During the Guangxu era (1875-1908) of the Qing Dynasty, a man from Jiangsu Province, China, worked at a foreign-goods trading company in the Shanghai Concessions District. The company owner appreciated his honesty and trusted him. One day, the owner sent the Jiangsu man, carrying a small leather pouch, to the South Market to collect payments.
He started early and collected over 1,800 silver coins by noon. He was hungry and thirsty, and wanted to hurry back to work. So he stopped by Shiliupu Teahouse for a cup of tea before heading back to the company. After he returned to work, he realized he had left the leather pouch behind, but couldn’t recall how he lost it. The owner suspected him of embezzlement, scolded him harshly, and threatened to press charges if he didn’t return the money immediately. The man was at a loss for words and burst into tears.
Another man from Pudong, Shanghai, was a worker from another company in the concessions district. This Pundong man was feeling particularly dejected and disheartened that day and planned to cross the Huangpu River to return home. He arrived at Shiliupu Teahouse just after the Jiangsu man left, and drank tea while waiting for the boat to cross the river. The Pudong man saw a small leather pouch on the table. He opened it and found a large sum of money.
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