During the Qing Dynasty, there was a scholar named Jia Wenyuan in Gudang County, who studied hard, but failed to pass the exams repeatedly, and even did not obtain the title of Xiucai. However, he did not give up his original intention, but because of this, the family's financial situation was in trouble, and his mother, who depended on him for her life, also suffered a lot of hardships.
Face is sometimes a real burden for people. At noon one day, Jia Wenyuan returned from a friend's house, and because he was embarrassed to eat at his friend's house, he was hungry. As he passed by a watermelon field, the large green watermelon whetted his appetite. He wanted to buy one, but he didn't have any money. Hunger eventually overcame his shame, and when Jia Wenyuan saw that there was no one to guard, he stole a watermelon.
A scholar walking on the road with a watermelon will naturally arouse the suspicion of others. In addition, Jia Wenyuan was hungry, so he found a remote place to eat the watermelon. As soon as he finished eating, a stern voice suddenly came from behind him: "Okay, you melon thief! You dare to steal the big watermelon I left behind, see how I clean you up!"
Jia Wenyuan was shocked, knowing that he had been discovered by the owner of the melon field, and hurriedly begged for mercy, explaining that he was hungry and thirsty on the way, so he stole the watermelon, and expressed his willingness to compensate. The owner of the melon field was an old man about 50 years old, he glanced at Jia Wenyuan and sneered: "I thought it was someone who stole the melon, it turned out to be a scholar! A dignified scholar has done such an unsightly thing, and you say that you go out to see what kind of face you have? If you want to compensate, you can pay five taels of silver for a watermelon, and you can't do it without one!"
Five taels of silver is undoubtedly a huge amount of money for Jia Wenyuan, and he can't come up with it at all. Because he was at a loss, Jia Wenyuan didn't dare to argue with the old man, so he had to beg in a low voice: "Old man, can you pay less......?" I can't afford to come up with so much silver. ”
The old man did not sympathize with him because of this, he said with a straight face: "No! If you don't take the silver, I will send you to see the official, see if you think the silver is important or your face is important?" Jia Wenyuan is most afraid of being sent to the official, once the matter spreads, his reputation and future will be ruined. In the face of the old man's resolute attitude, Jia Wenyuan had no choice but to beg hard: "Okay, five taels will be five taels, but I can't take it out for the time being. If you are always worried, you can write it down. ”
Seeing that Jia Wenyuan really couldn't take out the money, the old man seemed to be a little soft-hearted: "Okay! Since you are willing to lose money, then I won't force you to give it now." You are a poor scholar, and you don't know when you will be rich. I'll give you a chance, the watermelons in the field are about to be sold, and you will come with me to the market to sell watermelons these days. As long as the silver sold is enough for five taels, we will settle it in two. ”
Although this is a good way to make up for mistakes, it is undoubtedly a humiliation for a scholar to go to the market to sell melons. However, it seems to be a better option than being sent to an officer. Therefore, Jia Wenyuan hurriedly nodded in agreement.
Early the next morning, Jia Wenyuan hurried to help the old man pick watermelons, and then went to the market to sell them. The old man asked Jia Wenyuan to sell it, but where could he say it? However, when he saw that the old man was angry, he had no choice but to do it. At first, his voice was so small that it was barely audible, but after a few shouts, it grew louder. Someone recognized him and asked him with a smile why this scholar had sold watermelons? Jia Wenyuan's face was flushed with shame, and he only said that he was helping his relatives. Later, he gradually found that the people who bought melons did not care about these things, so he no longer felt embarrassed, and the cries became louder and louder, and sometimes even some elegant words were added, which attracted many people to buy melons.
After five days, all the watermelons were sold, and a total of five taels or three pieces of silver were sold. The old man left five taels of silver as compensation, and the remaining three taels of silver were given to Jia Wenyuan.
After Jia Wenyuan returned to the village, his experience of selling melons became a joke among the villagers after dinner. Although he was paid three pieces of silver, because of the loss of face, he was full of resentment towards the old man, and vowed that one day if he became prosperous, he would humiliate the old man in person. However, it was not easy for Jia Wenyuan to study and gain fame, and the experience of selling melons made him feel that it was faster to make money in business, so he decided to leave his hometown and go to Jiangnan.
During the ten years in Jiangnan, Jia Wenyuan worked hard and finally became a wealthy businessman with a lot of money. After Yijin returned to his hometown, the first thing he did was to find the old man, wanting to regain the face he had lost back then.
It was the season when the watermelons were ripe, and Jia Wenyuan easily recognized the old man in the market. He quietly bought a watermelon, and then deliberately found fault with the quality of the watermelon, trying to provoke the old man. However, the old man was not fooled, but recognized Jia Wenyuan and ridiculed him for stealing melons back then.
Jia Wenyuan wanted to give the old man a dismount, but he didn't expect to touch his nose. He tried to threaten the old man with money, but the old man was unmoved. Jia Wenyuan was embarrassed and scared, so he had to leave in a huff.
However, Jia Wenyuan was not willing to fail like this. He pondered and finally came up with a brilliant plan. He began to buy other people's watermelons at high prices in the bazaar, and then sold them at low prices, as a way to squeeze the old man's market. People who buy melons are greedy for cheap, so no one cares about the old man's watermelons.
The old man began to get anxious, and he found Jia Wenyuan's theory. But Jia Wenyuan became more and more proud, and he proposed that as long as the old man kowtowed and admitted his mistakes for the things of the year, he would let him go. Seeing that he couldn't compete with Jia Wenyuan, the old man had to kowtow to him and apologize to him under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Although Jia Wenyuan eventually achieved his goal, he also lost something more important - respect and kindness. Not only did his actions not win the respect of the villagers, but made them despise him even more. Although the old man lost the market, he adhered to his dignity and principles and won the admiration of more people.