"A verbal apology won't suffice. Only if you find it a real opportunity for action, to try it out and give it encouragement, will you be showing a desire to foster talent."
"You're right. If it really has developed, I'll foster it with that affair we spoke of."
"Very well, then, I suppose I shall have to make a spectacle of myself all over again."
It was the beginning of winter, and Vesperus was wearing a padded jacket and lined trousers. Thinking his clothes would be too bulky to allow a close inspection, he tied his sash around his waist, tucked up his shirt, and let down his trousers. Then he presented his penis with both hands, like the Persian offering up his jewel.
"Well, has it made any progress? Take a look."
The Knave, who was standing some way off, thought he must have obtained a donkey's member from somewhere and attached it to his waist. Not until he came close and scrutinized it did he realize that it was the genuine article. He gaped in astonishment.
"What method did you use to turn that puny object into something so impressive?"
"I don't know exactly, but after you provoked it, it suddenly pulled itself together in an effort to do me credit. There was no holding it back."
"Don't you try to fool me! I can see the surgical scars, as well as four strips of a different color. Come on now, tell me the truth, what ingenious technique is behind all this?"
Vesperus could hold out no longer against his friend's questions. He proceeded to relate how he had met the adept and undergone transplant surgery with the aid of a dog's penis.
"The lengths you go to for the sake of sex! You'll obviously succeed, because you'll let nothing stand in your way. I can see I have no choice but to help you out in this affair.
Luckily I still have a few pieces of gold on me. Let's go over to her place now and see if there's any opening."
Overjoyed, Vesperus hastily changed his clothes, put on a new cap, and went out with the Knave. When they came near her shop, the Knave asked him to wait while he went ahead and spied out the land.
Before long he was back, a broad grin on his face. "Congratulations! You're in luck! Provided you have the right destiny, you can pull it off tonight."
"But we've never even met," said Vesperus. "How can you be so sure about tonight?"
"I've just heard from the neighbors that her husband is off on a buying trip and won't be back for over ten days. You'll burst in with me and start making advances to her. If she shows any liking for you, I'll find a way to get you in there tonight. You'll be able to count on ten days of pleasure with her."
"I shall owe everything to you."
When they reached the shop, the woman was sitting inside, spinning silk. The Knave pushed the bamboo curtain aside and he and Vesperus burst in.
"Is Master Quan at home?"
"No, he's away buying silk," she replied.
"I was thinking of buying a few pounds. Since he isn't here, what shall I do?"
"You could always go somewhere else for it."
Vesperus intervened. "We could get it anywhere, of course, but we've been customers of yours for a long time and would prefer not to patronize someone else. Moreover, other people's silk may not be of the highest quality. We feel more confident buying from you."
"If you're customers of ours, how is it I don't know you?"
"Where's your memory, ma'am?" put in the Knave. "I was in here last summer buying silk. Your husband was away then, too, and you served me yourself. You got a roll down from on top and sold it to me. Surely you haven't forgotten?"
"No, I do remember that."
"Since you remember," said Vesperus, "you must know we haven't come here to haggle. If you have some silk, bring it out and sell it to us. Why drive business away to your competitors?"
"I do have a few pounds," she said, "but I don't know if they'll meet your requirements."
"How could your silk not meet our requirements? It is more likely too good. I'm afraid a poor student like me may not be able to afford it."
"You're too kind. Well, won't you take a seat while I get it out?"
The Knave made Vesperus take the upper seat, which was closer, so that he could flirt with her more easily.
The woman brought out a roll of silk and handed it to Vesperus. As she did so, she remained impassive and did not look closely at him.
Before he even took the silk, Vesperus said, "This is too yellow. I'm afraid it won't do." Then, after taking it and inspecting it, he said to the Knave, "That's funny! In madam's hands it looked a yellowy brown, but in mine it's white again. How do you account for that?" He pretended to ponder the answer, then went on: "I know! Madam's hands are too white, and so they make the silk look yellow by comparison. My hands are dark, and so they make it look white."
When she heard this remark, her eyes fastened on Vesperus's hands and examined them. "Your honorable hands can hardly be called dark," she said at last. Despite this, she retained her serious expression, with no trace of a smile.
"His hands may not be dark as compared with mine," said the Knave, "but compared with madam's they're certainly not white."
"If you think the silk is white, why don't you buy it?" she asked.
"But it's white only in comparison with my unworthy hands," said Vesperus. "Obviously it's not really white. Only silk the color of madam's honorable hands will do. Please bring some out and show it to us."
"Where in the world are you going to find silk as white as that?" asked the Knave. "If we could only get some the color of your complexion, it would be all right."
At this remark the woman's eyes fastened on Vesperus's face and examined it. This time her face lit up with pleasure. "I'm afraid there's no silk in the world as white as that," she said with a smile.
Gentle reader, why do you suppose she smiled now but not before? Why do you think she looked closely at him now but not before? The truth is she was nearsighted and could see nobody more than a few feet away. When Vesperus entered the shop, she thought he was just another customer. Then, when she heard him describe himself as a poor student, she realized he was a licentiate, but still thought him ordinary and did not scrutinize him. Because she had to strain her eyes in order to see people, she never looked closely at a man on meeting him.
In general, among nearsighted women the pretty ones outnumber the ugly and the intelligent the stupid. But there is one thing to remember about them alclass="underline" Their desire for sex is fully equal to that of those men with lustful eyes. Both types throw themselves wholeheartedly into sex without any respite. There is an old saying that goes:
A nearsighted wife
Won't be idle in bed.
Suppose an oversexed woman were able to see people at a distance. If she saw a handsome man, her desires might well be aroused and her lifelong chastity lost. That is why the Creator, in endowing her with human form, had the brilliant idea of giving her these eyes, to prevent her from seeing anyone-not even a Pan An or a Song Yu-except her husband, thus avoiding a great deal of retribution. Historically the vast majority of nearsighted women have preserved their chastity while only a small minority have gone astray.
Because her eyes kept her out of trouble, she'd never have known if a man was standing before her all day making eyes at her. He might just as well have been wrapped in a blanket of fog. But now that she had seen Vesperus's hands and face, she was dazzled, captivated.
She turned to him. "Well, sir, do you really want to buy some? If you do, I have a roll of excellent quality that I'll be glad to bring out and show you."
"That's what we came for," said Vesperus. "Of course we want to buy some. Please show me what you've got."
She went into the shop and returned with a roll of silk, at the same time telling her maid, a scabby-headed young girl, to serve tea to the Knave and Vesperus.