长篇励志小说《漂泊》(中英双语版)
Drift (bilingual novel)
作者:陈胜良 (湖南作家协会会员,双语作家)
By Chen Shengliang,member of Hunan Writers’ Association
第二章
忧心忡忡
Chapter Two
Anxiety Gnawed at the families’ Hearts
经凛冽寒冬的侵袭,渠边的白杨早早叶落枝秃,没了勃勃生机,但枝丫还是倔犟地往上翻,张开着一双
双纤细的手,想要拥抱来临的春天。虽说春天来临,但时下垸子里还是北风呼呼,田野里的草堆,瑟瑟发抖。
渠底的水流,淅淅沥沥,似有根婶在牛伢耳边的唠叨声,窸窸窣窣。牛伢踩在残枝枯叶上,喀嚓喀嚓。他长
长地叹了口气,仰望着茫茫的苍天,茫然不知何处去。
Having suffered the severe cold of the winter,the branches of the trees along the irrigation canal were all naked ,
seemingly withered,but they still doggedly turned upward as if to embrace the coming spring with their hands.
Though, toward the spring,the north wind was still whistling in the protective embankment in the riverside,the
haystacks in the fields were rustling in the wind and the irrigation ditches dried up.However,there was still a
stream of water murmuring along the bed of the ditch as if Aunt Yougen were nagging at Niuya interminably
with rustling words.Niuya was walking on the withered twigs and fallen leaves on the dyke back and forth ,
making cracking sound,with heavy steps and heavy heart.Having a deep sigh and raising his eyes hopelessly
at the vast sky,he was at a loss where to go in his future.
这个尘封了的故事发生在久远尘封了的年代,也就是牛伢从蜚英中学高中毕业回到乡下,找不到出路而
感到迷茫,彷徨,痛苦的年代。那是一九七三年隆冬里的一个日子,一个阴霾雾罩的日子。那天,牛伢
愁绪满怀,心情忐忑,仿佛走到了末日,断路天涯。
The memory of the story faded over the years of the remote past.Then,Niuya was plunged in perplexity,agony and
hesitation because he was at a loss for his way out after garduation.On the day in a hazy and misty in the depth
of the winter of 1973 ,Niuya had his heart filled with gloomy mood and terrible fidgets, as if meeting his doomsday.
牛伢抬起了头,远远地望去,陈家岭上,低矮的茅草屋上炊烟袅袅,一丝丝,一缕缕,冉冉升起,像风中
飘拂的银色的绸带,又像山上飘下的白色的瀑布。他知道天色不早了,他,该走了。临走之前,他无可奈
何地长叹了声,然后,从罗溪渠道上路,抄一条小路往南面彳亍彳亍地走了。
Looking up into the distance,Niuya saw, from the kitchen chimneys of the small huts of Chenjialing,wisps ofsmoke
curling upward ,rocking like silver ribbons in the breeze or drifting like white waterfalls down the mountains.
Conscious that it was towards evening,he urged himself to start out,but before he left he heaved a deep sigh ,
then,he changed his route from the dyke of Luoxi Irrigation Ditch and headed along a small path towards the
south.
乡下的阴天似乎黑得早,雾蒙蒙的天空,缓缓铺开了黑色的帷幕,岭上的人家都围坐在桌旁,热热闹闹地
奏起了碗筷奏鸣曲。而有根叔家的桌上,还是冷火消烟,冷冰冰的。不过,片刻后,桌上的饭菜也摆了上
来。虽说是粗茶淡饭但也热喷喷,香扑扑。妹妹香菊和花蕾馋得流出了口水,可是她们还不敢动筷子。桌
上的饭菜,凉了又热,热了又凉了
It seemed to be getting dark earlier that day in the countryside because the gloomy scenes met the eye on everyside as if
someone was bedding a black heavy blanket over the sky.Now,every household were at table,bustling with the touching noise
of their chopstics and bowls.However,there was nothing of the food on Uncle Yougen’s table.But,a moment later,dinner was
also readily laid on the table.The food,such as it was,very appetizing,making sisters Xiangju’s and Hualei’s mouth water.
But the pity was that they dared not touch anything of the food for some reason.To be kept warm ,the dishes were
repeatedly heated up.
有根叔心里有点不踏实,便提着烟竿走到门边,望了望门外。眼看暮色吞没了田野,田野里堆放的一个草
堆,仿佛是牛伢的影子,伫立在苍茫中,怅然叹息;暮色吞没了岭上的房屋,沟壑旁的杨柳,在风中发出
呜呜呼叫的声音,仿如牛伢的声音,在蒙蒙的夜色中呜呜抽泣。天,很黑了,可是牛伢还没回,有根叔的
心里便忐忑不安起来。
“唉,尚且倦鸟知投林,何况是人呀!”他紧锁着眉头,唉声叹气地说了这么一句话。有根叔读过几年老
书,说话喜欢文绉绉的,可是有根婶听不懂他说的比喻,但她晓得她男人为何心里闷闷不乐。她,没有起
身,依然坐着破篾,装作若无其事,说:
“他爹,你担心么子咯?家里喂的鸡放出去了,到了晚上,也晓得进笼呀。”
“唉,说是这么说,可是就怕有的鸡今夜不想进笼了呀!”
“为啥子这么说呢?”
“你想想啊,如今这世道呀,被文化大革命这么一搞,有真才实学的,就无用武之地了,匪夷所思啊!牛伢
这伢子,学了英语,原来指望考特长,可现在……唉,不说了。这么晚了,还不见人影,我担心他………”有
根叔的话还没说完,喉咙就哽咽了。
“他爹,别着急!说不定,咱家的牛伢和谁家的姑娘好上了呀。”有根婶也有点着急了,但她还在努力掩饰
地安慰有根叔。她依旧坐着破篾。
“那哪能呀?咱家穷家小户的,哪家的姑娘看得上咱家的孩子呀?再说,在陈家岭这块地方,儿女婚姻,都
还是媒妁之言,父母之命啊。”
“那你也用不着坐立不安呀。牛伢高中毕业了,是大人了,还要担心吗?”
Uncle Yougen didn’t feel relieved about Niuya’s safety,therefore, he headed for the door,long_stemmed smoking pipe in hand.
He shoot a glance outside,noticing that the dusk of the evening was soon enveloping the fields and,then, the houses of the
village.When he saw one haystack rustling in the distance, he connected it in his mind with Niuya as if his son were
standing alone in the field and heaving disappointed sighs.When he heard the wind blowing the willows, he associated it
with Niuya as if the boy were sobbing by the ditch.Now it was pitch_dark,but, in spite of his connection of the boy,
Niuya still didn’t come back yet,so Uncle began to feel even more uneasy.
“Well,even a bird knows how to fly back to neastle in the forest when it is getting dark.But,why doen’t the kid?”Uncle Yougen
sighed in despair,with knitted brows. He went to old_style private school for several years when he was young,so whenever he
spoke,he would speak in such an elegant manner while his wife Aunt Yougen didn’t catch the implication of the figure of the
speech,but she knew why her husband felt so uneasy.In spite of her own worry,she didn’t stand up and she was still stripping
bamboo strips,pretending to stay calm but she finally uttered :
“Kid his dad,what’s up?As you see,even when a chicken is let out of the cage,it knows how to come home,so, there is nothing
of your worry about Niuya.”
“Hm,even so,I still can’t have my heart set at rest about it.You see,wht if the chicken doesn’t come back tonight?”
“What has made you so worried,then?”
“You can see that nowadays the practice has been messed up by the Great Cultural Revolution,so genuine talented youngsters
have no chances to display their abilities.It’s really ridiculous!Why,Niuya was arduous in learning English in hopes of going
to university in the light of his special talents in English,but now….,well,well,I’ll say nothing of it.Hm,it’s so late at
night,but we still hasn’t caught the glimpse of his shadow,I am afraid…….”He suddenly had had a lump in his throat before
he finished his words.
“Kid his dad,there is nothing to worry about.It is possible that Niuya is intimately in love with a girl and they are
hanging out now.”With these words,Aunt Yougen also began to be more worried ,but she still tried to hide it to cheer Uncle
Yougen up.She was still pretending to strip bamboo strips.
“What!We are poor and humble,so, who on earth will marry their daughters off to our kids? In addition to this,kids’
marriages are,at all times,decided by their parents and go_betweens.”
“Even so,you should feel relieved for Niuya has become a grown_up now since his graduation from middle school.Is there
anything to worry about him?”
有根叔懒得答话,干脆走出了房门,一屁股坐在屋门前的一块青石板上,默默地,望着蒙蒙的暮色。
凝望良久,在那片黑夜中,还是不见人影。他便把烟竿搁在大腿上,取下腰间的牛骨头烟叶盒,用粗得像
锯齿一样的手指,捏了一爪旱烟丝,塞进烟葫芦脑壳里,点燃了旱烟,深深地叭了几口,然后吐出了一口
白白的烟。他吐出一口白烟,如同吐出了心中的焦虑,他微微地眯着眼睛,紧缩着的眉头也舒展了些。白
白的烟卷,绕着阶基前的那棵枣树弥漫着。先是一圈一圈的,然后慢慢地升腾,升到枝丫上,便成了轻轻
的烟丝。然而,缭绕的烟丝并没有解除他心中的焦虑,反而使他更加忧心忡忡…….
Not being in the mood to reply to her,Uncle Yougen simply walked out of the door and squatted heavily down on a piece of
celadon slabstone,silently staring into the thick dusk of the evening.He stared for some time but Niuya still didn’t turn
up.In order to relieve himself from the anxiety,he laid the smoking pipe horizontally on his legs and took down the
ox_bone tobacco case,out of which he picked a handful of cut tobacco with his rough sawteeth_like fingers and then squeezed
it into the bowl of the long_stemmed smoking pipe.All done,he struck a match,lighted the tobacco ,drew deep on the pipe
for several times and then puffed out curls of white smoke.He puffed out the smoke from his mouth as if he puffed out the
anxiety from his heart,now he felt a little bit relieved,his eyes slightly squinting and his knitted brows becoming smooth
again.The curls of white smoke heavily twined round the jujube tree in front of the house,slowly rising in the form of
circles at the beginning but finally scattered into the filiform by the breeze when they reached the top.Nevertheless,
these twining smoke made him feel anxiety_ridden all the more……
他想起了牛伢这些年来学英语,吃尽了苦头,但到头来他的梦想还是破灭了,努力白费了,竹篮打水一场空。
他为儿子的前途想想,不寒而栗起来。让他感到最颤栗的是,他很担心他想不通而寻短见,绝尘而去。他越
想越担心,禁不住哆嗦起来。也许是外面寒气袭人吧,抽完了一锅子烟,他又蹒跚地回到了屋子里。墙上挂
上了一盏煤油灯,豆大的光,闪闪烁烁。在昏暗的灯光下,他脸上黑黝黝的皮肤,模糊起来,但额头上深刻
着的几条皱纹,依稀可辨,显出岁月的沧桑。他眉头又缩着,那双眯成缝的眼睛里,露出了更加忧郁的目光。
He felt pessimistic about Niuya’s future at the thought of the fact that he took the trouble to learn English but his dream
of going to university finally came to nothing.All his effort was in vain.Now he was greatly worried that Niuya would
commit a suicide because the kid took the setback to his heart.The more he thought,the more worried he was until
finally he couldn't help trembling.He staggered along back into the house after he smoked a pipeful of tobacco,
possibly because there was a nip in the air.A kerosene lamp was hung on the wall.with a light ,as small as a bean ,
glittering in the darkness.His sun_tanned face looked a little more dim in the dim light with the exception of his dimly
recognizable wrinkles on his forehead ,suggesting the vicissitudes of his life.Now his eyebrows were closely knitted
again and he had a more heavyhearted look in his closely squinting eyes.
家里的主心骨还是有根婶。在漫长的岁月里,无论在人生顺畅的顶峰,还是在人生惨淡的低谷,她都习惯了从容淡定。
为了不引起家人的恐慌,她一直在极力掩饰自己的情绪。她对牛伢的举动,先是怨恨,后是担心。怨恨这伢子不懂事,
出门也不向爹娘打个招呼,害得一家人吃饭时还要这么苦苦地等他,但她怨恨过后,一想起这伢子毕业后这段时间一
直闷闷不乐,便觉得有点不对劲。她的直觉告诉她,今晚可能会有什么事情发生,所以她也很着急,只是她一直装作
若无其事。不过,有根叔发愁时,有根婶的瓜子脸上的那对月亮弯眉毛也慢慢锁成了疙瘩,她笑脸上慢慢掠过一丝
灰暗的秋意。她依旧拿着篾刀,端坐屋中破篾,但手中的篾刀在微微抖动,手指间夹着的像面条一样细的篾,也跟着
手指在轻轻地抖动。
“他爹,坐在外面干着急,有啥用呢?快去找人呀!”
“唉,到哪里去找啊?海底捞针啊!”
“就算是海底,我们也得去捞啊!”
有根叔便匆匆地吃过晚饭,急切地走出了房门,在茫茫黑夜中心急如焚地寻找牛伢。他寻遍了黑灯瞎火的陈家岭上,
寻遍了残枝枯叶的渠道路上,寻遍了草堆林立的田野里,寻遍了寒风萧瑟的树林里,寻遍了十里八乡的邻村里,可是……
As a matter of fact,Aunt Yougen was the master of the house.Over the years,she was always in a calm state of mind,whether the family were at the prime of their happiness or they were in the valley of their sadness.In order not to add to Uncle Yougen’s anxiety,now she was trying to conceal her own.She was plagued by both resentment and worry when she thought of Niuya’s loitering outside at night.She blamed him for being thoughtless for not having let dad and mom know before he went out so that the whole family was worried about him.Nnevertheless,Aunt Yougen was convinced that there was something uncommen aboutit at the thought of the fact that he had been sullenly unhappy all the time after his graduation.She sensed by intuition that something terrible might happen tonight,so she was even more fidgety than worried about him.However,she was still trying to pretend that nothing happened to her with the exception that she was gradually kniting her crescent brows,a faint gloomy look flickering across her face.She was still quietly sitting in the middle of the room ,stripping thin bamboo strips as usual except that the stripping knife was quivering in her hand and so did the thin bamboo strips between her fingers.
“Kid his dad,what’s the use of sitting there just worrying without doing anything at all?Hurry to look for him!”
“But,where to look for him?Looking for him in such a dark night is just like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“I say,even if it is in a haystack,we must still strive to look for the needle!”
Uncle Yougen hurried through his meal and hurried to go out looking for Niuya in the darkness with a heavy heart.He looked in the unlighted Chenjialing,he looked in the dried_leaves paved irrigation ditches,he looked in the haystacks_piled fields,he looked in the wind_soughing forest,he looked everywhere in the distance_walking villages……,but….