There was a rich man named Chen Guorui in Wangjiang County, Shuzhou (now known as Wangjiang, Anhui). He started working by smelting iron ore and eventually became extremely wealthy. He wanted to find an auspicious burial place for his mother. After the news spread, feng shui masters came one after another, offering to divine an auspicious burial place for her. Unfortunately, none of the locations they selected were not what Chen Guorui wanted. This led to a grave injustice.
A divine standoff in the making
Wang Sheng of Jianning (now known as Jianou, Fujian) was famous for his divination of fortunate and well-aspected cemeteries and burial sites. The Chen family invited Wang Sheng to prospect for a favorable burial place. It took over a year to select a plot of auspicious land in a nearby village. The owner of the land was Zhang Weng.
A plot was hatched
Chen Guorui’s way of running his family was a unique style. He virtually ignored family affairs and left the family decisions to his son. Chen Guorui’s son discussed with Wang Sheng how to acquire this geomantic treasure.
Wang Sheng said: “This matter of the Chen family’s divination for a burial site is well known to everyone within hundreds of miles. If you go to the Zhang family and tell the truth about how valuable their land is, the Zhang family will inevitably ask for more money, and it will not be easy to satisfy him.” So they selected someone to go there and talk to Zhang Weng.
Consequently, a worker hired to make iron went to the Zhang family. The worker pretended to be interested in the mountains and forests and offered to the Zhang family: “We are short of charcoal for making iron. If we build a charcoal kiln here, we can source the charcoal on-site. I wonder if you can agree to sell?”
Zhang Weng was unaware of the injustice of this offer and replied: “No problem.” A few days later, Chen Guorui’s son came to meet Zhang Weng in person. He was delighted with himself; he brought 30,000 yuan to close the deal and sign the deed. It took three months to prepare the land and build walls and stairs. When the preparations were completed, Chen Guorui’s mother was buried there.
The injustice came to light
The following year, during the Qingming Festival, the Chen family visited the cemetery to visit the tomb. Chen Guorui’s son and Wang Sheng also came. Chen Guorui suddenly asked his son: “From whom did you buy this plot of land? How much did it cost?” His son told him what happened. Chen Guorui asked Wang Sheng: “If we didn’t use any strategy to get this land, how much would it cost?” Wang Sheng replied: “Based on the current price, the cheapest would be 300,000 yuan.”
Upon hearing this news, Chen Guorui did not say anything. He hurried home, ordered staff to buy utensils for a banquet, and then went to Zhang’s house to meet Zhang Weng. He invited Zhang Weng to stay at his house. They treated each other with good wine and delicious food for several months and said nothing. When Zhang Weng realized his stay would not be short, he bid farewell to Chen Guorui.
Humble confession and offer of compensation
Chen Guorui invited Zhang Weng to the main hall and held a farewell banquet. After five rounds of wine, he put 300 strings of money in a small cart and placed it on Zhang Weng’s left side, and put fine silk in a bamboo basket, a copper container with three legs, two columns, round mouth, and flat bottom filled with wine. Chen Guorui told Zhang Weng: “I buried my mother on your plot of land, and people said that the money given was too little. Please use this to celebrate your birthday.”
Zhang Weng said in surprise: “All the trees on my mountain will be cut down someday. They won’t even sell for one thousand yuan if I sell them in the market. The thirty thousand you gave me was enough. I don’t dare to accept all the money and goods you offer me!”
Zhang Weng stood by the agreement
Chen Guorui said: “No! I should pay a fair price for the land I bought for my mother’s burial. It was so wrong to pretend that it was for iron smelting. My son deceived you for the sake of temporary gain. People said your land is worth so much money, so I should give you this much to make my son feel ashamed of himself.”
Zhang Weng declined and said: “I already agreed at that time, and your son gave me a lot of money. You want to be a gentleman. Even though I am lowly, can I accept these ill-gotten gains?”
This situation led to a friendly standoff between the two honorable men. On the one hand, Chen Guorui insisted on giving the money and goods to Zhang Weng to make up for the injustice caused by his son; on the other hand, Zhang Weng refused to accept the offer and walked away.
After Zhang Weng left, Chen Guorui became angry with his son: “It’s all because of you; you put me in this situation!” The Chen family had no choice but to find Zhang Weng’s son and secretly give him the money and goods. Zhang Weng did not know about this arrangement.
No amount of money can buy or sell honor
The real winner here, it seems, is the one who was deceived and cheated, Mr. Zhang Weng. He was the victim of the plot to defraud him of the actual value of his estate, yet everything worked out for him beyond his wildest dreams. He was happy with the outcome. Mr. Chen Guorui sincerely wanted to make amends for the massive shortfall with the deception against Mr. Zhang, but he would not relent.
He was a man of principle and integrity, so he stood his ground and would not accept any more money or goods. He was a happy man. No amount of money can buy or sell integrity. With a generous spirit, can anyone cheat us of what is rightfully ours?
Translated by Chua BC
