Afanti asked the labourer.
"Last year, I went to an inn in the village and ate a chicken. Before I left I asked the innkeeper for the bill, but he said: "We"ll settle it next time, there"s no rush." I thought at the time that he was being nice so I thanked him and left. Two months later, I went back to pay, and he started counting his fingers and mumbling away as if he was trying to calculate a very complicated account. I said: "How much was that chicken? All you have to do is tell me!" The innkeeper waved his hand and told me to be quiet."
"A chicken, even if it was the biggest fat chicken, would not be more than a hundred copper pieces," said Afanti"s wife.
"That"s what I thought too," said the labourer. "But after he had been figuring for a long time, he said twelve taels of silver!"
"Ai-ya!" exclaimed Afanti"s wife. "How could a chicken be so expensive? You could buy several hundred chickens with twelve taels of silver."
"Yes, that"s what I said. But the innkeeper said: "There"s no mistake. If you had not eaten my chicken, how many eggs would that chicken have laid? And how many of those eggs would have become little chicks? And when those little chicks grew, how many eggs would they have laid...?" The longer he calculated, the higher the price became and finally he said: "Twelve taels of silver is actually very cheap!" Naturally, I refused to give him the money so he dragged me over to see Master Hu for him to settle the dispute. Master Hu listened to the innkeeper and told me to pay up. He said that if I didn"t settle the account quickly, the eggs would become even more chickens and I wouldn"t have a hope. Afanti, tell me who is right."
Just then, the boy returned.
"Master Hu says how could a saucepan be pregnant? He doesn"t believe you and says you must return the saucepan to him immediately."
Afanti went into the kitchen and brought out a small saucepan which he gave to the boy. "This is clearly the son of a saucepan," he said. "You give it to Master Hu."
Uncertain whether to believe him or not, the boy took the small saucepan and left.
Afanti turned to the labourer and said: "You tell Master Hu you want to hold a meeting to settle the matter."
"But if I lose, I"ll have to give him twenty-four taels of silver, won"t I?"
"Don"t worry," said Afanti, "You can"t lose."
After an hour or so, the labourer returned and said: "Uncle Afanti, Master Hu had already called the meeting, and the deliberation has begun. Please come."
"I"m busy at the moment," Afanti replied. "Come back in a little while." He sat laughing and chatting with his wife and the others. The labourer was extremely anxious and pleaded with him and finally Afanti got up and accompanied him to the meeting.
Xu and the others went along too to see the fun, and they found seven or eight hundred people gathered in the centre of the village. A fat man wearing an embroidered fur-lined gown sat in the middle, and they decided he must be Master Hu. The crowd had become very restless waiting for Afanti.
"Afanti," called Master Hu. "This labourer says you"re going to speak for him. Why are you so late?"
Afanti bowed before him. "I"m sorry, but I had some important business to attend to," he said.
"How could it be more important than settling this dispute?" Master Hu replied.
"It was much more important," said Afanti. "Tomorrow, I am going to plant some wheat, but I had not yet fried the seeds or eaten them. I fried them three times and it took me a long time to finish them up."
"Nonsense!"