Chapter 253
This era could not be compared to the future. The price of papyrus was still relatively expensive for civilians, and it was usually used for formal writing. Children often used sand to learn to write, so Patroclus prepared a wooden frame for storing sand. The waxed writing board could be stored for a long time, and it was easy to carry around. It was also cheap, but Patroclus's parents were reluctant to spend the money. As for the folding wooden chair, it was a masterpiece of the newly built Christoya School Supplies Store. It was cheap, and it was popular among the people as soon as it was introduced. It was much better than the simple wooden chair Patroclus's parents made themselves.
Therefore, when Patroclus received Agilas's gift, he jumped in excitement.
"Village Chief, this … this …" Palliandorus, who had just fiercely reprimanded his son, looked grateful and a little timid in front of Agilas, who was once a veteran and now had great prestige. He did not know what to say.
"What is this?!" Agilas's eyes widened. Agilas's eyes widened. "Young Patroclus saved a few villages. This is the reward he deserves! I have high hopes for this child. He is brave, smart, and calm. When he can read and count, he will be better than you in the future! "
Hearing Agilas's evaluation of his son, the father was so excited that he repeatedly agreed.
The mother covered her face, and tears flowed down uncontrollably. She remembered the hard days she had spent with her husband all these years. Her husband worked as a porter at the port, and she and her child were hired to watch the stalls of the merchants in the market. Every day, they were busy from morning to night. Not only did they have to endure the discrimination and difficulties of customers, but they also had to endure the extreme heat and cold. There were several times when they fainted from heatstroke, and they had to pay for lost goods. She really did not know how they survived those hard days … Fortunately, the City Alliance of Diónia was established, and the great Consul Devers took power. Poor foreign vagrants like them had the opportunity to become citizens of the city, own land, and live a stable and prosperous life …
Therefore, she hoped that her child would not follow in her husband's footsteps. He wanted to learn well, and in the future, become a civil servant of the city, and live a decent life.
After breakfast, Patroclus put his school supplies into a brand-new linen bag, and his mother led him to the shrine at home. In the past, only the simple statues of the Goddess of Agriculture, Demeter, and the God of War, Ares, were worshiped here. One was to hope for a good harvest in the fields, and the other was to bless the husbands of the legions during the war to be safe and obtain military merits. It wasn't until the children had to go to school that the statue of Apollo, the god of the sun, was added, because this god was also in charge of literature and art.
With his mother leading the way, Patroclus finished praying to Apollo.
The mother gave her son four drachmas, which was for one school year. After her repeated reminders, Patroclus finally set off.
At this time, the sky had just brightened and he could vaguely see the crescent moon on the horizon. Fortunately, it was summer and he was wearing a linen shirt with his calves bare. Otherwise, the dew on the weeds by the roadside would definitely wet his clothes.
The cool and fresh morning breeze mixed with the smell of the earth and some herbs blew on Patroclus's body, making him feel relaxed and happy. Unable to suppress his excitement, he roared twice, and then he heard the sound of "Gulp!" coming from the ditch beside the dirt road. That was the sound of a frightened little fish making trouble. In the past, Patroclus would have taken off his leather sandals and jumped into the ditch to make a scene, but today, his mind had already flown to school.
He carried his bag, a wooden chair and a wooden frame, humming an unknown tune as he strode forward.
On the main road, there was a noticeable increase in the number of pedestrians. There were travelers in carriages, caravans loaded with goods, farmers carrying poles … Of course, there were also many parents who brought their children to school to register. The bustling crowd poured into the city of Turií, the port, and the market.
In the original plan of the Devers, the Diónia School should be built on the slope of the northern bank of the Tiro River to the west of the city of Turií. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there was a large wasteland, which was conducive to the further expansion of the school. In the future, the Diónia Academy would be built near the school, and it would be the largest education base of the Diónia Alliance.
However, after discussing with Cunogorata and the others, the Devers temporarily canceled this plan. After all, most of the students were children, and building the school on the northern bank of the Tiro River was not only a long distance, but also a little desolate. Not only would the children exhaust too much energy, but there was also no guarantee of safety. Therefore, the school was finally located in the delta in the middle of the confluence of the Krati River and the Koseni River. It was not only part of the main city of Turií, but it was also located in the middle of the Sybari Plain. It would be more convenient for the children of the citizens of Diónia to arrive at school on time.
None of the senators objected because they knew that it was for the children of the citizens of Diónia, including their own children. Therefore, the construction efficiency was very high. In less than half a year, the walls, classrooms, school buildings, and a playground were built. It was impossible to make it beautiful in such a short time, but the playground for the children to play and train was large enough to accommodate all the parents and children who came to register today.
Thousands of people crowded on the playground, and to prevent accidents, Ancetanos even called in the patrol team to maintain order.
Patroklos stood in the middle of the procession, looking around. He realized that there were not many children like him who came to register alone, and there were also very few children his age. Therefore, when many curious eyes were cast on him, he felt a little uncomfortable.
At this moment, there was a commotion in the line behind him, and the noise was getting louder and louder. The people around him all looked back, which made Patroklos very curious.
"It's Lord Devers's wife, Cristoya, and his daughter!"
"Lord Devers is very young. How did his daughter get so old?!"
"That's his adopted daughter. It's said that she's the daughter of the former Consul of Amendolara, Marcellis …"
…
Lord Devers's daughter?! Patroclus became even more curious as he listened to the discussions of the people around him. He squatted down and looked up through the gaps in the crowd. What he saw was a tall adult woman with an elegant temperament and a beautiful face. Just like the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite, in his imagination when he was young, she had an indescribable beauty. Beside her was a cute girl. Although she was a little shy in the face of the onlookers, she was also quietly and curiously looking around. When she noticed a pair of young eyes through the gap, she did not avoid it. Instead, she opened her bright eyes and looked at him.
Patroklos quickly avoided her shyly.
"Madam, please come to the front!" Not only out of respect for the Devers, but also out of gratitude for Cristoya. Because her bank helped many families, many people were willing to give up their seats.
Cristoya expressed her gratitude and politely declined. As the wife of the most powerful person in the Diónia Alliance, the intelligent Cristoya always demanded herself as an ordinary citizen in public, not giving the Devers any reason to object. If it wasn't for the importance of today's registration, she would have asked Asuna to accompany her daughter. For this reason, she specially wore a simple dress and accompanied her daughter to school as inconspicuously as possible. In the end, it still caused some chaos.
With great difficulty, order was restored and the registration continued.
It was Patroklos's turn. Under the gaze of the staff, he said his and his parents' names and handed over the certificate issued by Agilas.
According to the enrollment rules of Diónia, only children of official Diónia citizens could enroll. On the one hand, it was to reduce the pressure on the school and control the number of students; on the other hand, it was to let the foreigners and slaves working in Diónia know that only official Diónia citizens could enjoy these rights. This made the status of official Diónia citizens even more precious and motivated them to work harder to achieve this goal.
Patroklos's parents were only preparatory citizens, so he was not eligible to enroll. However, Agilas applied to the Senate for his outstanding performance in the war. In view of the child's contribution in the war, the Senate finally made him an exception and gave him the green light. Therefore, Patroklos was actually the only student in the school whose parents were not official Diónia citizens.
He did not know that he was special. After the staff found his name in the student register and confirmed his identity, he looked at him with interest. He took the tuition he had paid, ticked his name, and encouraged him, "You will study in Classroom 1 from now on. Go and study hard, little fellow! "
Patroklos hurried out of the crowd and came to the edge of the field. There were rows of buildings here, each with a large wooden sign with Greek letters on it.
Patroklos was dumbfounded because he couldn't read a word, so he had to ask someone else.
"Hello, where is Classroom One?"
At this time, a clear voice came from behind, "Classroom One is right beside you, idiot!"
Patroclus hurriedly turned around and saw the daughter of Consul Dvers standing behind him. She was looking at him with her big bright eyes and a teasing smile on her round face.
"Cynthia, it's very rude of you to say that. Apologize to this brother," Cristoya scolded her softly.
Cynthia usually listened to Cristoya, but when faced with a boy who was only a few years older than her, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Her little face suddenly turned red and she quickly turned her head away.
Cristoya could only apologize to Patroklos in person.
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