Here is a tale about the fortune that comes from doing good deeds. It is said that Heaven wouldn’t allow such a kind person to live less than 100 years.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a scholar who embarked on a journey to the capital to take the imperial examination. Along the way, he lost all his belongings. With no means to reach the capital, and too embarrassed to return home, he was considering suicide by drowning himself in the river.
An act of kindness
An old man happened to pass by and halted the scholar’s desperate action. After hearing his plight, the old man consoled him by saying: “There’s no mountain that can’t be crossed, no river that can’t be forded. Money lost can be earned again. How about this? I have a bag of silver here. Take it with you and make sure you arrive for the examination in time.”
As the old man spoke, he retrieved the money he had prepared to buy cattle and handed it all to the scholar. The scholar was deeply moved by the old man’s act of kindness and shed tears, saying: “Sir, I feel as if you are truly one of my parents reborn. If I achieve success in the examination, I will support and care for you as if you were my biological father.” After bidding farewell to the scholar, the old man returned home.
When the old man’s son and daughter-in-law saw he had returned without the cattle, they hurriedly inquired about the reason. The father recounted the incident of giving away the money, but upon hearing it, the son and daughter-in-law became furious. They exclaimed: “We, as a couple, work tirelessly day and night, yet can barely earn a few silver coins in a year. This money was accumulated over many years of hard work. Yet, you have given away our hard-earned money to a stranger. You are becoming more foolish as you age. What use do we have for a freeloader like you?” With these words, they drove the old man out of their home.
A new lease on life
Filled with anger and sorrow, the old man collapsed by the roadside. He was soon awakened by the sound of crying. Looking up, he saw two children weeping on the side of the road. Gradually calming down, the old man asked: “Children, why are you both crying?”
One of the children replied: “Grandfather, both our father and mother have passed away. We only have a two-acre vegetable garden with no one to cultivate it. How will we survive in the future?” The old man consoled them, saying: “Children, stop crying. Grandfather will come and cultivate the vegetables for you.” The two children immediately kneeled down, bowed to him, and called him father.
Unexpected fortune
The old man accompanied the children to the vegetable garden and resided in a little hut with a thatched roof. From that day forward, the old man worked diligently, tending to the vegetables every day, while the children sold them. They handed over the earnings to the old man, and the three of them relied on one another for survival, leading a harmonious life.
One day, while digging the soil, the old man unexpectedly unearthed a jar of silver. With a portion of the silver, he built a house with a tile roof for each of the two children. After a few years, the old man arranged marriages for both of the young men.
The return of the ungrateful
Word of the old man’s newfound wealth spread, and upon hearing the news, the son and daughter-in-law came to claim him as their father. The son grabbed the old man’s clothes and tried to pull him away, but the daughter-in-law quietly reminded him: “How foolish! Let our father take the money with him. What good is it to have him alone without any possessions?”
At that moment, the two young men who sold vegetables returned. Perplexed by the situation, they questioned how the old man, who claimed to have no sons or daughters, suddenly had a son and daughter. They confronted the son and daughter-in-law, firmly holding the old man’s hand, and said: “What are you doing? This is our father!”
The son retorted: “Nonsense, he is my father, my biological father!” Hearing this, one of the vegetable sellers asked: “If he is your father, then why is he not living in your house?” Unable to provide a satisfactory answer, the son and daughter-in-law shamelessly replied: “We cannot argue with you, but he is still our father.”
The unveiling of truth
Both sides engaged in a heated dispute, refusing to back down, and sought the county magistrate to settle the matter. Seated in the hall, the magistrate asked each party to present their arguments. After listening attentively, the magistrate remained silent for a while and then gazed at the old man before proclaiming: “This old man is neither your father nor his father. He is my father.”
This statement shocked everyone present. The old man slowly raised his head, and the magistrate said: “Father, have you forgotten? I am the scholar who went to the capital for the examination all those years ago.” The magistrate proceeded to recount the story of how the old man had given him the silver to rescue him, expressing his unsuccessful attempts to locate him over the years.
Upon hearing this, the old man sorrowfully said: “Alas, it was for this reason that my son and daughter-in-law drove me out of their home.” Overwhelmed with shame, the son and daughter-in-law wished they could crawl into a hole and disappear. The magistrate sternly rebuked them, and with the agreement of the two other young men, the old man was welcomed into the magistrate’s residence to spend his old age.
The reward for a good deed
The old man lived to be 100 years old, radiating a rosy complexion and a vibrant aura. Many young people inquired about his secret for maintaining such robust health at the age of 100. The old man smiled and replied: “Being good to others brings goodness to you. Even if others are not always good, you will surely reap the benefits of being kind. Good deeds are unseen and intangible, yet they yield real rewards like luck and fortune. Be honest, be kind, and avoid harm to others — this is the path to longevity and fortune.”
Translated by cecilia
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