"He'll come, he promised me!" Theos said firmly.

No wonder you talked to me about it as soon as you came...... Sostatus thought to himself, and said, "That's great, with your help, we'll solve this problem today." ”

Theos nodded, and then changed the subject: "While the others haven't come yet, let's discuss how to get your brother to get the support of the Ministry of Military Affairs." ”

Sostatus now understood why Theos had mentioned his brother before, because he wanted to give him some favors in advance, so that he could make some concessions in the next negotiations with Dickpolis, and of course he would not refuse.

……………………………………………………………………

It wasn't long before the slave merchant Cyberus, the wine merchant Calmandes, the shipbuilder Mikris, the wool weaver Folasias, the medicinal herb merchant Agumus, and the stone merchant Inipias...... They all came one after another, including Dickpolis, of course, and although he kept a straight face, he didn't quarrel with Sostatus on the spot. Moreover, Theos quickly pulled him to a table close to him and sat down, and after whispering to him for a while, his face became more beautiful, and he looked at Sostatus who greeted the guests at the door of the hall with a complicated expression, and did not know what he was thinking.

As soon as all the invited guests arrived, Sostatus ordered the servants to bring all the dishes they had prepared to the table, and asked the maids to pour wine for each guest.

Then he raised his glass and said loudly: "Everyone, speaking of which, it has been a long time since our Chamber of Commerce has been together like today, thank you very much for taking the time to come to the banquet tonight, I salute you for this first glass of wine!" ”

After saying that, he drank it all.

"That's because you, the president, usually hold too few banquets, otherwise if you speak, we can't participate!" Calmandes quipped as he raised his glass, "Anyway, I thank the President for hosting this banquet for us, and I give you a glass in return!" After saying that, he drank it all.

At the beginning of his life, the others also toasted, and the atmosphere of the banquet began to liven up.

Dickpolis saw it in his eyes, took a sip of the wine glass silently, he understood why Calmandes was so interested in helping Sostatus to enliven the atmosphere of the banquet, because in recent years, Sostatus has helped Calmandes's wine to open up sales channels in Greece and the Aegean Sea, so that its income has increased greatly, and the goods of other merchants at the banquet have more or less been helped by Sostatus and entered the local Greek market, including himself, just because of the Athenian pottery, which caused the relationship between the two to stalemate, But if the root cause of this matter comes from the instructions of His Majesty the King...... It's a big hassle indeed, and it looks like we'll have to talk to Sostatus about it!

Thinking of this, he stood up: "Sostatus, I also toast you, thank you for giving us a lot of help in the Chamber of Commerce in the past few years!" ”

As soon as he spoke, the hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on the two of them.

Sostatus picked up his glass without hesitation and smiled calmly: "If it weren't for you, the former president, how could I be where Sostatus is today!" For the better development of the Chamber of Commerce, I also wish everyone here a more prosperous business, you and I have done this toast! ”

Both drank it all.

"Good! That's great!! The others shouted in unison, and Theos smiled with relief, and they could all see that the two of them had put their old suspicions at ease, and they both drank to cheer up.

"Don't patronize and drink, let's eat some food first, let's talk while eating." Sostatus, who had temporarily resolved the conflict, said in a comfortable mood.

"President, yesterday the Ministry of Commerce convened a meeting of the presidents of the chambers of commerce in various towns, and today you invited everyone to a banquet, is there anything important to tell us? Let's say it first, lest we be worried about our hearts, and we will not be happy drinking and eating! Sebonus said bluntly, and the others followed.

Sostatus pretended to be helpless and pointed at him: "You are urgent, you can't wait for this time." Okay, then I'll tell you first. ”

He stood up, looked around at the crowd, and said loudly: "I'm sure you should have guessed that this time the Ministry of Commerce convened various chambers of commerce to discuss the matter of 'about the upcoming Ionian Games'. That's right, it is! Since His Majesty announced two years ago that the Tourii Games would be held, the Ministry of Finance has spent a lot of gold and silver on the preparation of the Games, and has also set up a large prize money for the various competitive sports in the Games, which has caused a sensation among the people of the Kingdom and its dependent allies, and athletes from all regions of the Kingdom and its allies have been actively registered, and a large number of spectators are constantly pouring into Turii to watch the games......

We all know that the Games are not only a festival for gods, athletes and spectators, but also a festival for our merchants, and two years ago the 103rd Olympia Games was the first time that the Kingdom sent athletes to participate, and we also went to join in the fun, during which the Olympia gathered tens of thousands of spectators from all over the world, and the shops set up in Olympia and the surrounding towns made a lot of profits.

But even though the kingdom has become the leader of the Greek League, the traditional notions of the native Greek people are still deeply rooted, and the Ionian athletes are discriminated against and ridiculed in Olympia, and we Ionian merchants are ostracized so that we can't even afford to buy a storefront for us to set up a stall to sell—"

"The President is right, damn how dare the Greek merchants use those despicable methods against us! This time, during the Ionian Games, I will let them know how good the Ionian merchants are! Sebonus shouted angrily.

"That's right, President, we should take advantage of this sports meeting to show these lonely Greek businessmen the great power of our Turriyi Chamber of Commerce!" Cybernus's words immediately struck a chord with some.

Sostatus smiled and did not respond directly, but continued: "It may be precisely because of what happened to us Dioonians at the Olympia Games that His Majesty Davers decided to hold the largest games of the greatest scale, while showing the strength of the country, but also contrasting the narrow-mindedness and selfishness of the Greeks, and showing the tolerance and generosity of the kingdom, so the Minister of Commerce, Marigi, told us that in fact the kingdom not only sent an invitation to the allies, but also notified all the countries of the Mediterranean, even the kingdom's enemies, Persia- ”

There was a commotion in the hall.

"The reason why the Ministry of Commerce convened this meeting is to ask us, the merchants of the kingdom, not to participate in this Games with a narrow revenge mentality, but to welcome the merchants of various countries with a tolerant attitude, only in this way will the trade of the Dionian Games become more and more prosperous, we will earn more and more gold and silver, and make the Dionian Games the most well-known in the entire Mediterranean, and everyone will actively participate in the great Cypriot Games!"

Speaking of this, Sostatus accentuated: "After the meeting, Lord Marigi also left me for a consultation, and demanded: 'When I return, I must warn all the merchants in the Turriyi Chamber of Commerce not to exclude, harass, or infringe on the interests of foreign merchants during the Games; Illegal means must not be used to obtain certain privileges that would undermine the fairness of trade during the Games...... Moreover, as one of the masters of this sports meeting, the Turriyi Chamber of Commerce will also actively assist the Ministry of Commerce in maintaining the normal operation of all commercial markets in the entire Turii region......

Lord Marijel also conveyed to me an order from His Majesty Davers personally, 'If the Ministry of Commerce discovers that the merchants of the Kingdom, especially the merchants of the Turriyi Chamber of Commerce, have violated the above requirements during the Games, they will be severely punished! ’”

As soon as the words ended, the hall suddenly became silent.

After a while, Dickpolis couldn't help but preemptively ask: "Hearing you say this, we have no right to settle in the four urban commercial markets that were temporarily opened for this Games?!" ”

The question he asked was also the one that everyone was most concerned about, because on the day the Commerce Department announced the "opening of temporary markets", almost everyone present was using their networks to try to get the best and largest shops in each market, or even as many as possible.

"Of course not. "I also asked this question to Lord Marigi, and he told me, 'All domestic and foreign merchants who apply to enter these markets will be treated equally, and he will personally be responsible for arranging the distribution, so that every merchant participating in the games can get a more ideal storefront, and the distribution plan will be finally submitted to His Majesty for approval......

Moreover, Lord Mariji also quietly told me, 'Your Majesty has appointed the Ministry of Intelligence to secretly investigate the illegal activities during the Games, and if they are discovered, both parties involved will be severely punished.' Therefore, we should not take chances, otherwise we will harm others and ourselves. ”

Sostatus's words made everyone's hearts tighten, and they all looked at each other, all silently calculating.

Theos couldn't help but say, "Isn't it fair competition, what's there to worry about!" Our Turiyi Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber of commerce in the kingdom, and you are all one of the best merchants in a certain industry in the kingdom, in terms of financial resources, manpower, quality and quantity of goods, you are better than the merchants of other parts of the kingdom, not to mention those merchants from small towns in Greece, and you still occupy a geographical advantage, in the case of fair competition, can you still fight them! ”