The tale of One Yuan - Our heart will not be at peace if we obtain something through improper means. (Courtesy Wikipedia Commons)
Hello everyone, this is Grace Mann welcoming you back to Ancient Tales of Wisdom, an SOH Radio Network initiative. SOH takes great pride in bringing these wonderful stories, tales, and legends to you, our valued listeners. We trust that these fables inspire your hearts and minds as much as they do ours, and that they give rise to your every day. The title of today’s tale is: One Yuan
As a child, I lived through the Great Cultural Revolution when there was only a few classes taught at school. Therefore, we spent most of our time playing or sitting on the side of the street. Girls would play a game where players performed complicated routines on a pair of long bands of rubber and those who could not perform the routine without making any mistakes were dropped out. This simple game was one of the most important activities of my childhood.
We were poor and I did not have money to buy the bands for the game. I found an old bicycle tube, and made my own bands out of it. But they soon broke because they wore out quickly. I dreamed that someday I could buy brand new bands to play with. But I had no money. One day, I saw two yuan (Chinese currency) that my mom had left on the table. I thought for a long time before I finally decided to grab one yuan. It took all my courage to walk out of the room. I was very nervous. I paced up and down in the yard while tightly holding that one-yuan bill. I wondered what to do next. To a little kid at that time, one yuan amounted to a lot of money. I imagined that with this money I could buy lots of rubber bands, wrapped candy, colourful papers, beautiful sewing threads and so on. It was as if all the expenses of a lifetime could be paid with this note. I felt at that moment like a millionaire. But after the excitement wore off, I began to agonize about my parents finding out. Where was a safe place to hide the money, since it was getting dark? I couldn’t think of any hiding place. Besides being worried about my mom’s reaction, I was also concerned about my elder brother, who was a little nosy. He had a sixth sense with respect to any trouble that I got into. In the end, he would either expose me or get his share. Right then, the hand that was tightly holding the money became sweaty.
The more I thought about it, the more desperate I felt. Thus, I first pretended to be sick and went to bed without eating or drinking anything. That night I couldn’t sleep well, tossing and turning, as though I were fighting a battle. In my dream, at times I saw policemen chasing robbers and thefts happening, and at other times I was chased and tried to escape. Finally, it was morning. I was so scared and my body very heavy and all sweaty.
At breakfast time, Mom asked me gently and kindly whether I felt better. Then she quietly said, “Very strange, I put two yuan on the table yesterday. How could they then become one yuan?” I heard my mom’s words. My guilty feeling made my face turn red, and I was afraid that my mom would notice it, so not thinking, I bent down to tie my shoelaces. After I bent over, I then realized that that day I was wearing a pair of shoes without shoelaces. My brother saw it and began to make fun of me. He stood aside facing Mom, peeking at me, speaking in a strange voice. His tone of voice made me so angry that I almost bit him. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I rushed into my room, grabbed the one-yuan bill that I had hidden under my pillow, and handed it to my mom. I said, “Mom, I found the money for you.” Mom appeared relieved and asked me, “Where was it?” I randomly pointed to a direction, “Over there.” Then, picking up my school bag. I ran out the door as fast as I could, with the horrible feeling that two glowing eyes watched me all the way.
When I was far enough away from home, I sat on the curb, thinking back over the past 16 hours that I had been a “millionaire.” I then realized that it was better to use a bicycle tube to make my own rubber bands then buying nice, new, real rubber bands. With this thought, I at once felt more and ease and peaceful within myself. I now always constantly recall my mom’s words, as if there were a cassette tape playing in my head, “Be an honest and kind child.”
This little childhood experience and my mom’s words have etched themselves deeply into my brain. Now having grown up, the memory of this experience often brings forth a warning, which reminds me, as it can us all, that our heart will not be at peace if we obtain something through improper means.
It has again been my pleasure to bring you another great tale on the SOH Radio Network’s Ancient Tales of Wisdom.
Until next time, laugh lots, be happy and let’s all be mindful as to how we obtain our means.
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