Chapter 242 War Monk Shop
After being warmly invited by Meriksor, Brune was surprised but did not refuse and had to follow him into Insura's apartment.

However, he did not stay too long. After drinking two cups of hot ginger juice in the security room, he met with Gaskul who had returned from the workshop, and then got up to leave.

The abrupt and enthusiastic Merikso originally wanted to keep Brune, but when he heard that he was going to have dinner at another centurion's house, he immediately let him go.

Walking out of the cramped courtyard and onto the street, Brune still walked with his head held high as was his custom in the recruit barracks.

Although it is approaching the New Year's Eve, there are still a large number of villagers repairing and reinforcing the apartments on the roofs of Insula apartments in various blocks.

They leaned out of the windows and slanted the wooden boards onto the walls. Some of them rode on the beams and laid the relatively intact ancient Elva on the roof.

These houses have only undergone simple repairs, and many parts are not solid, and some of the mortar has not even completely dried.

Due to the tight construction schedule, in order to allow everyone to live in the houses before the snow falls, Witt’s requirement for the houses is that they just have to be habitable.

For the sake of their own safety, under the initiative of the heads of ten households or citizens, the villagers in the neighborhood picked up hammers and nails and carried out the final repairs before the snow fell.

After the soldiers returned to the town, Brune clearly felt that the town was obviously more lively than before.

There were black-clad recruits standing at the door of every insula, and the streets and alleys were full of Salvation Army soldiers returning home.

As Brune looked up as he walked through the streets, he would see colorful paper pennants hanging from the eaves.

When passing through Insura, you can see women in the public courtyard using scraps of cloth to make handkerchiefs, dolls and headscarves, while men are tanning rabbit skins into usable leather.

These rabbit skins can be made into leather, and the rabbit hair can be used as fillings for clothes and shoes, and can be sold for a good price.

There was an infestation of wild rabbits on Qiumu Island, so Horn issued an order to have each hundred-household district select some nimble and experienced people to go into the wild to catch rabbits.

Because catching rabbits is basically done between midnight and dawn, which happens to be during curfew, if you want to go out hunting, you need a special hunter's certificate.

Hunters can get the fur from catching rabbits, and most of the meat will be supplied to soldiers first, and the surplus will be supplied to the market.

In the Papal States where supplies were scarce, food, drink and housing were all provided free of charge by Horn, so it didn't cost much.

What really costs money are some hand tools and meat products.

Horn specifically gathered the villagers who raised cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks into one hundred households, let them live in farmhouses in the countryside, and be responsible for raising livestock.

Their wool and milk were also supplied first to the needs of the Papal States, and only the surplus could be put on the market.

Horn would purchase the wool, milk and vegetables at cost price or 30% below the market price.

Most of the residents in towns are engaged in the construction industry, repairing and rebuilding infrastructure; some are craftsmen, while others are engaged in clerical work.

Horn did not prohibit these city residents from engaging in small industries and side businesses, as long as they reported it to the centurion.

Therefore, the exchange of commodities between urban and rural areas began long ago. Sometimes citizens went to the countryside to trade, and sometimes villagers went to the city to trade.

The common equivalent used between them is currency such as the dinar.

Horn does not charge any tax on this kind of commodity exchange.

So far, the entire Papal States is in a state of disarray.

If you say it is not a tax, they will forcibly collect part of the fruits of their labor. If you say it is a tax, Horn provides them with housing, fuel, salt, food and other necessities of life free of charge.

This kind of commodity exchange between urban and rural areas is often not the exchange of necessities, but the exchange of daily necessities and luxury goods.

Due to food shortages and too many residents in the town, the living standards of citizens living in the streets have dropped significantly compared to before. In the two hundred-household areas in the countryside, the living standards of the villagers have actually increased.

By the time Brune rushed to the gate, Jonard was already tired of waiting.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. If you don't come, I'll go look for you." Jonal stood up, rubbing his sore knees.

"I'm sorry, our ten-householder head dragged me to talk." Brune said honestly.

Jonal chuckled, "I told you that if he still dared to make things difficult for you after you went back in this outfit, then he would be truly enlightened."

"Forget it. I don't want to stay there any longer." Brune was still afraid that his reluctance to go to the battlefield would be seen. "Are we going directly to your house now?"

"Of course not. Come on, let's go to the War Brothers' shop."

As soldiers wearing black uniforms, they are basically Salvation Army war monks, so they can buy meat at a low price.

Next to the prayer house is a special war monk shop that only serves the soldiers of the Salvation Corps.

The prices in these stores are generally 10% to 20% cheaper than those in normal grocery stores and small vendors. Jonal and Brune both came in military uniforms, so the store owner naturally couldn't stop them.

The store is not big, only about 60 to 70 square meters. Half of the valuable goods are behind the counter and one can only follow the store owner to get them.

Most of the goods inside are various herbs, cheap spices, salt, vegetables, tables, chairs, benches, meat and other agricultural and sideline products, etc.

While Jonard went inside the counter to choose his gift, Brune simply picked out a dozen eggs outside, which cost no more than half a dinar.

As for Jonal, he bought butter, rabbit, oregano, yam wine, and other sundry items, spending nearly twelve dinars.

"Why did you buy so many things?" Brune couldn't help asking when he saw Jonal had to buy an extra sack to carry his things.

"Nonsense, there are ten people in my family." Jonal picked up a piece of cheese and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "If it weren't for the Green...Church, there would be eleven people."

Walking down the street carrying these meats and spices, Brune's usually gloomy mood improved a lot.

After a few turns, Jonard took Brune to the Insula Apartments where his family lived in the Jonard neighborhood.

Since the block has been largely restored, citizens finally have time to take good care of their future homes.

Like this Insula apartment, there are flower beds with thyme, onions and ginger, and a chicken coop made of rattan cages under the stairs.

Seven or eight chickens were running around in the yard, pecking at small insects and grass seeds.

There is a broken large vat against the wall, and the inside of the vat is filled with brown-black soil.

"What's that?" Brune asked, standing by the door, pointing at the broken jar filled with soil.

Before Jonal could answer, a middle-aged man with the same bulbous nose as Jonal walked out.

"That's earthworm soil. When His Majesty came to visit us before, he saw that we raised a lot of chickens, so he asked us to make earthworm soil and feed the chickens with earthworms."

"Papa." Jonal walked up with the bag and gave his father, Old Jonal, a big hug.

After the father and son finished their greetings, Brune handed the egg in his hand to Jonal's father: "This is a gift for you since it's my first visit to you."

Old Jonal straightened his crooked felt hat and asked, "Are you Jonal's friend in the barracks?"

"Yes, my name is Brune." After twenty days of baptism in the recruit camp, Brune unknowingly got rid of his habit of speaking in a timid manner.

Old Jonard wanted to put his arm around Brune's shoulders affectionately, but found that he couldn't reach it, so he could only awkwardly grab his arm and walk towards the house.

"Little Jonal, your brother is back. Here are some eggs. Go and bring them to your mother."

"Is Jonal back?"

"Jonar, where's your armor? It's not in service?"

"Jonar, which legion are you going to join?"

Following his father, Jonal answered the neighbors one by one, but his hands were sore from lifting the meat and butter that he didn't get any attention from his father.

As they were about to reach the house, he angrily said, "If you don't take it, I'll give it to someone else."

Jonal's father glared at him, took the meat, butter, and onions from his hands, and called the canteen cook: "Make a pot of stew tonight."

Due to the lack of sufficient time and nutrition, most of the dishes in the Thousand River Valley are based on stews and smoked meats.

Combined with the disastrous hygiene awareness, most of the products are yellowish South Asian shapes.

"Hey, this is for you guys to eat..."

"We all started the fire together. We are the family eating the meat, and others are just watching?" Old Jonal patted Jonal on the forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have changed to a lower quality meat and bought more. It would be a waste to stew such good meat."

Jonal was mumbling something, but when he saw his friend running downstairs towards him, he happily went up to him and hugged him to reminisce about the past.

Old Jonard patted Brune's shoulder, who was standing at a loss, and said, "Can I have a drink?"

"You can drink, but not too much. Just a little bit."

"Then come and have a couple of drinks with me, and tell me what the military camp is like, and what Jonal is like in there."

(End of this chapter)