It is said that in ancient times, there were two people in Anhui, one named Zhang Cai and the other named Li Li, and these two people brought some money and planned to do some business in Suzhou City. After coming to Suzhou, the two did make some money. As the saying goes, "full of warmth and lust", these two people are not exempt from vulgarity, after having money, the two of them found a beautiful woman and began to splurge.
One night, the four of them sat together, and after drinking and eating, one of the women said: "Since ancient times, whether it is an old bustard or a woman in the Qinglou, they are people who see money and open their eyes, and when they have money, they treat you as a guest, and when they have no money, they block you outside the door." My sisters and I have been with you for a long time, and it is very sad to see you gradually become shy. What exactly did you leave your homeland for? Is it for pleasure? ”
Zhang Cai and Li Li listened to the woman's words, and immediately bowed their heads in shame, and did not speak for half a day. The woman's words were not unreasonable, but in the face of the two beautiful people like flowers, the two could not make up their minds, although they had some restraint, but when the old bustard asked for something, the two would definitely try to satisfy.
Not long after, the two ran out of money, at this time, the old bustard immediately changed his face and issued an eviction order for them. Seeing this tragic picture of them, the woman sighed and said, "What? You did not heed our advice and insisted on going your own way, and you are also to blame for this fate. It was really a helpless move for me to wait for the misfortune to fall to such a point, and it was not the two of us who were willing to live like this. You are not the same, you still have wives and children, get out of here quickly. ”
The woman knew of their plight, so the two of them gave them fifty taels of silver each, and asked them to make a comeback. The two took the heavy silver, both ashamed and regretful, and reluctantly left the Qinglou.
At this time, it was late autumn, and after the two left the Qinglou, they found a place to drink. As the saying goes, "borrowing wine to pour sorrow is more sorrowful", under the panic, the two of you have a cup of my cup, and unconsciously they have drunk too much. Soon, the two staggered back to their quarters.
After returning to the residence, Li Li's wine was almost awake, and suddenly, he remembered the fifty taels of silver that the woman had given her, and quickly touched it to his waist, but it was empty. He quickly woke Up Zhang Cai, and the two of them then went to the place where they were drinking, but they had already been picked up.
The two had no choice but to return to their residence, the owner of the shop is also a person who observes the color, these days, he gradually found that the two are no longer as generous as before, and he already knows in his heart that they have encountered a financial crisis. Before the two of them could enter the door, the shop owner stopped them outside the door and said, "Two big brothers, your time here is not short, is it time to settle the store money?" ”
Li Li quickly accompanied the smiling face and said: "This big brother, we have encountered some difficulties in the past few days, and we have just lost some money, can we be lenient for a few days?" I'll settle it for you in three days. ”
The shopkeeper snorted, squinted at them, and said, "How many days of grace?" You think I'm doing charity! You have to settle the bill today, or you won't want to stay another day. ”
The two had to ask the shop owner in a low voice, but the shop owner was not moved, and in desperation, the two had to take off their clothes and add the two people's salute to barely make up enough money for the store.
At this time, the two were penniless except for wearing a thin dress, and in this way, the two became beggars in the blink of an eye from a rich man who spent money and did not fight. During the day, the two beg along the street, and at night they spend the night at the ancient temple.
At dusk on this day, the two of them packed up some dead branches and built a fire to avoid the cold, thinking of their own tragic situation, both of them bowed their heads and did not speak. At this time, Zhang Cai felt as if something had been hanging around his waist, so he casually touched his waist. Soon after, I found a penny from my waist.
Looking at this money, Zhang Cai sighed and said, "So much money has been squandered, what can you do with this money?" After saying that, he casually threw the money on the ground. After Li Li saw Zhang Cai's move, he also sighed.
After a while, Li Li suddenly picked up the money, said with a smile in his mouth: "It seems that there is no way out of heaven, maybe this money is a hint from heaven to us, brother, I have a way." ”
Zhang Cai saw that Li Li's appearance was very strange, so he asked, "Do you want money crazy?" What can this money do? In the face of Zhang Cai's disdain, Li Li did not answer, but smiled at him and turned away.
Soon after, Li Li returned, only to see him holding bamboo chips, grass roots, rotten paper, chicken feathers and other miscellaneous items in his hand, after seeing these things that Li Li took, Zhang Cai asked: "What are you doing with these things?" ”
Li Li still did not speak, but took out the flour and mixed it into a paste with water, and by the light of the fire, he used the paste to glue these things together, and in a few moments, the rags became a delicate "bird map".
Zhang Cai asked doubtfully, "We are both called Hanako, and you are still in the mood to make this thing." Li Li still laughed. Although Zhang Cai didn't know what Li Li was going to do, he still helped with doubts. By the time dawn came, more than two hundred "hundred bird diagrams" would be ready.
Li Li divided these "Hundred Bird Diagrams" into two halves and came to the Xuanmiao Temple with Zhang Cai. At that time, a temple fair was being held in the Xuanmiao Temple, and there were many people, especially women and children among the people who rushed to the temple fair.
After seeing the "Hundred Birds Chart", the women and children all felt strange, they stopped and looked up, and then some people bought it one after another, twenty yuan a body, and before noon, more than two hundred "Hundred Bird Charts" had been robbed, and the two happily counted, about four or five thousand yuan sold.
At this time, Zhang Cai was impressed by Li Li's thoughts and said to himself, "What can a piece of money do?" Bamboo chips, grass roots, rotten paper, chicken feathers are all picked up, and buying some flour with a penny can also become a big thing. Listening to Zhang Cai's words, the two laughed at each other.
In the following days, the two continued their "penny" business, and after having savings, the two improved on the basis of the original "Hundred Birds Chart" and added various colors of paper, and the "Hundred Birds Chart" at this time looked more exquisite.
The two of them sold it during the day at night and saved a lot of money in two years. Subsequently, the two opened a cloth shop in Suzhou City, and the cloth shop invited someone to write three big characters of "one piece of money" at the door, which means not to forget the original.
Later, the two paid separately to redeem the two Qinglou women who had helped them. The story of the two of them who made a fortune with nothing was also quickly spread in the local area, and the profound righteousness of the two women was also praised.