As a child, everyone probably fantasized about being invisible. That way, they could do all sorts of mischievous things and play pranks without being noticed. And in this story, an adult also believed in invisibility.

“Old Money-Lotterer”

Once upon a time, there lived a wealthy old man in Tengnan.

He worshipped the God of Wealth year-round in his home, and carved ingots adorned the beams. A banner reading “Attract Wealth and Treasure” hung on the front door. His clothes were embroidered with designs resembling large coins. He could not stop talking about wealth.

The locals nicknamed him “Old Money-Lotterer.”

Although he possessed a fortune exceeding his means, Old Money-Lotterer was extremely harsh on his farmhands. They toiled for a year, only to find themselves left with nothing. They resented him and cursed him.

A Plan to Play a Trick on the Old Money-Loving Man

In the old money-loving man’s yard stood an old locust tree, with a large crow’s nest nesting in the tree. His wife constantly praised the crow’s nest as a treasure pot. It was thanks to this “cornucopia” that his family became wealthy. Over time, the farmhands grew tired of hearing this tale.

One day, Zhang San, Li Si, Zhu Wu, and Yang Liu gathered together. After much deliberation, they came up with an idea:

Let the old money-loving man tear down the “cornucopia” himself.

Invisible Grass

At five o’clock that morning, Old Money Man woke up to urge his farmhands to work in the fields. As he left the house, he saw a few vague figures shouting something under an old locust tree. He quickly hid behind a rockery to hear what was going on.

Zhang San said, “We don’t know what kind of invisibility grass it is, so how can we find it?”

Li Si said, “Instead, it’s woven into the crow’s nest. I’ll go up and pick them out one by one.”

Zhu Wu said, “That’s not a good idea! What if the crow’s cry wakes the boss?”

Yang Liu said, “That’s easy. First, we’ll use a long pole to chase the crow away. Then, we’ll hide to the side until the boss wakes up. As soon as he sees no one around, he’ll go back to sleep. As soon as he closes the door, we’ll take action. That’s it! We’ll do it tomorrow night.”

After a pause, Yang Liu said, “This invisibility grass Taoist Liu mentioned is a priceless treasure. With it, no one can see you. You can do whatever you want. But let’s be clear: whoever gets rich with this invisibility grass must never forget us brothers.”

Believing it to be true

The old miser was both furious and delighted. Furious that the farmhands were trying to steal his treasure, he was delighted that he would soon acquire a priceless treasure. He hurried back to the house and told his wife everything that had happened. His wife was only half-believing, half-doubting. They discussed it for a long time. Taking advantage of the still-dawn hours, they set out to take action.

The old miser slowly climbed up a branch and began dismantling the crow’s nest. His wife, looking up from below, lifted her head. The old miser picked up a dry branch and asked,

“Do you see me?”

“Yes,” she replied.

He picked up another branch and asked, “Do you see me?”

She still said yes. He repeated this question twenty-five or twenty-six times. His wife’s neck ached from straining, and she lowered her head.

Then the man above asked again, “Did you see it?” His wife, furious, replied, “No!”

The old miser was overjoyed, as if he had found a treasure. He quickly tucked the branch into his arms. He climbed down the tree, returned to the house, and hid it in a large wooden cabinet.

Dreaming of the County Magistrate

For a while, the old miser rested in bed, thinking of ways to make a fortune. He concluded that no matter how much gold and silver he had, it wouldn’t be as good as being an official. He decided to steal the county magistrate’s seal and become a seventh-rank county magistrate.

The next day at noon, he took out the invisibility grass and stuck it around his collar. He mounted his horse and headed straight for Teng County. In an hour, he arrived at the county government office.

The gatekeepers happened to be dozing off, so they didn’t notice him. So, he boldly entered the hall, went straight to the desk, picked up the official seal, and left. The guards on duty were shocked to see who had stolen the county magistrate’s seal!

They rushed over, knocked the old miser to the ground, tied him up, and took the seal back.

The county magistrate then emerged from behind a screen and demanded to know what had happened. He was ordered to be severely beaten forty times by the yamen runners and taken to the South Prison to await his sentence.