Money is either a slave or a master, one and the other.

- Horace (founder and founder of Roman classicism)

Just as Vipsani was leaving for the countryside, Oscar had already finished the fish in the basket; There were sixteen large fish in the basket, and there were only twelve families in the whole village. However, there are still more people in some families; In addition to his parents, the family that Oscar saw the most had four children!

In fact, the people in the whole village are basically one family; This was also the basic demographic situation of Sardinia in the past. Villages of all sizes are divided into families, and a village is basically the children and grandchildren of a family; They are all related to each other, and the connection is unusually close, so that the local clan power is extremely strong.

Later, with the implementation of the New Deal; The large tribal villages that used to live together have been forcibly dispersed, and the family-style villages that remain are only a dozen or twenty families at most. In this way, the phenomenon of using villages against the government, and the villagers only knowing the patriarch but not the officials, has been completely changed.

Even the small family-style villages that still exist today have some scattered other residents relocated from within, completely breaking the old situation of one family ruling one village and one village and one down. Nine of the thirteen families in this small village are descendants of the same family, and the other four are individual families who have migrated later. The one Oscar borrowed was one of the retail investors.

Oscar's strategy of sending fish is that for a family of three or four, Oscar will send a big fish that is enough for their family to eat; For families of four or more, two large fish are presented. for their family to share. So. Sixteen fish were divided among the twelve families; After the end of the fish delivery. Oscar ran home in the heavy rain again.

At this time, Mary also washed all her clothes and dried them at home, and was taking care of the two big fish left by Oscar. In this era, the way of cooking fish is still relatively simple, except for the simplest way to cook fish soup, it may be grilled fish; It's just that this kind of grilled fish is not the delicious grilled fish of later generations, but the simplest is to roast it on the fire and add some salt.

In fact, there are some of the most basic accessories and spices in this era; But those were luxuries that belonged to the aristocratic and wealthy merchant class. Even ordinary citizens can't afford to use it, let alone these peasants who live at the bottom of society. However, this is just a relative comparison; Compared to the brown bread and vegetables I ate before, these fish are also rare and delicious.

Oscar was already soaked again because of the spearfish and the fish delivery; After Oscar returned, Mary took out the clean clothes that Oscar needed to change in, and then carefully changed the clean clothes for Oscar in the bedroom.

In the middle of changing clothes, Oscar of course will not change clothes like this, and it is reasonable to do something to Mary; However, it was still broad daylight at this time. Oscar didn't dare to mess with Mary, but his two hands wandered restlessly around Mary's bumpy body. In exchange for Mary's big eyes one after another.

It was already past one o'clock in the afternoon after the change of clothes, and if Mary had been left to cook alone, the lunch might have turned into dinner; Therefore, Oscar also rushed to the kitchen to help under Mary's orders. Today's lunch is actually very simple, just make a fish soup and a grilled fish, and the standard configuration of brown bread.

Mary cooked the fish in a pot and then began to take out the flour and prepare it for bread; Oscar, on the other hand, had to use an iron fork to fork another fish for grilling. This was not a difficult task, and Oscar stood near the stove, holding his iron fork high and roasting the fish above the flame; And also turn the iron fork from time to time to heat the fish evenly.

Soon, the kitchen began to smell well; The burnt aroma of the grilled fish and the rich flavor of the fish soup are mixed together, making Oscar, who has been hungry for a long time, feel hungry. Oscar and Mary had eaten a lot last night, but after a whole night of turmoil last night, and having not eaten all morning, it is only right that they feel hungry in their empty stomachs now.

Oscar's stomach was even gurgling, and Mary was naturally no better; Oscar clearly saw Mary swallowing at the fish soup she had made herself! Thankfully, the meal didn't make the two look forward any longer; As the fish broth was cooked, the brown bread was cooked, and the grilled fish in Oscar's hand was also slightly burnt.

When all the meals were served on the table, the most colorful, fragrant and tempting was naturally the fish soup cooked by Mary herself; The worst-looking, and slightly burnt fish must be the grilled fish that our Oscar grilled by himself. None of this, though, prevented our Oscar and Mary from feasting on these foods; As soon as the two of them sat down, they couldn't wait to eat.

Oscar first got all the tenderest belly meat in the fish soup into Mary's bowl, and then put a large bowl of fish soup in the bowl for the bowl, and then began to eat it himself; Such gentle little details were exchanged for Mary's happy smile. Later, Mary also gave Oscar the best fish belly meat on the grilled fish belly; The two of you come and go, and I am more warm.

Today's lunch may be the most Oscar has ever eaten, and it may also be the most Mary has ever eaten; Not only did the two of them eat all the bread for two, but they also ate the two big fish at all. By the time he had eaten the last bite of fish, Oscar's stomach had turned into a ball; Mary's belly was also swollen, as if she had a baby.

The two of them really didn't have the energy to get up and clean up the dishes anymore, so they put all the utensils on the table and went straight to the bedroom and lay on the bed. Although it is impossible for the two of them to do anything else in broad daylight, it is okay to hug each other and listen to each other's heartbeats quietly; The two of them even couldn't help but think of one word in their hearts, and that was happiness!

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Mary broke free from Oscar's arms, and listened carefully for a moment; He said to Oscar, who agreed to get up: "Oscar, I really want to hear the sound of a large number of war horses galloping together; Did you hear that? Oscar also nodded with a serious expression.

In such a secluded village, it was still raining that it would not have been possible for a large number of cavalry to come; The only possible explanation is what happened to the family, and Vipsani sent someone to find Oscar. Oscar and Mary looked at each other, nodded their heads, and then quickly got up from their beds and came outside the room.

Sure enough, it was Vepsani who arrived with hundreds of cavalry! Oscar hurriedly shouted to Vipsani, who was looking at him, "Vipsani, I'm here!" When Vipsani heard Oscar's shout, he immediately turned his head and saw Oscar standing under the eaves; Vipsani did not dare to delay, so he jumped off his horse and came in the direction of Oscar.

After coming to Oscar's side, Vipsani did not wait for Oscar to ask, but reported directly: "Your Excellency, Leader, we have suddenly received a secret letter from the Correspondence Eagle of the Maxentius family at noon today; The matter mentioned in it is too important for the general to dare to make a claim, so he has to come and disturb His Excellency. This is a secret letter, please take a look at it, Your Excellency! ”

As he spoke, Vipsani pulled out the secret letter from his bosom; After Oscar opened the secret letter, he read the secret letter in ten lines at a glance. After reading it, Oscar's face also became extremely ugly, and after handing over the secret letter to Mary beside him, Oscar said to Vipsani:

"Since Decius is able to send us such a letter of help, it means that the situation in the city of Rome has reached the point where victory and defeat are almost decided; It is quite possible that the Maxentius family did not grasp the victory at the last moment, which is why they sent us such a letter for help.

The Maxentius family is one of our Augustus' most important allies, and the most trusted allies; Once the Maxentius family is completely defeated and annexed by Marius, it will also be a disaster for us Augustus. From now on, not only will it be difficult for us to get any support from Rome itself; Even our men and materials in Rome proper.

In such a critical moment, we must give the strongest support to the Maxentius family in order to save the situation in Rome itself! Time is pressing, Vipsani, you go back to Calaris first and gather all the generals of the family in Sardinia to wait at the Doge's Palace, and I will return to Calaris with Mary later! ”

The first half of Oscar's words is his own self-talk analysis, followed by a direct command to Vipsani; After hearing Oscar's order, Vipsani hastened to reply: "Your Excellency, the summoning order of the generals of the family has been sent out when I come; By the time you return to Calaris, you'll probably be almost at the Doge's Palace. ”

"Okay, then you go back with the cavalry first, and leave me and Mary two horses; We'll be there! Vipsani's performance made Oscar nod in satisfaction; Oscar then told Vipsani to rush back to Calaris. Vepsani also knew that Oscar must still have some private things to say to Mary; So, after leaving behind the two horses, he went away with the cavalry.

Oscar looked at Vipsani and his party in the distance, then turned back to Mary and apologized, "Mary, I'm really sorry; I was going to stay here with you for a few more days, but ......" Before Oscar could finish explaining, Mary hugged Oscar and kissed her; Before Oscar could react, Mary pushed Oscar away again, turned over and walked away!

Ask for tickets and subscriptions, please! (To be continued.) )