刘先生（2）

一见天黑，二人的心又提了起来，不晓得今晚那些东西还会不会来，但愿别来。可是有些事情往往都是事与愿违。你想不让它来它偏偏不肯放过你。到了后半夜一两点钟的时候，院子里那淅淅沥沥的哭声又传了出来。

As soon as it got dark, the two of them felt their hearts race again, unsure if those things would come tonight; they hoped not. But things often happen contrary to one's wishes. When you want to keep something away, it refuses to let you go. Around one or two o'clock in the middle of the night, the faint sound of crying came from the yard again.

听到这哭声后我爷爷和我奶奶的心里好像有一股劲儿，这是他俩的原话。就是说脑子里变得很乱，很闹心，很压抑，就想拿刀扎自己的脑袋出气。正当我奶奶迷迷糊糊的从抗稍拿起剪刀时，睡的正香的刘先生在被窝里翻了个身。

After hearing the crying, my grandfather and grandmother felt a surge of energy in their hearts, as they put it. It meant their minds became chaotic, troubled, and oppressed, making them want to stab their own heads with a knife to vent their frustration. Just as my grandmother was drowsily reaching for the scissors, Mr. Liu, who was sleeping soundly, turned over in his bed.

像是说醉话似的大喊了一声：“瞎吵吵啥啊！没看见我正睡觉呢么？？滚！！”

It was as if he were drunkenly shouting, “What’s all the noise about? Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?? Get lost!!”

我爷爷和奶奶冷不丁的清醒了过来，你别说，这一嗓子还真挺好使，外面的哭声马上停了下来。奶奶马上把剪刀扔了，心里满是后怕。这时刘先生躺在被窝里还是用那种说梦话的语气自言自语的说：“吗的，叫的我这个闹心，把这玩意儿倒着贴北边儿窗户上。我让它叫唤，等明天收拾它。”

Suddenly, my grandfather and grandmother woke up. You wouldn’t believe it; that shout was indeed effective, and the crying outside immediately stopped. My grandmother quickly tossed the scissors aside, filled with a sense of dread. At that moment, Mr. Liu, still under the covers, muttered to himself in a dreamlike tone, “Damn it, this is so annoying. I’ll stick this thing on the north window. I’ll let it scream and deal with it tomorrow.”

说完从被窝里顺出了一张皱巴巴的纸后又呼呼大睡。

After saying that, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from under the covers and fell back asleep.

我爷爷从他手上接过来一看，是一张过年时贴的福字儿，我爷爷马上照做了，把那种福字儿贴到了北窗户上。贴过后果然一夜无事。

My grandfather took a look at it; it was a character for good luck posted during the New Year’s. My grandfather immediately did as instructed and stuck that character on the north window. Sure enough, there was peace throughout the night.

这里讲到的福字，为啥刘先生要往北窗户上贴福字儿，小时候我也不懂，等到我长大了以后偶然想起这个爷爷讲的这个故事的细节后查了下资料，原来据《梦粱录》记载：“士庶家不论大小，俱洒扫门闾，去尘秽，净庭户，换门神，挂钟馗，钉桃符，贴春牌，祭祀祖宗。”文中的“贴春牌”即是写在红纸上的“福”字。

Here, regarding the character for good luck, I wondered why Mr. Liu wanted to stick it on the north window. When I was a child, I didn’t understand, but after I grew up and recalled this detail from my grandfather's story, I looked it up. It turns out, according to the "Dream Grain Record," “families, regardless of size, should clean their doors and courtyards, remove dust and dirt, and replace the door gods, hang Zhong Kui, nail peach charms, post spring banners, and worship ancestors.” The term "post spring banners" refers to the character for good luck written on red paper.

“福”字现在的解释是“幸福”，而在过去则指“福气”、“福运”。而此福字，又与降伏的“伏”字谐音，其中就概括了降服秽物的含义。

The current interpretation of the character for good luck is “happiness,” but in the past, it referred to “fortune” or “good fortune.” Furthermore, this character for luck is a homophone with the character "伏" (fú), which means to subdue, encapsulating the idea of subduing malevolent entities.

当然了，这也只是我自己的猜测，因为有很多以前的民间绝技如今早已失传，已经无处寻求其解释了。

Of course, this is just my personal speculation, as many old folk customs have long been lost and there’s nowhere to seek their explanations.

第二天天刚蒙蒙亮，刘先生终于醒了。

The next day, just as dawn began to break, Mr. Liu finally woke up.

我奶奶连忙给他打水洗脸，热菜热饭。刘先生穿好衣服下炕登上棉鞋后对着我爷爷一拱手，笑呵呵的说道：“老弟，让你看到哥哥我的醉态真是惭愧，有劳兄弟照顾了。”

My grandmother quickly prepared water for him to wash his face, along with warm dishes and rice. After Mr. Liu dressed and stepped down onto the cotton shoes, he cupped his hands toward my grandfather, smilingly saying, “Little brother, I’m really embarrassed to show you my drunkenness. Thank you for taking care of me.”

我爷爷赶紧说：“刘哥可千万别这么说啊，这我都够不好意思的了，你看没等你醒就把你整我家来了。”

My grandfather hurriedly replied, “Mr. Liu, you mustn’t say that. I feel embarrassed enough, look, I brought you to my home without even waiting for you to wake up.”

刘先生又坐到了炕上，哈哈的笑道：“不妨事，其实我都听到了，粉莲（刘妻）这娘们儿让的。我之所以娶她就是因为这老娘们儿心眼儿好，唉。别怪哥哥，因为那时候我确实没功夫醒。”

Mr. Liu sat back on the kang and laughed heartily, “Not a problem. In fact, I heard everything; that woman, Fen Lian (Mr. Liu's wife), let me have my way. The reason I married her is that she has a good heart. Sigh. Don’t blame me, I really didn’t have the time to wake up back then.”

这时候饭弄好了，我奶奶在炕上放了个小桌，摆上了一盘花卷，一盆酸菜炖猪肉。盛着高粱酒的酒瓶坐在了一只倒满热水的大海碗里温着。

At this time, the meal was ready. My grandmother set a small table on the kang, laying out a plate of steamed buns and a pot of pickled cabbage with pork. A bottle of sorghum liquor was placed in a large bowl filled with hot water to warm it up.

当她把这些东西都放好后那个俩早已经吃喝上了，我奶奶也盘腿上炕。正听到刘先生讲他为何醉成了这个样子。

Once she set everything down, the two of them had already started eating, and my grandmother also sat cross-legged on the kang, listening to Mr. Liu explain why he got so drunk.

原来刘先生在那天帮人家选坟地，弄得妥当了以后那家人请刘先生喝酒。刘先生喝了半斤酒后见天色已晚便告辞了，在往家走的路上碰到了先前的熟人老王头。

It turned out that Mr. Liu had been helping someone choose a burial site that day, and after it was settled, the family invited him for drinks. After having half a jin of liquor and seeing that it was getting late, he took his leave, but on his way home, he ran into an old acquaintance, Old Wang.

可是这个老王头在前年就已经死了，好在刘先生就是干这行的，他很好奇。为什么本应该已经投胎的老王头会出现，便上前询问。

However, Old Wang had already died two years prior, and fortunately, Mr. Liu was in this line of work. He was quite curious about why Old Wang, who should have already been reincarnated, appeared, so he approached to inquire.

原来这个老王头在生前做过不少好事，死后到阴间就当了一个鬼差。专门协助牛头马面黑白无常钩人魂魄的。因为今日村子里有人出殡便跟了来，趁着无常钩魂的时候向马面请了半天的假，想回来看看儿子和小孙子。

It turned out that Old Wang had done a lot of good deeds in his lifetime, and after his death, he became a ghostly official in the underworld. He assisted the black-and-white impermanence in collecting souls. Because someone in the village was having a funeral that day, he followed along, but he took a half-day leave to come back and see his son and grandson.

本来鬼差勾魂就很难碰见，今天又遇到了旧相识。

It was rare to encounter a ghostly official in charge of soul collection, especially one he recognized.

按行规来说，吃阴间饭的人因为泄露太多天机，都是命犯五弊三缺。所谓五弊，不外乎“鳏、寡、孤、独、残。”而三缺说白了就是“钱，命，权”这三缺。

According to the rules, those who eat in the underworld face misfortune due to divulging too many secrets, incurring the curse of “the five flaws and the three deficiencies.” The so-called five flaws refer to “widowed, orphaned, lonely, deprived, and disabled.” The three deficiencies can simply be summarized as “money, life, and power.”

刘先生知道自己犯的是命缺，但是刘先生不知道自己何时归位，因为这个世上只有真正精通《三清书》其中的奇门术和卜算术之人才能通过某种阵法来知晓天命。

Mr. Liu understood that his fault was a life deficiency, but he did not know when he would return to his original place because only someone truly skilled in the “Three Pure Books” and the art of divination could know their destiny through certain formations.

而刘先生只是学过家传的《三清卜算》和一些偶然得来的符咒之术。他怕要是事出突然自己和家人没有准备，于是就动了想从阴差口中知道自己阳寿的念头。

Mr. Liu had only learned the family’s version of the “Three Pure Divination” and some spells he acquired by chance. He was concerned that if something sudden happened, he and his family would not be prepared, so he had the thought of wanting to know his lifespan from the ghost official.