A man in the state of Song was skilled at making an ointment that prevented chapped hands. For generations, his family had made a living by bleaching silk floss.
A merchant heard of this ointment and offered him one hundred pieces of gold for the recipe. The Song man, considering this a large sum, sold it to him. The merchant then presented the recipe to the King of Wu and persuaded him to produce it.
When war broke out between Wu and Yue, the king appointed the merchant as a general to lead a naval battle against Yue in winter. Because the Wu soldiers had applied the ointment and were unbothered by the cold water, they defeated the Yue army.
The King of Wu rewarded the merchant with a fief for his contribution. Thus, the same skill led one man to receive a noble title while another continued his humble trade of bleaching silk floss. The difference lay entirely in how the skill was applied.