There are too many to count!(不計其數)
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.
Aji was a very resourceful person. After
about six months, he had earned over 2,000 taels of silver.
Aji and Ms Yan agreed on how to use this
money. They later used 1,500 taels to buy 1,000 mu of land and a house from a
wealthy man named Yan Shibao.
News of Ms Yan and Yan Shibao's successful
deal quickly spread throughout the village, sparking private discussions among
the villagers.
The villagers were puzzled by how A-Ji had
managed to earn so much money in such a short time. They eventually came to the
widely accepted conclusion that: A-Ji must have stumbled upon an ancient
treasure while travelling for business through an extraordinary stroke of luck.
It was said that the treasure was too many to count, and that A-Ji and Madam
Yan had only used a tiny fraction of it to buy land and houses.
Because it is human nature to gravitate
towards the wealthy and dislike the poor, people generally respect the rich and
despise the poor.
After Madam Yan and A-Ji bought the land
and houses, the villagers' attitude towards them changed. They were treated
with great politeness and courtesy by everyone.
A few days after buying the new house,
Madam Yan and A-Ji moved in with their families. After the New Year, A-Ji
helped Madam Yan tidy up the house before taking the remaining 500 taels of
silver to continue his business.
Over the next decade or so, thanks to his
caution, prudence and business acumen, he helped her earn a considerable amount
of money each year and increase her assets and land holdings steadily.
After consulting with Madam Yan, A-Ji hired
tutors to educate the children from both families. The children grew up to be
morally upright and honest, and they all successfully married and started their
own families.
This idiom translates literally as 'There
are too many to count!'.
It is usually used to describe a large
number of people or property.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story? Does your family or society value children's
education?
Would you change your opinion of someone
based on their wealth?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
不計其數(There are too many to count!)
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，他們後來用其中的1500兩銀子跟一個名字叫做晏世保的富戶買了1000畝土地與一間房屋。的
當顏女士與晏世保的這樁買賣成功之後，消息很快地傳遍的這座村莊，所有的村民都在私底下討論這樁交易。
村民們都很不解，阿寄為何能在那麼短的時間內賺到那麼多錢，所以村民們後來得出一個大家比較相信的結論，這個結論就是阿寄一定是在出外經商的過程中，因為一些特殊的機緣所以不小心發現了一批古代人所遺留下來的寶藏，這批寶藏中的珍寶數量多到無法計算，阿寄與顏夫人只動用了其中一小部分來購買土地與房屋。
由於人性都是喜歡親近有錢人而不喜歡接近貧窮人的，人們通常尊敬那些有錢人而藐視那些沒錢的人。
自從顏夫人與阿寄買下這塊土地與房屋後，所有的村民都改變了對顏夫人與阿寄的態度，大家看到顏夫人與阿寄十，都表現得非常禮貌與客氣。
顏女士與阿寄兩個家庭在買到新房屋的幾天後，就搬到新房子家住，過完年後，阿寄協助顏女士把家中的環境整理好之後，他就帶著剩下的500兩銀子繼續出門做生意。
在接下來的十多年內，阿寄憑藉著他的小心與謹慎還有敏銳的商業頭腦，每年都幫顏女士賺了很多錢，顏女士所擁有的資產與土地也一年比一年增加。
阿寄在經過與顏女士商量後，聘請了老師來教導兩個家庭中的孩子們讀書，幾個孩子成年後都養成有道德感與很正直的個性，這幾個孩子也都順利的結婚成家。
這句成語直接翻譯是數量多到無法計算
這句成語通常被形容人或財物的數量多到無法計算。
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
你的家庭或社會重視孩子們的教育呢?你會因為一個人是否有錢而調整對這個人的態度嗎?
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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