便宜行事 biàn yì xíng shì act at one's convenience

Explanation

便宜行事，就是指根据实际情况，灵活地处理事情，不必拘泥于条条框框，也不必事事请示汇报。

Bian yi xing shi means to deal with things flexibly according to the actual situation, without being bound by rules or reporting everything.

Origin Story

从前，在一个偏远的小村庄，住着一位名叫王二的年轻人。王二为人老实善良，勤劳朴素，只是性格有些呆板，不太会变通。一天，王二去集市上卖农产品，路上遇到一群强盗，强盗们将王二的货物抢走了，王二哭着跑到官府报案。县官是一个贪婪无能的人，听王二说他的货物被抢了，便叫王二去给他送些钱，说这样才能帮他找回货物。王二没有办法，只好去借了一笔钱，送给了县官。可是，县官收了钱以后，并没有帮他找回货物，反而说他诬告，将他关进了大牢。王二在牢里坐了几天，终于明白，在这个地方，靠法律是没法伸冤的，于是他决定便宜行事。他每天都用自己收集到的各种草药，熬制成药汤，免费送给牢里的其他犯人。那些犯人吃了王二的药，身体很快就好了，他们都非常感激王二，并把王二的事迹告诉了狱卒。狱卒们觉得王二是个好人，便暗中帮助王二逃出了牢房。王二回到村庄后，将自己的经历告诉了村民，村民们也觉得县官贪婪无能，便一起到官府去告状。县官看到村民们蜂拥而至，害怕了，只好将王二的货物找回来还给了他。这件事在村里传开了，人们都说王二聪明，懂得便宜行事，用自己的智慧战胜了贪官污吏。

cóng qián, zài yī gè piān yuǎn de xiǎo cūn zhuāng, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào wáng èr de nián qīng rén. wáng èr wéi rén láo shí shàn liáng, qín láo pǔ sù, zhǐ shì xìng gé yǒu xiē dāi bǎn, bù tài huì biàn tōng. yī tiān, wáng èr qù jí shì shàng mài nóng chǎn pǐn, lù shàng yù dào yī qún qiáng dào, qiáng dào men jiāng wáng èr de huò wù qiǎng zǒu le, wáng èr kū zhe pǎo dào guān fǔ bào àn. xiàn guān shì yī gè tān lán wú néng de rén, tīng wáng èr shuō tā de huò wù bèi qiǎng le, biàn jiào wáng èr qù gěi tā sòng xiē qián, shuō zhè yàng cái néng bāng tā zhǎo huí huò wù. wáng èr méi yǒu bàn fǎ, zhǐ hǎo qù jiè le yī bǐ qián, sòng gěi le xiàn guān. kě shì, xiàn guān shōu le qián yǐ hòu, bìng méi yǒu bāng tā zhǎo huí huò wù, fǎn ér shuō tā wū gào, jiāng tā guān jìn le dà láo. wáng èr zài láo li zhù le jǐ tiān, zhōng yú míng bai, zài zhè gè dì fang, kào fǎ lǜ shì méi fǎ shēn yuān de, yú shì tā jué dìng biàn yì xíng shì. tā měi tiān dōu yòng zì jǐ shōu jí dào de gè zhòng cǎo yào, áo zhì chéng yào tāng, miǎn fèi sòng gěi láo li de qí tā fàn rén. nà xiē fàn rén chī le wáng èr de yào, shēn tǐ hěn kuài jiù hǎo le, tā men dōu fēi cháng gǎn jī wáng èr, bìng bǎ wáng èr de shì jì gào sù le yù zú. yù zú men jué de wáng èr shì gè hǎo rén, biàn àn zhōng bāng zhù wáng èr táo chū le láo fáng. wáng èr huí dào cūn zhuāng hòu, jiāng zì jǐ de jīng lì gào sù le cūn mín, cūn mín men yě jué de xiàn guān tān lán wú néng, biàn yī qǐ dào guān fǔ qù gào zhuàng. xiàn guān kàn dào cūn mín men fēng yōng ér zhì, hǎi pà le, zhǐ hǎo jiāng wáng èr de huò wù zhǎo huí lái huán gěi le tā. zhè jiàn shì zài cūn li chuán kāi le, rén men dōu shuō wáng èr cōng ming, dǒng de biàn yì xíng shì, yòng zì jǐ de zhì huì zhèn shèng le tān guān wū lì.

Once upon a time, in a remote village, there lived a young man named Wang Er. Wang Er was honest, kind, hardworking and thrifty, but he was a bit rigid and inflexible. One day, Wang Er went to the market to sell agricultural products, on the way he met a group of bandits, the bandits robbed Wang Er's goods, Wang Er cried and ran to the government to report the case. The county magistrate was a greedy and incompetent man, he heard Wang Er said that his goods were robbed, and then told Wang Er to send him some money, said that this could help him find the goods. Wang Er had no choice, had to borrow a sum of money, sent to the county magistrate. However, after the county magistrate received the money, he did not help him find the goods, but said he falsely accused him, locked him in prison. Wang Er sat in prison for a few days, finally understood, in this place, by law is not able to redress grievances, so he decided to act at his convenience. He collected various herbs every day, boiled into medicine soup, free to give to other prisoners in prison. Those prisoners who ate Wang Er's medicine, their bodies soon recovered, they were very grateful to Wang Er, and told Wang Er's deeds to the jailers. The jailers felt that Wang Er was a good person, so secretly helped Wang Er escaped from prison. Wang Er returned to the village, told his experience to the villagers, the villagers also felt that the county magistrate greedy and incompetent, so together to the government to complain. The county magistrate saw the villagers swarmed, scared, had to find Wang Er's goods back to him. This incident spread in the village, people said that Wang Er is smart, know how to act at his convenience, with his own wisdom to defeat the corrupt officials.

Usage

便宜行事这个成语通常用于表达：在某些情况下，需要灵活机动地处理问题，不必拘泥于常规，也不必事事请示汇报。

biàn yì xíng shì zhè gè chéng yǔ tóng cháng yòng yú biǎo dá: zài mǒu xiē qíng kuàng xià, xū yào líng huó jī dòng de chǔ lǐ wèn tí, bù bì jū ní yú cháng guī, yě bù bì shì shì qǐng shì báo gào.

The idiom 便宜行事 is usually used to express that in some situations, it is necessary to deal with problems flexibly and adaptively, without being bound by conventions or reporting everything.

Examples

• 这次的项目安排，就由你便宜行事吧。

  cì cì de xiàng mù ān pái, jiù yóu nǐ biàn yì xíng shì ba.

  This project will be arranged by you at your discretion.

• 遇到紧急情况，我们必须便宜行事。

  yù dào jǐn jí qíng kuàng, wǒ men bì xū biàn yì xíng shì.

  In case of emergency, we must act at our convenience.

• 这次的会议时间有点紧，只能便宜行事了。

  cì cì de huì yì shí jiān yǒu diǎn jǐn, zhǐ néng biàn yì xíng shì le.

  The time for this meeting is a bit tight, we can only act at our convenience.

Related Idioms

• 见机行事

• 随机应变

• 便宜施行

Opposite Idioms

• 唯命是从

• 墨守成规