坐班车到桥头去（1）

冬天实在太冷了。若是冬天搭乘在县城和桥头之间运营的那趟班车的话，紧紧地塞满一车的不是人，而是外套。

Winter is indeed too cold. If one were to take the bus that operates between the county town and the bridgehead in winter, the bus is tightly packed, not with people, but with coats.

每个人都裹得严严实实，男人顶着沉重豪华的皮帽子，女人给大头巾缠得刀枪不入。

Everyone is bundled up tightly, with men wearing heavy luxurious fur hats and women wrapped in thick headscarves, making them impervious to the cold.

孩子们更是被捆扎得里三层外三层，一个个圆乎乎的，胳膊腿儿都动弹不了。拎起个孩子往地上一扔，还会反弹回来。

The children are even more ensconced, bundled up in layers, round and chubby, unable to move their arms and legs. Picking up a child and tossing them onto the ground, they would bounce back.

班车只有一辆，来一天，去一天，要想搭这辆车进城或去桥头，得算好单双日。

There is only one bus, which comes once a day and goes once a day. To take it into town or to the bridgehead, you must calculate the odd and even days correctly.

但到了十二月底，大雪封路的时候，这辆唯一的线路车就停运了。直到次年五月份才能重新通车。

However, by the end of December, when heavy snow blocks the roads, this only bus service halts. It will not resume until May of the following year.

因此，冬天里要去桥头的话，车只能坐到可可托海，然后再雇一辆马拉雪橇去桥头。

Therefore, if you want to go to the bridgehead in winter, you can only take a bus to Keketohai and then hire a horse-drawn sled to get to the bridgehead.

班车是一辆绿色的中巴，开车的师傅五十来岁，整天笑呵呵的。要是有人在路边招手拦车，他就一边踩刹车，一边嘴里“嘟儿……”地发出勒马的声音。

The bus is a green minibus, with a driver in his fifties who is always smiling. If someone waves for the bus at the roadside, he would brake while making a "hum…" sound as if pulling on the reins.

另外他还给沿途的所有村子都取了绰号，比如铁买克村，他称之为“莫合烟村”，因为“铁买克”是“烟”的意思，而当地人一般都只抽最便宜的莫合卷烟。

He even gives nicknames to all the villages along the way. For instance, he calls Tiemai Ke village “Mo He Yan village” because “Tiemai Ke” means “tobacco,” and the locals usually only smoke the cheapest Mo He cigarette.

至于什么“二杆子村”、“贼娃子村”、“尕老汉村”……为何这样编排，就不太清楚了。

As for why he calls some places “Er Gan Zi village,” “Zei Wa Zi village,” or “Ga Lao Han village,” it’s not entirely clear.

他那辆破车尽管到处缠满了透明胶带，还是四面漏风。暖气是一点儿也没有的，大家挤在一起紧坐着，每人嘴前一团白气。

Despite the dilapidated state of the bus, which is festooned with transparent tape everywhere, it still lets the wind in from all sides. There is no heating at all, so everyone huddles together tightly, with clouds of white breath in front of each person.

偏那破车又开得死慢死慢，一摇三晃荡，似乎随时都会散架。慢的呀，一路上让人越坐越绝望。

But the bus drives extremely slowly, swaying and rocking as if it might fall apart at any moment. The slowness makes one increasingly despair as the journey continues.

不管我上车之前去得有多早，最后得到的座位总是引擎盖子。因为途中每上来一个旅客，司机都会重新分配一下座位。谁教我年轻呢。好座位自然要让给老人了。

No matter how early I get on the bus, I always end up with the seat on the engine cover. Because every time a new passenger gets on, the driver redistributes the seats. After all, I am young, so the good seats naturally should be given to the elderly.

坐在引擎盖子上最倒霉了，因为司机是个大烟鬼，一路上抽个不停，把人熏得昏头昏脑。

Sitting on the engine cover is the worst, because the driver is a heavy smoker, continuously puffing away and stinging everyone’s eyes with the smoke.

不过幸好是冬天，穿得很厚，倒也不怕硬硬的引擎盖子会硌屁股。

But fortunately, it’s winter and I am bundled up, so I don’t fear the hard engine cover digging into my behind.

最怕的是冷。那个冷啊——冷得人一动都不敢动，觉得动弹一下都会瞬间露出破绽，让四面围攻的寒冷逮着个空子，猛地掏空掩藏在身体最深处的温暖。

What I fear most is the cold. That cold—it's so cold that you don’t dare move, thinking that even a slight movement will expose a flaw, allowing the cold that surrounds you to seize the moment and snatch away the warmth hidden deep within your body.

四肢又沉又硬，唯一的柔软和温暖只在胸腔里。我偎在蜂鸣器般颤动不已的引擎盖子上，蜷着腿，尽量把身子缩成最小程度的一团，眼观鼻，鼻观心，默念剩余的时间，一秒钟一秒钟地忍受。

My limbs feel heavy and stiff, with the only softness and warmth residing in my chest. I huddle on the vibrating engine cover like a buzzing beehive, curling my legs, trying to shrink my body into the smallest possible ball, gazing at my nose, my nose at my heart, silently counting down the remaining time, enduring second by second.

这时，眼睛一瞟，看到旁边坐着的老头身上披的羊皮大衣垂下来一角。大喜，立刻捞过来盖在腿上。

At that moment, my eyes catch a glimpse of an old man sitting beside me, his sheepskin coat hanging down at the edge. Ecstatic, I quickly grab it and drape it over my legs.

皮大衣这东西真好，又沉重又不透风，很快，上半身和下半身出现了温差。我袖着手，缩着脖子，继续默念剩余的时间。

Sheepskin coats are excellent: heavy and wind-resistant, they quickly created a temperature difference between my upper and lower body. I tuck my hands and neck in, continuing to count down the remaining time silently.

可是，车到可可托海，那件救命大衣就要跟着老头下车了。

However, when the bus reaches Keketohai, that life-saving coat must go with the old man off the bus.

可我还没反应过来，拽着大衣一角，不愿意放手。那老头扯着另一头，同情地看着我。我又拽了两下，才绝望地放弃。

Before I can react, I am pulling on the edge of the coat, unwilling to let go. The old man tugs on the other end, looking at me sympathetically. After two more tugs, I despairingly give up.

温暖新鲜的双腿全部暴露在冷空气中，可以听到坚硬的冷空气大口大口吸吮这温暖时发出的“吱啦啦……”的声音。

My warm legs are fully exposed to the cold air, and I can hear the hard, cold air eagerly sucking in the warmth with a creaking sound.

上半身和下半身的温差立刻调了个个儿。又因为上半身已经麻木不仁，而下半身刚刚进入寒冷中，还敏感得很，也就更痛苦了……

The temperature difference between my upper and lower body quickly switches. With my upper body already numb, and my lower body just entering the cold and still sensitive, the discomfort intensifies...

可可托海是新疆的寒极，据说也是中国的寒极。在八十年代有过零下五十一点五度的纪录，而寻常的冬天里，三九天降到零下四十度则是经常的事。

Keketohai is the coldest place in Xinjiang, and it is said to be the coldest spot in China. In the 1980s, it recorded minus fifty-one point five degrees; it’s common for ordinary winter days to drop to minus forty degrees.

幸好只痛苦了十几分钟，马上出现转机。车还没开出可可托海那条著名的林荫道，就有一个女人带着几个孩子在路边等车。

Fortunately, the suffering only lasts for about ten minutes before there is a change. Just as the bus is about to leave Keketohai’s famous tree-lined avenue, a woman with several children is waiting at the roadside.

车门一开，涌上来一群小家伙。我眼明手快，逮着个最胖的，一把捞过来抱在膝盖上，沉甸甸的温暖猛地严严实实罩了上来。他的母亲还拼命向我道谢。

As the bus doors open, a group of little ones rushes in. I am quick-witted and catch the chubbiest one, pulling him onto my lap, and the warm weight immediately envelops me. His mother desperately thanks me.

冬天太冷了，夏天又太热了。坐车去桥头，从来没有过舒服的日子。

It's too cold in winter, and too hot in summer. The journey to the bridgehead has never been comfortable.

夏天仍经常坐引擎盖子，盖子非常烫。幸好我不怕烫，还觉得越烫越能防晕车。

In the summer, I often sit on the engine cover, which becomes extremely hot. Fortunately, I am not afraid of the heat and even feel that the hotter it is, the less dizzy I become.

只是多了件义务：每过一段时间，就得帮司机把盖子掀开，往滚烫的机器上浇点水，使之降温。

But there comes an additional duty: every so often, I need to help the driver lift the cover and pour some water onto the boiling machine to cool it down.

车开得非常之慢，那是一种很有问题的慢。司机如履薄冰，似乎稍微提点速车就会爆炸似的。

The bus drives incredibly slowly, and this slowness poses a significant problem. The driver proceeds with caution, as if even a slight acceleration would cause the bus to explode.

冬天的话，车玻璃上结了厚厚的冰霜，一点也看不到外面的情形。车慢些也就无所谓，反正到头来总会到地方。

In winter, the bus windows are covered in thick frost, completely obscuring the outside view. The slowness of the bus becomes inconsequential, as it will eventually reach the destination.

夏天就不一样了，毕竟有了对比。其“慢”的状态，如勒索一般分分秒秒地在意识的玻璃表层刮啊、抠啊，用钉子尖不停地“吱吱扭扭”划着……太折磨人了！

Summer is different, as the contrast makes the "slowness" feel painfully torturous, every passing second felt as if it were scraping and digging on the surface of consciousness with the sharpness of a nail…

坐在车上，数着路边的青草叶子，和路边行人长久地对视，剥一颗糖扔给路边的狗并看着它心满意足地嚼完……天啦，慢得令人神经衰弱。

Sitting on the bus, counting the blades of grass by the roadside, sharing long gazes with passersby, tossing a piece of candy to a dog by the roadside and watching it happily chew it down… Goodness, it's maddeningly slow.

坐在窗边，外面风景慢条斯理地退却，简直想从窗户跳出去，干脆跟着车一同缓步前行。

Sitting by the window, the scenery outside slowly retreats. I simply want to jump out of the window and walk alongside the bus at a leisurely pace.

而这一路上又没有像样的公路（从桥头到可可托海全是凸凹不平的自然土路，从可可托海到县城则是年代久远、千疮百孔、满是翻浆地面的柏油路），车厢左右摇晃。

Moreover, this route lacks proper roads (the road from the bridgehead to Keketohai consists of uneven natural dirt paths, while the road from Keketohai to the county town is an old, pockmarked, and bumpy asphalt road), causing the bus to sway left and right.

又由于车速过慢，这摇晃的幅度被无限拉展开来，像拉展开一截橡皮筋似的，长而紧绷绷的。我晕车，在“慢”中异常清晰地感觉着这种颠簸——根本就是刻骨铭心地感觉着的。

Due to the slow speed, this swaying is stretched infinitely, like pulling apart a rubber band, long and tight. I get carsick and feel the bumps very clearly—in fact, it’s an unforgettable sensation.

再加上那个热，又闷又热，引擎盖子的烫权当是以毒攻毒，但四面八方紧裹着的“闷”却丝毫没办法对付。

Plus the heat—it’s both suffocating and hot. The scorching heat from the engine cover is like using poison to fight poison, yet the oppressive “heat” tightly wrapped around me shows no mercy at all.

空气不足，一个劲儿地流汗——不，那不是“流汗”，那是在“漏水”，浑身上下到处都在湿答答地漏着。

With insufficient air, I am drenched in sweat—no, that’s not just “sweating,” it feels like I’m “leaking water,” soaking wet all over.

头发一绺一绺的，皮肤绯红滚烫，空气中布满了尘土，脸上黏糊糊的。

My hair is dripping, my skin is red and hot, and the air is filled with dust, making my face feel sticky.

在特别炎热的日子里，车过高原，遇到了猛烈的大风，窗子呼呼啦啦响个不停，但又不能关上。

On particularly sweltering days, as the bus crosses the plateau, it encounters a fierce wind, and the windows rattle continuously, but cannot be closed.

真是奇怪，总是这样——夏天，这辆破车上所有的窗子都坏得关都关不上；而到了冬天，则是坏得打也打不开。

It’s strange—always like this—during the summer, all the windows in this rickety bus are broken and cannot be closed; yet in winter, they are broken to the point that they can't be opened.

坐在窗户边的时候，滚烫的风像是固体一般用力地往脸上按挤，火烧火燎。只好掏出一本书挡着。

When sitting by the window, the scorching wind feels like a solid force pressing against my face, akin to being burned alive. I have no choice but to take out a book to shield myself.

挡了没一会儿，那本书便沉重不已，手腕累得僵硬。旁边坐的女孩直接把一件衣服蒙在头上，呼呼大睡。这么烫的空气亏她也能睡得着。

After a short while, the book becomes heavy, and my wrist stiffens. The girl sitting next to me directly drapes a piece of clothing over her head and falls into a deep sleep. It’s amazing that she can manage to sleep in such hot air.

驶出高原，开始进山。驶入丘陵地带的盘山道时，风势终于小了。但晕车照例开始了。

As we drive out of the plateau and into the mountains. When we enter the hilly region's winding roads, the wind finally dies down. But the motion sickness starts once again.

每次进入缠绕着重重盘山道的“乌恰沟”，司机就热情洋溢地对全体乘客说：“乌恰沟，九十九道弯啊！不信你们自己数……”导游一般。

Every time we enter the winding “Wuqiaou” valley, the driver enthusiastically tells all the passengers: “Wuqiaou has ninety-nine bends! Don’t believe me? Count for yourselves…” like a tour guide.

每次我都认真数了，但该晕车还是得晕。并且因为数得焦头烂额，便更晕了。

I always count seriously, but no matter how I count, I still get carsick. And my haphazard counting only makes me feel dizzier.

路过一棵树，司机又高兴地说：“这是最后一棵树了，过了这棵树，再走两个小时，才能看到下一棵……”我便非常地爱那棵树。每次路过时，额外多看几眼。

Passing by a tree, the driver gleefully says: “This is the last tree! After passing it, another two hours before we see the next one…” I love that tree immensely. Each time we pass, I steal a few extra glances.

又路过一块风蚀得千疮百孔的大石头，说：“像不像只癞蛤蟆啊？那是眼睛，那是嘴巴……啧啧，太像了！”我却怎么看都不像。石头上覆盖着斑斓美丽的石衣。

We pass a large, eroded stone, and he says: “Doesn’t it look like a toad? That’s the eye, that’s the mouth… Tsk, tsk, it looks just like it!” No matter how I look, I can’t see it. The stone is covered with colorful, beautiful stone clothing.

路太难走了！一边是深深的水涧，一边是山体，路面狭窄而倾斜，不时有山泉冲刷过路面，冲去泥土，凸出坚硬的石块，掏出深深的水沟。

The road is incredibly difficult! On one side is a deep ravine, and on the other a mountain, with the road surface narrow and slanted. Occasionally, mountain springs wash over the road, eroding the soil and exposing hard rocks and creating deep ditches.

汽车驶过时，所有人一起猛地跳起来，又一起被摔回座位。

When the car drives over, everyone jumps up suddenly, and then we all crash back into our seats.

有好几截路面，根本就是在河里蹚水路。那水波光粼粼的，清澈活泼，倒是十分美丽。

On several parts of the road, we are literally wading through water. The shimmering waves are clear and lively, though very beautiful.

过了那棵树，再往里，果然再也看不到树了，只有一些芦苇稀稀拉拉地生长在河谷深处细细的水流旁边。河沙雪白。

After passing that tree, you really can’t see any more trees, just a few sparse reeds growing beside the thin water flow in the river valley. The river sand is pure white.

视野中上部，满目荒凉，放眼望去只有秃山顽石，看不到一点点植物的绿色。荒山上方的天空却是那样蓝，凛冽地蓝着，比刚才在高原上看到的天空更蓝，蓝得——饱和得——似乎即将要滴下来浓重的一大滴蓝似的。

In the upper part of the field of vision, it’s desolate—all barren rocks and no hint of green plants. Yet the sky above the barren mountains is such a deep blue, starkly blue—deeper than the blue sky I saw earlier on the plateau, almost saturated to the point that it seems it is going to drip down a heavy drop of blue.

中巴车慢慢吞吞、摇摇晃晃、跌跌撞撞。猛地左拐，又猛地右拐，再突然蹦起来。然后像过电一样，换到一挡吼叫着爬上坡路。

The minibus trudges along, swaying and bumping. Suddenly it veers sharply left, then sharply right, and then bounces up suddenly. Then as if jolted by electricity, it lunges angrily up the hill.

我则天旋地转，头疼欲裂，喉咙里一阵一阵地泛酸水。必要的时候，就请求司机停车。

I’m dizzy and my head feels like it’s splitting, a wave of acidic nausea washing over my throat. When necessary, I request the driver to pull over.

然后镇静地走下去，走得远远的，找个没人看到的地方再吐——收发自如。这是在长期晕车实践中练成的本事。

Then I calmly step down, walking far away to find a secluded spot to vomit—perfectly coordinated. This is a skill I've honed from long-term experience with motion sickness.

总是在吐完后，精神大作，头疼立刻好了很多。但浑身无力，瘫在座位上，像只破口袋，被左摇右晃的车甩过来甩过去的。

Each time after I vomit, I feel energized and my headache is much alleviated. But my whole body feels weak, slumped in my seat like a tattered bag, tossed back and forth by the swaying bus.

闭上眼睛静待下一轮晕车的开始。有时睁开眼，看到车已经爬上了一处高地，远处山野茫茫、连绵不绝；有时睁开眼，看到车仍在沟谷中迂回，绕不尽的山路……

I close my eyes, waiting for the next bout of motion sickness to begin. Sometimes I open my eyes to see the bus has climbed up to a high spot, with the vast mountains and fields stretching endlessly in the distance; other times I open my eyes to find the bus still winding through the valleys, unable to escape the mountain roads…

突然，前方山体上有石灰写下的惊心动魄的巨大白字：“鸣笛！！”闭上眼的一刹那，看到不远处荒野里一座石砌的空羊圈。

Suddenly, a huge white message written in lime on the mountains ahead grabs my attention: “Honk Your Horn!!” In that moment I close my eyes, I see a stone sheepfold in the wild not far away.

睡眠无非是半清醒状态，清醒状态则挟裹着无边无际的眩晕。车又是一个急转弯，身体内部的器官迅速朝腹腔右侧紧缩，强烈的恶心感又翻涌上来。

Sleep is merely a semi-conscious state, with wakefulness enveloped in an all-consuming dizziness. The bus makes another sharp turn, and my internal organs rapidly constrict to the right side of my abdomen, the intense nausea surging up again.

心里暗暗考虑了一下：这回只有胆汁可吐了，要不要再请司机停一下车？……乌恰沟永无止境一般。

I secretly weigh my options: this time there are only bile to vomit, should I ask the driver to stop again?… Wuqiaou seems endless.

但当我睁开眼时，发现中巴车已出现在群山最高处。不远处有一座浑圆的山体，在半山腰处那面巨大的斜坡上，一队骆驼缓缓向上攀爬，更远处是开阔坦荡的山中平地，再往前就是美丽的湖泊——可可苏！

But when I open my eyes, I discover the minibus has reached the highest point of the mountains. Not far ahead is a rounded mountain, where a group of camels is slowly climbing up the steep hillside, and further ahead is a flat expanse in the mountains, and beyond that, the beautiful Keke Su Lake!

终于走出乌恰沟了！四面都是群山，偏中间这块谷地如此平坦广阔，真是稀奇啊。

Finally, we have exited Wuqiaou! Surrounded by mountains, this valley in the middle is so flat and wide that it’s truly remarkable.

听说在十年前，富蕴县的机场就设在这里呢。但是想想看，太不划算了——坐飞机去乌鲁木齐也就一个小时，但坐汽车到飞机场却得花好几个小时，而且道路如此颠簸难走。

I heard that the airport in Fuyun County was established here ten years ago. But when I think about it, it doesn’t make much sense—flying to Urumqi only takes an hour, but taking a bus to the airport would take several hours, and the road is so bumpy and hard to travel on.

当荒野中的旅人历经漫长的荒凉来到这里，遇到如同最最宁静的梦境一般的可可苏水泽时，心里瞬间涌荡起的情感，不只是赞叹，更有感激吧？

When the traveler from the wilderness finally reaches here through long expanses of desolation, encountering the lake of Keke Su, which is as calming as a peaceful dream, I believe the emotions flooding their heart are not just admiration, but gratitude too, right?