There lived a rich man named Guo in the State of Qi and a poor man named Xiang in the State of Song. The poor man came to the State of Qi to visit the rich man, and asked him about the way to get rich. The rich man in the State of Qi told him: "I was also very poor before, but now I am quite well-off. The only reason is that I can steal and rob. But it is very painstaking. By stealing and robbing, I could make a living in the first year, and in the second year I had more than enough to eat and wear. In the third year, my family's storehouse was truly filled with grain and millet." The man of Song only heard him talk profusely about stealing and robbing, but did not find out clearly how to steal and rob. The minute he returned home, he got dizzy with imagined success and started to steal and rob. As soon as it was dark, he climbed over the wall of the family on the east, and dug a hole in the wall of the family on the west. He stole whatever he saw. After some time, his family actually began getting rich. But just when he was immensely proud of himself, the bailiffs from the yamen (government office) came and arrested him. He was declared guilty and put in prison. All the things he had stolen and robbed, together with his own old and worn-out stuff, were confiscated. As soon as the thief was released upon completion of his prison term, he went to Guo's home in the State of Qi to blame him. The rich man asked him in haste: "How are you doing?" |