Moral of returning pearls: Zheng people only stared at the exquisite wooden box and gave up precious jewels. It can be seen that things must be clearly defined, and people who buy gifts and return pearls cannot only pay attention to the appearance of things and not see the essence of things.
Only by seeing the essence of things clearly and prioritizing can we make appropriate choices. The idiom originally meant to put back the wooden box bought to hold pearls; The metaphor is improper choice, and the secondary things are better than the main ones.
The story of buying bamboo slips and returning pearls;
There is a jeweler from Chu who sells jewelry in Zheng. He set the highest price for one of the most expensive pearls and specially made a delicate little box. This small box is made of fine wood and smells of spices. It is also carved with roses and inlaid with colorful little gems. It's really beautiful.
This beautiful little box with pearls really attracted people's attention. As soon as it was exhibited, it was taken by a customer. He paid the price of this box of pearls on the spot and bought it.
The jeweler was of course very happy, so he handed the box of pearls to the customer in one hand and held it in the other. However, the customer took out the pearl and returned it to the merchant, and left with an empty box.