雙語全文 ● 魯迅——風(fēng)波

Storm in a Teacup

 

On the mud flat by the river， the sun’s bright yellow rays were gradually fading. The parched leaves of the tallow trees beside the river were at last able to take breath， while below them a few striped mosquitoes danced and droned. The smoke from the peasants’ kitchen chimneys along the riverside dwindled， as the women and children sprinkled the ground before their doors with water and set out little tables and low stools. Everyone knew it was time for the evening meal.

 

The old folk and the men sat on the low stools， fanning themselves with plantain-leaf fans as they chatted. The children raced about or squatted under the tallow trees playing with pebbles. The women brought out steamed black dried rape and yellow rice， piping hot. Some literati passing in a pleasure boat waxed quite lyrical at the sight.

 

“Such carefree tranquillity！” they exclaimed. “How idyllic！”

 

However， these literati were wide of the mark， not having heard what Old Mrs. Ninepounder was saying. Old Mrs. Ninepounder was in a towering temper， whacking the legs of her stool with a tattered plantain fan.

 

“Seventy-nine years I’ve lived， that’s enough，” she declared. “I’m sick of watching this family go to the dogs.... Better die and be done with it. Just one minute to supper time， yet still eating roast beans—do you want to eat us out of house and home？”

 

Her great-granddaughter Sixpounder was just running towards her with a handful of beans， but seeing the situation she flew straight to the river bank and hid herself behind a tallow tree. Sticking out her small head with its twin tufts， she hooted， “Old Won’t-die！”

 

Old Mrs. Ninepounder for all her great age was not deaf. She did not，however， catch what the child had called and went on muttering to herself，“Yes， indeed. Each generation is worse than the last.”

 

風(fēng)波

 

臨河的土場上，太陽漸漸的收了他通黃的光線了。場邊靠河的烏桕樹葉，干巴巴的才喘過氣來，幾個花腳蚊子在下面哼著飛舞。面河的農(nóng)家的煙突里，逐漸減少了坎煙，女人孩子們都在自己門口的土場上潑些水，放下小桌子和矮竟；人知道，這已經(jīng)是晚飯時(shí)候了。

 

老人男人坐在矮凳上，搖著大芭蕉扇閑談，孩子飛也似的跑，或者蹲在烏桕樹下賭玩石子。女人端出烏黑的蒸干菜和松花黃的米飯，熱蓬蓬冒煙。河里駛過文人的酒船，文豪見了，大發(fā)詩興，說：“無思無慮，這真是田家樂呵！”

 

但文豪的話有些不合事實(shí)，就因?yàn)樗麄儧]有聽到九斤老太的話。這時(shí)候，九斤老太正在大怒，拿破芭蕉扇敲著凳腳說：

 

“我活到七十九歲了，活夠了，不愿意眼見這些敗家相，——還是死的好。立刻就要吃飯了，還吃炒豆子，吃窮了一家子！”

 

伊的曾孫女兒六斤捏著一把豆，正從對面跑來，見這情形，便直奔河邊，藏在烏桕樹后，伸出雙丫角的小頭，大聲說，“這老不死的！”

 

九斤老太雖然高壽，耳朵卻還不很聾，但也沒有聽到孩子的話，仍舊自己說，“這真是一代不如一代！”

 

It was the somewhat unusual custom in this village for mothers to weigh their children at birth and to call them the number of pounds they happened to weigh. Since Old Mrs. Ninepounder’s celebration of her fiftieth birthday she had gradually become a fault-finder， for ever complaining that in her young days the summer had not been so hot nor the beans so tough as now. In a word， there was something wrong with the present-day world. Why else had Sixpounder weighed three pounds less than her great­grandfather and one pound less than her father， Sevenpounder？ Surely this was irrefutable evidence. So she reiterated emphatically， “Yes， indeed. Each generation is worse than the last.”

 

Her granddaughter-in-law， Mrs. Sevenpounder， had just brought out a basket of rice. Plonking this down on the table， she said crossly， “There you go again， granny！ Sixpounder weighed six pounds five ounces at birth，didn’t she？ Your family scales weigh light： eighteen ounces to the pound. With proper sixteen-ounce scales， Sixpounder would have weighed over seven pounds. I don’t believe grandfather and father really weighed a full nine or eight pounds either. I dare say they were weighed with fourteenounce scales.....”

 

“Each generation is worse than the last.”

 

Before Mrs. Sevenpounder could answer， she saw her husband emerge from the top of the lane and rounded on him instead.

 

“Why so late back， you zombie？ I thought you must be dead， keeping us waiting all this time for supper！ ”

 

Although a villager， Sevenpounder had always wanted to better himself. For three generations—grandfather， father and son—not a man in his family had handled a hoe. Like his father before him he worked on a boat which left Luzhen every morning for the town， returning to Luzhen in the evening. As a result he knew pretty well all that was going on； where，for instance， the thunder god had blasted a centipede spirit， or where a virgin had given birth to a demon. In the village he was quite a personage. Still he stuck to the country custom of not lighting a lamp for supper in the summer， so if he came home late he rated a scolding.

 

這村莊的習(xí)慣有點(diǎn)特別，女人生下孩子，多喜歡用秤稱了輕重，便用斤數(shù)當(dāng)作小名。九斤老太自從慶祝了五十大壽以后，便漸漸的變了不平家，常說伊年青的時(shí)候，天氣沒有現(xiàn)在這般熱，豆子也沒有現(xiàn)在這般硬：總之現(xiàn)在的時(shí)世是不對了。何況六斤比伊的曾祖，少了三斤，比伊父親七斤，又少了一斤，這真是一條顛撲不破的實(shí)例。所以伊又用勁說，“這真是一代不如一代！”

 

伊的兒媳七斤嫂子正捧著飯籃走到桌邊，便將飯籃在桌上一摔，憤憤的說，“你老人家又這么說了。六斤生下來的時(shí)候，不是六斤五兩么？你家的秤又是私秤，加重稱，十八兩秤；用了準(zhǔn)十六，我們的六斤該有七斤多哩。我想便是太公和公公，也不見得正是九斤八斤十足，用的秤也許是十四兩......”

 

“一代不如一代！”

 

七斤嫂還沒有答話，忽然看見七斤從小巷口轉(zhuǎn)出，便移了方向，對他嚷道，“你這死尸怎么這時(shí)候才回來，死到那里去了！不管人家等著你開飯！”

 

七斤雖然住在農(nóng)村，卻早有些飛黃騰達(dá)的意思。從他的祖父到他，三代不捏鋤頭柄了；他也照例的幫人撐著航船，每日一回，早晨從魯鎮(zhèn)進(jìn)城，傍晚又回到魯鎮(zhèn)，因此很知道些時(shí)事：例如什么地方，雷公劈死了蜈蚣精；什么地方，閨女生了一個夜叉之類。他在村人里面，的確已經(jīng)是一名出場人物了。但夏天吃飯不點(diǎn)燈，卻還守著農(nóng)家習(xí)慣，所以回家太遲，是該罵的。

 

In one hand Sevenpounder held a speckled bamboo pipe over six feet long with an ivory mouthpiece and a pewter bowl. He walked slowly over，his head bent， and sat on one of the low stools. Sixpounder seized this chance to slip out and sit down beside him， calling “Dad！” But her father made no answer.

 

“Each generation is worse than the last，” repeated Old Mrs. Ninepounder.

 

Sevenpounder slowly raised his head and sighed. “There’s an emperor again on the Dragon Throne. ”

 

Mrs. Sevenpounder looked blank for a moment. Suddenly taking in the news she cried， “Good！ That means another general amnesty， doesn’t it？”

 

Sevenpounder sighed again. “I’ve no queue.”

 

“Does the emperor insist on queues？”

 

“He does.”

 

“How do you know？” she demanded in dismay.

 

“Everybody in Prosperity Tavern says so.”

 

At that Mrs. Sevenpounder realized instinctively that things were in a bad way， because Prosperity Tavern was a place where you could pick up all the news. She threw a glance at Sevenpounder’s shaved head， unable to hold back her anger， blaming him， hating him， resenting him. Then，abruptly reduced to despair， she filled a bowl with rice and slapped it down before him. “Hurry up and eat. Pulling a long face won’t grow a queue for you，will it？”

 

The sun had withdrawn its last rays， the darkling water was cooling off again. From the mud flat rose a clatter of bowls and chopsticks， and the backs of all the diners were beaded with sweat. Mrs. Sevenpounder had finished three bowls of rice when she happened to look up. At once her heart started pounding. Through the tallow leaves she could see the short plump figure of Seventh Master Zhao approaching from the one-plank bridge. And he was wearing his long sapphire-blue glazed cotton gown.

 

Seventh Master Zhao was the owner of Abundance Tavern in the next village，the only notable within a radius of thirty li who also had some learning. And because of this learning there was about him a whiff of the musty odour of a departed age. He owned a dozen volumes of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms annotated by Jin Shengtan， which he would sit poring over character by character. Not only could he tell you the names of the Five Tiger Generals， he even knew that Huang Zhong was also known as Hansheng， and Ma Chao as Mengqi. After the Revolution he had coiled his queue on the top of his head like a Taoist priest， and he often remarked with a sigh that if only Zhao Yun were still alive the empire would not be in such a bad way.

 

七斤一手捏著象牙嘴白銅頭六尺多長的湘妃竹煙管，低著頭，慢慢地走來，坐在矮凳上。六斤也趁勢溜出，坐在他身邊，叫他爹爹。七斤沒有應(yīng)。

 

“一代不如一代！”九斤老太說。

 

七斤慢慢地抬起頭來，嘆一口氣說，“皇帝坐了龍庭了。”

 

七斤嫂呆了一刻，忽而恍然大悟的道，“這可好了，這不是又要皇恩大赦了么！”

 

七斤又嘆了一口氣，說，“我沒有辮子。”

 

“皇帝要辮子么？”

 

“皇帝要辮子。”

 

“你怎么知道呢？”七斤嫂有些著急，趕忙的問。

 

“咸亨酒店里的人，都說要的。”

 

七斤嫂這時(shí)從直覺上覺得事情似乎有些不妙了，因?yàn)橄毯嗑频晔窍㈧`通的所在。伊一轉(zhuǎn)眼瞥見七斤的光頭，便忍不住動怒，怪他恨他怨他；忽然又絕望起來，裝好一碗飯，搡在七斤的面前道，“還是趕快吃你的飯罷！哭喪著臉，就會長出辮子來么？”

 

太陽收盡了他最末的光線了，水面暗暗地回復(fù)過涼氣來；土場上一片碗筷聲響，人人的脊梁上又都吐出汗粒。七斤嫂吃完三碗飯，偶然抬起頭，心坎里便禁不住突突地發(fā)跳。伊透過烏桕葉，看見又矮又胖的趙七爺正從獨(dú)木橋上走來，而且穿著寶藍(lán)色竹布的長衫。

 

趙七爺是鄰村茂源酒店的主人，又是這三十里方圓以內(nèi)的唯一的出色人物兼學(xué)問家；因?yàn)橛袑W(xué)問，所以又有些遺老的臭味。他有十多本金圣嘆批評的《三國志》，時(shí)常坐著一個字一個字的讀；他不但能說出五虎將姓名，甚而至于還知道黃忠表字漢升和馬超表字孟起。革命以后，他便將辮子盤在頂上，像道士一般；常常嘆息說，倘若趙子龍?jiān)谑溃煜卤悴粫y到這地步了。七斤嫂眼睛好，早望見今天的趙七爺已經(jīng)不是道士，卻變成光滑頭皮，烏黑發(fā)頂；伊便知道這一定是皇帝坐了龍庭，而且一定須有辮子，而且七斤一定是非常危險(xiǎn)。因?yàn)橼w七爺?shù)倪@件竹布長衫，輕易是不常穿的，三年以來，只穿過兩次：一次是和他嘔氣的麻子阿四病了的時(shí)候，一次是曾經(jīng)砸爛他酒店的魯大爺死了的時(shí)候；現(xiàn)在是第三次了，這一定又是于他有慶，于他的仇家有殃了。

 

Mrs. Sevenpounder’s eyesight was good. She had noticed at once that Seventh Master Zhao no longer looked like a Taoist. He had shaved the front of his head and let his queue down. From this she knew beyond a doubt that an emperor had ascended the throne， that queues were required again， and that Sevenpounder must be in great danger. For Seventh Master Zhao did not wear his long glazed cotton gown for nothing. During the last three years he had only worn it twice： once when his enemy Pock-marked Asi fell ill， once when First Master Lu who had wrecked his wineshop died. This was the third time， and it undoubtedly meant that something had happened to rejoice his heart and bode ill for his enemies.

 

Two years ago， Mrs. Sevenpounder remembered， her husband in a fit of drunkenness had cursed Seventh Master Zhao as a “bastard.” Hence she at once realized instinctively the danger her husband was in， and her heart started pounding.

 

As Seventh Master Zhao passed them， all those sitting eating stood up and， pointing their chopsticks at their rice bowls， invited him to join them. He nodded greetings to them all， urging them to go on with their meal，while he made straight for Sevenpounder’s table. Sevenpounder’s family got up at once to greet him. Seventh Master Zhao urged them with a smile， “Go on with your meal， please！” At the same time he took a good look at the food on the table.

 

“That dried rape smells good—have you heard the news？” Seventh Master Zhao was standing behind Sevenpounder opposite Mrs. Sevenpounder.

 

七斤嫂記得，兩年前七斤喝醉了酒，曾經(jīng)罵過趙七爺是“賤胎”，所以這時(shí)便立刻直覺到七斤的危險(xiǎn)，心坎里突突地發(fā)起跳來。

 

趙七爺一路走來，坐著吃飯的人都站起身，拿筷子點(diǎn)著自己的飯碗說，“七爺，請?jiān)谖覀冞@里用飯！”七爺也一路點(diǎn)頭，說道“請請”，卻一徑走到七斤家的桌旁。七斤們連忙招呼，七爺也微笑著說“請請”，一面細(xì)細(xì)的研究他們的飯菜。

 

“好香的干菜，——聽到了風(fēng)聲了么？”趙七爺站在七斤的后面七斤嫂的對面說。

 

“There’s an emperor again on toe Dragon Throne，” said Sevenpounder.

 

Wathcing Seventh Master’s expression， Mrs. Sevenpounder forced a smile. “Now that there’s an emperor on the throne， when will there be a general amnesty？” She asked.

 

“A general amnesty？... All in good time.” Suddenly Seventh Master spoke more sternly， “But what about Sevenpounder’s queue， eh？ That’s the important thing. You know how it was in the time of the Long Hairs： keep your hair and lose your head； keep your head and lose your hair.”

 

Sevenpounder and his wife had never read any books， so this classical lore was lost on them； but this statement from a learned man like Seventh Master convinced them that the situation must be desperate， past saving. It was as if they had received their death sentence. Their ears buzzed， and they were unable to utter another word.

 

“Each generation is worse than the last.” Old Mrs. Ninepounder， feeling put out， seized this chance to speak to Seventh Master Zhao. “The Long Hairs nowadays just cut off men’s queues， leaving them looking neither Buddhist nor Taoist. The old Long Hairs never did that. Seventy-nine years I’ve lived and that’s enough. The old Long Hairs wore red satin turbans with one end hanging down， right down to their heels. The prince wore a yellow satin turban with one end hanging down ... yellow satin. Red satin， yellow satin ... I’ve lived long enough ... seventy-nine. ”

 

“What’s to be done？” muttered Mrs. Sevenpounder， standing up. “Such a big family， old and young， and all dependent on him....”

 

“There’s nothing you can do.” Seventh Master Zhao shook his head.“The punishment for having no queue is written down clearly in a book，sentence by sentence. The size of a man’s family makes no difference.”

 

When Mrs. Sevenpounder heard that it was written in a book， she really gave way to despair. Beside herself with anxiety， she felt a sudden fresh hatred for Sevenpounder. Pointing her chopsticks at the tip of his nose， she cried. “As you make your bed， so you must lie on it！ Didn’t I say at the time of the revolt： don’t go out with the boat， don’t go to town. But go he would. Off he rolled， and in town they cut off his queue， his glossy black queue. Now he looks neither Buddhist nor Taoist. He’s made his own bed， he’ll have to lie on it. But what right has the wretch to drag us into it？ Jail-bird zombie....”

 

“皇帝坐了龍庭了。”七斤說.

 

七斤嫂看著七爺?shù)哪?，竭力陪笑道?ldquo;皇帝已經(jīng)坐了龍庭，幾時(shí)皇恩大赦呢？”

 

“皇恩大赦？——大赦是慢慢的總要大赦罷。”七爺說到這里，聲色忽然嚴(yán)厲起來，“但是你家七斤的辮子呢，辮子？這倒是要緊的事。你們知道：長毛時(shí)候，留發(fā)不留頭，留頭不留發(fā)，……”

 

七斤和他的女人沒有讀過書，不很懂得這古典的奧妙，但覺得有學(xué)問的七爺這么說，事情自然非常重大，無可挽回，便仿佛受了死刑宣告似的，耳朵里嗡的一聲，再也說不出一句話。

 

“一代不如一代，——”九斤老太正在不平，趁這機(jī)會，便對趙七爺說，“現(xiàn)在的長毛，只是剪人家的辮子，僧不僧，道不道的。從前的長毛，這樣的么？我活到七十九歲了，活夠了。從前的長毛是——整匹的紅緞子裹頭，拖下去，拖下去，一直拖到腳跟；王爺是黃緞子，拖下去，黃緞子；紅緞子，黃緞子，——我活夠了，七十九歲了。”

 

七斤嫂站起身，自言自語的說，“這怎么好呢？這樣的一班老小，都靠他養(yǎng)活的人，……”

 

趙七爺搖頭道，“那也沒法。沒有辮子，該當(dāng)何罪，書上都一條一條明明白白寫著的。不管他家里有些什么人。”

 

七斤嫂聽到書上寫著，可真是完全絕望了；自己急得沒法，便忽然又恨到七斤。伊用筷子指著他的鼻尖說，“這死尸自作自受！造反的時(shí)候，我本來說，不要撐船了，不要上城了。他偏要死進(jìn)城去，滾進(jìn)城去，進(jìn)城便被人剪去了辮子。從前是絹光烏黑的辮子，現(xiàn)在弄得僧不僧道不道的。這囚徒自作自受，帶累了我們又怎么說呢？這活死尸的囚徒……”

 

Seventh Master Zhao’s arrival in the village made all the villagers finish their supper quickly and gather round Sevenpounder’s table. Sevenpounder knew how unseemly it was for a prominent citizen to be cursed in public like this by his wife. So he raised his head to retort slowly：

 

“you’ve plenty to say today， but at the time....”

 

“Jail-bird zombie！...”

 

Widow Ba Yi had the kindest heart of all the onlookers there. Carrying her two-year-old， born after her husband’s death， she was watching the fun at Mrs. Sevenpounder’s side. Now she felt things had gone too far and hurriedly tried to make peace.

 

“Never mind， Mrs. Sevenpounder. People aren’t spirits—who can foretell the future？ Didn’t you yourself say at the time there was nothing to be ashamed of in having no queue？ Besides， no order’s come down yet from the big mandarin in the yamen.... ”

 

Before she had finished， Mrs. Sevenpounder’s ears were scarlet. She turned her chopsticks to point at the widow’s nose. “Aiya， what a thing to say， Mrs. Ba Yi！ I’m still a human being， ain’t I— how could I have said anything so ridiculous？ Why， at the time I cried for three whole days. Ask anyone you like. Even this little devil Sixpounder cried....” Sixpounder had just finished a big bowl of rice and was holding out her empty bowl clamouring to have it refilled. Mrs. Sevenpounder， being in a temper，smacked her chopsticks down between the twin tufts on the child’s head.“Who wants you to barge in？” She yelled， “Little slut！”

 

Chuck！ The empty bowl in Sixpounder’s hand thudded to the ground striking the corner of a brick so that a big piece broke off. Sevenpounder jumped to his feet and picked up the broken bowl. Having fitted the pieces together he examined it， swearing， “Mother’s！” He gave Sixpounder a slap that knocked her over. Sixpounder lay there crying until Old Mrs. Ninepounder took her hand and led her away repeating， “Each generation is worse than the last.”

 

村人看見趙七爺?shù)酱?，都趕緊吃完飯，聚在七斤家飯桌的周圍。七斤自己知道是出場人物，被女人當(dāng)大眾這樣辱罵，很不雅觀，便只得抬起頭，慢慢地說道：

 

“你今天說現(xiàn)成話，那時(shí)你……”

 

“你這活死尸的囚徒……”

 

看客中間，八一嫂是心腸最好的人，抱著伊的兩周歲的遺腹子，正在七斤嫂身邊看熱鬧；這時(shí)過意不去，連忙解勸說，“七斤嫂，算了罷。人不是神仙，誰知道未來事呢？便是七斤嫂，那時(shí)不也說，沒有辮子倒也沒有什么丑么？況且衙門里的大老爺也還沒有告示，……”

 

七斤嫂沒有聽完，兩個耳朵早通紅了；便將筷子轉(zhuǎn)過向來，指著八一嫂的鼻子，說，“阿呀，這是什么話呵！八一嫂，我自己看來倒還是一個人，會說出這樣昏誕胡涂話么？那時(shí)我是，整整哭了三天，誰都看見；連六斤這小鬼也都哭，……”六斤剛吃完一大碗飯，拿了空碗，伸手去嚷著要添。七斤嫂正沒好氣，便用筷子在伊的雙丫角中間，直扎下去，大喝道，“誰要你來多嘴！你這偷漢的小寡婦！”

 

撲的一聲，六斤手里的空碗落在地上了，恰巧又碰著一塊磚角，立刻破成一個很大的缺口。七斤直跳起來，檢起破碗，合上了檢查一回，也喝道，“入娘的！”一巴掌打倒了六斤。六斤躺著哭，九斤老太拉了伊的手，連說著“一代不如一代”，一同走了。

 

Now it was Widow Ba Yi’s turn to be angry. “How can you hit out at random like that， Mrs. Sevenpounder！ ” she shouted.

 

Seventh Master Zhao had been looking on with a smile， but after Widow Ba Yi’s statement that no order had come down from “the big mandarin in the yamen” he began to lose his temper. Coming right up to the table， he declared， “Hitting out at random doesn’t matter. The Imperial Army will be here any time now. I’d have you know the new Protector is General Zhang， who’s descended from Zhang Fei of the former state of Yan. With his huge lance eighteen feet long， he dares take on ten thousand men. Who can stand against him？” Raising both hands as if grasping a huge invisible lance， he took a few swift paces towards Widow Ba Yi. “Are you a match for him？”

 

Widow Ba Yi was trembling with rage as she held her child. But the sudden sight of Seventh Master Zhao bearing down on her with glaring eyes， his whole face oozing sweat， gave her the fright of her life. Not daring to say more， she turned and fled. Then Seventh Master Zhao left too. The villagers as they made way for him deplored Widow Ba Yi’s interference，while a few men who had cut their queues and started growing them again hid hastily behind the rest for fear Seventh Master should see them. However， without making a careful inspection Seventh Master passed through the group， dived behind the tallow trees， and with a parting “Think you’re a match for him！” strode on to the one-plank bridge and swaggered off.

 

The villagers stood there blankly， turning things over in their minds. All felt they were indeed no match for Zhang Fei， hence Sevenpounder’s life was as good as lost. And since Sevenpounder had broken the imperial law he should not， they felt， have adopted that lordly air， smoking that long pipe of his， when he told them the news from town. So the thought that he had broken the law gave them a certain pleasure. They would have liked to air their views， but did not know what to say. Buzzing mosquitoes， brushing past their bare arms， zoomed back to swarm beneath the tallow trees; and the villagers too slowly scattered to their homes， shut their doors and went to bed. Grumbling to herself， Mrs. Sevenpounder also cleared away the dishes and took in the table and stools， then closed the door and went to bed.

 

八一嫂也發(fā)怒，大聲說，“七斤嫂，你‘恨棒打人’……”

 

趙七爺本來是笑著旁觀的；但自從八一嫂說了“衙門里的大老爺沒有告示”這話以后，卻有些生氣了。這時(shí)他已經(jīng)繞出桌旁，接著說，“‘恨棒打人’，算什么呢。大兵是就要到的。你可知道，這回保駕的是張大帥，張大帥就是燕人張翼德的后代，他一支丈八蛇矛，就有萬夫不當(dāng)之勇，誰能抵擋他，”他兩手同時(shí)捏起空拳，仿佛握著無形的蛇矛模樣，向八一嫂搶進(jìn)幾步道，“你能抵擋他么！”

 

八一嫂正氣得抱著孩子發(fā)抖，忽然見趙七爺滿臉油汗，瞪著眼，準(zhǔn)對伊沖過來，便十分害怕，不敢說完話，回身走了。趙七爺也跟著走去，眾人一面怪八一嫂多事，一面讓開路，幾個剪過辮子重新留起的便趕快躲在人叢后面，怕他看見。趙七爺也不細(xì)心察訪，通過人叢，忽然轉(zhuǎn)入烏桕樹后，說道“你能抵擋他么！”跨上獨(dú)木橋，揚(yáng)長去了。

 

村人們呆呆站著，心里計(jì)算，都覺得自己確乎抵不住張翼德，因此也決定七斤便要沒有性命。七斤既然犯了皇法，想起他往常對人談?wù)摮侵械男侣劦臅r(shí)候，就不該含著長煙管顯出那般驕傲模樣，所以對于七斤的犯法，也覺得有些暢快。他們也仿佛想發(fā)些議論，卻又覺得沒有什么議論可發(fā)。嗡嗡的一陣亂嚷，蚊子都撞過赤膊身子，闖到烏桕樹下去做市；他們也就慢慢地走散回家，關(guān)上門去睡覺。七斤嫂咕噥著，也收了家伙和桌子矮凳回家，關(guān)上門睡覺了。

 

Sevenpounder took the broken bowl inside， then sat on the doorstep smoking. He was so worried， however， that he forgot to inhale， and the light in the pewter bowl of his six-foot speckled bamboo pipe with the ivory mouthpiece gradually turned black. It struck him that matters had reached a most dangerous pass， and he tried to think of a way out， some plan of action. But his thoughts were in too much of a whirl for him to straighten them out. “Queues， eh， queues？ An eighteen foot lance. Each generation is worse than the last! An emperor is on the Dragon Throne. The broken bowl will have to be taken to town to be riveted. Who’s a match for him？ It’s written in a book. Mother’s！...”

 

Early the next day， as usual， Sevenpounder went with the boat to town，coming back to Luzhen towards evening with his six-foot speckled bamboo pipe and the rice bowl. At supper he told Old Mrs. Ninepounder that he had had the bowl riveted in town. Because it was such a large break， sixteen copper clamps had been needed， each costing three cash， making the total cost forty-eight cash.

 

“Each generation is worse than the last，” said Old Mrs. Ninepounder crossly. “I’ve lived long enough. Three cash for a clamp. Clamps didn’t cost so much in the old day. The clamps we had.... Seventy-nine years I’ve lived ....”

 

After this， though Sevenpounder continued making his daily trip to town， his house seemed to be under a cloud. Most of the villagers kept out of his way， no longer coming to ask him the news from town. Mrs. Sevenpounder was in a bad temper too， constantly addressing him as “Jail­bird.”

 

A fortnight or so later， on his return from town Sevenpounder found his wife in a rare good humour. “Heard anything in town?” She asked him.

 

七斤將破碗拿回家里，坐在門檻上吸煙；但非常憂愁，忘卻了吸煙，象牙嘴六尺多長湘妃竹煙管的白銅斗里的火光，漸漸發(fā)黑了。他心里但覺得事情似乎十分危急，也想想些方法，想些計(jì)畫，但總是非常模糊，貫穿不得：“辮子呢辮子？丈八蛇矛。一代不如一代！皇帝坐龍庭。破的碗須得上城去釘好。誰能抵擋他？書上一條一條寫著。入娘的！……”

 

第二日清晨，七斤依舊從魯鎮(zhèn)撐航船進(jìn)城，傍晚回到魯鎮(zhèn)，又拿著六尺多長的湘妃竹煙管和一個飯碗回村。他在晚飯席上，對九斤老太說，這碗是在城內(nèi)釘合的，因?yàn)槿笨诖螅砸鶄€銅釘，三文一個，一總用了四十八文小錢。

 

九斤老太很不高興的說，“一代不如一代，我是活夠了。三文錢一個釘；從前的釘，這樣的么？從前的釘是……我活了七十九歲了，——”

 

此后七斤雖然是照例日日進(jìn)城，但家景總有些黯淡，村人大抵回避著，不再來聽他從城內(nèi)得來的新聞。七斤嫂也沒有好聲氣，還時(shí)常叫他“囚徒”。

 

過了十多日，七斤從城內(nèi)回家，看見他的女人非常高興，問他說，“你在城里可聽到些什么？”

 

“No， nothing.”

 

“Is there an emperor on the Dragon Throne？”

 

“They didn’t say.”

 

“Did no one in Prosperity Tavern say anything？”

 

“No， nothing.”

 

“I don’t believe there’s an emperor again. I passed Seventh Master Zhao’s wineshop today and he was sitting there reading， with his queue coiled on top of his head again. He wasn’t wearing his long gown either.”

 

“....”

 

“Do you think there’s no emperor after all？”

 

“I think probably not. ”

 

Today Sevenpounder is once more respected and well treated by his wife and the villagers. In the summer his family still have their meals on the mud flat outside their door， and everyone greets them with smiles. Old Mrs. Ninepounder celebrated her eightieth birthday some time ago and is as full of complaints， as hale and hearty as ever. Sixpounder’s twin tufts of hair have changed into a thick braid. Although recently they started binding her feet， she can still help Mrs. Sevenpounder with odd jobs. She hobbles to and fro on the mud flat carrying the rice bowl with sixteen copper rivets.

 

Oct-20

 

“沒有聽到些什么。”

 

“皇帝坐了龍庭沒有呢？”

 

“他們沒有說。”

 

“咸亨酒店里也沒有人說么？”

 

“也沒人說。”

 

“我想皇帝一定是不坐龍庭了。我今天走過趙七爺?shù)牡昵?，看見他又坐著念書了，辮子又盤在頂上了，也沒有穿長衫。”

 

“…………”

 

“你想，不坐龍庭了罷？”

 

“我想，不坐了罷。”

 

現(xiàn)在的七斤，是七斤嫂和村人又都早給他相當(dāng)?shù)淖鹁矗喈?dāng)?shù)拇隽?。到夏天，他們?nèi)耘f在自家門口的土場上吃飯；大家見了，都笑嘻嘻的招呼。七斤老太早已做過八十大壽，仍然不平而且康健。六斤的雙丫角，已經(jīng)變成一支大辮子了；伊雖然新近裹腳，卻還能幫同七斤嫂做事，捧著十八個銅釘?shù)娘埻?，在土場上一瘸一拐的往來?/p>

 

一九二〇年十月。

 

太陽收盡了他最末的光線了，水面暗暗地回復(fù)過涼氣來；土場上一片碗筷聲響，人人的脊梁上又都吐出汗粒。七斤嫂吃完三碗飯，偶然抬起頭，心坎里便禁不住突突地發(fā)跳。伊透過烏桕葉，看見又矮又胖的趙七爺正從獨(dú)木橋上走來，而且穿著寶藍(lán)色竹布的長衫。