第一次
今日坐在电脑前，回想起一段在南昌求学的经历。当时想要进一步提升声乐技巧，并学习意大利语歌曲，所以我去了省会南昌拜师学习。
求学初期，每个周末都要花两个小时坐绿皮火车从新余前往南昌，因此我也养成了只要乘坐交通工具就能立刻熟睡的习惯，但两个小时是极限了。后来在高三那年为了声乐、乐理知识的突击培训，也有了一段在南昌独自生活的时光。
Sitting before the computer today, I recalled my experience of studying in Nanchang. At that time, I wanted to further improve my vocal skills and learn Italian songs, so I went to Nanchang, the provincial capital, to study with a teacher.
In the initial stage of studies, it took me two hours every weekend to take the green train from Xinyu to Nanchang, so I also developed the habit of being able to fall asleep immediately as long as I got onto the transport, with two hours being the limit. Later on, in the third year of high school, I also had a period of time living alone in Nanchang for a special intensive training of vocal music and music theory knowledge.
父母带着我前往南昌，为我在江西师大（老校区）对面的小巷子里租了一个单人间。印象中这个屋子只能放下一架钢琴，一张床，配有一个厕所，一个月三百块（后来才知道为什么那么便宜，因为屋子后面是个猪圈）。那是我第一次离开父母独立生活。一个月600块的生活费，差不多可以吃遍小巷子里的各种小吃：十里香馄饨、兰州拉面、麻辣烫、以及各种油炸食品。虽然感觉吃得不太健康，但都是自由的味道呀！终于没有父母在耳旁时常的唠叨，去不去上课也都凭自觉。有时甚至会不去上课，把课时费省下来吃顿好的或买双球鞋。但自由并非毫无代价——离开学校、离开父母，没有同学没有朋友，时不时的望望装着脏衣服却不愿洗的盆子，还有那间闻起来有点臭臭的屋子，只有钢琴陪我聊一整夜。
My parents took me to Nanchang and rented a single room for me in the alley opposite Jiangxi Normal University (the old campus). As I recall, this house can only fit a piano, a bed, comes with a toilet, which costs 300 yuan a month (later I found out why it was so cheap, because there was a pigsty behind the house). That was the first time I lived independently from my parents. With the monthly living expenses of 600 yuan one can almost eat all kinds of snacks in the alleys: ShiLiXiang wontons, Lanzhou La Mian, Mala Tang, and various fried foods. Although it isn’t really healthy foods, but it all tastes of freedom! Finally, there is no more constant nagging from parents, and whether to go to class or not is all up to my own decision. Sometimes I don’t even go to class, so I can save on class fees to eat a good meal or buy a pair of sneakers. But freedom doesn’t come without cost – leaving school, leaving parents, with no classmates and no friends, looking from time to time at the pail with dirty clothes that I didn’t want to wash, and the room that smells a little stinky, with only the piano to chat with me the whole night.
好在年少时的我因为球打得不错，可以迅速交到朋友，球场上的小伙伴都愿意与我组队。那时候我经常没事儿就去江西师大的篮球场上挥洒汗水。与许多在大学里热爱篮球的男生们都打过照面，也喜欢夹着球在小巷子里来回穿梭，东看看西看看。
Fortunately, when I was young, because I played basketball well, I could make friends quickly, and on the court many little pals were willing to team up with me. At that time, I often went to Jiangxi Normal University to play on the basketball court when I had nothing to do. I have made the acquaintance of many college boys who love basketball, and I also liked to wander about the alleys, playing basketball as I went along.
那时有一家球鞋店吸引了我，里面有各种各样的球星签名款球鞋，还有许多名牌跑步鞋，但价格都很便宜。我与这家店老板的相遇或许有缘分注定，这开启了我人生许许多多的第一次——我用生活费给自己买了第一双New Balance的跑步鞋，第一次学习斗地主，第一次尝试喝了啤酒，也第一次当了店员帮人卖鞋。
At the time, I was attracted to a particular sneaker store, which had a wide variety of autographed sneakers from the stars, as well as many branded running shoes, all at very cheap prices. My encounter with the owners of this store may have been predestined. This opened up the many firsts in my life – I bought myself my first pair of New Balance running shoes with my living expenses, and learned to play Dou dizhu for the first time. It was the first time I tried beer and it was the first time I worked as a store assistant to sell shoes.
当时我买的那双鞋很便宜不到两百块，按道理这名牌跑步鞋不可能这么便宜，后来才知道，一些被品牌认为是次品的球鞋会被直接切成两半，然后他们会把这些次品里的鞋挑挑拣拣，重新钉好再拿出来卖。东西确实是原装的也没什么太大问题，可就是出了“车祸”通过二次加工就有明显伤痕，所以价格非常便宜。还有其它球星签名的大牌球鞋和一些限量款球鞋就是现在所说的A货，可以花点钱买一双过过瘾的，我确实也被虚荣心驱使着过过几次脚瘾。
The pair of shoes I bought at the time was less than 200 yuan. Logically, this brand of running shoes could not be so cheap. Later, I learned that some sneakers considered by the brand to be defective will be directly cut in half, and then they will pick and choose the shoes in these defective products, re-pin them and sell them. The thing is really original and there is no big problem, but its because there has been a “car accident”, there will be obvious scars through secondary processing, so the price is very cheap. There are other big-name sneakers signed by other stars and some limited-edition sneakers, which are now called A goods. You can spend a little money to buy a pair to get a kick out of wearing them. I have indeed been driven by vanity to have immensely enjoyed a few such pairs.
先来说说这家师大南路球鞋店的三位老板。这三位老板都是师范大学的学生。小磊是湖北人，小楠和小平是河南人。一般在球场上是四个人一组，所以我也加入了这个团体，他们也给我取了一个代号叫“小帅”。小磊和小平个子偏矮小，但比较灵活，我在里面算中等，小楠个子最高有187。所以我们这个组合各方面配合都不错，有投有突，有内有外。唯一的缺憾就是小楠身材过于单薄，且不喜欢内线冲撞，很多身体对抗都交由我这个高中生，比如抢篮板卡位之类的“脏活累活”。
Let’s talk about the three bosses of this South Normal University sneaker store. The three bosses are all students of Normal University. Xiaolei is from Hubei, Xiaonan and Xiaoping are from Henan. Usually there are four people per team on the court, so I joined this group, and they gave me the code name “Little Handsome”. Xiaolei and Xiaoping are short, but they are more agile. I am considered as the group average, and Xiaonan is tallest at 187. And so, our team dynamics works well in all aspects, shooters and attackers, covered all areas. The only shortcoming is that Xiao Nan is too thin and doesn’t like to collide with opponents. Many physical confrontations are left to me the high school student, doing “dirty tiring work” such as grabbing rebounds and boxing out.
其实我挺佩服他们三个的，在大学期间为了减轻父母负担开了一个球鞋店。后来我也会在我读大学期间接一些广告片来补贴零用，可能就是受到他们的影响。他们几个会利用课余的时间轮流看店，空闲的时候，我也会去找他们聊天，大家一起看球赛、一起交流球鞋，斗地主就是那时候走进了我的世界。除非摸到一手无敌好的牌，要不然输的人都是我，赌注通常都是跑个腿、买个冰棍，帮忙看几个小时店。最狠的一次是如果输了，就得喝水且不准上厕所……
Actually, I really admire the three of them. During college, the three of them opened a sneaker store to reduce the burden on their parents. Later on, I would also take on some commercials during my college days to subsidize living expenses, probably because of their influence. They would take turns to watch the store in their spare time when they are not in class. When I was free, I would also go and chat with them. We watched football games together and talked about sneakers. That’s when Dou dizhu came into my world. Unless I got an invincible hand, I’m always the loser, and the bets are usually to run an errand, buy a popsicle, or help watch the store for a few hours. The most ruthless one is that if you lose, you have to drink water and not be allowed to go to the toilet…
虽然大家都是穷小子，可是每天都能穷开心。这里面打牌最精明的是小磊，脑袋聪明转的快，不愧是“天上九头鸟，地下湖北佬”（没有贬低的意思）。他还有一个习惯让我印象特别深刻，每到下午四五点，我们约球的时间，如果小磊不在的话，我就会打电话给他说我们准备过去了。他一般都会说，“你们还没出发，我都已经到了”或“我已经在后门了，马上就到”之类的话。一开始我都深信不疑连忙出发，可每当赶到球场时却寻不见身影。后来才知道这是他的惯用伎俩，通常他这么说的时候还在家里呢。“狼来了”喊多了我也就不信了，每次我还在球鞋店的时候，我就打电话给他，“我已经到球场了，怎么没看到你人？赶紧过来！一会儿我跟别人组队了。”接着再慢悠悠地前往球场——这也算是我第一次学会忽悠人。
Although all of us were poor kids, we were happy as we were every day. The most shrewd player here is Xiao Lei, who is a really quick thinker, true to the saying ‘ The skies have the nine-headed bird, on earth its the Hubei man’. ( no offense intended ) He also has a habit that left a deep impression on me. Around four or five o’clock in the afternoon, the time we would meet to play ball, if Xiaolei is not there with us, I would call him and say that we are ready to go over. He usually says things like, “I’ll be there before you all get over here” or “I’m already at the back door, I’ll be there soon.” In the beginning, I would be completely trusting and hurried over every time, but whenever I got to the courts, there was no sign of him. I found out later that this was his usual tactic, and that he was usually at home when he said it. After one too many “The wolf is coming” I stopped believing, so every time when I was still at the sneaker store, I would call him, “I’ve already arrived at the court, why aren’t you here yet? Hurry over! I’ll be teaming up with someone else in a while.” Then I would make my way slowly to the courts – this was the first time I learned to fool people.
小平呢，是一个很喜欢徒步旅行的人，后来我经常能看到他四处徒步旅行的照片与视频。当时在他家蹭住时，我们就一起畅聊过关于行走的力量。由于我那个屋子又小又有味道，再加上一个人睡总觉得阴森森的，所以我不喜欢自己呆着。于是我老去他们三个家里来回蹭住。当时是夏季，客厅铺个凉席就是我的床了，硬是硬了点，好在不寂寞。
As for Xiaoping, he is a person who likes hiking very much. Later, I often see photos and videos of him hiking around. We chatted freely about the power of walking when I was crashing at his house. Since my room was small and smelly, and it always felt a little eerie to sleep alone, I didn’t like to be by myself. So I went back and forth between the three of them and stayed at their homes. It was summer, and a mat on the living room floor was my bed. It might be a little hard, but at least I was not lonely.
小楠是个187的帅哥，女朋友也很漂亮，我们当年的联系也比较多。刚才写这篇文章的时候，也给他去了一个电话。哈哈我竟然都把他名字忘了，只记得他是河南洛阳人，于是在微信上搜河南洛阳，跳出来她媳妇的微信这才把他找到。许多年未联系的伙伴聊起来依旧非常的亲切，毕竟一同度过一段无忧无虑的时光。
Xiao Nan is a handsome guy of 187, and his girlfriend is also very beautiful. We got in touch more often back in those days. While I was writing this article just now, I also gave him a call. Haha, I had actually forgotten his name, I only remembered that he was from Luoyang, Henan, so I searched Luoyang, Henan on WeChat, and his wife’s WeChat appeared so I managed to find him. Friends who haven’t been in contact for many years yet still feels very familiar, after all, we had spent a carefree time together.
他和她的女朋友也是从大学恋爱到现在修成正果，有家有孩儿。他刚也告诉我，小磊小平也和他一样，都和大学时期的女友结婚了。现在想想当年的我算是见证了三对“爱情长跑”，真是为他们感到高兴。
He and his girlfriend were college sweethearts, and they are now married with children. He also just told me that Xiaolei and Xiaoping, like him, are married to their college girlfriends. Now that I think about it, I have witnessed three couples with “**Love marathons”, and I am really happy for them. **long-term relationships
我第一次喝酒也是被这三位大哥给怂恿的，吃着烧烤来了一杯南昌啤酒，当时的感觉是酒真苦，这么难喝的东西怎么会有人喜欢喝。一杯啤酒下肚我满脸通红，两杯下肚我就回房间呼呼大睡了。虽然没有喝到大家的喜酒，但这段回忆在心终究是暖暖的，祝福他们。
The first time I drank was also at the urging of these three big brothers. I had a glass of Nanchang beer while eating barbecue. At that time, I felt that the alcohol was really bitter, how could anyone like to drink such an unpleasant thing. After a glass of beer, my face was flushed, and after two glasses, I went back to the room and fell deeply asleep. Although I didn’t get to toast them at their wedding feasts, this memory remains warm in my heart after all this time, and I wish them all the best.
人生当中会遇到许许多多、形形色色的人。无论是好人还是坏人都会帮助你成长。踩过别人挖的坑，也被好人从坑里拉一把；给过朋友温暖的怀抱，也偶尔喝喝深夜的鸡汤**。也会被对手打的鼻青脸肿倒地不起，那就躺着多看几本书，来日充充“文化人”。
那间装修简陋的球鞋店如今早已不在了，当我们把重重的栅栏门拉上的时候，回忆也就尘封在心底。你我各奔东西，如蒲公英一般散落天涯，可它却播撒了许多小小的种子，生生不息。
In life, you will meet many kinds of people. Both the good and the bad will help you to grow. Fall into a hole dug by others, get pulled out of the hole by good people; Give warm hugs to friends, and sometimes be vulnerable ( ** drink some late-night chicken soup ). Might be beaten by your opponent and end up floored with a bruised nose and a swollen face, then just read a few more books while you are down and become a “cultural person” in the future.
**深夜的鸡汤 : ‘chicken soup for soul’ is meant to be warm, hopeful and inspiring stories shared for positivity, but it seems late-night chicken soup is more of the cold, reality stories
The shabby sneaker store is long gone. When we pulled down the heavy shutters, the memories were also sealed in our hearts. You and I went our separate ways, like a dandelion scattered to the ends of the world, but it sowed many tiny seeds and will continue to grow.
2008年正值北京奥运会，我参加了高考，和所有学子一样对未来充满着期待。期待着考入心仪的大学，来到车水马龙的大城市。不过高考只是精彩人生一个开端，未来还有一系列的考验在等待着意气风发的你们。愿你我都能在未来道路上拼尽全力，无怨无悔！愿你我拥有翻越一座又一座高山的勇气！
高考加油！皆如所愿
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I took the college entrance examination, and like all students, I was full of expectations for the future. Looking forward to being admitted to our favorite university and coming to a big bustling city full of life. However, the college entrance examination is only the beginning of a wonderful life, and there are still a series of tests waiting for everyone with high spirits in the future. I hope you and I can do our best on the road in the future, and have no regrets! May you and I have the courage to climb one mountain after another!
All the best for the college entrance examinations! Hope your wishes come true!
Zhang Zhehan 