Week 4 - 5.31 Wed. 译文（下）

老刀有点担忧，看了看手表，清晨5点。他回到楼门口等着。两旁狼吞虎咽的饥饿少年围绕着他。他认识其中两个，原来在彭蠡家见过一两次。少年每人面前摆着一盘炒面或炒粉，几个人分吃两个菜，盘子里一片狼藉，筷子扔在无望而锲而不舍地拨动，寻找辣椒丛中的肉星。老刀又下意识闻了闻小臂，不知道身上还有没有垃圾的腥味。周围的一切嘈杂而庸常，和每个清晨一样。

Old Dao began to worry. He checked his watch: it was five o’clock. He went back to the gate, waiting. Around him there are several teenage boys wolfing their food. He recognised two of them, who he had seen once or twice in Peng Li’s home. Every boy had either a plate of Chow Mien or Chow Fun, and they were sharing two dishes. The dishes were left a mess, yet they were still vainly stirring in them with chopsticks, trying hard to find the fried mince amid the chilli. Old Dao sniffed his upper arm again, fearing that there was still the smell of rubbish. It is as noisy and dull as any ordinary morning.

“哎，你们知道那儿一盘回锅肉多少钱吗？”那个叫小李的少年说。

“Hey. Do you guys know how much it costs to buy a plate of Huiguorou[1] there?” asked Lee. He was one of the teenage boys.

“靠，菜里有沙子。”另外一个叫小丁的胖少年突然捂住嘴说，他的指甲里还带着黑泥，“坑人啊。得找老板退钱！”

“Shit. There’s grit.” The other fat boy Ding suddenly covered his mouth, black dirt still in his fingernails. “Damn it. I want my money back.”

“人家那儿一盘回锅肉，就三百四。”小李说，“三百四！一盘水煮牛肉四百二呢。”

“It’s three hundred and forty,” said Lee, “Three hundred and forty! And Four hundred and twenty for Shuizhu Niurou[2].”

“什么玩意？这么贵。”小丁捂着腮帮子咕哝道。

“What the hell? So expensive.” mumbled Ding, still covering his cheek.

另外两个少年对谈话没兴趣，还在埋头吃面，小李低头看着他们，眼睛似乎穿过他们，看到了某个看不见的地方，目光里有热切。

The other two boys showed no interest to this dialogue, and were still burying their heads into the noodles. Lee looked down and stared at them, but he seemed to be looking through their bodies and staring at somewhere nobody could see. There was flame in his eyes.

[1]Huiguorou: literally means "meat returned to pot". The pork is boiled once to tenderize and then stir-fried with garlic scapes and other sources.

[2]Shuizhu Niurou: literally means “poached beef”. The beef is cooked in a rich sauce that contains numerous herbs, peppers, and hot oil.