吃饭又
靠什么？“他苦恼地说。然后他抬起头来看我，他的眼角上嵌着泪珠。他哭了！
我看见他流眼泪，不知道怎么办才好，就跑开了。
不久祖父生病死了，我也进了学堂，不再受那个老秀才的管束了。祖父死后木匠
老陈不曾到我们家里来过。但是我每天到学堂去都要经过他那个小小的铺子。
有时候他在店里招呼我；有时候他不在，只有一两个徒弟在那里钉凳子或者制造
别的对象。他的店起初还能维持下去，但是不久省城里发生了巷战，一连打了三天，
然后那两位军阀因为别人的调解又握手言欢了。老陈的店在这个时候遭到“丘八”的
光顾，他的一点点积蓄都给抢光了，只剩下一个空铺子(11)。这以后他虽然勉强开店，
生意却很萧条。我常常看见他哭丧着脸在店里做工。他的精神颓丧，但是他仍然不停
手地做活。我听说他晚上时常到小酒馆里喝酒。
又过了几个月他的店终于关了门。我也就看不见他的踪迹了。有人说他去吃粮当
了兵(12)，有人说他到外县谋生去了。然而有一天我在街上碰见了他。他手里提着一
个篮子，里面装了几件木匠用的工具。
“老陈，你还在省城！人家说你吃粮去了(13)！”我快活地大声叫起来。
“我只会做木匠，我就只会做木匠！一个人应该安分守己，”他摇摇头微微笑道，
他的笑容里带了一点悲哀。他没有什么大改变，只是人瘦了些，脸黑了些，衣服脏了
些。
“少爷，你好好读书，你将来做了官，我来给你修房子，”他继续笑说。
我抓住他的袖子，再也说不出一句话来。他告辞走了。他还告诉我他在他从前一
个徒弟的店里帮忙。这个徒弟如今发达了，他却在那里做一个匠人。
以后我就没有再看见老陈。我虽然喜欢他，但是过了不几天我又把他忘记了。等
到公馆里的轿夫告诉我一个消息的时候，我才记起他来。
那个轿夫报告的是什么消息呢？
他告诉我：老陈同别的木匠一起在南门一家大公馆里修楼房(14)，工程快要完了，
但是不晓得怎样，老陈竟然从楼上跌下来，跌死了。
在那么多的木匠里面，偏偏是他跟着他父亲落进了横死的命运圈里。这似乎是偶
然，似乎又不是偶然。总之，一个安分守己的人就这样地消灭了(15)。
Carpenter Lao Chen
Ba Jin
Lots of things are apt to fade from memory as one’s life experiences accumulate. But
some memories will withstand the wear and tear of time.
Those houses and streets in my home town still remain engraved on my mind. I still
can recall how every day on my way to school I would invariably walk past Carpenter Lao
Chen’s shop.
Carpenter Lao Chen was then only about forty years old, with a longish face like that
of a donkey, a scar under his left eye, and a wispy moustache on his upper lip. People said
he looked ugly, yet they praised him for his good temper.
He usually worked in his own shop. But from time to time he was employed by some
rich people he knew well to work at their residences, either as a hired hand on contract or
as an oddjobber. Whenever my family needed a carpenter, he was always the man we
wanted. That was how I got to know him. While he was in our home, I would come out to
watch him work in my spare time.
What attracted my attention, however, was not the man himself, but the tools he used,
such as the saw with toothed blade, the plane with two ear-like handles, the revolving drill
– things entirely strange to me. A piece of coarse wood, after being processed with the
hatchet, saw and plane, would become pieces of smooth and tidy wood, square or
rectangular in shape. After further treatment with the chisel, drill, etc., they would end up
as various kinds of exquisite articles, such as beautiful window lattices, ornamental ←←網←文←檔←下←載←與←在←線←閱←讀←
engravings on wooden partitions.
The work which Lao Chen and his apprentices did was a real eye-opener to me. I was
then studying at home under the tutorship of an old scholar of Qing Dynasty whom my
grandfather had engaged. The ild scholar knew nothing about teaching methods. All he did
was make me learn some Chinese characters and do some dull reading. Apart from that, he
had me cooped up in my study and sit bolt upright doing nothing while time was slipping
through my fingers. Because of this monotonous life, it was no wonder that I developed a
particular liking for Carpenter Lao Chen.
He was often bent over drawing something on a plank with a ruler and an ink marker.
And I would stand by and watch quietly and intently, my eyes riveted on him. After
making the line with the ink marker, he would pick up the saw or the chisel. Sometimes,
when something puzzled me, I would ask him questions out of curiosity, and he would
explain patiently everything in detail. He was much more agreeable than the old scholar.
My folks, however, showed no sign of disapproval when they found me so much
interested in Lao Chen’s work, but only teasingly called me an apprentice of his. Father
even said jokingly that he was going to apprentice me to Lao Chen. All that was the well-
meaning remarks of an affectionate father. Once I even believed that father had meant
what he said, and I even told Lao Chen that that was exactly what I had in mind.
“You want to learn carpentry?” said Lao Chen immediately with a smile. “No kidding!