Herald of Steel
Chapter 957 - 957: The Returning Men (Part-2)

Surprisingly, the two girls were not the only group to be greeting their loved ones by the front gate of the apartment.

Many such similar events were happening all around the western districts, as many of the women of the families smiled and greeted their returning sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands, before finally choosing to break the overt depictions of love and take them inside the house.

"Come brothers! Let's go inside. It's already getting late and everyone is waiting for you!"

As too did Layla and Nayla, as with the initial pleasantries done, quickly invited their father and brothers upstairs, leading the way.

And the group, weary from their entire day of revelry, was quick to accept.

So they quickly made their way up the spiraling staircase, hastily crossing each floor that they found to be illuminated by large hanging braziers burning chopped wood or coal, with the produced smoke escaping through a few large holes made in parts of the nearby wall.

It was an adequate solution to the irritating problem of inadequate lighting under dark, and really went to show just how much of a blessing modern lightning was.

And seeing this, one of the brothers could not help muttering to himself,

"How much does it cost to stay here? These braziers can't be cheap to run! Does the pasha pay them himself?"

The fact that the man's very first query was the cost of the place really went to show he was Jamiz's son, the son of a merchant.

"Hah hah." And recognising this, the old man could not help but let out a pleased chuckle, happy to see that his son's nature had not changed.

While once again it was their oldest brother who presented them with the actual answer,

"It cost 20 ropals a month per… what did they call it… a flat!" Niloy traced his chin a bit before recalling the exact term, and then let them know, "Also these braziers do not run for the whole night. Only for about an hour or two after sunset."

"After that, you are on your own. If anyone wants still go out, most use their own lamps. Or borrow a candle from the guard below."

"Hmmm…. I see. That makes sense." And this arrangement of making the most of what the current technology offered made sense to the man, who nodded and reasoned, "Most people never leave their homes after dark anyway. So it would be a waste to keep the braziers for so long anyway."

Yes.

Due to the lack of sufficient light after dark, and the prohibitively expensive nature of producing artificial light like candles and lamps, nightlife as a concept did not really exist.

Perhaps the people would once in a blue moon stay up late to go see a traveling circus or theatre.

But those were the very rare exceptions.

"How high do we have to go?" While one of the brothers was concerned by the cost, another one was concerned by the height of the building, finding his already weary legs getting even more tired.

"Just one more floor. Brother! We are almost there." The reassuring reply came in the form of his sister Layla's voice.

Who was then quickly joined by a bit more tired voice of her elder sister, as she opined with a few groans and grunts, "Our flat is indeed a bit too high. You really feel that every time carrying the water up. I can see why only poor people got the higher floors. Arghhh! It is such a pain!"

Naturally, the two young girls were still carrying the full bucket of water by themselves, which was quite heavy to say the least, weighing close to 15 kilograms each.

While none of the much stronger, bigger men offered it off them.

And this was not because these men did not love their sisters.

But this was the norm of the times.

The men simply did not think this was anything to concern themselves with, as this act of drawing and transporting water was seen as a woman's job.

Thus the men did not interfere.

Although Nayla's comment did get a sharp scolding from her father, who venomously snapped,

"Ungrateful girl. Who taught you to bad mouth your father like this? Is this why I let you stay under my roof? To curse behind me? Without me, you would not even be allowed to enter this building. Poor, my ass!"

For the old merchant, the word 'poor' was an immensely sensitive reverse scale.

Now, Jamiz's fuming and bellicose attitude towards his daughters at such a small complaint might seem shocking to a modern audience, and label him as a waste of a father.

But the old merchant could actually be regarded as a decent father for the current times.

This was indeed how the regular people of this time period treated their daughters, because Adhanian society as a whole saw daughters as burdens, as properties of their fathers, brothers, and then their husbands.

And by that standard, Jamiz might even be seen as quite a good father by some.

Although that standard was quite low to begin with, as evidenced by how the youngest sister Layla had to quickly jump in to save her sibling from her father's fiery temper, crying out in a sweet, pleading voice,

"Father come down! Sister did not mean anything by it! I quite like the high floors. The scenery from there is so nice! I cannot get enough of it."

"Yes, yes, me too. I did not mean anything by it." Along with her, Nayla too apologized with a rapidly nodding head

"Hmmp!" This sincere apology as well as the good mood the man was currently in sought to finally placate the father this time.

And they at last reached their destination, the top floor, the fourth floor.

"The entire floor is ours!" And as soon as Jamiz stepped off the stairway, the old man said so in a voice tinged with unmistakable pride, while spreading both his hand.

"All eight!" And the revealed number naturally surprised the brothers.

They had already seen each floor consist of eight apartments occupying two wings.

So to have the entire thing to themselves was a fact that surprised all of them."

"Hah hah, it looks like business is really going well. We are reassured. We are reassured."

Thus one of the brothers could not help but burst out in pleasure, while another joked in a fake, rueful tone,

"And here I was thinking I would be finally able to put a roof over my old man's head with loot from the battles. What a pity, what a pity."

"Hah hah." That one got a good chuckle from the others.

"Mom! Sis! Guess whose back! Come and see!" While the two sisters quickly called to the rest of the family.

And

"Sons! You are back!"

"Husband!"

"Father!"

Almost the very next instant they said so, the returning soldiers found themselves swarmed from all sides by the rest of their family members.

Thus for the third time, the four brothers received a hero's welcome, where they exchanged pleasantries with their mothers, wives, and children, with many of the women hugging and even breaking out into tears of joy upon seeing them.

It was almost two hours later that the men finally could detach themselves from their loved ones who had missed them oh so much, and was then allowed to wash and refresh them.

Using, might I add, the water their sisters had pulled up from the well below.

And then at last got to sit around the large, ornate, dining table, under the bright illumination of many, many candles, where awaited for them a large feast.

The table was currently filled with many delicacies, which, though had nothing worth looking at twice when compared to Alexander's lavish banquets, was still quite respectable when compared on its own merit.

Large loaves of pure white bread made of high quality wheat, beef, chicken, and mutton, all cooked in different ways, boiled, barbecued and stewed, succulent cuts of various seasonal fish, and vegetables basted in butter.

All paired with different types of fruits and a large glass of Camius's famous wine.

Even for someone as well off as Jamiz, this was a grand feast.

And the men there shared that feeling too, thinking they were eating like royalty.

Although by men, I do mean only men.

Meaning the six brothers, their father, three of their brothers-in-law, and four adult nephews.

The women and girls would eat later, and as cruel as it might sound, their choices of the menu would be much more limited.

For example, they would not have the white bread, since it was so expensive.

Instead, they would eat good quality brown bread.

They would also not have access to all three types of meat or in the same proportion available to the men.

Instead, they would be restricted to only one type of meat.

So while eating, many times, the mother, the sisters, and the wives would share parts of their proportion of meat to get a taste of all the various types.

As for the fish and vegetables, they were fair game, since they were seen as the commoner's food.

But certainly not the wine, in fear that they would 'lapse into disgraceful acts!"

If you are not reading this at webnovel.com, then sorry, the content you're reading is STOLEN!

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

Please come Here!

=>Link to the original site:

https://www.webnovel.com/book/herald-of-steel_24388579605084705