Chapter 354
In all of Greece, only the Diónia Federation, with the full support and help of Devers, an archon who had more than 2,000 years of medical knowledge, vigorously trained doctors, built hospitals, medical schools, and in-depth research on treatment and medication. This made the medical industry in Diónia, especially in Turií, flourish, far ahead of other Mediterranean city-states and countries in this era. Therefore, the medicinal herb street in the port market of Turií was unique in the entire Mediterranean world.
However, although this street was very famous in Southern Italy, it was not as crowded as other streets. After all, most of the people who purchased medicinal herbs were doctors and pharmacy staff. Patients basically got their medicine from the pharmacies in the city, and rarely came to the market to buy such unprocessed medicinal herbs. High-quality talents such as doctors only accounted for a small proportion of the citizens of Diónia.
Therefore, when Nix and Tratus, who had just squeezed through the crowd, came to this street, they immediately felt a lot more relaxed. They curiously toured the shops one by one, watching, and consulting.
As they walked, they came to a relatively large pharmacy and found that the owner was a Bruti man. He was bargaining with the customer with a stiff Greek pronunciation, "Lord Olivers, I know you are from the Ministry of Military Affairs, and you buy a lot of 'horse-bite fruit' from me every year, that's true. But this year, you bought it a little too early, and the quantity is so large … You must know that the snow on the Cosenza Plateau has not completely melted, and only the horse-bite grass that grows in the lower terrain has borne fruit. There are not many of them, so of course the price is higher. If you think it's too expensive, why don't you wait until summer? At that time, the price of the 'horse-bite fruit' will drop … "
"Wait until summer? I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until that day, Lord Capus will ask me to get lost! "The customer sneered," I'd better go to another shop to buy it. "
After that, he turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait!" The owner hurriedly stopped him, hesitated, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Seeing that the soldiers of Bruti often participate in training and also need to drink this fruit to quench their thirst, I'm willing to reduce the price by one more Opol! Lord Olivers, I've really suffered a loss this time! "
Olivers's anger immediately turned into a smile. "Agum, it's just one Opol less per kilogram, isn't it? These things are everywhere in the Cosenza Highlands. You don't need to spend a single Opol. They're all free. What's there to feel bad about?"
Agum smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Olivers, picking the Horse Bite Fruit is not as easy as you make it out to be. As soon as spring warms up, the women of our tribe have to tread on the slippery mountain roads to pick the fruit. They have to risk being hurt by the wild beasts that come out to hunt for food, and they have to compete with other tribes. Until now, two women have broken their legs and are lying in the hospital! After the fruits are plucked, they have to be dried in the sun. Unfortunately, it often rains in spring, so we can only use the stove to bake them … The money we work so hard to earn still has to feed thousands of people in the tribe. It's really not easy! "
Olivers didn't care about his complaints and said coldly, "Do you care about your tribe? Or do you care less about the number of times you go to the brothel if you have less money? "
Agum's expression changed. He quickly said, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Olivers patted his chest and said softly, "We're both men. I understand."
Agum looked around and did not say anything.
"Brothers, pick 300 kilograms of Horse Bite Fruit and get ready to take it away!" Olivers shouted. Immediately, a dozen strong soldiers came in and squatted on the ground to pick the fruits.
Agum could not help but say, "No need to pick. They're all real Horse Bite Fruit. The quality is good! The port's market management won't allow us to fake it. I still want to do business here for a long time! "
Olivers looked at him and smiled. "You're right. For the sake of Chief Sarroux, I should believe you. Then you can weigh 300 kilograms of fruits for us. "
Olivers then said to the soldiers, "I'm going to walk around somewhere else. After the fruits are weighed, you guys can carry them back to the training camp."
"Yes, Captain!"
Olivers walked to the door and thought of something. He turned back and said, "Agum, Master Devers talked to me yesterday. He specifically talked about the harvesting of medicinal herbs. He said, 'We can't overdo the harvesting of medicinal herbs. Otherwise, these plants will decrease or even disappear!'"
At the mention of Devers, Agum immediately became respectful. "Master Devers is really knowledgeable. Others can't compare to him! But, Master Olivers, you underestimate us Bruti people! We've lived on the highlands for generations. The streams, trees, and flowers in the mountains are all gifts from the highland goddess, Amara, to us Bruti people. If we take too much from the highlands, we'll face Amara's wrath! "
Olivers laughed and said, "That's good! That's good! "After that, he glanced at Nixtratus and left.
Agum ordered the slaves to weigh the Horseshoe Fruit for the soldiers. Nixtratus, Stasipus, and Lycassus took the opportunity to observe the small but hard red fruit.
"What's the use of this fruit?" Stasipus asked politely.
"Oh, this fruit is called Horseshoe Fruit. It used to be everywhere in our highlands. No one cared about it. Only horses liked to eat it when they were tired. Later, the doctors in Turín studied it. They said that it can quench thirst and relieve fatigue. That's why it's worth a lot of money. For the past two years, the Ministry of Military Affairs of Diónia has bought thousands of kilograms of fruit from me every time. They drink it after the military training. It's very useful! You guys aren't from Diónia, right? Buy some and try it. "Agum patiently tried to sell it to them.
"We're from Crotone!" Nixtratus suddenly interrupted.
Agum replied with an "oh." He didn't show any special emotion. It was as if the hatred between Crotone and Bruti people was already a thing of the past.
"How much for 500 grams?"
"Six opol."
"Give me 500 grams," Stasipus said as he took out his money pouch.
Agum held a handful of red fruits in his hands and poured them into a straw pouch. It already weighed more than 500 grams. "Including this pouch, I'll give you seven opol."
"Alright."
"What's the use of this grass?" Nixtratus asked curiously as he stood beside a pile of withered grass that looked like thorns.
"That's thorny grass. The doctors in Turín discovered that crushing it and soaking it in hot water can relieve itchiness. It's good stuff! "
"This thing can cure itchiness?" Nixtratus carefully touched the thorns on the grass, looking doubtful.
"The doctors in Turín are all your … um, the students of Lord Devers, the descendants of the God of Death. They're all skilled in medicine, just like … just like your Greek god of medicine … Asclepius …"
"Asclepius."
"Yes, that's the Greek god. These amazing Turín doctors' words can't be false. Plus, we've tested it, and it's indeed effective. Now, this grass is often ordered by pharmacies! Nowadays, every tribe in Bruti will tell the doctors in Turín if they have any methods to cure illnesses passed down by their ancestors. I heard that the Lucanians are doing the same … Lord Devers is indeed the descendant of God. He made all the wild flowers and grass in our mountains into treasures! " Agum said with both gratitude and admiration.
Nixtratus and Stasipus looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock. Through these few days of learning, they learned that Diónia's medical school was far ahead of other city-states in terms of medical theory research, experience in diagnosis and treatment, and the development of surgery. They didn't expect that they had done so much in the field of medicine as well!
Just then, Lykasus ran into the shop and said excitedly, "Teacher, there's a shop selling the … surgical tools you mentioned last time!"
"Really?! Take me there! " Nixtratus dropped the thorny grass in his hand and ran out with Lykasus. Then, Stasipus picked up the straw bag and went out as well.
After watching the three of them leave, Agum muttered, "The people of Crotone … Hmph …"
The shop selling surgical tools next to Bruti's Herb Shop was small, but there were all kinds of intricately crafted tools made of iron and wood. They were all carefully arranged.
After Nixtratus and the others entered the shop, they looked at it happily for a while before the shop owner asked, "Are you doctors from Diónia?"
"No, we're from Crotone."
"Then you can only look, not buy!"
"Why?!" Lykasus looked at him indignantly.
"These tools are all designed by the Turín Hospital and sent to the ironware workshop to make them. They made such a request, and the port market management is in charge of supervising. We can't do anything about it! "The shop owner shrugged and said helplessly.
"Can't we pay more?" Stasipus asked tentatively.
"Don't set me up. I don't want to have any stains on my Turín's records." The shop owner rolled his eyes.
"Stathippus, come and see!" Nixtratus picked up a sharp knife the size of a leaf and said loudly, "This is the knife that Professor Herpes uses to cut the skin during surgery. This is —"
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