During the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a magistrate of Chen County in Zibo, Shandong, so it was better to go to the people to experience the sufferings of the people. One day, he took advantage of the yamen's errands, so he changed into casual clothes and went to the folk to experience life.
He followed the field path, turning around and walking through one village after another. Whenever he went to a village and saw people in slack farming, he would stop and talk to them and ask about their living conditions. But on this day, County Magistrate Chen walked through four or five villages, but there was no one who was slack in the farm. County Magistrate Chen felt bored. At this time, near noon, the magistrate Chen felt hungry, so he sat down and rested in a small village called Hongye Village.
County Magistrate Chen sat under a big locust tree next to the east end of the village. He took out the big cake he carried with him and started eating it on his own. Just as he was eating happily, an elderly man in ragged clothes and tired face came to the avenue.
The elderly man came straight to the side of the Chen County Magistrate and watched the Chen County Magistrate eat big cakes, his mouth kept stammering.
County Magistrate Chen was embarrassed by his eyes and asked, "Do you want to eat too?" The elderly man nodded.
County Magistrate Chen took out the only big cake left beside him and handed it to the elderly man. The elderly man took it and swallowed it voraciously, as if he hadn't eaten for several days.
County Magistrate Chen and other elderly men finished their meal and started chatting with them. It turns out that the elderly man’s surname is Wang, his name is Wang Zhisan. He is 78 years old this year and has three sons and two daughters.
family has five children, but he is begging on the roadside. County Magistrate Chen was deeply surprised and asked, "Do your children care about you?" When Wang Zhisan heard this, he sighed to the sky, as if there was something unspeakable. County Magistrate Chen wanted to ask again, but then a few middle-aged men came up from the field next to him and also came to rest under the big locust tree. When Wang Zhisan saw these two middle-aged men, he left silently.
Looking at Wang Zhisan's leaving back, County Magistrate Chen thought to himself that this old man must have some story on his back, otherwise he would not have been like this in old age! He inquired about the two middle-aged men sitting under the tree.
A thin middle-aged man looked at the county magistrate Chen a few times and said, "Brother, are you from a foreigner?"
County Magistrate Chen said: "I pass by here occasionally."
A bearded man sitting next to the thin man said, "No wonder you don't know, he is the famous Wang Zhisan"!
County Magistrate Chen replied: "I would like to hear it carefully."
The bearded man showed a contemptuous laugh and said, "It was before, and now he is a beggar."
County Magistrate Chen said: "He said he has five children."
The thin man continued: "He does have five children, but now the five children don't care about him. This is also the fault of him being too ruthless before."
County Magistrate Chen said: "What a ruthless and unrighteous way?"
bearded said, "The guest official didn't know that Wang Zhisan had made money when he was doing business abroad, but after he had money, he divorced his wife and married another family fortune. He did not leave any money to his ex-wife, and he didn't care about the children born to his ex-wife. On the contrary, he gave all the money to his post-wife and his post-wife's children.
Later, when he was fifty, he fell seriously ill, and he was kicked out of the house by his post-wife and his post-wife's son. Because he did not go through the marriage procedures with his post-wife, and the family business he bought was all on the post-wife's parents' home.
After he was expelled by his post-wife, he was homeless and seriously ill, so he wanted to find his ex-wife to get back together. But at this time, his ex-wife was caressed by his post-wife. He raised five children overworked and died unexpectedly, leaving only five children.
His five children hated him for abandoning them and their mother when he was young, and was too ruthless and unrighteous. Therefore, when Wang Zhisan came to ask for the five children to support him, his five children refused him in unison. The children did not accept him, so he begged along the street. "
The thin man said, "This is also Wang Zhisan's fault before. If he had a little affection for his ex-wife and several children, it would not be so!"
magistrate Chen said, "Then where is he now?"
bearded said, "There is a broken tiled kiln at the end of the west end of the village, and he lives in it."
The magistrate Chen followed the bearded pointing, and from the bottom of his heart he felt that Wang Zhisan was hateful, but he was a scholar and a local parent official. He could not ignore such a thing. With the two of them, the magistrate Chen found Wang Zhisan and Wang Zhisan's five children, and knew the righteousness. Wang Zhisan was spared from begging and was supported by the five children in turn.
