The day of departure for reporting to work arrived quickly. Lin Yuhui chose a hard sleeper berth on the ordinary express train from Jilin to Shanghai, as these trains typically operate overnight, allowing passengers to arrive at their destination during the day. This way, he would have more daylight hours to handle matters, continue his journey, and so on.
启程到岗报到的日子很快就到了,林语晖选择了吉林到上海普通快速列车的硬卧席位,因为这种列车通常把运行时间设置在夜晚,让旅客能够白天到达目的地,这样他就在白天有更多的时间处理事情,继续赶路等等.
Life is often filled with amusing little incidents. While waiting in line at the ticket gate, a female railway staff member kept using the loudspeaker to remind passengers to insert their tickets inward—perhaps the machine was malfunctioning. However, she used an abbreviation, saying only "insert inward" without explicitly mentioning the word "ticket." This left some gentlemen in the queue with room for imagination.
生活中时常会有一些有趣的小插曲,在检票闸机前面排队检票的时候,有一位女性铁路工作人员在不断的用喇叭告知乘客,票要往里插,可能机器有什么问题.但是她用了省略语,她只说了,往里插,而没有把票字带出来,这就让排队过闸机的某些男同志有了想象空间.
Two men walked side by side ahead, carrying luggage as if heading out to work. One of them said to the other,
只见前面两个并排男子,背着行李,好像外出打工的样子,其中一个人对另一个说,
"Hey, did you hear what she said?" — in a thick Northeastern Chinese accent.
"唉,你听她说哈没?"很重的东北地方口音,
The other one didn't hesitate either, retorting,
"If she tells you to stick it in, just stick it in."
另一个也没犹豫,回了一句,
"她让你插你就插呗."
Only when Lin Yuhui stepped forward did he notice the railway worker's appearance was truly nothing to write home about—a testament to just how desperate those two guys up front were. Lin Yuhui was no different. His wife had divorced him years ago. What woman would want a man without a job and in poor health?
等到了林语晖走到前面,这才看到那个铁路女同志相貌真的不咋地,可见前面两位大哥性饥渴的程度.林语晖也是,妻子也跟自己离婚好几年了,哪个女人会找一个没有工作身体还不好的男人呢?
As he approached the turnstile, the female railway attendant kept shouting, "Insert it inward!" Lin Yuhui couldn't help but chuckle. Who didn't know to insert it inward? But this ticket was made of paper—if it got bent, that would be a real hassle.
当他走到闸机前,那个铁路女同志依然不停地喊着,往里插.林语晖不由得觉得好笑,谁不知道往里插啊,可是这车票是质的,要是弄折了可就不好办了,
Lin Yuhui tried it first but failed. The railway worker immediately urged him on: "Push it in, push it in!"
开始林语晖试了一下,没成功,那个铁路女同志紧接着就催促,往里插往里插,
Lin Yuhui thought to himself, "Go ahead and rush me—if you break it, I'm not responsible." With that, he shoved the ticket hard. To his surprise, it whizzed right through the machine. After passing through the turnstile, he noticed two guys ahead still debating how to insert their tickets. Pure male joy.
林语晖心想,叫你催,插坏了我可不负责,想到这用力一推,没想到车票嗖地一下被吸进去了.过了闸机只见前面两位大哥还在讨论往里插的问题,纯粹的男人的快乐.
When the train arrived in Shanghai once more, Lin Yuhui felt a flood of emotions. He had come here to work twenty years ago, but it was for a construction company—a low-tier job with no future prospects. Staying there would have ruined both his family and career for life. Back then, his grandmother was still alive. Lin Yuhui bought her DVDs of the TV adaptations of Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber from Xinhua Bookstore for her to watch at home, hoping to make up for his absence. Time had flown by. He had returned many times since then for business trips and errands. Now, revisiting these familiar places, scenes from the past flooded back into his mind.
当乘列车再一次抵达上海,林语晖的感慨良多,二十年前他就曾来过这里工作,只不过是施工企业,档次很低,而且没有前途,干下去一辈子家庭事业都会被耽误.那时候奶奶还健在,林语晖在新华书店买了"西游记","红楼梦"的电视剧光盘给奶奶在家里看,代替自己不能陪伴在她身边的遗憾.转眼,时过境迁,期间出差,办事又来过多次,如今再次故地重游,往事的一幕幕又浮现在眼前.
Lin Yuhui's employer, Shanghai Wenshi Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., is located at 176 Fengdong Road, Fengyue Town, Fengxian District, Shanghai. The site is quite distant from the nearest train station, requiring a subway ride followed by a bus transfer to reach. Holding a printed map he had prepared in advance, Lin Yuhui found Subway Line 5. The tedious journey stretched on as the subway emerged from underground, underscoring the remote location of his workplace. By the time he switched to the bus, it was already afternoon.
林语晖就职的上海温氏环保科技股份有限公司位于上海市奉贤区丰月镇丰东路176号,距离到达的火车站还很远,需要乘坐地铁再转换公交才能到达.林语晖拿着事先准备的打印地图,找到地铁5号线,无聊冗长的旅程,地铁从地下开到了地上,可见工作地点的偏僻,当换上公交车的时候已经下午了.
Lin Yuhui visited the outskirts of Fengxian District in Shanghai for the first time. This area was once used for rice cultivation, and the paddies had already turned golden. The local farmers all lived in three-story detached houses. As nightfall approached, the scenery of these rice-scented homes amidst patches of yellow-green was truly beautiful.
林语晖第一次来到上海奉贤区的郊区,原来这里是种水稻的,稻田已经黄了,这里的农民都是住三层独栋小楼,夜幕即将降临,黄绿色块的稻香人家的景色很美.
等车加上行驶时间差不多有两个小时,下车的时候已经下午五点了,太阳已经落入地平线之下,只剩天边的余晖照亮世界.
After years of traveling, Lin Yuhui had become quite skilled at navigation. He knew they needed to reach their destination quickly, or else it would be difficult once night fell completely. But today he made a mistake. Following the route on the map, he found the surrounding scenery didn't match up. Fearing he might get completely lost, he turned back to the intersection. He then walked down the road and turned into the next intersection ahead to take a look, but this area was even more desolate.
多年在外奔波的林语晖很擅长导航,他知道要尽快到达地点,不然天全黑了就不好办了.但是今天失误了,沿着地图上的这条路走下去,却发现周边景物对不上,怕彻底迷路就又返回到路口,往下走去前面的路口进去看看,然而这里更加冷清.
He had no choice but to call his contact, but even after describing the surrounding buildings to pinpoint his location, the other person couldn't figure it out. So he ended up acting as the dorm manager. Lin Yuhui had to ask him to describe the buildings around him, but he couldn't explain clearly either. At that point, Lin Yuhui started describing the neon signs of factories or buildings he could see, and only then did they match their information. It turned out Lin Yuhui had entered through the correct entrance, but he needed to proceed further inside. The person waiting for him was at a side entrance, not the main gate. Life is full of problems, big and small, that need solving. How many one can resolve ultimately determines the measure of that person's life achievements.
他只好拨通了联系人的电话,可是自己报了周边建筑特征定位自己,对方也弄不清楚,所以他只能当宿舍管理员.林语晖只好让他报告他周边的建筑特征,他也没能说清楚,这时候林语晖只好又开始给他报告自己能看到的工厂或者大楼的霓虹招牌情况,双方这才对上信息.原来林语晖开始进的路口是对的,只不过要再往里多走才到,对方等他的位置是偏门,不是正门.生活中总是有大小的问题需要解决,而能够解决多少,就多少决定了这个人的人生成就.
The accommodation area is located on the fifth floor of the dormitory building, featuring rooms for workers and technicians. The technician rooms are double occupancy, but since Lin Yuhui mentioned having trouble sleeping, the company arranged for him to stay in a room whose roommate was away on a business trip.
住宿区域在宿舍楼的五楼,有工人房间和技术员房间,技术员房间是双人间,但是因为林语晖说了自己睡眠不好,公司给他安排了一个室友在外地出差的房间.
After collecting his room key and the fifth-floor access card, he began surveying his surroundings. At the end of the hallway were shared restrooms, a shower with a water heater, and communal laundry machines. It seemed the laundry machines required a card swipe too, but Lin Yuhui had no intention of using the shared facilities anyway—he was a clean freak. The problem was the bedding was also communal, so he'd just have to sleep fully clothed.
拿了房间钥匙和五楼门禁卡,他开始查看周围的环境,走廊尽头有公用厕所,淋浴热水器,和公用洗衣机.好像这个洗衣机还需要刷卡,反正林语晖是不打算用这个公用的,他有洁癖.但问题是被褥也是公用的,那就只好和衣而卧了.
With lodging settled, it was time to tackle dinner. It seemed he hadn't taken a wrong turn after all—both sides of the road at the intersection where he'd previously gone astray were lined with night markets offering all manner of food. Evidently, night-shift factory workers required such services, so Lin Yuhui seized the opportunity to join them for a meal.
住所处理妥当了,就该解决晚饭问题了.似乎路没有错走的,刚才走错的那个路口的道路两侧都有夜市提供各种食物,看起来是有夜班生产工人需要这种服务,所以林语晖也正好趁机和他们一起解决吃饭问题.
Located on the outskirts of the city, night had fallen deep. Apart from the lights of factories and streetlamps, everything else lay shrouded in darkness. It seemed that after eight o'clock in the evening, more young factory workers came out to eat, gathering in small groups of three or five, men and women alike, flirting and bantering.
地处市郊,夜已深,除了工厂的灯光和路灯,其他所在都是一片漆黑.似乎从晚上八点多之后有更多工厂的年轻人出来吃东西,三五成群,男男女女,打情骂俏.Lin Yuhui also wondered: Could working in a factory like this help me find a life partner? The thought flashed through his mind only briefly. He knew full well he wasn't cut from the same cloth as them, and those girls wouldn't be interested in him anyway.
林语晖也想,如果我在这样的工厂里工作是否能解决人生伴侣问题?这个念头只是一闪而过,他很清楚自己与他们不是同一类人,那些女生也不会看上自己.
After walking around the food night market, he found it was all junk food—things like fish balls or tripe stewed haphazardly, grilled things of unknown origin that definitely weren't regular meat, maybe tofu products or flour-based items. After browsing for a while, he spotted two relatively normal food options: one stall selling dumplings, and another offering pancakes rolled with shredded potatoes, bean paste, and lettuce—finally, some proper food.
在食品夜市走了一圈,他发现都是垃圾食品,比如乱炖的鱼丸或者粉肠,烤的不知名什么东西反正不是正常肉类,或许是豆制品,或者面制品.挑了一圈,有两种食物还算正常,有一个卖水饺的,还有一个是煎饼卷土豆丝,面酱还有生菜,总算也是正经食物.
Lin Yuhui bought a box of vegetarian dumplings to go. He disliked eating outdoors and dared not buy meat-filled dumplings, fearing the meat might be tainted and upset his stomach. He also picked up a pancake roll with shredded potatoes. This should be fine—the eggs were cooked thoroughly with the pancake, and the shredded potatoes and lettuce shouldn't pose any issues. He could save it for breakfast the next morning.
林语晖买了一盒素馅水饺,打包,他不喜欢在外面露天吃东西,也不敢买肉馅的,怕肉有问题吃坏肚子.又买了一份煎饼卷土豆丝,这个应该没啥问题,鸡蛋是和煎饼一起煎熟的,其他的土豆丝和生菜应该没啥大问题,这个可以留着第二天早上吃.
Back on the fifth floor of the dormitory, Lin Yuhui placed the potato-stuffed pancake roll on the windowsill. On a November night, even in Shanghai, the temperature outside was low. The windowsill indoors should have a cool airflow, which would help preserve the food to some extent.
回到宿舍五楼,林语晖把煎饼卷土豆丝放在了窗台上,十一月的夜晚,即便是上海,外面也是气温低,窗台室内应该有下降的冷气流,多少有利于保存食物.
Lin Yuhui sat by the window, eating dumplings while gazing at the office building across the street. Some windows still glowed with light. Wondering what tomorrow would bring.
林语晖坐在窗前,一边吃水饺,一边看着前面的大楼,有些窗子还亮着灯,应该是办公楼,不知道明天将会是什么样的开始.