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The Man Whose Luck Has Turned Chances upon Dongting Tangerines

The Merchant from Persia Reveals the Secrets of a Turtle Shell

There is a poem that says,

Day after day, the wine cups are filled to the brim;

Dawn after dawn, flowers bloom in my small garden.

By myself I sing and dance to my heart’s content;

What a pleasure to be free of all cares and trammels!

How many daydreams have ever been brought to pass throughout history? (IC: How lamentable!)

How many brilliant talents are lost in this mortal world?

All stratagems and plans are to little avail;

Just take and enjoy what is offered here and now!

This ci poem, written by Zhu Xizhen of the Song dynasty to the tune of “Moon over the West River,” makes the point that since fame, glory, wealth, and grandeur are all predestined, one might as well seize the day and enjoy life while one can.1 Consider how few mighty heroes, as recorded in the Seventeen Histories from the earliest times, have ever acquired the riches and ranks that they deserved!2 (MC: This is enough to bring tears to the eyes of mighty heroes.) Literary gentlemen able to dash off a thousand words at a moment’s notice are consigned to oblivion once they have outlived their usefulness, and their volumes of writing end up covering jars of pickled vegetables. Masters of martial arts able to shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away meet the same fate once they are no longer needed, and the few arrows left in their possession do not even suffice to sustain a kitchen fire until the rice is done. At the same time, benighted but lucky souls pass the imperial civil-service examinations, however unqualified they are, and men undistinguished in the military arts receive lavish rewards. It is all a matter of timing, luck, and fate. As the proverb rightly says, “If you are destined to be poor, gold turns into copper in your hand; if you are destined to be rich, paper turns into silk at your touch.” (MC: How true!) The long and the short of it is that everything is under the control of the Master of Destiny.

There are also these lines from a ci poem by Wu Yangao:3

That good-for-nothing Creator follows no rules;

He flips, he flops, he turns things upside down.

Such are the ways of the world witnessed by all.

Monk Hui’an had this to say in a ci poem:4

Who would not want a house of gold?

Who would not want a well-lined purse?

But they just may not be in your stars.

All machinations will be labor lost.

Let your children seek their own fortune.

Su Dongpo had this to say in a ci poem:5

For hollow fame the size of a snail’s horn,

For profits the size of a fly’s head,

Why let your labor go to waste?

Since everything is predestined,

Who is to judge who wins and who loses?

These eminent personalities in their eloquence all make the same point, but, in fact, an ancient axiom puts it even better: “In this fleeting life dictated by fate, you get nothing for all the pains you take.”

Storyteller, the way you put it, lazy people with no civil or military accomplishments need only wait for good luck to fall from the sky into their laps and spendthrifts need only wait for Heaven to shower money on their families without having to engage in business or build careers. Wouldn’t this be a bitter disappointment to those who wish to better themselves? (MC: A perfect, unassailable argument.)

Well, gentle reader, you may not have thought about this, but a family with lazy people in it is fated to be lowly, and a family with spendthrifts is fated to be poor. This is the way things are. (IC: This is the case of an honest man stating the facts as they are.) However, there are indeed cases of reversals of fortune that happen in the twinkling of an eye, contrary to all expectations and calculations.

Now let me tell of a certain Jin Weihou, a native of Bianjing, who lived in the Song dynasty.6 A merchant by profession, he rose early and went to bed late, as was only to be expected, and spent all his waking hours devising ways of landing better deals. (MC: This makes the preceding query about lazy people more interesting.) When he had amassed quite a decent fortune, he thought up a long-term strategy (IC: To last for a thousand years.): He would use only loose pieces of silver for his daily expenses and hoard large, nice pieces of high-grade silver. When he accumulated about a hundred taels, he would have them melted and fashioned into a large ingot. He would then braid red yarn into a ribbon, tie it around the middle of the ingot, and place the silver by his pillow, so that he could toy with the ingot for a while before going to sleep at night. (IC: What a fool!) After he had accumulated eight ingots over a lifetime of work, he began to take it easy and gave up trying to save for another one-hundred-tael ingot.

Mr. Jin had four sons. On his seventieth birthday, the four of them prepared a feast and set out wine to celebrate the occasion. Impressed with their proper etiquette, Mr. Jin Senior said to them, “Thanks to blessings from Heaven, I’ve provided well for the family by working hard. (MC: He is one of those fathers who serve their children like beasts of burden.) On top of that, I’ve painstakingly set aside eight large ingots of silver, although I’m determined never to use them. They’re tied with yarn in four pairs and lie next to my pillow. I’ll pick a lucky day and give one pair to each of you, so that you’ll each have a family treasure to call your own.” Delighted, the four sons thanked their father, and they did not part company until they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Later that night, when a slightly tipsy Mr. Jin Senior lit his bedside lamp and got into bed, he saw through his wine-sodden eyes his eight large glittering ingots of silver sitting by his pillow in a neat row. He ran his fingers over them a few times, let out a chuckle, and lay down in bed. (IC: Being foolish again.) Before he had quite drifted into sleep, he heard footsteps beside his bed. Afraid that there might be a thief in the house, he strained his ears to listen, and it seemed to him that there was more than one person and that they were deferring politely to one another as they tried to approach him. When he pulled the bed curtain aside, he saw by the dim light of the lamp eight big men, each wearing a white robe that was gathered around the middle by a red ribbon. Bowing from the waist, they stepped forward and said to him, “We brothers were decreed by Heaven to reside at your home and await further instructions. You, sir, in your kindness to us, which we hardly deserve, raised us until we’ve come of age without ever requiring our service. After cherishing us for so many years, your allotted span of time is now drawing to a close, and we’re supposed to seek a new destination after you, sir, have gone to heaven. However, now that you’ve decided to bequeath us to your sons in equal portions, we’ll have to bid you farewell, because we have no predestined bond with your sons. (MC: Too bad for his sons.) We’re going to serve Mr. Wang Something of such and such a village in such and such a county. But this doesn’t mark the end of our predestined bond with you, sir. We’ll be seeing you one more time!” And with that, they turned to go.

Mr. Jin tumbled out of bed in alarm and, without sparing a moment to put on his shoes, ran barefoot after the eight men, but by this time, they were already quite some distance from his house. In his haste, he tripped on the threshold. As he fell, he woke up and realized that it had all been but a dream. He quickly got out of bed and turned up the wick of his bedside lamp but found no trace of his eight ingots of silver. Recalling what he had heard in his dream, he realized that those were by no means idle words. With a sigh, he broke into sobs and said to himself (IC: He is being foolish again. One foolish act leads to another.), “It’s hard to believe that my life savings are meant for other people rather than my own sons! But I did hear the surname of that family and where they live. Why don’t I track them down? I’m prepared to take all the time I need.” He did not get a wink of sleep for the rest of the night.

The next morning, after he told his sons about what had happened, some of them were startled, others were apprehensive. (MC: It is only natural that people vary in degrees of intelligence and worth.)

Those who were startled said, “How very strange! So those things are not meant for us after all.”

Those who were apprehensive commented, “The old man must have made that promise to us when he was in a sunny mood. But he regretted it when he thought back on it and just can’t tear himself away from his silver. That may be why he has come up with such a preposterous lie.”

Seeing that not all of his sons believed him, Mr. Jin Senior burned with impatience to get to the truth. Off he went to such and such a village in such and such a county, and sure enough, he did find one Mr. Wang Something. He knocked at the gate. Once led into the brightly lit main hall, he saw that it was laid out for a sacrificial ceremony complete with the three sacrificial animals [the ox, the pig, and the goat]. (IC: Also an act of foolishness.)

“What occasion calls for such a grand ceremony?” asked Mr. Jin of a servant, who then went in to announce him and brought out the master of the house, Mr. Wang.

After an exchange of greetings, Mr. Jin sat down, and Mr. Wang asked him about the purpose of his visit.

“This old man is here to try to solve a mystery,” replied Mr. Jin. “But now that I see a sacrificial ceremony going on, I beg to be enlightened as to the reason for this ritual.”

Mr. Wang launched into these explanations: “It all started when my humble wife felt slightly indisposed. So I engaged a fortune-teller. He said, ‘The ailment will go away as soon as the bed is moved.’ Yesterday, my wife, in her illness, became dimly aware of eight big men before her, each wearing a white robe with a red ribbon around his waist. They said to her, ‘We used to reside in a Mr. Jin’s house, but our predestined bond with him is over. We’ve now come to join your household.’ With that, they dived under the bed. My wife broke into a cold sweat and immediately felt like herself again. After the bed was moved aside, we found eight large ingots of silver sitting in the dust, each tied around the middle with a red ribbon. (IC: It did pay to move the bed. The fortune-teller has been proved right.) We have no idea where they could have come from. This must be a blessing from Heaven. That’s why we bought the sacrificial offerings as a token of our gratitude. Since you, sir, asked about this, would you happen to know what’s behind all this?”

Stomping his foot, Mr. Jin said, “Those ingots of silver are my life savings. I also had a dream last night, and when I woke up, they’d vanished. I heard your name and address in my dream, which is how I found my way here. So this must have been the will of Heaven. This old man has no complaints (IC: Complaints wouldn’t do any good.), but I do wish to have a look at them, so that I can relieve myself of this weight on my mind.” (MC: As foolish as ever.)

“That can easily be done,” said Mr. Wang. He went smilingly into the interior of the house and led four servants out, each carrying a tray with two ingots on it. With red yarn around their middles, they were the very same ingots of silver that had belonged to the Jin family.

Mr. Jin could not help shedding tears as he looked resignedly at the silver. (IC: There’s just no end to his foolishness.) Running his fingers over them, he said, “I don’t get to enjoy them. Just my luck!”

Although Mr. Wang ordered the servants to take the silver back into the inner quarters of the house, it pained him to see Mr. Jin in such a state, so he took out three taels of loose silver, wrapped them up, and gave the packet to Mr. Jin as a farewell gift. (IC: An honest man deserves a good turn.)

Mr. Jin said, “Since I’m not meant to enjoy even what rightfully belongs to me, this gift is quite unnecessary!” Adamantly, he declined the offer over and over again, but Mr. Wang forced the packet up his sleeve. Mr. Jin tried to retrieve it from his sleeve, but failing to get a grip on it in the heat of the moment, he turned crimson in the face. He yielded to Mr. Wang’s pleas and took his leave with a bow.

On returning home, Mr. Jin told his sons about what had happened. Everyone sighed with emotion. As he was praising Mr. Wang’s kindness in giving him a farewell gift of three taels of silver, he began to feel in his sleeve but failed to find it. He thought he must have lost it somewhere along the way, but in fact, what had happened was that while he was strenuously resisting the gift and Mr. Wang was frantically trying to stuff it up his sleeve, the packet fell into the outer lining of Mr. Jin’s sleeve, the seams of which had split in one place. The packet ended up slipping through the hole and landing by the threshold, which was why Mr. Jin could not have retrieved it even before he left Mr. Wang’s house. After Mr. Jin was gone, Mr. Wang found the packet while cleaning the entrance. Clearly, every sip of water and every mouthful of food cannot but be predestined. If the money was not meant for him to have, even three taels—never mind eight hundred taels—would be denied him. He who had them would lose them, and he who had none would gain them. These things are beyond human control.

Let me now tell of a man whose every step on solid ground went awry. Without a penny to his name, he eked out an existence that was as wretched as it could be. But then, in a place that he could not have imagined even in his wildest dreams, he suddenly found himself a fabulously rich man without even knowing what had happened. This is something quite unheard of since time immemorial, as these lines attest:

Riches and honor that lie in your lot

Come to you whether you’re brainy or not.

If you’re born to be a man of wealth,

Treasures come your way from the ends of the earth.

Our story takes place in the Chenghua reign period [1465–87] of this dynasty [Ming]. Outside Chang Gate in Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture, there lived a man by the name of Wen Shi, courtesy name Ruoxu.7 A quick learner, he could get the hang of whatever he tried his hand at and could easily take up anything taught to him. He had rudimentary skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting and was also something of a flute and zither player, a singer, and a dancer. In his childhood, a fortune-teller had said that he would become a fabulously rich man someday. (IC: A prophecy that will be fulfilled.) Made presumptuous by his cleverness, he drifted through life without applying himself to any profitable undertaking. As the saying goes, he who sits idle will eat away a mountain of a fortune. Only when a substantial amount of his hefty inheritance had vanished did he realize the limits of his resources and, impressed by the several hundred percent profits of some merchants, began to try his hand at business, but none of his ventures paid off.

One fine day, he heard that paper folding fans were selling well in Beijing. So he found a partner and began to deal in fans. For exquisite gold-flecked fans of superior quality, he offered gifts to famous artists like Shen Zhou [1427–1509], Wen Zhengming [1470–1559], and Zhu Yunming [1460–1526] and asked them to put a few casual strokes on the fans, so that he could hike the price for each of them to one tael or more. For fans of middling quality, he approached counterfeiters and had them imitate the styles of the above-mentioned artists. He would sell the fans to unsuspecting customers, claiming that they bore the work of the great masters. He himself could also do a pretty good job of copying their works. As for fans of inferior quality with no gold flecks and no calligraphy or painting on them, he would settle for dozens of copper cash each, which meant a 100 percent profit, something that he felt was certainly within reach. So he chose an auspicious day, packed his merchandise, and went to Beijing.

As it turned out, however, it had been raining in Beijing every day since the onset of summer. With the sky always overcast, it did not feel at all like summer, and his customers were few and far between. Then autumn came, and the weather cooled down. Though it was by now the wrong season for fans, at least the sky had cleared up.

One day, a flamboyant young man showed up, asking for a Suzhou-made fan so that he could swing it over his billowing sleeve. After opening the boxes, Mr. Wen let out a cry of woe. He could not unfold the fans. What had happened was that Beijing’s rainy season, which fell in the seventh and eighth lunar months, and the prolonged dampness had joined forces with the sticky ink on the fans to glue the folds together. (MC: The works of calligraphy and paintings are up to mischief.) When forced open, the fans became a torn and blotchy mess. Those with calligraphy and paintings were now worthless. Those left blank were undamaged, but how much could he get for them? He sold them without caring what he was paid and got only enough money for his trip back home. All his capital had gone down the drain.

This same pattern held in his later business ventures. Not only did he lose his own capital, but he also brought ruin to his partners, hence his nickname, The Luckless One. In a few years’ time, his entire family fortune gave out. He could not even afford to marry. Day in and day out, he knocked about, offering his services as a calligrapher and painter, but all to very little effect. To his credit, he did have a clever tongue and a ready laugh, which endeared him to his friends, who found his services indispensable when they were on pleasure outings. But that was only in exchange for free meals, not by any means a proper way to make a living. Moreover, he had been used to living in style and therefore felt uncomfortable as a hanger-on. Some felt sorry for him and recommended him for a position as a tutor, but honorable families found him inadequate in the diverse skills he claimed to have. And so he was unfit for a decent job but unwilling to take a lower position. Both the professional hangers-on and the tutors made faces at him and ridiculed him, calling him “luckless.” But of this, for the time being, no more.

One day, he learned that a group of his neighbors who regularly traveled overseas to engage in trade were about to set sail. There were altogether more than forty of them, led by men with nicknames like Big Zhang, Second Brother Li, Zhao Number One, and Qian Number Two. Mr. Wen said to himself, “Being such a loser with no means of making a living, why don’t I join them on their seafaring journey? If I get to see what lies there beyond the seas, I won’t have lived my life in vain. (MC: Luck comes to him at this low point in his life.) And I don’t think they’ll turn me down. That way, I’ll be spared worries about where my next meal is to come from, and I’ll get to have some fun.”

It so happened that at this point in his thoughts, Big Zhang strolled over. Big Zhang, Zhang Chengyun by name, was exclusively engaged in overseas trade. A connoisseur of rare treasures and a straightforward, generous man always ready to render assistance to good people, he had won himself the sobriquet Zhang the Judge of Quality.

On learning of Wen Ruoxu’s intentions, Big Zhang said, “Good! Good! We get bored easily at sea. If you could join us and liven up the conversation, time will pass more quickly. I think everyone in our brotherhood will like that. There’s one thing, though: All of us will be taking merchandise with us. You’re the only one with empty hands. It will be a waste for you to take the trip without getting anything out of it. I’ll work out something with my friends. We’ll all chip in so that you can also have some goods to sell.” (MC: Such a man is quite exceptional.)

“You’re too kind!” said Wen Ruoxu. “But I doubt that anyone else would be as willing to help me out as you are.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Big Zhang. With that, he took himself off.

A blind fortune-teller happened to be approaching with his clappers at this time. Wen Ruoxu retrieved a copper coin from his pocket and asked the fortune-teller if he was going to have any luck in business.

“There’s a windfall in store for you, and it’s nothing short of spectacular!” exclaimed the fortune-teller.

Wen Ruoxu thought, “I’m going out to sea just to have some fun and fill the time. I’m in no position to make business deals. Why would I even need help from them? Even if they do help me out, how much can they scrape together to qualify as a windfall? This fortune-teller is nothing more than a quack!”

At this point, Big Zhang came back to him, looking quite upset. “Just as the proverb goes, ‘The talk of money drives friends away,’ ” said Zhang. “What a bunch of clowns I have for friends! They all liked the idea of having you join us, but as soon as I suggested pooling some money for you, every one of them clammed up! (IC: Such are the ways of the world.) Now, here’s one tael of silver that I managed to put together with two of my closest friends. But it’s too little to get you started in business. Just use it to buy some between-meal snacks for yourself to eat on the boat. We’ll take care of the regular meals.”

With profuse thanks, Wen Ruoxu took the silver.

“Why don’t you go and pack? We’re about to set sail,” said Zhang as he took leave of Wen and headed for the boat.

“I have very little packing to do. I’ll join you shortly!” said Wen. All smiles as he examined the tael of silver in his hand, he wondered what could be done with it.

As he walked along, his feet took him to a street lined with peddlers and their baskets, and what lay inside were

As red as raging flames,

As big as hanging bells,

The rind not yet wrinkled, the taste still sour,

Ripe before the frost sets in, they are in scant supply.

They are different from the ones that grow on Su’s trees,8

Nor are they the kind planted by Prefect Li.9

They are brothers to Guangdong tangerines

And a smaller version of their Fujian brethren.

In Lake Tai stood a Dongting Hill, where the soil was as fertile as that of Guangdong and Fujian. While Guangdong and Fujian tangerines were celebrated throughout the empire, Dongting also produced tangerines that were very similar in color and aroma. There was only one drawback: The fruits tasted slightly sour before they were ripe, although they turned sweet enough on reaching maturity. Named “Dongting Red,” they sold for only one-tenth the price of Fujian tangerines. Looking at the fruit, Wen Ruoxu thought, “My one tael of silver can buy me more than a hundred catties of them. I can eat some when I get thirsty on the boat and also offer some to my fellow travelers by way of thanking them for their help.” So he bought enough tangerines to fill a large bamboo basket and hired a man to carry the basket and his luggage to the boat.

As they approached the boat, his fellow travelers said, clapping their hands and laughing, “Look at Mr. Wen’s precious merchandise!”

Deeply embarrassed, Wen Ruoxu sheepishly stepped on board, determined not to say a word about the tangerines along the journey.

The boat got under way and slowly sailed down the river and out to the sea. There came into view silvery-topped raging waves that seemed to threaten the sun and the moon and submerge the galaxy.

The boat drifted before the wind for a good three to five days without anyone knowing how much distance they had covered. And then, suddenly, they sighted a place with imposing walls and a dense population, a place that seemed to them to be the capital of a country. The seamen maneuvered the boat into a haven safe from the wind and waves, drove in a wooden post next to the shore, dropped anchor, and tied the boat to the post.

Most of the men went ashore. They soon realized that they had been in this place before. It was the country of Jiling, where merchandise from China could sell for three times more than it did in China, and the same went for merchandise from there in China. A round-trip could therefore mean an eightfold to ninefold profit, which was why many chose to take this route even if they had to put their lives on the line. Since all of Wen Ruoxu’s boat companions were experienced traders with their own networks of middlemen and interpreters and their own preferred inns, they went their separate ways to dispose of their merchandise. Wen Ruoxu was the only one left on the boat as a caretaker. Being unfamiliar with the land, he did not know where to go.

As he sat there, feeling low, a sudden thought struck him: “Since I got on board, I haven’t opened my basket of red tangerines. They may have rotted in the heat generated by so many people. Why don’t I take a peek while my fellow passengers are all gone?” (IC: Poor thing!) So he had the seamen search for it in the hold. When the lid was opened, he saw that the top layer of tangerines looked fine, but, still not reassured, he had all the tangerines in the basket taken out and spread over the deck. What happened next was indeed decreed by fate, for he was meant to rise in life at this time, and fortune favors those whose time has come.

When seen from afar, the fiery-red tangerines on the deck appeared to be ten thousand sparks of light and a galaxy of stars. Pedestrians onshore drew near and asked, “What fancy stuff have you got there?”

Instead of answering, Wen Ruoxu picked one that had spots on it, peeled it, and sank his teeth into it. The swelling crowd of spectators commented in surprise mixed with delight, “So this is something edible!”

A more curious one in the crowd stepped forward and asked, “How much for one?”

Wen Ruoxu did not understand their language, but one of the seamen who did raised a finger and said, trying to fool them, “One coin each.”

The one who had asked for the price opened his robe and took a silver coin from his red brocade money belt, saying, “I’ll try one.”

Wen Ruoxu took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be about one tael. He thought, “I have no idea how many tangerines this piece of silver can buy, and there are no scales to be had. Let me first offer him a sample.” He picked a large and appealingly red one and offered it to the man.

Before everyone’s eyes, the man took it, toyed with it, and said, “This is good stuff !” With a quick movement, he split it open. As the aroma assailed everyone’s nostrils, the spectators burst into a cheer.

Not knowing the proper way of eating it, the buyer imitated Wen Ruoxu and peeled off the rind. But then, without separating the segments, he stuffed the whole tangerine into his mouth. As its sweet juice filled his throat, he swallowed it whole, seeds and all. (IC: A good way to eat a tangerine.) “Wonderful! Wonderful!” he said, laughing. Then he reached a hand into his belt, took out ten silver coins, and said, “I’d like to buy ten of them as a gift for my boss.”

Overjoyed, Wen Ruoxu picked ten for him. The other onlookers followed suit, some buying only one, others buying two or three. They all paid with silver and went away, very pleased with their purchases.

As a matter of fact, silver, as the currency of that country, was divided into different grades, as indicated by the patterns engraved on the coins. Those bearing engravings of a dragon and a phoenix were of the highest grade. Next came those with engravings of human figures, followed by fowls and animals, trees, and, lastly, water plants. But all were of standard purity and weight, down to the smallest denomination. The pieces of silver used to buy the tangerines were of the lowest grade, bearing water-plant patterns. The buyers rejoiced because they thought they had landed a good deal by exchanging inferior silver for fancy stuff. In petty acquisitiveness, they were no different from the Chinese.

In the twinkling of an eye, two-thirds of the tangerines were gone. Some onlookers regretted having no money with them and hurried off to get money, but by the time they rushed back, the supply of tangerines had dwindled so much that Wen Ruoxu said calculatedly, “I need to keep some for myself. So I’m not selling any more of them.”

One man offered an extra coin each and bought two tangerines for four coins, all the while mumbling, “Luckless me! Just because I’m late!”

Noticing that he had offered to pay more, a bystander said bitterly, “We were also going to buy some. Why did you have to pay so much?”

The man who had just paid more responded, “Didn’t you hear him say that he wasn’t selling any more?”

In the midst of all this talk, the first customer, the one who had bought ten, was seen returning to the boat on a galloping piebald horse. After dismounting, he parted the crowd and shouted at the boat, “Don’t sell them piece by piece! I’m going to buy up all that’s left! My boss wants to offer them as tribute to the khan!”

On hearing this proclamation, the spectators stepped back to stand at a distance and watch. Being the sharp and clever man that he was, Wen Ruoxu surmised from the man’s air of importance that a windfall was coming his way. He promptly emptied his basket of the remaining tangerines, about fifty in all. After counting them, he said, again artfully, “I just said a moment ago that I wanted to keep them for myself. But if you’re willing to pay more, you can have a few. I just sold a couple of them at two coins each.”

The man unloaded a large bag off the back of his horse and retrieved a silver coin bearing the pattern of trees. “How about one coin, of this kind?”

Wen Ruoxu replied, “No. I’ll take only the kind of coin you gave me before.”

With a smile, the man took out another coin, one bearing the pattern of a dragon and a phoenix, and asked, “How about this kind?”

“Won’t do,” said Wen. “I insist on the other kind.”

With another smile, the man said, “This one is worth a hundred of that kind. I don’t have that many of this kind to give you anyway. I was just teasing you. You’re a fool to turn it down and ask for coins of that inferior kind. Well, if you sell me all that’s left, I’ll throw in an extra coin each of the kind you want.”

Wen Ruoxu counted the remaining tangerines and sold all fifty-two of them to the man for no less than 156 coins bearing water-plant patterns. The man took the tangerines, basket and all, and tossed down another coin before tying the basket to the horse and, giving the horse a flick of his whip, went merrily on his way. Now that there were no more tangerines for sale, the crowd quickly dispersed.

With the crowd gone, Wen Ruoxu went back onto the boat and put a coin on a scale. It weighed a little more than eight maces and seven candareens.10 He weighed several more and got the same result each time. He counted the coins and, finding that he had about a thousand of them, gave two to the seamen as a reward (IC: The way a man in fortune’s favor does things.) and packed the rest for himself. With a chuckle, he said, “How accurate the predictions of that blind fortune-teller!” (IC: Nicely picking up an earlier thread.) His heart filled with delight, he looked forward to the return of his fellow travelers and some good-humored banter with them.

Storyteller! You’ve got it wrong! If silver in that country is so worthless and business is done in that way, why don’t seafaring merchants with their loads of silk sell them at higher prices? Wouldn’t they have also made a hundredfold profit?

Dear audience, you may not be aware of this (MC: The explanations must be rich in detail to be convincing.), but people of that country apply the barter system for items like silk, and Chinese merchants make a profit only by bartering with them. When the people of that country pay in cash, especially when they pay with coins bearing patterns of dragons and phoenixes or human figures, they think they have paid dearly. But in fact those coins weigh no more than those bearing inferior patterns, and therefore the Chinese merchants gain no advantage. In Wen Ruoxu’s case, the buyers considered edible items unworthy of high-grade silver coins, but Chinese merchants care only about the weight of the coins, which was why Wen made a nice profit.

But, storyteller, you’ve got it wrong again! If it was the way you put it, why don’t the seafaring merchants deal exclusively in food items in exchange for their low-grade silver coins? Wouldn’t that have been more profitable? Why bother to buy expensive items in the first place?

Dear audience, that’s not the way to look at it either. It’s just that our man happened to be destined for a windfall at this time, which is why he landed a good deal with the tangerines he had taken with him. If he were to do this a second time, he might have to wait for a sale in vain for three or five days in a row until the tangerines had all turned rotten. (MC: A thoroughly thrashed-out argument.) Wen Ruoxu’s failed attempt to sell fans before his time had come is a case in point. If this can happen to fans, which store well, how much more likely is it for fruit? You are being contrarian, and that is no way to talk.

But I digress. Let us get on with our story. When Wen’s fellow travelers took their middlemen to the boat for the delivery of their goods, Wen gave them an account of what had happened. “Lucky you!” they exclaimed, startled but delighted. “We came on the same boat, but you who had no capital are the first one to make a deal!”

Clapping his hands, Big Zhang said, “Everybody says he’s the luckless one, but his luck must have turned!” (IC: Exactly.) To Wen Ruoxu, he said, “You won’t be able to buy much stuff here with this kind of silver coin. Why don’t you buy a few hundred taels worth of Chinese goods from us and barter them onshore for some local products that are exotic to the Chinese? That way, you’ll be able to take home a hefty profit instead of hoarding some money that doesn’t do anything for you.”

“But I am a luckless one,” insisted Wen Ruoxu. “I end up losing my capital every time I try my hand at business. Now, thanks to you all, I made a profit without investing any money. This is totally a matter of chance. With such a stroke of good luck, how can I still dream of chasing after more profit? If I fail again, would another good deal just fall into my lap?” (MC: He who knows when to be content will be richly blessed in the future.)

His fellow travelers replied, “Silver is what we need; merchandise we have galore. So wouldn’t it be good for everyone if we trade what we have?”

“As they say, one snakebite gives you a three-year-long fear of ropes. All my confidence goes away at the mere mention of doing business. I’d rather hold on to the silver I have and take it home.”

His fellow travelers exclaimed, clapping their hands, “He’d rather let go of a several-hundred-percent profit! Too bad! What a pity!”

Wen Ruoxu followed his travel companions ashore to the various shops, where they carried out their transactions. In the next fifteen days or so, Wen Ruoxu feasted his eyes on fancy objects, but, satisfied with what he had, he did not give them a second thought. After completing all necessary transactions, the men returned to the boat, burned offerings to the gods, drank some wine, and sailed out to sea.

After several days at sea, the weather suddenly changed. Behold:

Dark clouds blot out the sun;

Black waves heave to the heavens.

Snakes and dragons rise dancing to the sky;

Fish and turtles dive in panic to the seabed.

Ships drift along like homeless jackdaws;

In the boat, passengers are tossed about

like grains of rice in a washing pan;

Outside the boat, the sea churns

like a boiling pot of rice.

The god of wind is so merciless,

Even the ablest oarsmen turn pale with horror.

When the wind had first sprung up, the seamen had unfurled the sail to half-mast and let the ship drift along in whichever direction the wind blew. At the sight of a small island in the far distance, they took in the sails and maneuvered the boat toward it. As they drew near, they saw that it was an uninhabited island. Behold!

The trees soar into the sky;

The ground is overgrown with wild grass.

The wilderness bears only footprints of rabbits and foxes;

The gently rolling land can’t be home to dragons and tigers.

In its pristine state, none knows

to which country it belongs.

From time immemorial, it has

never been trodden by human feet.

The seamen cast anchor over the stern of the boat, drove in a wooden post next to the shore, and tied the boat to it. Then they turned to their passengers and said, “Just sit back and relax. Let’s wait out the storm.”

As for Wen Ruoxu, now that he was a richer man, how he wished he could grow a pair of wings and fly all the way home! Irritated that he was supposed to sit tight and wait out the storm, he declared, “I’m going onshore, just to have a look around the island.”

“What’s there to see on a deserted island?” asked his fellow passengers.

“What’s the harm when I’ve got nothing else to do?”

Dizzy from the gusts of wind and yawning their heads off, the men had no interest in joining him. Wen Ruoxu braced himself and jumped ashore. This adventure on land was to bring out a supernatural power hidden in a decaying shell and deliver riches to a down-and-out man. If this storyteller had been born in the same year as he was and had grown up with him, and if I had the vision of a prophet, I would have followed him on his venture. Even if my feet had failed me and I had to support myself on a crutch, the trip would have been worthwhile.

To get on with our story: Since no one volunteered to join him, Wen Ruoxu, out of sheer contrariness, climbed up the rocks of the island by grabbing vines and kudzu, hand over hand, and managed to reach the highest point on the island. Luckily for him, the rocks were not very high, so it was not much of a struggle except that there was no path amid the sprawling wild grass. Once he found himself at the top, he looked all around him and was overwhelmed by the view. Feeling like a small leaf in this vast expanse of the universe, he broke down in tears of sorrow and said to himself, “For a man as smart as I am, I’ve been dogged by bad luck all my life. All my family property is gone, leaving me nothing but this body to call my own. Even though I’ve made about a thousand silver coins on this trip by a lucky chance, who knows if they’re meant for me or not? While I’m still on a deserted island, not on dry land, the Dragon King of the sea still has my life in his clutches !”

In the midst of his lamentations, he saw an object in the distance that stood taller than the grass. He went up to find out what it was and saw, much to his surprise, that it was an empty turtle shell as large as a bed. “I wouldn’t have believed there was such a huge turtle in the whole wide world! Who has ever seen such a thing? And no one will ever believe me if I tell them! I haven’t bought anything exotic on this trip, so why don’t I take this and show it around as a rarity? Otherwise people will accuse me of being a lying Suzhou native if they just hear me talk about it without seeing it for themselves. And another thing: If it’s sawed apart, the upper and the lower piece would each become a bed if four legs were added to it. Isn’t that a novel idea?” (IC: A novel idea indeed! One only a Suzhou native is capable of.) So thinking, he took off his cloth puttees, joined them together, threaded this improvised rope through the shell, tied a knot (IC: Ingenious.), and began to tow it along.

When he returned to the boat, his fellow travelers laughed at the spectacle he presented and said, “So Mr. Wen is back, with something in tow!”

Wen Ruoxu replied, “For your information, everyone, this counts as the merchandise I acquired from overseas.” His fellow passengers, after taking a closer look at what appeared to be a bed with no legs and a flat bottom, exclaimed in surprise, “It’s a huge turtle shell! Why did you tow it all the way here? What are you going to do with it?”

“Isn’t this something rare? I’m going to take it back home.”

Amid general laughter, one man said, “Instead of buying something valuable, you took this thing! What use do you see for it?”

Another man observed, “Oh, it can be put to good use. If you have something that worries you, you can put the turtle shell on a fire and do a divination. Too bad such a large shell can’t be used as medicine.”

Yet another man weighed in, “Oh yes, it can! If physicians need to make turtle shell paste, they can break the shell and brew the small pieces. One such shell equals hundreds of small tortoise shells.” (MC: Even the jeers are funny.)

Wen Ruoxu said, “I don’t care if it’s useful or not. I just think it’s a rare thing, and it cost me nothing. So I’m going to take it home with me.”

With that, he asked a seaman to help him carry the shell onto the deck. The shell that had looked huge enough on the desert island now appeared to be even more of a monstrosity in the confined space of the boat. If it hadn’t been an oceangoing boat, this outsize thing would not even have fitted on it. Everyone had a good laugh. Someone commented, “If people ask us about it when we arrive, we’ll just say that Mr. Wen is a big turtle trader!”

“Don’t laugh!” countered Wen Ruoxu. “I do have a use for it. It’s definitely not something to throw away.” Turning a deaf ear to the jeers, Wen Ruoxu cheerfully fetched some water, washed the shell clean inside and out, wiped it dry, put his money belt and all his other pieces of baggage into it, and tied up the two ends with a rope, turning it into a large trunk. All smiles, he said, “Now I’ve put it to good use, haven’t I?”

Amid general laughter, his fellow travelers commented, “Good idea! Good idea! Mr. Wen is a clever man indeed!”

Nothing further happened that night.

The next day, the ship set sail after the wind subsided. A few days later, they arrived in Fujian. As soon as they had dropped anchor, a crowd of small-time middlemen who lived off seafaring merchants came up to greet them. They pulled at the new arrivals, each noisily claiming that his local contact was the best. But as soon as the travelers picked the one they had dealt with before, all the other middlemen gave up in resignation.

So Wen Ruoxu and his companions followed the man they had picked to a large store owned by a Persian merchant and sat down inside. On receiving word that he had visitors from overseas, the owner immediately took out some silver and told his kitchen staff to prepare a feast for dozens of tables. Only after he had finished with his instructions did he go to the hall. He was a Persian with the unusual Chinese name of Ma [the character for “agate”] Baoha. With goodness knows how many tens of thousands of taels of silver as capital, he traded only in valuable items of merchandise with seafarers. Wen Ruoxu was the only one in the company who did not know him. All the others were the Persian’s repeat customers. Wen Ruoxu noticed that the man, having lived for so long in China, was not much different from a Chinese native in the way he dressed, talked, and moved. The only slightly unusual things about him were his trimmed eyebrows and beard, his sunken eyes, and the high bridge of his nose. After he exchanged greetings with his visitors, everyone sat down. Two cups of tea later, he stood up and led everyone to a grand hall where a feast had been beautifully laid out. According to tradition, the host was supposed to wine and dine visitors fresh off the boats before getting down to business.

Holding an enamel cup and saucer with chrysanthemum patterns, the Persian host said with a salute, “Please show me your lists of merchandise before I seat you.”

Dear audience, you may wonder what he meant. The fact was that this Persian put profit above everything else. A customer with treasures worth tens of thousands of taels of silver would be given the most honored seat, and the others would then be seated according to the value of their goods. (MC: In this world of ours, the Persian merchant is not the only one who does this.) Age and rank were given no weight whatsoever. This had always been the way he seated his guests. Wen Ruoxu’s fellow travelers, each knowing very well the value and amount of his own merchandise as well as those of his companions, took the wine cups offered to them and sat down in the order they thought proper, leaving Wen Ruoxu standing forlornly by himself. (IC: Poor thing!)

The host said, “I’ve never seen this gentleman before. This must be his first journey out to sea, and he therefore has few items to offer.”

Wen’s fellow travelers said to the host, “This is a good friend of ours, out to sea just for fun. He does have money with him, but he hasn’t been willing to buy anything. We’ll have to let him take the lowest-ranking seat.”

Deeply embarrassed, Wen Ruoxu took the seat assigned to the lowest-ranking guest. The host sat down at one end of the table. In the midst of the drinking, as one man boasted of his stock of cat’s-eyes and another of his emeralds in a game of one-upmanship, Wen Ruoxu sank into deeper silence. A little ruefully he said to himself, “I should have taken their advice and made some purchases. I do have a few hundred taels of silver in my baggage, but they don’t count, so I can’t get a word in.” Then he heaved a sigh and thought, “For someone who started on the journey without any capital, I’m already in a lot of luck. I should be content.” Absorbed in his own thoughts, he was in no mood for wine, while all the other men noisily played the finger-guessing game, drinking and stuffing themselves and making a mess of the tables. The host, being an experienced man of the world, noticed Wen Ruoxin’s dejection. Feeling that he couldn’t very well say it outright, he just refilled Wen Ruoxu’s wine cup a few times out of politeness.

Then the visitors stood up and said, “We’ve had enough wine. Let’s go back to the boat before it gets dark and deliver the goods tomorrow!” So saying, they took leave of their host and went off.

The Persian had the feast tables cleaned up and retired for the night. The following day, he rose bright and early and went straight to his visitors’ boat. As he boarded the boat, he caught sight of the bulky shell. In surprise, he asked, “Who owns this treasure? Nobody mentioned it yesterday at the dinner table. I assume that it’s not for sale?”

The men laughed and said, pointing, “This piece of treasure belongs to our friend Mr. Wen.”

One man added, joining in the merriment, “It will be quite a tough sell!”

Giving Wen Ruoxu a look, the Persian host reddened in anger and said reproachfully to the assembled company, “I’ve known you for so many years now. How can you play such tricks on me? Why did you make me offend a newcomer and unjustly give him the lowest-ranking seat?” With one quick movement, he held Wen Ruoxu and, turning to the other men, said, “Wait! Don’t dispose of your goods until I’ve gone ashore with this gentleman and offered him an apology!”

None of the men had any idea what he was talking about. Intrigued, several who were closer to Wen Ruoxu plus a few busybodies followed the two all the way back to the Persian’s store to see what was going to happen.

Before their very eyes, their host led Wen Ruoxu to a chair, put it in its proper place, and, ignoring the other men, made Wen Ruoxu sit down first, saying, “My apologies for what happened earlier! My apologies! Please be seated!”

Wen Ruoxu was also mystified. He thought, “Could that thing of mine be a treasure? Could I be in such good luck?”

The host disappeared into the interior of the house and soon reemerged to invite everyone to the same hall where they had been drinking the day before. Another feast had been laid out on several tables, the first of which displayed a finer spread than what had been served on the previous occasion. Wine vessel in hand, the host bowed to Wen Ruoxu and announced to the company, “This gentleman deserves a seat at the first table. Your entire boatful of goods is nowhere near as valuable as what he has brought. I apologize for my earlier lack of manners!”

Amused, mystified, and incredulous all at once, the men sat down around the tables.

After three cups of wine, the host said, addressing Wen Ruoxu, “May I ask you, sir, if you’d be willing to sell this treasure?”

Being a man of good sense, Wen Ruoxu replied, “Why not, if I can get a good price for it?”

Hearing that he was willing to sell, the host broke into radiant smiles, as if this was a blessing from Heaven. He rose and asked, “If you’re indeed willing to sell, just quote me a price. I’m not one to pinch pennies!”

In fact, Wen Ruoxu had no idea of the turtle shell’s value. If he asked for too little, he was afraid he would betray his ignorance, but if he asked for too much, he could become a laughingstock. Blushing furiously, he gave the matter much thought but could not come up with a price. At this point, Big Zhang gave him a meaningful glance, put his hand on the back of the chair, raised three fingers, and then, wagging a forefinger in the air, said, “Ask him for this much!”

Shaking his head, Wen Ruoxu raised one finger and said, “I can’t even bring myself to ask for this much!”

The host saw him and asked, “How much?”

Big Zhang said, meaning mischief, “Judging from his gesture, I believe he’s asking for ten thousand.”

The host roared with laughter. “So you have no intention of selling. You’re just pulling my leg. How can such a treasure be worth so little?”

Everyone was flabbergasted. They stood up and pulled Wen Ruoxu aside for consultation. “What a stroke of luck!” they said. “It must be worth a great deal. We honestly have no idea what price to quote. Mr. Wen, why don’t you ask for a sky-high price and then take his counteroffer?”

Wen Ruoxu, however, shrank from doing so. Just as he was about to say the words, he checked himself. “Don’t be shy!” said his companions, egging him on.

The host said, also urging him, “What’s the harm in giving me a price?” Resigned, Wen Ruoxu asked for fifty thousand taels. Still, the host shook his head, saying, “No! No! What a thing to say!” Laying a hand on Big Zhang, the Persian merchant said to him in a subdued voice, “You’re an experienced seafaring merchant, and everyone calls you ‘Zhang the Judge of Quality.’ How can you be unaware of the value of that object? He must have no intention of selling it and is making a fool of this humble store owner.”

Big Zhang replied, “I’m not going to hide anything from you, but this is a good friend of mine, on this trip just for fun, which is why he didn’t purchase any merchandise. As for that thing, he came by it quite accidentally on an island when we were waiting out a storm. He didn’t pay anything for it, so nobody knows how much it’s worth. If you indeed give him fifty thousand, you’re going to make him a rich man for the rest of his life. He’ll be content.”

“In that case, I’d like you to be a guarantor. I’ll see that you’re amply rewarded. But don’t ever go back on your word!” Having said that, the Persian merchant had a store clerk bring out the four treasures of the scholar’s study.11 He then folded a piece of cotton paper—of the kind used for legal documents—offered Big Zhang a writing brush, and said, “Please help me draft a contract so as to complete the deal.”

Pointing to one of his fellow travelers, Big Zhang said, “This gentleman, Chu Zhongying, writes a good hand.” So he handed the paper and writing brush to Mr. Chu. After grinding the ink until it achieved the right texture and smoothing out the paper, Mr. Chu picked up the writing brush and wrote the following:

Zhang Chengyun and his party bear witness to the following:

Wen Shi [Wen Ruoxu’s official name] of Suzhou brought a large turtle shell from abroad to Persian merchant Mr. Ma Baoha’s store and asked for a sale price of fifty thousand taels of silver. After the contract is drawn up, the selling party will deliver the item of merchandise and the purchasing party will make the payment. No reneging is allowed. The party who reneges on the deal will be fined an amount equal to the sales price plus one-tenth thereof. This serves as the contract of the transaction.

The contract was copied out, and both copies were dated, complete with the day, month, and year. On the left side of each copy of the contract was a list of the names of the witnesses, about ten in all, headed by Big Zhang. Mr. Chu, the drafter, signed his own name last. Then he folded the original copy vertically along the date line, put it next to the duplicate along the same date line, and wrote vertically across the junction the words “Contractual Agreement,” followed by “Wen Shi the seller” and “Ma Baoha the buyer.” Both men affixed their signatures to the contract. As the witnesses signed their names, beginning with the last one, Big Zhang said, “This deal will go through only if we witnesses are paid well!”

The host responded, smiling, “I wouldn’t dare shortchange you! I wouldn’t!”

With the contract completed, the host went inside and then came out with a box filled with silver. He said, “Let me make the payment to the witnesses first. Then I’ll have something to say.” As the men approached, he opened the box to reveal twenty packets of silver, fifty taels per packet—one thousand taels in all. He passed the box to Big Zhang with both hands and said, “Please take this and distribute the money to your companions.”

While the contract was being drawn up, the men had been drinking noisily and were just joining in the fun without really believing that it was at all serious. And now, at the sight of the glittering silver to be distributed as their commission, they realized that this was for real. Feeling as if he were intoxicated and in a dream, Wen Ruoxu stared vacantly at nothing, unable to get a word out. (IC: A vivid description of one’s first reaction to unexpected good news.) Big Zhang tugged at him and said, “Brother Wen, you decide how to divide the commission for the witnesses.”

Only then did Wen Ruoxu find his voice. “Shall we do this after the transaction is complete?”

Affably, the Persian host said to Wen, “There’s one thing I need to consult you on, sir. The silver is now in the vault inside. It has all been weighed out, to the last penny. You need only have one or two of your companions go in to check one packet. There’s no need to check every packet. But there’s one problem: That’s a lot of silver, and it’s going to take some time to move all of it. And since you’re all alone, how are you going to carry all the packets onto the boat? Your return journey over the sea will also be quite a challenge.”

Wen Ruoxu replied after a moment of reflection, “You’re right. What’s to be done?”

“In my humble view, you can’t very well go back at this time. I have a fabric shop here with capital of three thousand taels of silver and more than a hundred rooms of all sizes spread around the large compound. The real estate is valued at two thousand taels. It’s half a li from here. I propose to sell that shop to you for five thousand taels, along with all the merchandise and the title deed, so that you can stay here and take over the business. You can then quietly transport your silver to the shop in separate batches without attracting attention. In the future, should you want to return home, you can entrust the business to a reliable employee and travel back and forth unencumbered. Otherwise, making the payment is easy enough for me, but transporting and storing that much silver will be a problem for you. That’s how I see it.”

Wen Ruoxu and Big Zhang were so impressed that they stamped their feet and exclaimed, “You have such good business sense! Everything you said is so convincing!”

Wen Ruoxu thought, “I’m not married, and my family fortune is gone. Even if I transport so much silver back, I won’t know where to store it. Why don’t I do as he says and make this place my home? All the good things that have happened to me on this trip have been sent by Heaven. Let me follow my destiny. Even if the store and the houses are worth less than five thousand, I’ll still come out ahead.” Aloud, he said to the host, “What you said is indeed a surefire plan any way one looks at it. I’ll be happy to oblige.”

Just as he was about to take Wen Ruoxu to the vault, the Persian host turned to Zhang and Chu and said, “Why don’t you come along? The others can sit here and wait for a while.”

After the four of them had left, the rest of the men, looking awed, with heads leaning forward or sunk down between their shoulders, fell into a heated conversation. One said, “How extraordinary! What good luck! If I’d known this earlier, I’d have also taken a walk on the island when we were anchored there, and who knows! I might also have found some treasure!” (IC: Hindsight of the vacant-headed.)

Some said, “This is a huge blessing from Heaven that just fell into his lap. It’s not something you can snatch up if it’s not meant for you.”

While they were thus marveling at Mr. Wen’s good luck, Wen Ruoxu, Big Zhang, and Mr. Chu came out. “What happened inside?” asked everybody. Big Zhang said, “He took us to the vault where he keeps all his silver. We saw ten large barrels, four thousand taels each, and five boxes, one thousand taels each—forty-five thousand in total—and they’re all sealed with strips bearing Brother Wen’s name. They’ll all be Brother Wen’s as soon as the turtle shell is delivered.” (IC: He must be drooling.)

At this point, the host came out and said, “The title deed and the ledgers for the fabric store are all here, and the total value is fifty thousand. Now, let’s go to your boat to get the turtle shell.” And so everyone proceeded to the boat.

On the way there, Wen Ruoxu said to his fellow travelers, “There are still many people on the boat. Please don’t tell them everything. I’ll have a nice reward for every one of you.” The men, also afraid that those remaining on the boat would want to share the commission if they learned about it, understood his point.

After boarding the boat, Wen went first to retrieve his baggage roll from the turtle shell. Feeling the shell with his hand, he exclaimed to himself, “What a stroke of good luck!”

Then the Persian ordered two young employees from his store to carry the turtle shell and instructed, “Be careful and carry it inside. Don’t leave it outside the store.”

Watching them carry off the turtle shell, those on the boat commented to Wen Ruoxu, “It’s good that this unsalable thing is off your hands now. How much did you sell it for?” Making no reply, Wen Ruoxu headed straight for the shore, his baggage roll in hand. The men who had just returned to the boat with him followed him back to the shore again, examined the turtle shell from one end to the other, peered into it, felt it with their hands, and, looking at one another blankly, said, “What’s so good about it?”

The host took the group of ten or so back to his store and said, “Now, please join Mr. Wen and take a look at his residence and the fabric shop.”

So the men went with the Persian to a big compound in a busy market area. The front shop was at the center, by the gate. Next to the shop was a small lane that led around a corner to a double-leaf stone gate. After going through the gate, they came to a large courtyard in which stood a grand hall. A board that hung above its door was inscribed with the words “Treasure Hall.” On each side of the hall was a storage room, with shelves along three walls filled with all kinds of silk and satin. At the back were more houses and multistory structures. Wen Ruoxu said to himself, “I’ll be living like a prince in this residence! Plus there’s the fabric shop to live off of, with its endless flow of profit. Why don’t I make this my permanent home? What’s there to miss about my hometown?” To the host he said, “This is all very fine, but I’m single, so I’ll need a few servants.”

The host said, “That can easily be done. I’ll take care of it.”

His heart filled with delight, Wen Ruoxu joined the other men and returned to the Persian merchant’s main store. After tea was served at his order, the host said, “Mr. Wen, you need not go back to the boat tonight. You can just stay in the fabric shop. There are already a few servants in the shop, but I’ll put more at your disposal later on.”

Wen’s companions said, “Now that the transaction is complete, no more need be said about it. But we’re still wondering what’s so precious about that turtle shell. Please enlighten us.”

Wen Ruoxu was of the same mind. “Yes, please!” said he.

Affably, the host said, “You gentlemen have traveled overseas so many times for nothing if you don’t even know this. Haven’t you heard that the Dragon King has nine sons and therefore nine branches of offspring? One of the nine branches is that of the drum dragon, whose skin, if used to cover drums, makes drumbeats that can be heard a hundred li away. When it’s ten thousand years old, a drum dragon will shed its shell and become a regular dragon. This shell has twenty-four ribs, matching the twenty-four solar terms. Within the joint of every rib is a large pearl. If the ribs are not fully grown, the drum dragon doesn’t get to be a regular dragon, nor is it able to shed its shell. If it’s captured at this time, the most valuable thing about it is its skin, for drumheads, since no pearls have formed in its ribs. You need to wait until all twenty-four ribs are fully grown, the pearls are fully formed, and the drum dragon sheds its shell and goes away as a dragon. A shell that’s shed naturally in the ripeness of time with fully grown ribs is different from the immature shell of a captured drum dragon. That’s why it’s so large. We all know this fact, but we have no idea when the shell will be shed and where to wait for the right moment. The shell is worth nothing, but the luminous pearls are priceless. It’s my good fortune to have stumbled onto it through no planning of my own.”

The men were skeptical. The host went to the interior of the house, and after he reemerged, all smiles, he fished an object wrapped in a piece of Western-made cloth out of his sleeve. “Please take a look, everyone!” said he. The parcel was then unwrapped to reveal a large, dazzling pearl about one inch in diameter nestled on a cotton pad. He asked for a black lacquer tray, put the pearl on it, and set the tray in a dark spot. The pearl kept rolling, emitting a circle of light that extended for more than a foot around. Everyone stared, mouths agape, eyes popping and tongues protruding. The host turned around and thanked the men one by one, saying, “I’m much obliged to you all for having pulled off the deal. In my country, just one such pearl is worth the price I paid. The rest of them are all your gifts to me.”

Everyone’s heart pounded, but none of them could go back on his word. Observing the slight change of color on everyone’s face, the Persian host took back the pearl, rushed inside, and had a trunk carried out. It was filled with lengths of silk. He gave each man, except Wen Ruoxu, two lengths of silk, saying, “As a small token of my gratitude to every one of you for your help, here’s some silk that you can use to make a couple of robes.” Then he produced more than ten strings of small pearls from his sleeves and, giving one string to each man, said, “This is a trifle, just enough for you to exchange for a cup of tea on your way home.” Wen Ruoxu got four strings of larger pearls and eight bolts of silk, with which to make some clothes, as the host put it. Wen Ruoxu and the others thanked him in delight.

Accompanied by the men, the host took Wen Ruoxu to the fabric shop, assembled all the employees to introduce them to Wen, and said, “This is your new master.” The host then took leave of everyone, saying, “I need to go attend to my store.”

Soon, dozens of porters appeared, carrying the ten barrels and five boxes with Wen Ruoxu’s seals. Wen Ruoxu had everything carried to a secluded bedchamber and then came out and said to his fellow travelers, “I’m ever so thankful to you all for taking me on a journey that has brought me this unexpected wealth.” Having said that, he went in again and emptied the bag of silver coins that he had acquired by selling the Dongting tangerines. He then gave each man ten coins. Big Zhang and two or three other men got an extra ten each because they had helped him out with money before the boat set sail. “A token of my gratitude,” said Wen. (MC: Definitely not a mean person.) By this time, this amount of money no longer meant much to him, but the recipients were delighted and thanked him profusely. Picking up another few dozen coins, he said to Big Zhang, “May I trouble you to give one to each of the people going back with you on the boat, just to buy a cup of tea? (MC: This kindhearted man deserves his good fortune.) After I’ve settled down, I’ll go back to my hometown, but for now, I bid you farewell.”

Big Zhang said, “What about the one-thousand-tael commission? You need to divide that among us so that there will be no cause for complaint.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten about that!” said Wen Ruoxu. After consulting everyone, he put aside one hundred taels for those on the boat, and the remaining nine hundred taels were divided equally among the people present plus two extra shares, one for Big Zhang as the leader and the other for Chu Zhongyin, who drafted the contract.

Everyone was immensely pleased. There was not a single word of complaint. One man said, “That Muslim got the best deal! Mr. Wen should think of a way to make him cough up more!”

“One should learn to be content,” said Wen Ruoxu. “I was a luckless one. I lost everything in whatever business I turned my hand to. And then, when my time came, this windfall just landed in my lap. (MC: He is not at all prone to greed.) It’s thus clear that everything is predestined in this life. Don’t ask for the impossible. If our host had not recognized the turtle shell’s value, I would have taken it as a worthless thing. I can’t thank him enough for his guidance. How can I go against my conscience and squeeze him for more?”

Everyone said, “You’re right, Mr. Wen. It’s your kindness and honesty that earned you these riches.” With profuse thanks, they put together their gifts and boarded the boat to attend to their own business.

Later, Wen Ruoxu became a rich merchant in the Fujian region, married, and started a family there. Once every few years, he took a trip to Suzhou to see his old acquaintances before returning to Fujian. To this day, his family line thrives and enjoys immense wealth. Truly,

When your luck goes, even gold glitters no more.

When your time comes, even iron takes on luster.

Don’t talk about dreams with the deluded,

For they will try to find turtle shells overseas.