ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 74
"Persians, shut up! I didn't treat your wife and children badly when they were in the camp again!" Merses said angrily.

"Mercis, are you really just asking these dozen **** to pick up...pick up guests...?" Kristoya blushed and asked seriously.

Melsis knew that this matter could not be hidden from anyone, so he had no choice but to say: "There are also some women, the soldiers who robbed them died in battle, they lost their support, and they don't want to do dirty and tiring work. I think it’s easy to make money. After all, our food is distributed to the soldiers first, and they also want to survive..."

"Then why didn't you let them go?" Christoya asked.

"If we let them go, where can they go? They have already left their hometown hundreds or thousands of miles away! They can't go back. Rather than being captured by the city-states and tribes along the way and becoming slaves, it is better to stay here Our military camp can at least live a little better..." Merses said pretending to be compassionate.

"These are all sins committed by the soldiers!" Davos sighed, hugged the sad Kristoya with his arms, and said: "Mercis, you don't have to force them... I think so , we will provide them with free food, and when we find a place to stay in Magna Graecia, we will marry them to soldiers... Our soldiers will no longer plunder, because we will no longer be mercenaries!"

"Chief, you are so merciful!" Melcis praised him hastily and left quickly. He did not want to face Christoya's reproachful eyes again.

...............................

As time goes by, the news coming from the west becomes more and more worrying day by day. The Lucanian camp in the western mountain pass is expanding day by day, while the Turiyi people working on the Subali plain on the north bank of the Krati River are becoming increasingly large. Scarcely... until more than ten days later, Lucanian spies appeared on the outskirts of Thurii, causing panic among the people in the city. The generals in the city hall knew that the Lucanian attack was coming, and they had to prepare Prepare.

So, with a mission in mind, Burkos took a boat to the simple pier at the mouth of the Kraty River to disembark (a bad habit of the Greeks, as long as the place to go can be taken by boat, they will never walk).

After landing on the shore, Burkos found that this place was obviously more popular than other places in the Subali Plain. People in groups of three or three were walking on a wide, compacted dirt road, and this road led to a large dirt enclosure.

"What's that?" Burcos asked Moraes.

"It's the market built by the mercenaries I told you about last time."

When Moraes told him, he didn't take it seriously.At this moment, he became interested. Anyway, he had to pass through this market to get to the mercenary camp, so it wouldn't take much time to go in and take a look.

Before we even reached the entrance of the market, the roar of people inside filled our ears.Standing at the door were two pretty women in gorgeous clothes. They were slim and graceful. You could tell from their faces that they were not Greeks, but they spoke euphemistically in Greek: "Dear guest, welcome! Is this your first time here?"

Moras couldn't help but nodded repeatedly.

"If you are here to sell things, there is a wooden room after entering the door, which is our market management room. You can ask the person in charge inside to choose a stall for you, but it will cost a small fee."

"How much does it cost?" Burkos asked anxiously.

"One Obol a day."

The price is very cheap, but these mercenaries actually use Turiyi's land to make money!Burkos was a little angry.

"But the stalls are all full now, so you can only come back tomorrow."

This shitty place is so popular!Burkos was shocked and said tentatively: "If I pay more, can you squeeze a stall for me?"

"Dear guests, we charge this fee not to make money, but to maintain the order of the market. The help we have provided you has far exceeded the value of one Opole. We just hope that the stall owners can If you make good use of your stall, you can earn far more than one Obol every day!"

If a modern person heard these words, they would feel very familiar, but Burcos and Moraes were completely dumbfounded.

The woman continued: "If you are here to buy something, there is a wooden sign hanging on the door of the market management room, which states the small requirements our market has for every customer. I hope you can abide by it. If you encounter fraud or have a dispute when buying and selling, you can go to the market management office for help, and they will enthusiastically help you solve it..."

Burkos and Moras had traveled extensively and had seen a lot, but at this moment they were a little confused by the woman's words. In the Greek city-states they had visited, they had never heard of anyone who was so considerate of merchants and customers. Market, with strong curiosity, they came to the market management room.

This is a simple wooden house with a large window facing the market. There are several people sitting at the window politely answering questions to the customers who come to inquire.

"Hello! Is there any problem you need us to solve?" A dark-skinned, thin Egyptian asked politely, Moraes, who was looking into the room through the window.

Just as Moraes was about to say a few perfunctory words, someone in the room shouted: "Mr. Burx, welcome!" A middle-aged man with brown hair, a long beard, and a golden hook nose opened the door and greeted him warmly.

"Who are you?" Burkos looked at him and felt he looked familiar.

"Commercial officer under Chief Davos, my name is Mariji." Mariji humbly gave himself the official position that Davos promised him.

Burkos didn't pay attention to what he said. He first corrected him: "No! Please don't call me sir! I'm just an ordinary citizen of Thurii." Then, he asked curiously: "Are you Persian?"

"Yes." Mariji not only did not shy away from it, but was rather proud of it.

"You have people of all races here!" Burkos sighed, then pointed to the things placed on the "window" and asked curiously: "What are these weighing machines doing here? use?"

"If a customer feels that he is buying something that is not enough, like olive oil and sea fish... etc., he can come here to weigh it, and once he finds out that it is, the management will find the buyer and check it. Punishment, in severe cases, his stall will be cancelled, and he will no longer be allowed to enter the market."

"Well, not bad, it's a great idea. Has there ever been such a thing?" Burkos said lightly.Although he felt that the mercenaries had no right to punish anyone on Turiyi's land, he thought it was best to discuss this matter with their leader.

"It was only once. After the punishment, nothing like this happened again." Marij looked at him and said carefully.

"It says on the board, 'Spitting and littering are not allowed, and buyers must keep stalls clean.' Why do you emphasize this?! There is no such requirement in all the markets in the city-states I have been to, including the one in Athens. Agora!" This is what Burkos is most interested in.

"This is the suggestion of Chief Davers. He said, 'The market is a place with dense crowds of people, and it is also a place where garbage and sewage are rampant. Too much garbage will not only stink and make people uncomfortable, but also attract a lot of people. Flies and mosquitoes will affect everyone's mood when buying and selling things, and most importantly, will lead to the occurrence of epidemics!'" Mariji said cautiously.

"Is it so serious?!" Burkos was a little surprised.

"The leader is the favorite of Hades, so his words cannot be ignored! Not only do we remind customers, we also have ten slaves who clean the entire market non-stop. I can say that although our market is simple, in terms of cleanliness It’s cleaner than any market in any city! We put in so much sweat and effort, so we only charge such a small fee.” Mariji calmly explained himself here.

Burkos breathed in the relatively fresh air and looked down at the flat ground, thoughtfully.

(End of this chapter)