Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

Hai Fei waited alone for the recipient of the parchment.He was accompanied only by Irama, the old master.Seeing the coming of spring and autumn, year after year, the old man can't do anything, just sit quietly in the garden every day. He waits. Since disposing of the world's largest wealth, the vast business kingdom has been disbanded.He has been waiting for three full years. One day a slender, limping stranger came from the east beyond the desert.The man walked into Damascus, walked through several streets, and came to the front of Haifi's building.In the old days Irama would have opened the door politely, but this time he stood still.The stranger had no choice but to repeat: "I want to meet your master."

The stranger was apt to arouse suspicion.His straw sandals were tattered and tied with rope.His brown legs were scarred and scarred with knife scars and scratches.Around his waist was a tattered camel-hair loincloth.Hair is long and messy.The eyes were bloodshot, as if they were red from the sun, and seemed to be burning inside. Erama held the door handle tightly, "What do you want from our master?" The stranger put the bag on his shoulders on the ground, clasped his hands together and begged: "Good-hearted man, please let me meet your master. I have no malicious intentions, and I am not here to ask for alms. I only have a few words to say , if I make him angry, I will leave immediately."

Still dubious, Erama slowly opened the door.He nodded inward, then turned and walked briskly towards the garden.The visitor limped along behind. In the garden, Hai Fei was taking a nap.Erama stood in front of him and hesitated for a while, then coughed a few times, and Hai Fei moved a little.He coughed again and the old man opened his eyes. "Excuse me, sir, I have a visitor to see you." Haifi was awake now, and her eyes fell on the stranger.He bowed deeply and said, "Are you the greatest salesman everyone says?" Hai Fei frowned, then nodded, "That's the old way of saying it. Now that I'm old, I don't deserve this crown. What's your business here?"

The visitor was not tall, and he was a little uneasy in front of Hai Fei, with his hands on his chest.He blinked, his eyes soft.He only heard him reply: "My name is Saul. I come from Jerusalem and plan to return to my hometown Tarsus. Please don't take me as a bad person because of my ugly appearance. I am not a robber in the wilderness, nor am I living on the street. I am a Tarsus and a Roman citizen. My countrymen are Pharisees among the Jewish tribe of Bianjamin. Although I am in the tent business, I have also studied in Gaialia. Some people call me Paul. ’” He swayed slightly as he spoke.Only then did Hai Fei fully wake up from the drowsiness, and with apology, motioned the guests to sit down.

Paul nodded, but still stood still. "I came here to ask for your guidance and help. Only you can do this. May I tell you my story?" Erama stood behind the guest, shaking her head desperately.Hai Fei pretended not to notice, and looked at the uninvited guest who came while he was asleep, and finally nodded: "I am too old to keep looking up at you. Come on, sit beside me, slowly Tell me." Paul pushed his duffel bag aside and knelt close to the old man.The old man waited quietly. "Four years ago, because I was influenced by years of stereotypes, I turned to the truth. Later, I testified for the authorities that a saint named Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem. He was judged by the Jewish Supreme Court. The court sentenced the death penalty for blasphemy."

Hai Fei asked puzzledly: "But what does that have to do with me?" Paul stretched out his hand to stop the old man's words, "Let me explain it to you. Stephen was a disciple of Jesus. One year before he was stoned to death, Jesus was crucified by the Romans for sedition. Stephen insisted that Jesus is the savior. His coming was predicted by the Jewish prophets, and the temple colluded with the Roman government to conspire to kill the Son of God. Saying such words that offend the authority will surely lead to death. As I said just now, I also participated in it His persecution.

"Not only that, because of my blind obedience and youthful fanaticism, I accepted the appointment of the highest priest of the monastery, and went to Damascus to hunt down the disciples of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains for trial. This is four years me before." Erama glanced at her master, startled.He saw a gleam in the old man's eyes that he hadn't seen in many years.At this time, there was only the sound of water from the fountain in the garden.Paul continued: "On my way to Damascus like a murderer, a bright light suddenly fell from the sky. I was not hit by it, but I found myself on the ground, blind, and only a voice came from my ear: 'Saul, you Why are you persecuting me?' I asked, 'Who are you?' The voice said, 'I am Jesus who you have been persecuting. Get up, go into town, and someone will tell you what to do?'

"So I got up and went to Damascus. For three days and three nights no water came in. I stayed at the house of one of Jesus' disciples. Then a man named Ananias came to me, and he said he had come only after seeing a vision. .Then he put his hands on my eyes and my eyesight came back. Afterwards, I started eating and regained my strength." "And then?" Hai Fei leaned over and asked. "They took me to an assembly, and because I had persecuted Jesus, his disciples were very nervous when they saw me. Anyway, I began to preach. My words surprised them greatly, because I said to them, Jesus who was crucified on the cross was indeed the Son of God.

"However, many people listened to my words and still suspected deceit, thinking that I was going to bring greater disasters to Jerusalem. I could not convince them that my heart had changed. Many people wanted to get rid of me, and I They had no choice but to escape over the wall and return to Jerusalem." "I didn't expect the same to be the case in Jerusalem. Although my speech in Damascus has spread like wildfire, no one will believe me. I have tried to preach the will of Christ, but to no avail. People objected. Until one day, when I went to the temple, I saw people selling pigeons and sheep as sacrifices in the courtyard. Suddenly a voice said to me..."

"Say what this time?" Erama blurted out.Hai Fei smiled and nodded to signal Paul to continue. "The voice said 'you've been preaching the word of God for almost four years, but there's no hope. Know that even the word of God needs to be sold to the people, or they won't accept it. I'm not using parables to make everyone Do you understand? Your blunt speech will not do much. Go back to Damascus and try to find the greatest salesman in the world. If you want my words to be passed on to the world, ask him humbly.'” Hai Fei glanced at Erama.The boss has already understood: Is this person the owner has been waiting for for many years?Hai Fei leaned forward, put his hands on Paul's shoulders, "Tell me about Jesus."

Paul was so excited that he continued to tell the story of Jesus.The master and servant listened quietly.He said the Jews had been waiting for the Messiah to come, to come and unite them all and create a new independent kingdom, full of joy and peace.He talked about John the Baptist, about the appearance of a man called Jesus on the stage of history.He spoke of the miracles that this man had done and the word that he had preached.He raised the dead, his attitude to the publican, was crucified, buried and raised.Finally, in order to deepen his impression, Paul took out a red robe from the luggage bag and put it on Hai Fei's lap. "My lord, all the wealth in your hands is left by Jesus. He gave everything he had to the world, even his life. Under his cross, the Roman soldiers decided by lot to whom this robe belonged to." .I searched all over Jerusalem, and after a lot of trouble, I finally got it back." When Haifei turned the blood-spattered robe over, her face was pale and her hands trembled.Irama was startled by the appearance of the master, and hurried to the old man.Hefie looked at the robe to and fro until he saw two logos embroidered on it—Toller Factory's star and Possaro's square circle logo. Paul and Erama watched as the old man pressed the robe to his face and wiped it gently.He shook his head, impossible, more than a thousand pieces of this kind of robes were sold back then. Still holding the robe tightly, Hai Fei said in a low voice, "Tell me about the birth of Jesus." Paul said: "He left with nothing; he came humble. He was born in a cave in Bethlehem, just as the Augustus census happened." Hai Fei smiled like a child, and what was even more puzzling was that tears were streaming down the old man's wrinkled face.He wiped his tears with his hand and said, "Was there a brightest star in the sky when this baby was born?" Paul opened his mouth and couldn't speak, but he didn't need to say anything.Hefie put his arms around Paul, and this time both were in tears. The old man finally stood up and greeted Irama: "Old man, go to the tower and lift the box down. We have finally found the person we have been waiting for for a long time."