CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER 237: THE LIFE OF CASARIDAOA

There were already some people gathered on both sides of the water channel, some filling their containers and leaving, some taking a sip of the cool river water, and others directly scooping water to refresh themselves...

"Casaridaoa!" A shout came from the crowd.

Casaridaoa took a good look and hurried over, respectfully saluting, "Captain, good morning!"

Centurion Stags looked at him and asked with a slightly serious expression, "You got up quite early; have you prepared everything?"

"Report to the captain! Helmet, breastplate, shin guards, square shield, short sword, along with a wooden pot, pottery jar, iron plate, crane head shovel... and five days’ rations, I’ve packed them all." Casaridaoa answered fluently.

"You are now a centurion, so you cannot only take care of yourself; you must also supervise the soldiers under you!" Stags reminded.

"Yes, I know."

"How many reserve tribe members do you have in your squad?" Stags asked again.

"Two."

"Not many. Have you learned the Illyrian language during this time?"

"Captain, don’t forget my wife is a Skodisqi, and I learn Illyrian from her every day. I speak it fluently now! Would you like me to say a few words?" Casaridaoa boasted.

"You lucky boy, you’ve hit the jackpot this time!"

The reason Stags said this is because the Military Department had once issued a notice: Future tribe members who want to be promoted to centurion, centurion, great captain, or even legion commander, must be able to speak Illyrian and communicate with the Skodisqi people and Pannonians, or else they cannot become a team officer.

"Uh..." Stags thought for a moment, then said, "When we gather, I plan to transfer two reserve tribe members from other squads to replace some of the soldiers in your squad. What do you think?"

"No problem!" Casaridaoa agreed readily.

"Good! Very good!" This was the main reason Stags liked this young man, who never procrastinated or negotiated terms when accepting orders.

After bidding farewell to Stags, Casaridaoa carried the bucket filled with water back to his own home, pushed open the half-closed door, and saw his wife, Enneaga, who was already awake, sorting out the bedding with her big belly.

Casaridaoa quickly put down the bucket and hurriedly said, "Why did you get up so early? Lie down and get some more sleep; the doctor said pregnant women need more rest, which is good for both your health and the baby!"

"I couldn’t sleep thinking that you were leaving soon."

Enneaga’s words were filled with reluctance, and Casaridaoa was momentarily stunned, then said, "If you can’t sleep, you can rest while sitting; let me do these chores, don’t tire yourself out!"

Saying this, he moved forward to help, but Enneaga gently pushed him away, "Such little things won’t tire me! The doctor also told me that I need to do some moderate exercise every day so that it will be easier when the baby comes!"

Knowing his wife’s stubbornness, Casaridaoa did not insist further and joined her in doing chores.

The two busied themselves for a while, finishing up their tasks, and the wheat porridge was almost ready. Casaridaoa brought the pottery jar and bread to the wooden table, and they started having breakfast, sitting on wooden stools.

Enneaga scooped an egg from the pottery jar with a wooden spoon and placed it in her husband’s wooden bowl, excitedly saying, "After I got up in the morning, I walked around the yard and found that the hen we bought at the market the day before yesterday had laid an egg, try it—it might be tasty!"

"You should eat this egg! You’re carrying a child and should eat well!" Casaridaoa decisively scooped the egg back into his wife’s bowl.

The two of them kept pushing it back and forth, ultimately, Enneaga ate most of it, and Casaridaoa ate a small portion.

"Is it delicious?" Enneaga asked eagerly.

"It’s delicious." Casaridaoa used his finger to brush the bits of egg yolk from the corner of his mouth back onto his tongue.

"The speckled hen has started laying eggs, seems like it has settled in here. I’ll feed it extra wheat bran and bugs every day, and it will lay eggs for us daily. I want to go to the market and exchange for a few more hens, so we will consistently have enough eggs to eat!"

Enneaga enthusiastically said, "I also want to go to the market and exchange with the Aldeans for a ewe. Once we raise it well, we can regularly milk it and make cheese. Moreover, the doctor said that once the child is born, drinking sheep milk would help them grow quickly... What do you think?"

"Of course, go ahead and take care of the house affairs." Casaridaoa paused and said kindly, "But now that you’re pregnant and it’s inconvenient for you to move around, you should first go to the Military Department’s residence, ask them to send someone to accompany you to the market, to help you bring the chickens and sheep you fancy back home...

Oh, I forgot to mention, yesterday afternoon when we were gathering the First Legion on the training ground, Leader Maximus made a special trip to emphasize to us that if any soldier’s family is in difficulty, they can always seek help from the Military Department, which will do its best to solve the problem for us...

Also, the hospital will regularly send nurses to check on you women who are pregnant, and if the birth is imminent, they’ll arrange for you to be hospitalized promptly... so don’t worry, the leader has everything well planned."

Enneaga nodded, then couldn’t help but ask, "When will you be back?"

"The legion commander told us it wouldn’t be more than a month!" Casaridaoa said lightly, "The place we’re going is not far from here. We just follow the river south, and we’ll get there soon to help the Aldeans fight a battle and then quickly return..."

"Then... you must take care of yourself!" Enneaga said, full of concern.

"You saw the armor next to the bed, right? It’s made of iron, so thick—" Casaridaoa gestured confidently, "A long spear or a short sword won’t leave a scratch on it! Moreover, the First Legion is very powerful. The Otarlat people won’t be able to fight us for long before being defeated... Rest assured, I’ll return safely!"

Enneaga’s worry eased slightly but she continued talking to her husband because it was the only way to relieve her sense of loss.

After breakfast, Casaridaoa sat by the bed and began donning his breastplate, while Enneaga sat beside him, silently assisting him.

Once Casaridaoa wore the breastplate and shin guards and hung the helmet in front of his chest, he strapped a short dagger and a short sword to his waist, slung a square shield over his back, and packed all his everyday items into a bag, slinging it over his shoulder with a Futuca wooden stick.

Enneaga silently handed him a cloth bag filled with large pieces of bread.

Casaridaoa took it with his left hand and, looking at his wife, smiled brightly, "I’m off now. The road is filled with First Legion soldiers rushing to the training ground. It’s inconvenient for you to see me off. Rest assured, I’ll be back soon!"

Enneaga bit her lip and nodded firmly.

As Casaridaoa reached the door, he couldn’t help but turn back, unwillingly looking at the room full of various items:

A bit over half a year ago, because he and Enneaga got married, the tribe granted them this house. At that time, the house was dilapidated, with nothing inside but a broken bed. During the winter nights, he and Enneaga had to keep the fire burning and cover themselves with an army-issued linen blanket, hugging each other tightly for warmth to be able to sleep comfortably.

In the past few months, thanks to their joint effort, they repaired the house and the property, and through several credits, they bought various pieces of furniture and everyday items from the market, and only a few days ago, they paid off their debts with the harvested wheat, turning this place into a real home, a warm home, completely replacing his memories of that small house he shared with an old friend, transforming him from an idle loafer into a genuinely responsible man...

Casaridaoa dared not look any longer, quickly stepping out of the house, casting his reluctance to the back of his mind.

Enneaga leaned against the courtyard gate, watching her husband’s departing figure with her eyes quickly reddening: Initially, she chose Casaridaoa just to gain freedom and live a better life. At that time, Casaridaoa was a complete stranger to her, and they couldn’t even communicate in the same language. From the initial struggles to having heart-to-heart conversations now, the two of them overcame many difficulties together in these tough times and became a genuine family. Therefore, as Casaridaoa went away for a period, she felt an emptiness in her heart, the pain of which made her cry...

Leaving his house, Casaridaoa did not head directly to the training ground of the Military Department. Instead, he visited some neighboring homes, which were inhabited by soldiers under his squad.

The Nix Tribe was founded less than a year ago, yet the tribe had nearly 40,000 people, occupying the two fortresses of Snowdonia and Westeni, with extensive land on both sides of this section of the Kupa River.

In such a large tribe, each subtribe had a similar management method: The leader controlled a larger population and land, and the nobles in the tribe managed some population and land. Except for important matters, which the leader and nobles discussed and ultimately executed by the leader, daily affairs were not interfered with, allowing the tribe to run in order.

However, the case of the Nix Tribe was different: Power was highly concentrated in the hands of Leader Maximus and his Political Affairs Hall. Nine departments under it were responsible for various affairs of the tribe.

But there weren’t many officials in the nine departments who, within their jurisdictions, could only play a role in conveying, guiding, and supervising, unable to govern each tribesman effectively. The team officers of each legion truly played the basic administrative role.

According to Maximus’s instructions, when the tribe assigned houses and lands to the tribesmen, they tried to arrange tribesmen from the same Centurion and Ten-man Team in the same area. Hence, these centurions and centurions could easily gather their soldiers for military training during fallows. Additionally, during busy farming periods, the team officers had to help urge the soldiers to farm, assist the Agricultural Department in promoting new farming techniques, and coordinate and help soldiers solve daily difficulties and conflicts...