天堂的失落《女人和土匪》 （英译本）（66）

Chapter 66 Zhang Yan took his classmates to the house. They entered the sitting room, where gathered 30 or so disciples. This place used to be crowded with Christians at this time. Tang was holding a copy of the Bible in her hands. She stood before Jesus on the cross and led the others in reading:“Be aware not to let the others notice you’re doing good deeds. If so, you can’t get Lord’s love. Don’t boast before the others…”The kids did not understand the Gospel much. Then, the kids motioned each other and left. They came to the dining-hall. Zhang Zhong and Zhang Yong were waiting here. They saw Big Black and Little Black and felt fearful. Zhang Yan stood behind Big Black, remarking:“We’re good fellows, aren’t we?”Big Black looked at him kindly for the first time, “Yes, we are.”Madame Wang arranged the kids to sit down. She said, “Kids should take good care of each other.” Then, she got some ice cream for every one of the kids. The ice cream looked nice, with different things inside.Zhang Yan did not want adults to stay with them. So, he motioned Wang to stay away for the time being. He closed the door. Big Black took up a cup of ice cream and began to eat.Fang Yu asked Yan Yuan, “Nice to eat? Did I cheat you?”Yan Yuan replied, “Good taste.” He smiled at Zhang Yan.Big Black got some more ice cream for himself. He smiled, and nudged Little Black, saying, “It’s a pity that the Americans had left, or we could make a big fortune today.”Everyone knew what Big Black meant. Yan Yuan came from Jiangxi a short time ago. He asked, “Why could the Americans make you rich?”“Silly boy!” Big Black glared at Yan Yuan, asking, “Do you know what tomorrow is like?”Yan Yuan did not know how to answer the question. He asked in a puzzled way, “What is it like?”“What a silly boy!” Big Black said, “Where are you staying now?”“The building of the Christianity Association.”“What people used to stay there?”“Foreigners.”“Look! The teachers say that he is a smart boy. But he is silly. He stays in the foreigners’ house, but don’t know what tomorrow is.”Yan Yuan replied, “I don’t know what tomorrow is.”Little Black answered, “Christmas.”Yan Yuan got some ice cream, and put his spoon on it in an annoyed way. He said, “Isn’t tonight Christmas Eve? It’s not a festival, but why are there so many people here?”Little Black remarked, “What an ignorant boy! Tonight your mom gives birth to you, so it is called ‘silent night’. ‘Silent night’ is also a festival, don’t you know?”Fang Yu asked, “Why don’t you know Christmas, Yan Yuan?”Yan Yuan replied, “I don’t know it. But how could we be rich if tomorrow is Christmas?”Big Black said, “Listen to me carefully!”Yan Yuan nodded. Then, Big Black went on, “The foreigners used to celebrate Christmas happily here. There were decorations here and there, and any kid who uttered ‘amen’ or ‘God bless me’ could get nice candies and gifts. Don’t you think that’s a fortune-making?”The others replied, “Yes.”Big Black got some more ice cream for himself, and went on, “Then some kids of us came and we enjoyed the holy dinner.”“Holy dinner?” Yan Yuan screamed. “Did you mean you had the imperialist dinner?”“Don’t make a fuss over it.” Little Black was not happy with Yan Yuan’s scolding, suggesting, “Please don’t interrupt, ok?”Yan Yuan agreed.Fang Yu said, “last year, I went...”Big Black cursed, “Fuck you, Fang Yu! I’m telling a story. Please don’t interrupt!”The others calmed down. Then, Little Black said, “The holy dinner looks nice.” Suddenly he got fearful, uttering, “I was told that the foreigners had put much poison in the food. Big Black and I had much food. We might die soon.”Yan Yuan said with a smile, “I didn’t have the food. Big Black and Little Black had a lot of the food. They may die soon.”Zhao Qingming said, “I didn’t have it, either.”Zhang Yan and Fang Yu were shocked at this.“Shit!” Big Black yelled, “I had a lot of Christmas fruits. If I had to die, I would have died. Fang Yu, you also tasted the fruits. You might suffer as well if we had to die.”Big Black said, “We often ate the pork chops and meat that the Americans didn’t want, and we are ok.”Yan Yuan said, “Are you kidding? If you ate the meat, what did the American priests eat?”“Listen! What an ignorant boy! The Americans only took the soup.”Yan Yuan yelled, “I don’t believe. The Americans are evil. They could not take the soup but gave the meat to you.”“Didn’t you believe it? I’ll have John tell you about it some day. Sometimes, John’s daddy got the meat to my home. My mom used to say, “What a great man!”Yan Yuan still did not believe it. Zhang Yan motioned to him, “That’s true. In John’s home they ate the food the Americans didn’t eat. Don’t you think the Americans were silly? They did not eat the meat but raw vegetables!”The others replied, “Stupid!”Fang Yu shook his head, saying, “The other day Big Black greeted the Americans in a cart with ‘hello’, and they gave some money to us. I saw Big Black and Little Black go for the money. I went for it, too. I got three paper bills.”Big Black said, “In a word, the Americans are silly. Look! The PLA soldiers could kill the Americans one for many. If I went there, I would be a great soldier, too.”The others nodded.The hymns came from the prayer-room. The children got excited. Zhang Yan stood on a chair, shouting, “Hey, Little Black, Big Black, Fang Yu and the others, do you still remember that the American priests would lead the kids in reciting something before the holy dinner?”“Jesus liked…”Big Black and Little Black replied:“The children all over the world!”Yan Yuan motioned to the kids for stopping. It got quiet then. Footsteps were audible. Zhang Zhong and Zhang Yong gazed with their mouths open. Ice cream melted in their mouths and rolled down their jaws.Big Black was unhappy with the silence. Then, he noticed Zhang Zhong and Zhang Yong’s funny acts, shouting:“Hey! Ice cream is rolling down your jaws.”Then, they heard knocks on the door. It seemed uneasy in this house. Zhang Yan felt God was leaving him. The paradise was lost. He was sad and trembled somehow.