In the hinterland of southern Sichuan, Liu Wencai, known as the "King of Southern Sichuan", ruled the first city of the Yangtze River in the twenties, which is today's Yibin City. At that time, he was like a tiger dominating one side, and he won the stammering and fawning favor of local tyrants and inferior gentry. On the occasion of his fiftieth birthday, these local tyrants and inferior gentry organized an extremely luxurious banquet of 100 fish for him to show their respect and submission to him.
However, just when the laughter and laughter of the birthday banquet had not completely dissipated, Liu Wencai suddenly received a letter from his fourth brother. The letter said that they had originally planned to come to celebrate their birthday, but they were unable to attend the appointment as scheduled due to their busy military schedule. But they planned to arrive on time at the end of the month, and in addition to bringing arms, rations, and salaries, they would also taste the delicious feast of 100 fish again.
This news made Liu Wencai feel like pins and needles. He knew the majesty and power of his fourth brother Liu Wenhui, and he understood the importance of this family banquet. So, he began to look around for a way to win by surprise, wanting to prepare a more shocking birthday banquet for the fourth brother.
At this moment, his confidant housekeeper Liu Lao Er made a suggestion: "Fifth Master, although the previous Hundred Fish Banquet was grand, this time it was a family banquet, and the status of the guests was extremely noble. In my opinion, we might as well hold a hundred monkey feast, how about it? ”
Liu Wencai's eyes lit up, and he knew that this suggestion was very weighty. Monkey meat was very rare at that time, and the cooking skills were also extremely rare, and many wealthy people, wealthy merchants, and dignitaries had never tasted it. Although he himself lived to be fifty years old, he had only eaten monkey meat once at a lavish feast. And his fourth brother, Liu Wenhui, although he has eaten three times in his career, he has never forgotten it.
So, Liu Wencai decided to hold a hundred monkey banquet! He immediately wrote an official letter to the head of Fengyi Township, Tao Township, limiting him to catch 100 live monkeys within two decades. After receiving the notice, although the head of Tao Township was surprised and confused, he also knew that this was a great opportunity to tie up with his boss. Therefore, he immediately ordered someone to post a notice to catch the monkey, hoping to complete the task as soon as possible.
However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected. Although the notice was posted for several days, no one was willing to unveil the call. It turned out that the villagers knew that the purpose of catching monkeys was to dedicate themselves to Liu Wencai, and they were unwilling to do such things that harmed others and benefited themselves. Although there are many ancient trees and many monkeys in Guiltou Mountain, it is not easy to catch 100 monkeys.
Just when Tao Township was in a hurry, an old man named Guo Erye appeared. He knows the sound of monkeys, understands monkey language, can sing monkey songs, and has the ancestral skills of catching monkeys and trapping monkeys. But he always refused to serve the head of Tao Township on the grounds that his condition was serious. In desperation, Township Chief Tao had no choice but to come up with a bad idea - to force each household in the township to pay two silver dollars and go to the nearby Jijiao Mountain to buy monkeys.
This decision immediately caused an uproar throughout the town. The villagers complained and complained for a long time, and they expressed their unwillingness to pay this unjust money. And Guo Erye saw the villagers suffering, and he couldn't bear it. So, he resolutely decided to come forward and help the villagers get out of their predicament.
He found the head of Tao Township and said that as long as the villagers' "monkey donation" was canceled, he was willing to go up the mountain to catch monkeys with illness. The head of Tao Township couldn't ask for it, so he immediately made a letter and painting with him as evidence.
The next day, Guo Erye and his two nephews traveled lightly up the mountain. After going through hardships and sleeping in the open, they finally found the trail of the monkeys. After some clever trapping, they succeeded in introducing a group of monkeys into the wooden cage.
When Chief Tao saw a cage full of monkeys, he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He immediately sent someone to send the monkey to Liu Wencai's house. When Liu Wencai saw these lively monkeys, he was very satisfied. He knew that this Hundred Monkey Banquet would definitely surprise and satisfy the fourth brother.
So, under Liu Wencai's careful preparation, a grand hundred monkey banquet was held as scheduled. At the banquet, the monkey meat was fragrant and delicious, so that all the guests were feasted and praised. And Liu Wencai also shined in front of the fourth brother and won his praise and respect.
This hundred monkey banquet not only made Liu Wencai's family banquet a good story at that time, but also made Guo Erye's reputation spread throughout southern Sichuan. He used his wisdom and courage to help the villagers get out of the predicament, and also won the admiration and respect of countless people for himself.