The God of Fortune's Wife
故事全文
It's the new year again! Everyone in the Hakka village was busy preparing for the coming of the new year. Grown-ups were busy cleaning the house, some children gathered in the kitchen to learn how to make delicious glutinous rice cakes from their grandparents. Other children happily showed off their new clothes to their playmates. Everyone was happy.
Suddenly, there came a sigh from inside the temple of the God of Fortune, “Oh, this is so hard! What should I do?” The voice came from none other than the God of Fortune who is said to grant all wishes. He kept stroking his long, white beard and paced around in his temple. When his wife returned to the temple, she saw the God of Fortune looking quite upset and said, “My dear, you should really stop sighing. Look at all the wrinkles on your face!” The God of Fortune looked at his wife and heaved another sigh, “I'm trying to do something for our people!” His wife asked, “Tell me what happened? I might be able to help.” So, the God of Fortune told her what was bothering him, “Today, four people came to our temple to pray for help. One of them was a farmer who just finished sowing seeds in his paddy field. He asked for a lot of rain to nourish the soil. Another was a fisherman who just caught a lot of fish. He asked for a lot of sunlight to make dried fish. The other two were sailors. One asked for a northern wind, and the other asked for a southern wind. How could I grant these conflicting wishes and make everyone happy?”
The wife of the God of Fortune listened quietly, and then she came up with an idea. She smiled at the God of Fortune and said, “Rain at night and shine at day. Southern winds in the morning and northern winds in the afternoon. Easy-peasy!” She went on to say, “Making it rain at night will allow the farmer's paddy field to store enough water for the rice to grow. Making the sun shine brightly during the day will allow the fisherman to make his dried fish. Summon a southern wind in the morning and a northern wind in the afternoon, and both sailors will get what they wished for. This would make everyone happy!” The God of Fortune smiled sweetly upon hearing this and exclaimed, “Hurray! My problems are solved! Thank goodness I have a smart wife. May all be blessed with good health and fortune this year!”
