times, "yapo" meant "mutual," referring to intermediaries between buyers and sellers. Broadly speaking, yapo were intermediaries or traders, but if referred to specifically as "yapo," it only pertains to the trade of human labor. Commonly known as "human brokers." Yapo could be categorized into official yapo and private yapo, differing in that official yapo were exclusively hired by the government to find people, while private yapo were hired by wealthy households to recruit maids and long-term workers, and also to investigate their backgrounds for honesty and integrity. I couldn’t find more detailed information, so if there are any inaccuracies in the book’s description, it’s all my own fabrication—please don’t blame me for not being well-versed in history. In fact, Xi Juan has never studied history in depth.
A poor harvest year made the usually bustling autumn somewhat quiet; the west wind swept across the withered fields, drifted toward the empty threshing ground, and finally scattered over every face etched with sorrow. Insufficient spring rain hindered crop growth, and then a few severe storms drowned all the nearly ripe rice, leaving them to wither until late autumn, even failing to grow vegetables or soybeans.
Ding ding ding—a carriage came into view from afar, its horse bells ringing in rhythm with the carriage’s movement. A few people looked up, and a black carriage drawn by two horses was slowly rolling down the cobblestone road.
"Ah! That’s Aunt Yuan’s carriage!" a middle-aged man scratched his messy hair.
"Which family is struggling so much that they’re selling their daughter?"