Chapter 1240
"The Diónia Sports Meet is going to be held soon. It's said that it's going to be a huge event. Not only are the various regions in the country invited, but all the allies of the kingdom are also invited. Therefore, not only are all the restaurants and hotels in Turín buying pottery in large quantities, but the officials and citizens are also preparing to receive a large number of guests during the Sports Meet." The shopkeeper said excitedly, "I was going to send someone to Athens by boat to inform you to make more pottery as soon as possible and ship it to Turín for sale …"
"Don't worry, I've already received the news from Lord Sostatus. I've already made arrangements. More pottery will be shipped from Athens soon." Hesclaus put on a confident look and encouraged the shopkeeper, "If sales soar in the next two months, I'll double your salary."
Although Hesclaus was the boss and the shopkeeper was only his employee, he did not speak in a condescending tone. In fact, he was even trying to curry favor with the shopkeeper. After all, the shopkeeper was a native of Turín, while Peleus had only joined the Holy Kingdom of Diónia a few years ago. Hesclaus had spent a lot of money to hire him, but he had played a very important role in establishing his pottery shop in the Turín market.
The shopkeeper immediately expressed his gratitude and reminded him, "Lord Sostatus has already sent people over several times to ask if the goods have arrived. Do you think we should send someone to inform them immediately?"
Hesclaus slapped his forehead. "I was so happy just now that I almost forgot about this!"
It was precisely because of Sostatus' support that Hesclaus was able to achieve what he was today. He still wanted to continue relying on Sostatus' help to rise to the top of the Diónia business circle in the future. Therefore, he did not dare to slack off. He quickly said, "Yes! Yes! Send someone immediately! "
After saying that, he ignored his fatigue and personally took the batch of fine pottery that was to be handed to Sostatus out of the wooden box and placed it in the backyard of the pottery shop for the other party to send someone to inspect it.
Unexpectedly, after noon, Sostatus still hadn't sent anyone, and Hesklaus didn't dare to leave. As a result, his plan to take his son to the nearby Christoya restaurant for a sumptuous meal was ruined. He could only get the shop assistant to buy a few pieces of bread for him to eat. For this, Lilias cried and made a fuss while hugging the duck, and was even reprimanded by him.
In the afternoon, Sostatus's men came with good news: he was invited to Sostatus's banquet in the evening.
Hesklaus was so happy that he danced with joy, and his previous resentment immediately disappeared without a trace.
Of course, before that, both parties still had to complete the formal procedures for this transaction. The seller would list the price of the goods, the buyer would pay, and then the seller would take out the payment slip he had received from the management office of the pottery market. After all, it was made of paper, and currently, only the Christoya Chamber of Commerce in the Holy Kingdom of Diónia could make it. The seller would fill in the type of goods, quantity, and price of the goods for sale. Both parties would sign the form in duplicate, and the buyer would take one of the copies to the management office of the pottery market to receive a certain amount of tax refund. The buyer would then leave the payment slip with the management office as proof of tax collection at the end of the month.
The Ministry of Commerce of Diónia adopted this method so that the people of Diónia would take the initiative to ask for payment slips from the merchants when they purchased goods and hand them over to the market management office in exchange for extra money. In fact, the tax refund they received had already been added to the price of the goods and returned to the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance at the end of the month.
In addition, the Ministry of Commerce also stipulated that the people could report the merchants who refused to give the payment slip, and the management office would heavily punish them, and part of the money from the fine would be rewarded to the people who reported it. In addition, if the buyer and the seller did not go through the formal purchase procedures, but instead engaged in a shady business transaction, the people could report it. Once it was proven, the people who reported it would also be rewarded.
Due to these strict measures of the Ministry of Commerce, most people who did business in Diónia would follow the rules. After all, if they broke the law for a small profit, they would face confiscation of their property, or even being permanently disqualified from doing business in Diónia, or even being expelled from the Kingdom. That would be too much of a loss.
Therefore, even though Sostatus had a share in Hesclaus's pottery factory in Athens, he still followed the formal purchase and sale procedures to avoid being reported by people who did not know what was going on.
However, compared to the traditional Greek tax collection method led by Athens, the Holy Kingdom of Diónia's tax collection method was obviously more beneficial to merchants and could promote the development of business. Therefore, when the trade between Diónia and Greece was fully launched, many Greek merchants were more willing to settle down in Diónia and do business. Of course, there were also Greek city-states that tried to use this better method to collect taxes, but due to the limited power of the country, they eventually gave up.
Although Hesclaus had opened his shop in Turií for more than two years with the support of Sostatus, it was the first time he was invited to his house. To be cautious, he decided to prepare in advance and arrive early to show his respect.
After dressing up meticulously, he put on brand new clothes and bought gifts. Of course, he left the duck in the shop with Lirias and was ready to set off.
As the pottery market was a little far from Sostatus, and there was a lot of people on the way, and it was early June, the weather was hot. By the time he arrived at his house, he would be drenched in sweat and covered in dirt. Therefore, Hesclaus took the shopkeeper's suggestion and hired a sedan chair.
Sostatus's mansion was in the eastern outer city, very close to the inner city of Turií. Back then, he took the initiative to hand over the mansion left by his father, Cunogorata, to the Kingdom so that the Kingdom could settle the Hakkar brothers who came to Turií. Therefore, the Devers were very grateful and specifically instructed the Turií City Hall to "not let Cunogorata's son suffer losses". Based on the difference in land prices between the inner and outer city at that time, Sostatus finally exchanged for a large piece of land in the outer city.
He built the entire piece of land into houses and divided it into two mansions, one for himself and the other for his brother. Both mansions were twice the size of the senator's mansion.
"Welcome! Welcome! "When Sostatus heard the servant's report, he personally came to the door to welcome them.
"Lord Sostatus, this is my first time attending a banquet in your mansion. I was afraid that I might be late because I don't know the way, so I came a little early. Please forgive me!" Hesclaus said respectfully.
In fact, Sostatus was only the president of the Turií Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Turií City Council. He did not hold any official position. Strictly speaking, the title "Lord" was not appropriate for him. However, in recent years, the people of Diónia had gradually used this title on some of the more respectable celebrities in society, causing the term to become more common.
"It's fine. There are a few guests who came earlier than you." Sostatus waved his hand. Then, when he saw Lirias behind Hesclaus, he immediately bent down and asked with a smile, "Little friend, what's your name?"
Lirias shyly hid behind Hesklaus.
Hesclaus quickly explained, "Lord, this is my son, Lirias. This time, he insisted on coming to Turií with me. I did not dare to leave him alone — "
"It's fine. I already said that he could bring his family," Sostatus said disapprovingly. He then lowered his head and teased Lirias, "Hey, little fellow, if you call me uncle, I'll give you something good."
When Lirias heard this, he mustered up the courage to call out, "… Hello, uncle!"
"Hmm, not bad!" Sostatus nodded in satisfaction. He quickly took out something from his pocket. He had heard from the servant that Hesclaus had brought a child, so he had made preparations beforehand. "Look, what's this?"
Lirias' eyes widened as he looked at the item in Sostatus' hand. It was a gold-plated statue the size of a palm. He had handsome features and a determined expression. He held a rugby ball in one hand and swung his arm with the other, as if he was charging forward. The entire statue was exquisitely carved and looked lifelike. It gave off a sense of nervousness as if watching a game.
Not only did Lirias fall in love with it at first sight, but even Hesclaus was attracted to it.
"It's a statue of a rugby star," Lirias blurted out.
After Thessaly was incorporated into the Holy Kingdom of Diónia, the sport of rugby was brought to Thessaly by the soldiers and immigrants of Diónia. It quickly became popular, and with the support of the governor of the Thessaly region, Hilos, rugby competitions were held throughout the Thessaly region.
"This is not an ordinary statue of a football star!" Sostatus twirled the statue in his hand and boasted like a child. "This is the most famous rugby star in the entire kingdom. He set the record of scoring a touchdown in five consecutive national rugby finals. He's the third son of the great King of Devers — Prince Antebris. He's also the most popular football star among the children! Furthermore, this statue was personally carved by the best sculptor in the kingdom, Arex. He's also the son-in-law of the King of Devers. Due to the complicated manufacturing process, the production of this statue is very low. It's very difficult to buy it on the market. "
After saying that, Sostatus stuffed the statue into Lirias's small hands. "Now it's yours."
"Thank you, Uncle!" Lirias's' thanks' came from the bottom of his heart. He couldn't wait to start fiddling with it.
"This … This is too expensive." Hesclaus instinctively wanted to decline.
"It's just a small toy." Sostatus didn't seem to care at that moment. He turned around and said to his servant, "Call Sosiklis over."
Then, he led the father and son into the courtyard as he said, "The quality of the pottery you brought over this time is very high. It'll definitely be liked by the nobles in the inner city! Thanks to you, my pottery shops in the inner city are now very famous. Many merchants are asking about the source of my pottery … "
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