Separation

There is a Jinsha village in Zhejiang Province. There is a large family in the village. The owner's name is Xu Youde. He has three sons, the eldest Xu Yan, the second Xu Zhao, and the third Xu Liang. When he was alive, he had married three sons one after another. The eldest and the second had a child each, and the third Xu Liang had two sons and two daughters. Everyone lived together and was very happy.

On this day, a middle-aged man in his forties came to the Xu family. His name was Zhu Zhi. Because his parents died and he had no money to bury, he brought his wife and children to the Xu family to sell his body and bury his father. Mr. Xu was a good man, and seeing that he was a pitiful and filial son, he said, "Zhu Zhi, since that's the case, you can live in our house. It doesn't matter whether you sell your body or not." After his father's funeral, Zhu Zhi came to the Xu family, and everyone called him Ah Zhi from then on. Ah Zhi was very diligent in his work, and his wife could also spin yarn. The money he earned was enough for the family of three to live well. Three years later, Mr. Xu died, and Ah Zhi was very sad to hold a funeral for his old master. When Mr. Xu died, he said nothing but that the three sons could not be separated. Originally, the three brothers were very friendly, but since the death of the old father, all the outside affairs were taken care of by the eldest brother, and family affairs were taken care of by the third brother, and the second brother took care of the accounts. Life was peaceful. After a few years, unfortunate things happened.

The third brother, Xu Liang, unfortunately died of a sudden illness. When the old man was alive, Xu Liang and Ah Zhi had a good relationship. Since death of the old man, Ah Zhi has followed Xu Liang's housekeeper. On this day, Xu Yan said to Xu Zhao, "Second Brother, think about it, there are five people in the third brother's family, and there are only three in each of our families. If your son and I marry a daughter-in-law in the future, we will inevitably marry a daughter-in-law for the third room. Now they only eat and don't cook, and in the future they will divide the family and each of them will have one share, which is very unfair." Yes! That's true, but didn't my father say we couldn't separate the family when he died? "

The second brother originally did not want to separate the family, he was afraid of being unfilial, but when he heard Xu Yan say this today, his heart was moved, so he said, "Big brother, how should we separate the family?" "This is easy." After Xu Yan finished speaking, he whispered a few words in his ear. "Okay, let's do it." So the family was divided under the discussion of the two of them, and they divided the good land to themselves and the bad land to Xu Liang's family. In order to be afraid of others talking, Xu Zhao bought a few clansmen. On the day of the separation, Xu Zhao invited the clansmen, and Xu Liang's wife, Li shi, did not know what was going on. Seeing that everyone was almost here, Xu Yan said, My fellow villagers, we invited everyone here today to discuss the separation of our family. My late father originally told us that we could not separate our family, but now that my brother is dead, leaving them widowed and orphaned, and they don't know how much property they have. If the children grow up in the future, it will not look good if they make a noise.

"Yes! If the second family is born again, it will not be easy to divide in the future." "Yes! In this way, the second family will suffer a lot. At this time, all the people invited by Xu Zhao helped him speak, and Li shi thought to himself:" Now we are orphans and widows. Once we separate our families, what will we do in the future? They are clearly trying to drive us away. So Li shi cried and said: "When my father-in-law was alive, he repeatedly explained that we should not separate our families, and even if we want to divide them, we must divide them when my officials are still alive. Now that you want to separate your families, do you want to starve us to death?Xu Zhao heard it and said, "Sister, how could this be? In the future, it will not be our business if your family has something to do. We invited everyone here today to be fair, lest the children grow up and be noisy in the future. "The future is the future, and when the children grow up, you can divide them, and they will not quarrel. I have the final say today, and I will never argue over more or less in the future."

Li Shi said these few words well, but there were many people in the big house and the second house. No matter what she said, the family was still divided. Li shi was a woman after all, how did she know which fields were good and which were bad? They said it was fair, and she couldn't say anything, so she lowered her head and went back crying. Ah Zhi was sent out early that day, and when he returned home, he saw many people walking out of the house, and felt puzzled in his heart. His wife, Chen shi, saw that he had come back, and hurriedly pulled him and said, "Ah Zhi, you are back, come in quickly and I have something to tell you." Ah Zhi originally wanted to ask what was going on, but after hearing what his wife said, it was not easy to ask again, so he followed his wife into the room. As soon as he stepped into the room, Azhi asked, "What the hell is going on?" Chen Shi said," The Xu family separated today, and you don't have a lot of things. They divided it fairly or not. It's all family affairs, so you don't need to talk. "Azhi always had something to say, so he was beaten a lot in the past. His wife was afraid that he would have too much trouble again, so she pulled him. When Azhi heard it, he immediately said angrily:" How can this work? There are five families in a family of three, how do you tell them to live in the future? The big house and the second house are too much. "Chen Shi said," Don't talk about it, why don't you go to the front to find out which room we were assigned to?

Second, Aji helps the master.

When Ah Zhi heard his wife's words, he came to the hall. At this time, the two brothers Xu Zhao were drinking. Xu summoned Ah Zhi and said, "Ah Zhi, you came at the right time. In the future, you will be a servant in the third room, don't come here. Ah Zhi thought to himself:" Okay! So you think I am in my fifties and can't do it anymore? Humph! I'm going to fight for my breath. Ah Zhi was determined to support this family, so he walked to the third room, and when he arrived at the door, he heard Li shi crying! "Official! Our family of five is not much, plus Ah Zhi's family of three, these eight people are old and young, and none of them can work. How do you want us to live in the future? "Ah Zhi was very sad when he heard that, and thought to himself," It turns out that they all treat me as a waste, alas! I'm old, so I can't do it! Ah Zhi pushed the door open and came in and said, "Madam, don't be sad, I am only in my early fifties this year, and I am still in good health. I will definitely be able to support this family. My wife can spin yarn, and she will not eat for nothing."

When Li shi heard Ah Zhi's words, she was suddenly stunned. She hurriedly explained to Ah Zhi, "Ah Zhi, don't worry about it, I didn't mean it." Ah Zhi heard it and said, "Madam, we have to think about this matter carefully. You show me the separation book first, and I will know whether the family is divided fairly or not." Ah Zhi read the separation book and couldn't help but cry: "Their hearts are too cruel. These are all dry fields, how can they grow grain? Fortunately, there are mu of paddy fields, which can support the family's livelihood for a year. But this is not the way to go . Ah Zhi thought about it and said," Madam, it is better to rent out all these fields to collect rent. Do you have any other capital? "Li shi asked," What do you want capital for? " Azhi said: "Madam, even if I stay here, I will eat nothing. It is better to go out for a run. Maybe I will make a fortune from doing business.

Li shi had always believed in Ah Zhi, and after listening to Ah Zhi's words, she took out all the jewelry and let him sell it. Ah Zhi took out the things and sold them, and got twelve taels of silver. Ah Zhi rented out all the fields again, and before leaving, he told his wife, "My wife, I went out to do business, and now the third room is our master. Don't do other things, serve the lady during the day, spin at night, and do housework well at home, understand?Chen Shi was also a reasonable person, she said, "Ah Zhi, don't worry! With me at home, there will be no trouble." Then Azhi went to his wife's room to say goodbye, and Li shi said, "Azhi, be careful when you go out, this is all my family's property, you have to be careful!"Yes, ma'am, I will be careful. "After leaving the door, Azhi was at a loss." He didn't know what business to do.

One day, he came to the teahouse and saw many merchants drinking there, and Ah Zhi also found a seat to sit on. At this time, a business person said, "Old Li, how much money did you earn last year?" "Fortunately, you earned a hundred taels, if you go early, you will earn even more!" That old man Jin is really good, he has all the paint on Qingyun Mountain, and everyone has to listen to him. "After listening for a long time, Ah Zhi realized that they were paint sellers. It happened that Ah Zhi lived in Qingyun Mountain when he was a child, and his family used to sell paint. After hearing these words, he decided to go to sell paint. Arriving at Qingyun Mountain, Ah Zhi found Old Man Jin, and the two talked very speculatively. Ah Zhi invited Old Man Jin to drink again, so he used twelve taels of silver to buy paint quickly. Before leaving, Ah Zhi said, "Thank you, old sir. Next time I have the opportunity to come, I will invite you to drink again." When Ah Zhi went down the mountain, those paint merchants were about to come up the mountain. When Ah Zhi first came to Xin'an Jiangkou, he thought: "Hangzhou is relatively close to here, and it will not sell at a good price. When he came to Suzhou, Suzhou happened to be short on paint, and Ah Zhi's paint was sold out at once. He carefully calculated that he just got twelve taels of profit. As soon as he went out, he got this good prize, how could he not be happy?

At this time, the rice harvest in Suzhou happened to be bumper, so the price of rice fell suddenly. Ah Zhi thought to himself: "It happens to be the rainy season in my hometown at this time of year, and the price of rice is high. Why not buy some rice on the way back?" After making this decision, Ah Zhi bought more than 60 tons of rice. When the ship arrived in Hangzhou, there was a shortage of rice in the place, and the rice merchant knew he had rice, so he came to buy it. Because it sold for a good price, Ah Zhi made a lot of money again. Ah Zhi thought to himself: "Probably my Sanniang was lucky, I made so much money as soon as I went out. Since I came to Hangzhou, why don't you ask about the price of paint!" It turned out that the price of paint here was higher than in Suzhou, because everyone thought it was closer than Suzhou, so the price of paint must be cheaper. Who knew that paint here was more expensive than in Suzhou, so Ah Zhi hurried back to Qingyun Mountain. Old Man Jin was very happy to see that Ah Zhi brought a lot of things to him this time. Needless to say, Ah Zhi bought the paint soon, so he shipped the paint to Hangzhou to sell, and made a lot of money again. But on the way back, he passed by Qingyun Mountain and bought paint again. Ah Zhi thought to himself that Sanniang must be in a hurry at this time. Why don't you go back and report a letter to her first, so that she can rest assured. So Ah Zhi paid the deposit first, said that he would get it two days later, and then went home happily.

III. Shishi Bao seller's product

When Ah Zhi went out, the two brothers Xu Zhao got the news and came to the third room to see Li shi. Xu Yan asked, "Brother and wife, I heard that Archie went out to do business?" "I mean brother and wife! You really are, it's better to let us buy the land for you if you have money, why let A Zhi take it out to do business? It's not that you don't know that Ah Zhi has never done business, if you lose all your money, you don't know what to do in the future? Li shi couldn't help but feel a little anxious when he heard what they said. Besides, Ah Zhi has been out for so long, and there is no news at all, how can you not worry! Li shi was sitting in his house that day, when suddenly Chen shi came in hurriedly from outside the door and said," Madam, A Zhi is back! " As soon as he finished speaking, Ah Zhi had already stepped into the door. He first ordered the door to be closed, and then said to Li shi: "Madam, I went out this time, thanks to your blessing, I earned dozens of taels of silver, which is the capital. I bought all the goods with interest, and I have to go out again in two days."

Seeing that he had only gone out for more than a month, Li shi was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to prepare a meal for Ah Zhi. When Ah Zhi came back, no one knew about it, but after he left, Xu Zhao came to provoke him again and said, "Brother-in-law, I heard that Ah Zhi came back?" "How is the business going this time?" "Not bad, he made dozens of taels of silver, he will keep the capital this time when he comes back, and then go out to do business, and come back when he earns enough." "Brother-in-law, did you see the money he made? How do you listen to him, everyone will say lies, it's always good to be careful." Every time they came, they always said a lot of bad things about Ah Zhi. Fortunately, the Li Consortium trusted Ah Zhi very much, so when they came, they all dealt with it coldly. After a long time, they rarely said Ah Zhi when they came.

There was Zhu Yuanwai, the richest man in the area, who had so much money that even if he threw it out every day, he would throw it away for ten days and a half months. Zhu Yuanwai had a son who was born to be lazy and could not do anything, but he could spend money, so the neighbors called him the treasure of the world. When the old member was alive, someone took care of him, and he spent his money in moderation. Once the old member died, the situation was different, because no one took care of him anymore, so the treasure of the world had nothing to do, so he tried to find a way to spend money for fun. After a long time, the money was almost spent, and gradually, the treasure of the world ran out of cash, so he thought of selling the land. Azhi went out for a long time, and every time he went back and forth like this, he had made 2,000 taels of silver back in a blink of an eye. Ah Zhi thought to himself, "Two thousand taels of silver is already quite considerable. Why don't you go home first? Madam will be anxious when she sees that I haven't gone back for a whole year.

The next day, he hired a boat and bought some inconspicuous goods; just like that, he went home, and no one knew that among these inconspicuous goods were all self-made silver. Someone on the dock sent word to Xu Zhao and the others, saying that Ah Zhi had come back with some worthless things, so Xu Zhao and the others did not come to Sanfang. When Ah Zhi returned home, he immediately asked someone to close the door, and after seeing Madam, he handed over the money. Ah Zhi said, "Madam, there is a saying that money is not exposed, if others ask about me, you can say that I just guaranteed the original back." "Isn't this too wronged to you?" "Madam, don't say that." When Ah Zai came back, everyone asked him what he was doing out, and he always laughed but didn't answer. At this time, Xieshibao happened to have a piece of land to sell together with the house. He originally wanted 3,000 taels of silver, but now he was short of preserves, so he only sold it for 1,500 taels. But there were too few rich people to pay for the place in one go, and no one could pay that much to buy it, so the matter was put on hold.

One day, when Ah Zhi went out, he just heard about this matter. He immediately came back and told Li shi, "Madam, Modern World Treasure wants to sell the land, this is an opportunity, we might as well buy the land!" Li shi said, "It's okay to buy the land, but you must find an intermediary to avoid problems in the future." Of course, I think it's better to find Uncle Xu and Second Master Xu. ", Li shi agreed, and came to the Modern World Treasure's house, asking him to bring the title deed and house deed to Xu's house tomorrow. After this was done, Ah Zhi went to invite the uncle and Second Master again. Xu Zhao and the others didn't know what Ah Zhi was doing, but when Ah Zhi asked them, they were too embarrassed not to come. Existing Treasure came to Xu Liang's house, but seeing that Xu Liang's house was dilapidated, he could never have imagined that they would have money to buy his land. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Ah Zhi immediately moved out the money and asked the seller to count it. Ah Zhi's move really startled everyone, except for the Li family, no one expected that he had so much money. Seeing that Existing Treasure had counted enough silver, Ah Zhi asked him to sign the documents before putting away the deed of the land and the house, and then turned to Xian Shibao and said, "Young Master Zhu, we will move in in three days, please clean up in a few days!"

Of course, of course. "At this time, the brothers of Xu Zhao regretted it, they never thought that Ah Zhi had such a great ability and made so much money in just one year. Xu Zhao then asked," Ah Zhi, you really have a way, how did you earn this money? Can you teach me? "

IV. Loyal Servants

Under the command of Ah Zhi, Xu Liang's family soon became the richest man in the place, and Ah Zhi lived until he was ninety years old before he died. Before Ah Zhi was born, not only had he divided the family property, but also married wives to the little masters. On this day, Ah Zhi was sick, and he knew he couldn't do it, and when he was dying, he said to the two little masters: "In the future, if you are independent, don't separate your family. If you must divide, there is a family property here, you can each take a share!" When Ah Zhi died, Xu Zhao and Xu Yan did not come to mourn, because the two of them hated Ah Zhi to the bone. It turned out that they listened to Ah Zhi's words to do business and went to Old Man Jin to buy paint, but not only were they not polite, but they also cared about it. Seeing them like this, Old Man Jin wanted to punish them. Although Xu Zhao and Xu Yan arrived early, they left the market the latest, and by the time they arrived at the market, the price of paint had already dropped, so they lost money. When they came back, they heard Ah Zhi say that the price of rice was good, so they bought rice again. Who knew that the year was reversed, the rice from Suzhou was still shipped from Hangzhou, and the two of them lost a lot of money.

Now that he was dead, Xu Zhao said to Xu Yan, "Big brother, the opportunity has come." The two of them came to Xu Liang's house and said to their nephews, "Ah Zhi is dead, what are you hurting? He has more money than your family, what do you want to worry about? Just ask his son to bury him." "Uncle Ah Zhi has no money." "He has no money, who has money? He lied to your mother and son, and he didn't believe that you went to his room to search, but the two nephews believed it was true, and they did search, but after searching for a long time, they found nothing. Xu Zhao asked them to search in his son's room again, but nothing was found. When your uncle Azhi was alive, my mother had to respect him. It's not that my mother is afraid of him, but he is really amazing. If it weren't for him, would you be able to marry a wife like today?

Hearing this, the two of them could not help but lower their heads. Li Shi said, "Bring your family property book." The two listened and immediately handed over their family property book. Li shi glanced at it and said, "Look, Uncle Azhi wrote exactly the same as mine, he is a loyal person! How can you doubt that?" "Mother, we were wrong!Li Shi said again, "Uncle Azhi has worked too hard for our family, and now that he is dead, what will happen to his family? I am going to divide this property again, you and Uncle Azhi's son each have one, and mother keeps one for retirement. Do you have any objections?" "Mother, we all listen to you." In order to thank Azhi, the Li family specially divided the property into four parts, and Azhi's son also got one part. Azhi was loyal and righteous all his life to have today's longevity, so later people called him "loyal servant".