"Headmaster Gou has met my late father?" Shi Dun was greatly surprised and his eyes widened.
Gou Shiyun answered honestly: "I have no chance to meet Senior Shi, but my ancestor, Tong Guxian, had some friendship with Senior Shi. When my father was still alive, he often mentioned..."
Shi Kui was originally a poor boy from Chang'an. Both of his parents were dead. As an adult, he relied on part-time labor to earn a living and saved some scraps of money. He was ambitious and determined to build a family business. He was born with brute strength and was willing to endure hardships. He did not engage in food, drink, prostitution, or gambling.
It’s a pity that the times are bad, pigs are cheap and sheep and goats are cheap, umbrellas don’t rain, watermelons are even cloudy. I’m so unlucky that even if I drink a mouthful of cold water, my teeth will be stuffed, my heels will be slapped if I fart, and all the money I save will be watered down.
At the age of twenty-five, one person still had enough to eat and the whole family was not hungry. Not willing to suffer poverty all his life, he bought gifts and asked someone to recommend him. He asked Tong Guxian, a senior member of the fourth grade, to help him tell his fortune and point out a clear path. When Tong Guxian saw it, he shook his head repeatedly.
, refused to utter a word. Shi Kui immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times in a row, begging Tong Guxian to just say it was okay. Even if the deadline came the next day, he would never complain. Tong Guxian sighed repeatedly, saying that he was in vain.
It was broad, the hall was dark, the chin bones were pointed, the heels of the ears were upturned as if someone had lifted them up, giving him a shabby appearance, and his face showed that he only had one year left to live. The leader was very sympathetic and begged Tong Guxian to change his luck, and Tong Guxian said everything.
No luck, but there is still a glimmer of hope in the southeast. If God shows mercy, maybe his life can be saved. After saying this, he did not accept the fortune and urged them to leave quickly. Shi Guo was so disheartened that he almost drank medicine and hanged himself. After being persuaded by others, he closed the door.
Living in a small courtyard, looking for odd jobs while walking, I meandered all the way to Yangzhou in the southeast.
One day when I walked to the boundary of Suiyang Prefecture, it rained heavily, and the mud in the low-lying areas formed a river. While wading in the water, I suddenly stepped on a hard object, which did not look like an ordinary brick or tile. I picked it up and saw that it was a sachet. I opened the incense bag.
There was a bang in the bag, and there was a jade toad, a golden pony, and more than a dozen taels of silver inside. After hanging around in the capital for a long time, I still have a good eye. The two objects are worth a lot of money, which can be worth ten thousand taels of silver.
God-given wealth, I wanted to keep it, but I also thought that Tong Guxian only talked about survival, not windfall, so I made up my mind to meet the owner and return the original thing. The next day when I arrived in Bozhou Prefecture, an innkeeper asked him to clean up the debris, and after settling the wages, he took care of the dinner.
, allowing him to rest in the corridor for a night. The poor man was pregnant with a jade, and could not sleep. He heard the woman in the room sobbing, and the crying gradually became weaker. Suddenly he heard the sound of a stool falling to the ground, and when he poked the window paper, he saw the shadowy woman hanging herself from the beam. He
Yun Li opened the door, put the woman gently on the bed, and returned to the corridor.
The woman lit the lamp for a moment and called to her elder brother softly to let him in. Shi Cuo thought that people who are about to die should not stick to the formal etiquette and it would be good to give him some advice. When he entered the room, the woman slapped him twice in the face. Shi Cuo was frightened.
Asked the eldest sister, I saved you, why did you hit me? The woman said, I asked for death, what does it have to do with you? Mind your own business! She sobbed again. Shi Kui first told the story and said that he couldn't survive even if he wanted to.
You can't suffer more, so why do you want to commit suicide? The woman said that she was penniless and the clothes she replaced were worth the rent. She would either starve to death or be sold to a brothel by her creditor. It would be better to die clean.
Shi Kui said that he had plenty of strength, so it was better to become brother and sister. He would not be hungry for food, but he would not be able to care about her after his death. The woman said that she would not be able to live like that - she was a third-grade military attache in Yangzhou and the orphan daughter of General Yunhui.
, her father was framed and thrown into death row by the governor. Her mother asked her to take the family heirloom and go to the capital to complain to her old master, Prince Dayi. Unexpectedly, the treasure was lost along with the money. She returned to search carefully, but found nothing and was hungry.
She was tired and ended up in this inn - she couldn't complain, her father would die, and her mother would have a hard time, so how could she just live an ignoble existence?
Shi Guo secretly thought that it was a coincidence, and after asking carefully, the woman was able to accurately predict the amount of silver, and then returned the sachet intact to Zhao. The woman hugged Shi Guo, kissed him hard, touched the place where she had hit him, and accused him repeatedly.
Shi Luo wanted to leave again, but the woman pulled him back. He said, brother, you have been in the capital for a long time and know the streets well. I am a weak woman and the road is not smooth. Why don't I worship my brother and sister and go with him? Shi Luo was originally looking for a chance to survive.
However, the woman spoke softly and asked sincerely, but could not bear to refuse.
After more than a month, he returned to Chang'an and settled the woman in his small courtyard and found another place to rest. Fortunately, Prince Dayi missed the old relationship and reviewed the whole case, which soon became clear. The woman admired Shi Guo, fell in love with her, and promised her with her body.
His life was not long, so he resolutely refused. General Yunhui sent someone to capture him and took him to Yangzhou, where he adopted his adopted son. At the end of one year, he was unscathed. General Yunhui then ordered the two of them to worship heaven and earth. The next year, Shidun was born, and he gave birth to Shidun.
Shi Guo filled the vacancy of the seventh-grade military attache. Five years later, he resigned, and Shi Guo took over his post.
When the army changed defenses, Shi Guo and his family returned to Chang'an. The next day, he prepared a generous gift and made a special trip to thank Tong Guxian. When he saw Tong Guxian, he did not say a word and kowtowed repeatedly.
Official! Shi Kui said that the lives of my family are all given by you, and you deserve this great gift! Let me describe the twists and turns.
After hearing this, Tong Guxian returned the favor to Shi Kui, saying that you had saved people's lives, returned a lot of money, did not deceive the darkroom, and helped people redress their grievances. These four great virtues have received blessings. Looking at his face again, there is no trace of signs of ruin. Shi Kuo's
Only then can we be at ease.
The two respected each other and became friends for many years. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long and Tong Guxian was convicted.