Zhao Cishan, the governor of Guangde County, was Fang Yagong's grandfather. When Fang Yagong was little, he was studying one evening and fetched some charcoal to warm his feet.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Cishan scolded the grandson, saying, "You are such a young scholar, so you should be diligent and persevere. How come you cannot endure a little cold? You must know that an official in the court, even on a snowy day, has to line up in a group before dawn waiting for the emperor to show up. You will unavoidably have to endure the cold weather. If a person enjoys the comfort of old age while he is young, he certainly will not live to be old. If he enjoys the comfort of the rich and the noble before he becomes rich and noble, eventually it will also be impossible for him to achieve the status of being rich and noble."
Fang Yagong respectfully accepted his grandfather's words, and in the end he became the grand minister of justice.
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