question more kindly, so Tu Tzuchun answered timidly:
“I am thinking of what I shall do, for I cannot find a place to lay my head or pass the night.”
The old man said to him:
“I understand. I am very sorry for you; but, I will tell you what to do. As you stand here in the setting sun, and when your shadow is cast upon the ground, mark that part of it which corresponds to your breast. Come to that place at midnight, dig deep, and you will find a cartload of gold.
On saying these words the old man again disappeared suddenly among the crowds of passers-by.
Again Tu Tzuchun became the richest man in the world, and he at once plunged into the same luxurious manner of living as before. The same peony flowers that change their colour four times a day grew in his garden, and graceful white peacocks dreamed among the flowers, and the Hindoo juggler was engaged to entertain his guests … all was as before. And the immense heap of gold, that overflowed the cart which he took to gather it up, was all gone in less than three years.
Part III
“What are you thinking about?”
The old man with the squint eye stood before him again, asking the same question for the third time; and as before Tu Tzuchun stood gazing absent-mindedly at the new moon glimmering faintly through the haze.
