Once upon a time, there was a man whose family had been poor for eight generations. So, everyone called him “Poor Eighth Generation.”

“Poor Eighth Generation” decided to find a fortune teller to explain why his family had been so poor for generations.

Searching for a Fortune Teller

He had heard that an old man in the north, who made embroidery needles, was very skilled in fortune-telling. So, he headed north, begging along the roads in search of this fortune teller.

Three Families Seeking Fortune Telling

“Poor Eighth Generation” was walking along the road when he met a man who said his family had an apricot tree that hadn’t produced apricots in ten years. He wanted to know why. The owner of the house asked “Poor Eighth Generation” to find a fortune teller for his family. “Poor Eighth Generation” agreed.

“Poor Eighth Generation” walked for several dozen miles more. He met another family who said they had a peach tree. Every year, the peaches on the tree rotted away when they reached the size of a finger. This had been going on for eight years. He also wanted to ask “Poor Eighth Generation” to have a fortune teller tell his family’s fortune. Why? “Qiong Babei” readily agreed.

“Poor Eighth Generation” walked a few miles further and heard that a family had a daughter who was twenty years old and still couldn’t speak. The owner of the family asked “Poor Eighth Generation” to ask the old man who made embroidery needles to tell their family’s fortune. “Poor Eighth Generation”nodded and agreed.

A Chance Encounter with the Fortune Teller

“Poor Eighth Generation” suffered greatly along the way.

In the summer, his face was scorched by the scorching sun. In the winter, his hands and feet were severely frozen and swollen.

In the end, the fortune teller searched from summer to winter but couldn’t find the fortune teller.

At this point, he dejectedly raised his head to the heavens and asked:

“It’s okay for me to be poor, but I’ve been entrusted with the task by those three families. If I can’t find a fortune teller, how will I explain this to them? Heaven, please help me!”

The Old Man Grinding an Iron Rod

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw an old man grinding an iron rod on a stone. “Poor Eighth Generation” politely asked, “What are you trying to turn the iron rod into?”

The old man said he wanted to turn it into an embroidery needle.

“Poor Eighth Generation” then asked, “Grandpa, can such a thick iron rod be ground into an embroidery needle?”

The old man replied, “With hard work, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle.” The clever “Poor Eighth Generation” immediately realized that this old man must be the fortune teller he was looking for.

Only Three Divinations a Year

So, he fell to his knees and said, “Sir, please tell me why that family’s apricot tree doesn’t bear apricots.” The old man explained that it was because there were ten jars of gold ingots beneath their tree. Dig out the ingots, and apricots will grow.

The “poor eight generations” then asked, “Sir, why are the peaches on that family’s peach tree rotting?” The old man replied that there were ten jars of silver ingots buried beneath their tree. Dig out the silver ingots, and their peaches will stop rotting.

The “poor eight generations” then asked, “Sir,why is that family’s daughter still speechless at twenty years old?” The old man said she would be able to speak when she met the person she loved.

The “poor eight generations” finally asked, “Sir,why has our family been poor for eight generations?” The old man explained that he only told three divinations a year, and then he disappeared.

An unexpected success leads to a lush forest.

“Poor Eighth Generation” thought to himself, “Even though my own fortune didn’t pan out, I’m happy that it panned out for those three families.” He first told the first hexagram to the family who planted the apricot tree. They dug out ten jars of gold ingots from under the tree and gave two to “Poor Eighth Generation.” He refused to accept them, but they insisted.

He then told the second hexagram to the family who planted the peach tree. They also dug out ten jars of silver ingots from under the tree and gave two to “Poor Eighth Generation.”

Finally, “Poor Eighth Generation” told the third hexagram to the family whose daughter couldn’t speak. He was about to leave when the daughter came downstairs and tried to persuade him to stay. Later, the daughter was betrothed to “Poor Eighth Generation.” From then on, “Poor Eighth Generation” became a wealthy man.