Novels online

Chapter 1081

Later, some smart private homeowners went to the Household Registration Department to discuss and finally reached an agreement. These homeowners could post their rental information on the Household Registration Department, and the Household Registration Department would recommend them. However, the price would be regulated by the Ministry of Commerce, and they would have to pay taxes on time. At the same time, they would be subject to the supervision of the Construction Department. Although the homeowners had to pay a certain price, with the endorsement of the Kingdom's public department, they were naturally favored by those in need. In the end, other homeowners had no choice but to join in. Otherwise, there would be no business.

Thus, the chaotic rental market in the Kingdom gradually became more standardized. Of course, the job of recommending public rental and private rental was a lucrative one, especially in Turín. It was inevitable that there would be corruption and bribery. Many times, they were reported by the Protector of the Devers, which infuriated them. They ordered the Minister of Supervision, Sesta, to personally investigate and arrest a group of Household Registration officials. Only then did they suppress the evil. Until now, this area was still the target of the Protector of the Kingdom.

The reason why the Household Registration Department staff was happy to see that someone wanted to rent a private house was that once the rental was successful, some homeowners would express their gratitude to him. For example, they would treat him to a meal, give him a basket of fruits, and so on. Since it was too insignificant, the Supervisory Department would not bother with it.

The Household Registration Department staff recommended a better private rental house to him, but Maximus turned a deaf ear to it. After all, he was literate, and he already had his own requirements for the rental house. First, the house had to be large enough because he had a family of four. Second, the rent had to be cheap because he did not have enough savings. He planned to spend most of his money on his children's studies in the future. According to his understanding, it would take him at least five to six years to become a citizen of Diónia. During this period, his children would not be eligible to study in Diónia schools. They could only go to private schools. Although the tuition was expensive and the quality was not as good, he could not let his children waste their time.

Maximus finished reading the densely packed rental information on the wall. He roughly locked on to five or six targets. He then took out ten Opor and bought a small piece of papyrus (a piece of papyrus cost less than ten Opor, but it included the service fee of the Household Registration Department). He copied down the address on the paper, thanked the Household Registration Department staff, and left the Household Registration Department with his family to find the homeowner according to the address on the paper.

The first homeowner he found was a widow. Her husband was a soldier of the First Legion, but he died in battle in Latin. She did not remarry and lived alone with three children, relying on the 30 acres of land left by her husband on the Sybari Plain. She let her slaves work the land while she rented out the house. She lived a good life.

However, when she saw that the homeowner was from Rome, she immediately refused to rent out. She still, she resented that because her husband had died under the spear of the Roman.

Maximus had no choice but to leave.

The second homeowner he found was a disabled man. He was a soldier of the Second Legion and had been seriously injured in the war with the Rome. Both of his legs were amputated. He could tell that Maximus was from Rome at first glance. He did not even give Maximus a chance to speak before he chased him out of the house.

Maximus had been to the city of Turín a few times before, but he always entered in a hurry and returned after finishing his work. He did not have the chance to interact with the Turín residents like he did today. This time, he deeply experienced the impact of the war on the Turín. Many of them might not have a good impression of the Rome people. It made Maximus even more vigilant.

He finally found the third homeowner. It was a middle-aged man. Maximus could tell that his left leg was disabled from the awkward way he walked. He had a bad feeling about this.

As expected, the middle-aged man said as soon as he saw Maximus, "You must be from Rome!"

Maximus' heart skipped a beat, but he had to tell the truth. "Yes, I'm from Rome. I've just regained my freedom and am preparing to live in Turín. That's why I want to rent your house."

The homeowner did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at Maximus and continued with a sigh, "Although many people think that the Rome people and the Latin people are the same race and look the same, it's hard to tell them apart. But in fact, the Rome people are very different from the Latin people. They are more confident and imposing.

Five years ago, I was still the captain of the first legion. I participated in that large-scale war and fought with many races. In my memory, the battle with the Rome people was the most difficult one. It was much more difficult than the battle with the Carthage people!

Among them, the defensive battle with Ostia is still unforgettable. I still remember that the Rome army launched an all-out attack on Ostia. We managed to repel one wave, but another wave came … We fought until late at night. The soldiers were so tired that they couldn't stand up. When they saw the corpses of the Rome people lying on the ground, many people thought that you had suffered heavy casualties and would rest and not attack again the next day. Who knew that when the next day came, you would blow the bugle to attack and attack for three days in a row!

My left leg was injured at that time … I saw some familiar comrades die in the battle. At that time, I really thought that I would follow them to Infernal Purgatory. I didn't expect that His Majesty would order us to retreat and burn Ostia … At that time, many people in our legion were very unwilling! Since the establishment of the first legion, it was the first time that we retreated in the face of an enemy attack. Although it was His Majesty's order … we have to admit that if we insisted on defending, the first legion would probably suffer heavy casualties … "

Hearing the homeowner's sigh, Maximus was silent for a long time before he said in a low voice, "At that time, I was the squadron leader in the team that attacked the city. It was the battle that destroyed our confidence … which led to our final defeat …"

"Fortunately, we all belong to the same kingdom now. There will be no more war!" The homeowner comforted him and then said, "You are here to rent a house, right? That's not a problem. How much do you want to rent? "

Maximus originally thought that this family had no chance, but the homeowner's words surprised him. He immediately said, "I hope to rent a room in the building near Asinu — Amala Arena for eight drachmas a month."

The homeowner was about to speak, but the servant standing at the side whispered something in his ear. He was slightly surprised and asked, "You are living with your wife and two children?"

Maximus nodded. "They are waiting outside the door."

The homeowner thought for a while and said, "The house on the top floor is cheaper and larger, but it is made of wood and is located at a high place. It can't block the wind at night and will be colder, especially in winter. Your children are still young, so they might get sick easily … How about this, it's still the same building. There is an empty room on the third floor that hasn't been rented out yet. The area is not small. The original rent is twenty-five drachmas. I can rent it to you for only thirteen drachmas a month. What do you think?"

Maximus was surprised, but he did not accept it immediately. Instead, he asked cautiously, "May I ask why you would give such a great benefit to a stranger?"

The homeowner was not displeased by his hesitation. Instead, he said seriously, "Because you are from Rome, and you are from Rome who has fought against us. Your bravery has won my respect. You came to ask for my help, but you bravely admitted that you used to be my enemy. This kind of honesty makes me feel more at ease. Also … "

The owner of the house looked at him carefully, and then said with certainty, "You should have been serving in the slave camp. Logically speaking, it's impossible for you to gain your freedom before the celebration of Hades, but you did it. You must have performed very well, and that's why you were pardoned! Although I lost some money, I think it is worth it to get to know a person from Rome who is worth befriending! "

The homeowner's words were honest. Maximus was moved. He solemnly bowed and said, "Thank you for your trust. I am willing to rent the room on the third floor. My name is Maximus … I am Brutus Maximus."

"Nicidamas, I am now the chief of the village to the south of the slave camp. Nice to meet you." The homeowner also returned the greeting seriously.

Maximus was not a little dissatisfied because the homeowner only said his name. As far as he knew, many citizens of Diónia were born as refugees or slaves. Now that they had become the first citizens of the Kingdom of Diónia, they did not want to take the name of their lowly father as their surname. Instead, they wanted to use their name as the surname of their descendants. Therefore, they still maintained the name without the surname, which was approved by the King of Devers.

Nicidamas asked his servant to bring Maximus and his family to the rental building.

The building was located not far to the north of the Asinu Amara Arena, just beside the main street. It was bustling with traffic and was very prosperous, which also caused the rent of the housing here to soar.

This rental building was the most common building in the outskirts of Turín. It was first designed by the engineers of the Ministry of Construction for public rental housing. Since it could maximize the use of space and provide more housing, it could also take care of business and safety. Soon, it became popular in the densely populated outskirts of Turín.

The main body of the building was made of stone. It was about 13 meters high and had a total of five floors. The bottom floor was used for shops and offices, and the upper four floors were for housing. The roof could be used for storage. Of course, in order to make more money, private owners often built wooden attics on the roof. The center of the building was an open space, which could ensure that both sides of the floor were exposed to sunlight and air circulation.

Maximus followed the servant into the building. At first glance, he saw a square pool in the open space in the center of the building. Clear water was gushing out from the mouth of a statue of a Greek god (Poseidon). In the middle of the pool was another statue of a Greek god. He was very familiar with this one — Hades, the patron of the Kingdom of Diónia.