I will argue with you about how much each
person receives. (爭多競少)
During the late Ming dynasty in China, a
famous writer named Feng Menglong wrote a collection of short stories.
One of these stories is about a loyal old
servant named Aji. The story is set in the mid-Ming Dynasty, a peaceful era of
national strength.
Aji lived in a small village in Zhejiang
Province and was over fifty years old.
He had worked as a servant for a family
named Xu all his life. Every day, he rose early and went to bed late,
diligently helping the Xu family cultivate the land.
The Xu family had three sons, named from
eldest to youngest: Xu Yan, Xu Zhao and Xu Zhe. Xu Yan had the final say in all
matters, big and small. The three brothers formed three separate households and
lived together, sharing their property.
One day, the youngest brother, Xu Zhe,
suddenly contracted typhoid fever and died within seven days. Following his
death, Xu Yan and Xu Zhao believed that his wife and children would be a
financial burden in the future, so they decided to get rid of them as soon as
possible.
Without informing Xu Zhe's wife, Xu Yan and
Xu Zhao divided their shared property into three equal parts, intending for
each family to receive one share.
They invited several respected elders from
the village to their home. After the elders arrived, they summoned Xu Zhe's
widow, son and daughter to the main hall.
Xu Yan publicly announced that they would
divide the property equally among the three families, who would then be
financially independent of each other.
Xu Zhe's wife's surname was Yan, and she
will be referred to as Ms Yan in the following story.
Ms Yan was shocked upon hearing Xu Yan's
words. She said to Xu Yan, "
I have five children: three girls and two
boys. They are all very young: one boy is seven and the other is five. I am
responsible for caring for all five children by myself and I have no stable
income.
If these three families' assets are divided
up and all economic activities and family interactions are separated, my
children and I will only be able to support ourselves for about two years.
After three years, we will face financial difficulties.
As she said this, Ms Yan's emotions shifted
from shock to fear and she burst into tears.
She continued speaking to Xu Yan and Xu
Zhao, tears streaming down her face.
'I am a widow. My son and daughter are very
young and do not work. I must care for them full-time. I implore you not to
implement your decision. If you really want to divide the assets, could you
wait until my two sons are of age before doing so?
Any expenses incurred by our family in the
next few years should be deducted from the assets that rightfully belong to us.
"If you are willing to wait until my
children are adults before dividing the inheritance, I promise you, I will not
argue with you about how much each person receives. "
Xu Yan replied after listening to Ms Yan.
'We have already made our decision and will
not change it. We understand that your children are still young and unable to
care for or manage the cattle and horses, so we will keep them for ourselves
and give you Aji, the most valuable one.
Aji is only in his fifties and still has
excellent physical strength. He and his wife have both served in our household
for a long time, so you don't need to worry. We believe that, once the
inheritance has been divided, they will be of great help to you.'
Seeing Xu Yan and Xu Zhao's resolute
attitude, Ms Yan became increasingly uneasy. She didn't know how to handle the
situation or how to persuade them. She could only weep incessantly.
This idiom translates as "I will argue
with you about how much each person receives. "
It can also be used to describe someone who
is very calculating, always seeking to outdo others because they feel they
haven't received enough.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did you gain from this story?
Do you know anyone who values money so
highly? Have you ever been in a conflict with someone because you felt you were
being taken advantage of?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
爭多競少(I will argue with you about how much
each person receives.)
中國的明王朝末年，有一個著名的文學家，他的名字叫做(馮夢龍)，他寫過一本短篇小說集。
他的這本小說集中有一個有關於一個忠誠的老僕人的故事，這個老僕人的名字叫做(阿寄)，馮夢龍說的這個故事發生在明王朝的中葉，那是一個國力強盛的和平時代。
(阿寄)住在浙江省的一個小村莊內，他的年紀已經50幾歲了。
他在一戶性徐的家庭擔任一個終身雇傭的僕人，他每天都早起然後很晚睡，他很勤勞地幫忙徐家耕作農地。
徐家有三個兄弟，這三個兄弟的名字從大到小分別是(徐言)、(徐召)和(徐哲)。(徐言)掌握了家中所有的大事與小事的決定權，他們三個兄弟所組成的三個家庭住在一起，他們家中的財產共有共享。
有一天，三兄弟中的老么徐哲忽然患上了傷寒，徐哲生病後經過短短七天就病逝了。徐哲病逝後，徐言與徐召兩個人都認為徐哲的妻子與兒女對自己的未來會造成極大的經濟負擔，所以他們要盡快擺脫徐哲的妻子與兒女。
在沒有告知徐哲的妻子的情況下，徐言與徐召兩個人商議好要把他們現在共有的財產平分成為三等份然後每個家庭各自拿一份。
徐言與徐召倆個人邀請了住在村莊中的有名望的幾位長者來到他家，等這些長者都來到他家之後，他們倆個人就叫徐哲的遺孀和兒子與女兒也一起到大廳中。
徐言公開宣公開宣布我們要把我們的財產分拆成三等份，之後每個家庭的經濟獨立且毫無相關。
徐哲的妻子姓顏，接下來的故事中，我們稱呼她為顏女士。
顏女士聽到徐言的話後，她感到非常的震驚，她對徐言說。
我有五個孩子，這五個小孩中有三個女孩子的兩個男孩子。這五個孩子的年紀都非常小，男生一個七歲另外一個才五歲，我一個人要照顧這五個小孩，我沒有固定的收入來源。
假如這三個家庭的財產分開，所有的經濟活動與家庭交往也分開後，我與我的孩子們頂多只能支撐兩年左右，在三年後我與我的孩子們後就會陷入經濟的困境。
在說這些話的同時，顏女士的感受從震驚轉變成惶恐，她當場流下了眼淚。
顏女士邊流眼淚邊繼續對徐言與徐召說。
我是一個寡婦，我的兒子和女的年紀都很小，他們沒有去工作，我必須全職照顧他們。我懇請你們不要落實你們這個決定，如果你們真的要分拆財產，那麼你們可以等到我的兩個男孩成年之後再分拆家產好嗎?
接下來這幾年中，我們這一個家庭有些支出，你們就從原本應該屬於我們的家產中扣除。
如果你們願意等到我的小孩成年後再分拆家產，我承諾你們，我到時候不會因為得到的東西少或多而與你們發生競爭與爭吵。
徐言聽完顏女士的話後他回答。
我們已經決定了，我們不會更改我們的決定。我們體諒你的小孩年紀還小，妳的小孩還無法照顧與駕馭牛與馬，所以我們把牛與馬分配給我們自己，我們把最有價值的(阿寄)分配給妳。
阿寄的年紀才50幾歲，他的體力仍然非常好，他與他的妻子兩個人都長期在我們家擔任僕役，妳不用擔心，我們認為在我們分拆家產後，我們認為他們夫妻對妳會有很大的幫助。
顏女士看到徐言與徐召的態度很堅決，她的心中愈來愈不安，她不知道該如何處理這個情況，她也不知道如何說幅徐言與徐召，她只能不停地哭泣。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是因為得到的東西少或多而發生競爭與爭吵。這句成語也可以被用來形容一個人非常的愛計較，這個人會因為覺得自己得到的東西太少而與他人產生衝突與競爭。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你是否認識這種很重視金錢的人呢?你是否曾經因為覺得自己吃虧了，所以與他人發生衝突呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為馮夢龍-醒世恆言-卷35-徐老僕義憤成家
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