For a moment, Kamne felt that she had been forgotten by her master.
He stared blankly at everything that happened, including the woman starting to cut a whole piece of cowhide with a dagger.
When it comes to making leather shoes, Kamnier is not unfamiliar with it.
Residents of the Novgorod region have known how to cut leather and sew it into leather shoes or boots since ancient times.
Even though the locals have many skilled craftsmen, making a suitable pair of leather boots not only requires time and effort, but the price of the finished leather boots is also high.
Many ordinary people have improvised methods. For example, after catching a hare, cut off the rabbit's head, and then peel off the entire leather to form a skin bag with only one opening. Wrap the feet with a foot wrap made of linen strips, and then put it on.
Put on such leather and finally tie it with hemp rope, which is what is called shoes.
Of course, even such makeshift shoes are rare.
A large number of residents are accustomed to going barefoot, and in winter, due to a lack of awareness of keeping their feet and hands warm, they even get used to frostbite.
This was the case with Kamni. In winter, his hands were so cold that they oozed pus. He didn't think it was a terrible thing, nor did he understand the harm.
Now, Parla was holding the dagger handed over by Rurik, and with several strokes of the sharp blade, the cowhide was cut.
As she cut the leather into small pieces of similar size, she kept muttering in her heart.
"Rurik, is it really necessary? Maybe your servant can continue to go barefoot, a servant is a servant."
The supervisor Rurik shook his head: "Because he is a servant. If my servant is dirty, it will bring shame to me."
"Oh, it's a pity that this fine cowhide can be made into a comfortable leather jacket."
"It doesn't matter. I can still buy cowhide. But my servant pricked his foot and the wound became suppurative. Then I will suffer a big loss."
Parla shrugged helplessly and continued the work at hand.
The current success of Parla's work explains what "simple leather shoes" are.
It is a piece of leather cut into an approximately acute-angled triangle. The leather is folded in half at the two bottom corners, a hole is drilled with a dagger tip at the upper part of the shoe, and a thick hemp rope is threaded through to tie it permanently.
The triangular waists were also close to each other, and Parla quickly drilled holes and put on hemp rope. This hemp rope was the shoelace.
The first pair of shoes was ready, and Rurik was surprised by Parla's craftsmanship.
If judged only from the perspective of practicality, these shoes are like buffalo horns, which can basically ensure that the user's feet are not injured.
But there was no comparison with his own shoes, or even the head maid Rumia's shoes.
Who was the first to wear it?
"Anna!" Rurik waved to the first named little girl.
Anna rushed over happily and simply sat down on the wooden board. She knew what was going to happen next.
"It seems you understand everything. Okay, do you know how to wear shoes?" Rurik was going to ask about "tying shoelaces", but for a moment he realized that the ancient Slavs may not have related concepts here.
The girl raised her weak little head, with big questions in her big eyes.
Rurik looked down at the little girl sitting there. Although her face was a little dirty, she was really beautiful, or in other words, she looked obviously delicate. And her big dark blue eyes were really charming.
Rurik simply squatted down and almost fell to the ground.
Only at this time did he realize that the little girl in front of him could not only squat like a Slav, but could even sit like a duck. But he, with his Viking body, was probably destined to be unable to squat perfectly.
He simply sat cross-legged and boldly grabbed Anna's dirty left foot.
When he pinched the little girl's little feet, which were almost just bones, Rurik was really afraid that he would crush her and break her bones if he exerted too much force. "You girls must be deficient in calcium and all kinds of trace elements. Damn it, there are almost none in your body."
Meat, I don't want you to stay skinny forever." Keeping the words in his heart, Rurik grabbed the girl's feet and stuffed them into the shoes.
Anna covered her mouth and was at a loss for a moment.
She fully understands the meaning of rank. In her opinion, the master Rurik is probably on the same level as the head of the manor in his hometown? No! It should be greater!
All the girls understood one thing, that is, when the head of the manor and his family saw the leader of the Ross people, they would kneel on the ground and obey him.
The master, Rurik, seems to be the next leader of Rus.
But how could Rurik's current behavior be as tender as an elder brother's?
Rurik gathered the hemp rope hard and tied the knot skillfully. One of Anna's feet was completely wrapped.
Very quickly, Anna already had shoes on her feet.
Rurik stood up, patted the dust on his clothes, and Anna, who was sitting down again, ordered: "Stand up and show it to your sisters."
She obeyed the order, stood up obediently, and jumped up and down in front of her fellow sisters with a bright smile on her face.
Other girls showed envy and a desire to have their own shoes.
Love them? Of course!
Rurik naturally felt that the future of these girls must be absolutely dependent on him, and it was very necessary to provide them with certain material and spiritual benefits.
He put on each girl's shoes himself and taught them how to tie their shoes.
Rumia was still standing aside. She didn't do anything, she just watched everything that happened with her eyes wide open.
Her hands couldn't help but hold the silver jewelry on her chest. What was the depressing feeling in her heart?
Rumia hadn't realized yet that the emotion she was suppressing now was jealousy.
She even hoped that her master Rurik could also pinch her feet.
"Ah! Is it time to end now?" Parla wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Rurik with a tired look on her face.
"You're not done yet?"
"Huh? All girls have shoes. Isn't that enough?"
"Of course." Rurik shook his head, and then pulled Kamnier over, who had been envious for a long time. "If I make the last pair, I will give you a silver coin as a reward."
When you have money, you have motivation.
Compared to making soap, Parla felt that the reward from Rurik for making these simple leather shoes was more touching.
Soon, Kamne finally had his own shoes.
Rurik didn't think his move was great, but this Kamne, he actually cried.
Kamne wiped her tears with her little hands, and kept tapping her feet, feeling the comfort of her shoes.
He stood next to Rurik and said from the bottom of his heart: "Master, thank you... I can do anything you ask me to do..."
"Then be loyal to me." As he said this, Rurik stroked the little boy who was half a head shorter than himself. Touching his head to kill? Kamnier indeed cried harder.
Kamne cried and said a lot of words of thanks, which completely moved the girls.
For a moment, the long room felt like a thanksgiving meeting, and Rurik could only face them with a wry smile.
It seems that I only need to give you some small favors for now? Well, I hope you will always have a grateful heart throughout your life.
Rurik saw that it was getting dark too early, and it was not a problem for the children to continue crying.
The tribe's dinner time is approaching, that is, when the fish market starts in the afternoon, the tribesmen on the shore buy the fishermen's catch. In order to ensure the freshness of the meat, they cook it as soon as possible, or eat the herring raw.
The herring is not big. Cut off the head of the fish, take out the internal organs as much as possible, wash them with sea water and stuff them into your mouth.
Such a simple and rough way of eating is really a test for the stomachs of children and the weak. Rurik believes that the most suitable fish for children to eat is actually cod.
So, next, Rurik just wanted to give the servant the first dinner quickly.
"Servants!" Rurik clapped his hands and shouted sternly to stop the servants from crying. "Are you all hungry? Come with me now, and I will take you to dinner."
Mentioning "eat", a word Rurik said in ancient Slavic, all the children stopped crying instantly. The emotions of boys and girls changed so quickly that it was shocking.
Huh? You are really hungry, right?
For a moment, the children's eyes showed some urgent desire, no doubt, it was the desire to eat!
"Let's go!" Rurik waved his hand, "I'll take you to a place to eat."
At the command, the children completely turned into followers and followed closely behind their master. Tears washed their little faces, and the children's faces returned to white, and now they are full of smiles.
Only Parla stayed in the longhouse and shouldered the heavy responsibility of cleaning up the mess.
Parla also understood that Rurik's new maids were only leaving temporarily. Undoubtedly, the era of sleeping alone in a huge longhouse was over forever.
Think on the bright side! Although there is a language barrier with these children for the time being, maybe by winter, they will all be able to speak broken Norse.
Rurik probably never regarded them as maids who could only serve others. For such a maid, one Rumia was enough.
They will be turned into certain tools to create wealth for their master Rurik.
As for the only little boy, he seems to be named Kamne. That little boy probably doesn't live here.
Rurik did have a unique arrangement for Kamne.
After everyone had finished their dinner, it was time to arrange a place for Kamni to go.
A group of children, led by Rurik, walked on the intricate roads of Roseburg. They were not very eye-catching.
Because today, the entire tribe fell into a carnival because of the return of the big leader. A large number of tribesmen flocked to the beach. From the time they landed near noon to the time when the sun was about to set, the beach had turned into a material distribution site.
Otto led his reliable subordinates to the chief priest's house and launched an attack on the derelict priest. Even though the big leader was not present, the remaining tribesmen were still coordinated by a group of older warriors who participated in the voyage of tribute.
Distribute supplies.
It was this process that became slow due to the large amount of supplies brought back.
However, for those families who did not send anyone to participate in the Sorgon voyage, according to the new regulations of the tribe, the good era of dividends is over.
This year's spring tribute payment, many tribesmen are destined not to get their dividends.
It can be said that this is due to the selfishness of human nature, or it can be said that it is a major manifestation of the positive changes in the Ross tribe society.
It can even be said that the two "great actions" of the Rus tribe in the summer of 829 AD caused the Rus people to basically say goodbye to their tribal culture and enter a slave society.
In the new era, families that lack strong male labor force are experiencing a sharp decline in their status in the tribe.
Of course they could leave Rossburg in a small boat and give up their identity as Ross forever, but doing so would be fraught with risks.
They can all stay, but if there is no one to take care of them, it is obviously inevitable that they will be marginalized in the tribe.
Without Rurik's attention, Fisk and his mother would have been completely marginalized and become dispensable existences in the tribe.
Now Rurik can sense the undercurrents hidden in invisible places. The mentality of the people in the Ross tribe has changed, and the once generous people have gradually become less generous.
In the afternoon, as usual, Rurik did not give any "military training" to his more than 150 subordinates. Those boys were generally trained to have considerable strength at a young age.
Because he eats a lot of meat, even fish, Fisk, who was once relatively thin and bald, has made a qualitative leap in physical fitness in the past four months.
Fisk used to be a ruthless person among his peers. He was like a bull charging, which really worried Rurik at first. This stupid young man really broke down the shield wall alone.
Fisk's stomach isn't big enough to hold two pounds of cooked fish.
He took the leftovers home with him, waiting for his mother who had finished cleaning up the fish cooking scene to come home. Until night, this lump of fish would be mother and son's dinner.
Rurik appeared at Fisk's house in a particularly unexpected manner with a group of new servants.
At this moment, Fisk's mother Broma was struggling to operate a simple loom.
Fisk himself was not idle either. He was operating the spinning machine, that is, processing the flax he bought from the merchants.
Although during these days, Broma earned some revenge from Rurik. She was not complacent about it, because her life so far was still relatively poor. With some considerable income, it was right to satisfy her appetite.
It is more income, which Broma hopes to use to repair her house.
After all, the house has been in disrepair for a long time. It's fine on a sunny day, but rains are likely to become more frequent in autumn. As a result, not only does the house become cold, but the constant dripping of water from the roof is extremely bad.
Besides, if the house is no longer in good repair, it will definitely collapse under the weight of the snow on a snowy day.
The mother and son never thought that Rurik would suddenly place himself without any warning on such a critical day as today.
Rurik must have come with some purpose!
When Rurik arrived, Fisk sat up excitedly and ran directly to the door. Then he was startled by a group of children behind Rurik.
"Rurik, these people..."
"He is my new servant. Where is your mother?" Rurik asked.
"Just at home." After saying that, Fisk led Rurik in.
Rurik is a complete savior to Broma!
"Ah! Great Odin's Blesser Rurik, do you need me to do anything?" Broma said humbly.
"I thought that after I gave you the money, you would repair the house. Now it seems..." Rurik looked around, not to mention that Fisk's home was still simple.
Maybe they are used to this way of life? Or they simply don't want to make changes immediately.
Rurik didn't want to speculate, so he walked into Broma and said bluntly: "Go and gather those women again. You go to the afternoon fish market to buy some fish, and you start cooking the fish immediately."
"Ah?! Or give it to more than a hundred children..." Broma was shocked. If that was the case, those put away pottery urns and other clean tableware were all taken out. Although he was rich,
I earn a lot of money, but I also work hard.
Rurik shook his head: "I have some new servants, but there are not so many now. Woman, stop what you are doing! Do something for me immediately! I am in a good mood now. Today's situation is very special. Let's get things done.
After that, all of you women will be rewarded with a silver coin."