Leona and Jerusalem (1)
"Go and listen to the teacher's words well?!"
After dropping Leona off at the village, I said.
"Yeah!"
Leona wasn't the type to ignore what was said, but this was just said without meaning.
A person who had come to greet Leona was standing in front.
We exchanged light nods, and I watched as Leona headed towards the prayer hall.
"Let's get going."
"Should we go to the market?"
"Yeah."
Merchants had already begun operating in Jerusalem.
With twenty thousand prisoners crammed into the city, merchants flocked there, forming a bustling market.
There was no better opportunity for the merchants.
Among the merchants were those who had come from Babylon.
Among the Judahites, there were those who had invested in their masters in Babylon and become merchants.
The Judahites still didn't have any suitable means to maintain their livelihood other than trade.
One of the reasons Daniel was running around everywhere was among them.
Until the Judahites fully settled in, they needed economic support.
King Gatnesar couldn't provide economic support forever.
It was impossible to live only on subsidies forever.
As Judahites who weren't prisoners, they had to become self-reliant.
"I'll focus on grape farming."
After briefly visiting Daniel's residence, that's what he said.
The duty King Gatnesar gave to Daniel was duke.
When you become a duke, you receive land from the king separately.
Also, independent rule over the city.
The most important point was that you could have military power.
Only a few people received the title of duke,
but the difference was that those who received the duke title and Daniel's duke title were different.
They couldn't have military power and were just dukes in name.
Nevertheless, King Gatnesar gave him a high title out of consideration for the Kingdom of Judah.
Land rights and rule in the city of Jerusalem.
To allow them to carry out independent policies by gathering the prisoners.
King Gatnesar named the Kingdom of Judah inside his country as Jerusalem,
but the ultimate goal was for them to become independent and leave.
The Kingdom of Judah had already been destroyed and disappeared.
Now, they had no foundation to become independent either.
With a population of twenty thousand crammed in, they were basically penniless.
What King Gatnesar wanted was to help them achieve economic independence and self-reliance in Jerusalem.
That was it.
Actually, it was an absurd policy.
Was it reasonable to raise the prisoners to regain the country?
If pushed too hard, they might gain strength and cause a rebellion.
However, none of the nobles under King Gatnesar objected.
All agreed unanimously to give Daniel the title of duke, and each city lord came to support Jerusalem independently.
Currently, the economic activities of the Judahites were either working as day laborers building the city, trading, or teaching the law as law teachers.
When the Babylonians first came to learn the law, there was strong resistance.
To the Judahites, Babylonians were just foreigners.
Foreigners who had oppressed them, raped them, and assaulted them.
However, due to Daniel's proclamation, they accepted the Babylonians.
"How could foreigners love to follow the law.."
A Judahite said.
A single word that began to change the minds of those who were uncomfortable.
The Babylonians' attitude changed the Judahites' gaze.
The Babylonians were craving.
From the moment they started learning the law, the path of learning was boiling.
From various places in Babylon, people started coming to Jerusalem to learn the law,
and a prayer hall was built.
After the prayer, they formed groups and had separate times to learn the law.
No one was negligent in learning the law.
They would wait for this time alone.
That's why the market naturally developed.
At least ten thousand people were coming and going, and restaurants were built.
With restaurants, inns that received guests.
Shops for offerings to the deity.
People selling animals for sacrifices.
It was temporary and shabby, but gradually developing.
Still, they had no choice but to conduct economic activities this way.
But Daniel wanted to cultivate stable domestic production.
That was the grape farming.
To the Judahites, it was regarded as a specialty product 'grape wine'.
Grape wine was considered the blood of the one true God.
A food with a long history.
The first thing the Judahites were disappointed in when they came to Babylon was the wine.
"Fuck. As someone who believes in the law, it's embarrassing, but I can't not drink this wine without cursing!"
"Ugh! I repent to the deity! This shitty wine is just torture."
The Babylonians enjoyed wine more than water.
They enjoyed the luxury of competing who drank more wine.
There was nothing more stupid in the eyes of the Judahites.
The thick, ambiguous sweetness that couldn't be swallowed.
They couldn't tolerate it.
Once, the prisoners from Babylon had died, and all of this came from the wine.
The Babylonian owner gathered slaves and gave them wine instead of water to boast about his wine.
"How is it! Isn't it much smoother than your wine? It's wine made from the water of the Babylonian river, so it should be elegant! It can't be compared to your wine! Drink it gratefully!"
The Babylonian owner was probably thinking of pampering the Judahite slaves along with his own wealth.
No matter how much he boasted, wine was a very expensive drink.
But the Judahite slaves, feeling their pride hurt, poured all the wine on the ground.
"What are you doing?"
"If you're going to dirty my mouth with this kind of foreigner's drink, you've got it wrong!"
"Have you said everything?"
"This drink isn't even good for dogs! The wine of Judah is a product given by the deity and a treasure! This is like shit or piss. You're just a dirty foreigner who eats filth!"
"Oh? Are you going crazy wanting to die?"
"Better to kill me than make me eat filth! Rather, drinking real piss would be better."
"You've gone crazy? Good! I'll give you piss now!"
The owner didn't kill the slaves.
He gave them the piss they wanted to torture them.
The Judahite slaves drank the piss to not betray their master, but it didn't last even a few days.
The slaves who no longer put anything in their mouths died from dehydration.
That's how bad the Babylonian wine was.
That's why Daniel thought that if they made wine from grapes and sold it,
they could create enormous wealth within a few years.
"Wow! This is Judah's grape wine!"
He must have wanted to shout.
Seeing Babylonians go crazy for Judah's grape wine.
Daniel was full of excitement.
"Lord Allen! This is my plan!"
"Have you finished?"
"Yes!"
Up to now, Daniel's plan for five years was an economic plan.
The well I made was overflowing with water, creating a river.
It wasn't a formal river, just an unnamed one.
"It would be good to call it the Red Sea."
"The Red Sea?"
"Yeah. The miracle of the Red Sea, right? Believe that a miracle will happen here too and call it the Red Sea."
There was already a Red Sea, but it was just a name taken from meaning.
Daniel was satisfied and followed it as is.
After the Red Sea river was created, Jerusalem, which was believed to be a land of drought, became a fertile land.
It was exactly the kind of land good for grape farming.
This land originally useless, wide area, but no one had eyes for it.
King Gatnesar generously gave this vast land.
Since there was plenty of manpower, the plan was to focus on the grape business within five years.
"What do you think? Did the deity tell you to do grape farming?"
"Hmm.."
Daniel would call me every time he made a major decision to confirm.
Thinking.
The deity's response is bullshit.
I'm thinking I should just follow my own judgment.
Well, it doesn't seem bad.
"Go ahead."
"Really?"
"Yeah. This land might be called the land of grapes."
"Oh..! The deity responded!"
"Well, that's how it is?"
He bowed to me several times.
By the way, I don't know how long I have to play the role of a prophet.
"Prophet, are you here?"
"Oh. Samaritan. Long time no see."
The Samaritan Woman came out with a bulging belly, bringing snacks.
They had the first one, and not long after, the second one.
Her skills were good too.
"Prophet. Please help my husband a lot. I can't sleep thinking about the people every day.."
"You can't sleep because of me, right?"
"What are you talking about! Can't you see I'm pregnant?!"
"Haha! I'm joking!"
I picked up the snacks Daniel's wife had prepared.
The snacks made of barley were exquisite.
Seeing the snacks, Maria and Silvia came to mind.
"It was really delicious.."
"Huh?"
"Ah, no. Don't mind."
The Samaritan Woman reacted to my inner monologue.
I awkwardly ate the snacks.
Will Lucas and the villagers be alive?
They must be dead.
Being here makes me think of old memories for no reason.
I shook my head to forcefully forget.
Occasionally, the old memories pop up and hurt.
I try to forget by thinking of other things.
'If I tell Zagan, he'll turn water into wine, right? I should tell him.'
Thinking of Zagan, I got up from my seat.
I didn't plan to spend a long time at Daniel's residence.
"You're leaving already?"
"Yeah. I have to go to the market."
"Why the market?"
"To make something delicious for Leona."
"You're so thoughtful."
After Daniel's farewell, I parted ways in front of the market.
Looking at the market, I remembered the old man Nimeli.
Why does it keep coming up even though I want to forget?
"Sigh..."
I lifted the corners of my mouth with a bitter look in my eyes.