For a moment, Kamne felt that she had been forgotten by her master.
He stared blankly at everything that happened, including the woman starting to cut a whole piece of cowhide with a dagger.
When it comes to making leather shoes, Kamnier is not unfamiliar.
Residents of the Novgorod region have known how to cut leather and sew it into leather shoes or boots since ancient times.
Even if the locals have many skilled craftsmen, making a suitable pair of leather boots not only requires time and effort, but the price of the finished leather boots is also high.
Many ordinary people have improvised methods, such as catching a hare, cutting off its head, and then peeling off the entire hide to form a skin bag with only one opening. A foot wrap made of linen strips is wrapped around the feet, then put on such leather, and finally tied with hemp rope, which is the so-called shoe.
Of course, even such makeshift shoes are rare.
A large number of residents are accustomed to going barefoot. In winter, they are even accustomed to frostbite due to a lack of awareness of keeping their feet and hands warm.
Kamne was like this. His hands were so cold in winter that they oozed pus. He didn't think it was a terrible thing, nor did he understand the harm.
Now, Parla was holding the dagger handed over by Rurik, and with several strokes of the sharp blade, the cowhide was cut.
As she cut the leather into small pieces of similar size, she kept muttering in her mind.
"Rurik, is this really necessary? Maybe your servants can continue to go barefoot. Servants are servants."
The supervisor Rurik shook his head, "Because he is a servant. If my servant is dirty, it will bring shame on me."
"Oh, it's a pity that this fine cowhide can be made into a comfortable leather jacket."
"It doesn't matter. I can still buy cowhide. But my servant pricked his foot and the wound became suppurative. Then I will suffer a big loss."
Parla shrugged helplessly and continued the work at hand.
The current success of Parla's work explains what "simple leather shoes" are.
It is a piece of leather that is cut into an approximately acute triangle. The leather is folded in half at the two bottom corners, a hole is drilled with a dagger tip at the upper position, and a thick hemp rope is threaded through to tie it permanently.
The triangular waists were also touching each other, and Parla quickly drilled holes and put on the hemp rope. This hemp rope is the shoelace.
The first pair of shoes was ready, and Rurik was amazed at Parla's craftsmanship.
If judged only from the perspective of practicality, these shoes are like buffalo horns, which can basically ensure that the user's feet are not injured.
But there was no comparison with his own shoes, or even the head maid Rumia's shoes.
Who was the first to wear it?
"Anna!" Rurik waved to the first named little girl.
Anna rushed over happily and simply sat down on the wooden board. She knew what was going to happen next.
"It seems you understand everything. Okay, do you know how to wear shoes?" Rurik was going to ask about "tying shoelaces", but for a moment he realized that the ancient Slavs did not have related concepts here.
The girl raised her weak little head, with big questions in her big eyes.
Rurik looked down at the little girl sitting there. Although her face was a little dirty, she was really beautiful, or in other words, she felt obviously delicate. And her big dark blue eyes are really charming.
Rurik simply squatted down and almost fell to the ground.
Only at this moment did he realize that the little girl in front of him could not only squat like a Slav, but could even sit like a duck. As for myself, this Viking body is probably destined to be unable to squat perfectly.
He simply sat cross-legged and boldly grabbed Anna's dirty left foot.
When he pinched this girl's little foot, which was just a bone, Rurik was really afraid that he would crush her into pieces with just a little force. "You girls must be deficient in calcium and all kinds of trace elements. Damn it, there is almost no meat on your body. I don't want you to be skinny all the time." With the words in his heart, Rurik grabbed the girl's feet and put them on the shoes. Rise.
Ana covered her mouth and was at a loss for a moment.
She fully understands the meaning of rank. In her opinion, the owner Rurik is probably on the same level as the head of the manor in his hometown? No! It should be greater!
All the girls understood one thing, that is, when the head of the manor and his family saw the leader of the Ross people, they would kneel on the ground and obey him.
The master Rurik seems to be the next leader of Ross.
But how could this Rurik's current behavior be as tender as an elder brother's?
Rurik gathered the hemp rope hard and tied the knot skillfully. One of Anna's feet was completely wrapped.
Very quickly, Anna already had shoes on her feet.
Rurik stood up and patted the dust on his clothes. Anna, who was sitting down again, ordered, "Stand up and show it to your sisters."
She obeyed the order, stood up obediently, and jumped up and down in front of her fellow sisters with a bright smile on her face.
Other girls showed envy and the desire to have their own shoes.
Care for them? certainly!
Rurik naturally felt that the future of these girls must be absolutely dependent on him, and it was very necessary to give them certain material and spiritual benefits.
He put on each girl's shoes himself and taught them how to tie their shoes.
Rumia was still standing aside. She did nothing but watched everything that happened with her eyes wide open.
Her hands couldn't help but hold the silver jewelry on her chest. What was the depressing feeling in her heart?
Rumia hadn't realized yet that the emotion she was suppressing now was jealousy.
She even hoped that her master Rurik could squeeze her feet.
"Ah! Is it time to end now?" Parla wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Rurik with a tired look on her face.
"You're not done yet?"
"Huh? All girls have shoes. Isn't that enough?"
"Of course." Rurik shook his head, and then pulled Kamnier over, who had been envious for a long time. "If I make the last pair, I will give you a silver coin as a reward."
With money comes motivation.
Compared to making soap, Parla felt that the reward from Rurik for making these simple leather shoes was more touching.
Soon, Kamne finally had his own shoes.
Rurik didn't think his move was great, but this Kamne, he actually cried.
Kamne wiped her tears with her little hands, and kept tapping her feet, feeling the comfort of her shoes.
He stood next to Rurik and said from the bottom of his heart, "Master, thank you...I can do whatever you want..."
"Then be loyal to me." As he said this, Rurik stroked the little boy who was half a head shorter than himself. Kill by touching the head? Kamne did cry harder.
Kamne cried and said a lot of words of thanks, which completely moved the girls.
For a moment, the long room felt like a gratitude meeting, and Rurik could only face them with a wry smile.
It seems like I just need to give you some small favors for now? Well, I hope you will always have a grateful heart throughout your life.
Rurik saw that it was getting dark too early, and it was not a problem for the children to continue crying.
The tribe's dinner time is approaching, that is, when the fish market starts in the afternoon, the tribesmen on the shore buy the fishermen's catch. In order to ensure the freshness of the meat, they cook it as soon as possible, or eat the herring raw.
Herrings are not big. Chop off the fish head, take out the internal organs as much as possible, wash them with sea water and stuff them into your mouth.
Such a simple and rough way of eating is really a test for the stomachs of children and the weak. Rurik believes that the most suitable fish for children to eat is actually cod.
So, next, Rurik just wanted to give the servant the first dinner quickly.
"Servants!" Rurik clapped his hands and shouted to stop the servants from crying. "Are you all hungry? Come with me now, and I will take you to dinner."
Mentioning "eat", a word Rurik said in ancient Slavic, all the children stopped crying instantly. The emotions of the boys and girls changed so quickly that it was shocking.
ah? You are really hungry!
For a moment, the children's eyes showed some urgent desire, no doubt, it was the desire to eat!
"Let's go!" Rurik waved his hand, "I'll take you to a place to eat."
At the command, the children turned into followers and followed closely behind their master. Tears washed their little faces, and the children's faces returned to white, and now they are full of smiles.
Only Parla stayed in the longhouse and shouldered the heavy responsibility of cleaning up the mess.
Parla also understood that Rurik's new maids were only leaving temporarily. Undoubtedly, the era of sleeping alone in a huge longhouse is over forever.
Think on the bright side! Although there is a language barrier with these children for the time being, maybe by winter, they will all be able to speak some broken Norse.
Rurik probably never regarded them as maids who could only serve others. For such a maid, one Rumia was enough.
They will be turned into certain tools to create wealth for their master Rurik.
As for the only little boy, it seems to be named Kamne. That little boy, he probably doesn't live here.
Rurik does have a unique arrangement for Kamne.
After everyone had finished their dinner, it was time to arrange a place for Kamni to go.
A group of children, led by Rurik, walked on the intricate roads of Roseburg. They were not very eye-catching.
Because today, the entire tribe is in a carnival because of the return of the big leader. A large number of tribesmen flocked to the beach. From the time they landed near noon to when the sun was about to set, the beach had turned into a material distribution site.
Otto took his reliable subordinates and ran to the chief priest's house to challenge the derelict priest. Even if the big leader is not present, the remaining tribesmen are still distributing supplies in an orderly manner under the coordination of a group of older warriors who participated in the Sorgon voyage.
It was this process that became slow due to the large amount of supplies brought back.
However, for those families who did not send people to participate in the Sorgon voyage, according to the new regulations of the tribe, the good era of dividends is over.
This year's spring tribute payment, many tribesmen are destined not to get their dividends.
It can be said that this is due to the selfishness of human nature, or it can be said that it is a major manifestation of the positive changes in the Ross tribe society.
It can even be said that the two "great actions" of the Rus tribe in the summer of 829 AD caused the Rus people to basically say goodbye to their tribal culture and enter a slave society.
In the new era, families that lack strong male labor forces are experiencing a sharp decline in their status in the tribe.
Of course they could leave Rossburg in a small boat and give up their Russian identity forever, but doing so would be fraught with risks.
They can all stay, but if there is no one to take care of them, it is obviously inevitable that they will be marginalized in the tribe.
Without Rurik's attention, Fisk and his mother would have been completely marginalized and become dispensable existences in the tribe.
Now Rurik can sense the undercurrents hidden in invisible places. People in the Ross tribe have changed their minds, and the once generous people have gradually become less generous.
In the afternoon, as usual, Rurik did not give any "military training" to his more than 150 subordinates. Those boys were generally trained to have considerable strength at a young age.
Because he eats a lot of meat, even fish, Fisk, who was once relatively thin and bald, has made a qualitative leap in physical fitness in the past four months.
Fisk used to be a ruthless person among his peers. Like a bull charging, Rurik was really worried at first that this stupid young man really broke down the shield wall alone.
Fisk's stomach wasn't big enough to hold two pounds of cooked fish.
He took the remaining fish home with him, waiting for his mother to come home after finishing the fish cooking scene. By night, this fish would be the dinner for mother and son.
Rurik appeared at Fisk's house in a particularly unexpected manner with a group of new servants.
At this moment, Fisk's mother Broma was struggling to operate a simple loom.
Fisk himself was not idle either. He was operating the spinning machine, that is, processing the flax bought from the merchants.
Although during these days, Broma earned some revenge from Rurik. She is not complacent about this, because her life has been relatively simple so far. With some considerable income, it is necessary to satisfy the appetite, that is, more income, Broma hopes to use it to repair his own house.
After all, the house has been in disrepair for a long time. It's fine on a sunny day, but rains are likely to become more frequent in autumn. As a result, not only does the house become cold, but the constant dripping of water from the roof is extremely bad.
Besides, if the house is no longer in good repair, it will surely collapse under the weight of the snow one day when it snows.
The mother and son never thought that Rurik would suddenly place himself without any warning on such a critical day as today.
Rurik must have come with some purpose!
When Rurik arrived, Fisk sat up excitedly and ran directly to the door. Then he was startled by a group of children behind Rurik.
"Rurik, these people..."
"He is my new servant. Where is your mother?" Rurik asked.
"Just at home." After saying that, Fisk led Rurik in.
Rurik is the perfect savior to Broma!
"Ah! Great Odin's Blesser Rurik, do you need me to do anything?" Broma said humbly.
"I thought that after I gave you the money, you would repair the house. Now it seems..." Rurik looked around, not to mention that Fisk's home was still simple.
Maybe they are used to this way of life? Or maybe they simply don’t want to make changes immediately.
Rurik didn't want to speculate. He walked into Broma and said bluntly, "Go and gather those women again. You go to the afternoon fish market to buy some fish, and you start cooking the fish immediately."
"Ah?! Or give it to more than a hundred children..." Broma was shocked. If this was the case, some of the put away pottery urns and other clean tableware were all taken out. Although there is money to be made, it is also quite tiring.
Rurik shook his head. "I have some new servants, but there are not so many now. Woman, stop what you are doing! Do something for me immediately! I am in a good mood now. Today's situation is very special. Get things done." Finally, all of you women will be rewarded with one silver coin."
