Summary
A traveling party was looking for a place to stay for the night. They found a large, dilapidated house and knocked on the door.
"Is anyone there? We would like to stay for one night."
After a while, a woman came out.
"Please come in."
It seemed the woman lived alone. The party spent the night there.
The next morning, as they were about to leave, they were told,
"You cannot leave this house until I give you permission."
"What do you mean?" an elderly master asked.
"You have a great debt to my family. If you repay that money, you may leave."
The travelers laughed and said,
"There can be no debt to the master."
The master thought for a moment and said,
"Wasn't your father a fortune teller?"
"Yes, that was correct."
"Why do you say that I owe you a great debt and must repay it?"
"My father left me enough money to live on, but on his deathbed, he said, 'On such and such date, that is to say, yesterday, an elderly traveler will come seeking lodging here. Lend him a large sum of money and make sure to collect it back. If you become poor and struggle in life, use that money.'"
A year ago, I finally used up all the money my father left. Since then, I have been living by selling my possessions, but I have nothing left to sell. I have been waiting eagerly for your arrival."
"I see. Indeed, I borrowed a large sum of money from your father, but I repaid it while he was still alive."
When the master said this, he performed a fortune-telling gesture.
"The money is in this house. Follow me."
When they reached the center of the house, they found a large hole near the main pillar.
"The money is in this hole. Use it little by little."
The fortune-telling master left the house with his companions.
The girl’s father was also a fortune teller, but when he foretold his daughter's future, the prediction was that she would be poor in ten years, and at that time, another fortune teller would come to the house. The father worried that if his daughter knew the money was in the house, she would use it immediately. Therefore, when he passed away, he never mentioned anything about that money.
From "The Uji Collections."
