When Zheng Banqiao was the magistrate of Fanxian, he was an official and upright, and it took only two or three years to turn the county into a peaceful scene of living and working. On this day, at Dongxiang Daji, Zheng Banqiao dressed up as a talent, brought pen, ink, paper and inkstone, rode on a donkey, and went back to his old business-selling calligraphy and painting. Of course, selling calligraphy and painting is a pretense, and private petitioning is the real purpose.
Zheng Banqiao came to the market, and just after paved the stalls, many people gathered to watch. I saw an old man picking up a picture of a cow, and looking left and right, the corners of his eyes were wet. Zheng Banqiao thought he had met a friend, so he asked, “Man, do you like this one? Give me a price, whatever you want.”
The old man said, “Looking at this cow painting, I thought of my cow money. A few days ago, I went to the market and sold the cow for five bucks. When I returned to the village, I met’Goose plucking hair. He must borrow it. I said that I would pay back my five coins in a few days. But today I went to ask for the money, but he turned his face and refused to admit it. He asked me for a witness and an IOU. I didn’t have either.” After finishing speaking, he wiped his tears with the back of his hand. .
A young man next to Zheng Banqiao said: “This old man is surnamed Wang, he is honest and kind, and he is called’Honest Wang. The man who misappropriated his money has the surname Yan. He is a treacherous man to take advantage of him. As’Goose plucking hair.’
Zheng Banqiao listened to everyone’s words, and he had an idea in his heart. He honestly said to Wang: “I will give you this picture of a cow. Don’t look at the picture now. This cow will be the president. When the paper can’t fit on it, it will run off the paper and become A live cow, and there is a calf on the paper, it will continue to grow, and it will become a live cow. Repeatedly, many cows will be born.”
Although Wang Laoshi didn’t really believe in Zheng Banqiao’s words, he still took the cow painting home.
The story of the cow painting spread all over the three villages and five li, so lively people came to his house to see it. As Zheng Banqiao said, the cow in this painting is getting bigger every day, and on the tenth day, the cow is too big to break the edge of the paper. On the eleventh day, as soon as it was light, people came to Wang Laoshi’s house. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Wang Laoshi feeding a fat and big ox. Looking at the picture posted in the room, there is another calf on it. Just as people were amazed, the “Goose Plucking Hair” crowded out the crowd and said honestly to Wang, “Brother Wang, since you have a cow, sell me that cow painting.”
Honest Wang simply said, “Okay. Let’s sell you the money for five guanxis!” Fearing that Wang Honest would regret it, he immediately bought the painting.
“Goose plucking hair” hung the cow painting in the main hall respectfully. Burning incense and offering offerings every day, but there is no cattle growth. Why is this?
It turned out that after Zheng Banqiao went back that day, he drew nine more cow paintings. One of the cows on the screen was larger than the other. He sent the paintings to Wang Laoshi’s house at night and asked him to change one every night. On the tenth day, Zheng Banqiao took out five more money to let the yamen go to the market to buy a cow, and the black man sent it to Wang Laoshi’s house in silence at night. The purpose of this is to lure the “goose plucking” who is fascinated by money into being fooled.
Zheng Banqiao was so wise, he finally cleverly helped Wang honestly get back the bull money, which made the “goose plucking hair” unspeakable, really relieved!
