During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty, there was a rich man named Li Jishan in Weiting. His family had thousands of acres of fertile land and hundreds of houses. Unlike those rich and unkind local rich men, Li Jishan was kind and generous. Most of the poor people within a radius of ten miles had received his favor, so they all respected him very much.
Not far from the Li family compound, there is a scholar named Cao Wenze. When he was very young, his father died of illness. From then on, he and his mother Xie depended on each other for life. Xie's body is weak and sick, while Cao Wenze is determined to get a fame and fortune. When he is in his prime, he still holds books and refuses to let go. This leads to their family having no source of income, and the mother and mother often have no meals after eating. After Li Jishan learned about the situation, he often helped the Cao family's mother and son. Li Jishan's wife Liu is quite sarcastic. Every time she sees Li Jishan sending someone to deliver oil and noodles to the Cao family, she will scold him for a while and repeatedly warn: "The Cao family is just an ungrateful wolf who cannot feed them. If you give them something big in the future, be careful that I will not finish it with you."
Li Jishan doesn't want to argue with Liu, so every time she makes noise, he takes his child Yang Guang, pretending to go to the countryside to collect rent, but in fact he goes out to relax.
One day in June of that year, Xie died of illness. Cao Wenze wanted to buy a birthday pot for my mother, and then asked someone to send her to the mountain to bury her. But the boss in the town was too dark and a coffin cost ten taels of silver. Cao Wenze could not afford so much money, so he had to borrow money from Li Jishan with a crying face.
"Is ten taels of silver enough? Let's do this, I'll give you twenty taels of silver. As the saying goes, the dead are the most important, and you can let your mother be buried in peace first." After Li Jishan learned about Xie's death, he couldn't help but comfort Cao Wenze, and then personally packed twenty taels of silver and handed it to Cao Wenze.
Cao Wenze was so grateful that he knelt down and said, "The kindness of Li Dashan, Cao, is unforgettable. If he can go to high school in the future, he will definitely pay it back twice as much."
"Can you still go to high school like a poor scholar? Are you afraid you are dreaming in the daytime?" After Liu learned that Cao Wenze came to borrow money, he didn't even care about breakfast, so he hurried to the main hall to obstruct him. She snatched the silver from Cao Wenze's hand and said angrily, "You surnamed Cao, tell me, how much money have you borrowed from our family? Have you ever had a penny in the past few years? I have lived for decades and have never seen a shameful person like you!"
"I, I--" Cao Wenze looked ashamed, and for a moment he was speechless. Li Jishan felt that Liu was a little too much, so he stared at her and said, "Who has no difficulties? Why are you called a shameless person? Wen Ze's mother just passed away and he is already very sad. Don't say that to him again."
"I won't talk about him, he will become even worse! Anyway, this money is not lent to him today." Liu refused to give in, and walked into the inner room with the money, completely ignoring Cao Wenze's feelings and Li Jishan's face. As the saying goes, "It's tolerant, but it's unbearable." Li Jishan finally got angry and rushed forward and snatched the silver from Liu's hand, shouting, "Are you the one who makes the decision or me in this family? You are becoming more and more arrogant! If you make such an unreasonable act, I will write a divorce letter to divorce you immediately."
"You, you actually want to divorce me for this poor scholar? The surname Li, I have been with you for so many years in vain. Wuwu, you are so heartless." Liu was scared and did not dare to obstruct you anymore, but she quickly cried and played the emotional card.
Li Jishan was too lazy to pay attention to her, so he handed the money to Cao Wenze again and said, "Go and deal with your mother's funeral first."
"This - Li Dashan, I'd better not borrow this money." Cao Wenze was already very guilty, and now he was even more disgusted when he saw the two of them making a big fuss about this matter. So at this moment, he actually planned not to buy a coffin, but just wanted to find a bed and mat to bury my mother.
Li Jishan deliberately said with a stern face, "If you don't take this money, how can you buy a coffin for your mother? Do you want to be an unfilial son?"
"I-I--" Hearing this, Cao Wenze was excited again, and tears couldn't help but flow out of his eyes. Seeing this, Li Jishan quickly patted the boy on the shoulder and said, "I lent this money to you and has nothing to do with others. You can go!"
"Thank you, thank you, Da Shanren Li." Cao Wenze nodded and hurriedly left with silver in his arms. Seeing that the boy took the silver away, Liu burst into tears in the house as if he had cut off his flesh. While crying, he cursed, "My surname is Li, you are a prodigal son. You are a little rich and do good deeds everywhere, but look, what rewards have you been getting over the years? Sooner or later, you will lose all your family property. Woo, this life is simply impossible."
Li Jishan expected that this woman would stir up trouble at home for this matter again, so she called Yang Guang and prepared to take a carriage to go to Gusu City. Unexpectedly, just after going out and before he could get on the carriage, an old monk was begging for alms.
The old monk's eyebrows were both white. He looked like he was not young, but when he walked, he felt as if he was windy and very energetic. He held the bowl in one hand and the Zen stick in the other, and he carried a heavy burden on his shoulder. When the old monk saw Li Jishan's death, he smiled and asked, "Amitabha, how dare you ask the donor, but Li Jishan, the great charity of Li Jishan?"
"That's right. What's the master?" Li Jishan respectfully bowed his fists and returned the salute.
The old monk, "My Dharma name is Huiyuan, I have been recruited from Hanshan Temple . Because I was worried that the road was unsafe, I wanted to send the 60 taels of silver raised to Li Shanren. I will come here to get it tomorrow. I hope that Shanren Li can make a convenience."
"This is a simple task, but Master, you and I have never met each other. Why do you believe me like this? Aren't you afraid that I will not give you your money?" Li Jishan smiled and smiled. Huiyuan said, "Li Dashan's reputation for being kind and generous has spread throughout the countryside. The money given to poor people over the years has long been less than a thousand taels of silver. I believe that Li Dashan's reputation will never ruin your reputation for the sake of the 60 taels of silver for the sake of the 60 taels of silver for me." Tong Yangguang from
snorted coldly, "You monk have been asking carefully, don't say you have 60 taels of silver, even 600 taels of silver, we master must not want you."
Huiyuan smiled, "I just knew that Li Dashan's name would not rely on my money, so I came to him boldly ' '
"Hahaha, thank you, the master, for looking down on me so much, I will help you keep the money for the time being. You can just come to me to get it tomorrow." Li Jishan smiled and took the bag handed over by Huiyuan, and asked him again, "It's okay to say it, I'll write you a receipt ." '
Huiyuan saw that the carriage was ready, and he expected that Li Jishan was going to go out, so he waved his hand and said, "No need, I can trust you." After that, he asked Li Jishan to click, then turned around and left. Li Jishan was not inconvenient to keep it for too long, so he took the bag and went into the inner room. Just as I happened to see Mrs. Liu wiped her tears and came out from it. He originally wanted to continue to ignore her, but suddenly he thought that he would go to Gusu City to find friends to play. If he had fun and could not come back tomorrow, then Monk Huiyuan would not be able to get the money. What should I do? In desperation, Li Jishan had to hand the bag to Liu and said, "This is the sixty taels of silver stored by Master Huiyuan of Hanshan Temple. He will come to collect it tomorrow. When you ask for his Dharma name, you will return the money to him."
"You take his money, why don't you return it to him with your own hands?" Although Liu was still a little reluctant, she quickly caught the heavy bag.
Li Jishan lied, "I have to go to the countryside to collect rent these two days, and I may not be able to come back tonight. I am afraid that when the monk Huiyuan comes, I will still be in the countryside. It would be a trivial matter to delay him. If it is reported that I want to rely on his money, it will be troublesome."
" Then did you accept his money, did you write a receipt for him? When he takes the money, should he give me the receipt? "Liu made a small plan and stared at Li Jishan and asked. Li Jishan said, "He didn't ask me to write the receipt. As long as he reported the right Dharma number, you just give him the money." "
didn't write a receipt? Wouldn't you be able to rely on his sixty taels of silver? Just like he lost twenty taels of silver this morning, I will use the monk's sixty taels of silver to make up for the loss! Liu was happy and immediately smiled and said, "That's really hard work. You are the head of the family. Be careful when you are outside, go and come back early! "
" I know. "Li Jishan waved his hand, and was still a little surprised: Why did this woman suddenly become so concerned about me? It seems that the sun came out from the west this morning. After
left the yard, Li Jishan explained a few words to the gatekeeper, then took Yang Guang to Gusu City to visit an old friend. Because he had a lot of fun that day and drank a lot of wine, both Li Jishan and Yang Guang stayed In the city.
The next day, the monk Huiyuan knocked on the gate of the Li family courtyard and explained his purpose. The gatekeeper, Old Man Hou, had already received the order from Li Jishan and brought the monk directly to Liu. Liu pretended to be foolish and gave Huiyuan ten-ciete copper coins and said, "I have only this little spare money in my hand. I will give it to you today. You can go to beg for alms elsewhere. "
" Donor, I am not here to beg for alms, I am here to find Shanren Li to get my sixty taels of silver. "Monkey Huiyuan stared at the ten-cigarette copper coins and hesitated for a moment.
Liu frowned and said, "When did you give him sixty taels of silver? He never told me about this. You monk, don’t you tell me that you want money to come to our house, but you still want to falsely accus us of money? Go and go, go out quickly, otherwise I will be rude to you. "After saying that, the woman took back the ten-month copper coins.
" Yesterday, I personally gave 60 taels of silver to Shanren Li. I can't tell you clearly, please let him come out and speak. "Huiyuan sighed helplessly. Old Man Hou was quite upset about the monk, but in front of the head of the family, he did not dare to interrupt, so he had to stand aside with his head buried.
Liu took the teacup, took a sip of tea, and said calmly: "Our master is a busy man. If you want to see him, at least you have to wait until tomorrow. Also, you said that you gave him sixty taels of silver for no reason, and he must have sent you a receipt, right? You can show me the receipt and count it as a number. "
Huiyuan said angrily: "I saw him going out yesterday, but I didn't want to delay him, so I didn't ask him to send me a receipt. You guys shouldn't have seized this and wanted to rely on my sixty taels of silver, right? "
" Our master will receive other people's things for no reason and will receive receipts. Now you can't get the receipt, but you run here to say that he wants to rely on your money. I think you just want to turn the tables and falsely blame us, right? "Liu laughed coldly. After hearing this, Huiyuan was so anxious that she stamped her Zen stick and said, "I can't tell you clearly, please ask Shanren Li to come out to see me." "
" Our master has really not come back yet. "Old man Hou signaled Monk Huiyuan to go out first and wait. Huiyuan thought that the Li family joined forces to cheat the money he raised, and couldn't help but say to Liu angrily: "You will be punished if you rely on my money. I advise you to return the money to me quickly-"
"I dare to swear to the heaven that if we rely on your money, we will be hit by the sky with thunder! "What Huiyuan and Old Man Hou never expected was that Liu actually raised his hand and made a poisonous oath in front of the two of them. Seeing this, Huiyuan probably wouldn't have to come back, so she had to sigh and said, "Forget it, forgot, forgot, this sixty taels of silver will be used as a good thing for me. Alas——”After saying that, Huiyuan went out with anger. Old Man Hou repeatedly advised him to wait for Li Jishan to come back and ask about this matter in person before talking about it. However, Huiyuan lost his patience and waited for only half an hour before leaving in a hurry. He probably thought: This was Li Jishan who united his wife and wanted to rely on him for the sixty taels of silver, so no matter how long he waited, it was useless.
How did you know that the monk Huiyuan left not long after, Li Jishan came back with Yang Guang in a carriage. Old Man Hou hurriedly came forward and quietly told Li Jishan about the fact that Liu's money was dependent on him. Li Jishan was furious and said, "This dead woman has fallen into money in her life! She can do anything for money. If I keep her again, wouldn't it ruin my reputation? I'll ask her to make sense."
"Don't, master, only I know about this at the moment. If you go to the wife to judge, she will definitely drive me away. I have an old man above and a young man below, and it's really not easy to support my family." When the kind old man Hou heard this, he immediately knelt down and pleaded with tears. Li Jishan helped him up, and he said in anger, "She dares to drive you away, I will give her up immediately!"
"This is even more terrible. Even if she doesn't blame you, I will never be able to live through this life." Old Man Hou said in tears. Yang Guang persuaded, "Although the wife loves money, she is still a family-owned company. If she is divorced for this matter, she will definitely not be able to figure it out. If she seeks a short opinion of herself, she will ruin the reputation of the master."
Li Jishan thought about it and felt it made sense, so he nodded, "Fortunately, Master Huiyuan said that he came from Hanshan Temple, so we might as well take the silver secretly and return it to him."
"The master is wise." Hearing this, the old man Hou showed a smile on his face, and Li Jishan told him again, "Don't tell anyone that I'm back." After that, he called Yang Guang, drove a carriage, secretly came to the backyard, and dug a hundred taels of silver from the cellar wine cellar, and went straight to Hanshan Temple.
went by carriage, but the monk Huiyuan walked back to the temple all the way. The speed of the two is completely incomparable. Therefore, Li Jishan and Yang Guang arrived at the temple, and the monk Huiyuan had not even returned. After Li Jishan found out the news, he couldn't help but sigh, "Fortunately, the master has not come back to talk about this to the monks, otherwise my reputation as a sage, Li Dashan, would have become infamous."
"Master, that's just the wife's intention, not your intention. I believe Master Huiyuan will definitely be able to distinguish right from wrong." After Yang Guang replied, he followed Li Jishan, jumped out of the carriage, and waited for people at the gate of the temple in a regular manner.
Shi Shi, monk Huiyuan finally returned to the temple gate listlessly with a Zen stick. Li Jishan hurriedly went forward and bowed and greeted, "Master, finally wait until you come back."
"Is it you? You hypocritical hypocrite, why are you here for?" Huiyuan was still furious when she saw Li Jishan. Yang Guang hurriedly stepped forward and explained, "Master, you misunderstood our master! The one who relied on your money today is my wife. Our master has been in Gusu City these two days and is completely unaware of it."
"Since you don't know, what are you doing here?" Huiyuan glanced at the two of them, and his heart was full of doubts. Li Jishan took out the sealed silver and said, "Before today, I returned home, and the gatekeeper Lao Hou told me about this morning. I apologized for this, full of guilt, and specially sent a hundred taels of silver to apologize to the master."
"So that's the case? Then I really misunderstood you. I shouldn't judge a gentleman's affair with a villain's heart! Amitabha, I said I should be the one who apologized." Huiyuan took the silver and insisted on collecting only the sixty taels he raised. Li Jishan repeatedly refused: "The remaining silver is even if I donated it to the temple."
Huiyuan could not refuse, so he had to say to Li Jishan, "Li Dashan must be the reincarnation of a Bodhisattva, and he will have such a broad mind in this life; since you have arrived here, please don't dislike it. Today, I will stay with me in the temple for one night. I still want to talk about Buddhism with Li Dashan."
"The holy land of Buddhism, this is probably inappropriate--" Li Jishan was a little hesitant when he listened to the bells and chanting in the temple. After all, he rarely ate vegetarianism and chanted Buddha's name on weekdays, and he thought he had nothing to talk about with this monk Huiyuan.Huiyuan did not give up and insisted repeatedly, "If Li Shanren is not interested in Buddhism, then he should always be interested in this temple, right? This Hanshan Temple is a few years and there are many interesting places in it. Since Shanren Li is here, why not visit with the poor monks?"
Yang Guang smiled and said, "Master, it seems that if we don't stay here for one night tonight, Master Huiyuan will not let us go."
As the saying goes, it is difficult to refuse, Li Jishan really couldn't find a reason to shirke, so he nodded and agreed. After Huiyuan handed over the silver to the abbot, he took Li Jishan and Yang Guang to visit the temple. When it was time for dinner, he personally delivered dinner. Worried that Li Jishan would go down the mountain secretly after dinner, the monk found another big lock and locked the master and servant in the room where they were resting.
That night, Yang Guang was still a little scared and asked Li Jishan in shock, "Master, why did this old monk lock us up? He wouldn't have come to make money and kill him while we are asleep, right?"
"We gave him all the money, where is there any money on him? Besides, if he wants to make money and kill him, he should do it quietly, so there is no need to take us around the temple." Li Jishan believed in Huiyuan, just as Huiyuan believed in him at the beginning. However, despite this, he still expressed his concerns, "I saw that Huiyuan left today and wanted to say something, but because of some reason, it was inconvenient to say it. Alas, since I came here, let's sleep here for one night tonight, and then I'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Then you go to bed, I'll show you secretly." Yang Guang was always a little worried. He almost didn't sleep that night, but Li Jishan slept well.
The next day, when the sky was bright, Huiyuan unbuttoned the big lock on the door. At this time, Li Jishan heard the footsteps and got up. Huiyuan made the two of them get up, so she pushed open the door and walked in and asked, "How did the donor sleep well last night?"
"Fortunately, although the temple is a bit noisy during the day, it is elegant and quiet at night." Li Jishan nodded with a smile. Huiyuan smiled slightly and said, "As long as the donor sleeps well." After that, he took out a rosary that was worn by peace talisman from his sleeve and said, "Although this peace tent does not have any magical effect, it represents my blessing to the donor. I hope that the donor will be safe and happy no matter what storms and waves you encounter."
"Okay, thank you master." Although the beads are not worth money, the gift is light and affection is heavy! Li Jishan took it and had vegetarian food, and then he followed Yang Guang back to the town. Unexpectedly, before they arrived home, the two heard a cry coming from all over the place. When Li Jishan opened the curtain and looked out, they found that there was a lot of wastewater accumulated in many places. It turned out that last night, strong winds accompanied by floods hit the town. Many families in the town were flooded, and a small number of people were swept away by the flood because they didn't run in time. Most of the houses of the Li family were built on high places. Although they were not destroyed by floods, some houses were still flooded with mud and sewage. What made everyone feel incredible was that Li Jishan's wife Liu rolled under the bed in the middle of the night and was drowned by the flood that poured into the house. The rest of the Li family, including the servants, were safe and sound.
When Li Jishan saw Liu's body, he was still a little sad. He couldn't help but blame Liu's maid Xiaojing, saying, "You found that there was a flood, why didn't you go and call your wife?"
Xiaojing said with a grievance: "When Uncle Hou and I went to call you for a wife, the strong wind blew us down, and we couldn't get into the wife's house at all. Later, we broke our throats and shouted loudly, but we still didn't wake up the wife."
" Xiaojing was right. If the master doesn't believe it, you can look at the scars on my body and legs. These were all knocked on the ground after being blown down by the strong wind."While old man Hou said, pulling off his clothes and showing Li Jishan and Yang Guang his wounds, Li Jishan then secretly sighed: Is this all God's will? Could it be that Monk Huiyuan, even if I had the opportunity to do this last night, my family would suffer this disaster, so he tried every means to keep me in the temple? Thinking of this, Li Jishan didn't even care about Liu's funeral, so he took a carriage and returned to Hanshan Temple.
Monk Huiyuan had known Li Jishan's purpose, and couldn't help but smile, "Some things are already destined in the dark. But doing more good and good deeds will accumulate virtue in the dark. When this virtue reaches a certain level, it may change a person's destiny. As the saying goes, "Good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil. It is not that you will not be rewarded, and the time has not come." "
So that's it! Li Jishan nodded and said, "Thank you for your advice from Master, and for your life-saving kindness. "
" Hahaha, I didn't save you, it was your kindness that saved you. "
After experiencing this incident, Li Jishan was even more dedicated to kindness and willing to help others. Ten years later, when his family's wealth was dispersed and he was in poverty, Cao Wenze, who had been sponsored by him, became a high-ranking official. He was grateful and not only sent a thousand taels of silver to Li Jishan, but also helped him open several cloth shops in Gusu City. With these cloth shops, the Li family became rich again.
