The Misers

Once upon a time, there lived a husband and wife. From morning till night, they thought of nothing but how to get rich. The wife would often say:

"Let's take up tailoring and sew clothes!"

"Tailoring is no good," the husband would reply. "Poking a needle and pulling thread all day long. You'll just tire yourself out and earn next to nothing."

"Then let's take up dyeing," the wife persisted.

"Dyeing is even worse. You'll be covered in dye, and everything around you will be dyed. What kind of life is that! And again, there's no profit in it."

They argued and argued, and finally decided to open an inn. They opened it, and business went fairly well, but they still didn't get rich.

Wealthy guests would bring their goods, but they'd take them away with them. And what could you take from a poor man? He's destitute and hungry.

One day, a venerable old man wandered into the inn—white beard, a long staff, and on the staff were written in red ink the characters: "If I enter the gate, I will relieve all of their worries." The husband saw what was written on the staff and thought, "This must be an immortal fortune-teller."

He couldn't hold back and asked:

"Sir, oh sir! Tell us, how do you relieve people of their worries?"

"I have a potion," the old man replied. "Whoever drinks it will forget all their troubles! Sorrow, melancholy, and worries—as if they never existed!"

Hearing this, the husband and wife begged the old man to sell them the magical potion. The old man agreed and measured out half a *liang*.

The wife took the potion and said to her husband:

"Now we're sure to get rich. We'll sprinkle this powder into the rice or tea of wealthy guests, and they'll forget their sacks and bundles here."

And as luck would have it, the very next day, a wealthy merchant arrived at the inn. His chests were filled with pearls, sacks with jade, and boxes with corals and turquoise. And the gold and silver ornaments were countless! The greedy hosts' eyes lit up. While the husband watched as the merchant arranged his priceless treasures by the *kang* in his room, the wife in the kitchen poured all the powder into the guest's tea and rice. The guest ate all the rice, emptied an entire teapot of tea, and went to sleep. The greedy hosts trembled with impatience all night and didn't close their eyes.

Early in the morning, as soon as the merchant left, they rushed into his room: they searched by the *kang*, on the *kang*—but found nothing. They started searching the corners, tore up the floor, dismantled the *kang*, all in vain: not only did they find no treasures, they didn't even find a single pebble!

"That cursed old man deceived us!" the wife shouted in fury. "This isn't a magical potion—the merchant took everything with him, he forgot nothing!"

"Ah, you turtle's spawn!" the husband yelled even louder. "He forgot! He forgot to pay for his stay! The old man told us, 'Whoever drinks the potion will forget all their troubles!' And we forgot his words!"

Greed, it seems, robs one of memory!

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The Misers

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