『92 BC, Crossing the Sea of Hidaka』[156] The Oasis Country of Hamil
Chapter 6: Journey Around the Northern Iron Kilns
Section 10: At the Bazaar of Hamil
[156] ■ Episode 1: Expedition Days 37-39, The Oasis Country of Hamil
Hamil was a comfortable-looking land, blessed with water and surrounded by forests. High mountain ranges towering to the north blocked the wind and brought water. Many people gathered from the east and west to form a bazaar.
It was only after seeing this bazaar that Naoto understood what Josef had said at the Fuyo Inlet. Josef had said back then that in a bazaar, you don't trade, but rather shout out the prices of what you want to sell at the top of your lungs. That was true. Everyone at the storefronts was shouting out some number in a loud voice.
However, even in Hamil, Naoto could not find the vessel he was looking for. Instead, Naoto obtained so many other items that he could not even carry them.
The merchants lining up their goods at the bazaar all had stern expressions similar to Josef's.
Everyone was surprised when Eregzen, who was Xiongnu through and through from head to toe, spoke in Sogdian. On the other hand, Naoto was speaking exactly as he had heard it. Perhaps the sound of it was funny. Every merchant broke their stern expression and laughed. And they were as kind as they were amused.
They would always ask, "Where are you from?" Some would ask, "Where did you learn Sogdian?" He would reply with things like "Lake Hanka" or "Fuyo Inlet," but no one knew those places.
—Well, that was fine.
The bustle of the bazaar was astonishing. People with all sorts of strange faces were selling, buying, negotiating, and passing by. As he walked through the bazaar, whether he turned a corner or went straight, the same kind of scene continued. People in various attires were strolling about in the same way, occasionally shouting at the top of their lungs.
Perhaps it was because he had seen so many such people that Eregzen whispered to Naoto,
"I thought we would look quite strange, but coming here, that doesn't seem to be the case."
It was overflowing with every imaginable product. For Naoto, everything was something he was seeing for the first time. Everything they had brought in was placed on shelves or laid out on textiles and beaten cloth spread on the floor. Some things were hung from above.
A man standing in front of a stand skillfully pierced a piece he had cut from a large round fruit with a small knife and offered it as if to say, "Here." Naoto looked at Eregzen, took it, and ate it. It was sweet. He said, "I'll take one," pointed to the smallest fruit among those lined up on the ground, and Eregzen whispered to him, "It's a melon." It was a juiciness he was tasting for the first time.
They continued to wander around. When Eregzen stopped and asked, "Do you have such and such?" the merchant would silently point to it. Even if they didn't have it on hand, they would never say "no." When he said "Wait a little" in Sogdian, and Eregzen asked back in Sogdian, "How long should I wait?" the merchant looked a little surprised, then laughed and said, "Just a little while," and called out something in an unintelligible language to the other side of the street.
Then, in just a short time, the desired item was placed in front of them. Eregzen negotiated, "How much is it in silver?" and usually got it for less than he had expected.
"You can trust this place."
Eregzen said in the Xiongnu language in front of one shop and urged Naoto to see if there was anything else to buy. Naoto mentioned one after another the things he had been curious about while walking through the bazaar, and Eregzen conveyed them so the other party could understand.
"Wait, wait."
When he said that, the merchant began to write on a nearby brick with a thin piece of charcoal. Eregzen peeked from the side and chimed in, "No, not a small one, a large one."
"Can you read my Sogdian?"
The merchant said, looking surprised.
Partway through, Eregzen's expression changed to one of genuine worry.
—How are we going to carry all that back!
In the end, Eregzen ended up having to buy a large camel. And for a long time after, he grumbled, "I don't like its high-pitched cry. It's like a fussy baby. I don't like its face with a piece of wood stuck in its nose instead of a bit. I bought a troublesome thing."
Thus, they decided that everything Naoto wanted would be picked up there the morning after next, left a whole bag of silver as a deposit, and left the scene.
The inn (boodal) where they would stay for two nights was decided quickly. It was surrounded by high walls that made one look up, and both horses and camels were brought inside the walls and tied to trees.
To Section 10, Episode 2 [157]
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