Chapter 22 What Goes Around, Comes Around

And where did the second brother carried the baby to? The market. In those days people were openly trafficked in the market without suffering much scrutiny and stigma. The man found a spot in the market, laid a piece of cloth on the ground and placed his nephew on it, himself kneeling just beside. Anyone walking past him would instantly realize that he was putting the baby up for sale. Before long, troupes of onlookers began clustering around curiously. Oddly, the baby neither cried nor wailed. Some of the onlookers began teasing him, and he laughed adorably like a sacrificial lamb oblivious of its fate. Until suddenly, a manservant plowed through the crowd to make way for his master, a wealthy-looking merchant who had another servant following behind with a large pouch over his shoulder. The merchant marched forward and inquired the second brother of his plight that had led to such a pitiable decision to sell a child. Still on his knees, the second brother gave a deep bow and said to the merchant, "Great misfortune, dear sir, has visited my family. The boy is barely a year old, his mother has just passed, and we have no money to arrange for her burial. Please, dear sir, the boy is for sale for just a little money. Consider this charity an act of kindness for the baby to perform his filial duties for his deceased mother. He would surely enjoy a better life at your knees than to suffer destitution with me." As he spoke, the sight of tears rolling down his cheeks touched the hearts of a good many onlookers that some began to shed tears. The merchant took the second brother's lies for truth and asked, his eyes now red and moist, "How much are you selling him?" The second brother clasped his hands together respectfully and said, "With your kindness, I'll ask only for enough money to be able to arrange for his mother's burial." The merchant turned to his servant behind and extracted a stack of notes from the pouch. He offered the money to the second brother and asked, "Would these be enough?" The second brother cast a quick glance at the money he received and bowed profusely, repeatedly mumbling "Thank so much Sir, you're a living Bodhisattva!" The merchant reached down and lifted the second brother to his feet. "Go to bury your deceased wife!" He then turned to his servant and ordered, "Take the boy. Let us leave."