A branch growing out of the trunk.(節外生枝)
During the late Ming dynasty in China,
there was a famous writer named Feng Menglong who compiled a collection of
short stories.
One of these stories is about a loyal old
servant named Aji, who worked for a woman named Ms Yan.
Through his intelligence and prudence, Aji
changed the fate of Ms Yan and their two families, transforming them from
modestly well-off to extremely wealthy.
The story, written by Feng Menglong, is set
in the mid-Ming Dynasty, a peaceful era of national strength.
Aji lived in a small village in Zhejiang
Province. He was over fifty years old and had worked for the Xu family for many
years. Ms Yan's husband was Xu Zhe, who had two older brothers, Xu Yan and Xu
Zhao.
Xu Zhe died of illness before reaching the
age of 30. Following his death, his two elder brothers demanded the division of
the family property. The terms of the property division document, which was
drafted by Xu Yan and Xu Zhao, were unfair to Ms Yan. They allocated the oxen
and horses that could be used for ploughing and transportation to themselves
and gave Ms Yan the elderly Aji.
With Ms Yan's support, Aji used the 12
taels of silver she provided as start-up capital to start a business.
She was a very resourceful person and, after
about six months, had earned over 2,000 taels of silver.
Aji and Ms Yan agreed how to use this
money: they would buy some arable farmland with it.
In the village where Ms Yan and Aji lived,
the wealthiest man was Yan Shibao.
Yan Shibao never worked. He spent a great
deal of money on his pleasures every day. In order to maintain his lavish
lifestyle, he decided to sell some of his assets.
Upon hearing the news, Aji and Ms Yan
discussed it and decided to offer 1,500 taels of silver for 1,000 mu of land
and a house.
On the day that Aji and Ms Yan signed the
sales contract with Yan Shibao, they invited Xu Yan and Xu Zhao to witness the
transaction.
Once Yan Shibao had arrived and taken his
seat, Aji stood up and addressed everyone:
'Now that both parties are here, let's
begin the signing ceremony immediately.'
He paused, then continued, addressing Yan
Shibao:
'We negotiated the price yesterday through
a real estate agent, and the outcome is clear: you want to sell 1,000 mu of land
and a house, and we will pay you 1,500 taels of silver. Do you agree to this
price? If you have any other ideas now, like a branch growing from the trunk of
a tree, please raise them immediately.
If not, then we will proceed with the
signing ceremony.'
Yan Shibao answered loudly.
'No problem. I agree to this negotiated
price. I'm a man of my word and always keep my promises.'
A-Ji replied with a smile.
'Then let's begin the signing. First, we'll
sign the sales contract, then we'll count the silver to be traded.'
A-Ji was a very capable man. He took out
some prepared paper and writing supplies and handed them to Yan Shibao. Yan
Shibao wrote out the sales contract himself and signed it. He then gave the
contract to Xu Yan and Xu Zhao to witness.
After reading the contract, Xu Yan and Xu
Zhao looked at each other in surprise. They both had the same question: What
kind of business had A-Ji done? How had A-Ji earned so much silver in just a
few months? Had A-Ji become a robber? Or had they unearthed a treasure left
behind by their ancestors?
As Xu Yan and Xu Zhao were filled with
questions and unable to find answers, the first half of the signing ceremony
came to an end.
Xu Yan and Xu Zhao watched as Aji and his
wife carried several chests of silver out of Madam Yan's room. After taking the
silver out of the chests, Aji and his wife used a notarised weight to weigh it.
About half an hour later, the silver had been fully counted, and Yan Shibao
held the 1,500 taels with a broad smile.
Aji then said to Yan Shibao,
'To celebrate the smooth progress of our
land transaction, I have prepared a lavish banquet for everyone involved. Let's
all drink, eat and celebrate the successful completion of this transaction
together.'
Yan Shibao laughed heartily upon hearing
this and said,
'Your arrangements are wonderful! Let's
drink, eat and be merry together.'
After the banquet, it was late at night.
Yan Shibao said to Madam Yan and Aji, 'Doing business with you was a pleasure.
We'll meet again sometime.' Then Yan Shibao left Madam Yan's house with the
silver, his servants and the land broker.
The idiom literally translates as 'a branch
growing out of the trunk'.
It is often used to describe situations
where things don't go as expected and new changes occur.
It is used to describe a situation where
something takes an unexpected and complex turn.
Dear friend, what insights or thoughts did you gain from this story?
Have you ever encountered a situation where things developed beyond your expectations? Do you consider the best and worst possible outcomes before doing something?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
節外生枝(A branch growing out of the trunk.)
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)，他的女主人是顏女士。
(阿寄)經由自己的聰明與謹慎而改變了顏女士與自己的兩個家庭的命運，他透過他的智慧與運氣讓顏女士的家庭從小康變成大富戶。
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，他長期在徐家工作。顏女士的先生的名字叫做(徐哲)，徐哲有兩個哥哥，這兩個哥哥的名字是(徐言)與(徐召)。
徐哲因為生病所以不到30歲就病逝，徐哲病逝後，徐哲的兩個哥哥提出了分拆家族財產的要求，徐言與徐召擬定的這份拆分財產的文件中的條件對顏女士並不公平，他們把可以幫忙耕地與運輸的牛與馬分配給自己，他們把年紀老邁的阿寄分配給顏女士。
在顏女士的支持之下，阿寄拿著顏女士所提供的12兩銀子作為創業資金去做生意。
阿寄是一個很會動腦筋的人，經過大約半年後，他賺到了超過2000兩的銀子。
阿寄與顏女士兩個人針對這筆錢的使用方式取得了一個共識，他們決定要把這些錢拿來買一些可以耕種的農地。
顏女士與阿寄所住的村莊中，最有錢的那個財主叫做(晏世保)。
晏世保從不工作，晏世保每天要花非常多的錢在他的享樂上，他為了維持自己的糜爛的生活所以決定要出售一部份的資產。
阿寄與顏女士聽到這個消息就進行討論，他們決定要拿出1500兩的銀子去跟晏世保購買一千畝土地與一間房屋。
阿寄與顏女士和晏世保簽訂買賣契約的當天，他們請找了(徐言)與(徐召)來擔任這場買賣的見證人。
晏世保到場並且坐下後，阿寄站起來對所有人說。
雙方都已經到了現場，我們立刻開始進行簽約儀式吧。
阿寄停頓了一下、接著對晏世保說。
我們昨天已經透過買賣經紀人進行議價，議價的結果已經非常明確，你要賣一千畝地與一間房屋，我們需要支付你1500兩銀子，請問你是否認同這個議價的結果呢?
你如果現在有像是從樹幹上另外生長出一支樹枝的另外衍生的想法，那就請你現在立刻提出，如果你沒有別的意見，那麼我們就要進行簽約的儀式了。
晏世保大聲地回答。
沒有問題，我認同這份議價的結果，我是一個有信用的人，我答應的事情就一定會做到。
阿寄微笑著回答。
那我們就開始簽約，我們先簽訂買賣合同，接著清點所要交易的銀兩。
阿寄是一個辦事很能幹的人，他拿出準備好紙與書寫的一些文具用品交給晏世保，晏世保親手寫下這份買賣契約並且簽名後，晏世保把這份買賣契約交給(徐言)與(徐召)親眼見證。
徐言與徐召看完這份買賣契約的內容後，他們兩個人彼此驚訝的對看，他們的腦海中產生相同的疑惑，這個疑惑就是阿寄做了什麼生意呢?阿寄為何能在幾個月內就能賺到那麼多的銀子呢?難道阿寄是去當強盜搶劫嗎?難道阿寄挖到了前人遺留的寶藏嗎?
就在徐言與徐召腦海中充滿疑問且得不到答案的時刻，簽約儀式已經完成的上半段。
徐言與徐召看著阿寄與他的妻子就從顏夫人的房間內拿出了好幾箱的銀子，阿寄與他的妻子把銀子拿出箱子後，他們用一個經過公證的砝碼開始秤量這些銀子，過了大概半個小時後，這些銀子全部清點完成，晏世保拿著這1500兩的銀子臉上充滿了笑容。
阿寄這時候對晏世保說。
為了慶祝我們買賣土地的過程非常順利，我特別準備了一頓非常高級的筵席來招待現場所有參與的人，我們大家一起喝酒一起吃飯一起慶祝這場交易順利完成。
晏世保聽到這句話後開心地大笑說。
你的安排太棒了，讓我們一起喝酒吃飯一起快樂吧。
宴席結束後，已經夜深了，晏世保對顏夫人與阿寄說，跟你們買賣的過程非常的愉快，我們之後有機會再見，接著晏世保帶著這些銀子就與他的僕人和土地買賣經紀人離開顏夫人的家。
這句成語直接翻譯是從樹幹上另外生長出一支樹枝。
這句成語通常被形容一件事情並沒有如同自己預期的發展，這件事情另外產生了一些新的變化。
這句成語被用來形容一種事情發生了意外的複雜變化的情況。
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
你是否曾經遇過這種事情的發展超出你的預期的事情呢?你在做一件事情之前會先思考關於做這件事情後，可能發生的最好與最壞的結果嗎?
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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