Chapter 330 What's in a Ninth Century Farmers Market?
Jevro continued to lead the team, and Rurik also noticed that the mercenaries under his command were relatively relaxed. Their heads were slightly tilted and they began to look to the right, their eyes becoming more keen, and their
Both right hands were inserted into the burqa, clearly holding the hilts of their respective steel swords!
This time it was unusual, and Arik also subconsciously approached his brother, and he covered the hilt of his sword under his burqa.
"Brother, it seems your people are aware of the danger."
"Danger?" Rurik looked around. The people coming and going were no different from the Melalen people he had just seen.
Jevro hurriedly answered the question: "Sir, we have entered the interior of Melalenburg. Bandits are often present here. Don't worry, my brothers and I will protect your safety."
To say that this place is dirty and messy is really bad. Even though all Viking tribes have very high requirements for hygiene, the so-called "high" here is relative to other ethnic groups.
For example, of course each household builds its own toilet, but it’s normal that a large number of dry toilets are close to their adobe houses, making the whole street smelly. And the so-called road is a dirt road, Meira
Lemberg is close to a lake, and the moist land (there is no real irrigation system) is very important for wheat. However, the fertile black mud is really sticky to the boots, not to mention that the long rainfall just ended some time ago.
Jevro's reminder made Rurik be more vigilant. It is said that there will be patrols sent by the leader of Melalen to crack down on bandits, but the settlement is really too big. And the patrols are more concerned about the stability of the market area. As for ordinary people, they are more concerned about the stability of the market area.
The lack of attention in residential areas is legitimate.
However, in order to enter the commercial area, the merchants who landed always had to pass through a civilian area. Rurik had just made it clear that the leader of Melalen would not guarantee the personal and cargo safety of foreign merchants everywhere, and almost always required the merchants themselves.
Hire people to defend yourself.
Thinking of this, Rurik paid attention to the middle-aged men on both sides of the road who seemed to be doing nothing, as well as some half-grown men with dull eyes. The looks they cast seemed to become ambiguous.
They seemed to be potential attackers, and they were the kind who could disappear into the intricate alleys of residential areas and escape in the shortest possible time after robbing things.
In this way, a group of people, led by Yevluo, walked cautiously for a while.
"Sir, that Cologne should be arriving soon." Jevro said calmly.
Rurik breathed a sigh of relief: "Damn it, I thought we were going to have a fight with those men. Maybe we should land at another location."
Jevro shrugged helplessly: "That's impossible. The business district is close to the leader's mansion, and ordinary tribesmen live near the lake shore. No matter where we land, we have to pass through dangerous residential areas."
"Well, I didn't say anything." Rurik shrugged, thinking that the so-called alliance leader Olegin was really a thief in this regard. But when he thought about it carefully, since that guy has been controlling the business of the market,
He also collected huge tributes from it. For the convenience of management, not only must he create an area where only business is allowed, the area must also be within his reach.
Rurik felt quite relieved after leaving the area that seemed to be in danger. After a moment, some disharmonious scenes suddenly appeared in front of him.
There are still a large number of adobe houses here, which still seem to be some residential houses. There is a lively and low roar not far away. There is no doubt that there is the so-called business district, which is also the "Mälaren Market" in a narrow sense.
But there were some children sitting by the walls of some adobe houses. They were in ragged clothes. They were fundamentally different from the laughing Mälaren children. They were very dull. What was worse, they were all in ragged clothes.
Carlotta was obviously aware of the identity of these children: "Rurik, I'm afraid they are all beggars."
"Are they beggars?" Rurik immediately asked Yevlo.
Jevlo was also surprised, because this was the area where he discovered and rescued Carlotta last year. "They...should be beggars."
Upon hearing this, Rurik froze on the spot: "Ah, I have to save these children. Gould didn't do the job well. He didn't rescue all the beggars."
Having said that, Rurik did not want to rashly strike up a conversation with the children sitting in the corner. Their golden hair was covered with dirt, and their dejected looks could not tell whether they were male or female.
Jevro also felt strange, because his old master Gould had obviously recruited no less than fifty new beggars, and coupled with the large-scale recruitment of beggars last year, it stands to reason that unless the Melalen people abandon him
How could some poor new beggars suddenly appear?
War? Isn’t it? What Jevro knew was that, except for Arik and his brothers who secretly attacked the Gotland ships on the sea, there was no news about the other alliance tribes using troops externally, and there was no news about certain tribes being attacked.
The tragedy of war killings resulted in the displacement of tribesmen.
"Sir, of course you can save him. We will do it soon. You don't need to deal with it yourself. These children will be taken back tomorrow at the latest."
"Oh, I hope they can survive until tomorrow."
"Then it depends on their fate, sir." Yevluo laid out a theory, "You gave them a chance to live and also gave them a test. If they are still alive tomorrow, I will take my brothers to pick them up.
If they go back, it means they have been forgiven by God."
This reason is really a bit absurd, but everyone in this era believes this, so Rurik doesn't say anything.
He looked at the children in the corner, and suddenly he saw a woman wearing coarse cloth walking out of the house. She was obviously the mistress of the adobe house, holding a wooden stick and swearing on her lips to drive away the children sitting in the corner of her house.
Those children, they rolled away in fear...
"You see." Jevro shrugged, "They are all scared. Maybe when we try to take them in, they will think we are going to abuse them and run away!"
"But, as a servant, you can at least eat." Rurik sighed.
"How could they not know? They are too young. I am afraid that only you, my noble master, are the only one who has the financial resources to take in these poor children. Oh, it is really strange. There is obviously no war, and Lord Gould has taken them in.
There are so many children, why are there new foreign children flowing to Mälaren?”
"Maybe there is something hidden." Rurik didn't think too much for the time being, "Let's go to that Colongo. Maybe the people drinking there can reveal some information. Or the businessmen setting up stalls can also tell something, oh,
I'd also like to hear any other new news."
Jevro nodded and asked them to continue following him.
The group tried their best to keep a low profile. At the same time, all the mercenaries had their right hands inserted into their robes, holding their sword hilts tightly and ready to fight.
Because most of the mercenaries are from the Melalen tribe, they know very well what lies ahead on foot.
Just ahead of the winding road, some changes have taken place in the residential structure there.
The houses with adobe walls and haystack roofs are gone, replaced by a large number of wooden houses. Compared to the area we passed before, the front is obviously more lively.
There have also been some changes in the pedestrians coming and going. Most of them are no longer empty-handed, or they are leading some cattle and sheep, or they are carrying baskets filled with charcoal blocks, or they are simply carrying bundles of firewood.
The place ahead is none other than the Mälaren Market in a narrow sense. It is also the busiest, most chaotic place in the entire settlement, and the place where crime is most likely to breed.
"Ahead is where merchants from all walks of life do business. Sir, please follow me closely and don't get separated." Yevluo deliberately stopped and gave a cautious instruction.
Rurik was stunned for a moment: "Ah! There won't be anyone robbing children in this place, right?"
"That's not the case, but please be careful."
Rurik swallowed hard, looked up at the chaotic scene in front of him, and couldn't help but sweat.
Where there is demand, there will be corresponding supply. Doing business is simply a human instinct. Since the leader of Melalen intentionally brought various merchants together as much as possible to form a controlled market, then a typical market
It’s no surprise that typical problems and chaos arise.
Originally, the Melalen tribe did not have the concept of planning streets. The so-called roads in the settlements were just some agreed upon roads, and the same was true for the roads in the market.
The Mälaren Market in the narrow sense is built around a somewhat winding and narrow dirt road.
There are a large number of wooden houses on both sides of the road, and in front of the houses there are many people who occupy the road and set up stalls. There will be no punishment for occupying the road. Fortunately, these traders are not bold enough to close the road.
There are some fixed merchants in the market, and most of the wooden buildings are the shops of these merchants. The people who run the shops are either local professional merchants in Mälaren, or people from other tribes who can live here for a long time and do business.
There are a huge number of such merchants, and they are trying to do some transactions almost all year round. Even in the coldest gatherings, they are willing to sell some winter-caught fish. It is they who form the center of the traditional business in Mälaren.
In addition to them, there are also a large number of traveling merchants carrying their own baskets or unloading backpacks full of goods. They sit directly on the ground at the roadside, selling their goods with baskets as the center. These
Most of them are ordinary Mälaren people who sell some of the agricultural and sideline products they get after farming. They sell them at the market to earn some copper coins, and then go to other people's stalls to buy some daily necessities to support their families.
How long has the market been around? No one can tell.
It's just that the Melalen tribe is the most powerful in the entire region, and their market has naturally been established since ancient times. In the long-term evolution, it has spontaneously formed a relatively stable trading scene and thus formed a fixed market.
Each tribe has its own market. What makes the Melalen people unique is that they have a real comprehensive market that Rurik is convinced.
Nowadays, even though the Ross tribe has become very powerful, the tribe still has not built a market. The Ross people have agreed to quickly form a dew-like market near the beach every morning and evening. It rises and dissipates very quickly.
Just as fast.
Gradually, Rurik's inner vigilance was diluted by the dazzling things he saw.
Some were selling charcoal, some were selling fish, some were peddling fresh fish, some were peddling live sheep, and many people piled bundles of flax on the ground, shouting about a price they claimed was very favorable.
Occasionally, a group of sword-wielding warriors wearing leather armor would appear among the pedestrians. They walked in a relatively orderly column. Obviously, these people were the so-called private soldiers who maintained market order and only obeyed the command of the leader Olegin.
Seeing Rurik looking around, Jevlo asked: "Master, have you seen anything you like? We will buy it when we see it."
"Oh, I just felt attracted to those selling linen in the whole market."
"Them? Then buy all their flax and take it back to weave it into very good cloth. And by saving the merchants shipping costs, we can save a lot of money."
"It doesn't matter." Rurik shrugged, "It seems that there are many people selling flax in this market, so we don't need to be too anxious."
Jevro nodded and revealed: "The lakeside area of this lake is not only suitable for growing wheat, but also suitable for growing flax. The flax has been harvested before the wheat matures. Sir, if you are willing, we can purchase a large amount of it this year.
The flax stalks we just cut need to be processed by ourselves."
A mercenary captain actually knew a lot of information about business. Rurik was pleasantly surprised and had to think carefully about Yevro's suggestion.
The fact is as simple as this. The geographical conditions of Lake Malaren are not suitable for the growth of oats. It is at a high latitude and the light level is not high throughout the year, so it is destined to be difficult to produce high wheat. However, because of the infiltration of the Great Lake, the light level is limited.
, the frost-free period is enough time for flax to complete a life cycle, so many areas around the lake were transformed into flax fields by the Malaren people.
Without cotton and a severe lack of excellent cold-resistant leather, ordinary people in Mälaren had to rely on spinning relatively cheap flax into hemp thread, and mixing it with limited wool thread to spin into thick and cold-resistant cloth. And flax itself is used to make various
The most important raw material for cables. Without it, no ship would be able to sail far.
The harvest season of flax usually coincides with the autumn harvest of grain. Similarly, the huge vegetable trade also coincides with the autumn harvest of grain. For a long time, the flax trade has been concealed in the bustling grain trade. Now oats are still heading on a large scale, and the flax trade
Instead, it became very conspicuous.
The merchants selling flax almost gathered together to sell, turning a small area of the market into a "linen market".
Just next to the "Flax Market", there are a large number of stalls selling large and small brown pottery. Most of them are pottery urns and pots, and some are obviously cups for drinking water, and even the holders of oil lamps.
There are also many people selling wooden utensils, and you can tell they are craftsmen just by looking at their finished products. They are selling hooped wooden barrels, large wooden cups, and even wood-carving handicrafts.
The entire market is clearly a large comprehensive farmer's market. Up to now, Rurik feels that what he has entered is like a temple fair, and also like entering a huge vegetable market. The various products sold by many merchants are all ordinary people.
Daily necessities related to food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Does it have any characteristics? Where is the tavern? In which area of the market is the slave market controlled by Norwegian merchants, which is rarely heard of?
There were indeed a lot of people wandering around in the market, and Rurik felt that he couldn't describe it as crowded, but there was indeed a risk of getting lost.
There are a lot of people here wearing burqas or gray velvet hats, and most of them are men in their prime. There are so many businessmen and customers walking around. If you don't follow up with your mercenaries, you will really be lost.
Otherwise, you might even get lost in the huge shantytown of the Malaren people.
If there were no locals as guides, Rurik was sure that he would be blind, and maybe someone would come up with his own ideas.
Rurik was convinced that there must be many shops in this place that deal in skin and meat business. This thing, like banditry, can be called a "profession" of mankind since ancient times. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what Yevro was talking about was more obscure.
The warning "don't get lost" actually implies this.
It's not that Rurik is narcissistic, he actually feels that he is a "very beautiful boy" who is naturally charming. People, no matter men or women, instinctively flock to any pretty thing, right?