There was a man named Cao Shang in the State of Song.
宋國有個人，名叫曹商。
Once, he was sent on a mission by the King of Song to the State of Qin. Before departure, the King of Song bestowed upon him several horse-drawn chariots. Upon arriving in the State of Qin, Cao Shang won the favour of the King of Qin. Consequently, the King bestowed upon him 100 chariots.
一次，他受宋王的派遣，出使秦國。臨行時，宋王賜給他幾乘車馬。到了秦國，曹商很得秦王歡心，于是秦王又賜給他百乘車馬。
Soon afterwards, Cao Shang returned to the State of Song. One day he met Zhuang Zi and said proudly:
不久，曹商返回宋國。一天，他見到莊子，得意洋洋地說:
"In the past, I lived in poor streets and humble alleys. I was very poor, and made my living by making shoes. I was sallow and thin. This was my weak point. Now, relying on my clever tongue, I have touched the heart of the King of Qin, who is the sovereign lord with 1,000 chariots. He bestowed upon me 100 chariots. This is my strong point."
“過去我身居窮街陋巷，非常貧困，靠編鞋過日子，面黃肌瘦，這是我的短處。現在，我憑著三寸不爛之舌，打動萬乘之主的秦王，賜給我車馬百乘，這是我的長處。”
When Zhuang Zi heard this, he gave a snort of contempt and said sarcastically:
莊子聽了，嗤之以鼻，諷刺他說:
"I heard that the King of Qin was ill. He let the physicians treat him, and rewarded them according to their contributions: those who sucked pus and ate sores would get 1 horse-drawn chariot; those who licked the piles would get 5 chariots. The more filthy the illness you treat, the more chariots you would get. You have probably licked his piles; otherwise, how could you acquire that many chariots? You had better go away!"
“我聽說秦王有病，讓醫生治病，實行論功行賞:吸膿吃瘡的，可得車馬一乘;舌甜痔瘡的，可得車馬五乘。治的病越骯臟，得的車馬越多。您大概為秦王甜過痔瘡吧，不然怎么會得到那么多車馬呢?您還是給我走開吧!”