Chapter 77 The Story of the Wise and Blind Old Man

Once upon a time, there was a wealthy businessman who often ran his business abroad.Once he planned to go to a certain city in a different place to do business again. To be on the safe side, before leaving, he asked a local who had just arrived here to inquire about the situation there. "I don't know what kind of goods have the best market price in your place?" he asked. "Sandalwood sells at the highest price locally," the man told him. Therefore, the businessman used all his savings to buy sandalwood in large quantities, and prepared to take it there for sale.After everything was ready, he hit the road.As he approached there, it was already dark, when he met an old shepherd woman, and began talking to her.The old woman asked him: "You are not a local, what are you doing here?"

"I'm a foreigner, and I'm here to do business." "Beware of the people here, for there are many of them who make a living by cheating and robbing strangers. Don't take my warning to you on deaf ears. " After all, the old woman drove the flock away. The merchant also came to the city full of doubts, and found an inn to stay.A local man came to see him the next day and asked: "Sir, where are you from and what are you doing here?" The businessman explained his purpose, and the man quickly asked, "What goods did you bring?" "I heard that the market for sandalwood here is good, so I brought a lot of sandalwood here."

"You have been lied to. In fact, the value of sandalwood here is the same as that of firewood. The locals just use it for cooking." After hearing what the man said, the businessman was very upset.So I had to cook with sandalwood every day.After this situation was known by the local man, he came to him again and said to him: "Seeing that you have been cheated, I sympathize with you very much. Well, I will let you choose whatever you want as the price for one liter, and buy it for you." All your sandalwood, can you see it?" "I am very willing." The businessman who was feeling desperate agreed immediately.

After the deal was concluded, the local man prepared to move the sandalwood away, and agreed to pay the next day before leaving. The next day, the businessman left the hotel and went to the agreed place to find the buyer to collect the money. He didn't want to meet a blind man on the way, because both of them had blue eyes, and he was harassed unreasonably for no reason.The one-eyed man framed him, saying that the businessman had blinded him with one eye and installed it himself, and he was not allowed to leave unless he made compensation.Of course the businessman refused to admit it, so the two began to quarrel.More and more people surrounded, some were watching the fun, some were mediating, the businessman had no choice but to agree to the one-eyed man's unreasonable request and promised to pay compensation tomorrow.After the businessman hired a guarantor, the one-eyed man let him go.

Although the merchant regained his freedom, the sole of his shoe was broken by being trampled by the one-eyed man.He went to a shoe mending shop and said to the owner, "Please mend my shoes. I'll make you happy when it's done." After leaving the cobbler shop, he continued to walk forward and saw a group of people gathered in front of him.Going forward, I saw that they were gambling. He sat down for some reason, and gambled for a while under the instigation of the gamblers, and finally lost completely.The gamblers asked him for money, and appointed him two ways to choose: either pay the full amount owed, or drink sea water.

"I'll answer you tomorrow." After obtaining the consent of the gamblers, he left the casino and walked along the street aimlessly. By the roadside, bow your head and meditate. At this moment, an old woman passed by him, seeing his frowning expression, she felt curious, so she stepped forward and asked: "You are frowning and feeling heavy. You must have been bullied. Can you tell me what happened?" The businessman described his experience in detail from beginning to end. After hearing this, the old woman said to him: "Outsiders are often deceived and bullied here. I am really sorry for you. But now I will find a way for you to make up for your loss. You go to the city gate tonight, there There lived a blind old man who was knowledgeable and talented. People who encountered difficult problems often consulted him, especially in the dead of night, some thieves and swindlers gathered there to listen to his analysis of various difficult problems. You Go there tonight and hide where you can hear them without being seen, and listen to the blind old man tell them what to do, and you'll learn how to get rid of those liars."

Following the old woman's instructions, the businessman came to the place where the blind old man lived at night, and chose a best place to hide. After a while, people who came to consult the old man arrived one after another. After greeting each other, they went up to greet the blind old man respectively, and then everyone sat around him.The businessman looked carefully in the dark and found that all four people were present.One by one, they told the old man about their cheating that day, hoping to hear his opinion.The guy who lied to buy sandalwood said that he bought a batch of sandalwood. He didn't confirm the price, but only agreed to sell it for a liter of the seller's favorite item.The old man listened and said to him:

"Your opponent can easily defeat you." "How did he beat me?" "If he says he wants a liter of gold or a liter of silver, will you say yes?" "Of course I promised to give it to him, because it's still a good deal for me." "But if he wants a liter of fleas, and there are half-liter males and half-liter females, will you agree to him?" The old man revealed his flaws in one word, and the person who cheated to buy the sandalwood was speechless for a while, knowing that he had lost. Then the one-eyed man reported: "Old man, today I met a stranger who also has blue eyes. I pestered him and accused him of blinding me in one eye. He must pay for it. He has promised to pay for it tomorrow." , and have a guarantor as surety.”

"If he's going to outwit you, he's sure to be able to." "How can he beat me?" "All he has to say is, 'Let's take out one eye each, weigh it on a scale, and if both eyes weigh the same, then you'll be compensated.' Then you'll be blind, and he's only half blind. It's just an eye." The old man pointed out the flaw, and the one-eyed man knew that the opponent could defeat him in this way, so he must have lost. Then the cobbler said: "Today someone asked me to mend his shoes. I asked him: 'How much will you pay?' He said: 'You mend it for me, and I will fulfill your wish and satisfy you.' "

"If he wants to take his shoes, he can achieve his goal without giving you a penny." "How did he take it?" "If he said to you: 'The king has destroyed his enemies, weakened the opposition, and the king's descendants and the army that supported him have grown, are you satisfied with such a thing?' If you answer: 'Satisfied.' He But take away the shoes, and if you say 'not satisfied', do you know what the outcome will be?" Knowing that he was doomed to fail, the cobbler sat down in despair and said nothing more. Then the gambler reported: "Old man, I gambled with someone today, and I won in the end. I let him choose, either pay off the gambling debt, or drink sea water, and agreed that if he drank sea water, I would take my money out of my pocket." Give him all the money in it."

"Then he has a chance to defeat you." "How did he beat me?" "He just needs to say: 'I choose to drink sea water, but please hold the mouth of the sea and bring it to my mouth, and I will definitely drink it.' And you can't hold the mouth of the sea." The businessman hid there and heard the conversation between the old man and the crooks clearly. After knowing how to deal with the enemy, he slipped away quietly and returned to the hotel.The next day, the gambler came to the hotel to ask the businessman to fulfill the contract. The businessman said: "Okay, I choose to drink sea water. Please hold the mouth of the sea for me, and I will drink happily." The gambler was speechless and had to admit defeat. , and lost a hundred gold coins, disappointed. Then the cobbler came and asked the merchant to fulfill his contract.The merchant said to him: "The king has defeated his enemies, eliminated the opposition forces, and his descendants and army have grown stronger. You must be satisfied with such a thing!" "Of course, I am satisfied." So the merchant accepted the shoes without paying the other party a penny. After the cobbler left in embarrassment, the one-eyed man followed one after another, demanding that the merchant fulfill the contract to compensate him.The businessman said: "I have kept the promise, but now we need both of us to dig out one eye and weigh it. If the two eyes weigh the same, I will definitely compensate you." "Let me think about it." The one-eyed man hesitated.Of course he didn't dare to gouge out his other eye.In the end, he had to negotiate with the merchant, and instead paid a hundred gold coins, he left. Finally, the guy who bought sandalwood came to the hotel where the merchant was staying and said to the merchant, "I've brought you the money for sandalwood, please accept it." "What did you give me?" "At the beginning, we agreed on the price of one liter of goods. What do you want now? Gold? Silver? You can pick whatever you want." "I want neither gold nor silver, but a liter of fleas, half a liter of male, and half a liter of female." "I can't afford that." "Then how do you solve it?" The businessman gained the upper hand, and the other party could not deny it, so he had to return the original sandalwood and pay a compensation of one hundred gold coins.The businessman sold all the sandalwood at the market price, and returned happily with a full load.