Chapter 161
Through the management office, Dios contacted four Turií shipowners (he only had one ship with him). With the manager's guarantee (the manager assured him that the shipowners would do their best to help him transport the goods, because they were all probationary citizens of the Tua Union. If they didn't fulfill the agreement, the union would consider them dishonest and immediately revoke their citizenship), Dios negotiated the price of the ship with the shipowners and signed the contract. Only then did he relax and go to the market.
Although the Turií market was simple, it was strictly managed and orderly. The environment was relatively clean, and at least there was no smell, which was very rare.
There was a dazzling array of goods in the market.
In the crowded market, Dios was surprised to find a large empty space with only a relatively large house. From time to time, market patrols could be seen patrolling the streets around the house. Out of curiosity, Dios walked over and saw the sign outside. It read: Cristoya Bank.
It was nothing new that there were banks in the many Greek city-states, but it was rare to see such a long queue in front of the bank, and everyone looked excited. Apart from currency exchange, banks also provided loans, and the interest rate was usually twenty to thirty percent. Under normal circumstances, merchants would only borrow money from banks if they were in urgent need, or if they had no other choice. Otherwise, they wouldn't even go near a bank. Moreover, when the borrower thought of having to pay back so much interest, their mood inevitably became heavy. It was rare to see the people here so happy.
Thus, Dios went up to ask politely, and found out that the bank's interest rate was only five percent!
Dios thought he had heard wrong. After all, the trade in the Mediterranean was very developed, and one could easily earn a profit of more than ten percent from a single trip. Of course, that was if there were no accidents, such as pirates or storms, so a loan of five percent was equivalent to the bank borrowing money for free! No wonder there was a long queue in front of the bank!
Dios was also very tempted. He wondered if he should also take a large loan and buy a few more ships of wheat.
But when he asked at the counter, he found out that the bank only provided loans to citizens of the Tua Union.
This made him very depressed.
On the way out of the market, he silently calculated in his heart. Due to the low tariff and relatively low price of wheat, when he arrived at Corinth, he could sell the five ships of wheat back to the city-state and earn at least one Talient. Therefore, even though he was a little depressed by the news of the Tua Union's Public Service Act and the benefits that Cristoya's bank offered to the citizens of the new Union, he quickly cheered up. Tired and hungry from most of the day, he decided to follow Nicoblos's suggestion and go to Amendola to stay.
As soon as he left the market, he was stopped and asked, "Are you going to Amendola? Do you want to take a carriage? "
"Carriages?" Dios saw five or six two-horse carriages parked on the grass not far from the market. The roads in most parts of Greece were rugged and uneven, not suitable for driving carriages. Raising horses and maintaining carriages was extremely costly, so it was only a tool of entertainment for a few wealthy merchants and nobles. Just like the racing events in the Olympia, ordinary spectators could only watch. Although Dios had some wealth, he had never taken a carriage in his life, so he asked curiously, "Can I take a carriage to Amendola?"
"Of course! You'll know once you try it. It's fast and comfortable. You'll reach Amendola in an hour, "the older coachman strongly recommended.
"How much?" Dios was a little tempted.
"Just two Opors." The coachman smiled when he saw that there was hope for business.
Two Opors was not expensive, so Dios decided to experience the feeling of riding in a carriage. He sat on a seat that was made of straw and covered with fur. It was very soft.
The coachman, Sorikos, waved the reins and steered the carriage forward slowly.
The coachmen beside him cried out in envy, "Sorikos, you have customers again!"
Sorikos laughed, "Haha, wait patiently. It'll be your turn soon." As he spoke, the carriage had already reached the main road.
Sorikos lightly waved the whip, and the two horses began to jog. The wheels also began to turn faster …
Soon, the carriage began to move …
"How does it feel?!" Sorikos shouted as he controlled the reins.
"Very good! Very good — "As soon as Dios opened his mouth, a strong gust of wind rushed into his throat. An invisible force pushed him tightly against the back of the seat. The scenery on both sides of the carriage flew past him quickly. He liked this feeling of high-speed excitement. It was not that Dios had never ridden a horse before, but it was too bumpy. After a long time, his buttocks and inner thighs would not be able to bear it.
Of course, he knew that this was mainly due to the road under his feet. It was so flat and solid, and it was wide enough for at least six horses to travel side by side. At the same time, he also noticed that there were ditches and trees on both sides of the road. He thought about it carefully and understood the intention of the builders. He could not help but exclaim, "Your road is really good!"
"Of course, this is the best road in all of Greece!" Dios did not refute Sorikos' words. Indeed, he had never seen such a good road in all the city-states he had traveled to.
"I heard that this road was designed by our Archon Devers himself! As expected of the descendants of Hades, there is nothing they can't do! "Sorikos said proudly.
Dios had only heard the name of the Devers when he arrived in Turií. But after only half a day, his ears were filled with stories about this person: how the Devers led the mercenaries to repel the Persia army many times, how the Devers defeated the Lucanian army and captured the Crotone army, how the Devers drafted and proposed the Immigration Act … and so on.
Dios disagreed with the rumor that the Devers were the descendants of Hades. Sparta claimed that they were the descendants of Hercules, and Athens claimed that the city-states had always been under the protection of Athena. Even Corinth himself said that he had a close relationship with Poseidon and even founded the Isthmian Games for him. Many Greek city-states and rulers claimed to have some kind of intimate relationship with the gods …
But these things that the Devers had done surprised Dios. If these things were indeed done by the archon, then it could be said that the Tua League could become what it was today almost because of his strength. No wonder the people of the Tua League were full of reverence when they mentioned him. He was said to be very young. What an amazing man! Could he be Periander or Phedon of the Tua League? (Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece, was the ruler of Corinth in the seventh century AD. He made Corinth the richest city-state in all of Greece. Phedon, on the other hand, was the king of the Argos, the mortal enemy of Sparta in the seventh century BC. He once ruled the Peloponnesus Peninsula, and the Sparta people trembled in fear under his name.)
"Not only does the Devers often care about ordinary people like us, but his wife is also a very good person!" Sorikos continued to speak loudly. "It was she who proposed to let citizens who could drive carriages carry people on this road and provided us with loans. Otherwise, people like me would have been burned down in the fire of the Crotone. How could I afford such an expensive carriage?"
"What's her name?!" Dios asked loudly against the wind. He thought of a possibility.
"How can you ask the name of a consul's wife so casually?!" Sorikos pretended to be angry, but then he laughed. "But our lord doesn't care about these conservative city-state traditions. He even let his wife show her face in public and opened a bank that provides low-interest loans to the citizens. Her name is the name of the bank —"
"Cristoya's bank!" Dios blurted out.
"Yes, anyone who goes to the bank can see it. She's the most beautiful woman in the Tua League!" Sorikos praised sincerely. "I heard she's pregnant recently, which is why she hasn't appeared in the market for a while. Both of them are good people. I hope they can have a healthy boy who will become an excellent consul in the future!"
"You mean to let their son inherit the title? Doesn't that mean the Tua League will become a monarchy? " Sorikos was taken aback by Dios's question, but then he laughed. "I'm just saying. Why are you so serious?"
He raised his hand and cracked a whip in the air. The horses that were about to run into the middle of the road were frightened and obediently returned to their original path.
Sorikos rode for a while, then said seriously, "You know, the generals and council members in the Turií city hall only know how to argue and quarrel every day, not doing anything serious. The road to transport the ore is so bad, and after many days of arguing, the city hall didn't do anything to change it. It's unlike life consul Daves, who built such a good road in just three months. More importantly, once war breaks out, it's not just the generals and council, but also us citizens who only know how to vent our hatred for our own interests and deny all proposals that are unfavorable to us. In the end, nothing is done, and the enemy's army has already reached the city … "
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