"Andrew!"
"What?"
"Wait a minute. I have something to say."
"What do you want to say?"
Joshua, who had put down the ingredients for a moment, hesitated and said.
"I just thought of something. We should take some of these ingredients out, right?"
"Take some of it? What are you talking about?"
"Well... it's pretty hard to move everything, and I just think we can take a few items from here without anyone noticing."
At this point, Andrew, the second-born, scolded Joshua with a stern tone.
"No way! That's cheating!"
"It is, but..."
Joshua, who trailed off, began persuading Andrew once again.
"We can sneak out just a few items without anyone ever noticing."
"I said it's not allowed! That's not what we promised those people. We said we wouldn't scam them."
"So, are we giving them everything? Then, we should be earning more of a reward. It's tough work."
"We already received a reward."
"We could get more though."
"Are you really going to do that?"
"Andrew, think about it differently. We don't need to foolishly give everything away, do we?"
The second-born Andrew didn't like Joshua's unethical side and, conversely, Joshua found his second-born brother's insistence on honesty frustrating.
"Even if we take just a bit from here, they won't know. Plus, if we take a bit, our family can have a fuller meal tonight. You know, Andrew, we have a lot of mouths to feed, so we're always hungry during dinner."
"Still, that's not the way to go about it."
* * *
"So you came seeking advice?"
Rockefeller looked at the two siblings who had come to him.
On their way to run an errand, the siblings were arguing about who was right and stopped by the Carter Bank to ask for their eldest brother's opinion.
Before coming to the bank, they had this conversation:
"Since the market is close by, let's go to the bank and ask our brother Rockefeller for advice. He'll tell us who's right."
"Fine, I agree. If Rockefeller says I'm wrong, I won't push any more. But if Rockefeller takes my side, Andrew won't say anything?"
"Yeah, let's do that. But if Rockefeller says you're wrong, we won't touch the ingredients here, okay?"
"Of course!"
Carter, who had momentarily left his goldsmithing work to come inside, asked as he looked at the two children who arrived at the bank.
"What did your siblings come here for? Has something big happened?"
"No, it's not a big deal. It's just a family matter."
"Really?"
After briefly apologizing to Carter, Rockefeller took the two siblings outside his store.
He then began expressing his thoughts on their argument.
"I'll tell you my perspective on your fight."
As if standing before a judge, Andrew and Joshua waited in anticipation for their eldest brother Rockefeller's words.
"Both of you are right, and both of you are wrong."
The siblings were a bit perplexed by Rockefeller's unexpected response.
"Rockefeller, what does that mean?"
"If both of us are right and wrong, does that mean none of us were right?"
"In a way, yes."
Confused, the siblings listened to Rockefeller explain his thoughts.
"It's crucial in any transaction, as Andrew said, to uphold trust. This is essential even when it comes to handling large sums of money."
Hearing this, Andrew rejoiced while Joshua frowned.
"So... we have to be honest with those people and give them our trust?"
"No, you don't need to be overly honest. You can give trust without necessarily being honest."
At this, the looks on their faces changed again.
Unsure how to proceed, the siblings listened as Rockefeller continued speaking.
"Being too honest prevents us from making big money. That being said, losing trust also prevents making big money. So, give trust, but you don't have to be honest. Understand?"
Unable to understand the strange advice, the siblings were puzzled.
"Rockefeller, it's too difficult to understand. What does it mean?"
"I feel the same way. I don't understand how we can give trust without being honest."
Rockefeller explained.
"Ultimately, making money means obtaining someone else's money. How, then, should we obtain their money? Honestly? People won't let go of their money if you're too honest. They're not fools. So, if you act like Andrew, you won't be able to make any money. You'll have to target fools in order to profit."
At this, Andrew became disheartened, while Joshua became increasingly confident.
"That's right! People aren't fools! If we're too honest like Rockefeller said, we won't be able to make any money."
"But not needing to be honest doesn't mean you can just scam people like Joshua did."
Now, Joshua lowered his head in defeat.
"From what I heard earlier, Joshua, you tried to scam others directly. Deceiving others like that is never a good thing. It's practically stealing."
"So... what should we do?"
In response to Joshua's question, Rockefeller gave a faint smile.
"We find a way that's legal in the eyes of others and doesn't break their trust. Then we can steal without them realizing."
This method's reasoning is simple.
"We can make more money that way."
Between good and evil, the boundaries were blurry in the siblings' conversation. While they struggled to understand, Rockefeller didn't pressure them to comprehend quickly.
"I don't understand."
"Me neither."
"Right now, what I said might be too difficult for you. But there's plenty of time. Keep my words in your heart and think again about this matter. You might see another way. A way to earn more than what's given."
With these emphatic words, Rockefeller ended the conversation with his siblings.
"Even if there isn't a good plan to deceive those people, never, ever break their trust. Even if you make less money, breaking that trust ultimately means losing everything. So, keep this in mind and reconsider the matter. There must be a better solution," Rockefeller emphasized to his two younger brothers, Andrew and Joshua.
