One upon a time, there was a hardworking millionaire, who never stopped working. Though he was very rich he always saw the value of being perseverant. He believed that working hard was very rewarding. For this reason, he always taught his subordinates to see the value of working hard and told them not to be lazy. When his daughter got married, he did not forget to tell his son in law to work hard like him. One day, he told his son in law to clear the land for plantation.
He said “My son, why don’t you go to clear the land and grow rice, at least we can have a handful of rice to eat.”
The son in law accepted to do as he was told. He grabbed a big knife and a hoe and went to the rice field. While he was clearing the land he put his palms and feet on the ground. He cleared only the parts that were equal to his palms and feet. He stopped and went back home to report his work to his father in law.
The old man was glad to see him finish his work very fast.
He told the son in law to grow rice “Please grow rice, use the Kao Bao (denotation meaning refers to the grain that is light ,the real meaning is the early rice which takes only 3 month to grow)”
The son in law did not refuse. Instead he tried to find (Kaobao) which refers to light grain. What he put in the sack and carried to show the father in law was the lean grain that people threw away because this kind of grain was not heavy. When the father in law saw the sack, he was not suspicious but told his son in law to grow rice.
The father in law said “ You must plough the land first but you don’t have to use the big buffalo . Use the rat instead”
The father in law referred the small buffalo he had to a little rat.
The son in law did not refuse. He went to the rice field and found a small rat. He tied its neck like people did with buffalos. In the evening, his father in law came to see him. He was stunned to see a tiny rat, lean grain and the small cleared part of land just equaled the palm and feet of human. The old man had not yet opened his mouth to say any words when the son in law said; “ I did as you told me to do father.”