The Beautiful Wife

After the wedding, Zhang completely stopped working. He didn’t go to the fields, stayed at home all day, and admired his young, beautiful wife. The more he looked at her, the less he wanted to leave the house. Not only did he abandon his work—because of his wife, he forgot about everything else in the world.

Half a year passed, then a year… By the end of the second year, his wife’s dowry—tables, chairs, linens—everything had been pawned or sold, and there wasn’t a single coin left in the house.

Zhang’s wife was indeed beautiful. She sat and pondered sadly: ever since the wedding, her husband had never left the house. Day and night, he watched over her, did nothing, and only ate. Soon, they would have nothing left to live on.

She began to scold her husband:

“Everyone else works, but you sit at home all day.”

Zhang looked at her delicate face and grew anxious: “If I leave, she’ll start being friendly with others.”

Zhang didn’t listen to his wife and stayed home again. He thought it was better to eat the simplest food, as long as nothing happened to his wife.

But one day, Zhang realized they would starve to death if he didn’t earn some money for food the very next day.

Early in the morning, Zhang bid farewell to his wife and went to a neighboring village to look for work.

On the way, he met a man about fifty years old, who asked:

“How do I get to the nearest village?”

“Let’s go together,” Zhang replied, “I’m heading there too.”

Along the way, Zhang complained to the stranger:

“I’m an unfortunate man. I left my beautiful wife at home and am going to earn money so we don’t starve.”

“Why don’t you just put your wife in a bottle? It’s so simple!”

“What?!”

“I’m telling you, it’s very simple. I’ll give you a bottle. When you’re about to leave, look at your wife, blow into the bottle, and in an instant, she’ll be inside it. That way, you’ll never be apart. Here, take it!”

The man handed Zhang a bottle about an inch and a half tall and disappeared. Zhang hid the bottle in his bag, repeated to himself what the stranger had said, and hurried home, humming cheerfully.

The next day, he decided to test the magical bottle. His wife was fixing her hair in front of the mirror. Zhang looked at her, blew into the bottle. His wife saw everything in the mirror, but just as she was about to ask her husband what he was doing, she lost her memory, and when she came to, she was inside the bottle.

Zhang felt at ease—now no one would see his wife. He returned home in the evening, tipped the bottle over, and his beautiful wife appeared before him again.

But one day, Zhang had to leave his wife at home. He was going to the bathhouse, told his wife not to go anywhere, took soap and a towel, and left.

As soon as her husband left, the wife ran to the river to do laundry. She took her husband’s shirt and felt something hard in the pocket. She immediately realized:

“Ah, this must be that bottle my husband hides me in every morning. He never parts with it, so why did he leave it at home today?”

Just then, the woman noticed a handsome young man standing on the other side of the river, looking at her. She glanced at him, felt ashamed, and lowered her head. Accidentally, she blew into the bottle, and suddenly—the young man disappeared.

She finished washing the laundry, put the bottle back in its place, and walked home unhurriedly.

The next morning, Zhang was ready to go to the fields, took the bottle, blew into it, and his wife was inside again.

Every time Zhang went to the fields, he remembered the stranger with gratitude, the one who had given him the precious bottle. Now no one would see his wife. When Zhang returned home and tipped the bottle over, he froze in place—next to his wife stood a handsome young man.

What a wonder! How could the young man have gotten into the sealed bottle?

But truly, no matter how much you guard, you can’t protect a young, beautiful wife!

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The Beautiful Wife

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