Door Knocker Lee
故事全文
There was a rich man named Fu-shan Chang who lived in Changhua. His eldest and second daughter married rich husbands. However, his youngest and most beautiful daughter Yuji rejected all her rich suitors. She told her father, “I want to marry an ambitious man, and I don't care if he is poor.” Fu-shan Chang was very upset to hear this.
Just then, a poor man selling escargot happened to pass by. His name was Bu-zhi Lee, and Fu-shan Chang told him, “I have decided to marry my daughter to you.” Bu-zhi Lee replied, “Don't mock me. I'll be off if you're not buying anything.” Yuji felt that Bu-zhi Lee was no ordinary man, so, she decided to marry him anyway. Though she led a hard life after marriage, Yuji never complained.
One day, Bu-zhi Lee went into the mountains to hunt for food, and followed a rabbit into a cave. Upon entering the cave, he saw many black bricks lying on the floor, so he brought one home with him. When Yuji saw the brick, she exclaimed, “This is a very rare black gold brick!” When they went back to the cave to get more bricks, an old man appeared before them and said, “You cannot take these bricks. They belong to Door Knocker Lee.” The couple went home empty-handed.
A year later, Yuji gave birth to a son and brought him to see his grandfather. The baby started to cry when Fu-shan Chang carried him. So, Fu-shan Chang used a door knocker to knock on the door to get the baby's attention. The baby stopped crying and began to smile. Fu-shan Chang smiled and said, “Let's name you Door Knocker Lee.” The couple was shocked to hear the name. On the way home, they entered the cave where the gold bricks were. This time, there was no one to stop them from taking the bricks. Even after getting the gold bricks, Yuji and her husband continued to live frugally.
The next year, during Fu-shan Chang's birthday party, Bu-zhi Lee turned up wearing old clothes, and brought a basketful of fish and escargot as a birthday gift. During dinner, the eldest son-in-law mocked Lee on purpose by saying, “I have too much land and would like to sell some.” The second son-in-law followed suit and said, “Me too!” Upon hearing that, Bu-zhi Lee replied, “I want to buy some land. Will you sell it to me?” Everyone laughed as they thought Lee was too poor to afford it. The eldest son-in-law started to draft a contract and said, “We are willing to sell you the land for half the price, but are you able to afford it?” After signing the contract, Lee took out the black gold bricks lying at the bottom of his basket. Everyone was shocked to find that Lee had so much money. After paying for the land, Lee gave the remaining gold bricks to his father-in-law as a birthday present. From then on, Lee and his wife worked the fields diligently, and led a blissful life together.
