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| 4. When the young man came to the landlord, the
landlord said, "You must be hardworking, and do whatever I tell you. If
not, I will not pay you your wages when New Year's Eve comes."
"Don't worry, I won't argue with you now.
Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it to your satisfaction."
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5. And so, the young man started work and worked
hard. The whole year round, whether in sunshine or rain, he completed
the chores given to him by the landlord every day. As New Year's Eve
approached, the young man went to the landlord to claim his wages
before he went home.
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| 6. As in previous years, the landlord set a few
hard tasks for him to do. If he could not perform them, he would not be
paid his year's wages.
The landlord said "First: There are too many
earthen jars in the
house, so think of a way to stuff the big jars into the small jars. The
second task: Sun dry the floor of the house. But you are not allowed to
dig up the earth and move it. The third task: Tell me how much this
head of mine weighs. And you must be accurate."
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Based on the folk tale of the same title from "At
Grandfather's Knee" edited by Margaret Milliken, adapted by
Teng Ming Xin and
Chen Jin Feng, illustrated by Chen Wei Zhen (aged 10) and Chen Wei Yin
(aged 8).
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