Chinese Traditional Story: The Old Man and A Scholar

This story took place during the Qing Dynasty. Every time a scholar passed by the market, he would buy a few pancakes from an old man who sold them there. One day when he stopped to buy pancakes, the old man asked the scholar to sit down. He said, "I can see that you are a good person. I may need your help tonight." When the scholar asked what he needed, the old man said, "Just come back here tonight and you will know."The scholar thought that if he returned home very late his mother would worry about him. So he refused. The old man sighed and said, "It’s not time yet!" The next day when the scholar passed the old man's house he saw a crowd gathered there. When he asked what happened he was told that the old man had died.