[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

The previously chaotic streets of Uruk have returned to tranquility.At this time, all the residents of the city had gathered in the square in front of the temple, and no one was left behind.

The notice from the priests gave them great hope—it was originally thought that the Eridu's breach of the contract had become a fait accompli, and the loss of shell coins was irreparable.But the goddess said she had a way.

——Hey, the priests only dare to respect Yi Nan as a "saint", but the residents of Uruk all recognize her as a goddess.

Now all the residents of Uruk have gathered in front of the temple, and they are all asking: "What is the goddess going to do? Is she going to compete with Enki, the main god of Eridu?"

"Yes, let's compete. I only believe that our goddess is the main god. She can control other gods. No matter what, it is impossible to lose to Enki."

"I'm looking forward to it, we Uruk will overwhelm Eridu no matter what!"

"How do the gods fight each other? Ordinary people like you and me don't need to ask. Anyway, the goddess said there is a way, so I believe she has a way."

Of course, this also put some pressure on Yinan to a certain extent - after all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

If Inan can't deliver on her promises and satisfy the residents, her credibility will suffer.In the future, if the residents had to choose again between Yinan and Wu, Wu might regain the upper hand.

Soon after the residents gathered, Yi Nan appeared in front of the temple's sanctuary, accompanied by witches and high-ranking priests.

"Everyone, you must be worrying about the unspent shell coins in your hands?"

Her voice is crisp and pleasant. Although the pronunciation is not exactly the same as that of the locals, it has a special charm.

"Then why did you accept shellfish before?" Yinan asked loudly.

Residents of Uruk look at me, I look at you, and no one knows how to answer - use shell coins, this has been done for many years.Many of them have been using this "token" since they were born.

"In other words, do you think there are any benefits to this kind of shellfish?" Yi Nan asked persuasively.

"Just—it's light, easy to carry, and easy to count." The innkeeper was especially supportive, rushing to answer Yi Nan's question.

"Yes, that's the reason. We don't need to drive a large herd of sheep or carry several sacks of wheat when we go out." The innkeeper's words resonated widely.

"Also, people in Uruk and Eridu all agree that when everyone talks about how much wheat a shell is worth, everyone probably knows it." The baker's aunt carrying a rolling pin said very imposingly, " Most strangers will bargain, and acquaintances are sure."

"So using shells to buy and sell items with others, do you think there is any inconvenience?"

"Yes, yes - this small shell is worth a lot of wheat and bread. It's not enough for me to send out the bread of the whole bakery for one shell, and I have to find a lot of flour." The bakery aunt said hard " "Humph", a certain opportunistic guy in the crowd trembled all over.

Yinan stood on a high place and nodded: the currency value of shells is too high and cannot be divided, which makes the transaction quite inconvenient.

At this time, someone finally couldn't hold back: "Our most respected goddess, now the people of Eridu say that they don't recognize shells, and the grain and sheep that we have worked so hard to grow are all exchanged for us. They are gone, and now they only have these completely worthless shells in their hands... Us, what should we do?"

Yinan smiled at the residents: "It's simple—Eridu people don't recognize these shell coins, but I do!"

When the residents of Uruk in front of the temple heard the answer, they were all skeptical: Isn't this a shell from Eridu?Only Eridu produces this kind of shell, even if Yinan wants to recognize it... how can she recognize it?

"Who can tell me, what do you usually exchange these shell coins for the Eridu people?" Yinan continued to ask.

"You can exchange all kinds of aquatic products, small dried fish, salted fish, sea shells, seaweed... and sea salt." Elidu is a city near the sea, and the main products are these, but these products are very important to Uru The health of the Ke people is very important. If you don't eat these, you will easily get big neck disease.

Yi Nan nodded and said, "I don't have any of these!"

The residents of Uruk were all discouraged, but Yinan changed the subject: "But I have wheat!"

Yes, the goddess has wheat, and the temple of the goddess has sacrifices from all over the world, and there are many, many wheat.

"Every intact shell in your hands can be exchanged for 20'sheela' wheat from me. Does anyone want to try it now?"

Under the steps in front of the temple, Dumuzi appeared.

The young shepherd said loudly: "Anyone who wants to try it first, just follow me, and we will go to the temple storehouse to exchange wheat!"

He took care of the landlord, and first called the innkeeper: "Why don't you bring your shells and follow me?"

"Okay!" The innkeeper was familiar with Dumuzi and Yi Nan, so there was nothing wrong with him.

"How many do you want to exchange?"

"Six...six pieces." The innkeeper replied expectantly.

"Okay, 120 Sherah wheat." Dumuzi counted quickly.

The innkeeper immediately followed Dumuzi into the warehouse of the temple.

The rest of Uruk's people were waiting outside, secretly calculating: one shell was converted to 20 "sheela" of wheat, and six shells were equivalent to 120 "sheela" of wheat, which was almost equivalent to a sheep.That's about the same value as before.

After a while, I saw Dumuzi coming out with the innkeeper.

The innkeeper grinned from ear to ear, and carried a rather heavy bag on his back.He waved to everyone and said, "I've got it, I've got it! I've got 120 'syrah' wheat."

As if to verify what the innkeeper said, Dumuzi raised his hand and showed everyone the six smooth and complete shells in his hand.

Who is bothered now? ——The crowd in front of the temple suddenly "boomed":

"I want to change, I want to change!"

"Wow, the Goddess has completely relieved me of my worries! Why should I be afraid of being able to exchange for wheat?"

There was a long queue in front of the narrow alley leading to the temple warehouse.Dumuzi was in a hurry to maintain order, and the innkeeper was acting like a good boy, carrying his big bag of heavy wheat, and still commanding everyone:

"Line up, line up—"

"Don't worry, there's enough wheat in the warehouse!"

"No, no, you can't go empty-handed, you have to bring a bag for food, right? Obedient, go home and get it!"

For a while, there was a lot of noise and joy in front of the temple.

Wu who was standing beside Yi Nan stretched out his hands to cover his heart, and looked at Yi Nan very sadly——

The wheat in the warehouse was all scavenged by her from various places, and it wasn't Yi Nan's, but Yi Nan let it all go out just like that, which made her feel distressed.

Worst of all, Wu couldn't refute Yinan yet.After all, she was the one who came up with some divine ox-drawn cart to sacrifice and pushed Yinan onto the altar with one hand. Now if she objected, wouldn't she slap herself in the face?

Moreover, Wu saw the reaction of the residents of Uruk, and knew that it was inconvenient for him to stop him—if he did, the people of Uruk would definitely listen to Yi Nan and make things difficult for Wu.It was only with great effort that Wu endured all the resentment.

Yi Nan saw Wu's eyes clearly, but smiled at her frankly, thinking: If I really gave away half of the temple's granary, it would be in vain for me to be born so many years later than you.

She immediately turned her face away and waved to the people in the square: "Everyone, don't worry, please listen to me!"

"You can exchange shells for wheat at any time. As long as you want to exchange, take your shells and go to the warehouse of the temple. I promise in the name of God that you can exchange for the wheat you want at any time."

Many people were already in a hurry to go home to get their pockets. Hearing this, they slowed down—if they could change at any time, why bother?

"Let me remind you again, if you exchange the shell coins to the temple, you will not be able to exchange them in the future." Yi Nan has already made up his mind. This "token" reliance.

Her goal is to let this kind of shellfish gradually decrease in the process of natural circulation.

When metal currency appears in the future, all the current problems will be solved.

"Residents who really think shell coins are convenient, if you really feel the need, I advise you not to change them for the time being, and it's not too late to change them when you really need wheat."

"Anyway, the warehouse of this temple has always been here. The exchange of this shell coin for 20 shellas of wheat will not change. It is the same for early exchange and late exchange."

Hearing what Yi Nan said, someone immediately changed his mind.

"Yes, we were anxious before because the people of Eridu did not recognize these shells. But now that the goddess has recognized them, the value of the shells is the same as before, so there is no need for us to change them!"

"That's the reason. If we do cattle and sheep business like this, is it possible that we will still use the wheat piled up like a hill to do business in the future?"

"Yes, let's keep these shell coins in our hands first. Anyway, the goddess also said, you can exchange them at any time."

The long dragon in front of the warehouse suddenly turned into a "short dragon". There were only a few who urgently needed to exchange some living expenses, holding one or two shells in their hands, and only planned to exchange a small amount of wheat.

From this point of view, the "shell exchange" staged in the temple warehouse today may only cost a thousand shirats of wheat.

Yi Nan is very satisfied with his results——

The reason why shells can be used as currency is that there is a tacit mutual trust between the two cities of Uruk and Eridu.

Once the Eridu people broke their trust, this foundation of trust collapsed, and the shell coins were worthless.

And Yinan's approach is to use the temple's wheat warehouse to endorse the shell coins to re-establish this trust-then, no matter where the shells come from, whether they are produced in Elidu or not in Uruk, As long as Inan is willing to exchange it for the temple's wheat, the shells will still have value and can still be used as a means of circulation.

Therefore, Yinan stabilized the mood of the entire Uruk and solved this unprecedented "prehistoric" financial crisis with wheat that was less than a thousand shirats—about as much as one cubic meter.

Yinan: Thinking about it, I feel so amazing!

At this time, she caught a glimpse of the aunt carrying the rolling pin still queuing up. She knew that it was difficult for a small business like a bakery to use currency like shellfish.

But if shell coins are not used, the value of commodities that can be exchanged on the market is very chaotic, and it is difficult to form a stable "money order" in Uruk.

And this is indeed a problem that she can easily solve now.

"Everyone, please tell us, what do you need most and what is the most inseparable?"

Yi Nan stood in front of the high temple steps, and asked loudly the residents of the square in front of her.

"Wheat!" The people of Uruk answered in unison.

"It doesn't matter if it's barley or wheat, as long as it's wheat, we can't live without it."

The answer of the Uruk people directly reflects the essence of "food is the paramount necessity of the people".

"Then let me ask you, are you willing to use a 'sheela' of wheat to measure the value of your items in the future?"

Everyone looked at each other, trying to understand what the goddess meant.

"I mean, suppose you want to pick a sheep, want to buy it, and think it's worth 120 shellas of wheat. It just so happens that you have a cow in your hand that you want to sell, and you discuss it with the owner of the sheep. For a moment, everyone thinks that this cow is worth 200 siras of wheat. Then, when you exchange cattle and sheep, the owner of the sheep needs to supply you with 80 siras of wheat.”

"I say that, do you understand?"

In front of the temple, those who reacted slowly were still watching, while those who reacted quickly slapped their thighs hard.

"understand!"

At this time, the Uruk people who raised cattle and sheep at home seemed to have solved a century-old problem. They raised their hands and said loudly: "Our most intelligent and dearest goddess, you have solved one of the most troublesome problems— —”

Yi Nan was a little dumbfounded: what she solved was not Goldbach's conjecture.

What she solved was the problem of how to exchange a cow for a sheep.

But this seems to have really solved the most difficult and troublesome problems of the Uruk people that have not been solved for a long time.

Some even sang happily and went around in circles like they did on New Year's Day.

"Then that is to say, a shell coin is worth 20 sheila of wheat, and the owner of the sheep can actually give me four shells, and it is not necessary to carry the wheat." Someone immediately drew inferences.

"That's the end of it, it seems that this shell is quite useful!"

Carrying the rolling pin, the aunt standing in front of the temple warehouse gradually realized: "Wait, with this method, can my bread be priced?"

"Don't make trouble! You need five of your bread to be worth a syrah of wheat?"

The aunt nodded: "That's right, but I can label my bread with wheat that is one-fifth of Syrah."

Yi Nan almost stretched out his hand to applaud the aunt—that's wonderful.

She was also very happy when she thought about it: Wizard Dan had chosen the sexagesimal system for the people of Sumer, which meant that the Sumerians had a sense of fractions, one-third, one-fifth, and one-tenth. Naturally sensitive, not to mention...

The aunt became more and more excited as she talked, waving the rolling pin in her hand: "Yes, the key point is that the sherah wheat can be easily divided into five equal parts. I turned back to the whole pottery cup, which is not too big or small—just enough to hold five parts." Isn’t it much easier for everyone to come to my place to exchange bread for one silla’s wheat?”

Yi Nan stood on the high platform and said nothing, only joy in her heart.

Sure enough, the wisdom of the working people is infinite.She just gave a little hint, and these lovely working people of Uruk figured out all the details.

A certain volume of wheat is very easy to divide equally, which directly determines that a Syrah of wheat can be priced for cheaper commodities.

From this point of view, there is no need to wait for the emergence of metals, and a mature and reliable commercial order can emerge in Sumer.

- Steady!

Before Yinan could be beautiful enough, the people of Uruk discovered a new problem: "Hey, the name of Yisilla's wheat is so long!"

"Yeah, it's inconvenient to say."

"Not to mention, Auntie has to say, one-fifth of Syrah's wheat."

"Or, let's let the goddess give us a name, so that we don't have to call it indiscriminately after we make up the name ourselves."

"Yes, please ask the goddess to give us a name."

Yi Nan stood in front of the temple hall, looking at everyone with great interest, and when the voice gradually became louder, everyone turned their attention to her——

Yinan said, "That's great! Can any of you find Kuxin and ask him to bring Uruk's sira, and a sira of wheat."

Here Dumuzi hurriedly left.

After a while, Kuxin appeared in front of the Uruk people, holding a square pottery bucket with both hands, which contained a bucket full of wheat.

Hearing that it was Yinan's call, Kuxin conscientiously held Tao Dou in his arms and climbed up the high steps in front of the temple step by step.Until he handed the Tao Dou to Yinan with both hands, none of the wheat in the Tao Dou fell out.

"Thank you, Cushing."

Yi Nan took Tao Dou from Ku Xin, and thanked him softly.Kuxin immediately laughed like a child, shook his head again and again, unable to speak a word.

At this moment, Yinan faced the square in front of the temple, and lifted the pottery bucket that Kuxin handed him to a high place: "Everyone, this is the pottery bucket used by the temple to measure wheat, and the wheat it holds happens to be a 'syrah' .This pottery bucket will be kept in the treasury of the temple as the only fair weight and measure."

"it is good--"

No matter what Yi Nan said, the residents of Uruk all applauded.

"The value of the wheat measured by this pottery bucket, I will name it - Wheat Yuan!"

"So, one of your sheep is worth 120 wheat dollars!"

"A cow is worth 200—"

Yi Nan held Tao Dou with one hand, and opened the other hand, putting it next to his ear.

On the square in front of the temple, thousands of people shouted at the same time: "Mai Yuan!"

"A shell is worth—"

"20 wheat dollars!"

"Auntie's loaf is worth—"

"One-fifth of a wheat dollar!"

The aunt who opened the bakery blushed immediately, took off the rolling pin from her shoulders in embarrassment, looked around, then straightened her back, and said triumphantly: "Did you see—this is the goddess who personally set it for me. price!"

This time, Yinan not only stabilized the credit of BeiCoin, but also gave a basic currency value unit.

Although the wheat yuan is not perfect, after all, wheat is also divided into barley and wheat, and the quality of different wheat is also different - but these small differences are thrown away, and the wheat yuan has given the Uruk people a familiar one, which can be used to measure the value standard.

Yi Nan exchanged the pottery bucket, together with the wheat inside, to Ku Xin.The apprentice priest carefully stepped down the steps as if he was holding a sacred object—Yinan said just now that this pottery bucket will be kept in the temple’s warehouse. I believe that with Kuxin’s temper, this apprentice priest will protect his faith. Take good care of this thing.

Then Yi Nan turned around to look for Wu, just in time to see Wu Zheng standing beside him with a confused expression on his face.

Yi Nan also knew that Wu was completely shocked by his actions.

This person is probably panicking in his heart now, urgently assessing what Yi Nan is doing like a mess.

But she didn't care what Wu was thinking at all, but directly ordered: "I need a guide who is familiar with Eridu. I will leave for Eridu within two days."

Wu: "Oh...ah?"

Wu probably thought that this matter had turned the page. Yi Nan had already solved the problem of shell coins, and the people of Uruk were all happily leaving together.

Wu also understood that although Yi Nan promised to exchange the wheat in the temple warehouse for the shell coins held by the Uruk people, the Uruk people felt that the shell coins were still useful, and they would not rush to grab the wheat from the temple. And empty.

Wu had no choice but to admire Yi Nan. The girl's wisdom, calmness and composure left a deep impression on her. The way she guided and persuaded the residents of Uruk was also refreshing to Wu.

But Yinan's existence directly affected Wu's existence in Uruk, which made Wu feel very uncomfortable.

Now hearing that Yinan was going to Eridu, Wu was both confused and a little happy, nodded and said: "Okay, I'll make arrangements—"

"But, but you...why go to Eridu?"

As soon as Wu asked this question, she stopped suddenly, her teeth chattering.

"You...you don't really want to go to Eridu to engage in this battle of the Lord God, do you?"

Enki was the chief god of Eridu, and the chief god of Uruk was... Inanna.

Yi Nan walked forward on his own, as if he didn't hear Wu's words at all.She said as she walked, "The more I think about it, the more I feel that the behavior of the Eridu people this time is very unusual. I'm going to see them with my own eyes."

She walked dozens of steps, stopped suddenly, and said to Wu: "Tonight, I have a very, very important person who I want you to meet—"

"Oh, no, it's not you, I'm sorry. I recognized the wrong person." Yi Nan reached out and tapped his head, as if she was just absent-minded and said the wrong thing casually.

Wu Zhiyan looked at the fuchsia robe he was wearing all over his body - could this be mistaken?

In the entire city of Uruk, there is no other woman who is as beautiful as Wu, who is also powerful and powerful, right? ——Yi Nan can also make a mistake, Wu felt that this was a bit insulting to her.

Behind Wu, the trainee priestess Gashti lowered her eyes, indicating that she had received Yinan's signal and would make arrangements for it.