大钱饺子

A Good-luck Dumpling

张林

Zhang Lin

那是动乱的第二年吧，我被划进了“黑帮”队伍里。我在那长长的“黑帮”队伍里倒不害怕.最怕的就是游斗汽车开到自己家门口，这一招太损了。嗐，越害怕还越有鬼，有一次汽车就真的开到一了家门口。那八旬的老母亲看见了汽车上的我，嘴抖了几抖，闭上眼睛，扶着墙，身子像泥一样瘫了下去。妻子竟忘了去扶持母亲，站在那儿，眼睛都直了，跟个傻子一般。

In the second of those tumultuous years, I was labeled one of the "reactionary gang." What I feared most was not being queued up among this gang of so many, but the vicious practice of being publicly denounced on a truck in front of my own house. Well, fear or no fear, the lot fell on me soon enough. When the truck drove to the gate of my own house, my mother, who was already in her eighties, spotted me on the truck. Her lips trembling and eyes shut, she first leaned against the wall, then collapsed, weak and limp like soft mud on the ground. Meanwhile, my wife just stood there dumbfounded like a blockhead, forgetting even to help my mother up.

我担心老母亲从此会离我而去。谢天谢地，她老人家总算熬过来了。

There and then I was afraid Mother would leave me forever. Thank God, she somehow managed to survive.

那年除夕这一天，竟把我放回家了。

On the eve of the Spring Festival of that year, I was unexpectedly released to return home.

一进家门，母亲用一种奇怪的眼光打量我，然后，她一下子扑过来，摸着我的脸。最后，她竟把脸埋在我的怀里，呜呜地哭起来；妻子领着孩子们只远远地站着，也在那儿哆哆嗦嗦地哭。

As I stepped into the house, Mother looked me up and down with unbelieving eyes before she threw herself on me and caressed my face. Then burying her head in my arms, she wept bitterly while my wife and children stood sobbing at a distance.

“媳妇，快包饺子，过年!”母亲对妻子说。于是，一家人忙起来，剁馅、和面……一会儿，全家就围在一起开始包佼子；这时，母亲忽然想起一件什么事，说：“哎呀，包个大钱佼子吧，谁吃了谁就有福！”

"Daughter-in-law, let's start making dumplings for the Festival!" Mother said to my wife. Instantly the whole family began chopping meat and kneading dough. In no time, all had gathered around the table to make dumplings. Just then an idea dawned on my mother, and she suggested, "I say, let's put in a coin and make a good-luck dumpling. Whoever eats it will be blessed."

为了使母亲高兴，我同意了，而且希望母亲能吃到这个大钱饺子。我要真诚地祝福她，愿她多活几年。

I agreed to make Mother happy, hoping that the coin would fall to her. With all my heart I wished her a long life.

母亲从柜里拿出个蓝布包，从包里掏出一枚道光年间的铜钱来，她颤抖地把这枚古钱放在一个面皮上，上面又盖了点馅，包成一个饺子。这就是大钱饺子了。母亲包完这个饺子，用手在边上偷偷捏出一个记号，然后，若无其事地把它和别的饺子放在一起。但我已经清楚地记住了这个饺子的模样了。

Mother took a blue cloth parcel from the wardrobe, unfolded it and picked out a copper coin of the Daoguang period. With shaking hands she put the coin on a dumpling wrapper, added some filling, and made one which we used to call a good-luck dumpling. During the process, Mother secretly made a mark on the edge of the dumpling before mixing it with the rest. She pretended nothing had happened, but the trick didn't escape my eye. I bore the mark firmly in mind.

饺子是母亲亲自煮的，饺子要熟了，像一群羊羔一样漂上来。我一眼就看见那个带记号的大钱饺子。

Mother boiled the dumplings all by herself. The nearly cooked dumplings floated onto the surface like a herd of lambs. I spotted the marked dumpling at first sight.

母亲在盛饺子的时候，把这个大钱饺子盛在一个碗里，又偷偷把它拨在紧上边，然后把这碗饺子推到我面前：“吃吧，多吃，趁热吃。”我觉得心里一阵热，鼻子也酸疼起来。我想应该让母亲吃，让她高兴高兴。但我一时想不出办法，因为母亲认识这个饺子。

When she scooped up the dumplings, Mother deliberately put the good-luck dumpling on top of the others in a bowl and pushed the bowl to me, saying, "Help yourself, Take as many as you like while they are hot.” A ware of warmth surged over me and my nose twitched. I had thought it would make Mother happy and give her a lovely surprise if she ate the good-luck dumpling. But I could not figure out how to get her to eat it for she could easily identify the dumpling.

我想那就给妻子吧，她跟我生括了20年，现在已经是快半百的人了。为了我挨斗，她心血都快要熬干了。我趁妻子上厨房去拿辣椒油的工夫，偷偷把大钱饺子拨在她的碗里。谁知，妻子从厨房回来，看了看碗，又用一双深沉和感激的眼睛望着我，眼圈都红了。啊!她也认识这个大钱佼子。

I then thought of my wife who had lived with me for twenty years and was getting on fifty. She was almost worn out with worry as I was denounced. Taking the opportunity when she went to the kitchen for chilli oil, I put the good-luck dumpling into her bowl. Who could have expected that she would recognize the dumpling as well! Back from the kitchen, she took a glance at her bowl and then gazed at me with tears brimming in her deep grateful eyes.

妻子没有做声，她吃了几个饺子，忽然说了声：“都快粘在一块了。”说着，就把所有的佼子碗拿起来摇晃，晃来晃去，就把那碗有大钱饺子的放到了母亲跟前。母亲显然没有注意，边看我边吃饺子，突然“啊”了一声，大钱佼子佼了牙。

She kept silent and ate a few dumplings; then she said," These dumplings have stuck together."She stood up and shook the bowls one after another while shifting hers withmy mother's. Obviously Mother didn't notice the shift and went on eating with her eyes on me the all the time. "Ouch!" suddenly she cried out. The coin had hurt her teeth.

奶奶有福!吃到大钱饺子了!”妻子像孩子般喊着。

"Oh, Granny is blessed! She got the good-luck dumpling! " my wife shouted like a child.

“我……这是咋回事?”母亲疑惑着。这时，当嘟一声，一个东西从她的嘴里掉在碟子里，正是那个大钱。

" I. . . . How come?" Mother was puzzled. Just at that moment, something fell out of her mouth onto the plate with a clang. It was none other than the coin.

于是，我领着老婆孩子一齐欢呼起来：“母亲有福!” “奶奶有福！”

So I joined my wife and children in a chorus, "Granny is blessed! Mother is blessed! "

“……”

“……”

母亲突然大笑起来，笑着笑着，流出了一脸泪。我和妻子也流了泪。