Chapter 38: The Crime of Gender 38
Without Qin Shuangshuang inquiring, Qin Qiao’er immediately spilled all the information she knew.
It turns out that although Cui’er’s parents sold her, it wasn’t because they didn’t like their daughter. In fact, they loved Cui’er very much, and the reason they sold her was hoping she would have a better life. When they initially sold her, they sent her off with thirty taels of silver for safety.
After Cui’er left, within a few days her parents began to miss her and thought of going to the county to see her. Even if the household rules of the wealthy family were strict and wouldn’t allow a visit, they could at least ask someone to send a message to know how their daughter was doing.
However, once they entered the city, they stumbled upon a tremendous event! It turned out that the wealthy family hadn’t bought anyone at all! Cui’er’s parents were stunned on the spot, but soon realized they had been deceived. Cui’er was most likely sold to one of those filthy places!
Although society believes it’s permissible for parents to sell their children, doing so without being forced into desperate circumstances leads to people criticizing them behind their backs, unless it’s to a wealthy family who needs servants, which is an exception.
Selling a daughter into service for a prestigious family is considered by the common people as finding a very profitable opportunity, where more can be earned if done well. However, there are only so many affluent families, and they don’t need many servants. Such opportunities are rare and hard to come by.
Apart from wealthy families buying servants, many other places buy people, such as buying concubines, child brides, laborers for factories...
But the only places that dare not openly declare buying pretty girls under the guise of wealthy families hiring servants are brothels!