阿玛克家的小儿子

阿玛克家的小儿子特坏，老是朝我扔雪球。到了夏天，就朝我扔石头。

The youngest son of Amake is very naughty; he always throws snowballs at me. In the summer, he throws stones at me instead.

活该这个死小孩都长到一米七了还在上小学六年级。

It's outrageous that this little brat has grown to 1.7 meters but is still in the sixth grade.

喀吾图小学在一进村子的马路左手边。那里密密地生着高大的柳树和杨树。

Kawutu Primary School is on the left side of the road as you enter the village. Tall poplars and willows grow densely there.

教室是两排平房，中间夹着小而平整的操场。操场上的两对篮球架已经很旧了，其中一个架子上的球篮以一只豁底的柳条筐代替，歪歪斜斜吊在上面。

The classrooms are two rows of single-story buildings, with a small, level playground in the middle. The two pairs of basketball hoops on the playground are quite old; one of the hoops has a willow basket with a hole at the bottom hanging unevenly from it.

每天放学的时候，就是喀吾图最热闹的时候吧。上学的时候都没那么热闹。

Every day after school is probably the noisiest time in Kawutu. It's not as lively during school hours.

整条马路上到处大呼小叫的，无数个书包上下乱飞，丢来甩去。坐在路边水渠边号啕大哭的则是因为刚弄丢了书包。

The whole road is full of shouting and yelling, with countless backpacks flinging up and down. Sitting by the roadside next to the ditch is a kid wailing because they just lost their backpack.

——阿玛克的小儿子突然从背后袭来！一把揪住我的辫子。出于对他长期以来经验性的防备，我迅速做出反击。

—Suddenly, the youngest son of Amake attacked me from behind! He grabbed my braid. Due to my long-standing experience with him, I quickly made a counterattack.

用手肘往后一顶，另一只手连忙攥着辫子根往回拔。并且回过头来用脚踢他。

I elbowed back, and with my other hand, pulled at the root of my braid. I also turned around and kicked him.

可这死小孩左闪右闪的，就是踢不着。而且还抓着辫子死不松手。

But this little brat kept dodging left and right, avoiding my kick and stubbornly holding onto my braid.

我急了，拽他的衣服，还呲出指甲去抓他的手背。却不敢太猛地拼命，辫子扯着会很疼……

I got anxious, tugged on his clothes, even used my nails to scratch his hand. Yet I didn't dare to pull too hard; it would hurt a lot…

情急之下真想使出我外婆的绝招——朝他吐口水。

In my desperation, I even wanted to use my grandmother’s secret move—spit at him.

结果又是他赢了。接下来，同过去无数次发生过的结果一样，他捋掉我缠在辫梢的发圈，躲开我的下勾拳，高高挥舞发圈跑掉了。

But he won again. Following the same outcome as countless times before, he pulled off the hair tie tangled in my braid, dodged my uppercut, and waved the hair tie high above his head while running away.

同过去每一次一样，我岂能善罢甘休！我攥着散开的头发，紧追不舍。

Just like every time before, I couldn’t just let it go! I grabbed my loose hair and chased after him.

就这样，我们两个一前一后呼啸过整个村子，一直追到边防站圈马院子的后院墙那儿。

And so, we ran through the entire village, one chasing the other, until we reached the back wall of the stable at the border station.

这个死小孩！我早就知道逮不住他的——只见他冲到院墙跟前，往墙上一扑，双手撑着墙头，长腿一迈，就跃过去了……

That little brat! I knew I couldn’t catch him—he dashed up to the wall, leaped against it, and effortlessly vaulted over.

等我气喘吁吁地绕大半个圈子，从院门那边赶过去时，哪还有人？只有圈棚那边正埋头啃着空食槽的一溜儿马们纷纷回过头来，诧异地看着我。

By the time I huffed and puffed to go around the block and reached the entrance of the courtyard, there was no one there. Only a row of horses near the pen turned their heads, curiously looking at me as they munched on an empty feed trough.

跑得了和尚总跑不了庙。我又气呼呼往回跑，径直跑到这死小孩家，堵在门口等。

You can run from the monk but not the temple. Fuming, I ran back and stood at his doorstep, waiting.

他美丽的母亲从那儿进进出出，不时地冲我打着招呼。我正气得要死，又和她说不清楚——她一句汉话也不会，而且不太正规的哈语也不会（哎，我会说的那几句哈语只有聪明人才能听得懂……），只好哼哼哈哈和她应付一阵。

His beautiful mother came in and out of the house, occasionally greeting me. I was so furious that I couldn’t make myself understood—she couldn’t speak a word of Mandarin and her Kazakh was quite informal (sigh, the few phrases of Kazakh I could manage were only understandable to clever people…). I could only hum and mumble in response.

突然眼神一斜，看到院墙拐角处有人影鬼鬼祟祟地探头探脑，连忙冲过去——不是他是谁？

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone peeking suspiciously around the corner of the courtyard wall, so I rushed over—wasn’t it him?

这家伙嘴里衔着发圈，书包绑在腰上。被发现之后，就索性站那儿不动，冲我挤眉弄眼摇屁股。

This guy had a hair tie in his mouth and his backpack tied around his waist. Upon being discovered, he stood there motionless, making silly faces and shaking his rear at me.

等我一冲到近旁，便故伎重演，踩着一摞码在院墙根处的土块，又撑着院墙跳进去了。

When I got closer, he pulled the same trick again, stepping on a stack of soil blocks at the base of the wall and jumping into the courtyard.

我七窍生烟，马不停蹄跑回大门口冲进他家正屋。拽开门，掀开门帘，一眼看到他背对着我坐在炕上，端起一碗茶正准备喝。

I was furious and ran back to his main room. I flung the door open, lifted the curtain, and saw him sitting with his back to me on the kang, holding a bowl of tea, ready to drink.

我大喝一声，冲上去。冲到跟前了又拐了个弯，目标改为他爸爸：“哥！你家娃娃坏得很！他太坏了，他抢我的东西呢！他为什么老是抢我东西？！”

I yelled loudly and dashed forward. When I got close, I turned and aimed my complaint at his father: “Bro! Your kid is so bad! He’s too bad, he steals my things! Why does he always steal from me?!”

“哦？”他把头扭向儿子：“怎么回事？”

“Oh?” His father turned to look at his son, “What’s going on?”

那个臭儿子这会儿又一副老实得不得了的样子，飞快地解释了两句什么，肯定是抵赖的话。

That little rascal suddenly put on an innocent face and quickly explained something, certainly denying everything.

然后再委屈地把衣服左边的口袋翻出来，再把右边的口袋也翻出来，然后翻裤子口袋。

Then, he pitifully rummaged through his left pocket, then his right pocket, and finally his pants pockets.

“还有书包！”我不依不饶。

“There’s also the backpack!” I insisted.

这个死小孩很无奈的样子，捞过书包带子，把里面的书呀本子呀铅笔呀什么的稀里哗啦全抖出来倒了一炕。

This little brat looked helpless, grasped the straps of his backpack, and emptied out books, notebooks, and pencils all over the kang.

我气得快要哭出来了——不过是一个五毛钱的松紧圈！便扭头跑了，不管他母亲在后面怎么喊。

I was so mad I could cry—after all, it was just a fifty-cent hair tie! I turned around and ran away, ignoring his mother calling after me.

除此之外，他从我这里抢走的东西还有另外两根彩色的橡皮筋，一个漂亮的信封，一串手链子（给拽断了），三个发夹，一枚细细的玛瑙戒指。

Aside from that, he had stolen two other colorful rubber bands, a beautiful envelope, a broken bracelet, three hair clips, and a thin agate ring from me.

至于其他那些糖果呀，瓜子呀什么的就不说了。对了，还有半个苹果，那天我正在路上边走边啃着呢，不提防给他抢走了。

As for other candies and sunflower seeds, that goes without saying. Oh, and half an apple; I was walking and nibbling on it when he sneakily snatched it away from me.

等我再抢回来，就只剩了一个苹果核。

By the time I managed to get it back, all that was left was an apple core.

对了，还有五毛钱，他还抢了我五毛钱。

Oh, and he also took fifty cents from me.

不过话又说回来，我也不是没抢过他的东西。那天他来我家店里打酱油，趁他和我妈在酱油桶那边付钱找钱的时候，弄走了他的书包，没收了里面的一串钥匙和一本新的作业簿。

But to be fair, I’ve not been innocent either. One day, when he came to my shop to get some soy sauce, while he and my mom were at the soy sauce barrel paying, I stealthily grabbed his backpack and took a bunch of keys and a new homework notebook from it.

后来钥匙让他用两块水晶和他姐姐的一把橡皮筋给赎走了。至于作业簿嘛，当然是留下来自己用了。

Later, he used two crystals and a rubber band belonging to his sister to redeem his keys. As for the homework notebook, of course, I kept it for my own use.

我正在学裁剪，那个本子刚好可以用来做笔记。不过，再有十个作业簿也抵消不了他做过的那些坏事情。

I was learning tailoring, and that notebook was just right for taking notes. However, no amount of notebooks could nullify the bad things he had done.

另外我还霸占了他的一把小刀。虽然很锋利，但仍不能抵消。

Additionally, I also confiscated his little knife. Although it was sharp, it still couldn’t make up for it.

除了抢东西，这个小孩还有一点最可恨——他老是模仿我的口气说话。

Aside from stealing, this kid had one more hateful point—he always mimicked the way I spoke.

我在柜台后面和顾客讨价还价，他就在旁边瞎捣乱，一个劲地打岔。

When I was bartering with customers behind the counter, he would cause chaos beside me, constantly interrupting.

不过我不理他。我对买菜的人说：“芹菜五块钱一公斤。”

But I ignored him. I told the customers: “Celery is five yuan a kilogram.”

他尖起嗓子嚷嚷道：“你听到没有？——五块钱一公斤！”

He would screech, “Did you hear that?—Five yuan a kilogram!”

我：“新鲜得很呢，刚从城里拿来的……”

I replied, “It’s very fresh, just brought in from the city…”

他：“……五块钱一公斤！便宜得很！……”

He’d interject, “…Five yuan a kilogram! So cheap!…”

我：“辣椒八块……”

I continued, “Chili is eight yuan…”

他：“芹菜便宜得很！”

He’d say, “Celery is so cheap!”

我：“蒜薹也是八块一公斤，现在菜都涨价了……”

I said, “Garlic sprouts are also eight yuan a kilogram; prices for vegetables have gone up…”

他：“菜都涨价了！辣椒八块一公斤！蒜薹也是八块一公斤！”

He echoed, “Prices for vegetables have gone up! Chili is eight yuan a kilogram! Garlic sprouts are also eight yuan a kilogram!”

我：“实在没办法便宜了，城里就很贵的，你看我们这么远拿来……”

I tried explaining, “I really can't lower the price; it’s very expensive in the city, look how far we brought it from…”

他：“辣椒八块一公斤！蒜薹也八块一公斤！便宜得很！！”

He would chant, “Chili is eight yuan a kilogram! Garlic sprouts are also eight yuan a kilogram! So cheap!!”

我抄起一张废报纸揉成团往他脸上砸去，然后扭过头来继续对买菜的人——他给弄得不知该听谁的了——说：“辣椒也是新鲜的……”

I grabbed a crumpled newspaper and flung it at his face, then turned back to continue with the customer—he was making the customer unsure of who to listen to—saying, “The chili is fresh too…”

“你听到没有？辣椒也是新鲜的，芹菜也是新鲜的，蒜薹也是新鲜的……”

“Did you hear that? The chili is fresh, the celery is fresh, the garlic sprouts are fresh…”

抬头看了一眼对面墙上的大挂钟，还有五分钟这个坏小子就要上学了。便镇定了一下，接着旁若无人地做生意：“这边白菜也有，土豆也有……”

I glanced up at the big clock on the wall opposite; in five minutes this little brat would be going to school. So I composed myself and continued to do business, “We also have cabbage here, and potatoes…”

“白菜也是新鲜的，土豆也是新鲜的……”

“Cabbage is fresh too, potatoes are fresh too…”

“你别理他！……”

“Don’t mind him!…”

“白菜八块一公斤！土豆也八块一公斤！”

“Cabbage is eight yuan a kilogram! Potatoes are also eight yuan a kilogram!”

“胡说！白菜一块二，土豆两块！”

“Nonsense! Cabbage is one yuan two, potatoes two yuan!”

“你听到没有？白菜一块二，土豆两块……”

“Did you hear that? Cabbage is one yuan two, potatoes are two yuan…”

“滚出去！！”

“Get out!!”

以我的脾气，能忍这么长时间真不容易！

With my temper, it was quite a feat to endure for so long!

“白菜一块二，土豆两块！”

“Cabbage is one yuan two, potatoes are two yuan!”

“滚！！”

“Get out!!”

“白菜也是新鲜的，土豆也是……”

“Cabbage is fresh too, potatoes are also…”

我俯身去柜台底下捞那根裁衣米尺。

I leaned down to fetch my fabric measuring tape from under the counter.

他把帽子往头上一扣，跳下柜台：“白菜一块二，土豆两块！”

He pulled his hat down over his head and jumped off the counter: “Cabbage is one yuan two, potatoes are two yuan!”

等我举着米尺绕过柜台追上去时，当然已经晚了。

By the time I came around the counter holding my measuring tape, of course, it was too late.

门在我差两步就能打着他的地方“啪”地砰死。若这时候我追出去的话，肯定还能打着两下，但又怕折了尺子——米尺又细又长的。

The door slammed shut just as I was two steps away from reaching him. If I had rushed out then, I could’ve certainly gotten a couple of hits in, but I was worried about breaking the tape—it's thin and long.

要是刚才拿的是市尺就好了。但市尺又太短。只好算了，恨恨地往回走。

If I had grabbed the city tape earlier, it would have been better. But the city tape was too short. I had to give up, sulking as I walked back.

这时后面的门又“哐当”一声给撞开了：

At that moment, the back door slammed open with a bang:

“白菜一块二，土豆两块！”

“Cabbage is one yuan two, potatoes are two yuan!”

总之，只要有这个死小孩在，根本别想做生意。

In short, as long as that little brat is around, it’s simply impossible to do business.

但又有什么办法呢？这是商店，谁想进来就进来，能拦得住谁呀。

But what can you do? This is a shop; whoever wants to come in can come in—who can stop anyone?

再说又是这样一个刀枪不入的家伙。再再说，这本来就是他家的房子嘛……算起来，这死小孩还是我的房东呢。

Moreover, he’s such a slippery little guy. To top it off, this is actually his family's house… When it comes down to it, that little brat is still my landlord.

我们每个月都得给他家一百块钱。每过几个月，我妈就让我去交房租。那时候他总是早早地就把登记的小本子翻出来，摆在炕上的小圆桌上。

We have to pay his family one hundred yuan every month. Every few months, my mom would send me to pay the rent. At that time, he would always quickly pull out the little registered notebook and place it on the small round table on the kang.

老老实实地陪我一起坐着喝茶，等他爸爸回来收钱。大约他也知道这是在办正事，胡闹不得。

He would sit quietly with me, drinking tea while waiting for his father to come back to collect the rent. He probably knew this was serious business and not a time for mischief.

于是，也只有这种时候，这小孩才能对我好一点。跟个主妇似的，把他家的包尔萨克、江米条之类的食物摆满一桌子，还亲自从糖碟子里捡了一颗糖给我。

So, it’s only during those times that the little kid could be a bit nicer to me. Like a housewife, he would fill the table with food like his house’s Boulasak and Jiangmi strips, and even personally pick out a piece of candy from the dish for me.

我“嘎嘣嘎嘣”嚼了吞掉，说：“不好吃。”

I would chomp down and say, “Not yummy.”

他又连忙另捡了一颗给我。我就坐在那里一个劲儿地吃糖。他爸爸却老是不来。

He would hurriedly pick another piece for me. I sat there munching on candy. However, his father never showed up.

我才不敢把钱直接给这个小孩呢，太不可靠了！肯定得贪污掉。

I certainly wouldn’t dare to give the money directly to this little brat; he’s way too unreliable! He would definitely pocket it himself.

对了，他爸爸挺好的一个人，非常和气，平时很照顾我们。可是怎么会有这么一个不像话的臭儿子？

By the way, his father is a really good person, very easy-going, and often takes good care of us. But how could he have such an outrageous, despicable son?

终于，这小子熬到小学毕业就从喀吾图消失了。听说在城里打工。有一次我去城里买东西，还看到过他一次——居然在打馕的摊子上帮人揉面粉！好大的一堆面团啊。

In the end, this little guy finally graduated from primary school and vanished from Kawutu. I heard he was working in the city. One time when I went to the city to buy something, I saw him again—he was actually kneading dough at a naan stall! What a huge pile of dough!

小家伙穿着背心，系着白围裙，头发上脖子上全是面粉。正站在案板前的台阶上，“夯哧夯哧”干得起劲。

The little guy was wearing a tank top and a white apron, with flour all over his hair and neck. He was vigorously working on the steps in front of the counter like a pro.

我在外面看了一会儿，本来想打个招呼，喊他一声的。却突然想起，和这小家伙斗争了这么长时间，居然还不知道他的名字呢。

I watched for a while, originally wanting to say hi and call out to him. But then it suddenly occurred to me, after all that time playing cat and mouse with this kid, I realized I actually didn’t even know his name.

我一般都叫他“死小孩”，心情好的时候，就叫他“小孩”。

I generally called him “that little brat” but on good days, I would call him “little kid.”

冬天的时候，小家伙回来了。让人大吃一惊的是居然还穿了西装，并且后面还跟了个女朋友！好啊，小小年纪的，一进城就学坏了。

In winter, the little guy returned. To my surprise, he was actually wearing a suit and was accompanied by a girlfriend! What a shame, at such a young age, he immediately went bad as soon as he entered the city.

大概有女朋友在的原因吧，这家伙懂事得要命，还像模像样地和我打招呼呢。问候我生意可好，身体可好，家里老人可好……煞有介事。

Probably because of his girlfriend’s presence, this guy was surprisingly sensible and even properly greeted me. He asked how business was, how I was feeling, and how my elderly family members were doing…it all seemed very genuine.

然后，掏出两块五毛钱的零钱买啤酒，装得跟真的似的。我一边问他：“你十三了还是十四了？”一边给他拿酒取杯子。

Then, he pulled out two fifty-cent coins to buy beer, acting as if it was for real. I asked him, “Are you thirteen or fourteen now?” while handing him the beer and cup.

他说：“十八。”

He replied, “Eighteen.”

骗鬼去吧。这也能骗到女朋友呀？

What a joke. He thinks he can fool people with that?

我不理他，转过脸去和他女朋友说话：“你的男朋友真是坏死了！”

I ignored him and turned to his girlfriend, saying, “Your boyfriend is really terrible!”

她说：“就是！”

She replied, “Exactly!”

“那就把他扔掉算了，不要了！”

“Then just dump him!”

“那可不行。他嘛，还欠我的钱呢！”

“That’s not possible. He still owes me money!”

“好哇……”我往他那边瞄了一眼：“太丢人了吧？啧啧，你们两个都丢人……”

“Oh dear…” I glanced at him, “That’s pretty embarrassing, huh? Tsk tsk, you two are quite the embarrassment…”

这个女孩子就趴在柜台上“咯咯咯”笑了起来。这个城里女孩子非常开朗活泼。她穿得很时髦，和我们当地的姑娘大不一样。

The girl leaned on the counter giggling. She was a very cheerful and lively girl from the city. She was dressed very fashionably, completely different from local girls.

但头发还是很传统地梳成了一条长辫子，乖巧地拖在腰上。面孔虽然不是很漂亮，却说不出地招人喜欢。

But she still styled her hair in a traditional long braid, neatly draping it down her waist. Although her face wasn’t particularly beautiful, there was something oddly charming about her.

大概是因为她生着一双弯月形的眼睛的原因吧，使她无论什么时候看起来都像是在笑。哪怕是在生气的时候。

Perhaps it was the crescent-shaped eyes that made her look like she was always smiling, even when she was angry.

那边那个死小孩呢，磨磨蹭蹭喝完酒，又没边没际黏糊了一阵。实在没啥戏唱了，才率领女朋友离开。

As for that little brat, he sluggishly finished the beer and loitered aimlessly for a while. When nothing else was happening, he finally led his girlfriend away.

冬天的喀吾图，让人觉得喀吾图的任何时候都没有冬天那么漫长。而到了夏天，又总觉得什么时候都没有夏天那么漫长。

In winter, Kawutu always seemed longer than any other time here, while in summer, it felt like summer could never last long enough.

好了，阿玛克的小儿子走了，又有一个年轻人离开了。而我还在这里。

Well, the youngest son of Amake has left, another young person has gone away. And I am still here.