Whether or not a person has a bright future is closely related to his goodness. With a kind heart, one can only act kindly when faced with critical choices. Such a person will be protected by God and receive unexpected blessings, setting their life apart.
A kind-hearted merchant
In the early years of the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, a merchant, Mr. Jin, opened a pawnshop in a town in Yizheng County, Jiangsu Province. He was such an honest and kind-hearted person that he always paid fair prices for pawned goods and allowed more extended redemption periods. He often made exceptions to waive the required interest payments for the neighborhood’s old and poor.
Once, the wife of a farmer became seriously ill. As the family had no money, the farmer could only pawn his winter clothes at Mr. Jin’s pawnshop to pay for his wife’s treatment. Then winter came. The farmer had no money to redeem his winter clothes. Without proper clothing, he often shivered in the cold. Guessing that the farmer did not have money to redeem the clothes and worrying that he would be frozen to death, Mr. Jin notified the farmer that he could redeem the clothes interest-free. The farmer was so touched that he didn’t know what to say.
In this way, Mr. Jin’s pawnshop helped many poor people. His good deeds made many people’s lives easier over the years by waiving the interest in redeeming winter and summer clothes. Strangely enough, not only did his pawnshop not lose money, but it became increasingly prosperous, making Mr. Jin one of the few wealthy merchants in the area.
One year, a group of bandits came to the town. They robbed many wealthy families, but oddly enough, the robbers never bothered Mr. Jin’s pawnshop. The whole family and their property were safe and sound. While chasing this gang of robbers, the magistrate of Yizheng County often thought: “Mr. Jin’s pawnshop was frequented by poor men, many of whom were thugs. Could it be that Mr. Jin colluded with the robbers? Otherwise, why would his pawnshop, known near and far for its wealth and popularity, be the only one not robbed?” However, doubts remained mere doubts. There was no evidence to prove it.
Later, this gang of robbers was finally captured by the county police. After rigorous interrogation, they all refused to admit they colluded with Mr. Jin. The county magistrate conducted various investigations and concluded that Mr. Jin was indeed a good person. Not only was he fair in doing business, but he was also willing to help people in emergencies and helped save many lives in his daily life, so they determined that there was no possibility he had colluded with the robbers.
The door of the kind is blessed
To solve the mystery in his mind, the magistrate interrogated the robbers sternly: “You’re unscrupulous, money-minded robbers. Why didn’t you rob Mr. Jin’s pawnshop? Let’s hear the truth!” Only then did the robbers tell the truth.
It turned out that the robbers tried to rob Mr. Jin’s pawnshop several times. When they arrived at the merchant’s shop at night, they saw countless gods in golden armor holding swords and other weapons on the shop’s roof. The deities appeared so majestic and intimidating that the robbers were terrified and fled immediately. How could they dare to go in and rob the shop?
On hearing this, the magistrate and the people in the government office realized that Mr. Jin’s good deeds were not in vain. He had been blessed by the Golden Armor God, who saved him from being robbed. Later, a plaque with the words “The door of the kind is blessed” was awarded to Mr. Jin for his virtuous deeds.
An old saying goes, “Ghosts and gods respect virtues.” This traditional cultural story depicts that saying well. The Golden Armor God protected the pawnshop owner from robbery because of his good heart and good deeds. His business was better than others, and the gods protected him at critical times.
God is indeed watching over us.
Translated by Cecilia and edited by Tatiana Denning
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