Chapter 43 Slave Market

Melia patted the corner of the table, signaling Roni to put down the box: "Let [Ma Jiao] come to me in person.

Swish—no matter how many times I entered, the sandstorm in the arena always carried a surprising warmth. If the merchants' rumors were to be believed, it was because the blood of countless gladiators, gushing forth before their deaths, had drenched the arena in death from within.

The stone pillars at the entrance were nothing new. Elena looked away. "You want to go to the slave market and look for clues?"

"That's right~ Who said the largest slave market in Rome was right behind the Colosseum?"

As they passed the patrolling guards, Melia snapped her fingers silently. "Good afternoon, can someone call Ronnie for me? Is she free today? I'm planning to hire her for the afternoon—and maybe the evening too."

The guards looked at each other, and one of them rushed into the training ground with a suspicious smile.

A moment later, a tall woman with sandy blond hair leaped out, holding onto the iron bars. Her eyes, like volcanic lava, were filled with helplessness. "Miss, you're quite well-informed. I just finished a bout. Do I have to go somewhere dangerous again?"

"Sorry, sorry~" Melia greeted him without apology. "Please help me go to Uncle Mario's and get him a cash box. It's for the store deposit I paid in advance. Uncle will lend it to me. I need to spend some money today. Let's meet at the rest area outside."

"Okay." Ronnie didn't ask any more questions. She paused briefly as her gaze passed Elena, then nodded as if in greeting. Then, she quickly ran towards the stone house behind the arena.

Shop? She runs a shop in the arena?

Elena was a bit curious. It was hard to imagine the Central Arena being willing to share profits with her from a star industry like gambling tickets or gladiator paraphernalia. Even if Melia's uncle was Mario, he couldn't influence the will of other slave owners.

As we walked, a strong aroma of barbecue hit us.

Well, no need to ask.

A small chalk-washed window near the lounge has a sign that says "Boutique Rolls." The sign depicts a fragrant, soft roll filled with cabbage and juicy steak.

The shop is not small either. A covered balcony is built on the protruding part of the lounge, with three round tables placed underneath, each surrounded by a circle of stools.

More people would choose to take it away directly. Just as a performance ended, the window was full of people.

Elena was still a little reserved, and Sonny had already run over to observe: the bread rolls painted on the wooden board were white bread rolls with pork chops and fresh vegetables, but in reality, they were sold with black bread, white bread, chicken chops, pork chops, lamb chops, and eggs.

Most people buy brown bread and eggs, which cost three copper coins each. This is considered a high-volume product.

Sizzle - the aroma of burnt food coming into contact with the iron plate is really irresistible.

"Sister, can you treat me to one?" As soon as Sunny turned around, two small silver coins fell into his hands.

"Of course, we've come this far~ Buy five pork chops in black bread." Melia touched her head with a smile and found that the child was a little taller than before. Was it because the food at home was better?

Sonny ran a few steps to the line and stuck his head out curiously: "Sister, don't you eat white bread?"

"Soon, we'll have it once the mill is finished." Melia shook her head. Now that she had a brand new flour sifting tool, she had asked Pados to find a way to turn it into a pedal-operated one. But with no machines these days, sifting was still done manually.

Considering the scarcity of magic, she planned to install a water mill outside the manor and a wind mill in Shadow Rome, at least to save the step of grinding flour. Such boring and repetitive work should be left to machines if possible.

The boss is very quick and the ingredients the customers want are simple.

I saw the bread cut in half spread flat on the iron plate, the fried steak and egg wrapped with vegetables put in, and finally sprinkled with a little spice powder, and then covered with the other half and it was done.

Sonny asked for more, so the boss spread out a wide leaf to wrap five bread rolls, rolled them up like a quilt, tied them with a straw rope and handed them over.

She ran back with the leaf bag and took a special look at the label when she opened it: "Sister, why are these rolls different from the ones in the painting? There is no red and yellow paint."

Paint? Sauce!

Melia handed one to Taffy and Elena, then took a bite herself. It tasted—just ordinary. Grilled meat tasted good no matter how it was cooked, and it was even more delicious with oil and spices.

Unfortunately, not only were there no peppers, but even tomatoes were missing. There was only a small, slightly sour fruit that resembled a tomato. If you wanted to make sauce with that fruit, you'd have to add a lot of sugar.

Damn it, why aren't there even any bananas?! One day I'll have to run east to find bananas. Bananas are delicious and can be used to make sweet sauces, absolutely amazing.

"Because I haven't built the sugar refinery yet." Melia was filled with emotion. She had money and people, but she didn't have time. All her time was spent on competing with Sura! If only she could travel back to primitive society, lead a group of primitive people and start farming, making new progress every day.

"?" Sunny seemed to understand what he heard, and bit the bread roll obediently with a happy expression: "Delicious~"

It’s really delicious, Elena nodded slightly.

The location was also good. The steak rolls were quite expensive, and the nobles might not be interested in the barbecue, just enjoying a short-term novelty. Only a high-traffic place like the Colosseum could support such a somewhat extravagant meal.

"Melia, are you planning to open this shop downtown or in another city?" She looked up. "It's easy for others to copy what you've done, but we need to assess the risks carefully."

"I know~there must be a unique secret recipe." For example, pickled cabbage and seasoning sauce~Well, you can also raise chickens on the barren hills. The laying hens have a fast generation rate, and increasing the output of meat and eggs can reduce costs.

With the mill, her flour would be cheaper, and so would bread and eggs. She could make bread with eggs, like some dessert shops in later generations did with single scoops of ice cream, and attract customers with low prices.

Melia was still daydreaming when a shadow suddenly appeared before her eyes. Ronnie's tall figure blocked out the sunlight. "Here's the money, miss. Shall we go?"

She was carrying a huge box on her shoulders, which was locked with iron chains on all sides. Even a strong woman like Ronnie was a little tired.

How much money is in it? Is it necessary to spend so much money just to invest in a store?

It's probably not necessary. Did Melia transfer some of her assets to Mario, or entrust him with some spending money? Or maybe both.

Elena fell into deep thought and followed them on their way again. When she came to her senses, she was already in the slave market.

…

If the yellow sand of the arena had a bloody smell, then the slave market with its winding tents wafted with the unclean smell of sweat and more decayed air.

Melia put on her boots at the door and walked slowly forward on the sand.

From time to time, the quiet sobs of slaves and the cracking of whips could be heard. Under the threats of the slave owners, a small number of slaves captured during the war reluctantly opened their mouths to allow potential buyers to inspect their teeth.

Most of the slaves were chained to pillars and silently prayed that they would meet kind buyers.

In the Roman Empire, slaves were a surplus yet essential resource. Slave markets would mark up each slave for a high price, hoping to find a wealthy individual to acquire them. If a slave couldn't be sold, the price could be lowered and the slaves circulated.

Many "high-quality" slaves in other places can enter slightly luxurious sales halls and stand in the shade waiting for sellers, but here they can only stand under the scorching sun and show off their still young and healthy bodies.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Sonny's crisp laughter startled Melia: "What's wrong? What's so funny..."

Sunny blinked, his golden pupils gleaming with fire. "This is Rome! I finally see it! It's truly a golden city built on conquest."

"No..." Melia opened her mouth, but seemed unable to refute. There were many charming places in Rome. Even after experiencing a comfortable modern life, she would occasionally indulge in the "classical" atmosphere.

However, all this comes at an unbearable price.

"It's okay. Sister Melia is much better than them." Sunny glanced at the merchant whipping a barbarian slave nearby. These barbarians had high pride, and the seller scolded them loudly, punishing them for rolling their eyes in front of their distinguished buyer. After all, unnecessary pride and resistance would greatly reduce the value of this heroic commodity.

Are you talking about the slave owner or the slave? Is he more kind than the cruel slave owner, or happier than the slave who has lost his freedom?

Melia pursed her lips and walked forward. She walked through the busy market, not stopping at any stall, even when the venomous merchants tried their best to greet her, even when the suffering slaves cast their hopeful glances at her.

"Sister, sister, you know what?" Sunny's voice followed him like a shadow: "The cheapest young slaves are not cheap, right? Because healthy teeth are also valuable~"

“…”

"Besides teeth, their skins are more marketable than living people—whoa, don't be angry!"

Ronnie withdrew her hand, leaving a small mark on Sonny's smiling face. But Sonny didn't look at her, but at Elena's right hand that was resting on the machete.

Only Taffy looked bewildered. He looked at his master's gloomy face with a puzzled look and asked softly, "Miss, she made you angry. Do I need to kill her?"

"No, there's no need... She's right." Melia walked to the end of the street without looking back. There was a spacious stone house. Sixteen guards with shoulders wider than a man stood on both sides of the stone house, and someone was watching the entrance in the dark.

The beautiful girl stood on the carpet and checked the guests' badges one by one: a ring of a special style.

The guards could naturally see Melia, and without needing any instructions, they simply made way. The person checking the badge took a quick glance, bowed, and moved on to the next person's badge.

He is a regular customer.

Melia sighed inwardly: How many slaves had the original owner purchased? When she first crossed over, apart from Taffy, there were only a few nominally own people in the entire manor.

So where did all those slaves go? Were they sold after they got tired of playing with them, or—was it simply torn down into teeth and human skin?

Even when she was misunderstood, sought after, and killed time and time again, she never hated "herself" as much as she did now.

The bright sunlight could not penetrate the building, so the slave traders lit the lights in the hall and let the crystals emit dazzling cold light all around.

Unlike the outside world, there are no slaves' wails here, nor are there harsh whips or scoldings. Instead, there is a sense of silence.

Large pieces of fur were pieced together to form a continuous carpet, and every step felt like stepping on clouds, and even with golden slippers no sound would be made.

Melia felt her boots sinking into the mud and sand from which she could not escape, and each step required a tremendous effort.

"ha……"

Even the air he breathed in smelled of decay, even though it was filled with sweet incense.

Ronnie glanced at her worriedly from time to time. If it weren't for the box of gold coins, she would have reached out and picked up the petite girl.

"Watch the road." Elena wanted to grab her sleeve, but she naturally took her hand. Her palm was soft and cold.

Fortunately, there were couches everywhere, and Elena took her to the nearest couch and sat down.

"Meliya, you're crying."

"Huh? No way."

Under the cold light of the crystal chandelier, Melia wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes and said in her usual upbeat tone, "Maybe I'm too excited. The real show is coming~"

The real deal? Elena looked around, her expression serious. "Given his personality... it's unlikely he'd reveal something so obvious here. Perhaps asking Mr. Mario for help would be more direct."

"No, no, no, there is another way."

Melia patted the corner of the table and motioned for Roni to put down the box. "Let [Ma Jiao] come to me in person."

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Thanks for the irrigation~