This matter is not like ordinary, trivial
things.(非同小可)
During the late Ming dynasty in China,
there was a renowned author named Feng Menglong who wrote a series 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 takes place 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 family was named Yan. The
elderly Mr Yan had passed away, leaving his son, Yan Shibao, as the heir to all
the family's property.
Yan Shibao was a man who never worked,
instead spending vast sums of money on his extravagant lifestyle. In order to
maintain this lavish way of life, he decided to sell some of his assets, including
a plot of land and a house, totalling 1,500 taels of silver.
Upon hearing this news, Aji and Madam Yan
discussed the matter and decided to offer Yan Shibao 1,500 taels of silver for
1,000 mu of land.
They hired a local land and house broker to
convey their interest in purchasing the land to Yan Shibao. With the broker's
help, they quickly agreed on the terms and set a date for signing the contract.
On the appointed day, Yan Shibao got up
early and waited anxiously at home for the broker to take him to Aji's house to
sign the contract.
On that day, Aji said to Madam Yan,
'The transaction we're about to make is
extremely large. This matter is not like ordinary, trivial things, so we must
be very careful.'
In any case, Xu Yan and Xu Zhao are your deceased
husband's brothers. Therefore, when we sign the contract with Yan Shibao, they
should act as our witnesses.'
Ms Yan nodded to Aji.
'Your idea is very thoughtful. I agree with
you.'
After obtaining Ms Yan's consent, Aji went
to the home of Xu Yan and Xu Zhao.
When they heard that Ms Yan wanted them to
witness the purchase of land, they looked confused and bewildered.
Xu Yan said to Xu Zhao,
'Ms Yan and Aji said they wanted to buy some
land.' 'I only found out about this this morning. Did you know about it before?
Do you know who the seller is?'
Xu Zhao replied.
'I only found out about this today too,
just like you.
'Buying and selling land is such an
important matter. Shouldn't Ms Yan have discussed it with us first? How could
she suddenly make this decision without consulting us at all?'
Xu Yan said to Xu Zhao.
'I agree with you. Let's not speculate any
more. Let's wait patiently. When the seller appears, we'll be able to confirm
who Ms Yan and Mr Aji are buying the land from.'
This idiom translates literally as 'This
matter is not like those ordinary little things.'
It is usually used to describe a serious
situation or important matter.
Dear friend,
What inspiration or insights did you gain
from this story?
What do you consider to be the most
important things in your life? Have you ever experienced long waits and great
anxiety?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
非同小可(This matter is not like ordinary,
trivial things.)
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，最有錢的那戶人家姓晏。晏老先生已經過世，晏家的所有財產的繼承人名叫(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，他決定要出售一部份的資產，他要出售一筆土地加上一間房子，總價高達1500兩銀子。
阿寄與顏女士聽到這個消息後，他們兩個人經過討論之後，他們決定要拿出1500兩的銀子去跟晏世保購買一千畝土地。
阿寄予顏夫人請了他們村中一個專門負責仲介土地與房屋銷售的經紀人去跟晏世保表示自己有意願購買土地的訊息，在這個經紀人的積極協調之後，他們雙方在很短的時間內就談妥了條件並約定好了簽約的日子。
約定好簽約的那一天，晏世保一大早就起床，他待在家裡焦急地等房屋銷售經紀人來接他去阿寄的家中簽約。
約定好簽約的那一天，阿寄對顏夫人說。
我們待會要做的這筆交易的金額非常巨大，這件事情不等同於那些平常的小事，我們一定要非常的慎重。
不管怎樣，徐言與徐召是你已經死去的丈夫的哥哥，因此我們與晏世保簽約時，應該要找(徐言)與(徐召)來擔任我們的見證人。
顏女士點頭對阿寄說。
你的想法非常的周到，我認同你的看法。
取得了顏女士的同意後，阿寄就到了徐言與徐召家中。
當徐言與徐召聽到顏女是要買土地所以希望他們兩個人去做見證人的這個消息後，他們兩個人表現出疑惑與不解。
徐言對徐召說。
顏女士與阿寄說要買一些土地，這件事情我到今天早上才知道，你之前知道這件事嗎?你知道賣主是誰嗎?
徐召回答。
我跟你一樣也是今天才知道這個訊息。
買賣土地這種事情那麼重要，顏女士應該要先跟我們討論才對啊?她怎麼在完全沒有諮詢我們的看法的情況下就突然間做出了這個決定呢?
徐言對徐召說。
我的看法跟你一樣，算了，我們不要猜測了，我們耐心等等，待會賣家出現的時候，我們就能確認顏女士與阿寄要跟誰買土地了。
這句成語直接翻譯是這件事情不等同於那些平常的小事。
這句成語通常被形容一種非常嚴重的情況或是一件非常重要的事情。
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
你的人生中你認為那些事是最重要的呢?你是否有過長時間等待而且非常焦慮的感受呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些一些新的收穫。
出處為馮夢龍-醒世恆言-卷35-徐老僕義憤成家
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