A Humble Life 《人生》英文版AHL-1

A Humble Life, Lu Yao, pluiepoco, AHL-1, 20200526

On the tenth day of the sixth Chinese lunisolar month, a cloudy night of middle summer, the earth was suddenly silenced from noises and motions; even the most clamorous insects stopped singing, the world seemed to be waiting in anxiety; no wind was kissing the ground; frogs jumped onto shores, leaping recklessly to croplands and roads waterside; the sky was steaming hot like a huge steamer covering the ground; dark clouds were paving from Oldox hill in the west. On the horizon, there were some flashes of lightning, short and transient, without thunder, except buzzing sounds were heard from the deepest heaven, a terrible signal of the coming of a thunderstorm or a rainstorm.

At this moment Gagarin Alto, a non-government-funded teacher, the only son of Jade Alto from Alto village, was crossing the small river in front of his village, with his upper half naked, heading his home, almost in racing pace. He returned from the commune teachers meeting, and at present, he was sweating all over his body, with his undershirt and a fashionable dark blue dacron summer shirt in his hand, he entered the village in a haste. Across his home yard curb, he pushed in the gate. As soon as he stepped onto the floor or ground of his own home cave, he heard a low, heavy and gloomy roar of a groaning thunder.

His father was piping simply dried tobacco on clay bed, barefooted, one hand combing the white beards on his chin. His mother was a feet-bound old lady, who was serving supper onto the clay bed.

As soon as their son came home, the old couple smiled like two flowers immediately booming out of two walnut-like wrinkly faces. Apparently, they felt lucky that their son had come home before the rainstorm. At the same time, they felt their honey son had been not home for five years instead of five days, who had finally returned home from the other end of the world. Old father soon moved to the diesel lamp, and flicked off the carbonized end of the wick, with his long fingernail on his minimus, the cave become brighter immediately; the old man looked at his son, lovingly, opened his mouth for times and finally didn’t speak a word. Old lady withdrew the corn flour buns from the clay bed, put them back to the kitchen range, and began to fry eggs and bake wheaten flour cakes for her son; she walked over in staggered steps, with her excessively loving emotions still, picked up her son’s nice shirt from the clay bed, which was laid by her son onto the clay bed, to cover her son’s naked sweating body, and pretended to be angry, “Silly son! You treasure your shirt instead of your health!”

Gagarin Alto replied nothing, he put the nice shirt back to the clay bed again, without stripping off the shoes, he lay on the quilt roll on the front end of clay bed. Facing toward the dark window, he uttered, “Mom, don’t cook for me; I have no appetite.”

The old couple wrinkled their faces like walnuts again; they looked at each other, wondering: Why was son so sad? What happened to him? A lightning flashed and almost enlightened the entire window, which was followed by a terrible burst of thunder, as if there was an earthquake. Immediately a strong wind was blowing outside, and the sand and dust blown into the air were patting the window paper.

The old couple dully looked at the back of son, and didn’t know what happened on the earth.

“Gagarin, are you ill?” asked mom in a trembling voice, holding a flour scoop.

“No...” replied he.

“Quarreled with somebody?” asked dad.

“Nope...”

“Then what happened on the earth?” asked the old couple almost in the same time.

Alas! Gagarin had never been so upset before! Every time he returned from town, he would talk a lot with them, and bought back a pile of foods for them: such as breads and cakes, pushing the foods onto their hands, suggesting that these foods were “nutritious”, soft, easy to digest since some of their teeth had fallen due to old age. Obviously, a big trouble was torturing their son! Look, how worried he was!

Jade Alto looked at his old wife’s frowning face, and gave up piping. He knocked off the ash from pipe against the bed fence stone, cleared one drip of transparent mucus off his nose, with the handkerchief tied on a button before his chest, moved closer to where son was lying, and tried to ask, “Gagarin, what happened on the earth? Tell us about that! Look, how is your mom worried!”

Gagarin Alto supported by one arm slowly scrawled up, as if he was seriously wounded. He leaned on the quilt roll, regardless of parents, still blankly staring at the opposite wall, murmuring, “My career as a teacher may come to an end...”

“What?” screamed the old couple at the same time, opening their mouths half, without closing up.

Gagarin kept his posture, and repeated, “My position as non-government-funded teacher has been canceled. It was announced at the meeting today.”

“Have you violated any national laws? Oh, God of Heaven...” old mom’s flour scoop fell off the kitchen range and broke into two halves, which was made of a dried gourd.

“Are they needing less teachers? For years, they are increasing the number of non-government-funded teachers, aren’t they? For what reason are they reducing at a sudden?” asked dad nervously.

“Not less...”

“If you’re removed from the teacher’s position, then the school in Caval village will lose one teacher, won’t they?” mom was puzzled too, so she came closer to Gagarin too.

“Not less...”

“Impossible! If you’re not allowed to teach, then there will be one less teacher, see?” dad was puzzled more.

Gagarin turned his face from shade, bothered, and fired out, “So silly are you! Without me, they can employ another teacher, can’t they?”

Finally the old couple knew what happened. Old father rubbed feet with his bony hands anxiously, and probed in a gentle voice, “Who will take your place?”

“Who? Who! Nobody else but Tristar!” Gagarin threw himself back onto the quilt roll, and covered his head with one corner of the quilt.

The old couple was stunned, like logs; the cave room was filled with deadly stagnant air.

At this moment, they heard the raindrops were falling down outside, the ground was being beaten aloud, the wind whistles and the rain whips were thickening, toughening; the window paper was illuminated by the lightning flashes at times, the roars of violent thunders were venting the anger of their turmoils, one after another, without stop; the entire world outside was almost flooded in a chaotic mess.

Gagarin was still covering his head; dad’s nose was trembling with his enraged body, while a drip of clear mucus was almost dropping off, the old man didn’t have time to remove his mucus, nor did he have time to comb his white beards with his rough hands any longer, instead, he rubbed his bared feet only, with no more motions or words; mom was leaning over the bed fence stone, humpbacked, rubbing her eyes with kitchen apron.

The cave room was quiet, except the snores of that old yellow cat were heard from behind the kitchen range.

The rainstorm outside intensified; in the winds and rains, suddenly a string of bangs were heard -- the river course must be overflown by the mud flows from the mountains.

For an entire moment, this clay cave room lost all its vigor in the dim trembling light; all the three of the family were trapped in sadness and grief.

This attack was obviously heavy to this family.

To Gagarin Alto, he had already suffered a lot from his failure in the entrance exam to a college or university three years ago when he graduated from high school; fortunately, he thence became a teacher, without any need to take part in the heavy physical labor, and moreover, he had free time to study further, especially on the literary world he was fond of. Recently, he had published two or three poems and essays on the prefectural newspaper, which were outcomes of his part-time studies during this period. However, this pursuit had to end now, and he had to follow his father’s destiny as a farmer. Although he had not carefully worked on the farm, he was son of a farmer’s family, knowing well what he would turn out to be in this barren mountainous area.

Oh, farmers, their entire greatness and hardships were clearly visible to him! Although he had never despised any farmer or peasant, he had not been mentally prepared to become one! To be frank, he had studied hard from primary school to high school, in order not to repeat his father’s fate as a lifelong owner of farm (or in his sense, a lifelong slave of farm). Although for years his job was not funded by the government, this profession was promising to him. After a few years, through exams, maybe he could become a government-funded teacher. In that case, he would work harder and do a better job in his eyes. But now every hope or illusion was vanishing before his eyes. At the moment, he lay here, his face twisted painfully under the quilt cover, one of his hands pulling his hair bitterly.

To Jade Alto and his old wife, this unfortunate news tonight was like a cudgel swung onto their heads. Firstly, they pitied their only son: he was spoiled from infancy, who had not labored on farm, then how could he withstand the farmwork in the future so long to come? Secondly, for years, Gagarin was a teacher, earning the labor-points as a full labor, so the family of three were living not in straitened conditions.However, if their son stopped working as a teacher, and couldn’t adapt to farmwork in a short period of time, then the family life would be hard. They were old, unable to work on soils to support son’s schooling for something great. Thinking further, they were upset and terrified.

Gagarin’s mom was sobbing voicelessly; his dad was not sobbing, but looking worse than sobbing. The old man rubbed his bared feet for a great while, and murmuring started to complain, “I curse you, Meanlow! You’re too smart! You’re too clever! You’re too bold! As the village communist chairman, you dare do anything unreasonable! My son Gagarin has worked as a teacher for three years, but your son Tristar has graduated from high school freshly this year! Do you have a good reason to dismiss my son? You’re breaking the common sense, now are you going to lose your face too? Meanlow! You’re doing the harmful thing in violation of heavenly order! The God of Heaven will open His eyes and take charge of you one day! Oh, my poor-fated son! Ah, ay ay ay ay ay... Meanlow Alto, ah!” old man Jade Alto finally failed to refrain himself from crying out, but two lines of turbid tears dropped off his wrinkled cheeks, and flowing in middle of the tuft of his white beards on his chin.

Hearing parents sobbing and crying, Gagarin sprung up from the quilt roll, his eyes flaming with frightening fire; he yelled to parents, “What are you crying for! I will risk my life to compete with Meanlow Alto the bastard!” Saying so, he jumped off the clay bed. This scared Jade Alto, who jumped off too, barefooted, and took hold of son’s bared arm immediately. Meanwhile, mom ran over on her small bound-feet and turned her back against the closed door. The old couple stopped their son in the middle of the floor, who was wearing no shirt on.

Gagarin explained to his scared parents, “Don’t stop me! I’m not going to kill him! I will write a letter to report his misconduct to the government! Mom, bring my pen from the drawer!”

Jade Alto was more scared, as if his son was doing something even worse than killing somebody. He pressed down his son’s bared shoulder, and pleaded, “May I call you dad! Don’t make this trouble! He is connected to the superior leaders! In the commune, or even in the county town, he is a famous personage! If you report his scandal, nothing will help you, but in the future, he will take revenge on you to death! I’m old, unable to compete with him; you’re still young, unable to withstand his retaliation. You should 10,000% give up this risky idea... ”

Mom came over and pulled the other bared arm of his and continued dad’s plea, “Listen, my good boy! Your dad’s right! Meanlow Alto is evil-minded; if you report his scandal, our family will be pushed to the dead end in the future... ”

Gagarin Alto was stiffened like a log, his nostrils steaming with vapor, impossible to follow parents’ advice, and yelling, “Living under such oppression, I’d rather fight against the bastard! Even a cornered rabbit will bite the hunter, how can a man live as coward! I don’t care if my reporting will work or not, I just want to report his misconduct! ”

Saying so, he tried to escape from the grip of four aged hands, but the four hands took his naked arms tighter. Old parents were crying in a mess, mom was staggering, almost falling off, yet pleading along, “My good boy! So stubborn you are! I will kneel down before you... ”

Looking at the begging postures of parents, Gagarin Alto surrendered, feeling his nose salted, he jumped forth to pull up mom who was going to fall down, and shook his head painfully, “Mom, don’t beg any more, I will follow you, and give up... ”

Parents loosened their grips, and rubbed their tears off cheeks with palms or backs of hands. Gagarin Alto leaned on the bed fence stone, stiff, his head lowering as if it were heavy. Outside, there was no more lightning or thunder, but the rain was still pouring down. The groans of mud flows were like roars of beasts, rushing down from the mountains, so scary!

Mom saw he was calmed down, then picked up a blue cloth shirt to drape over his naked shoulders, which were already cold, sighed, and walked back to kitchen range and continued cooking for him. Dad refilled the pipe with quivering hands, and wasted more than ten matches before he finally managed to light up the tobacco-- he forgot the flame of diesel lamp was dancing before his eyes. He breathed in one mouthful of smoke, bowed his back, and moved to the front of his son, suggesting thoughtfully, “We dare not report him for thousands of reasons! But, this is not over... No, not over yet! ” he yelled resolutely.

Gagarin raised up his head, trying to listen carefully what else dad had planned to punish Meanlow Alto.

Jade Alto tilted his head, piping along, resembling a deep and wise thinker, for a great while. Then, he raised up his old wrinkled face of a fully-experienced farmer, and advised, “Listen! Son! Not only should you not report him, but also call him uncle respectfully in the future! Don’t show him your gloomy face, but your smiling face! Now, he must be careful of our attitudes! ”

He turned his white-haired head, and advised his old wife who was cooking, “Gagarin’s mom, listen! In the future, when you come into any of Meanlow’s family members, just smile! They have not planted any eggplants this year, so you can pick one basketful of eggplant fruits from our self-reserved farmland, and send to them. Don’t make it so obvious for them that we’re apple-polishing them in particular! Hey! After all, Gagarin’s future destiny is still depending on them! We’re living in the bottom class, so we have to take our bottom gesture... Gagarin’s mom, are you clear? ”

“Yep... ” a sobbing promise was made behind the kitchen range.

Tears finally gushed out of Gagarin Alto’s eyes. He turned around suddenly, pushed over the bed fence stone, and cried grievously.

The rain stopped outside, without notice, while the sounds of overflowing water on the ground were mixed with the roars of mud flows rushing from maintains into the river course, disturbing the peace of this night to late...