Both hands and feet seem to be tapping to a
beat.(拍手拍腳)
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, 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.
Aji 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 asked Xu Yan and Xu Zhao to witness the
transaction.
Xu Yan and Xu Zhao agreed to serve as
witnesses, but they were puzzled because they didn't know from whom Ms Yan was
buying the land.
When they arrived at Ms Yan's house, they
chatted casually with her and Aji. After about an hour, Aji suddenly stood up,
looked towards the gate and said,
'The sellers we're buying the land from
have arrived. They're walking towards us from a distance.'
Upon hearing this, Xu Yan and Xu Zhao stood
up and looked towards the gate. They saw Yan Shibao approaching, smiling
broadly and seemingly tapping out a rhythm with his hands and feet, as he
walked briskly towards Madam Yan's house. Several land brokers were
accompanying him.
Xu Yan and Xu Zhao looked at each other
involuntarily, their eyes filled with doubt. Xu Yan said to Xu Zhao, 'Isn't
that Yan Shibao, the richest man in our village, walking towards us? Why is he
coming towards us?'
'I heard he's selling 1,000 mu of land and
a house for 3,000 taels of silver,' replied Xu Zhao. No one in our village has
the financial means to buy it from him for that huge sum.
Has Yan Shibao changed his mind? Maybe he
only wants to sell five or ten mu of land this time, which is why he's here to
sign the contract with Madam Yan.'
Xu Yan said to Xu Zhao. 'I don't believe
Yan Shibao has changed his mind about dividing his large plot of land into
smaller plots for sale. I really can't understand why he's here.
About three minutes later, Yan Shibao and
the agents entered Ms Yan's house. Ms Yan and Aji invited Yan Shibao to sit
down. Then, Aji stood up and addressed everyone.
'Both parties involved in this land sale
are here. Let's begin the signing ceremony immediately.'
This idiom literally translates as 'both
hands and feet seem to be tapping to a beat'.
It is usually used to describe someone who
is extremely happy and excited.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story? Have you ever participated in any signing
ceremonies? If you had a large sum of money, how would you use it?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
拍手拍腳(Both hands and feet seem to be
tapping to a beat.)
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。
徐言與徐召答應擔任這場買賣契約的見證人，但他們兩個人的內心很疑惑，因為他們不知道顏女士到底要跟何人買土地。
徐言與徐召到了顏女士的家中，他們兩個人與顏女士和阿寄輕鬆地聊天，過了大約一個多小時，阿寄突然站起來看著大門外說。
跟我們進行土地買賣的賣家來了，他們從遠處走過來了。
徐言與徐召聽到阿寄的話後，他們兩個人站起來向大門外觀看，他們兩個人看到晏世保臉上充滿笑容，他的雙手雙腳彷彿都在打著節拍，他用很輕快的腳步向著顏夫人的家的方向走過來，晏世保的身邊還跟著幾個專門負責土地買賣的經紀人。
徐言與徐召他們兩個人不由自主地望向對方，他們兩個人的眼神中都充滿了疑惑，徐言對徐召說。
向著我們走過來的那個人不就是我們村莊中最有錢的大財主晏世保嗎?他為何向我們走過來呢?
徐召回答徐言。
我聽說他要賣一筆1000畝的土地與一間房屋，總價要3000兩銀子，這筆錢如此龐大，所以我們村莊中沒有人有足夠的財力向他購買。
難道是晏世保改變主意了嗎?或許他這次只想要賣個5畝或是10畝的土地，所以他才來到這裡與顏夫人簽約。
徐言對徐召說。
我不認為晏世保改變主意要把他那一大筆土地拆成許多小筆土地販賣，我真的無法理解為何他會出現在這裡。
大約3分鐘後，晏世保與那些經紀人走進了顏女士的家，顏女士與阿寄主動邀請晏世保坐下後，阿寄站起來向著所有人說。
這次買賣土地的雙方都已經到了現場，我們立刻開始進行簽約儀式吧。
這句成語直接翻譯是雙手雙腳彷彿都在打著節拍。
這句成語通常被形容一個人非常的興奮與開心。
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
你是否曾經參與過那些簽約的活動呢?你如果有一大筆錢，你會怎樣規劃使用這筆錢呢?
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
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%86%92%E4%B8%96%E6%81%86%E8%A8%80/%E7%AC%AC35%E5%8D%B7