During the Han Dynasty, a man named Han Xin lost both parents as a child and had no means of support, often showing up at others' homes for free meals, which made him deeply unwelcome.
During the Han Dynasty, the young Han Xin was living in poverty and often went hungry. He was acquainted with the village chief of Nanchang, so he stayed at the chief's home for several months. As time passed, the chief's wife grew impatient. For several days in a row, she would prepare breakfast early, eat with her husband, and leave nothing for Han Xin. Realizing they were trying to drive him away, Han Xin left in anger.
Han Xin, with no home to return to, could only fish by the Huai River outside Huaiyin city, often going hungry from one meal to the next.
By the Huai River, a group of elderly women were washing silk floss, each bringing their own lunch basket for the day's work. One old woman noticed Han Xin, weak from hunger, and took pity on him, sharing her meal with him day after day for over a fortnight. Deeply grateful, Han Xin said to her, "Your kindness in caring for me like this—one day, I will surely repay you handsomely."
When the old woman heard this, she grew angry instead and said, "You, a full-grown man, can't even feed yourself—how disgraceful! I gave you food out of pity, not for your repayment!"
Han Xin was later recognized by Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, and appointed as a great general. He risked his life in battle, achieved brilliant military exploits, and ultimately defeated Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu. Together with Zhang Liang and Xiao He, he was known as one of the "Three Heroes of the Han Founding." For his merits, he was enfeoffed as the King of Chu.
After achieving great success and fame, Han Xin remembered his days of poverty and decided to repay kindness for kindness. He sent men to find the old woman who had fed him, along with the Nanchang garrison commander and the bully who had made him crawl between his legs.
When Han Xin found the old woman, he thanked her profusely and presented her with a thousand taels of gold as repayment. The old woman tried to decline but could not refuse, so she accepted the gift and took her leave.
As for the Nanchang garrison commander and the ruffian who had once humiliated him, Han Xin did not punish them. Instead, he appointed the ruffian as a captain. The man, overwhelmed by Han Xin's extraordinary magnanimity, felt both shame and gratitude, kowtowing repeatedly in thanks.
Later, people used the idiom "A Meal Worth a Thousand Gold" to describe repaying a favor generously.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "一饭千金" came to describe repaying a favor generously.