A pot of dog meat earned Zheng Banqiao
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Zheng Banqiao (1693-1766), formerly known as Zheng Xie, was a native of Xinghua, Jiangsu. Qianlong Jinshi, who served as a county commander in Shandong, had a good official reputation. This person's calligraphy, painting and literary attainments are quite high, and his poetry, calligraphy and painting are known as the "three absolutes". After living in Yangzhou, he made a living selling paintings and became an important representative of the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou".
Zheng Banqiao's paintings and calligraphy, the price of the silver sold is clearly marked: a large six two, a medium four two, a small two two, a couplet of one or two, a fan bucket square five dollars. Regardless of the acquaintances of the customers, cash transactions, no counter-credit. He once wrote a poem Mingzhi, "Painting bamboo is more than buying bamboo money, and the paper is six feet high and costs three thousand." Let your words be handed over, only when the autumn wind passes in your ears. "No one should be too wordy, I have put the ugly words here."
Zheng Banqiao has a rule in selling paintings, that is, he does not deal with high-ranking officials and nobles and rich businessmen with bad conduct. Even if these people were given thousands of dollars, he resolutely refused and did not move his pen and ink. Worthy of being one of the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou", Zheng Banqiao is such a strange person.
Zheng Banqiao has a special hobby and loves to eat dog meat. Often praised by people, dog meat tastes delicious, the mouth is full of fragrant, the taste stops, and it is not tired of eating. Some peddlers and pawns, the villagers, if they cooked dog meat for him to eat, he would exchange courtesies and make small paintings to give to him.
At that time, there was a salt merchant in Yangzhou, who was a lord with a lot of money, but his character was not good. When the new house was built, he wanted to get a few paintings and calligraphy of Zheng Banqiao, he entrusted people to make faces, tried everything he could, but he never got his wish, and he always felt that he was very faceless in front of everyone. After much thought, he finally came up with a ghost idea.
One day, Zheng Banqiao went to the outskirts of the city to play, heard a beautiful piano sound floating in the distance, followed the sound, and entered a bamboo forest. There is a large courtyard in the bamboo forest, hidden in the shade of green trees, the houses are simple and tidy, quiet and elegant, and the flowers and grasses are dotted among them. Inside there was an old man with white hair, sitting on the piano. There is also a boy next to him, who is stewing dog meat in a casserole pot, and the thin fire slowly enters the smell, and the fragrance comes to the nose.
Zheng Banqiao was overjoyed and drooling. He leaned over to the old man and almost said, "Your old man also likes to eat dog meat?" The old man turned back and replied, "The best thing in the world, it seems that you are also a knowledgeable person." It's rare to know the sound, let's taste it together. Unable to ask for it, Zheng Banqiao gladly agreed. The two did not report their names, so they tore their mouths and nibbled and feasted. After a while, a pot of dog meat was wiped out.
My stomach is full, I don't have any money in my pocket, I can't eat and drink, and I have to show something myself. When Zheng Banqiao saw his interior, the four walls were empty, so he asked the old man: "Why don't you hang up a braille painting?" The old man replied, "I have long wanted to decorate it, but I have not seen anything that can enter my eyes." I heard that there is a local named Zheng Banqiao, the writing is good, but the old man has not seen it, I don't know if it is a vain name, or real kung fu. Zheng Banqiao smiled and said: "I am Zheng Banqiao, now I will sacrifice the ugly, write you a few pictures to see, can you?" The old man said, "Good." So he took out a stack of paper, Zheng Banqiao grabbed the pen and dipped it in ink, and the pen took the dragon and snake, and it took a while to finish writing.
The old man even claimed praise, and then said: "My name is so-and-so, can you write it on me?" Zheng Banqiao said: "This is the name of a salt merchant, why do you also call this name?" The old man said, "When the old man gave this name, maybe the salt merchant had not yet been born." What's the harm of the same name, he is him, I am me, the pure one cleans himself, the turbid one is self-turbid, and I can't change my name because of him. "It makes no sense. After writing his name, Zheng Banqiao bid farewell to him.
The next day, the salt merchant hosted a banquet for the guests, and specially asked a good friend of Zheng Banqiao to invite Zheng Banqiao. Zheng Banqiao came to the salt merchant and saw that there were paintings of himself hanging on the four walls of the house. I looked closely again, and it was all painted yesterday. At this time, he suddenly realized that the old man was a childcare hired by a salt merchant, and he had been deceived, but he had no choice. After the remorse, he angrily brushed his sleeves away.
Static braking, waiting for work, cleverly clothing bait, luring fish to the bait; effortlessly, let you throw yourself into the net - it can be described as thoughtful and seamless. Profiteers are profiteers, paying attention to low costs and high returns everywhere. No, even people as smart as Zheng Banqiao also suffered losses and fooled, and a bowl of dog meat played with him.
There is a famous saying in the West, "Greed will blind Xueliang's eyes" and "flies that eat honey will drown in honey pulp". It was really appropriate to put it on Zheng Banqiao. Man cannot be greedy, greedy for money and lust, and gluttony is not enough. "Eat people's mouths soft, take people's hands short", The old Chinese saying is not vulgar.
The ancients have long reminded people to pay attention to this problem. In the Tang Dynasty Pi Rixiu's "Kou Zhen", there is a saying, "There is no love of wine, wine can chaos the country; no love of taste, taste can defeat morality." "It does not seem alarmist to raise gluttony and drinking to the point of chaos and morality.
Man, man, take care of your mouth. Not only should we think twice about what we say, but we must also be careful when eating, choose a seat, choose someone to eat, and never fall into the trap of others, so that the dumb eat huang lian, and there is suffering that cannot be said.
(Early morning of February 8, 2021)