A man named Zhang Xuzi, after having his bed repaired and embellished, wanted to have a show of it very much. As no one was likely to come into the bedroom to have a look at it, he came up with an idea. Pretending to be ill, he kept to his bed so that his in-laws and friends might come over to see him.

His brother-in-law, You Yangzi, who had a paur of new stockings knitted, wanted to show it off, too. The day he came over to see Zhang, he purposely tucked up his robe as he sat down and lifted one leg, putting the ankle of it on the knee of the other. Then he inquired:

“Well, what’s wrong with you?”

Zhang Xuzi, looking at him for some time, could not help smiling.

“We have the same illness,” was the reply.