Time: 2013-03-22 13:24 Source: 'Stories of a Hundred Families' Author: Qiuguo
During the Qianlong era, there was a man named Acheng in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. Because his mother was ill, he sold the only two mud brick houses in his family. After his mother died, he moved to an abandoned, dilapidated temple on the mountain. Apart from buying some salted salt, Acheng rarely went down the mountain. Life was tough, but it was leisurely and carefree. That year, after the Spring Festival, Acheng was busy gathering firewood, and as spring plowing began, he needed to prepare more firewood. There were many shrubs on the mountain, and in no time he had carried a load. At noon, Acheng was carrying firewood and hurrying home. As he neared home, he saw someone walking down the mountain. Wearing a single robe, his hair tousled and burned, his face scorched from smoke and fire, looking utterly disheveled and comical. Early spring was still warm and chilly; the man tucked his hands into his sleeves and tucked his neck into his raised shoulders. A Cheng was naturally kind-hearted. He brought the man home, found him an old cotton jacket to wear, and prepared a basin of warm water for him to wash up. After a while, he looked at the man again: his face was fair and clean, with three long strands of beard flowing over his chest—he was a handsome middle-aged man. Under A Cheng's questioning, the middle-aged man sighed and began to recount his own experiences. The middle-aged man's surname was Zhao, and he was the steward of a wealthy household. The master entrusted him with managing the distribution of money and goods for the entire household. Because of this, everyone would bow and scrape when they saw him, looking at him with special respect.
The New Year had just passed, and the distribution of money and grain for the year was about to begin. Wealthy families had many children and although each had their own household to live separately, the old master had to reward them with a few coins each year. They all wanted to get a few more, so they began competing over who would host and pay the gifts privately. Today, it seemed as if everyone had already agreed on it, all competing to host Old Zhao's guests. One family forcibly invited him into their home, and as soon as they entered the courtyard, they set off a string of firecrackers to show their special respect. The distribution of money and goods was actually decided by the old master; he didn't decide, and if he ate or drank but couldn't get things done, he was bound to be scolded. Butler Zhao saw an opening and ran out. He dodged left and right, but by accident, another family caught him red-handed. The family held onto his clothes tightly, and when his cotton jacket finally slipped off, he finally escaped. After hearing Steward Zhao finish, Acheng sighed, "You've really had a hard time!" "Sigh, that's right. Begging me for three walnuts and two dates would be easier than earning it yourself!" "That's right!" You can hide here for a day, and the two of us can have a good chat. You rest your feet first, I'll go cook."When the meal was served, there were golden corn pancakes, pickled vegetables, and a few pieces of preserved meat they hadn't dared to eat during the New Year. A-Cheng also took out a small jar of liquor he had saved for a long time, and the two drank and chatted.\“Brother, are you the only one at home? Little brother must be thirty already, right? Why haven't you settled down yet?” asked Housekeeper Zhao.\“The family is so poor, who would want to marry me?”\“Hmm, that's true. If I can help, I will definitely help you!”\“You already have enough on your plate; I won't trouble you. I'm fine like this—if I eat my fill, the whole family won't go hungry! Hehe, let's drink!”\The two unknowingly drank too much.\“Little brother, to be honest, I, Old Zhao, don't really have any friends. People toast me just because they want my money! But if I meet all their demands and spend the old master's fortune, would he forgive me?” Housekeeper Zhao said this, then respectfully performed a deep bow to the ceiling, and leaned close to A-Cheng's ear, whispering, “Little brother, you must not tell anyone my identity. If someone finds out, our friendship will be over!”\A-Cheng, who had lived alone on the mountain for years, always wanted someone to talk to, and he agreed without hesitation.\After some time, A-Cheng could no longer stay awake, and he flopped onto the three-legged table and fell asleep. When A-Cheng woke up, it was already evening lighting time, and Housekeeper Zhao had left at some unknown time.\From then on, Housekeeper Zhao often came to A-Cheng's place to drink, and the two got along so well that it felt like they had met too late in life. Unknowingly, it was already spring. One afternoon, after A-Cheng finished his work and dragged his tired body back to the temple, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Housekeeper Zhao had prepared food and drink for him at home!\Drinking until dark, Housekeeper Zhao happily said, “Brother, knowing you is Old Zhao's good fortune. I see it's not easy for you to be alone. Let me get you some money to start a family and career—it won't have been in vain for our friendship!”\“Talking about money… talking about money is too vulgar! We are friends who don't talk about money!” A-Cheng said, then his legs went weak, and he slid under the table.\The next day, Housekeeper Zhao came again. This time he carried a large bag containing some seeds. He scattered them all over the front and back of A-Cheng's house. When A-Cheng asked what he was planting, Housekeeper Zhao laughed and said, “Planting money for you to get a wife!”\A few days later, there was a light rain, and after a few days, the front and back of A-Cheng's house were bright with new green shoots. When the green shoots grew, A-Cheng realized they were patches of wormwood."When Steward Zhao came again, A Cheng jokingly said to him, 'The money you gave me for planting has already grown!' Steward Zhao didn't say anything in response; he just smiled.\In the blink of an eye, it was May. On the fifth day of the lunar month, Steward Zhao arrived at A Cheng's house early in the morning. He asked A Cheng to help him pick artemisia leaves and dry them, saying they would be useful. They gathered a lot from morning till night. Following Steward Zhao's instructions, A Cheng placed all the leaves in a well-ventilated, shaded area to dry. Once dried, he crushed the artemisia leaves into pellets the size of wutong seeds, dried them, and stored them.\Before long, it was August, and many people in the town at the foot of the mountain had contracted a strange illness. At first, due to the cold, their faces turned pale, their lips bluish, and they kept shivering. After a while, their faces flushed red, their skin became hot and dry, and they grew irritable. Half a day later, they broke out in a heavy sweat, which would subside after the sweat stopped. After some time, they would start to feel cold and feverish again, and this cycle kept repeating. Consulting doctors and taking medicines brought no improvement. The situation continued to spread and worsen.\One day, Steward Zhao came. As soon as he entered the house, he called A Cheng to bring out the artemisia leaf pellets. He told A Cheng that the illness the townspeople were suffering from was malaria, and that the artemisia pellets specifically treated it.\Steward Zhao wanted A Cheng to sell the artemisia pellets to the townspeople. A Cheng sold some to the wealthy people in town and gave the other portion to the poor who couldn't afford them. He gave the money earned from selling the pellets to Steward Zhao, who laughed and said, 'Didn't I tell you long ago? This money is for you to marry a wife. Just remember to save me a jar of wedding wine!'\With the money earned from selling the artemisia pellets, A Cheng built a house and married a widow from the town below as his wife.\Time flew, and it was now the fifth day of the first lunar month. That day, A Cheng and his wife went down the mountain to attend the first market of the year. The busiest stalls at the market were the firecracker stands, where everyone crowded to buy firecrackers.\'Today is the birthday of the God of Wealth, everyone is buying firecrackers and offerings to burn incense at the Wealth God Temple! Big brother, won't you get a few strings?' the firecracker vendor chatted with A Cheng.\'Oh, today is the God of Wealth's birthday. Alright, we'll take a couple of strings to pay our respects!' A Cheng's wife also bought two strings of firecrackers and some offerings, and they went with the crowd to the Wealth God Temple.\There were indeed many people paying birthday respects to the God of Wealth. Firecrackers went off with a continuous 'crackle-pop' sound in the temple, and offerings piled up on the altar like small mountains. Finally, it was A Cheng and his wife's turn to light incense. After lighting the incense sticks and bowing three times, A Cheng looked up at the statue of the God of Wealth and froze in place.The God of Wealth had three long strands of beard and a fair face—wasn't he his drinking buddy, Old Zhao!
After leaving the God of Wealth temple, A Cheng told his wife about it, but she didn't believe it at all. A Cheng said that Old Zhao had once said he would come to drink with him on his birthday. Today was the God of Wealth's birthday, so if Old Zhao was the God of Wealth, he would definitely come to their house today.
“Honey, why are we still going to the market? Let's hurry home to prepare food and wine to welcome the God of Wealth!” his wife said happily.
The couple bought food and wine and hurried home. Along the way, his wife kept reminding A Cheng that they must gain some fortune from the God of Wealth if they saw him. Though A Cheng felt reluctant, he couldn't resist his wife's constant nagging and agreed. Before they reached home, they saw someone sitting at the doorway from a distance. Upon getting closer, it was indeed Manager Zhao!
“Brother, I've come to bother you at your home again!” Manager Zhao said with a smile, bowing slightly, frightening A Cheng's wife so much that she dropped the food and wine offerings and kowtowed: “God of Wealth! You truly have blessed your humble servant! Thanks to your grace, we have everything we have today. From now on, we will worship you daily and hope that you will be merciful, so our fortune may prosper and we may have abundance every year!”
Hearing his wife's words, Manager Zhao shook his head and sighed: “Sigh, why is it so hard for me, Old Zhao, to live an ordinary life! It seems I must return to a life of seclusion again! A Cheng, I am deeply grateful for your misplaced love all these days! Take care!” After saying this, he walked out the door and vanished.
A Cheng ran to the door but Manager Zhao was gone. He stomped his feet and sighed, mourning the loss of a friend with whom he could share drinks and chat.
From that day forth, A Cheng began to worship the God of Wealth, but his offerings were only three sticks of sandalwood incense and a cup of clear wine, adding a piece of cured meat only at the Spring Festival. He hoped that one day he could see Manager Zhao again and resume their drinking and chatting friendship. But from then on, the God of Wealth never appeared again.
