Thick and Black in Chinese History

Author: Pan Huisheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Six good men must eat immediate losses. As the saying goes, "Good men do not eat immediate losses." But in real life, sometimes eating a small loss can lead to great gains, so it's better to change this saying to "Good men must eat immediate losses." The Chinese have always advocated "patience is the best virtue" and "" (suffering a loss is a blessing), which is a mystical philosophy of dealing with life. As the saying goes, "Those who understand the times are the clever ones." The clever ones do not refer solely to those who ride through the world like entering an empty place, charging forward without being impeded by anything, but should also include those who can bend and stretch with the times in their way of dealing with life.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was an old man named You in Suzhou City who ran a pawn shop. On the eve of a festival, You was checking the accounts in the back room when he suddenly heard a quarrel outside the counter. He quickly came out. It turned out that an impoverished neighbor, Old Zhao, was arguing with an apprentice. You had always adhered to the principle of "harmony brings wealth," first scolding the apprentice and then making amends to Old Zhao with gentle words. But Old Zhao's stern face showed no sign of softening. He leaned against a counter nearby and said nothing. The apprentice, who had been scolded, whispered to the boss, "Sir, this Old Zhao is unreasonable. He pawned some farm clothes a while ago, and now he says he wants to wear them for the New Year's celebration. He insists on taking them back but refuses to pay the pawn money. I just tried to explain, and he started shouting at me. This is not my fault."
You nodded and sent the apprentice to attend to other business, then went over and invited Old Zhao to sit at the table. With a sincere tone, he said, "Elder, I understand your intentions. It's the New Year, and you naturally want to wear some decent farm clothes. This is a small matter. We are all familiar with each other, and anything can be negotiated. Why make a scene with the apprentice? Just calm down, please."
Before Old Zhao could even speak in his defense, You immediately ordered another apprentice to check the accounts and find four or five winter clothes among the items Old Zhao had pawned. Then, pointing to the clothes, You said, "This cotton robe is essential for you in winter. This overcoat will be useful for New Year's greetings. These three cotton clothes are also needed for the children. Take these first. The rest are not urgent and can be kept here."
Old Zhao seemed completely ungrateful. He picked up the clothes without even saying a word and hurriedly left. You paid him no mind, still smiling and bowing as he saw him out the door. Unbeknownst to him, that very night, Old Zhao died in the home of another shopkeeper on the street.
Old Zhao's relatives seized the opportunity to accuse the shopkeeper of forcing Old Zhao to his death and took them to court for several years. The shopkeeper was exhausted and spent a large sum of money to settle the matter.
The truth soon came to light. It turned out that Old Zhao, burdened by debt, had pawned all his assets and had no way out. He had taken poison in advance and came to You's pawn shop to cause trouble, hoping to extort money with his death. To his surprise, You endured his patience and did not the obvious loss, refusing to engage in a conflict. Old Zhao realized that trying to take advantage of such a forgiving person would even condemn him to hell in the afterlife, so he quickly left and chose another pawn shop before the poison took effect.
After the incident, someone asked You how he had predicted that Old Zhao would resort to blackmail with his death.