China has been a country of etiquette since ancient times, and everything in the relationship between people and grandchildren pays attention to the beginning of the word "etiquette", so we must not forget the word "etiquette" to conquer people's hearts.

Chinese often say that "eating people have a short mouth". Once you accept the benefits of others, get the advantage of others, and then refuse other people's requests, you will not be so embarrassed to speak. The Chinese attach great importance to human affection and talk about face, and "the grace of a drop of water will be repaid with a gushing spring." Smart people use this tactic, and when the "sugar-coated shell" is shot, it often hits with one shot, and it is tried and tested.

Zheng Banqiao, a representative of the famous calligrapher and painter of the Qing Dynasty "Yangzhou Eight Monsters", was hit by this kind of cannonball and suffered a dumb loss.

Zheng Banqiao is good at painting bamboo, orchid, stone, and chrysanthemum, and his handwriting is also excellent. His "rare and confused" replica can still be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys today, at that time, there were many people who came to ask him for calligraphy and painting, Zheng Banqiao was not polite, wrote a price list and pasted it on the door, which read;

"Large six taels, medium four taels, small two taels, banner couplets one tael, fan bucket square five coins. It is better to give gifts and food than silver; What is given by the public may not be what the younger brother likes. Sending cash silver is (heartily) joyful, calligraphy and painting are good. Gifts are entangled, and credit is especially relevant. ”

The price is clearly marked, which is quite pleasant and straightforward.

However, Zheng Banqiao was arrogant and despised the powerful, and some dignitaries wanted to ask for calligraphy and paintings, even if they pushed a cart full of silver, they were turned away.

There is a wealthy man who has built a new villa, which is luxurious and magnificent, but it just lacks a bit of Sven atmosphere. Someone suggested, why not get two of Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy and paintings and hang them in the living room, wouldn't it be elegant and refined?

When the rich man heard this, he slapped his thigh, wonderful! Carrying the cash box, he ran to Zheng Banqiao's house. After the business card was handed in, he was blocked from the door as usual, and the reason was nothing more than that the husband was out, uncomfortable, and was practicing qigong, etc., and this was the case several times in a row.

Later, when the tycoon was chatting with a friend of a big official, he occasionally mentioned this matter, and the big official said: "Why don't you even know who Zheng Banqiao is?" Don't talk about you, I want his paintings, I've been asking for them for years, but I haven't gotten them. ”

When the rich man heard this, he came to his senses, praised Haikou and said: "Look at me, in a few days, I will definitely be able to get a few calligraphy and paintings, and let him write my name on them." ”

So, the tycoon sent his subordinates around to find out Zheng Banqiao's living habits and various hobbies.

On this day, Zheng Banqiao came out for a walk, and suddenly heard a melodious sound of the piano in the distance, the music was very elegant, and he didn't feel curious, I haven't heard of anyone around here who can play the piano? So, following the sound, I found that the sound of the piano came from a house. The courtyard door was hidden, Zheng Banqiao pushed the door in, and the scene in front of him surprised him: the courtyard was full of bamboo, strange stones, and an old man in the bamboo forest had a childish face, a silver bun was elegant, and he was whisking the piano. Oops, isn't this clearly a picture?

When the old man saw him, he immediately stopped abruptly, Zheng Banqiao was a little embarrassed when he saw that he had ruined the interest of others, but the old man didn't care, and enthusiastically let him sit down, and the two talked about poetry and piano, which was quite speculative.

The conversation was in full swing, and suddenly, there was a strong smell of dog meat, Zheng Banqiao was very surprised, but his saliva couldn't help but flow down.

After a while, they saw a servant carrying a jug of wine and a large pot of cooked dog meat, and brought it to them. As soon as he saw the dog meat, Zheng Banqiao's eyes were glued to it, and as soon as the old man said the word "please", he even forgot the polite words that pretended to excuse himself, and couldn't wait to drink wildly and eat meat.

After eating the dog meat like a cloud, Zheng Banqiao realized that he didn't even know the names of other people's names, so he ate a lot of food here in a daze. Now that you are full of wine and food, you can't just throw your sleeves and say "bye-bye" and leave!

But how do you give thanks? Keep some silver, not only is it too vulgar, but you don't have any money to go out for a walk. Thereupon. He said to the old man:

"It's a pleasure to meet you today, thank you for your hospitality, I can't reciprocate, please find some pen and paper, I draw a few strokes, and leave a souvenir."

The old man seemed a little embarrassed. said in a loud voice: "Eating a meal is just a trivial matter, why care!" ”

Zheng Banqiao thought that he was not rare in calligraphy and painting, so he boasted: "Although my calligraphy and painting are not excellent, they can still be exchanged for silver." ”

The old man then found a pen and paper, Zheng Banqiao finished drawing, and asked the old man's name, the old man reported one, Zheng Banqiao felt familiar, but he couldn't remember what was going on, and he also wrote "Gift so-and-so" on the payment office. Seeing that the old man smiled with satisfaction, he took his leave and left.

The next day, these calligraphy and paintings were hung in the living room of the Tycoon Villa, and the Tycoon also invited guests to enjoy it together. The guests thought that he had bought it from elsewhere at a high price, but when they saw his name on the calligraphy and painting, they believed that Zheng Banqiao had painted it for him.

After the news spread, Zheng Banqiao simply couldn't believe his ears. He followed the route of the walk that day and found that it was an uninhabited house, and then he realized that he was greedy for dog meat, and he had fallen into the trap of others and was deceived.