In ancient China, business scales used a unit of weight called a catty (approximately 600 grams). One catty was equivalent to 16 taels, the standard money across all businesses. This story happened during that time.
There were two rice stores on the southern street of a county in China — one was named Yongchang, and the other was called Fungyu. The old shopkeeper of Fengyu saw that warfare made business complex, so he devised an idea to make more money. One day, he invited a scale maker to his home. Thinking they were alone, he told the scale maker: “Please make a scale for me that weighs 15 and a half taels to a catty. I will give you 10 extra coins for doing so.”
To get the extra money, the scale maker let loose his morals and accepted the offer. Having made his order, the old shopkeeper left the scale maker in the courtyard to make the scale. He then returned to the rice store to take care of business.
The old owner of the rice store had four sons, all helping him to take care of the store. The youngest son had married the daughter of a school teacher two months before. The new daughter-in-law was doing needlework in the house and overheard what her father-in-law told the scale master.
After the old owner left, the daughter-in-law pondered for a while. Finally, she left her room and told the scale master: “My father is old and a little confused. He must have made a mistake in what he said just now. Please make the scale weigh 16-and-a-half taels to a catty scale. I will give you an additional 20 coins. However, do not let my father know.” Hearing that he could get an extra 20 coins, the scale master agreed.
A scale that weighed 16-and-a-half taels to a catty was soon made. The scale maker did not tell the old owner about the change in the scale. The older man took the new scale to the rice store to use daily.
After some time, the business of Fengyu was booming. The customers of Yongchang also turned to Fengyu to buy rice. After some time, people from the east and west streets of the county came from far and wide to purchase rice from Fengyu. At the end of the year, Fengyu was rich. Yongchang was forced out of business and eventually sold his store to Fengyu.
The family gathered around the table on New Year’s Eve to eat dumplings. The old owner was so happy that he asked everyone to guess the mystery of the family’s newly earned fortune.
Everyone was talking. Some said it was God’s blessing. Some said it was because the old shopkeeper managed well. Some said it was due to the whole family working together.
The secret to all their money
The old shopkeeper smiled and said: “You are all wrong. What is the secret to all our money? Our scale! Our scale weighs fifteen-and-a-half taels to a catty. That means we give half a tael less for every catty of rice sold. So we earned hundreds and thousands more coins by selling hundreds and thousands of cities of rice every day. After doing so day after day, we are now rich!”
Then he told his family about how he paid the scale master 10 extra coins for a 15-and-a-half tael to a catty scale at the beginning of the year. Hearing the news, the children and grandchildren were so surprised they forgot to eat their dumplings. They thought the older man was brilliant! The old owner was overjoyed.
The new daughter-in-law slowly rose from her seat and said to the old man: “I have something to tell you, Father. But first, I hope you can promise to forgive me for my mistake.” After the older man nodded, the daughter-in-law started to tell the story of her paying 20 extra coins to the scale master for a sixteen-and-a-half tael to a catty scale at the beginning of the year.
She said: “Father is right. The scale has made us rich, but not in the way he thinks. Our scale weighs sixteen-and-a-half taels for every catty. Because customers know that we do business honestly, they are willing to buy our rice, which has made our business thrive. Although we make less profit for each crop of rice sold, more sales make our profit larger. In the end, we have made our fortune by being honest.”
Everyone was amazed! Their mouths were wide open. The older man did not believe that the news was accurate. He immediately checked the scale he used for business every day. It indeed weighed 16-and-a-half taels to a catty! The older man froze up. He could not speak a word and slowly walked into his room.
The next day, after eating breakfast on the first day of the New Year, the old shopkeeper gathered the whole family and said: “I’m old and of no use. I thought about it all night and decided that from today forward, I will give the reins of the business to my fourth daughter-in-law, and from now on, we will all listen to her!” The older man realized that it is not dishonesty that brings blessings, but honesty and good intentions.
The above story has profound meaning and proves true the saying “goodness has its rewards.” The difference in how a person does business is like a mirror revealing the person’s heart.
In business, it is essential to be honest. But is it not the same for everything we do as human beings?
