8

General Wu Repays the Debt of One Meal

Chen Dalang Reunites with Two Loved Ones

As the poem says,

One may be surprised that so many men take up banditry,

But as it turns out, there are heroes among bandits.

Consider “Timely Rain” of yesteryear;1

His sense of honor is the stuff of legend.

Let me begin our story with a comment on the word “bandit.” It inspires such fear that it easily lends itself to being used as a vile epithet. But let us be fair. If you stop to consider it, can you name any place in the world that is free of bandits? What about those officials who harm the country’s interests, deceive the emperor, and exploit the people? However highly placed and richly paid, they are in fact the bigger bandits. (MC: Bravo!) And what about those men who, emboldened by the power of their fathers and brothers, throw their weight around, plague the people, take bribes, and hide their loot? You never know to what lengths they will go. The people dare not air their grievances, and the government yamens dare not investigate. Are they not big bandits, too? And then there are those scholars, titled and untitled, who gather their cronies around them and dominate the government yamens, initiating or dismissing lawsuits and breaking up respectable families. Are they not big bandits? If that goes for such members of the elite class, how much truer is it for brokers, merchants, lictors, and the like? The 360 professions are rife with rapacious and savage men no better than bandits, but let me say no more about this than quoting these lines from Instructor Li She after he ran into a group of bandits:2

To the rain-washed village by the river at dusk

Come heroes of the greenwood.

Must you conceal your names when we meet?

The world of today abounds in men like you.

Well, those are cynical remarks for mocking people who are ruthless even to their kith and kin, to say nothing of casual acquaintances who do them favors. Such men have none of the pride of the bandit characters in the novel Water Margin, who, calling themselves “heroes,” are determined to win glory for themselves and accomplish what is beyond the reach of the average man. In the bandits’ dens, some are impoverished men needing a place to stay, some have killed out of a sense of loyalty and honor and fled there for shelter, and some, overlooked by the imperial court, have come down in the world and fallen into such company. Granted that most bandits are depraved characters, many of them do fight injustice and help the needy. Stories about bandits freeing and rewarding Zhao Li and showering Zhang Qixian with lavish gifts are based on real people and real events in olden times.3

Let me come back to our own times and tell of a Mr. Wang of an ordinary family in Suzhou. He lived under the same roof with his father, Wang Sanlang, a merchant, his mother, Li-shi (née Li), and his widowed and childless aunt, Yang-shi, wife of his father’s brother. Mr. Wang Junior was clever and well behaved from his earliest childhood. His aunt loved him dearly. All too unexpectedly, his parents died one after the other when he was seven or eight years old. Thanks to Yang-shi, the funerals and burials were held with proper observance of ritual, after which she began to treat the young boy as her very own flesh and blood. In due course, he grew up, and in the twinkling of an eye, he was a young man of eighteen of sharp business acumen.

One day, his aunt Yang-shi said to him, “Now that you’ve come of age, you can’t very well stay idle and eat yourself out of hearth and home. Now, what funds I have and what your father left should be enough for you to run a business of your own. Why don’t I put together a thousand taels of silver so that you can go out and do some business? That will be the right pursuit.”

Joyfully, young Mr. Wang said, “Yes, that’s indeed the proper pursuit.”

Forthwith Yang-shi put together a thousand taels of silver, and the silver changed hands. Young Mr. Wang consulted a group of merchants, and since Nanjing was said to be a good place to make money, he bought some local Suzhou merchandise with several hundred taels of silver. On a chosen day, he booked a long-distance sailing boat, packed, took leave of Yang-shi, went on board, made burnt offerings to the gods, and set sail.

The journey was uneventful until they reached Jingkou [present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu] a few days later. Sailing before the east wind, they crossed the river and entered Huangtian Lake. All of a sudden, an eerie wind sprang up, whipping up white-capped waves sky-high. The boat was blown off course, to a place no one on the boat recognized. In the gathering darkness, they saw nothing but reeds all around them. No other passenger boat was anywhere in sight. Young Mr. Wang and his fellow travelers were overcome with panic. Then, at the striking of a gong, three or four small boats emerged from the reeds, each carrying seven or eight men. As the men jumped onto the passenger boat, young Mr. Wang and the others gasped and kowtowed, asking for mercy. But the men did not seem inclined to take lives. Without a word, they raided the boat and swept it clean of everything of value. Once they were back in their own boats, they cried out, “Sorry to have bothered you!” With that, they put their oars to work and raced off with the speed of the wind.

All the passengers were shocked out of their senses. Their eyes popped wide; their jaws dropped. Young Mr. Wang found himself sobbing violently. “What a luckless man I am!” he cried. Turning to his fellow passengers, he said, “Now that all our baggage and money are gone, what’s the point of going to Nanjing? We might as well go home before deciding on what to do next.”

The travelers talked until daybreak. By then, the wind had subsided and the waves had died down. The boat turned around and headed toward Zhenjiang. Once there, young Mr. Wang went ashore and made his way to a relative’s house. He borrowed a few maces of silver from his host before departing for home.

Judging from his earlier-than-expected return, his unkempt appearance, and his sorrowful look, his aunt Yang-shi gained a pretty good idea of what had happened. He walked up to her, chanted a greeting, and sank to the floor in a flood of tears. After he answered her questions as to all the details, Yang-shi gave him these words of comfort: “My child, it was just your fate. It wasn’t as if you spent all the money on youthful indiscretions. Don’t be so upset. Relax and stay home for a while. I’ll put together more money for you to go out again. Just be sure you make up for the loss.”

“I’ll be content with doing business locally rather than taking all the risks of a long journey.”

“Nonsense!” exclaimed Yang-shi. “It’s only right for a man with any pride in him to go on one-thousand-li journeys for business ventures!”

After staying home for more than a month, young Mr. Wang consulted his friends and said to Yang-shi, “Fabrics sell well in Yangzhou. I’ll buy fabrics from Songjiang and dispose of them in Yangzhou. I’ll also take some money to buy rice and beans and bring them home for sale. I’ll be able to make a nice profit that way.” So Yang-shi scraped together several hundred taels of silver, with which he bought about a hundred bolts of fabric from Songjiang. Then he chartered a fast sailing boat and, taking several hundred taels of silver for buying rice and beans, set sail on a chosen day with a hired hand.

On arriving at Changzhou, he heard those in the boats coming from the opposite direction complain, “It was choking! Simply choking!” He hastened to ask what they meant and got this answer: “So many grain-carrying boats are heading for Danyang that the riverway from Qingyangpu to Lingkou is all clogged up. Commercial boats have no chance of getting through.”

“What’s to be done?” asked young Mr. Wang.

His boatman said, “We don’t need to go up to watch the crowd, do we? Why don’t we take the Meng River?”

“I’m afraid that route isn’t safe.”

The boatman rejoined, “What harm could there be if we travel only by daylight? Otherwise, when will our turn ever come?”

And so young Mr. Wang gave in and agreed to take the Meng River detour. Sure enough, it was still daylight when they left the Meng River behind. Overjoyed, young Mr. Wang said, “All’s well now! If we hadn’t taken this river, we’d still be stuck in that inland waterway!” (MC: Don’t let your cup of happiness overflow!)

They were still exulting when they heard the sound of sloshing water behind them. A three-scull and eight-oar boat was racing toward them. When it drew near, a hook flew over and caught Mr. Wang’s boat. About ten bandits with swords, iron bars, and metal rings jumped on board.

The fact is that east of the Meng River is the Yangzi River, and the area was infested with bandits even in daytime. Only empty boats could get through safely. Now that a commercial boat had come their way, which was too bad for the boat, how could the bandits let such an opportunity slip through their fingers? They helped themselves to everything on the boat. Angry at the boatman for still holding on to the scull, one of the bandits hit him with an iron bar. The boatman quickly let go.

In his agitated state, young Mr. Wang saw out of the corner of his eye that the bandits were none other than those he had run into on Huangtian Lake. “Mighty heroes!” he cried out. “You already got your way the last time we met. Why did I have to run into you again today? I must owe you a huge debt from my previous incarnation!” (MC: For his courage, Mr. Wang deserves the good fortune that is in store for him.)

A big, tall man among the bandits said, “In that case, let’s give him some travel money.” So saying, he tossed over a small package. Then the pirates’ boat rowed away and shot off like a puff of smoke.

Letting out a groan, young Mr. Wang picked up the package and, on opening it, saw that it contained about ten taels of loose pieces of silver. Fighting back tears, he said with a cynical laugh, “I’m glad I don’t have to borrow travel money this time. What a lucky man I am!” Turning to the boatman, he said, “It was your idea to take this route that landed us in such a mess. Well, let’s go back now!”

The boatman said, “The world has changed. Who would have known that nowadays bandits operate in broad daylight!” There was nothing for it but to turn the boat around and go back the way they had come.

Yang-shi again gave a start on seeing him return home so soon. His face awash in tears, young Mr. Wang walked up to her and sobbed out an account of what had happened. Yang-shi was an exceptionally kind person, and, what’s more, she was a good judge of character. Confident that her nephew was destined to rise spectacularly in life, she did not bear him the least grudge but comforted him and told him to bide his time before deciding on the next course of action.

After some time went by, Yang-shi again put together some silver and urged him to be on his way, saying, “Your two encounters with bandits were the workings of fate. If you’re predestined to lose money, robbers will get their hands on you even if you’re sitting at home. (MC: She takes things philosophically.) You mustn’t let those two incidents put an end to the family business.”

But young Mr. Wang was still gripped by fear.

Yang-shi continued, “If you’re still not convinced, why don’t you find a fortune-teller and ask him what lies ahead for you?”

So he engaged a fortune-teller and took him home. The fortune-teller did several divinations in succession for locations where his business could prosper, but each time the answer was: “The Very Worst.” Only when the fortune-teller tried Nanjing did he draw the answer: “The Very Best.” The fortune-teller added, “You don’t even have to be in Nanjing. As long as you go in the direction of Nanjing, you’ll naturally be in for a windfall.”

Yang-shi said, “My boy, as they say, ‘Fearlessness gets you everywhere; excessive caution ties you down.’ There are only about six or seven courier stations between Suzhou and Nanjing, and they’re all busy with travelers going in both directions.4 Your father and your uncle both knew the route well. It was just bad luck that you ran into bandits twice, but they couldn’t have been waiting expressly for you in order to do their dirty work! Since the divination is favorable, just set your mind at rest and go ahead.”

And so, young Mr. Wang took his aunt’s counsel, packed, and set out on his journey, as was dictated by his destiny. Verily,

Everything that you possess

Is at the gods’ disposal.

Robbers do not come without a reason;

At the right time, they may bring you a windfall.

After two days on the road, Mr. Wang again reached the Yangzi River. That day, with a favorable wind, he sailed past ten thousand mountains that flanked the river and reached the Longjiang checkpoint outside Nanjing. But it was already dark by this time and therefore too late for him to go on shore, so he made preparations to spend the night on the boat in a berth. Having learned from experience to be cautious, he had his boat tied next to a police patrol boat. He went to sleep believing that nothing could possibly happen.

As the third watch of the night was struck, the sound of a gong rang out and torches lit up the sky. Young Mr. Wang woke up with a start and saw a group of bandits leaping onto his boat. As before, they swept the boat clean. Then he realized that his boat was no longer at its mooring place but was now on a wide section of the river. By the light of the torches, he watched the bandits up close and recognized them to be none other than those who had plagued him twice before. He plucked up enough courage to seize the man who had tossed him a package last time. Falling on his knees, he said, “Mighty hero! Your humble servant begs to die.”

The ringleader of the bandits said, “We’ve taken a vow to never take human lives. You’re free to go. Why do you try to cause trouble instead?”

Young Mr. Wang said tearfully, “You wouldn’t have imagined it, sir, but my parents died when I was small. It’s my aunt who funds my business trips. This is my third trip. It just so happens that I seem to owe you a debt from a previous incarnation. All three times I lost everything to you, sir. How can I face my aunt? How am I going to return my aunt’s money? If you don’t kill me, I’ll jump into the river and drown. Nothing will make me go back to face my kind aunt!”

As he broke down in a violent fit of heartrending sobs, the bandit chief, a man not without a sense of honor, took pity on him. “I’m not going to kill you,” said he, “but I’m not going to return the money to you either. I have a solution. Last night, I seized what I thought was a passenger boat, but it turned out to be carrying nothing but bales of ramie, and there’s quite a lot of them. I have no use for ramie. So I’ll keep your money, and you take the ramie to use as capital for your business. We’ll be even.”

This offer exceeded young Mr. Wang’s wildest hopes. As he poured out a flood of thanks, the bandits began to toss the bales helter-skelter onto his boat. He and the boatman busily put the bales into neat stacks. There were altogether about two hundred to three hundred bales, and he did not have time to check them carefully. After disposing of all the ramie, the pirates gave a whistle and rowed off.

Young Mr. Wang’s boatman saw an open berth and maneuvered the boat into it.

After daybreak the next morning, young Mr. Wang said to himself, “That was a bandit with a spark of conscience in him. I think these bales of ramie should be worth about a thousand taels of silver. He gave them to me because he wouldn’t be able to dispose of them. If I take the bales to an agent for sale as they are, they may be recognized as looted property, and that will reflect badly on me. A better option is to take them home first and rebind them before shipping them elsewhere for sale.” (MC: He is a discreet and prudent man.)

So the boat turned back the way it had come. The journey downstream took less time. Soon they passed Jingkou Sluice Gate and arrived home.

On seeing his aunt, he gave her a full account of what had happened. Yang-shi said, “You lost the silver but came back with so many bales of ramie. So you didn’t come out of it too badly.”

When they opened the first bale, they found one layer of ramie beneath another until they came to a tightly bound bundle in the middle. Carefully, they unwrapped one layer of cotton paper after another, only to expose large ingots of gleaming silver. Then they opened the second bale and the rest of the bales, and the same thing happened each time. There were altogether more than five thousand taels of silver. The truth of the matter was that an experienced rich merchant, as a precaution against robbery, had buried his silver in bales of ramie so as to masquerade as a trader in ramie. Little did he know that the robbers would take them regardless of the camouflage and thus make a certain Mr. Wang a rich man.

Yang-shi and young Mr. Wang cried, “What good luck!” Even though the young man had been traumatized three times, they still could hardly contain their joy because this windfall was twice the amount they had put in. Henceforth, young Mr. Wang made a success of every one of his business ventures. In a few years, he became an immensely rich man. This of course was because he was in fortune’s favor, but that pirate chief’s exceptional spark of kindness also played a role. It would thus appear that there are men of good character even among robbers.

Now let me tell of another Suzhou native who happened to form a friendship with a hero-bandit and, because of this relationship, made his fortune later on and was reunited with his lost wife. There is a poem in testimony:

His lofty sense of honor soars to the sky;

This amazing tale is second to none.

If everyone has the same noble mind,

Even the Fountain of Greed cannot corrupt.5

The story tells that in the Jingtai reign period [1450–56], there was a certain Mr. Ouyang, a small trader, who lived in Wujiang County, Suzhou Prefecture. His wife, Zeng-shi, a native of Chongming County in the same prefecture, bore him a daughter and a son. The son, now sixteen years of age, was yet unbetrothed. The daughter of this family of modest means, age twenty, had some claim to attractiveness. She was married to Chen Dalang of the same village, and they lived in her parents’ house. Neither rich nor poor, the family owned a small general store at the front of their house, with Chen Dalang and his brother-in-law taking care of the daily business. The parents, the young couple, and Mr. Ouyang Junior got by on income generated by the business, and they lived in harmony and with respect and love for one another.

When winter rolled around, Chen Dalang went to Suzhou to procure goods. As he walked down the street, snowflakes were spinning down from the sky. An ancient quatrain rightly says,

They all say snow heralds a fat year for crops,

But what does a fat year for crops bring to all?

With so many paupers in Chang’an,

A harvest is welcome, but not the snow!

Chen Dalang was trudging through the snow in search of a tavern for a drink and a little warmth when he saw a man walking toward him from a distance. You may ask, “How did he look?” Behold:

A close-fitting black gown,

A knife half hidden at the waist,

He had a somewhat imposing bearing,

With no soft flesh on his face.

Whiskers sprouted on his cheeks;

Long hair covers his whole body.

Standing seven feet tall, the man had broad shoulders and a large face mostly hidden behind his whiskers. Strangely enough, those parts of his face that lacked whiskers were covered by inch-long hair so that his whole face was smothered in hair except for his eyes. It was just as the ancients said in jest about roguishly abundant hair: It takes up space that rightfully belongs to the face!

Chen Dalang gave a start. He said to himself, “How very strange that man looks! I wonder how he manages to eat. Doesn’t his mouth have to make an appearance?” Then again he thought, “I’ve got an idea. Let me go to some expense and invite him for a drink at the tavern. Then I’ll be able to see how he eats.”

He was doing this just for the fun of more closely examining the man’s unusual looks. Eagerly, he stepped forward with a slight bow and chanted a greeting. The man promptly returned the courtesy. Chen Dalang said, “Your humble servant would like to invite you, sir, to a tavern for a little drink.”

Having come from afar and being thirsty and hungry in this snowy weather, the man broke into a happy smile. “I’m a total stranger to you,” said he. “I don’t deserve your kindness!”

Chen Dalang said, tongue in cheek, “You, sir, have such imposing looks that I believe you must be a mighty hero. May I have the pleasure of a little chat with you, sir?”

“I don’t deserve the honor,” said the man, but he did not decline the offer. Instead, he followed Chen into a tavern and up the stairs. Chen Dalang ordered a few measures of wine, a leg of lamb, and some chicken, fish, meat, and vegetable dishes from the waiter. (MC: Chen Dalang is by no means a stingy man.) Wishing to watch the man eat, Chen Dalang offered him a wine cup and pressed wine on him. The man took the offered wine cup and put it on the table. Then he retrieved a pair of small silver hooks from his sleeve, hung them over his ears, gathered his whiskers, tucked them into the hooks (MC: Ingenious.), pulled out his knife, cut the meat, and began to enjoy himself. Finding the cup too small, he asked the waiter for a large bowl and finished off several flasks of wine in succession. Then he asked for rice. After rice was served, he went through about ten bowls of it, to Chen Dalang’s amazement. The man then rose and said, with hands folded in front of his chest, “Many thanks to you, my brother, for your kindness. May I ask your name and your native place?”

Chen Dalang told him his name, adding, “I’m a native of Wujiang County of this prefecture.”

The man made a mental note of the information. Chen Dalang also asked his name, but the man was not very forthcoming, saying only, “My family name is Wu. I’m a native of Zhejiang. Should you, my brother, visit my province on business, maybe we can meet again. I’ll never forget your kindness and will surely repay you.”

“That will be too much of an honor for me,” said Chen Dalang. He then paid the bill. With many expressions of gratitude, the man bade him farewell, went out the door, and took himself off.

Chen Dalang did not take the man’s promise seriously. He thought those were just offhand remarks that did not mean much. On returning home, he told his family what had happened. Some believed him, some doubted the veracity of his story, but everyone had a good laugh, at which point our story leaves them.

More than two years thereafter, Chen Dalang and his wife began to talk about taking a trip to Mount Potalaka [or Putuoshan, a small island off the Zhejiang coast]. Still childless after several years of marriage, they wanted to make an offering of incense to the statue of the bodhisattva Guanyin there and pray for a son. While they were still consulting each other, pending a decision, Mr. Ouyang, Chen Dalang’s father-in-law, went out on some business, and in his absence, a man came from outside, calling out, “Is Old Mr. Ouyang at home?”

Chen Dalang hastened to greet the visitor, who turned out to be Chu Jingqiao from Chongming County. After an exchange of amenities, Mr. Chu asked, “Is your father-in-law home?”

“He’s out, but he’ll be back soon.”

Chu Jingqiao said, “Your wife’s maternal grandmother, Madam Lu, is indisposed. She wants me to give you a message, to ask her daughter, your mother-in-law, to go stay with her for some time.”

After hearing this, Dalang went inside and relayed the message to his mother-in-law, Zeng-shi.

Zeng-shi said, “I’ll go, but your father-in-law is away, so I can’t very well leave right now.” Then she called her daughter and her son to her and gave them these words of instruction: “Your grandmother is ill. You two go to Chongming County and nurse her for a few days. As soon as your father is back home, I’ll go there to replace you, and you can come back.”

After the decision was made, she kept Chu Jingqiao for lunch and asked him to take the message to her mother. Two days later, all packed and ready to go, the sister and brother rented a boat. Upon their departure, the mother again gave a few words of instruction: “Tell Granny from me to relax and focus on her treatment and I’ll be going to see her soon. Although it’s not a long journey, you two young people should still be careful!” (MC: Considering their youth, she should not be so rash about letting them go.) The sister and brother promised to do their mother’s bidding and went off to Chongming. On this journey,

Bandits are out to kidnap;

The fair one is in for a mishap.

To get on with our story: More than ten days after Chen Dalang’s wife and brother-in-law departed, Mr. Ouyang returned home. Another message was delivered from Chongming, saying, “Chu Jingqiao reported that my grandchildren would be coming soon, but why aren’t they here yet?”

Mr. and Mrs. Ouyang and Chen Dalang were appalled. “They’ve been gone for ten days. Why does she say they’re not there yet?”

The messenger said, “There’s no trace of them. Madam Lu has recovered from her illness, but what could have happened to her grandchildren?”

Hastily, Chen Dalang went to look for the boatman who had transported them. The boatman said, “When we reached the shore, because the boat couldn’t go any farther, the young master and the young lady said, ‘The house isn’t far from the shore. We know the way. You can go back now.’ It was getting dark by that time. The two of them went off in a hurry, so I rowed back. How could they have disappeared?”

Not knowing what to do in his dismay, Mr. Ouyang said to his wife, Zeng-shi, “I’ll stay here and look after the house. You and our son-in-law can go see your mother and find out what has happened. Then you can return home soon.”

Zeng-shi and Chen Dalang were so worried that they lost no time in packing and hiring a boat and arrived in Chongming early the next morning. On seeing Lu-shi, they inquired after her health and learned that she had indeed recovered from her illness. But there was not the slightest trace of her two grandchildren. Zeng-shi burst into wails of grief, calling them by various terms of endearment. Lu-shi and the neighboring women who had rushed over in alarm to find out what was going on also shed copious tears.

Being a man with an explosive temper, Chen Dalang slapped the table and said in a blaze of anger, “That messenger Chu Jingqiao is behind it all! He and his accomplices are the ones who tricked us and committed this kidnapping.”

Impetuously, he went to the Chu residence in high dudgeon. There, he ran smack into the unsuspecting Chu Jingqiao. Before Chu had time to ask what was happening, Chen Dalang seized him by the front of his upper garment and shouted, “Give my people back to me! Give my people back to me!” (MC: He just can’t help but take out his frustration on others.) As Chen Dalang tried to drag him to the government yamen, the commotion drew a crowd of onlookers from the neighborhood.

Turning pale, Chu Jingqiao cried, “What crime am I guilty of ? At least give me an explanation!”

Chen Dalang said, “How dare you deny it! I was at home, enjoying my peaceful day, when you showed up with a so-called message. Then you kidnapped my wife and brother-in-law. Now where are you hiding them?”

Thumping his chest, Chu Jingqiao exclaimed, “You do me such injustice! I was doing you a favor, and now you turn around and blame me! I delivered the message for you out of the goodness of my heart. Your wife never showed up, which has nothing to do with me, but the way you put it, I’ve suddenly become a criminal!”

Dalang said, “My wife and my brother-in-law left home ten days ago. Tell me, where are they?”

Jingqiao said, “There you go again! It’s been twelve days since I delivered the message to you. I came home the next evening, and I haven’t gone out since. Your wife and brother-in-law hadn’t departed yet. So when did I manage to kidnap them? All my neighbors are my witnesses. If I’ve gone anywhere in the past ten days, I’ll be ready to accept responsibility!”

The neighbors commented, “How could such a thing happen? They must have run into either kidnappers or bandits. You can’t falsely accuse an innocent man!”

Realizing that Chu Jingqiao was indeed innocent, Chen Dalang let go of him and went home, stifling his indignation. He filed a missing-person report with the Chongming County yamen. Then he went to Suzhou and filed another report with the Suzhou prefectural yamen, which, in turn, ordered the Chongming police department to investigate the case. Posters went up on walls everywhere, announcing a reward of twenty taels of silver to anyone with information. Then Chen Dalang found the boatman who had transported his wife and brother-in-law and took him to the police station, where he was released on bail pending further investigation.

Chen Dalang then returned to Lu-shi’s home in Chongming and spent the next twenty days or so with his mother-in-law without hearing a word about the case. In the meantime, the last days of winter had given way to the advent of the new year, so the two of them were obliged to return to their own home. Mr. Ouyang already knew what had happened. On seeing one another, the three of them fell into a heap, sobbing their hearts out. But of this, no more need be said. Other families celebrated the New Year with good cheer. They were the only ones who spent the days looking woebegone and glum. (MC: Sparing no description of emotions.)

One month went by quickly. Before they knew it, the second lunar month was upon them, but there was still no news about the missing ones. All of a sudden, Chen Dalang was struck with an idea: “I was planning to go to Mount Potalaka last year to pray for a child, be it a boy or a girl. Who could have known that the mother of my future children would go missing. What a luckless man I am! The nineteenth day of this month is the bodhisattva Guanyin’s birthday. Why don’t I go there and make a votive offering? Partly to pray for the bodhisattva’s grace and partly to see some Zhejiang sights, to take my mind off my troubles and to do some trading while I’m there.” Having thus made up his mind, he told his father-in-law about his plan, asked him to keep an eye on the store, packed, and started off for Hangzhou.

After crossing the Qiantang River at Hangzhou, he got off his boat and went ashore at Mount Potalaka. He prostrated himself on the ground once every three steps all the way to the Bodhisattva Guanyin Hall. After offering incense and paying homage to the bodhisattva statue, he recounted the details of how he and his wife had come to be separated and said, with one kowtow after another, “Your disciple fervently prays that in your infinite compassion for those in distress, you’ll work wonders and reunite me and my wife.”

After saying his prayers, he returned to his boat and moored by the rocky shore to spend the night. In his sleep, he saw the bodhisattva Guanyin, who intoned the following quatrain:

A reunion is on the horizon;

Bear your present woes with aplomb.

The meal at Suzhou will be well repaid;

Have faith despite the endless waves.

After waking up with a start, Chen Dalang could still recall every word of the quatrain. He was no scholar, but those four lines were easy enough for him. With a sigh, he said, “The bodhisattva is indeed responsive. According to that quatrain, a reunion does look likely. But the way things are now, I wonder how it’s going to happen.” He sank into deeper gloom. He had long forgotten about the meal he had offered at Suzhou.

He rose early in the morning and set sail for home. Before he had covered many li, a hurricane sprang up. The sky grew so dark that the boatman lost his bearings and, with a firm hold on the helm, let the boat drift before the wind. They soon found themselves blown to an island. Once they were there, the wind died down and the sun came out. On the island, hundreds of bandits were practicing their martial arts skills. A boat blown their way was like a mouse delivered to the mouth of a cat. How in the world would they not pounce? The bandits stormed onto it and stripped everyone on board of his silver and luggage. As the passengers were mostly pilgrims and did not have much, the disappointed bandits raised their swords threateningly. In this desperate moment, Chen Dalang cried, “Mighty heroes! Please spare our lives!”

Detecting an eastern accent, the bandits asked, “Where are you from?”

Shivering in fear, Chen Dalang replied, “Your humble servant is a native of Suzhou.”

The bandits said, “In that case, let’s not kill him. Let’s just tie him up and take him to the chief.” And so, the lives of all the others were also spared, and they were tied up and brought to the Hall of Righteous Fraternity.

His mind in turmoil, Chen Dalang thought that he was more or less a goner. His teary eyes closed, he kept chanting, “Relieve us of our sufferings, Bodhisattva Guanyin!”

At this point, the chieftain slowly walked down the dais and peered closely at Chen Dalang. Greatly taken aback, he said, “This is a friend of mine! Untie him! Be quick!”

Only when he heard this did Chen Dalang steal a glance at the chieftain. It turned out that the chieftain was none other than the hairy man whom Chen Dalang had treated to dinner two years earlier. (MC: His generosity pays off.) Eagerly, the lackeys untied Dalang. The chieftain pulled over a folding chair, made Dalang sit in it, bowed, and said, “My men don’t know any better. Please forgive them for their offense against you, my good brother!”

Chen Dalang hastened to return the bow. “I’m the one who has given offense to your fortress. I should rightfully be put to the sword. How could I presume to ask for more?”

The chieftain said, “What a thing to say, my good brother! I’m ever so grateful for the meal you offered me on that snowy day. That memory will never fade. I’ve often wanted to visit you, but each time, things at the fortress held me back. I’ve instructed my men not to be rash and make short work of merchants from Suzhou. It’s by Heaven’s decree that I get to meet you today, my good brother!”

Chen Dalang said, “Mighty hero, since you don’t scorn my lowliness, would you please return the luggage to each of us so that we can go home as soon as possible? I vow to repay your kindness in this and in my next life!” (MC: Dalang also has a sense of loyalty.)

The chieftain said, “How can you go before I’ve done anything to express my gratitude! What’s more, there’s one thing that I need to talk to you about, and it’s going to take some time.”

Turning to his followers, he told them to untie the passengers, return their luggage and money to them, and let them go immediately. Everyone rejoiced. This was nothing short of being released from the gates of hell. Kowtowing busily, they thanked the chieftain and Chen Dalang. Wishing their parents had given each of them an extra pair of legs, they raced off to their boat with the speed of the wind.

The chieftain had a feast set out to help Chen Dalang recover from the shock. The fine spread on the table included delicacies from the mountains and the seas as well as human livers and brains. After the chieftain sat down and several cups of wine were consumed, Chen Dalang said, “Last time, we were in such haste that I forgot my manners and didn’t ask for your name, mighty hero. I beg to be enlightened.”

“I was born by the sea. My surname is Wu, my given name You. I’ve been strong ever since early childhood, and I was chosen by everyone to be the ruler of this island. Because of my abundant hair, they call me “General Wu” [Black]. Last time, I was on my way to Chongming County by sea when I got to visit your town and meet you. I’m grateful to you for the meal not because I’m a glutton but because I value friendship more than material things. If you didn’t understand me in this mundane world of ours, you wouldn’t have shown such hospitality to such a total stranger. (MC: Little does he know that Chen was prompted only by a wish to watch him eat.) As they say, ‘A scholar dies for one who appreciates his worth.’ You’re nothing less than my soul mate!”

Dalang was pleasantly surprised. He thought, “What a stroke of luck this is! Had I not treated him to that meal, I wouldn’t have survived this day.”

After another few rounds of wine, the chieftain continued, “May I ask how large your family is?” (MC: A strange question.)

“There are just my parents-in-law, my wife, and my brother-in-law. That’s all.”

“Are they well?”

Chen Dalang replied, his eyes moistening, “To tell you the truth, my wife and brother-in-law went to visit a relative in Chongming, but they disappeared on the way there. To this day, I have no idea what happened to them.”

“This sounds like a hopeless case. But I have here a woman who is also from your hometown, and she’s a good match for you in age and looks. What would you say if I made her your wife?”

Afraid of offending the chieftain, Chen Dalang thought it prudent not to reject him. Loudly the chieftain ordered, “Invite them in!”

Lo and behold! A man and a woman entered the hall. Dalang looked a little harder and saw that they were none other than his wife and his brother-in-law. Unable to contain themselves, they fell on one another’s shoulders and broke down in a flood of tears.

The chieftain ordered more food and then took the host’s seat while the three of them sat down as guests.

“My good brother,” said the chieftain, “do you know why your wife is here? Well, last winter, my men were doing some business at a quiet spot on the coast of Chongming. They saw a man and a woman walking together at dusk. They seized the two of them and brought them to me. I learned on questioning them that they’re members of your family. So I immediately put them up in separate rooms of their own to show them proper respect. (IC: Important.) It’s been more than two months now, but I haven’t managed to send them home. I’ve been thinking that as long as I can meet you, I’ll be able to return them to you easily. And today, Heaven brought us together.”

The three guests thanked him profusely. Privately, Dalang’s wife and her brother said to Dalang, “That day, when we got on shore, we dismissed our boat when we were within sight of Granny’s house. (MC: So the boatman did not lie.) On our way there, we ran into a group of men who tied us up and brought us here. We thought we were as good as dead. But then we saw the chieftain, and he asked us about our background. As soon as we truthfully answered his questions, he began to show us respect. We had no idea why. Now that we’ve learned what happened, I remember what you said a couple of years ago about meeting a man in Suzhou. So what you said is true.”

Again, Chen Dalang thought, “What a stroke of luck this is! Had I not treated him to that meal, I would have lost my wife!”

The feast over, Chen Dalang rose and said, “My parents-in-law are wearing their eyes out looking forward to my return. Now that the three of us have been reunited thanks to you, mighty hero, we’d really like to go home as soon as possible.”

“In that case, I’ll see you off tomorrow.”

That very night, the chieftain put Dalang and his wife up in one place and the brother-in-law in another. So everyone turned in for the night.

The next day, the chieftain again laid out a feast, this time as a farewell dinner. When the three guests said their thanks and were ready to leave, the chieftain had his men bring out three hundred taels of gold, a thousand taels of silver, countless bolts of colorful silk, and other goods. Chen Dalang repeatedly declined the gifts, saying, “I’m deeply grateful for the lavish gifts, but we won’t be able to carry them with us.”

“But of course I’ll have my men carry them for you.”

Dalang could not do otherwise than accept the gifts.

The chieftain continued, saying, “From now on, you’ll visit me once every year.”

Dalang promised. The chieftain escorted them all the way to the shore, where his men were already waiting in their own boat. In high spirits, the three guests bade the chieftain farewell and boarded the boat. The sea being the base of the pirates’ operations, storms and surging waves meant little to them. Before two days were out, they arrived at Chongming. The boat went off after the party of three went ashore.

The three of them walked straight to Lu-shi’s house. On seeing Granny, they told her everything that had happened. The old lady was overcome with delight and called them all kinds of terms of endearment. Chen Dalang then hired another boat, and all three returned home together.

When they saw their daughter, son, and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Ouyang thought they were dreaming. At Dalang’s account of their experience, everyone broke down in tears of joy and sorrow. Mr. Ouyang said, “General Wu is indeed a man of honor. But had it not been for the hurricane, you wouldn’t have been blown to that island. The bodhisattva Guanyin is truly responsive to prayers!”

Dalang then recited the quatrain he had heard in his dream, much to everyone’s amazement. Henceforth, Dalang and his wife made annual incense-offering trips to Mount Potalaka. Each time, General Wu sent men by sea to take them there and escort them back. And each time, he gave them gifts of silver ranging from hundreds of taels to a thousand, making sure that the boat escorting them was heavily laden. On Chen Dalang’s part, he always made a point of buying exotic treasures on his annual trips to other parts of the country and offering them as gifts to General Wu, but General Wu would pay him back twice as much as they were worth. Chen Dalang thus became one of the richest men in the Wu region, all because of one meal. A later poet had this to say in admiration:

Han Xin richly rewarded an old woman;6

A bandit turned out to be just as generous.

Stories abound about remarkable men.

Why should bandits always lose to scholars?