During the Song Dynasty, there was a scholar named Pan Chen in Sichuan. Pan Chen was an orphan since he was a child and relied on the help of his neighbors to grow up. One summer, Pan Chen was herding cattle for the rich man on the mountain. Pan Chen saw a silk package on the gro

During the period of the Song Dynasty, there was a scholar named Pan Chen in Sichuan. Pan Chen was an orphan since he was a child and relied on the help of his neighbors to grow up. One summer, Pan Chen was herding cattle for the rich man on the mountain. Pan Chen saw a silk package on the ground from a distance. He opened it and saw that there was real gold and silver inside.

Although Pan Chen's family is poor, he is quite ambitious. He understands that a sudden windfall is a disaster, and so much gold and silver is not a small amount for anyone. The owner must be crazy. Pan Chen put the package next to him and kept waiting for the owner. Finally, after waiting for a long time, a middle-aged man hurriedly walked over, lowering his head as if he was looking for something.

When the middle-aged man saw the silk bag next to Pan Chen, he was so excited that he almost shed tears: "Little brother, that package is mine, can you return it to me?" Pan Chen said, "I'm waiting here. You've been waiting for a while, but in order to prevent others from pretending to claim it, please tell me what's inside, and if it matches, I'll return it to you."

The middle-aged man said: "I, Yuan Kang, am a businessman from other places. I wanted to come to the precious land to purchase some goods, but unexpectedly I lost my silver on the road. There was a total of five hundred taels of silver in the silk bag, and They are all small spindles of five or two, and the little brother can tell at a glance." Pan Chen counted them and found that they were consistent with what the middle-aged man said, and then returned the package to him.

Yuan Kang was very grateful and wanted to give him one hundred taels of silver. Pan Chen said with a smile: "If I wanted your silver, I wouldn't wait for you here. This is the capital of your business and does not belong to me. I won't want it." Yuan Kang was very moved and respected Pan Chen's character. When he learned that Pan Chen had not yet married, he offered to betroth his daughter to him.

Later, Pan Chen learned that Yuan Kang was actually the richest man in the neighboring county. At that time, Pan Chen was determined to obtain fame, so Yuan Kang invited the best private school teacher to teach him. After a few years, Pan Chen became famous in the local area and became a great talent praised by everyone. In the blink of an eye, in the third year of Renzong's reign, the imperial court started to recruit scholars, and Pan Chen also set out to take the exam.

When Pan Chen was walking on a mountain road, he saw a beggar lying on the ground by the roadside from a distance. Other candidates rushing to take the exam turned a blind eye to the beggar for fear of getting into trouble. But Pan Chen was kind-hearted and stepped forward to take a look, only to find that the beggar's leg was injured for some reason. Pan Chen asked, "Why is the old man injured? Where is your home? Can I take you home?" My leg was injured by the rolling stone. My home is behind the mountain. If If you can send me home, I will be really grateful. You will be my savior." Pan Chen waved his hand and said, "I am not a benefactor. No one will die without saving me."

said. After that, Pan Chen took off his turban, bandaged the old beggar's injured leg, and then carried the old beggar up the mountain. The old beggar said: "Remember to count the steps when you go up the mountain." Pan Chen asked in confusion: "What are you counting the steps for?" The old beggar said: "You will know by then."

In this way, Pan Chen carried the old beggar for a long time and finally sent the old beggar home. Before leaving, the old beggar told Pan Chen: "You can win the first prize by handing in a blank test." Pan Chen was very surprised after hearing this. He thought to himself, it seems that this beggar is a little unclear. With his ability, he might not be able to get on the list by writing beautiful articles, but this old beggar said that he could get the top prize by handing in a blank paper. Isn't this just a fool's errand? Pan Chen smiled and said nothing, and continued on his way.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the exam came. Pan Chen had just finished writing his name when he felt unbearable abdominal pain and ran to the latrine to have diarrhea. When he came out of the latrine, the exam was over and the papers had been taken away by the examiner. This made Pan Chen panic, and he handed in a blank paper. It seemed that Pan Chen had no chance of success and could only look forward to fighting again next year.

The result surprised Pan Chen. Just when he was about to leave the city and return to his hometown, the imperial list was posted, and Pan Chen High School topped the list. It turned out that the examiner that year was named Xu Yanzhi. When he saw a blank paper coming up, he got excited and wrote a beautiful article on Pan Chen's paper, and then stuffed it into the papers of other candidates. He wanted to see his own What is the level in the eyes of other examiners? As a result, all the examiners agreed that Pan Chen's test paper was the most outstanding, so they named him the top pick.

Xu Yanzhi was very happy, as it proved that his literary talents were still as good as before. When he saw Pan Chen, he saw that he was handsome and talented, and he fell in love with him even more. He recommended Pan Chen in front of the emperor, and finally the court made Pan Chen the prefect of Sichuan. Pan Chen was extremely grateful to Xu Yanzhi and said that he must work hard to achieve political achievements and live up to the high expectations of the court and his mentor.

When Pan Chen returned to his hometown, he passed by the mountain again and remembered the lame old beggar. As the old beggar said, he turned in a blank and won the first prize. But when he came to the old beggar's house based on his memory, When I returned home, I found that there was not a single house on the mountain, only a dilapidated mountain temple. Only then did Pan Chen realize that the beggar he saw that day was the incarnation of the mountain god.

That night, Pan Chen dreamed of the old beggar again. The old beggar said: "That day you carried me up 124,100 steps. Each step counts as a day. I will guarantee your prosperity and wealth for forty years. I hope. You will continue to do good deeds and benefit the people in the future." In the next forty years, Pan Chen was promoted step by step. When he was sixty years old, he was promoted to a prince, and finally retired and returned to his hometown. A few years later, he died without any illness.

Postscript:

The House of Good Deeds There is Yuqing, and those who do good deeds have divine help. Pan Chen picks up the gold and meets his good father-in-law and his good wife. He kindly rescued the beggar, and met his nobleman Xu Yanzhi, who also received the blessing of the mountain god. This is the best testimony that good deeds are rewarded with good deeds.

[Solemn statement]

This story is a folk tale, purely a literary creation. The plot and characters are fictitious. It is intended to enrich readers' spare time life. Please do not contradict feudal superstition.