Legend has it that Bao Zheng was studying in Luzhou when he was a teenager, and one day he saw an argument on the street between an old man selling oil cakes and a young man selling charcoal. The old man claimed that the young man had bought his oil cake without paying for it, while the young man insisted that he had already paid for it. Bao Zheng observed the two of them and found that the old man was dressed in shabby clothes, while the young man was brightly dressed, so he had a plan.
Bao Zheng asked the old man and the young man to stretch out their hands, and he wrote a word on each of them, and then asked them to clench their fists. Bao Zheng told them that if anyone was honest, then the words in his hand would disappear. After a while, Bao Zheng asked the two to open their hands, but the old man had no words on his hands, while the young man had the word "money" on his hands.
Based on this, Bao Zheng judged that the young man did not pay and was deceiving the old man. He explained to the crowd that he had written the word "none" on the hands of the old man and the word "money" on the hands of the young man. Because the old man was honest, the words on his hand disappeared when he clenched his fist, while the young man was dishonest and when he clenched his fist, the words on his hand were imprinted on his hand.
This incident soon spread throughout the city of Luzhou, and people praised Bao Zheng's ingenuity and fair judgment. Although there may be some legends and exaggerations in this story, it reflects Bao Zheng's keen observation and judgment as a teenager, which laid the foundation for him to become an outstanding official in the future.
The story of Bao Zheng's case judgment has been widely praised in Chinese history, and he is known for his honesty and fairness, iron-faced selflessness, and is known as "Bao Gong" and "Qingtian Master". His story is not only recorded in historical records, but also adapted into many literary works, operas, and film and television works, and is deeply loved and admired by people.