北京折叠
Folding Beijing
清晨4:50，老刀穿过熙熙攘攘的步行街，去找彭蠡。
It was 4:50 a.m, Lao Dao passed through the crowded pedestrian street to find Peng Li.
从垃圾站下班之后，老刀回家洗了个澡，换了衣服。白色衬衫和褐色裤子，这是他唯一一套体面衣服，衬衫袖口磨了边，他把袖子卷到胳膊肘。老刀四十八岁，没结婚，已经过了注意外表的年龄，又没人照顾起居，这一套衣服留着穿了很多年，每次穿一天，回家就脱了叠上。他在垃圾站上班，没必要穿得体面，偶尔参加谁家小孩的婚礼，才拿出来穿在身上。这一次他不想脏兮兮地见陌生人。他在垃圾站连续工作了五小时，很担心身上会有味道。
After working in the waste transfer station, Lao Dao went his home and took a shower. He changed his clothes-a white shirt and brown pants, which were his only decent clothes. The cuffs of the shirt were worn out,so he rolled up the worn cuffs to his elbows. Lao Dao was a 48 years old single man, who has no longer care about his appearance. No one took care of him, so he kept these clothes for many years. Every time after he wore for a day, he would take them off and fold them when he back to home. He worked at the transfer station, so there was no need to dress up decently. Only when he occasionally attended the weeding of his friends’ children would he wear them. But this time he did not want to meet the stranger dirty. He had worked at the waste transfer station for five hours and was worried that he might smell unpleasant.
步行街上挤满了刚刚下班的人。拥挤的男人女人围着小摊子挑土特产，大声讨价还价。食客围着塑料桌子，埋头在酸辣粉的热气腾腾中，饿虎扑食一般，白色蒸汽遮住了脸。油炸的香味弥漫。货摊上的酸枣和核桃堆成山，腊肉在头顶摇摆。这个点是全天最热闹的时间，基本都收工了，忙碌了几个小时的人们都赶过来吃一顿饱饭，人声鼎沸。
The street was crowded with people who were just came off work. Crowded men and women were crammed around the stalls and selected specialties, bargaining loudly. People were sitting at the plastic tables, putting their heads into the white steam of sour and hot rice noddles- like hungry tigers. The smell of frying pervaded the air. Jujubes and walnuts were piled up at the stalls, cured pork was hanging above people’s heads. This was the busiest time of the day. Most people were off work, after hours busy work, they all came here to fill up their belly. The street was alive with people.
老刀艰难地穿过人群。端盘子的伙计一边喊着让让一边推开挡道的人，开出一条路来，老刀跟在后面。彭蠡家在小街深处。老刀上楼，彭蠡不在家。问邻居，邻居说他每天快到关门才回来，具体几点不清楚。
Lao Dao struggled though the crowd by following the waiter carrying the plates with shouting and pushing to make a way out through the crowd. Peng Li’s home was in the deep street. Lao Dao went upstairs,but Peng Li wasn’t at home. The neighbours told him that Peng Li would not come home until the door closed, but they didn’t know the exact time.
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，筷子仍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。
Lao Dao was a little worried. He glanced at his watch, it was 5 a.m. He went back to the entrance of the building and kept waiting. There were some hungry boys surrounded him. He knew two of them who he had meet several times at Peng Li’s home. There were a plate of fried noodles or fried rice noodles in front of every boy. Some shared two dishes. The food on the plate was in a mess, but they still continuously sought meat from chili peppers. Lao Dao smelt his arms unconsciously. He didn’t know if there was any odour of garbage. Everything around him were noisy and common, just like every 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 know how much the double cooked pork slices?” The boy named Li asked.
“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！”
“Damn it! There is sand in the dish.” another fat boy named Ding suddenly covered his mouth, whose fingernails still with black mud. “What a rip-off! We must get our 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 Li, “ Three hundred and forty! And a plate of boiled beef costs Four hundred and twenty!”
“什么玩意？这么贵。”小丁捂着腮帮子咕哝道。
“What? So expensive.” Ding murmured, 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 were not interested in this dialogue, and still keep eating. Li stared down at them, as if his eyes can go through them to see a invisible place. There was a earnest in his sight.
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