A little tired following her mother, Sheila complained, "I think it's okay." The Great Song Dynasty is now all about simplicity as beauty. ”

The two-storey house has been cleaned and decorated, and it is very tidy, at least Sheila thinks. Sheila's mother looked at her daughter who seemed to want to collapse on the chair, and said with a little dissatisfaction: "It's the first time our family has a drinking party, and we can't make people laugh. ”

Sheila could understand the old lady's feelings, but she couldn't agree with the old lady's aesthetics, she muttered: "No matter how thoughtful the hospitality is, no one will say good things about us." ”

The old lady's eyebrows immediately rose, and she regained her composure before scolding her daughter. She patiently persuaded: "Sheila, this is the number of courtesies. ”

The money for the wine was taken out by Sheila, and she dared to express her opinion, "What a courtesy." The big nobles had a ball, and everyone was discussing business and cooperation. Eating and drinking are small means of regulating emotions. Even if the food is not appetizing, those people don't really care. How could our wine club have such an effect. Sheila said, simply sitting down on a chair next to her, not wanting to go any further.

“…… What a bizarre theory! Mother scolded a little weakly. Seeing that her daughter was about to pretend to be a dead dog, the old lady said in an impatient tone: "You and your brother go together to pull things back." ”

"Oh." Sheila stood up and went downstairs in a daze.

Even though she and her mother disagreed about the arrangement of the ball, Sheila and her brother Cicelius walked down the street together, and they were inexplicably in a better mood. She tugged on her brother's arm and said with a smile: "Brother, I'm afraid that this drinking party is just to help you go on a blind date." If you have a crush on any girl, tell me. ”

After listening to his sister's words, Cicelius, who was pulling the cart, was expressionless and didn't say a word. Seeing her brother's absent-mindedness, Sheila was very surprised, and after thinking for a moment, she tightened her brother's arm and said excitedly: "Do you already have someone you like?" Tell me, tell me. ”

Turning his head to look at his sister, who was as excited as if he had taken the wrong medicine, Cicelius didn't want to speak. But he couldn't help but speak, "I heard that Baseles is preparing to start recruiting new legions. I'm going to sign up. ”

Sheila's smile froze on her face, looking indescribably weird. Soon, the strange expression also changed back to calm, and after walking silently for a while, Sheila spoke: "Mother will not promise you to be a Roman." ”

"I know." Cicelius whispered. After the Hellenization of Eastern Rome, the emperor was no longer called Augustus, but Barcelus in Greek. The term 'Romans' has been used in the Eastern Roman Empire for the past few hundred years.

The brother and sister walked silently on the way to the Golden Horn Pier, walking and walking, and the Europa Provincial Office appeared at the end of the road. Compared to the Great Song Embassy in Europa near the city of Constantinople, the Provincial Office of Europa has been updated. It was originally the stronghold of the Great Song fleet in Constantinople, and the office after the merger and expansion of the fleet covered an area of nearly 20,000 square meters, integrating office, communication, inventory, trading, and stationing armed personnel.

The building is protected by a tall wall, the main entrance is not made of masonry, and the half-human-high base wall is a magnolia-shaped iron fence with a thick layer of black paint. Through the fence, you can see the beautiful main entrance of the main building, and from the gate to the main building is a wide and smooth road, with a flat grass on both sides of the road, a fountain in the center of the grass on the left, and a stone pool in the grass on the right. It even looks like a temple.

The main entrance leads to the office premises, and the siblings walk around the main entrance along the exterior wall to a side door. After reading the passage papers, the guards removed the chains outside the door and let them in. The gate leads to the fleet management office, which is flanked by warehouses and trading halls. Sheila greeted a lot of people, and when she arrived at the door of a warehouse, the young man in the warehouse was smiling and talking to Sheila, and Sheila was talking to him and filling out forms. After filling it out, it was handed in, and it didn't take long for someone to drag a flatbed truck out. The car was piled with large bags and small bags, including cherry shochu and cheese from Athens, chickpeas from the east coast of the Mediterranean, corned beef from Ethiopia, and seven or eight kinds of snacks for various drinking parties. Loading these onto the rack car, Sheila said goodbye to the reluctant young Ku Pipe and went home with her brother.

Out of the office, Sheila took out a small bag, took out a large brown piece and broke it and fed it to her eldest brother, Cicelius. Cicelius didn't want to eat it, but he smelled a sweet smell mixed with bitterness, and let his sister shove the object into his mouth. I thought it should be hard, but I didn't expect the object to melt not long after the entrance. A bitter aroma fills the mouth. I'm not used to it, but I like it very much.

"It's delicious." Sheila asked, and without waiting for Cicelius to answer, Sheila broke a small piece for herself.

"What is this?"

"Chocolate." Sheila smiled happily.

“…… I still want to join the army. Cicelius said what was in his heart without a clue. Seeing the provincial office of Europa, which was more fanciful than the royal palace, Cicelius had a stronger desire to escape from his current life. His father was a minor nobleman, the kind without a territory. This kind of petty aristocrat is a well-known nobleman whose ancestors are now left with only the surname of their ancestors. Dad made a living by being a tutor for others, and he couldn't talk about the middle of the family, and he had no hope of reviving the family. Until her sister Sheila became a comprador in the provincial office of Europa.

"Mother won't agree." Sheila makes her judgment based on what she knows about her mother.

"You went to work as a comprador and didn't tell your mother." Cicelius sighed.

Sheila stopped responding and walked silently along the road with her brother. The Europa Provincial Office posted a sign stating that they were required to be proficient in Greek and Latin, articulate and fluent. The commoners did not have this ability, and the nobles were very cautious about defecting to the Great Song Dynasty. Sheila had just been reprimanded by her mother on the day she signed up and ran out crying. At the dinner table, her mother told Sheila that she had arranged a family affair for her, and Sheila knew about the family, and her circle of girlfriends said that the family was not good birds. Ran out of the house, walked and walked hungry. Sheila didn't want to go home and didn't dare to go home. Seeing the job posting at the intersection, Sheila found a place to wash her face and walked into the office of Europa Province at the time to apply. In the midst of this fear and despair, the most powerful forces in the Eastern Mediterranean are not at all fearful.

The siblings returned home and moved the contents of the car into the house. The mother examined it closely, and a relieved smile appeared on her face. Her eccentric daughter had learned something from her nerdy husband's teachings, and had compared the drinking parties of the great nobles to those of small aristocratic families like theirs. There's a weird idea that a drinking party that talks about power and wealth is a drinking party.

Once a year, it was enough for the little nobles to hold a drinking party that allowed the participants to eat and drink to their heart's content. In the following year, the little aristocratic housewives who can successfully host a drinking party can visit the participants' homes, have a glass of wine or a pot of black tea, and a few small desserts, and can chat all afternoon. What could be higher than establishing a foothold in this circle?

Before noon, the reception was finally arranged, and some guests arrived at the door. By 4 p.m., all the guests had arrived. While the adults chatted on their own, the teenagers gathered around Sheila asking questions, and the conversation focused entirely on what was going on with the compradors in Europa.

Sheila doesn't care that she's in the spotlight of sorts, and she talks about the Europa Provincial Office she serves, a very powerful organization that controls most of the Eastern Roman Empire's imports and exports. As one of many compradors, Sheila has quite a bit of work to do. Translating, finding the 'relevant departments' of the Eastern Roman Empire related to business, leading clients to various meetings, and having to roll up their sleeves and pull flatbed trucks to transport goods when they are busy.

Saying that, she rolled up her sleeves, and Sheila also rolled up the sleeves of her silk dress to show off the muscles in her arms a little. There was a joke among the Eastern Roman compradors employed by the province of Europa that women were used by men and men were used as animals. And in many cases it's no joke either.

The young people laughed at the descriptions, and Sheila laughed with them. Someone asked if the grain ship would be late, and there was news recently that there might be something wrong with the grain ship. Sheila sighed inwardly, and finally someone talked about it. At a meeting of the compradors, the head of the provincial office of Europa told them that if such a situation came along, they should tell the inquirer that such a thing could happen.

First there was an attempt to scuttle the grain ship, and at the same time the Duke of Cantacuzenus fled back to his domain, and the troops who went to capture him at the mansion in Constantinople caught no one. Immediately came the news that the Marquis of Hilkia had raised the flag of rebellion and was supposed to form a rebel alliance with the Duke of Cantakuzenus.

In the midst of the chaos, the grain ships in Europa inevitably encountered problems. Now it is not a bad thing to inform the people of Constantinople in advance and let them be prepared a little. With that said, Sheila also talked about what had happened recently. Knowing that something might happen to the grain ship, the children of the little nobles all made a fuss.

These were all small episodes at the reception, and the whole party went quite smoothly. Everyone chatted, ate, and praised the dazzling array of food and wine. The dinner was extraordinary, and everyone in attendance feasted on it. All the plates were swept away. Sheila's mother was distressed and joyful at the same time, and these polished plates represented the satisfaction of the attendees. She had seen several times the tragedy of everyone just eating politely because the dishes served by the host were very ordinary.

At the end of dinner, the parents began to talk about marriage. The smell of cigars filled the air in the room, and the well-fed parents talked to other parents about whether it was time to get married, who had what kind of children, and what kind of relatives they wanted to marry.

It was not until about eight o'clock in the evening that the crowd began to disperse. At the time of parting, everyone was reluctant to invite Sheila's parents to their home. When everyone dispersed, Sheila's mother returned to the second floor, where the thirty-odd people tossed around for so long, it was inevitable that there was something messy in the house. Husks and other miscellaneous items were everywhere, and wine glasses and teacups were placed on various tables. The lively room was suddenly empty, making Sheila's mother suddenly feel a little deserted.

Just when Sheila's mother wanted the family to rest and clean up tomorrow. Cicelius, who had been silent at the reception, said, "I'm going to sign up for the Legion." ”

Sheila's mother was stunned, maybe she had drunk a few more glasses, maybe she was too satisfied when she suddenly heard this thunderbolt on a sunny day, she only felt her feet go soft, and she sat down in the chair next to her. Without waiting for his parents to object, Cicelius exclaimed: "I don't want to be a governess, and I don't want to be a priest." Like Sheila, she fought her way through her own power. ”

With that, Cicelius turned and walked away, going back to his bedroom. Sheila's mother was amazed for a moment, and then she remembered that she should teach her son a lesson. Unexpectedly, her husband grabbed her arm and said helplessly: "Forget it, Cicelius is twenty years old, and it is time for him to make his own decision." ”

"Are you ......" Sheila's mother stared at her husband, suddenly remembering something, she said angrily, "You have promised Cicelius? ”

"Yes." Sheila's father sighed.

"Why? How could you agree to let him go and be a Roman! Sheila's mother said angrily.

Sheila knew that it was useless for her to say anything at this point, and that her rash interjection would only lead her mother to find the object of her anger. She got up and called her brother to leave the second floor together. When the younger brother arrived at the door of his room, he took Sheila's hand and asked, "Sister, is the eldest brother really going to be a Roman?" ”

"Yes."

"That's amazing. It's majestic to be a soldier! "Sheila's brother must have remembered the appearance of the Roman legions, and his eyes lit up.

"Go to sleep." Sheila didn't want her foolish brother to be cranky. She herself didn't want her eldest brother to be a soldier, and there was a link in the Roman legion's entry into the city that made a deep impression on Sheila. Some of the soldiers in the army were responsible for bringing back the relics of those who had died in battle. When this army entered the city, the heart-rending cries of the bereaved people rang out around them. Even if the eldest brother is not doing well, Sheila hopes that the eldest brother can live a peaceful life.

Sheila also did not want to oppose the choice of the eldest brother, and the life of the little nobles could probably be described as lifeless. The chances of being able to get in are slim, and they can only try to hold on to their current lives. Sheila seized the opportunity to be a comprador by chance, a person with the character of the eldest brother can't be a comprador, and joining the army is probably his only chance.

Lying on her bed, Sheila could faintly hear her parents talking. I could hear that my mother seemed very excited, but my father did not give in. As she listened, Sheila fell asleep and saw the Roman legions march into the city in victory. She couldn't find her eldest brother, and somehow she got to the queue to escort the war dead. Looking at those relics with trepidation, she suddenly heard her eldest brother calling her.

Sheila turned her head violently, and saw that the eldest brother was dressed in a military uniform and wearing lion skin jewelry. Sheila pounced on her big brother and cried. Suddenly, the eldest brother disappeared, and Sheila opened her eyes hard, only to see that the room was dark. He looked around and was lying on the bed. Then I remembered that I had a dream.

Reaching out and touching his hot cheeks, he found that he had cried at some point.