markets

She found some areas had signs of opulence and some had basic shacks. Some were kept so clean and others she gagged over. Somehow the centuries had not let go of their putrid smells. Or perhaps it was just her sensibility rather than her actual senses? She’d probably never know the answer to that. There was still evidence of their state. Carcasses of rodents were in the wall ruins, and cockroaches and ants were still scurrying where the garbage had overflowed. She put a cloth scarf over her mouth and nose. Why was it the bugs always survived??
She could imagine the spices and cloths that would be stocked for those who could afford them. The fresh fruit, vegetables and in most cases fish markets. They probably had a lot of eggs and milks. Perhaps some cheese and yogurt. Made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, horses and camels. So many of these recipes had been lost when the cattle barons had taken over with the dairy industry. Until people realized that not everyone could process dairy. And then there was BCE.
She could imagine all the salt miners who flourished during these times too. Until they made a link between salt and hypertension.
The poor cloth vendors had trickled down to a small trade when they started making fabric from petroleum products. Again it was allergies that made people go back to more natural fabrics.
In a few areas, she found market stalls where people provided services and repairs for goods. In her time, they were rarely needed. The earth had almost been lost as a planet by the culture of consumerism and waste of these early times. She breathed a sigh of relief that things had been turned around. The doom’s day clock had been on serious warning ties for centuries before they figured things out. They had been looking at different planets to habituate but for whatever reason, they had never worked out. So the governments finally started penalizing businesses who couldn’t grasp the green revolution. It had been so close though.
And the people had spent so much time and energy wrapped up in an endless race for meaningless goals. Wow.
She was so glad things had changed.