第四章 早到的一天

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was an official named Guo Ji. He often traveled to various places to understand the lives of the common people.

Once, Guo Ji came to a place in Xihe to handle matters. Before entering the city, he saw several hundred children standing by the roadside.

Some children held small horses made of bamboo, others rode on bamboo horses. As soon as they saw Guo Ji's carriage, they happily ran over.

Guo Ji got off the carriage and asked, "Why have you all come here?"

A slightly older child answered, "We heard you were coming, so we came to welcome you."

Guo Ji did not casually say a few words to send them away just because they were young. He sincerely thanked the children and also asked about their family situations.

After finishing his business, Guo Ji prepared to go to another place. The children again saw him off outside the city.

As he was leaving, a child asked, "When will you come back?"

Other children also gathered around. They said, "Please tell us a date. When the time comes, we will come here to wait for you."

Guo Ji thought for a moment and asked his attendants to calculate the travel distance and the time needed for his tasks, finally setting a return date.

Guo Ji said to the children, "On the twenty-fifth of this month, I will return here."

The children remembered this date and went home happily.

On the road ahead, everything went smoothly. Guo Ji had thought some matters would take several days, but unexpectedly, he finished quickly.

On his return, he found that he would arrive on the twenty-fourth, one day earlier than the agreed date.

His attendants said, "Sir, being a day early is not a bad thing. Let's enter the city today."

Another person also said, "Those children have probably forgotten by now. Even if they haven't, if we are a day early, they won't blame you."

Guo Ji shook his head: "Whether they forget or not is their business. I promised them, so I should remember."

His attendants did not understand: "But you are not late; you are only one day early."

Guo Ji said: "The children asked me which day I would return because they wanted to wait for me on that day. If I enter the city today, tomorrow when they come to the roadside, they won't see me. Although I am early, I still haven't kept my promise to them."

Someone advised him, "Is it necessary to wait an extra day outside the city just for a few children?"

Guo Ji replied: "Whether a person keeps his word should not depend on who the other party is. If I only keep my word to important people but can break it to children, then that is not true trustworthiness."

Therefore, Guo Ji did not enter the city. He stayed overnight in a small pavilion outside the city.

The next day, which was the agreed twenty-fifth, he let the carriage move forward.

From afar, he saw the children riding bamboo horses again. They were indeed standing by the road waiting for him.

The children ran over and happily said, "You really remembered our agreement!"

Guo Ji smiled and said, "This is the date we agreed on. You remember, so of course I should remember too."

The children followed his carriage toward the city. Watching them, his attendants finally understood why Guo Ji was willing to wait an extra day outside the city.

Guo Ji did not gain money for keeping his word, nor did anyone order him to do so. He simply took his own words seriously and was willing to wait an extra day to keep his promise.

Whether a person is trustworthy can often be seen in small matters. How he treats children and how he handles seemingly unimportant agreements best indicate whether he is worth trusting.