We have heard how Mi Bida relied on the rich and cheated the poor, spitefully refusing to repay his debt upon seeing the poverty and misery of his creditor Squire Hu. The Squire walked out into the falling snow with his belly all full of anger and bitterness over this shabby treatment. But fortunately the Mi family's old servant Liu Yi was ashamed to see the paler of hunger and cold on the old Squire's face and led him into a secluded little restaurant where he chose a nice clean table, asking him to sit at the head and inviting old scholar Chen to accompany them for the meal.

"Set us up with a couple of wines, boiling hot, and no small cups either!" he ordered the wine-keeper. "And put out a plate of your best food!"

"I've only got some beef, fresh from the marketplace. I'm afraid there's nothing else on the menu."

"Then kill one of the roosters, that'll be fine!"

Squire Hu objected. "One dish is all right. There's no need to spend so much."

"Just be quiet and enjoy yourself!"

He then went by himself over to the wine jugs to swig a sample, calling on the proprietor to heat it up. The owner then sliced a larger portion of beef that he served with pickled vegetables. Next he brought out three big flasks of wine and had hardly begun pouring when Liu Yi snatched them away. "We'll take care of the wine ourselves," he instructed, "you just slaughter that bird and cook it up, and fast!"

"Why don't you take it easy on yourself and sit down, old man!" said Squire Hu.

"You and the Professor here are my guests; how dare I sit?"

Scholar Chen was also concerned. "As long as you're on your feet how can the Squire and I sit comfortably?"

"I take care of everything for you and pour your wine and suddenly you're offended!" mused the old man.

Taking hold of a big flask he then filled two glasses to overflowing and handed them to Squire Hu and Chen Shan. Now the Squire had left home on an empty stomach and he now felt his face flush and heartbeat flutter from the wine. "I can't drink anymore until I have a bowl of rice!" he pleaded.

Now Liu Yi had been afraid that the Squire was hungry and so he didn't insist on this point. "Bring a bowl of rice while we wait for the chicken!" he ordered the owner; "the Professor and I will have another round of wine."

And so as the chicken boiled the shopkeeper prepared a bowl of rice and another kettle of wine and brought them over. Pretty soon he was back with another bowl. "Who gets the rice?" he asked, holding the full bowl and the refills of wine. Liu Yi told him to set it down before the Squire, who uttered a weak "please!".

Squire Hu now attacked that rice-bowl with both hands, shoveling it right into his mouth when suddenly he thought of his wife and daughter at home and began staring vacantly into the distance. How could he return empty-handed after having eaten that rice, not knowing when or from where their next meal would be forthcoming? And, unconsciously, two streams of pearly tears began flowing down his face.

Scholar Chen had known all along what the problem was. "That's why I didn't argue from the start!" he said. "I only wanted to help the Squire get his money so that he could buy a few more days' life, and I didn't imagine that Mi was that sort of man!" He looked at Liu Yi. "In his youth, your master had a lot of dealings with me and he was always a real man, so fair, just and kind in all the things we did together. But now with that official cap on his head and everyone calling him 'Master' he acts just like the King of Hell in the flesh. It's enough to make my guts boil!"

"Even the Yellow River has its clear days!" said Liu Yi. "How can you expect a man not to have a fated moment in all his years? The Squire may be down and out for now but he's got good days in store for him in the end. Now, please, eat your full and wait until we meet again. And if the master really doesn't agree, I'll reimburse the Squire myself so that he can survive."

"How can I ever thank you enough?" said Squire Hu." After finishing the two bowls of rice he put down the chopsticks.

"I'll order some more wine!" said Liu Yi.

"After all this drink I've got no room left for food!" said the Squire.

Liu Yi looked at Chen Shan. "That's what rice is for, to go with wine, eh?" he joked.

"The Squire's always been a moderate drinker" said the old teacher.

"I haven't had a drop ever since the fire," explained Squire Hu. "Drink just makes sorrow all the more painful! Your great kindness to both of us is already more than enough!"

Chen and Liu finished off the wine and food together. Chen Shan then rose and reached into his gown to grope around and pull out a string of three hundred bronze coins which he gave to Squire Hu. "Take this home to do as you please with, you know, buy some treats or something. I only regret that I didn't do my best when you sought me as a teacher!"

Liu Yi called the proprietor over and settled the bill, and there were over one hundred coins remaining. Liu presented the money to Squire Hu, apologizing sincerely. "I've been awfully rude to you," he said; "let's have tea and forget about it!"

Squire Hu thought about the hard situation back at home and the sincere kindness of those two and could only accept their help, bowing and thanking them. It was like this:

And here's a poem:

Now charity is none too prevalent in this world, especially when most needed. Here within the walls of Dongjing the renowned Squire Hu once rolled in fabulous wealth but is now delighted and grateful to receive a bit over three hundred bronze coins. It all goes to show how easy it is to be a good person and far outshine the qualities of Superintendent Mi's sort, as scholar Chen and Liu Yi had done.

And now to pick up where we left off with another thread of the story. Recall how Lady Zhang and her daughter sat waiting in cold and hunger. "How will it all turn out" asked little Yong'r, "with daddy going to plead with people and all?"

"People are fickle and everybody has their ups and downs," said mother. "One thing I know for sure, your father's too proud to really ham it up and beg!"

"Oh mommy, it's really snowing hard and the wind is so cold! Who's daddy going to for help?"

"Honey, we've got no money left and if I hadn't told him to go out we'd soon be facing starvation. My poor little girl! Go and find the last coins under the bed and take them to the shops to buy a little treat to hold you over till daddy gets back and we see how it went."

Yong'r went to the head of the bed and lifted it to find the eight bronze coins hidden there.

"Take them and buy yourself some cakes, dear," said Mama, "to drive back your hunger."

And so little Yong'r put on her leather shoes, wrapped her head with a cloth and left the beggars' shelter, stepping out into the snow. Now these city streets were nothing like the high snow-covered fields in the mountains, but had been trampled by the feet of all the people until there was no more white snow but rather ashen slush and mud, really hard going for the girl. But before long while turning a corner she lost her footing, danced precariously on the ice and fell. The money left her grasp and scattered all over the ground, and her clothes were muddied. As she got back on her feet she didn't mind the soiled clothing so much as she searched for the coins down in the ashen mud, and as one had rolled off somewhere there were only seven to be found. After a brief search she called it quits and continued walking until she came to the bakery in the main street, where she exchanged greetings with the family's second son before stating her business.

"Uncle, I'll have seven coppers' worth of wheat-cakes, please."

The man took the change in hand. "This one is defaced and I can't take it" he said, handing the damaged coin back. Yong'r placed it sadly in her pouch. "Six coins worth, then!" she said. The young man picked up a fresh lotus leaf, wrapped six steamed wheat-cakes in it and handed the parcel to her. Yong'r took it and left for home. It was already past shop closing time when, just as she was leaving the commercial area she came upon an open place and saw an old woman there leaning on a bamboo cane with a small basket hanging on her arm, now coming out and following her as she passed. And as for the appearance of the old hag, just look at this:

Now Yong'r thought in silence about this. Her own mother as well had eaten neither dinner the previous night nor breakfast that morning, but seeing how old and unbearably pathetic the woman appeared she could only open the folded lotus leaf, remove a steamed cake and pass it to her.

"Good, very good!" said the woman. "But how can this one cake fill me up. Why not give me all of them?"

"Let me tell you, grandma, my heart doesn't belong to you. Back at home three of us haven't eaten for three days. Mama told daddy to go out and find help, and then she gave me her last savings, eight coppers and told me to go buy wheat-cakes. Along the way I lost one coin and then one damaged copper was refused by the shop, so I could only buy six dumplings: two for mother, two for me and two for father when he gets back. I'm only afraid he won't have anything to eat and will need them to hold off starvation. Now, because you are so old and I couldn't bear to see you suffer I let you have one of the cakes."

"What will you tell your mother when she asks why you bought so few?" asked the old woman.

"If mom asks I'll say I ate them on the way because I was hungry."

"Well since you're taking the rest of the cakes home why don't you give me that no-good coin?"

Now this put Yong'r on the spot. She took the coin out of her skirt-waist pouch and gave it to the old woman.

"And what will you tell mother when she asks what's become of the money?" she asked.

"I'll just say I slipped in the mud in the street and lost a couple of the coins, that's all."

"What a fine heart my child has, and how clever she is, too! I'm not really hungry and I don't want your cake. Here, take it back."

"Why did you take it from me just to return it?"

"I'm just testing you, child, getting to know you, and I can see you've got a heart filled with goodness and mercy as well as filial piety and obedience! Now, let me just arouse your curiosity!"

The woman then turned that damaged coin over and over in her palm and began humming a chant, and presto! The old worn out copper became a freshly minted shiny bronze coin, flat and perfect as could be, that she then passed to Yong'r to examine.

"That was some kind of magic, grandma! You've just got to show me how to do it!"

"My child, this has all been decided by Fate. You are destined to learn it all."

She then reached into her basket and took out a small packet wrapped in a sheer purple cloth and carefully tied with hemp chord. "I present this to you!" said the old woman.

"What is it, grandma?"

"This is a rendition of the Treasure Book of Heaven's Blessings and Charms for your use, to be learnt by heart. When you find yourself in a difficult spot just open it and all the secrets of Heaven will be revealed to you! And if you are unconscious just shout "Holy Auntie" in the darkness and I'll come to guide you. You must absolutely not tell anyone about this, either!"

Yong stuffed the book into her blouse and put the coin in the pouch on her skirt-waist. She then thanked the old woman, turned and left, but before she'd taken very many steps she looked back and saw that the woman had vanished. And here's a poem:

To look into a person's heart a cake was all it took In deepest compensation was that wrapped-up Heaven's book.

Knowing that a kindly heart with bounty is repaid As consolation no great gift of cash need then be made.

Yong'r then went home with the cakes. "Why are you so late in returning, child?" asked Mama. "And your clothes are so muddy. Did you fall down?"

"It was awfully slippery going in that snow, mom, and when I fell I lost two coppers. I could only get six dumplings with the money."

"Child!" moaned Mama. "Our bitter fate is only getting harder. Maybe those two pieces of bread won't save our lives in the end but we've got to try our best to survive. There's no use looking for the coins in all that mud but we'll go out and search when it's dry."

Mother and daughter then each had two of the dumplings, wrapping up the remaining pair in the leaf and putting them aside.

A short while later the Squire returned, all red in the face. "Who've you been seeing all this time, and where did you get wine to drink?" asked Mama.

The Squire then told her all about how he'd met teacher Chen in the street and gone with him to Superintendent Mi's house. "Then," he continued, "sure as Heaven always provides a way, I was lucky enough to run into that old servant of Mi's, Liu Yi, a fine good-hearted man who invited us to his favorite shop for food and drink, and then he and Professor Chen together gave me over three hundred coins to help us out!"

Mama was delighted and told the Squire to go out and buy some rice, firewood and coal to carry them over for a few days, and thought of a few other things that had to be done with the money. Then the two women each had one of the remaining dumplings. And when the rice arrived they prepared some for dinner before retiring late in the evening, but Yong'r was then unable to sleep. "During the day when that old lady gave me the little book she told me that I could take it out and open it in case of emergency. Well, that rice daddy's bought isn't going to last more than a few days and likely as not we'll be starving again, and that certainly can be considered an emergency. I'll just open it up and see if it has any hunger charms!"

She slowly got up, ever so quietly put on a dress and tread softly out of the room. Now Squire Hu lived down on the same ground floor in his own room as the rules allowed only one beggar per room. Her own room was in back. The place was made of brick with bamboo and wood partitions and was quite broken down. She went past the hearth and hugging the wall tiptoed past her parents' rooms which were at the front, next to the street. Then she found her way through the kitchen to the courtyard door and opened it. Now when she had left her room she hadn't passed right by her parents' beds but they couldn't help being alarmed at hearing her moving along the wall. "Where are you going, child?" called Mama.

"I've got a bellyache and I'm going to the toilet."

"If you're coming down with a cold be careful about drafts when you get up, and be sure to put on plenty of clothes. You don't want to catch pneumonia!"

"Don't worry, I'll be OK." Then putting on her shoes she stepped out into the ruins of a side room, now open to the outside, and saw the snow so very brilliant under the moonlight, just as bright as day. There was nothing in sight but the kitchen stove and some pots behind her. Yong'r reached into her bosom for that little book wrapped in purple guaze, took it out and opened the string. Trembling with fear and anticipation she opened it for a look, and let us just say this:

And this tells it straight: