Chapter 1245
Kaunus looked at the Masilian merchant and said seriously, "Secondly, all the schools in the kingdom now have the same teaching content. There are fixed teaching materials for the three stages of elementary, middle, and high school. You don't have to worry about learning less than the children in the big cities.
Most importantly, when your child enters school, he can apply to the kingdom to become a citizen of Diónia. Even if he doesn't pay taxes to the kingdom, as long as he graduates with excellent grades and has not committed any illegal acts, all the time he studied in school will be included in the years of 'becoming a citizen of Diónia'.
In this way, he only needs to live in the kingdom after graduation and pay taxes for a few years before he can successfully become an official citizen of Diónia. Since he has been studying and living in Diónia since he was young, he has completely adapted to the laws and customs of the kingdom. He can smoothly integrate into the Kingdom of Diónia. "
After hearing that, the Masilian merchant was immediately overjoyed. He felt that this method was tailor-made for him.
"I've never heard of this decree before. Did it just come out this year?" someone asked tactfully as it was inappropriate to question Kaunus.
"You guessed it right. It was indeed proposed and revised at the kingdom's general assembly at the beginning of the year. It was only officially announced last month." Kaunus looked at the crowd and reminded them with a smile, "So, if any of you have children who are willing to take this path, now is the best time!"
Some of them had an active discussion about the matter. Kaunus introduced some of the allied merchants who had worked with Sostatus in the early days to Hesclaus. Under his guidance, everyone had a pleasant conversation.
Half an hour later, Sostatus arrived at the banquet.
He first apologized to everyone, then expressed his sincere gratitude to the merchants present for their help during this period of time. Next, he mentioned the upcoming sports meeting, hoping that they would actively participate in it and not miss the business opportunity. He would also try his best to help them.
The banquet in the front yard reached its climax. The sound of glasses clinking and laughter continued until late into the night …
Originally, Sostatus wanted to let the slightly drunk Hesclaus stay at his house. However, considering that he had to rush back to Athens the next morning, he politely declined.
Since Hesclaus' pottery shop was far away and there were patrols patrolling late at night, Sostatus was worried. Hence, he specially asked Hesclaus and his son to leave in his sedan.
Lirias, who had originally been unwilling to attend the banquet, was now extremely unwilling to leave with his father. Thus, he kept grumbling in the sedan chair.
Hesklaus leaned on the couch and looked at his son who was throwing a tantrum. He thought of the merchants from the Diónia alliance he met at the banquet. They had been working with Sostatus for far longer than he had. They were rich and more familiar with the market of the Kingdom of Diónia. However, they envied him because he came from Thessaly and was lucky enough to become a citizen of Diónia.
Thinking of all the hard work they had done for their child, Hesclaus deeply felt that it was time for him to start planning for Lilias' future. He said softly, "Son, I have to rush back to Athens tomorrow for something urgent. I'll only be back here in about 20 days to watch the Games. During this time, I'd like you to temporarily stay at Uncle Sostatus' house. What do you think?"
Lirias was instantly overjoyed. "Great! Great! Dad, you know what? Brother Chris said he would take me to the Turií Zoo! He said that there are terrifying beasts and strange animals in there … "
Hesklaus listened to his son with a smile, but in his mind, he was thinking of the suggestion Kaunus gave him at the banquet. Galagusso was a small mountain town not far from the Turií region. However, due to its small population (it was once home to the most conservative and traditional tribes of Lucania. However, due to its location in the most prosperous region of the Kingdom centered around the Gulf of Turií, many Galagussos were no longer willing to live in poverty and had migrated to other places for a better life), it was easy for the Ministry of Education to allow their children to study there. When their children graduated in the future, whether it was in business or politics, they would have an advantage over their peers in Thessaly.
Hesklaus made up his mind. After the Games, he would ask Kaunus to help him with this matter!
… …
The next morning, Lilias was sent to Sostatus' house.
As it turned out, Sostatus was not joking last night. He really brought Lilias to the zoo. Of course, there were also a few other merchants' children and the servants of Sostatus' house.
Considering the constant influx of tourists into Turií during this period of time, the population of Turií and its surrounding areas was getting denser. In order to reach their destination faster, Sostatus chose to take the waterway.
They went to the pier along the river and hired a passenger boat.
The passenger boat raised its sails and moved its wooden oars. It crossed the three large stone bridges that spanned the Krati River and entered the Coceni River, a tributary of the Krati River. Finally, it disembarked at the south pier of the river delta.
In fact, the traffic on the inland river was also very busy. It took them more than an hour to set foot on the main road that led to the mountains south of the delta.
The road leading to the mountains had been modified and upgraded many times. During the period of the city-state of Turií, the road was built because of the discovery of copper and stone mines in the mountains. However, at that time, it was a dirt road that was often crushed by heavy carts. It was even more difficult to move when it rained. After the establishment of Diónia, in order to improve the efficiency of ore transportation, it was turned into a stone road. However, it was only after the establishment of the zoo that it became the best road in the kingdom. More and more tourists went to the zoo, and pedestrians and ore carts mixed on the road. It was crowded and dangerous, and accidents happened from time to time. The city hall of Turií had to expand the road into a main road again. This way, the road became wider, and pedestrians used the sidewalk while the carts used the main road. They did not interfere with each other, and the traffic became smoother.
The establishment of the Turií zoo was nothing new in the Mediterranean. The royal family of Persia had built a royal garden in Babylon a long time ago. Not only were there all kinds of rare animals, but there were also all kinds of precious plants. King Xerxes (the one who suffered a crushing defeat in the naval battle of Salamis) was an outstanding horticulturist. In Memphis, Egypt, the pharaoh built a garden in the backyard of his palace. It was beautiful, and all kinds of rare animals were raised in it for the pharaoh and his concubines to admire. However, it was indeed unprecedented for the Kingdom of Diónia to open the entire zoo to the general public.
The Greeks loved to travel, and so did the wealthy citizens of Diónia. However, no matter how daring they were, they would never risk their lives to explore the mysterious animals hidden in the mountains, forests, and rivers. However, the Turií zoo could completely satisfy their curiosity. They could even see the monsters that once appeared in myths and legends, such as the python that was shot to death by Apollo, the lion that fought with Hercules, and so on.
The attraction of the zoo to children was even more obvious. Since its establishment, the zoo had been widely spread among the people of the kingdom, and even the citizens of the allied states were attracted to it. Every day, an endless stream of tourists came to visit the zoo, making it one of the most famous tourist attractions in Turií.
Although there were many visitors to the zoo on a regular basis, it was extremely rare to see the sidewalks full of people, and it was difficult to even walk. This was obviously due to the upcoming sports event, which had led to a sharp increase in the number of visitors.
Sosiklis groaned inwardly. He really did not expect the situation to be so bad.
When they reached the foot of the mountain where the zoo was located, there was already a long queue at the entrance. Countless tourists were anxiously waiting under the scorching sun to pay to enter the zoo.
Some people did not want to queue up, nor did they want to leave. They cursed in the crowd. "Did the owner of this zoo get struck in the head by lightning? They're purposely making fun of us tourists who came all the way here! My neighbors even bragged to me about how great this place is. Bullsh * t! " "Hey!
Hey! " Someone next to him patted the shoulder of the person who had spoken. "You're not a citizen of Diónia, are you? Don't you know that the director of this zoo is the daughter of the King of Devers, Princess Aivia? If you continue cursing and the people of Turií hear you, they'll beat you up so badly that even your parents won't be able to recognize you! "
The person was shocked and quickly shut up. When he saw a few soldiers patrolling in front of him, he felt even more guilty and quietly slipped away.
Sosiklis was not in the mood to watch this farce. He asked Lirias and the others to wait at the side while he walked along the long queue. He actually saw a familiar person at the front of the line.
"Brother Pekestas! Brother Pekestas! " He waved his hands happily and shouted.
The young man named Pekestas heard the shout and quickly turned around. He then said in surprise, "Cleis, why are you here?!"
"My father asked me to bring a few of his business partners' children to the zoo. What about you?"
"About the same as you. A few Thessaly officials brought their families to Turií to watch the sports. My father arranged for them to stay at my house and asked me to be in charge of receiving them. I brought them to the zoo today, but I didn't expect there to be so many people!"
"If I had known this would happen, I would have asked you to help me take care of these children."
"You can't slack off, kid. Be careful, or I'll go back and tell Uncle." Pekestas first joked, then said in a low voice, "The situation today isn't too good! Maybe Princess Aivia saw that there were too many visitors and was afraid that they would scare the animals, so she specially put up a notice at the door. 'Only 1,000 people are allowed to enter at one time. Wait until some of them leave the park before letting the rest in.' A group of people has already gone in just now. I reckon we'll only be able to enter in the afternoon. "
"We have to wait so long?! How can those children stand it!? " Sosiklis turned around and looked at Lirias and the others, who were standing at the side and looking around. He rolled his eyes and whispered, "Brother, we can't just wait here. I'll think of a way."
When Pekestas heard that, he knew what he wanted to do. He immediately pulled him back and whispered, "Don't go! I know Aivia. She won't agree. "
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