The merchant's umbrella was stolen and the thief returned it
In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, internal and external troubles caused chaos in the world. The Ming Empire faced not only the threat of minority armies, but also the challenge of internal peasant uprisings. Smoke erupted all over the country, Emperor Chongzhen was restless, and his capable soldiers were killed by him.
In the case of internal and external difficulties, the wealthy merchants in the capital naturally became a thorn in the side of the thieves. However, there was a wealthy merchant in the Ming Dynasty who did not sit still. He sold his fortune into large sums of silver bills, which he hid in an oil-paper umbrella.
Unfortunately, his umbrella was stolen. But he didn't make a statement, but used a clever method to get the thief to obediently return the umbrella. So, what kind of trick did he use?
Why didn't the thieves find the silver ticket in the umbrella? Today, let's take a look at the story of this smart and wealthy businessman.
1.In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the society was in turmoil, and the Ming Dynasty was crumbling, which was directly related to the mismanagement of Emperor Chongzhen. Why is this tragedy happening?
The main reason for this was the serious problem of corruption within the Ming army. At that time, the Ming Dynasty army implemented the guard system on military land, but some generals used this system to divide military land on a large scale, so that soldiers often could not get enough food harvest, meager income, life was poor, and their physical condition was also very bad, and they did not have enough strength to fight.
There are even some powerful soldiers who are dissatisfied with the army and are unwilling to contribute to the country, but they cannot escape the bondage of the army, because once they escape, they will be regarded as deserters and face the danger of being executed.
The Ming Dynasty faced both internal and external pressures. Externally, it is impossible to accept people who want to join the army, most people have no relationship and no ability, and wanting to serve the country has become empty talk.
Internally, natural disasters such as long-term droughts and floods have led to improper disaster relief policies and an empty treasury that cannot effectively support the people. The peasants, seeing the inaction, chose to revolt.
Among them, the uprisings of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are the most famous. They are playing tricks with the Ming army, ostensibly attacking with heavy fists, but in fact they are all acting, the purpose is to deceive the Ming army, the longer the encirclement and suppression operation lasts, the greater the cost of the army, and gradually make the Ming ** financial difficulties.
The bandits originally said they wanted peace, but soon began to rebel again. Ming ** was very happy about this, thinking that he could reduce the expenses, but the rebellion of the bandits lasted for two or three months.
At this time, the Ming army was fighting the Jin people with all its might, and did not pay much attention to the rebellion of the bandits. In order to increase the number of troops, the imperial court sent all trained soldiers into battle, but these recruits had no combat experience.
In the end, the Ming army, which was besieged internally and externally, was defeated by the Jin people and entered the capital. Emperor Chongzhen felt embarrassed and finally chose to commit suicide. After the Jin people entered the capital, they looted the shops along the way, and both rich and poor were arrested and forced to hand over their money.
The people of the city are living in dire straits.
The richest merchant in the capital forced him to reveal the most valuable treasures in his home with harsh flogging. Some of these wealthy businessmen were beaten to the ground. The richest merchant in the capital was a man selling umbrellas.
Due to the huge demand for umbrellas at that time, his business was booming and he made a lot of money. The success of this businessman is not accidental, he learned the trade from an early age, and while working part-time, he was exposed to new things and gradually broadened his horizons.
Later, he worked as a maintenance worker and pawnshop man, amassed a raw fortune, and eventually opened a shop selling umbrellas.
He operates with integrity, and his hand-woven umbrellas are exquisite and durable, and are deeply loved by everyone, so a gold-lettered signboard has spread in the capital. He personally repaired the umbrella production, kept improving, maintained high-quality craftsmanship, and even if his wealth increased, he did not forget his original intention, and still made umbrellas steadfastly.
Later, when Jin Ren entered the city, the shops around him suffered setbacks, and many traders lost money, but he was able to survive the difficulties because of his insistence on quality and integrity.
Faced with the threat of thieves, the merchant knows that his power is too limited to compete with them. He decided to save himself and his property and wait for the war to end before starting over. He is convinced that "if you stay in the green mountains, you are not afraid of running out of firewood".
While looking for a way to transfer his property, he saw a dilapidated umbrella in front of his house and had a whim. He knew that the handle could be taken apart, so he decided to use it to protect his property.
He found the largest pawnshop in the capital and sold his property for silver tickets. The silver ticket is equivalent to the current passbook, as long as there is a silver ticket, you can exchange money at pawnshops across the country, which is very convenient and efficient.
This businessman, skillfully using the special structure of the umbrella, managed to transfer his property and protect his wealth. He firmly believes that as long as he has wisdom and courage, he will be able to overcome difficulties and achieve his goals.
He hid the silver ticket, stuffed it in his shoes and part of it in the handle of the umbrella, and created a big world with a broken umbrella. He removed the solid handle, hollowed out its interior, and then stuffed the silver ticket into it and sealed it with oil wax to protect it from water and moisture.
He took an umbrella with several holes in it, filled with dry food, and went out to begin his wandering journey. He thinks that food on the road may be limited, and that bringing dry food may save his life.
However, these dry foods caused him more trouble. How can a poor man have so much dry food? Along the way, he meets all sorts of refugees.
When he began to enjoy his dry food, the refugees were attracted to him, and they watched the rich merchant eat, and finally they couldn't help but snatch his dry food.
Originally wealthy businessmen hid from refugees and ignored the power of poverty. While enjoying his food, the refugees swept away all his dry food and gold and silver treasures, making him a beggar and living a difficult life.
Although the refugees looked down on his dilapidated umbrella as worthless, it was this umbrella that became an important asset for the merchants. He dressed up as a beggar and no one dared to approach him, thus successfully disguising himself.
During this difficult refugee life, he deeply felt the hardships of the lives of the people at the bottom, who often have no savings to make ends meet during natural and man-made disasters. Although the businessman has some funds and connections, his own personal experience has given him a deeper understanding of life, and also laid the foundation for his future business glory.
After a long journey of eating and sleeping in the open, he finally returned to his hometown. He found a teahouse to rest temporarily, and the hard work along the way made him physically and mentally exhausted. He used his only savings to drink a few cups of tea in the teahouse, and rented a grass room for a good night's sleep.
After a few months of travel, he experienced first-hand the suffering of the world, but his heart was still full of anticipation for the future. He was thinking, should it be safer in this small room in the teahouse?
The people here should live a relatively stable life, and there shouldn't be any robbery, right? ”
He may have trusted the security of his hometown too much, so he put the broken umbrella in the corner at random, but he didn't expect someone to steal a broken umbrella. When he woke up and found that the umbrella was gone, he was both surprised and angry.
However, he did not panic because of this, but decided to solve the problem with ingenuity. He began to search the streets for clues, hoping to find the person who stole the umbrella.
He asked all the people around him and went to some shops to look for clues, but found nothing. However, a shop that says "trade-in" gives him new hope.
He decided to open an umbrella repair shop and launched a trade-in campaign to attract more customers. He took out the silver ticket hidden in the sole of his shoe, exchanged it for some money, and started his new business.
With his umbrella repair skills, his umbrella repair shop quickly attracted a large number of customers. Instead of wasting time, he responded to the needs of his customers as quickly as possible, providing them with services free of charge.
His ingenuity and hard work eventually helped him successfully recover the stolen umbrella and also start his own business.
At first, he was not trusted by everyone. However, once someone walked into his shop with an old umbrella and walked out with a new one shortly after, people began to believe in his abilities.
Soon, his shop became bustling and business seemed to be booming. However, in reality he was losing money every day, but he persevered in order to recover the stolen silver ticket.
Finally, one day, a man dressed in shabby clothes came to his shop with a broken umbrella to change it. He recognized the umbrella at a glance, so he quickly changed the umbrella for the other party.
After getting the umbrella, he sneaked to the back room to check his silver ticket, and sure enough, there was not a single one, apparently he didn't find out about the existence of the silver ticket at all. In this way, the wealthy merchant did not go out on the streets to search for his silver ticket, nor did he issue a revelation or announcement, and thus recovered his silver ticket.
He chose to forgive the thief because he understood that the world was difficult. Although the money was not lost, he knew that in times like these, tolerance was more important than accountability. He closed his umbrella repair shop and returned to his hometown to wait for the war to end.
His family was surprised by his sudden return home, and he slowly recounted the experience, which touched them deeply. This story tells us that in troubled times, we need to observe the surrounding environment, make judgments based on our own situation, how to protect ourselves, how to protect property, what to give up, what to keep, and weigh the pros and cons is the key to survival.
We also need to pay close attention to the people and things around us in life, whether it is interpersonal communication, work or study, combine our actual situation, conduct in-depth thinking and analysis of different things, and choose the most suitable plan for ourselves, so as to make life more comfortable and enjoyable.
So what do you think of the behavior of this wealthy businessman? In a volatile environment, should we prioritize protecting ourselves, or should we choose to protect our wealth?
In your life experience, what do you do to deal with similar situations? We look forward to your sharing and discussion.