Anfel, both embarrassed and angry, snapped, "What are you doing sleeping in broad daylight? Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?"
"We’re already husband and wife; who’s going to laugh at us? Besides, with the door closed, no one would know what we’re up to in our own home!" Tini Bazus retorted.
As a nurse, Anfel had plenty of experience dealing with uncooperative patients. She turned around, gently wiping the sweat off Tini Bazus’ face with a piece of linen, and said softly, "Why are you in such a hurry? I’m already your wife now; where do you think I’d run off to? Spend some time with me looking at our home, and I promise I’ll keep you company properly tonight, okay?"
"Okay, whatever you say." Tini Bazus agreed readily.
Anfel smiled and led Tini Bazus to the center of the house.
On the ground was a small square fire pit. Although it had been cleaned, years of smoke and fire had left the soil inside blackened and compacted.
"This will be the place where we cook—" Before Anfel could finish, Tini Bazus chimed in, "That’s right, I’ve seen Aldean houses . They hang ropes from the roof beams, tie a big pottery jar to them, and use the fire pit to steam and cook food... Plus, the fire pit isn’t just for cooking—it keeps the house warm in colder weather."
Looking up at the beams blackened by smoke and fire, Anfel noticed a straight chimney: "There seems to be cobwebs in the chimney."
"I’ll go up on the roof later and clean them out."
"During the rain, won’t water flow down the chimney and into the house?" Anfel asked with concern. As someone who grew up in Italy, she wasn’t familiar with living in such houses.
"You don’t have to worry. During rain, you can climb up on the roof and cover the chimney with wooden boards, and it’ll be fine. I specifically asked the Aldeans about it."
"Wow, aren’t you attentive?"
"Of course I am! I’m the man of this house; I have to care about these things!" Tini Bazus said proudly, lifting his head.
Anfel shot him a look, then glanced around the room: the ceiling was over three meters high, and two wooden beds were placed in opposite corners. Aside from that, there was nothing else, making the room feel rather empty...
"We need a wardrobe, a storage jar, a wooden bucket for water, a big pottery jar, a kitchen knife, an axe, some ropes, iron hooks..." Muttering to herself, Anfel was already planning what supplies they would need for their home.
Tini Bazus couldn’t help but interject, "You don’t need to think about that now. According to our Legion Commander, since we’ve just settled here, we can’t make anything yet. Our allies, the Aldeans, are as poor as we are, so we won’t be able to get the things you mentioned anytime soon. If we really need something urgently, we can borrow it from the warehouse, but we have to make sure to return it on time."
"Do I need you to remind me? Our head nurse already told me all about that. We can’t have the things for now, but can’t I at least dream about them?" Anfel glared at him, annoyed.
Tini Bazus quickly nodded, "Alright, of course you can!"
"Tomorrow, you need to chop some firewood and stack it indoors so we can keep the fire pit burning. Also, I want to set up a statue of Hestia in the house to pray for her blessings on our home and its prosperity."
"The Greek God of Stove."
"Oh, so she’s like Vesta to the Romans. You’re absolutely right; we should put her statue in the house. I happen to know a carpenter in the Supply Camp; I’ve heard he’s skilled at carving. I’ll ask him to make one."
"Then make sure you go find him tomorrow."
"Let’s go look at the courtyard." Anfel said, pulling Tini Bazus outside.
"This part of the fence has a hole in it, and that part too. You’ll have to fix them when you have time."
"Here’s a livestock pen. We can raise a few sheep and donkeys here in the future—"
"Yes, definitely cows. That way, it’ll be easier to plow the fields."
"No, horses won’t do. They’re too expensive, too delicate, they poop everywhere, and they’re too troublesome to raise."
"This isn’t Italy. Horses aren’t expensive here. Plus, they run fast, are strong, and are convenient for transporting goods. They’re better than cows and donkeys."
"Uh... Alright, we’ll raise some when we can afford it. Look over there; there are also some small wooden structures."
"Those should be chicken and duck coops."
"Right, we need to raise chickens and ducks too. That way, we can have eggs to eat every day."
"There’s something behind the house as well."
"Go take a look and you’ll see."
Anfel followed Tini Bazus around the house and saw another wooden livestock pen. It was about the same size as the one in the front yard, but the wooden boards weren’t as high, and it wasn’t divided into small compartments. A long stone trough lay on the ground, with a drainage ditch dug around the edges.
"A pigsty!" Tini Bazus said with some excitement, "I heard from the Scodisiqi New Soldiers that Celts are very good at raising pigs, and the Pannonians learned it from them. Pigs are easy to raise—they eat anything and rarely get sick. If fed properly, they can grow to nearly a hundred pounds in half a year. At the end of the year, you slaughter them, make smoked meat, and have meat for the whole year!"
"But pigs are so dirty." Anfel hesitated.
"We lived in places worse than a pigsty before, sometimes going hungry. Now we can eat meat; what’s there to complain about? Besides, look at this pigsty’s design—stand outside and rinse it with water, and all the filth will flow out through the ditch... The Legion Commander told me that while pigs poop a lot, it’s great fertilizer. Spread it in the fields, and the crops grow better!"
"Fine, if they’re so great, then let’s raise a few. When do you think our 80 acres of land will be allocated? (After the victory of the camp defense battle, former rebel army members were promoted to second-class tribesmen. Per Maxim’s promise, if both members of a couple were in the rebel army, they’d receive 120 acres of land. However, since this amount was too much for two people to cultivate, the Political Affairs Hall decided on 80 acres to balance the envy of other tribesmen who hadn’t married rebel women)."
"It might take some time. Think about it—measuring all the land outside the camp and dividing it among so many people won’t be done in just a day or two. But don’t worry; our share of the land won’t be short." Tini Bazus said seriously, "Has Leader Maximus ever failed to fulfill a promise?"
"Don’t talk nonsense. I wasn’t doubting Leader Maximus! Hey, what should we plant if the land gets allocated to us?" Anfel’s eyes lit up at the mention of land.
"Don’t get too excited yet. Think about how we’re going to cultivate all that land properly, avoid criticism from the Agricultural Department, pay taxes well, and ensure we don’t affect our household rewards and promotions."
"That’s true; 80 acres is a lot for just the two of us. Can we manage it?" Tini Bazus’ reminder brought a hint of worry to Anfel’s face.
"Don’t think too much about it. It’s not just us facing this issue; there will be solutions when the time comes. Let’s go check on Samoras."
"I wonder how that guy’s time alone with Yulovina went today?"
Indeed, thanks to the help of Tini Bazus and Anfel, Samoras and Yulovina were now husband and wife. As a matchmaker, Anfel naturally cared about them, so the couple headed to Samoras’ house.
It turned out that their worries were unfounded. Despite Samoras being a bit simple and having a language barrier with his new wife, the two shared similar circumstances and were both honest people. They didn’t talk much, but a few hand gestures were enough for communication. They even competed to do chores and were getting along very well.