葛王佑保
Blessed Kudzu King
文/蠡山老树
有葛王之称的佑保在自己的家乡木子村包了二十亩地栽种葛根，种了一年零八个月，收获了好几车像树蔸似的葛根根，全送的送了，没送的打成了粉，做了些食品，也送光了。没赚到钱，还整日乐呵呵地，见人还唾沫四飞向人聊他的种葛经：“葛根是个好东西呢，药食同源，好吃，营养丰富，还降三高。”
Blessed, also known as Kudzu King, has contracted 20 acres of land in his hometown Muzi village and planted Kudzu root here for one year and eight months. When the harvest time came, he got several bushels of the kudzu roots like tree stumps. All of them were given away as presents, some were beaten into powder and made to food and then given away too. Blessed did not earn money but he was happy all day. Every time he saw some people, he would talk about his kudzu with excitement: "kudzu root is a good thing, food and medicine come from the same source, it's not only delicious, nutritious, but also can lower high blood sugar, high cholesterol and high blood pressure."
他把收获的二十多亩葛根家家户户都送。此物确实人见人爱，不但可做粉，还可生吃、做菜，味道可口。尽管如此，村人们还是在他背后指指点点；“佑保又干了件背时路，这次听说又亏了好几万，要小心他又脚板上擦猪油，溜之大吉，他是跑惯了的。那年他当流窜犯，湖南湖北、广东广西哪里没跑到？只要见来势对他不利，就溜之大吉了。”
He gave all the kudzu root harvest to the villagers. This thing is what really everyone loves. It not only can be grinded into powder but also can be eaten raw and cooked. The taste of it is delicious. Nevertheless, the villagers pointed their fingers at his back. "Blessed did an unlucky job. This time, I heard that he lost another tens of thousands of RMB. Let's be careful. He might have wiped lard on his feet and ran away. He is used to running away. That year when he was a fugitive, he was in Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi where hasn't he run to? If the odds were against him, he would slip away."
村人都清楚佑保那些年出集体工总是三天打鱼两天晒网，干不几天就跑了，到轮窑当过小工，跑内蒙、云南养过蜜蜂，跑到湘西深山老林里种过蘑菇、天麻，哪样没试过，还说要做个先吃螃蟹的。虽然也混得溜活，比在队里混工分要强许多。但常被公社抓回来上批判台批斗得人不人，鬼不鬼，因没人把他当正经人看，最后还是跑得不见了踪影。都说这人 是六月的杉木，定了性，没整了，他回不回也没人把他当回事了。久而久之，佑保到队里也除了名，不把他作队里的人看待了。这不，当听说土地又在搞流转了，他又像从地里突 然冒了出来，来队里要地。乡政府早把了信，有个腰缠万金的浙江老板要来这里包地种葛根，每亩地出八百元，有这号好路谁不喜得笑咧了嘴。谁料等来等去，浙江老板没等来，佑保倒捷足先登找回来了。
Everyone in the village knew that, during those years when working as a collective worker, Blessed would always fish for three days, then dry the nets for two days and run away without much work. He once worked as a coolie in an annular kiln, raised bees in Inner Mongolia and Yunnan and planted mushrooms and gastrodia elata in the old forests and deep mountains of Western Hunan. I really don't know what kind of work he has never done before but he said he wanted to eat crabs first. Although he could get by in them much better than in team works, he was often caught by the people’s commune on the criticism, so no one considered him as a decent person. Finally, he ran out of sight. Everyone said that this person was the cedar of June, which meant he was fixed and unwilling to change. No one cared about whether he would return. Over time, Blessed was excluded from the commune and no one treated Blessed as part of it anymore. However, when he heard that the land wealth circulation reactivated, he suddenly appeared from the ground and asked for a place for him in the commune. Township government has already sent a letter saying that wrote about a rich boss in Zhejiang Province, who wanted to come here to plant the kudzu root and bought the land at the price of 800 Chinese yuan per acre. Everyone thought it was a lucky thing and felt elated. The unexpected thing was that before the arrival of this boss, Blessed got there earlier.
乍一见，村里人都吃了一惊，佑保出去这么多年，除了苍老变成了一个满头白发的小老头，还是像先前那样穿件半新不旧的夹克衫，一副寒酸模样，没见混出个人样？还想要地？
At the first moment, the village people were surprised since Blessed has gone out for so many years. But except becoming a little old man with white hair, he was still wearing a semi-new jacket, looking as shabby as before. How come he hasn’t matured to be a decent person yet? Was he expecting to have the land here as well?
村人们就叽讽他：“佑保，混来混去怎么还是精光一个？你是见有浙江老板来包地了，就赶回来的吧？唉！来迟了呢，田土都分到户了，你户口早销了，还想分地？别做那个梦了。”
The residents in the village said to him sarcastically: "Blessed, why you are still a poor man? You came back because you heard there is a boss in Zhejiang Province who wanted to buy the land, did you not? Hey! But it’s too late. All the land was divided between the households. You were excluded by the commune a long time ago. Do you still want the land? Don't dream about it."
佑保就笑笑说：“我不要地，我只想承包一块地，种葛根。”
Blessed smiled and said: "I don't want the land. I just want to contract a piece of land to plant the kudzu root.”
“嘻嘻！癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉呢，你也想学那个浙江老板？心不小啊。“
"Heh heh! Toad wants to eat swan meat. Do you also want to be like that boss? So ambitious."
“呵呵！先前想吃螃蟹，现在想吃天鹅肉了，也包块地试试。”
"Hah-hah! I wanted to eat crab previously and now I want to eat swan meat and contract a piece of land to have a try.”
“想包多少？”
“How much do you want?”
“先包二十亩。”
“First, I’ll go with 20 acres.”
“乡政府通知了，浙江老板要全包了，每亩出八百块呢，你出得起？”
"The township government informed that the boss from Zhejiang Province wants the whole land at the price 800 Chinese yuan per acre. Can you afford such a price?"
“我当然也出八百。”
“Of course I will buy at that price.”
“你出得起？嘿嘿！到时你又脚板上擦猪油，我们到哪里去找你，算了吧。”
"Can you really? Hey! Then you’ll just run away again. Where should we go to find you? Forget it!
“我先交钱后包地。”
"I'll pay the money first, then seed the piece of land."
果真他就先把钱交了，要包五年，交了一年定金。先试种，成功后，再扩大面积。
As he said, he paid the year's deposit first and said he wanted to contract the land for five years. Try on a small area first and, if successful, enlarge the area later.
佑保安排村里人帮他种葛根，还发工资。只种了一年零八个月，葛根果然长得大的粗如大腿，小的也粗如胳膊，鲜嫩可口，做成粉，也大受欢迎。佑保不但家家户户送了，还把葛粉做成各种食品、饮料送到了省城。但佑保种植葛根虽成了功，却没赚到钱，亏了好几万。
Blessed arranged the villagers to help him plant kudzu and also paid them wages. After just a year and eight months of planting, the kudzu roots grew very well, the big ones were as thighs and even the small ones could reach the size of arms. They were fresh and delicious and were turned into powder, which was very popular. Blessed not only sent some powder of kudzu roots to every household but also made a variety of foods and drinks which were composed of kudzu roots’ powder for the provincial capital. Although this trial kudzu roots planting was successful, it did not help to earn any money and even lost tens of thousands of Chinese yuan.
接着就没见了人影。
Then, no one could find Blessed.
村人们又指指点点，顿脚大骂：“这鬼日的又跑了，说是包五年呢。”
The villagers talked complained angrily again and shouted: ”What the hell? Blessed has run away again, although he said he will contract the land for five years.”
“亏了还能不跑？这地他还能包下去么。”
“Why is he willing to stay if he can't make money here? How could he possibly contract the land again?”
“还只交得一年的钱呢，这个黑心的家伙，怕是不会再来了，这个*日的狗**，还是先前那个样，怕会不得好死。”
"He has only paid one-year's money and I suppose this black-hearted guy won't come back again. This scoundrel is the same as before. Curse him to die like a dog.”
村人把佑保祖宗十八代都骂遍了，仍没见到佑保的影子。
The village people scolded all the generations of Blessed’s ancestors but still couldn’t see any trace of him.
不久，乡政府的乡长又来了，说那个要包地的浙江老板已经来了，要包千余亩地种葛根，还要办个大加工厂，造葛粉、葛根面、葛根茶、葛根饮料。他到外面已打开了销路，俏得很呢。村里的人都可以到他公司打工。
Soon after, the head of the township government came again, saying that the boss from Zhejiang Province, who was going to cover the land, had arrived. He was planning to cover more than 1,000 acres of local land to plant the kudzu roots. He also wanted to run a large processing plant making kudzu roots’ powder, kudzu roots’ noodles, kudzu roots’ tea and kudzu roots’ drinks. He had found a market for these products which were very popular. All the people in the village could work in his company.
果真来了一批穿西装革履的公司部门负责人，走在前面那个气宇轩昂的汉子被人前呼后拥一路笑着走来，不看便罢，一看，村人都大吃一惊，那不就是佑保么？
There was a group of company department directors wearing suits coming to the village. One dignified man was walking in front smiling, surrounded by all others. When the village people took a closer look at him, they were all surprised. Was that really Blessed?
佑保频频向人们招手：“骂我了吧？想不到我这想吃天鹅肉的又来了。听说有人闹着我亏了钱脚板擦猪油又跑了，是吧？那不是亏，是我打广告了，想打开销路哪能不先花费点钱？没有金弹子，打不到金凤凰嘛。总算把这个项目定下来了，我这次来就不走了，要让家乡翻天覆地来个大变样。你们的地我会全包了，还要让你们全有事做，能挣钱。”
Blessed waved to people frequently: "Did you scold me? Can't believe I'm here again? I heard that someone said I lost money and ran away, is that right? That wasn’t a loss, only an advertisement. How can you open a market without spending some money first? Without golden marbles, we cannot hit a golden phoenix. This project has finally been settled. I will not leave this time. I will make a big difference in my hometown. I will take all your land and keep all of you occupied and earning money."
村里人又欢腾起来。
The residents in the village were rejoicing again.
END
作者简介
原名童晓明，笔名蠡山老树，湖南沅江人，湖南省作家协会会员、湖南省网络作协会员、红网专栏作家。上世纪80年代初开始文学创作，先后在各级报刊杂志、网络发表作品二百多万字，多次在全国、省市获奖。出版长篇小说《老街》，并获《小说选刊》首届小说笔会三等奖。
Tong Xiaoming (Pseudonym: An Old Tree of Mountain Li), born in Yuanjiang, Hunan Province. A member of Hunan Writers Association, a member of Hunan Network Writers Association and a columnist of Red Net. Since the early 1980s, he has published more than 2 million words in newspapers and magazines at all levels and on the Internet, also won many awards on the national, provincial and municipal levels. Published a full-length novel “The old alley”, and won the third prize of the first Novel Pen and Ink Party of “Selected Novels”.