What was Hunter Ackerman's proposal? Hunter, who seemed to be the most "shrewd" of Red's three sons, thought of a possibility in advance that if Aesop really had any tricks up his sleeve to get the citizens' assembly to rule that he was Aesop-Ackerman, then the mansion and grange would be taken away, and their family's plan to buy a merchant ship would have to be ruined.

In order to prevent this "worst-case" scenario, he petitioned the Citizens' Assembly that, if Aesop's identity was confirmed, another matter would be adjudicated—compensation for the sixty years of custody of the house and the grange.

Aesop's father, Sainz Ackerman, was killed in an accident, and the Grange and the House would have been deserted and abandoned if no one had taken care of it, not to mention that the House had to be renovated several times to preserve it to the present day, and the operation and maintenance of the Grange had not made any money at all in recent years, but it was a burden in the war years, otherwise the family would not have thought of selling the house and the Grange to engage in more profitable trade.

If Hunter did make such a request, Aesop could also refute it, for example, the Red family had lived in the house, and the income from running the grange over the years should also be able to cover the cost of safekeeping, or the two should not owe each other. It's a complicated matter, but logically speaking, Aesop can still get his father's assets when he returns after sixty years, and the Red family is indispensable, and if he is rich, it is not impossible to make appropriate compensation.

So Hunter wants to take advantage of the city-state citizens' representative meeting to apply for a ruling - should Aesop compensate the Red family?

But the result of the matter was beyond Hunter's expectations, Aesop did get back the Grange and the mansion, which belonged to him, but Aesop did not come to fight for property, and gave the three brothers such a precious gift in public, which was far more valuable than the Grange and the mansion. If the second bill was thrown out in public, Hunt would become a joke for the entire city-state of Miduri, so he quickly withdrew the request.

Since Hunter gave up the request, Thales did not say what the second motion was in public, and Aesop was like a mirror, so she could naturally guess, but did not ask anything. After the meeting of the citizens' representatives and the acquaintance of his family, Isolt took up residence in his hometown, where he got along well with his cousin and three nephews, and frequented and frequented each other.

Aesop lived in the house, where Red often invited his brother to his house, and his three nephews often visited his uncle. Aesop was a kind elder who was kind to all three of his nephews.

Red's eldest son was an officer with a short temper and a quick and impulsive attitude. Isolt often told him about marching and fighting, telling him that war strategy and judgment of the situation were far more important to a commander than impulse. Red's second son was a merchant, and he was responsible for buying ships and trading. Doing business is Aesop's old business, so I often talk to him about how to do business, and it is not blind calculation that is the real benefit.

As for the youngest nephew, Will, he is only sixteen years old this year, which happens to be the age when Aesop left his hometown, and his face is similar to Aesop when he was a teenager, and he is Aesop's favorite junior. He even told his cousin that he would come to his side when he had time, stay with him, and help him with the shop. The implication is that Vail will be his heir in the future. Red was of course pleased, and Vail liked to run to his uncle's side.

Isolt has taken back the grange and the house, how can there be a shop? This matter also has something to do with Vail, and it is not for nothing that Isolt likes him the most. Among the possessions left by Aesop's father was a shop in the city of Miduri, where Aesop's father was originally a merchant. Later, the shop was inherited by Red, who sold his assets to buy a ship to do business, and the first to sell was the shop, and Aesop did not mention it again.

However, Vail took the initiative to tell Aesop that in addition to the mansion and the grange, he should inherit a shop in the city, which was not far from the mansion and had been sold not long ago. At the same time that Vail told his uncle, he bought the shop back at his own expense, and returned it to Aesop with his uncle's name written on it.

Isolt accepted the "gift" from her little nephew and left the shop to Will. Some of the goods that Hunter dealt in were to be sold in the city of Miduri, and of course they were all handed over to this shop. Aesop lived a leisurely life, and when he had nothing to do, he went to the city-state square to chat with people, and became good friends with the sage named Thales.

Aesop also often runs to the shop and sits and looks at the counter like a normal fellow to do business, which was the old business decades ago, and now feels very happy to return to the old business.

Of course, the old mansion was renovated, and it was very comfortable to live in, and it was renovated by Amon with the hired craftsmen, needless to say, the craftsmanship of the gods needless to say, but even the craftsmen who worked with Amon did not find anything abnormal, but they just felt that this coachman was particularly industrious and capable, and Master Aesop really knew how to hire a buddy!

When renovating the house, Amont asked Aesop if he wanted to hide the original symbol of the Patronus if he wanted to hide it again? Aesop said no, so the steps in front of the door were not moved, but the stone slab with the Scepter of Hermes engraved on the back was still in place, and there was no other Patronus symbol hidden in the new house.

Aesop believed in Amun as the only god, and in his opinion, the power carved on the stone tablets was just a traditional hidden decoration, which was still in place as a memory, but he did not believe in Hermes, so he did not have to do anything superfluous.

With Aesop's age and experience, he has reached the point where he does not have to be tempted by everything, and he can do what he wants and be at peace. He knew who Amon was, but he still watched Amon repair the house for him like an ordinary craftsman, and if Amon himself asked for it, then he wouldn't interfere. Anyway, it happened that someone needed to repair the house, and Aesop didn't care if the person who repaired the house was a god or not, as long as Amon was a qualified craftsman.

If someone in the know saw this scene, they might think that Aesop was disrespectful to the gods, but Aesop knew very well how to get along with the gods. Amun came to earth to seek verification, and since he did so, it was the process of verification. Aesop didn't know what he could do for the gods, and that's how he helped the gods.

The house was repaired, Aesop lived in the city and did not need to take a carriage, and Amon, the "coachman", was "unemployed". But he made another request to Aesop to take care of the Grange. Aesop asked privately, "My God, why do you go and take care of my grange?"

Amon smiled: "I was destined to be a blacksmith and a miner all my life, and if it weren't for the later events, I might have been for the rest of my life." But then I became a hunter in the mountains, a guard of the temple, a general in command of the army, and a charioteer, but I never became a farmer. ”

Aesop didn't say anything more, and directly handed over the farm to Amon to take full control, but told Amon what crops he wanted to grow in order to run the farm. In the eyes of others, Aesop was very generous and trusting to the old fellow who had followed him back to his hometown, and when he didn't need a coachman, he handed over the farm to Amun.

Amun, also called Amun, no one would have thought that he was the main god of Eju, but only regarded him as a mortal with the same name as some exotic god. Running a farm was a lot of work, Aesop's grange was half-flat and half-sloped, most of the crops originally grown were olives, and olive oil was the most important commodity and export commodity for the city-states of the Aaron.

Aesop, however, changed the crops, planted grapes on the slopes, built his own cellar on the farm, and planted wheat on the flat land. The fertile plains near the city-state of Miduri were limited in size, and much of the land was not very productive for growing wheat, preferring to import it rather than grow it themselves, but Aesop did the opposite.

It will take at least a year or two to replant crops and see a good harvest, and Medanzo also asked Amon privately: "My God, you escort Aesop back to his homeland, and now fulfill your wish." Do you want to stay here to accompany Aesop to the end of her life?"

Amon shook his head and said, "It's not for Aesop, he has relatives in his hometown and is doing well, which is what he asks for, not what the gods give." If it weren't for me, he could have hired a better farmer to take care of the grange. As a god he worshipped, I didn't have to stay here, even if I was far away in heaven, I could hear his prayers and calls.

I came to the world to have my own verification, to deal with people here, to observe what the world thinks, and everything happens naturally and naturally, which is different from looking at the world from afar in the kingdom of heaven. I was inspired by the experiences we had along the way, including the plays we saw in the city of Aaron and what Aesop did. ”

Since Amon said so, Medanzo naturally stayed in Aesop's house, and the gods and ninth-level divine envoys would not care about one or two years. In the eyes of others, Medanzo and Amon were both Aesop's retinue brought back to their hometown, Medanzo was a handsome and majestic samurai who could escort Aesop all the way back to Miduri, obviously not weak, and maybe even a great samurai. With him here, naturally no one dared to trouble Aesop.

After Aesop handed over the Grange to Amun, he stopped bothering about it, and every day except for going to the city-state square to find Thales or chatting with the people, he was talking to Vail about the affairs of the world and the north and the west in the shop. There was one thing that Weil didn't quite understand, and once asked specifically: "Dear uncle, running a farm naturally doesn't make money from business, but it doesn't matter if you like it, after all, you keep the land of your ancestors." If you grow grapes to make wine, it's a good deal if the wine is good, but growing wheat is obviously not as good as growing olives. ”

Aesop smiled and said, "Wait and see, it won't take long for you to understand." Now that the conflict between the Arron League and the Kibada League on the Heaton Peninsula is becoming more and more intense, the Macedonian kingdom in the north is rising, and the Poz Empire is still not willing to accept defeat. In this situation, will the Aronian Alliance be able to maintain its commercial hegemony for a long time?

What will happen to the city-state of Miduri, which lacks products, once the sea lines of communication are cut off, or if the focus of commerce and trade shifts? Your second brother will be able to make money when the time comes? Everyone is growing olives, and if olive oil cannot be shipped out because of the war, what will be the result? I have told your eldest brother about the recent strategic situation, mainly military, but I am still a farmer, so I will naturally have my own considerations. ”

As Isolt was talking to her little nephew, a young man walked into the shop. He was wearing a short-sleeved tunic and holding a willow branch, and he looked very delicate. Aesop stood up and beckoned, "Sir, do you want to buy anything?"

The young man smiled and shook his head: "I'm just going into the city to find a grocery store, and I'll come in and see if there's anything I need." ”

Aesop waved her hand: "Then feel free to look at it." ”

The young man looked at the goods on the shelves, and suddenly pointed to the idols sold on the most exquisite shelves at the back of the store and asked, "How much does Zeus sell for you?"

Aesop replied politely, "It's not Zeus, it's the statue of Zeus, the one you are referring to sells for two silver coins." ”

The young man asked with a smirk: "The great Zeus is the father of the gods of Olympus, can this majestic idol be put on the shelves and bought and sold like an ordinary commodity? Can faith in the gods also be traded with money?

Young people's questions are interesting and sound like finding fault. But this was the city-state of the Aaron League, and there were often similar debates among various sages and wise men in the square of the city-state's temple, so Aesop was not surprised. It seems that the young man was a traveling sage passing by, but he asked the shopkeeper who was selling idols.

Aesop replied unhurriedly, "I have been to many countries in the Tianshu Continent, such as Eju, where idols cannot be openly bought and sold, otherwise it will be regarded as blasphemy against the gods. However, the idol does not fall from the sky, and if the official or the people want to build the idol of the god, they must also ask craftsmen to carve and depict it, which is to calculate the remuneration.

The beliefs here are more tolerant, and the people are more intimate with the gods. Your willingness to pay for this idol instead of taking it to a tavern for a drink proves that you are willing to pay for your faith. And this money was not paid to the gods, but to the craftsmen who carved the idols, the grooms who transported the idols, and the shops that sold the idols.

If you think you're buying a god, then two silver coins are blasphemy, and you can make an offer to Zeus yourself, and no one can afford it! All we have is the starry sky above our heads and the faith in our hearts, and what is outside of us is a way of expression, so I want to ask you, how much would you like to bid for such a statue?"

The young man was slightly stunned, as if he didn't expect Aesop to have such an answer, so he changed the topic, and pointed to the idol of Hera next to Zeus and said, "Then how much does this idol cost?"

Hera, the wife of the mythical Zeus, is a stone sculpture and painted goddess, wearing a flower crown decorated with peacock feathers and a bright long dress. Aesop replied, "Four silver coins." ”

The young man was surprised, "These two idols are of the same material and size, why is the idol of Hera twice as expensive as the idol of the father of the gods?"

Aesop calmly explained: "This is a statue of a goddess, the flower crown and clothing are much more complicated, and the craftsmen have to spend twice as much time to carve carefully, and if you are not careful, it is easy to damage, then the whole stone will be wasted, so it will be sold more expensive." ”

The young man nodded, then pointed to the bottom of the wooden frame and asked: "Then the statue of Hermes, the patron saint of the city-state of Miduri and the protector of the merchants, is about the same size as the two statues just now, and the carving is also very exquisite, I like it very much, how much are you going to sell it?"

At this moment, Amon's voice suddenly sounded in Aesop's soul: "This young man in front of you is the god Hermes himself, he came from the heavenly kingdom of Olympus, and he also walked directly down from the altar of the temple of the city-state. ”

Amon was far away in the vineyards outside the city, but he noticed the situation here in time and secretly alerted Aesop. Aesop didn't show any unusual expression when he heard Amun's voice, and said to Hermes very calmly: "Do you mean this idol? If you pay six silver coins to buy the two idols just now, this one is considered an additional head, and we will give it away at a discount." ”

Hermes's smile froze for a moment, and then he asked, "I think this statue is good, don't you plan to sell it for a more expensive price?"

Still smiling, Isolt said, "This is just a god statue worth so much money, it's genuine, I don't want to deceive you." ”

Hermes frowned slightly: "Old man, do you know who I am?"

Aesop replied, "You're the customer who came to ask for the price, and I'm the owner of the shop." ”

The young man turned around and walked out of the shop without saying a word, and Will, who had been standing next to him, felt a little inexplicable, and Amon's voice sounded in Aesop's soul again: "Aesop, I want to say thank you! ”

...... Why did Amon thank Aesop? And what was Hermes's purpose?

At the council of the citizens of the city-state, Hermes sent down an oracle at the request of the people: "Citizens of Miduri, the old man before you has returned from a foreign land, and there is no light from the gods, who will not prove his identity, and who will need him to prove himself. ”

Aesop's way to prove her identity was to remove the Hermes Scepter mark hidden in the old mansion, and when she rebuilt the mansion, she put the stone slab back untouched. Hermes was aware of Aesop's beliefs, and Aesop expressed her beliefs, and this silent dialogue between gods and mortals was equally divided.

When Hermes came to earth and appeared in front of Aesop in person, whether he said his name or not, Aesop would treat him as a guest to ask for a price. How to sell the goods in the shop, Isolt did not disrespect this customer. And Amon watched this scene, understood the cause and effect, and also had his own feelings.

...... Autumn is coming to an end, winter is approaching, and the newly planted grapes need to be unloaded, twiged and buried in the soil, and the farmers in the grange are busy on the wheat field and have no manpower. So Amon went to the side of the road outside the farm, ready to hire a day laborer.

**

(To be continued)