themonasnovels Chapter 45 First Visit to the Eastern Port
Chapter 45 First Visit to the Eastern Port
With the full set of steel plate armor that David gave to Zag, Helford couldn't hold on any longer.
Or rather, given Herford's stamina, it was more than enough, but Zag simply couldn't explain to Mrs. Marsh and the two little ones why a dog could carry such a heavy load as if it were flat ground. This was no longer something that could be explained away with the "sled dog explanation."
So Zag still hired a car—
There's no need to go out of your way to find it. The location of Cabbage Town means that there's no shortage of caravans traveling to and from the Eastern Port. Zag only needs to pay a small amount of money to have some merchants who want to earn some extra money provide him with a mule cart. It can not only fit all his belongings, but also have room for Mrs. Marsh and Lilia and Andrew.
As for why they didn't hire a horse-drawn carriage...
Are you kidding me? Do you think an ordinary person can afford to hire a horse-drawn carriage?!
A single mule cart costs 2 shillings!
The caravan set off early in the morning. The town of Cabbage was not too far from Dongchui Port, less than 30 li (approximately 15 kilometers) – which is about 50 kilometers in 21st-century kilometer system. They could reach Dongchui Port by evening at the latest.
However, this caravan was quite fast, and they even ate lunch on the go. The only elderly, weak, women and children were also pulled by mule carts, so at just 15 p.m., the group saw the city gate of Dongchui Port.
This surprised Zag, as nearly half of the city walls of this port city were submerged in seawater.
Who would have thought that this era would have the capability to carry out construction work underwater?
However, the caravan owner answered Zhage's question during a casual chat: "The sea level is rising year by year. Although it is not obvious in the short term, the old people living in the eastern port often say that thirty years ago, the sea outside the city was far from reaching the lookout point, but in the last two years, the occasional high tide has been able to bring seawater into the lookout point."
"Of course, going back further, Dongchui Port was built eight hundred years ago. At that time, the lookout point was probably much higher than sea level!"
The two chatted casually for a few moments and prepared to queue to enter the city, but were quickly stopped by the guards at the gate.
"Stop! You country bumpkin! It's a head tax of six pence per person! Hurry up!"
The guard looked impatient, glancing contemptuously at Zag's attire with obvious disdain on his face.
The caravan owner seemed very familiar with this tactic. He greeted him with a smile, bowing and scraping, "Sir, wasn't it only 3 pence last time? Why the sudden price increase?"
"Food prices have been rising lately, so of course the poll tax has gone up too!"
"But it can't have gone up this much, can it?"
"Stop talking nonsense! It's gone up!"
"Sir, we're just a small business, we really can't afford to lose money!"
"Keep the car if you don't pay the tax, it's your choice!"
After some haggling, the caravan owner was unable to lower the price of the so-called "head tax," and the group had no choice but to obediently pay the money.
Although it was called a "head tax," it was actually just a way for lower-ranking guards and soldiers to embezzle money. Such shady practices have been common throughout history, both in China and abroad.
The first thing Zag did after entering the city was to settle Mrs. Marsh in a cheap hotel.
A bunk bed costs only 1 shilling per night, which is 5 pence cheaper than renting a room with two single beds. Zag didn't want to save the money, but he couldn't persuade Mrs. Marsh, so he had to give up.
He then took his two children and the two large trunks of luggage that David had prepared for them to the Merritt church school in the city, and that's when Herford came in handy.
A large white dog, with a wooden box tied to each side of its body, followed Zag briskly and excitedly. A black cat that looked to be only one month old was perched on the dog's head. This combination was quite eye-catching, even in the port city of Dongchui, where everyone was considered well-informed.
"What a handsome dog!"
"Good dog! Good dog!"
"Is this a dog trainer? How can they make this dog so obedient?"
Along the way, the friendly passersby chatted amongst themselves, making Zag feel a little uncomfortable. On the other hand, Herford, like a dog, was being praised so much that he puffed out his chest and held his head high, as if it were some kind of great compliment.
"Hmph! You stupid dog!"
Snowball meowed and rolled its eyes dismissively.
Strictly speaking, the city of Dongchui Port is not large, with a total population reportedly "as high as" 10,000.
Well, this population size wouldn't even be comparable to a large residential area in modern China, but under the rule of the Eternal Supreme Kingdom in this era, it's already considered a remarkable metropolis. According to the boast of that caravan owner, it ranks among the top ten most prosperous cities in the entire Eternal Supreme Kingdom in terms of scale!
"If this were before the Great Calamity, besides the Royal City, our Eastern Port would definitely rank in the top three! Absolutely!"
Zag smiled politely but didn't say anything.
If a city with a population of only 10,000 ranks among the top three cities in the entire country, then that country is probably doomed.
Therefore, this city, which is praised by everyone in the eastern border region, is actually not as big as an ancient tourist area in Zhage's eyes. It would probably only take an hour to walk from the southernmost point to the northernmost dock.
The journey from the hotel to the church school in Meretra was even shorter. Zag led Lilia and Andrew for only a dozen minutes before they saw the iconic wheat ear pattern on the temple of Meretra.
Merethra is the most popular god in the Eastern Frontier because, since the Great Calamity, the soil there has changed from being renowned for its fertility to being so barren that crops must be grown with the help of alchemical potions.
This led to the rapid spread of Meredra's faith within just a few hundred years, since the holy water blessed by the church was also beneficial to the growth of crops.
Therefore, the temple of Merethra is the largest and most exquisite temple built in the entire Eastern Harbor. The city government even approved the construction of a square in front of the main gate. In the fountain in the center of the square is a statue of Merethra wearing a crown of wheat ears and holding a baby in her arms. It is more than ten meters high and very eye-catching.
However, the monks in charge of the Meritla Church School were quite snobbish.
When he first met Zag and learned that he had come to drop off his two children at school, he was very arrogant, almost looking down on him.
After Zag pulled out the letter from the bishop of the Meretra diocese who was close to the lord, his attitude suddenly changed completely, and he even inquired about the relationship between Zag and the diocese bishop in a roundabout way.
In order to make things easier for his two children at the church school, Zag, holding his nose, went on and on about his relationship with the diocesan bishop, even going so far as to lie about how the bishop admired him and wanted to recommend him to the capital...
Yes, Zag's confident attitude successfully intimidated the snobbish monk, whose smiling face soon became so wrinkled it could trap flies, and he earnestly invited Zag to try the church's dinner in order to have "in-depth exchanges".
If it weren't for his genuine dislike for these "Holy Spirits" and the fact that he needed to go to Mrs. Weyland's aromatherapy shop to secure a job, Zag would have actually planned to freeload a meal to save money.
————————————Divider Line————————————
[Snowball's Rant]: Of the Norse people's food, only some desserts and dishes related to fish are satisfactory; the rest is garbage! No, it's even worse than garbage!