I would like to spend more time on his birthday post so I will translate this more straight-forward story first.
有位朋友跟我说，你以后可以出一本书就叫 **《一千零一夜》，把你听到的故事都写下来。我觉得这个主意靠谱，只要朋友够多，故事够吸引人，我相信我的小脑袋瓜和大家的好奇心。那咱们今天就讲个新故事。
之前在那位老师家里除了谈及父亲的回忆，老师还提到了他的大姐。老师有两位亲姐姐，其中这位大姐的故事也给予了我强大的能量，在这里我同样想把这能量分享给大家。
A friend told me that in future I can write down all the stories that I hear, and publish a book called [ A Thousand and One Nights ]. I think this idea is legit. As long as I have enough friends and the stories are fascinating enough, I have faith in my little brain and everyone’s curiosity. So let’s tell a new story today.
(** like the Arabian Nights )
While I was in the laoshi’s home that time, in addition to talking about memories of his father, this laoshi also mentioned his eldest sister. This laoshi has two sisters, and the story of his eldest sister has also given me tremendous energy. I would also like to share this energy with everyone here.
最近一直在家里写故事，希望多给自己多一点存货。这样放风的时候，才能安心的去疯。很喜欢《快乐崇拜》里面的一句歌词：“今天的事交给今天去做，因为明天才有很多时间一起去疯”。我觉得这是成长带给我的一些些改变吧，多了一些责任心。以前我妈总是说我，写作业是临时抱佛脚，屎急到屁股眼才拉ಠ_ಠ。我变了，希望开始变得成熟。
Recently I have been writing stories at home, hoping to add a little more inventory for myself. This way when I am allowed out, I can let loose and go crazy with peace of mind. I really like the lyrics in [ Adoration to Happiness ] : “Let today’s things be done today, so that we can have a lot of time to go crazy together tomorrow.” I think this is some of the changes brought about by my growth, and I have a stronger sense of responsibility. In the past, my mother always said that I did my homework at the eleventh hour, and ( literal meaning: only going to the loo at the last possible moment ) ಠ_ಠ. I have changed, hopefully I am becoming more mature.
好了，言归正传，继续讲这位女性的故事，以下就以大姐代称。大姐年轻时是一位酒店大堂经理，她有一位谈了七年的男朋友，是某知名企业的高管。突然有一天，这个男人跟她提议：我们一起去加拿大生活吧。
男人的计划是这样的——大姐先找一个加拿大籍男子假结婚，然后以此拿到加拿大国籍身份，然后大姐就可以赴加与她的假配偶“伴侣团聚”，之后男人也想办法以别的签证远渡加拿大。等大姐拿到身份，和假配偶办理完离婚后，再跟男子结婚，同样用“伴侣团聚”的方式给予男子加拿大身份。两人就可以拿着合法身份在加拿大双宿双飞了。
大姐出于对两人感情的信任，没有多想便欣然应许。计划如约进行，但当大姐已经去到加拿大假结婚之后，她的这位男朋友有一天突然消失了，无论是什么方式都联系不上。
Well, let’s get back on track and continue with the story of this lady, I will refer to her as Big Sis. Big sis used to be a hotel lobby manager when she was younger. She had a boyfriend of seven years who was an executive of a well-known company. Out of the blue, this man suggested to her: “Let’s go live in Canada.”
The man’s plan was this – Big Sis would first obtain a Canadian citizenship by a sham marriage to a Canadian man, she can then go to Canada to join her fake spouse by “Family Reunification”. The man will travel to Canada on some other visa. After Big Sis gets her citizenship and divorces her fake spouse, she can then marry him, and by the same method of “Family Reunification” give the man Canadian citizenship. Thus both of them will be able to be together legally in Canada.
Out of trust of their affection, Big Sis readily agreed without much thought. The plan went ahead, however after Big Sis had gone to get ‘married’ in Canada, her boyfriend suddenly disappeared one day and could not be contacted by any means.
大姐着急了，找到她的弟弟帮忙去寻找她的男朋友。这位弟弟也就是我认识的老师，整个故事的讲述者。因为之前已经谈婚论嫁，两家人关系走得很近，老师对这位男朋友比较熟悉。于是老师很快就找到了这个男人，并询问原因，为什么突然断了联系，不是说好了一同去加拿大吗？一开始男人还不愿意说出其中的缘由，最终在老师不断地追问下终于逼出了答案。原来这位男人在他大姐远赴重洋等他团聚这段时间里，爱上了另一位女人，所以不打算去加拿大了。他不知道怎么面对大姐，索性玩消失消极应对。
Big Sis was very flustered, so she got her brother to help locate her boyfriend. This younger brother is the laoshi that I know , the narrator of the whole story. As there was talk of marriage before, the relationship between the two families had been very close, hence laoshi was familiar with the boyfriend. Laoshi managed to find the man quickly and asked for the reason why he had suddenly cut off contact . Didn’t he made a pact to go to Canada together? Initially, the man was reluctant to tell the reason, but laoshi persisted with his questioning and finally forced out the answer. It turned out that during the time Big Sis went overseas and while she was waiting to be reunited with him, the man had fallen in love with another woman. So he changed his mind and no longer wanted to go to Canada. He didn’t know how to face Big Sis, so he simply responded passively by pulling a disappearing act.
听到这里，我想所有的人都会为这位大姐感到不平和愤怒：怎么会遇上这样一个没担当的渣男！老师把情况告诉了他大姐，并问，“怎么办？要不然先回国？那边人生地不熟的，回来好歹有家人可以互相照应。”可大姐的回答是：“不想回去，回去还要想起那位男人，不回去了！既然来都来了就在这边呆着吧。以前的感情就当拿去喂狗了。”于是这位坚强的大姐开始了在异国他乡的独立生活。她无亲无故、独自奋斗，做过清洗饮料瓶的工作，做过给商品贴纸的工作，干过服务员，当过前台……最后总算找到了一个相对稳定的工作：帮品牌公司养殖花旗参。
As we get to this part, I think everyone will feel injustice and anger for this Big Sis: how could she have met with such an irresponsible scumbag! Laoshi told his eldest sister about the situation and asked, “What shall we do? Should you come back to China first? You are a stranger in a strange place, here at least there are family members who can take care of each other if you came back.” But her reply was : ” I don’t want to return, if I went back, I would remember that man, I won’t go back! Since I am already here, I will stay here. I’d consider my previous feelings fed to the dog.” So the strong Big Sis started an independent life in a foreign country. She had no relatives or friends, struggled alone, did jobs like cleaning beverage bottles, labelled merchandise, waitressing, receptionist… Finally, she found a relatively stable job: helping brand companies cultivate American ginseng.
在那边几年后，有一天老师收到了他大姐从加拿大寄来的花旗参，满满的一大罐。姐姐告诉他，拿去中医馆让人帮你碾成粉后，冲水喝对身体特别好。于是老师带着这一大罐花旗参来到中医馆，告诉里面的人麻烦帮忙碾成粉。那人接过罐子看了一眼，语气加重地再问道：“怎么弄？”老师不解其意，只是重复了一遍：“碾成粉” 。师傅碾粉的过程中，老师并没有离开。因为大姐特意交代过，这个参很好，你加工的时候盯着点。别让别人在弄的过程中拿次品参给调包了。师傅做活的时候，俩人就聊了几句。
After a few years, laoshi received one day, a large can full of American ginseng sent by his eldest sister from Canada. His sister told him to bring it to a Chinese Medicine Hall and have someone grind it into powder, as drinking ginseng powder with water is especially good for the body. So laoshi brought this large can of American ginseng to the Chinese Medicine Hall and asked the people there to help grind the ginseng into powder. The man took the can and glanced at it, then asked again in a serious tone, “How do you want it?” Laoshi uncomprehendingly repeated himself: ” Ground into powder.” During the process when the master was grinding the powder, laoshi did not leave. His eldest sister had specifically told him that the ginseng is very good and that he should keep an eye on it while it is being processed. He should be careful not to let others replace the ginseng with an inferior specimen. While the master was working, the two chatted for a while.
师傅：“这个花旗参哪里来的？
老师：“我家大姐从加拿大寄过来的”
师傅：“我可是第一次见到这么好的参要拿来磨成粉的，像这么大个儿的参我们都是切成片，按片卖的。”
老师：“那一般这么好的参要多少钱？”
师傅：“大概要好几万吧”。
老师这才知道，这一盒给弟弟补身的参，蕴含了远在彼岸辛苦打拼的大姐多重的心意……
Master: “Where did this American ginseng come from?
Laoshi: “My eldest sister sent it from Canada”
Master: “It’s the first time I’ve seen such a good ginseng ground into powder. We cut such large ginseng into slices and sell them by slices.”
Laoshi: “How much does such a good ginseng usually cost?”
Master: “Probably tens of thousands.”
Only then did laoshi know that this box of ginseng sent to supplement his body, contained such deep sentiments of his elder sister who has been working very hard in a faraway land.
几年又过去了，大姐在那边已有了稳定的生活。有一户人家想给自己的孩子找一位粤语老师，找到了大姐这里。雇主是一位离过婚的男人，独自带着两个孩子，大姐就在下班的空闲时间去那户人家教孩子粤语。意想不到的是，两人就此结缘。善良的大姐后来成为了这个家的女主人，有了一个好归宿。之后两个人也孕育了自己的孩子，一家五口人过得很幸福。
Another few years passed, Big Sis now had a stable life over there. A family wanted to find a Cantonese teacher for their children, and Big Sis was put in touch with them. The employer is a divorcé bringing up two children by himself. So Big Sis went to the family to teach the children Cantonese in her spare time after work. Unexpectedly, the two made a connection. The kind Big Sis later became the lady of the house and had a good family. After that, both of them had another child of their own, and the family of five lived blissfully together.
平淡安宁中，突然有一天大姐给老师来了个电话：“你知道我今天见到谁了？” 老师自然是不知道，没想到大姐回答：“我见到我前男友了”……老师问，“怎么回事？你们相认了吗？ 大姐说，“没有，但我一眼就认出他了，我也明白他认出我了。”
The days were ordinary and calm, suddenly Big Sis called laoshi: “Do you know who I met today?” Laoshi naturally had no idea, but his eldest sister replied: “I met my ex-boyfriend”… Laoshi asked , “How did that happen? Did you get reacquainted with each other? Big Sis said, “No, but I recognized him at a glance, I also understood that he recognized me. “
事情经过是这样的，大姐家别墅的楼梯有一块木板坏了，踩上去总是嗝吱嗝吱响，她就打电话给修理公司让他们派人来上门修理。结果一开门，是那个他站在门口。四目相对，却没相认。男人很快把木板修好了，随后告辞离去。俩人始终没进行工作以外的交流。
This was what happened. In Big Sis’s home, there was a damaged piece of plank on the stairs of the villa and it always squeaked when it was stepped on. So she called the repair company and asked them to send someone to repair it. As soon as the door opened, he was the one standing at the door. Their eyes met, but did not acknowledge each other. The man quickly repaired the plank, and took his leave. Both of them did not communicate beyond what was necessary for him to complete the job.
以前这个男人一直有些强迫症，在家里所有碗筷都要排列整齐。晒衣服也必须按照高矮顺序排列。就连父母到家中做客，脱掉的鞋子都必须对齐。而今他修的楼梯，还能看出有些东西始终没变，修完的木板严丝合缝，就连新旧的色差都用磨砂纸进行做旧处理。
In the past, this man had been a little obsessive-compulsive, all the tableware and chopsticks at home had to be neatly arranged. Laundry had to be arranged in order of height when sunned. Even when parents visit their home, their shoes had to be aligned. Now, in the stairs which he repaired, it can be seen that some things have not changed. The repaired wooden boards are perfectly lined up, even the color difference between the old and new boards have been treated with sandpaper.
从一个男人不负责的承诺到最后在异国他乡遇见，过去了很长很长的时间。人生的缘分真的很奇妙对吗？虽然青春被辜负了，但是还是回到我曾经说过的一句话：“如果现在的遭遇不好，那说明还没到故事的结尾。”人生兜兜转转，不要去嘲笑别人的境遇，不必去嫉妒他人的成功。踏踏实实走好属于自己的每一步，抬头看看老天也在冲你微笑呢。
A very long time has passed, between a man’s irresponsible promise, to finally meeting again in a foreign land. Fate in life is really intriguing, isn’t it? Although youth has been let down, returning to a sentence I once said: ” If the current encounter is bad, it just means that the end of the story has not yet been reached.” What goes around comes around, don’t mock the circumstances of people, and don’t be jealous of the success of others. Take every step steadfastly, and look up to see the Heavens smiling upon you.
只要你做一个善良的人，对得起自己，对得起天地良心，那你一定会有好报的。我坚信，生命一定会给你最好的，一切都是最好的安排。
As long as you are a kind person, don’t let yourself down, have a clear conscience, then you will definitely be rewarded. I firmly believe that life will give you the best, and everything will go according to plan.
Zhang Zhehan 