In the late Northern Song Dynasty, there were three brothers in Dongting, the eldest brother Xu Laoda, the second brother Xu Laoer, and the third brother Xu Laosan. The three brothers made a living by fishing in Dongting. Later, Dongting suffered a severe drought, the lake dried up, and the three brothers lost their jobs one after another. The eldest son of
, Mr. Xu, saw that he could not make a living in his hometown. He wanted to cross Dongting and go to Baling to make a living, but he had no money to make a living, so he thought of dividing the family. He said to his two brothers: "Two brothers should not separate their families. After the family separation, the brothers will no longer be close to each other."
Xu Lao Er and Xu Lao Er were willing to listen and insisted on separating their families. They also advised Xu Lao San to separate their families as soon as possible and go to Baling with them.
Xu Laosan asked: "How to deal with the property?" The eldest and second eldest son of
said: "We sold them all, just in time to use them for travel expenses."
When the third child heard that he was going to sell off all his belongings, he said, "Brother, if you want to go, just go. You will never be able to sell your belongings." In fact, the three brothers didn't have much property, just a few shabby ancestral houses, an open space, and a dilapidated fishing boat.
The boss and the second child heard this and said: "If I don't sell my property, how can I have any money?" So they ignored the third brother's words and the two brothers discussed how to separate the family.
The third child saw that his two elder brothers had made up their minds, so he had no choice but to agree to separate the family. As a result, the three brothers divided the family property equally, except for the broken fishing boat.
Boss Xu said: "Now that the lake is dry, there are no fish to catch, and the fishing boats are useless. Zhang Yuanwai in the east of the city needs firewood to hold a birthday party for his mother. It would be better to cut the fishing boat into three parts and sell it as firewood to the Zhang family. Accumulating expenses." The second child agreed upon hearing this. Only Xu Laosan cried loudly: "Those are things left by our ancestors. My father and grandfather have put a lot of effort into it." Then he refused to divide the fishing boat into three parts.
When the eldest brother and the second child saw that the third child refused to divide the fishing boat into three parts, he said: "Then what can you do to make up for our losses?"
The third child said: "I wish I could have less gold and silver"!
Therefore, the third child took the material share to offset the two brothers' share of the fishing boat.
The distribution of the family property of the three brothers has been decided, and the eldest son Xu, the eldest son, and the second son Xu have to sell off their ancestral home. The third child urged: "Brother, if you want to go, go ahead. Keeping the ancestral home won't hinder you. Besides, I'll take care of it. If my brother doesn't get what he wants out there, he can have a place to stay at home."
The boss saw that Xu Laosan's words were unlucky and said angrily: "I don't want to go back to this remote country again. If you want it, I will sell it to you." Xu Laoer also had this intention. When Xu Laosan heard this, he said: "Okay! I will be the watchdog." Then he invited his neighbors to write a deed, and each of the three brothers received a copy.
That's it, the three brothers can share it easily!
01
Let’s not talk about Xu Lao San, let’s talk about Xu Lao Da and Xu Lao Er first. After the eldest and the second eldest brother divided their family property that day, the two brothers passed through Dongting overnight and came to Baling.
When they arrived in Baling, Mr. Xu and Mr. Xu found a hotel to stay in. Early the next morning, they went out to look for work. Baling City is such a big city with so many people coming and going, but the Xu brothers have no idea where to find a job.
Fortunately, Mr. Xu had an idea. He saw that there were many people sitting in sedan chairs among the people passing by, so he discussed with Mr. Xu and the two of them bought a large sedan chair to carry the sedan for those who needed it. Over the past few years, I have accumulated a lot of furniture.
With capital, Xu Laoer saw that there were many tourists coming to Baling, so he discussed with his brother and rented a shop at the intersection of Baling, opened a hotel, and provided food and accommodation. Due to Xu Laoer's quick mind, the two brothers became prosperous in Baling City.
Let’s talk about Xu Laosan. Since his brother left, he has been unable to make a living, so he had to reclaim the open space in front of the house and collect some vegetables for a living.
02
After getting rich, the two brothers, Xu Lao Er and Xu Lao Er, sat on a whim one day to drink tea in the attic of the newly purchased courtyard and talk while drinking.
Xu Laodaodao: "We have been out for so many years, I wonder how the third child is doing?".
The second child knew what the boss was thinking and said: "Why don't we go home and take a look"!
Mr. Xu Dadao: "What's there to see? I'm still a poor guy"! The second child sighed: "It would have been nice if the third child could have come out with us."
Let’s not talk about the two brothers talking, let’s talk about Xu Laosan. Xu Laosan has spent a difficult year since his boss Xu and Xu Laoer left. In the spring of the next year, Dongting Lake had enough rain and the lake water rose again. Xu Laosan could go fishing in the lake again, and Xu Laosan's adversity was reversed.
Xu Laosan fished, but he didn't want the young ones, and he didn't want the old ones. He said that the fish were too young to be caught, so the fishing was pitiful, and the old ones would live out their lives. Only the medium-sized fish were delicious and suitable for fishing. Because the fish caught by Xu Laosan were unique, fishmongers from all over the country flocked to buy the fish caught by Xu Laosan, and Xu Laosan gradually became rich.
After becoming rich, Xu Laosan began to breed fish instead of fishing in the lake. He spent money to buy a breeding farm by Dongting Lake, specializing in breeding Dongting Lake's specialty fish. Because Xu Laosan is good at management and the fish he raises are unique, he has no worries about selling his fish. Over the past few years, he has become a wealthy local businessman.
Xu Laosan, who had money, renovated his old house, but he still kept the broken fishing boat. He wanted to keep it as a souvenir to let his children and grandchildren know where the roots of their ancestors were.
Under the leadership of Xu Laosan, local fishermen actually gave up fish farming and most of the local fishermen became rich.
03
Let’s talk about Mr. Xu and Mr. Xu. They just wanted to stay in the city for the rest of their lives. After they got rich, they didn’t go back to their hometown for a visit. Unexpectedly, during the Huizong period, the Dongting plague was prevalent, and the Jin soldiers marched south. , the people by Dongting Lake were in dire straits, Yang Yao rose up in Dongting, and the business of the boss and the second brother in Baling could not continue at all. The eldest son and the second son had no choice but to sell their property one after another and wanted to return to their hometown to avoid trouble. Suddenly they remembered that their ancestral home had been sold to the third son. In desperation, the boss and the second child still wanted to return to their hometown shamelessly. Unexpectedly, they were robbed by gold soldiers on the way and robbed all the silver that the boss and the second child had brought.
The eldest brother and the second son were despairing of all their thoughts. They felt that their hands were empty and had no face to see Jiangdong's elders, so they wanted to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the lake. Just as the two of them plunged into the Dongting Lake, they saw a small boat floating up, and the third son was sitting on the bow. , wearing Song Dynasty clothes, he had joined the team resisting the Jin soldiers, and was patrolling Dongting Lake in a boat. Suddenly he saw someone committing suicide by throwing himself into the lake, so he rushed over to rescue him.
The eldest brother and the second child cried bitterly when they saw the third child. Xu Laosan comforted him for a while and returned to the old house with his two brothers. Xu's eldest son, Xu Lao'er, saw that his old house had been renovated and his third brother was wearing official and soldier uniforms. He knew that his brother was prosperous, so he knelt down in front of his third brother and begged his forgiveness. Xu Laosan said: In the current national crisis, why do we care about our family? Let’s fight the enemy together first! So the eldest son and the second son also joined the rebel army against the Jin soldiers, and later died in the battle. Only the third son, Xu, was promoted all the way, and was later promoted to the rank of general. Later, when the resistance against the Jin Dynasty failed, Xu Laosan retreated to Dongting and returned to his previous life of fishing and hunting. It was not until King Kang of the Han Dynasty crossed south that Xu Laosan came out again and made great contributions to the Southern Song Dynasty.
