沙漠中的饭店（3）

第二日他问我，“喂，我们有没有笋？”

The next day, he asked me, “Hey, do we have bamboo shoots?”

“家里筷子那么多，不都是笋吗？”他白了我一眼。

“There are so many chopsticks at home; aren’t they all bamboo shoots?” He shot me a sideways glance.

“大老板说要吃笋片炒冬菇。”

“The big boss said he wants stir-fried bamboo shoots with mushrooms.”

乖乖，真是见过世面的老板，不要小看外国人。

Goodness, the boss really has seen the world; don’t underestimate foreigners.

“好，明天晚上请他们夫妇来吃饭，没问题，笋会长出来的。”

“Okay, let's invite them for dinner tomorrow night, no problem, the bamboo shoots will grow.”

荷西含情脉脉地望了我一眼，婚后他第一次如情人一样地望着我，使我受宠若惊，不巧那天辫子飞散，状如女鬼。

Hosea looked at me affectionately, gazing at me for the first time like a lover since our marriage. I was taken aback; unfortunately, that day my hair was disheveled, looking like a female ghost.

第二天晚上，我先做好三道菜，用文火热着，布置了有蜡炬的桌子，桌上铺了白色的桌布，又加了一块红的铺成斜角，十分美丽。

The next evening, I first prepared three dishes and kept them warm over low heat. I set the table with candles, draping a white tablecloth and adding a piece of red cloth at an angle, making it very beautiful.

这一顿饭吃得宾主尽欢，不但菜是色香味俱全，我这个太太也打扮得十分干净，居然还穿了长裙子。

The dinner was delightful for both hosts and guests; not only were the dishes delicious, but I, as the hostess, was also dressed very neatly and surprisingly wore a long dress.

饭后老板夫妇上车时特别对我说：“如果公共关系室将来有缺，希望你也来参加工作，做公司的一份子。”

After the meal, as the boss and his wife got into their car, he specifically told me, “If there’s an opening in the public relations department in the future, I hope you will come work with us as part of the company.”

我眼睛一亮。这全是“笋片炒冬菇”的功劳。

My eyes lit up. This was all thanks to the “stir-fried bamboo shoots with mushrooms.”

送走老板，夜已深了，我赶快脱下长裙，换上牛仔裤，头发用橡皮筋一绑，大力洗碗洗盆，重做灰姑娘状使我身心自由。

After seeing off the boss, it was already late, so I hurriedly took off the long dress, changed into jeans, tied my hair back with a rubber band, and vigorously washed the dishes and the sink, transforming back into Cinderella to regain my freedom.

荷西十分满意，在我背后问：“喂，这个‘笋片炒冬菇’真好吃，你哪里弄来的笋？”

Hosea was very satisfied; he asked me from behind, “Hey, that ‘stir-fried bamboo shoots with mushrooms’ was really delicious. Where did you get the bamboo shoots?”

我一面洗碗，一面问他：“什么笋？”

While I washed the dishes, I asked him, “What bamboo shoots?”

“今天晚上做的笋片啊！”

“The bamboo shoots you made tonight!”

我哈哈大笑：“哦，你是说小黄瓜炒冬菇吗？”

I burst out laughing, “Oh, you mean the cucumber stir-fried with mushrooms?”

“什么，你，你，你骗了我不算，还敢去骗老板——？”

“What? You, you, you not only tricked me but you dare to trick the boss—?”

“我没有骗他，这是他一生吃得最好的一次‘嫩笋片炒冬菇’，是他自己说的。”

“I didn’t trick him; this was the best ‘tender bamboo shoots with mushrooms’ he has ever eaten in his life, and he said so himself.”

荷西将我一把抱起来，肥皂水洒了他一头一胡子，口里大叫：“万岁，万岁，你是那只猴子，那只七十二变的，叫什么，什么……”

Hosea picked me up, soap water splashed all over his face and beard, and he shouted, “Hooray, hooray! You’re that monkey, the one with seventy-two transformations, what’s it called…?”

我拍了一下他的头，“齐天大圣孙悟空。这次不要忘记了。”

I tapped him on the head, “Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Don’t forget this time.”