Chapter 13 Settling in Vesuvius
Maximus had a sudden thought: "These large farms you're talking about, are they in the Vesuvius Volcano Region?"
"Yes, exactly there!" The old man intensified his tone, affirming, "Those large farms occupy almost over a thousand acres of extremely fertile land, with hundreds to thousands of slaves, countless grain and livestock, and even some beautiful female slaves—"
"Hey!" Maximus interrupted him, rudely saying, "Old man, are you trying to incite us to rob those large farms?"
"No... no, I just want to tell you the truth." The old man shook his head in denial.
Maximus sneered, and the old man's words stirred the memories of the original owner in his mind: "Facing competition from these large farms, can this farm's wheat and wool be sold? And at what loss?"
The old man fell silent.
Though there were no large farms around Capua, the market there was basically dominated by agricultural products from these large farms. According to what the original owner's master said, the owners of these large farms were mostly Roman Nobles who exploited the fertile soil of Vesuvius, and the many cheap slaves, to grow better wheat, better grapes, better olives... They sold these agricultural products at the same or even lower prices, so naturally, the public flocked to them. Even the original owner's master, who owned several hundred acres of land, often lamented that his own goods couldn't sell. The owner of this farm probably isn't faring much better, not to mention the commoners...
Considering this, Maximus regained his composure and said to everyone in the kitchen: "Have you all finished eating? Then keep working and bake another three hundred loaves of bread."
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