Chapter 168 Build a new house and make a new quilt
That night, Harozolson personally visited the leader's house. He only came to talk to Rurik.
"Haha? You talk to me about building a house? Okay." Rurik welcomed Haro Zuosen.
Before that, Rurik had told his mother, and even his cousin Arik, who was temporarily staying at home before his wife returned, about his plan to build a brand new chief's house. Niya and Arik didn't quite understand. Could it be that the wooden floor and the
Is the so-called bed really that wonderful? Maybe it is.
Rurik danced and made an introduction. He could not guarantee that his mother was really looking forward to sleeping on the wooden bed.
Since Harold Johnson is here to visit, let's talk about it.
After listening to Rurik's introduction for a long time, Harozolson shook his head: "I'm sorry, I don't understand very well. But since you said that the new house is very comfortable to live in, it must be comfortable."
"At least it's much better than now." Rurik emphasized with some regret, "Uncle, I think our days of sleeping on the ground should end forever. Although those Novgorodians are relatively stupid, they are quite particular about their housing.
My current house is modeled after theirs, and I think it is very suitable for imitation. Uncle, I see you are also building a new house. You know, there are many older but skilled idlers in our tribe."
"A new house? This...maybe I really need to think about it."
The sun has completely set, but in fact time is now running out. Everyone is counting the days, and the "longest day" is getting closer and closer, so the night time is very short.
After returning from the leader's house, Harold Zuosen began to be served by his two latest concubines, but his wife kept showing a bad face.
But Kanuf, a real little kid, didn't care at all and started playing with his two little maids who were almost the same age. After all, they were each other's children, and now these three children were sleeping together in the same shack.
With.
Harold Johnson didn't feel any discomfort at all in this scene, because this man wished that these three children would grow up quickly so that he could have a grandson before his life span ends.
Look at this big family, their current house is too small!
Should this continue?
Although Harozolson thought it was strange that Rurik imitated the Novgorodians in building a house, he did not think that the wooden floor was a clever feature.
Rurik was hiring people to build new houses, and Harold Johnson was also inspired.
After all, since I became rich because of the loot, it was time to renovate my old house or demolish it and build a new one.
After much deliberation, Harold Johnson felt that it would be more reliable to build a new house.
Although the territory of Fort Ross is becoming more and more constrained, the constraint refers to the ordinary tribesmen. Can your status be the same? There are also tribesmen living in this area whose status is obviously higher. Everyone lives near the leader's house.
Noble people of the tribe!
So there are still a lot of relatively flat wastelands in this area, which are completely unsuitable for growing onions. They only grow some weeds during the warm period every year. Is it feasible to pay idle people to develop the wastelands and build larger and more spacious longhouses?
?
sure.
As a result, on the next day, Harold Zosen also took action. He recruited a group of idle people with construction experience, including himself, and more than 20 people actually went into the hills to cut down trees, just to make building materials for new houses.
Rurik was indeed the first to open the record, and Haro Zuosen was the first to imitate. The power of examples is infinite, and more tribesmen began to imitate them. Those who returned from victory with money in their pockets also renovated for the last time.
At home, some wasteland has also begun to be forcibly developed to build new longhouses.
But no one has yet imitated Rurik.
"Perhaps, only if they really feel that sleeping on the bed is more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, the entire tribe will gradually tear down the old houses and live in longhouses with wooden floors." Rurik thought this way, he still had to be busy with many things.
.
For example, after a new longhouse is completed, the rest of the living utensils need to be added, especially important bedding supplies. Those servants will be your right-hand men, so naturally you cannot treat them badly when it comes to sleeping accommodation. You must have mattresses made of animal skins.
And quilts, this is the most basic requirement to prevent the servants from freezing to death in possible hunger and cold.
He has already thought about it, he must make a batch of quilts that he likes. For example, animal skins can be used as mattresses, and fine linen can be used as bed sheets. In this case, it is better to make linen quilt covers with animal skins stuffed inside.
He had already sketched the appearance of the quilt in his mind, and the intimate memories from another beautiful world came to mind again.
Deerskin that has been simply tanned and processed is now no longer so expensive. Those tribesmen who have become wealthy have taken the money, and more people are rationally purchasing daily necessities on a large scale.
The existence of demand not only drives up the price of catch, but also drives up the price of fur goods.
Some merchants who still hoard their fur goods in Roseburg no longer need to take the fur goods south to earn 100% or more profits, let alone worry about the huge risks of long-distance transportation.
Last year, leatherworkers bought deer skins for one silver coin. After processing, merchants often bought two pieces for three silver coins. Merchants could transport high-quality deer skins to the big market of the Melalen tribe and sell them at a high price.
.
Now, facing the real demand, they have set the price at three silver coins each and sold them back to the Russians.
Now, the price is obviously deceptive, and those families who are still poor feel regretful and can do nothing about it.
Young people with money in their pockets don’t mind paying high amounts of silver coins to buy some animal skins to make more clothes. Times have indeed changed. In the past, one’s own leather clothes might have been worn for more than ten years, but now one or two spare pieces are made.
Luxurious dreams can definitely come true.
If you can earn high profits locally, why bother transporting it all the way to the south?
Moreover, Rurik never imagined that he himself would be one of the driving forces behind the price increase.
There are currently as many as 80 beds in the two longhouses with wooden floors. In the foreseeable future, new longhouses will continue to be built. The purpose of the longhouses with a distant Slavic style is to serve as dormitories for servants. Considering their own
I have a lofty dream. In the process of gradually realizing the dream, I must at least ensure that my right-hand men have reliable beds, sufficient clothes and bedding to keep out the cold.
In the area of Roseburg, dangerous extreme cold is often encountered in winter. To sleep on the ground in such cold weather, Rurik doesn’t think that the tribesmen do this deliberately to strengthen their bodies. The possible reason is very simple. They have not had the opportunity to feel the comfort of a real bed.
.
There are a large number of women in the tribe who are over forty years old, and they are usually worried about their future. They lack the physical strength to go fishing, let alone fight. They need to rely on their husbands and sons to make some handicrafts and weaving.
To subsidize the family income.
The only value of their existence seems to be to clean up the house for their husbands and raise the children at home.
The men of the tribe do not think these women have much ability, but they generally know how to weave and tailor, and these skills are what Rurik urgently needs.
Rurik bought a deerskin for three silver coins, even though he knew that he had suffered a loss in this regard, and he also knew that the deerskin in his hand was most likely captured by the tribe last year.
There is also some cowhide mixed in here, and its price is even higher.
The processing of various large-scale livestock is perfect, and the leather goods can be directly made into clothes. Rurik purchased as many as two hundred pieces! Two hundred pieces, firstly, to make up the whole, and secondly, to process more for occasional needs. This
His behavior even made his mother Niya wonder whether her son had a sudden idea of trying to become a fur trader.
However, Niya learned that her son had purchased a large amount of linen, and through the women who specialized in cooking fish and meat, he recruited many unemployed female tribesmen and assigned them the task of tailoring.
Her son's behavior confused her, and what happened next was even more confusing.
Because my son still feels dissatisfied with those well-processed animal skins.
A group of tribal women were hired by their sons and began to use knives to cut the leather very luxuriously. After that, there was obviously more work to do.
All leather is cut into a wide rectangle, and its area can generally completely wrap a lying adult man. Whether it is cowhide or deerskin, they will be wrapped in linen. Women use their own iron needles or bronze
Needles are used to complete complex stitching with hemp thread. Just like a poor needle has to pass through thick leather, it really tests the strength and perseverance of women.
However, when they thought about the benefit of getting one silver coin just by completing one piece of processing, and when they thought about Rurik being such a generous child, even if their foreheads were covered with sweat, they still wanted to earn a sum of money.
Rurik found forty women to do the job, and expected each to earn five silver coins from the job.
But this money is definitely not easy to earn.
Rurik is making "quilts" with existing materials. Those imported linens are made into comfortable quilt covers, and the inside is a whole piece of leather with velvet. It will be heavy, and it will be really warm when covering the body.
, and its appearance does resemble a quilt.
Rurik was a little disappointed with the work of the women. One "leather quilt" actually took two days to process.
He waited for two days, and on the afternoon of June 6 in the Julian calendar, the first batch of quilts finally began to be delivered.
"New bedding? Is there anything more comfortable than my bear skin?" Arik, who had nothing to do for the time being, was enjoying the pleasant afternoon, but was stunned when Rurik reached out and tried to pull him outdoors.
"Brother, don't ask any more questions. Call a few more brothers to help me move my things."
"What other whims do you have? Do you call those things quilts?"
Rurik kept to himself and pulled his cousin's strong arm hard, but Arik was as motionless as an iron weight.
Seeing this scene, Rumia, who had returned from grazing, wanted to laugh, but also a little bit cry. She had begun to learn the etiquette of the priests in the past few days, and began to learn those prayers. Four months ago, she started praying to Rurik.
Using the Roman alphabet and the so-called Roman alphabet, Rumia can actually spell out the prayers carved on the wooden boards.
High Priest Vilia didn't think this girl's learning ability was amazing at all. She felt that Rumia must have this level.
Facts have proved that Rurik did not make a mistake, and so did he. At the end, Vilia once again expressed his emotion at Odin's wisdom.
Rumia would return to the longhouse after dinner and recite those prayers in front of Vilia, eventually achieving the result of reciting them.
For the time being, she must stay close to her master Rurik and listen to his orders.
At least Arik was made to giggle by his brother's seemingly naughty behavior, and he said affectionately: "You can't pull me until you grow up. Rurik, is that thing of yours good? Give it to me.
One, I will help you."
"You...you bully me for being young? Okay. You help me move, and I'll give you a baby."
"Oh, this is right."
Arik got up quickly and easily recruited ten peers who were also idle for the time being.
Rurik walked in front of them, followed closely by Rumia.
A small team formed, and it seemed that the leader was the kid Rurik at the head of the team.
The team turned into a place where ordinary tribesmen live. In a sense, this is the "lower city" of Fort Ross, where tribesmen who lack power and status live together. They are the poorest people in the tribe, and now the situation has changed. Because of the robbery
After the war of plundering ended, some people suddenly became rich, causing many people to regret that they had missed the opportunity to make a fortune.
If I had known that a sneak attack on the Gotlanders would go very smoothly, I would have followed suit!
Arik watched his younger brother approach some simple houses and actually started chatting with women with wrinkled faces.
The woman said a few words and then went into her home with a smile on her face and came out carrying a lot of things like linen bags. Looking at their efforts, Arik guessed that there must be something in the gray and white cloth bags.
Just when Arik was hesitant, Rurik called enthusiastically: "Brother, come here and take the baby, I'll give it to you."
"Baby? In the cloth bag?"
When Arik took the so-called cloth bag, he realized that it was not the so-called bag at all.
Arik subconsciously opened it with his hands. This did not require any explanation at all. He also understood that this object was like a blanket. Feeling the texture, he estimated that the inside of the linen cloth was a whole piece of leather.
He keenly noticed that the blanket was wrapped in a layer of gray-white linen, and there were quite careful stitches on the linen. This thing was indeed not an ordinary leather blanket, it was really made too square, and there was a powerful force that possessed it.
Desire surged into Arik's heart. He wished he could use this thing as his bedding for tonight.
"Arik, lift it up a little higher!" Rurik said loudly: "Don't hesitate, look at the quilt falling to the ground."
"Oh! I'll lift it up right away."
Arik raised his arms and lifted the entire stretched quilt off the ground, and Rurik could see its entirety clearly.
The tall and strong Arik did lift it up, and Rurik could see half of his cousin's uncovered calf.
"Rurik, this thing is quite heavy." Arik muttered from behind the quilt.
"That's right, it's heavy. Deerskin itself is not light. What do you think about using it as bedding?"
"Maybe it's comfortable. Oh, thank you for the gift."
Rurik personally touched it, and he had to be impressed by the tailoring skills of the women of this tribe. In this case, they should be able to complete more complicated tailoring tasks assigned to them in the future. Even the Ross tribe can be further developed as a result.
Create a tailoring industry.
Making clothes has been a labor-intensive industry since ancient times. In the era before sewing machines, organizing elderly women to work together to make clothes was an operation that maximized efficiency.
As for the sewing machine, the old-fashioned man-operated foot-operated sewing machine, Rurik didn't think it was that complicated. Because it was just a mechanism combined with special-shaped gears, which made it possible to thread needles and threads uninterrupted. In addition, it was
With the power of pedaling, the thick cowhide becomes easier for needles to penetrate.
For the time being, making sewing machines is still relatively far away. Perhaps only when tribes have large-scale clothing-making needs will the development of related machines become truly and realistically meaningful.
According to Rurik's request, his brother Arik folded the quilt in half several times until it could be held in his hands.
"Rurik? Where to go next?"
"Go to the next house and get another one." After saying that, Rurik took out a silver coin from the cloth bag hanging on his waist and put it into the woman's hand, which was full of wrinkles and calluses.
Poor laborers have such palms.
Looking at the hands of a pair of poor people so carefully, a feeling of pity emerged in my heart.
Think about your mother. She doesn’t have to run around for a living. The hardest thing she does on a daily basis is to cut some dried meat and cook some food. Can this be considered hard work? No.
So my mother deliberately left a nail on her little finger, not just to show that she was different from ordinary women.
Rurik continued: "I'm very satisfied. You have all the materials. Keep doing it for me. We'll deliver the goods at the same price."
I saw the woman bowing with a grateful face, and a few tears squeezing out of the corners of her crow's-feet eyes.
The woman promised: "Oh, Odin's child, thank you. I will do the rest well, and I will do well wherever I am needed."
Rurik could tell that the woman was talking about "Odin's child". It seemed that a silver coin was really important to her.
But for me, there are already too many silver coins.
Look at this huge Roseburg again! Look at this simple house. It is indeed very different from my own home and the housing nearby. In short, it is more simple.
The gap between the rich and the poor in Roseburg is so big, so why should the money be given to some poor tribesmen?
That doesn't work, teaching people how to fish is the right answer. Through this incident, Rurik fully understood that the poverty of many tribesmen may simply be because they have lost the physical strength of their youth and cannot fish and fight on a large scale, resulting in older people.
Living standards plummeted.
Whether they are men or women, when they get older, if we can provide them with some work opportunities that did not exist before but within their capabilities, they will work hard to get paid, buy food, and clothing to survive as much as possible. Ah, this is quite harmonious.
The productivity of the tribe will also be improved as a result.