原文 Original text
繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
四錢六分 The Silversmith Skimmed It
因不好收拾，前者到城中，央了個銀匠煎在一處，他又沒天理，偷了我幾分，只得四錢六分一塊兒。你拿去罷。」因不好收拾，前者到城中，央了个银匠煎在一处，他又没天理，偷了我几分，只得四钱六分一块儿。你拿去罢。」
逐句解 Line by line
因不好收拾，前者到城中，央了個銀匠煎在一處，他又沒天理，偷了我幾分，只得四錢六分一塊兒。
因不好收拾，前者到城中，央了个银匠煎在一处，他又没天理，偷了我几分，只得四钱六分一块儿。
Because it was awkward to keep, I went into the city a while back and got a silversmith to melt it into one piece. And he had no conscience and stole a few fen of it, so it came to only four mace six fen in a single lump.
分 reads fēn — a fen, a tenth of a mace and a hundredth of a tael. 央 is to ask a favour of someone. 兒 keeps ér.
你拿去罷。」
你拿去罢。」
Take it and go."
罷 keeps bà at the close.
The arithmetic is exact and worth doing. Five mace went to the silversmith; four mace six fen came back. The smith kept four fen, which is eight per cent, and that is at least as likely to have been the charge for melting and recasting as it is to have been theft. Bajie has been charged for a service and has decided he was robbed.
Why melt it in the first place? Because loose silver was weighed at every transaction and small scraps were a nuisance; a single ingot is easier to carry and harder to lose. He was being sensible, which is rarer for him than being cheated.
The complaint about the smith's conscience is the detail that makes the whole confession real. A man handing over his life savings to a supernatural bailiff still takes the time to mention that he was short-changed on a trip into town some while back. Grievances outlast almost everything.