The weather seems to be getting cooler every day. Everyone knows that autumn has arrived and winter is not far away.
What is different from the gradually cooler weather is that there is a blazing fire in the hearts of the Russian people.
Autumn has arrived, and it is time to gather for tribute from the Novgorodians.
Of course, the situation this year is too different. For this year’s Sorgon voyage, the fleet will be able to rest at Tombstone Island and New Roseburg, two emerging strongholds, making the long and arduous trek in the past Not too hard.
Ordinary families are still stocking up on supplies for the winter, and all kinds of people who have joined the Russian group are beginning to accept a new life.
Starting this fall, the situation has indeed become different, because the number of people living in Roseburg has exceeded 8,000. Although there was no comprehensive census, Otto could intuitively realize the changes in the population. He was puzzled. There were obviously more than a thousand people colonizing other places, so why did the population of the mother city of Roseburg actually increase? The purpose of his decision to build New Roseburg was to divert the population.
In fact, the reason is also very simple.
More businessmen arrived in Roseburg this year, and they came just for wealth.
Businessmen are all saying that the Russians made a fortune by attacking the Gotlanders. Although the Danes subsequently avenged their brothers, the Russians not only suffered no losses, but also increased their population.
Gould made an unprecedented deal with Chief Ross, claiming that the payment was as high as 60,000 silver coins.
Moreover, the Russians were extremely generous and immediately took out the money.
This is indeed the case. At noon on the second day of the night banquet, Rurik personally led Gould into the sacred longhouse of the priests.
Just inside the longhouse, High Priest Vilia also performed a brief ceremony for the fat man Gould to acknowledge that he had become a Rus.
A large amount of silver coins was moved to Gould's mansion. According to the agreement, Gould will continue to fulfill his obligations under the agreement, such as building a house.
It can be said that a large amount of looted coins eventually flowed into the hands of Rurik and Gould.
Since Gould is now very willing to obey Rurik's arrangements, Rurik's "big money box" has become the "central bank" of the Roseburg tribe, with the ability to regulate the tribe's economy.
He realized that he could completely use his wealth to mobilize the diverse population of the tribe by spreading coins, making it possible for the economy to start running at high speed. Of course, throwing money away does not mean throwing it away randomly. Money is a medium, and these mediums need to be recovered through reasonable means to continue the cycle.
There are still less than 10,000 people from the Rus tribe and their guests. The narrow market naturally makes Rurik focus on the not-so-distant south and the mysterious east.
What should we do next?
Production! Mass production! Although those servants were weak, theyOnce your health recovers, you must create wealth for your family!
Of course, the biggest problem now is that Rurik must solve the housing, clothing and food problems of his various people.
After all, if the sheep freeze to death and starve to death, there will be no way to collect wool.
Rurik used the power of money to hire more tribal women to spin linen, weave cloth and tailor leather. The prerequisite for women to develop their handicraft capabilities on a large scale was naturally that merchants sold large amounts of flax.
Like the little maids his father brought from Novgorod, Rurik gave them uniform clothing.
The problem now is that there are still sixty orphan girls picked up by the Melalen tribe. They are also their servants, so they naturally need to dress uniformly.
Rurik no longer had the time to think about why he had an astonishing number of maids. In short, this was the reality.
As for the other twenty Brythonic women, they seem to be believers in God? Since they all knew how to weave, turning flax rods into linen was the first task Rurik gave them.
Rurik selected thirty girls with good physical fitness. They put on brand new clothes and moved into the long house exclusively for servants. The rest of the maids were still waiting.
For a time, the labor force in the soap workshop increased, and the work of Priestess Parla became more tiring. To manage the rapidly increasing number of children, they must restrain their behavior and avoid the possibility of quarreling with each other. The most important thing is to arrange for them to work. It is really difficult for a female prostitute in Parla to act as a "life teacher".
Despite the difficulties, the children generally cherish their life of having food to eat.
Soap production capacity suddenly increased due to the addition of children!
It is not just the increase in staff that has led to an increase in production capacity. The most critical reason is also the supply of raw materials.
It is entirely because of people's fear of winter that fishermen are increasingly inclined to hunt seals basking in the sun. The entire Gulf of Bothnia has to search for whales, waiting for opportunities to hunt.
Seal oil and whale oil are both good materials for burning lamps, but the fishermen know that if they sell the excess fat to Rurik, they will get a higher than market price.
They didn’t know the inside story and didn’t bother to ask. They just wanted to happily play with the silver coins in their hands.
Seal grease has always been the main source of oil for soap, but now the supply is even greater.
More soap production means more wealth. Now, Rurik is even clearly building a huge economy. Moreover, the characteristics of this economy do not come from traditional agricultural production, but from the processing of daily necessities, in order to obtain a lot of wealth through the high added value and premium of products. Then he used the money he earned to import Rossburg's necessities from foreigners, such as a large amount of food.
In Roseburg alone, the economy is outward-looking.
Of course this situation is changing, with the construction of the Neva RiverNew Ross Fort may become a production base for grain and leather, but it will still take many years for it to mature. Until then, the Ross tribe's economy still relies heavily on trade.
Otherwise, the sudden rise of happy days will suddenly disappear, causing the Russians to return to their former roughness. What's worse is that once you start enjoying the good times, it's hard for anyone to go back.
After accepting Rurik's money, lumberjacks and construction workers became more active, and even took their children into construction.
More new longhouses have begun to be built. Brand new longhouses were built in the former barren land. In order to avoid the possibility of wave erosion, they are located on high ground, making them quite conspicuous.
Everything that happens in the tribe is what Otto wants to see.
As for Otto, he has also officially started preparing supplies to support New Roseburg.
But before setting sail, another huge happy event happened to Otto's family.
That is Arik’s wife, Peravina, who has finally reached the critical moment!
On the soft deerskin, lay a woman with a big belly who was in pain and her face was covered in sweat.
She is Peravina, and the nearly one-year wait has finally arrived at this most critical moment.
Aric stayed anxiously in his longhouse. He held his wife's vein-covered hand tightly and kept comforting him: "Keep on holding on, Peravina, our child will be safe." ..."
"Yes! I...I'm working hard."
Originally, Niya, who was the midwife, thought that Arik should avoid it, even though it was hers who was about to give birth. wife. Niya brought her son Rurik into the longhouse. She believed that because of her son's status, she could protect Peravina from having a difficult delivery.
But the current situation is obviously a bit bad!
Aric was still invited in, and he held his wife's hand tightly to comfort Peravina who was in extreme pain.
"Child! Try harder! Don't be afraid of pain, be strong and patient!"
"Try harder and hold on."
"Oh, my Pella Vina, you must have a brave boy in your belly, hold on, another Ross warrior is about to be born!”
Niya kept encouraging her, and that was all she could do. .
In this era, of course, there was a surgical operation such as cesarean section, but the child survived, but the mother died.
The Chu girl Yanli may be the earliest woman recorded in historical records who underwent a cesarean section. She died, and the state of Chu was born because of her.
Pelavina is of course not ready to use such an extreme method to give birth to a child. She is still working hard and has already given birth to the child in her belly. Niya didn’t have forceps, let alone painkillers. Everything depended on Peravina and God’s grace.
Seeing that the child was still not born, Peravina almost collapsed.
Niya was anxious and hurriedly looked at Liuli who was stunned.Kara came over: "Quick! What can I do?"
"Ah? What can I do?"
"Pray, pray to God. You have received favor, pray quickly! Pray that God will lessen your sister’s pain.”
Pray? Rurik thought it was ridiculous.
But when he saw his sister-in-law’s expectant eyes in pain, he had no choice but to get close to her face, squat down and clasp his fists, and tilt his head thoughtfully. It gave others the feeling that Rurik seemed to be talking to God. in communication.
Rurik had never seen a woman give birth to a child, and he even felt very embarrassed to be here.
The problem now is that his presence is the greatest spiritual comfort to his sister-in-law, and it seems to really alleviate her pain.
Sister-in-law Peravina is not a weak woman. How could she have difficulty giving birth?
Could it be that she was not only pregnant with a big fat boy, but also a very big giant baby?
Rurik pretended to pray, while Arik and Niya tried their best to comfort Peravina's emotions. Rumia, Rurik's head maid, is also busy working in the longhouse, especially using the indoor bonfire to boil a copper pot of hot water in preparation for wiping the child.
Outdoors, the big leader kept circling at the door. After all, his grandson was about to be born. The Russians do not have such a clear concept of seniority, and the meanings of "grandnephew" and "grandnephew" are almost the same.
He was looking forward to the safe birth of the descendants of his dead brother, and a group of his fellow clan members gathered around, hearing the cries in the room, teasing the birth of a future warrior, just like that child. His father, Arik, must have made great military exploits at a young age.
Maybe it really is the power of prayer! At least that's what Niya thinks.
First it was a child's lanugo, and then, a big fat boy closed his eyes tightly and came into the world with a thunderous cry.
The baby's cry was heard outside in an instant, and Otto stopped wandering around. His men, who were sitting on the ground like pigeons lining up, stood up in an instant. Everyone flocked to the closed wooden door and couldn't help but feel happy when they heard the voices inside.
“Haha! It’s a boy!” Niya’s face blossomed with joy when she met her wet grandnephew.
"Rumia! Knife!"
Niya took the burned dagger handed over by Rumia, suddenly cut the child's umbilical cord, and then immediately He wiped the baby boy's body with the warm water he had prepared and wrapped him in the very clean lambskin he had prepared.
Niya held the baby in her arms and knelt beside the extremely weak and relieved Peravina. She placed the baby who continued to cry next to her mother.
Looking at her son, Peravina’s face was filled with tears. She gently touched the child's smiling face with her fingers, and the child responded with a strong cry.
"Ah! He is my good son. Peravina, you have given birth to an excellent son for me." Arik said in extreme excitement, if his aunt Niya had not stopped him,Then, he immediately picked up his son.
The nineteen-year-old cousin has become a father. Rurik looked at the child and felt very happy in his heart.
"Brother, give him a name." Rurik reminded him first.
"Oh! Yes! I want to give him a good name."
But what kind of name to choose was a puzzle for Arik. He really wanted to give his son a domineering name, and then personally train the boy to become a berserker on the battlefield, and continue to make great contributions to the tribe.
After completely removing the placenta in Niya, the weak Peravina reluctantly sat up and looked at her husband who was struggling with the naming: "He is my son, let me do the naming. "
"You? Okay. Give our son a good name."
"This is the name. "What do you mean?" Arik was a little confused, but Rurik understood.
"It's a gift from Asgard, my brother." Rurik smiled.
Pelavina laughed with joy: "Our Rurik is the wisest. Arik, our child has the dual blood of Rus and Novgorod. He The name inherits this."
"Yes." Rurik added, "Dal, in the language of Novgorod, means gift."
"Okay." Aric shrugged, "I would still like to call him Asgard." Then he looked at his son with his eyes closed and said softly: "Asgard, you have this noble Name, I will train you to be an excellent warrior, you must be braver than me."
Niya looked at all this with joy, she smiled and said; "Peravina, you must be braver." It was because of Rurik's prayer that Odin blessed you, so your child was also blessed. In the language of the East, this child is Asgard." p>
"Then let's call it Asgard." Peravina smiled shyly: "Because I am already a Russian, right?"
Who would have thought that Asgard Gard was born in this way. There was indeed a destiny in the dark. This child would definitely inherit the martial arts of his father and grandfather and become a powerful warrior.
And, became an important figure in the Ross tribe.
Arik's wife gave birth to a very healthy baby boy, and the good news spread quickly among the Rus tribe, because it meant that a boy was added to the chief's family.
This boy’s name is also very domineering. Who would have the guts to name his son "The Sanctuary of the Gods"? Aren't you afraid of the punishment of the gods?
The child is called Asgard and is very healthy. Everyone believes in it. Maybe this child will be as magical as Rurik?
It remains to be seen whether everyone is willing to believe this.
And this is just the beginning. In the following days, the first batch of Novels who came to marryAll the Gorod women had given birth, and fortunately, no one had difficulty in giving birth.
Of course, there are boys and girls among the children born. In the past, some baby girls would be deliberately abandoned by their parents for the very practical reason that they could not afford to raise them. But the situation has changed this year. If the family has plenty of food, who would cruelly abandon their children?
Now the women of Roseburg have never been more important. Rurik paid the women who worked for him, and once women had silver coins in their hands, something had changed.
Peravina has completely entered the state of motherhood. Of course Rurik wants to give his sister-in-law the best supplements. He even hopes that his sister-in-law can have a month. There is no concept of confinement in Russia, so Rurik still convinced his cousin Arik that for at least ten days, his sister-in-law must stay at home and take care of the child with good food and drink.
What does Arik think? He felt that his baby brother's prayer must have worked. It was precisely because of that prayer that his wife, who had once had a difficult labor, quickly escaped from pain. He obeyed his brother's words, which made Peravina eat a lot of meat and wheat porridge every day, as well as honey.
What was the result? Asgard, who has opened his eyes and can giggle, has received the most excellent nurture.
The time has already entered September, and Rurik’s new house only needs the final paving of the roof meadow. Many of the indoor furniture have also been completed, such as the comfortable wooden bed. These are the days of moving. Oh my god. It was obvious that Otto would be enjoying living in his new home even before he set sail.
Nowadays, the longhouse of the old house has long escaped its former desertedness. There are two more people living here: Carlotta and Ella. Because of their noble status, the two were able to sleep together with Rurik, who was the same age, on the first day they moved in.
Although Rumia’s identity is just that of a maid, it is only temporary. After learning that Rumia would succeed the tribe's high priest sooner or later, Carlotta respected her almost out of instinct. When the two sisters learned that Rumia actually knew how to raise deer, the three of them immediately talked about how to raise large animals.
After all, there seems to be no difference between raising deer and raising cattle. Then, the Carlotta sisters, who were ashamed of being freeloaders, suddenly appeared as reindeer herders, and their proficiency in herding made Rumia greatly admired.
Since everyone has a noble status, even if their ethnic origins are different, the grudges in the hearts of the three girls have disappeared.
Otto has four children at home, and three girls surround Rurik.
It was another quiet night, with only Otto's snoring bringing an annoying clutter to the original peace.
That night, due to some random thoughts, Rurik kept thinking in his mind with his eyes open, and he didn't even bother to kick back one of Carlotta's legs.
Rurik was still thinking about the child from Asgard.
"Asghardar? AsghardarVirtue? Why do I always feel so familiar? Wait, could it be..."
"Pelavina will not only have this one son. She gave birth to a child safely once, and she will definitely not have difficulty giving birth again in the future. If she has another son, should he name him Gil? "
"Okay, if there is Gil, who is Oleg? Is it my sister's child? But I don’t have a sister. "
Thinking of this, Rurik suddenly stared at Carlotta's sleeping face in the dark night, and couldn't help being shocked.
"Her? ! No way. Isn’t that my child? But surely Igor is my son? Where is Igor’s mother? Svetlana? Heck, the changes in the world line are probably quite big. "
The more he thought about it, the more troubled he became. Rurik pushed Carlotta's legs off to prevent himself from turning into a human pillow again. He thought calmly and savored it carefully.
"Okay, I am the Lord of Novgorod, maybe this kid from Asgard, I have to arrange for him to conquer Kiev or something. Ah, I still want to be more peaceful, I want an order, not too barbaric. ”