"'It is an exceedingly distinguished and honourable thing to have
failed thirty-five times, and still to be undiscouraged,' admitted Ti
Hung; 'but I cannot cleanse my throat from bitterness when I consider
that my noble and lucrative business must pass into the hands of
strangers, perhaps even into the possession of the unendurable Li
Ting.'
"But it had been appointed that this degrading thing should not
happen, however, and it was indeed fortunate that Yung did not abandon
his literary pursuits; for after some time it became very apparent to
Ti Hung that there was something radically wrong with his business. It
was not that his custom was falling off in any way; indeed, it had
lately increased in a manner that was phenomenal, and when the
merchant came to look into the matter, he found to his astonishment
that the least order he had received in the past week had been for a
hundred idols. All the sales had been large, and yet Ti Hung found
himself most unaccountably deficient in taels. He was puzzled and
alarmed, and for the next few days he looked into the business
closely. Then it was that the reason was revealed, both for the
falling off in the receipts and for the increase in the orders.
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