79.THE BUTCHER'S FACE

　　Qian Meixi recorded the story of Xue Qingguan, the goat butcher. He ran his own little store selling mutton and mutton soup. The fame of his delicious mutton soup spread far and wide, bringing lots of customers. Some people even traveled for days to taste his soup, and they all went home satisfied.

　　With business like that, Xue became rich in a short time.

　　Some of his friends were Buddhists, and told him not to kill any more goats."You've earned enough money. Don't be greedy. We're not beasts in the jungle, you know. Killing animals is a terrible crime against the universe. You just can't get away with it. Sooner or later your bad deeds will catch up with you, and then no matter how much money you have, it won't do you any good.

　　"Look, Xue, why don't you just use your money to invest in some other kind of business? You can still make lots of money, and at the same time, you can repent and do good deeds to make up for all your crimes. Otherwise, you'll be in big trouble, and even your children and grandchildren will catch it."

　　Nobody likes to listen to good advice. Xue just snorted and sneered. "I'm too smart to believe in that kind of old wives' tale. Don't think you're going to spook me with these fairy tales! Crimes against the universe! What nonsense!"

　　When Xue was about forty, he got a strange disease. His mouth started to jut out, and his jaw got longer. He had a dumb look in his eyes. Actually, all in all, he looked just like a goat!

　　Pretty soon all the local people knew that Xue Qingguan was looking just like a goat. They all came to see for themselves. They wouldn't say anything to him, but every day, crowds of people came to look at Xue. Then they would turn to their friends and whisper to each other and nod their heads. Xue got tired of that in a hurry! None of the doctors could do anything for him, but they all agreed that he sure did look just like a goat.

　　Xue was so frustrated that he thought he would lose his mind, but he was too stubborn to admit that he might have been wrong. He refused to admit that maybe he shouldn't kill so many goats.

　　Finally, on a business trip to Anhui, he fell in a river and drowned. They never did find his corpse.

　　The sad thing is that Xue didn't have to suffer humiliation and a sudden death. If he had been less greedy, and more willing to consider the requirements of our conscience, he could have lived a long and happy life.

　　But money, stupidity, and stubbornness were more valuable to him than happiness, good health, and wisdom.

79.屠夫的脸

　　钱梅溪曾经记录过一个关于杀羊的屠夫薛庆观的故事。薛庆观开了一家卖羊肉和羊肉汤的小店。他卖的羊肉汤鲜美可口，远近皆知，许多客人都慕名而来。有的人甚至为了喝他的汤不惜长途跋涉，不过他们都能满意而归。

　　因为生意兴隆，薛庆观很快就发了财。

　　他有些信佛的朋友，他们告诫薛庆观不要再杀羊了。“你已经赚得够多了。别太贪心了。你也知道，咱们又不是山林中的野兽，这种杀生的事情可是违背天理的罪过啊。你是逃不掉上天的惩罚的。早晚有一天你会遭报应，那个时候不管你有多少钱也救不了你。”

　　“老薛啊，你干嘛不做点别的买卖呢？一样可以赚钱，而且你还可以做些善事来弥补你以前的罪过。不然的话，你会有大麻烦的，你的子孙都会倒霉的。“

　　没有人愿意听逆耳的忠言。薛庆观对这些话嗤之以鼻。“我才不会傻到相信那种老妈子的鬼话。别以为你们能用这些神啊鬼啊的故事吓着我！什么违背天理的罪过！都是胡说！”

　　薛庆观快四十岁时，突然得了一种怪病。他的嘴向前突出，下巴也变长了。他的眼神变得呆滞。实际上，他的样子越来越像一只山羊！

　　很快，所有的乡邻都知道了薛庆观长得像山羊。他们都来亲眼观看。虽然他们不对薛庆观说什么，可是每天总是有成群的人来看他，人们交头接耳，低声议论着，还不时点着头。薛庆观很快就被这种事弄得身心疲惫了！没有大夫能治得了他的病，甚至大夫也都承认他看上去的确像只山羊。

　　薛庆观沮丧极了，他觉得自己快要疯了，可是他还是非常固执，不承认自己做过错事。他不愿承认自己也许不应该杀那么多只山羊。

　　最后，在一次去安徽办事的路上，他掉进一条河里淹死了。他的尸体也不知去向。

　　可悲的是薛庆观本来无需承受人们的羞辱和突然的死亡。如果他没那么贪心，如果他很乐于做一个有良心的人，他本可以活得很长也很开心。

　　但是对他来说，金钱、愚昧和固执比幸福、健康和智慧更金贵。