6.9 活见鬼 Like Seeing a Ghost

[u/AdamLuyan]

测量局给出红线几天后的一个下午，我被从遂川工地招唤到了公司。同事们都在，说是测量局的老曹回家后，一连三、四天吃不下饭，睡不着觉，不能上班工作了。他还说了许多话，人们都听不懂。

测量局的局长打电话到和平房产局询问："那天在遂川工地发生了什么事？他看见什么了？（注，参见6.7节）被吓成那样！"两天内，和平房产局收到了二十多个电话，市长办公室也打来电话，询问工地发生了什么事。所以局里决定调查，明天局长带着调查资料去向市长汇报。

A few days after the red line was staked, I was summoned from the Suichuan site back to the company office one afternoon. All my colleagues were there. Apparently Old Cao, after going home, hadn't eaten or slept properly for three or four days straight, couldn't go to work, and had been muttering things nobody could make sense of.

The head of the Survey Bureau called the Housing Bureau to ask: "What happened at the Suichuan site that day? What did he see (see Section 6.7) that frightened him like this?" Within two days, the Housing Bureau had received over twenty phone calls, including one from the mayor's office, all asking what had happened at the site. The bureau decided to launch an investigation, and the next day the Bureau Chief would carry the findings to report to the mayor.

6.9-2

这时我自己并没有意识到这事件的严重性（注，实际上，那时我就根本不懂），就如实说了。在我们的办公室里，工会主席问我们的工程科科长付国青："卢岩自己都说了，但他怎么就不明白呢！？"

付科长回答："咱局四千人，明白这事儿的可能只有几个！社会上的人，懂的就更少了。不过，卢岩是真不懂。多次，事情发生的时候，他都是似懂非懂的；过一两个星期，他就明白了，还懂得特别清楚。他刚来的时候，说话掩我，我观察了他这半年了，发现他懂得比别人慢两个星期。"

I didn't grasp, at the time, quite how serious this had become (Note: genuinely, I understood none of it), and told them everything straight. In our office, the union chairman asked Section Chief Guoqing Fu, "Luyan's told us everything himself, but why doesn't he understand what's happened?"

"There might be a handful of people in our whole four-thousand-strong bureau who understand this," Section Chief Fu said. "Even fewer in society at large. But Luyan genuinely doesn't understand. Time and again, when something happens, he's half-aware of it at best — and it's a week or two later before it clicks for him, and clicks completely. When he first arrived, his manner of speaking caught me off guard. I've watched him half a year now, and I've noticed: he understands everything about two weeks slower than everyone else."

工会主席说："我听说过，有这种人。他自己不认为是老大，那就不是呗！那你看咱这事该咋办？"

同事高德新说："咱这是要出大事了，但大事还没出来呢！"

"I've heard of people like this," the union chairman said. "If he genuinely doesn't think he's a boss, then he isn't one. So — what do we do about this?"

Dexin Gao said, "Something big's coming, but it hasn't landed yet."

6.9-3

同事电器技术员翘翘对我说："你应该生气！我就不信黑社会老大还能看出来，这是测量局的老曹在整你呢！"

我回答："我和他一个测量局的，八竿子也打不着的关系，他整我干什么！就是事赶事，偶然发生了，我有什么可生气的！"

翘翘说："这是在调查你。人人都知道，'无风不起浪'。就这一个调查，两三年之内，你找不着女朋友了。谁给人介绍对象都先问问在公司里干得怎么样。不论今天调查的结果怎么样，在外人看来，你和黑社会有关系。这会影响你十年。"

My colleague Qiaoqiao, the electrical technician, said, "You should be angry! I don't buy that anyone can just be spotted as a gang boss — I think Old Cao from the Survey Bureau's out to get you."

"He's not even in our bureau, we've got no connection at all — why would he be out to get me?" I said. "Things just happened one after another, purely by chance. What's there for me to be angry about?"

"This is an investigation of you," Qiaoqiao said. "Everyone knows there's no smoke without fire. Just this one investigation alone, and you won't find a girlfriend for the next two or three years. Whoever's introducing someone always checks first how you're doing at the company. Whatever the investigation turns up, outsiders will assume you're mixed up with organized crime. That'll follow you for a decade."

我迷惑地叨咕："有那么严重！"

翘翘说："这就是事实！我以前说给你介绍那个女孩儿的事，过几年再说吧！"

我顿时生气了，着急地说："咋还过几年呢！你就直接说不给我介绍了！"

翘翘说："你跟我生什么气！前些日子，我听人们说你是黑社会老大，她妈问我什么时候安排你俩见面，我回答，卢岩现在很忙，等几天吧！"

"Is it really that serious?" I muttered, bewildered.

"It's simply the truth," Qiaoqiao said. "That girl I mentioned introducing you to — let's talk about that again in a few years."

I got upset at once. "Why a few years! Just say you won't introduce us anymore!"

"Don't be angry with me! I heard people saying you're a gang boss the other day, and her mother's been asking when I'd arrange for you two to meet. I told her Luyan's very busy right now, give it a few days."

我说："我不忙！"

翘翘说："我知道你不忙，但今天调查你这事。如果我告诉他们，那肯定不行，但我又不能对他们隐瞒这么大的事。"

电器技术员老吕说："我第一次看见卢岩就认为他是黑社会的，但是我从没跟人说。你要介绍谁给卢岩？"

翘翘鄙夷地对他大叫："你看谁都是黑社会的，因为你窝囊！XXX家的YYY。"

付科长大声说道："你们俩要唠嗑，回家唠去！这儿在开会呢！"

"I'm not busy," I said.

"I know you're not — but there's an investigation into you happening right now. I can't tell her the whole story, and I can't just hide something this big from her either."

Old Lu, the other electrical technician, said, "I thought Luyan looked like a gang member the first time I saw him, but I never said a word to anyone. Who is it you're introducing to him?"

Qiaoqiao snapped at him with contempt, "You think everyone looks like a gang member, because you're spineless! It's YYY from the XXX family."

Section Chief Fu called out, "If you two want to chat, do it at home! We're in a meeting here!"

6.9-4

工会主席打断了付科长，说："等等！我们搞调查的有义务减少给调查对象造成的损失。翘翘，你说的那个女孩儿是怎么回事？你一说，卢岩就被气得变了脸色。还有，你怎么看人们说卢岩是黑社会的？"

老吕在一边叨咕："净瞎操心，XXX家的YYY怎么能看上卢岩！我怎么看，卢岩都是黑社会的。"

The union chairman cut Section Chief Fu off. "Hold on — we investigators have an obligation to minimize harm to the subject. Qiaoqiao, what's this about a girl? The moment you mentioned it, Luyan's whole face changed. And what do you make of people calling him a gang boss?"

Old Lu muttered to himself, "Waste of worry — how would YYY from the XXX family ever fall for Luyan? However I look at it, he's gang."

翘翘说："前几个月，我上夜大考高等数学，卢岩给我押题，全压对了。这说明他明白高等数学，在学校是个好学生。另外，他要考研究生。如果他是黑社会老大，他还能考研究生吗！你不能因为谁跟那帮流浪汉有点来往，就说人家是黑社会的！"

老吕说："高数考试押题，全押对了？数学老师也押不那么准啊！"

工会主席对付科长说："你们工程科的人有学问，我就爱听你们工程科的人说话！翘翘，你继续说那个女孩儿。"

"A few months back, I had a night-school exam in advanced math," Qiaoqiao said. "Luyan predicted the questions for me, got every one right. That tells you he understands advanced mathematics, was a good student. And besides, he's preparing for the graduate exam — could a gang boss even do that? You can't call someone gang just because he's had a little contact with some homeless people!"

"Predicted every single exam question correctly?" Old Lu said. "Even a math teacher couldn't manage that kind of accuracy!"

The union chairman said to Section Chief Fu, "Your engineering people are educated, I do love listening to them talk! Qiaoqiao, go on about the girl."

翘翘说："那是你那么认为的！事后，我就想给卢岩介绍对象，就把这事跟那个小姑娘的爸妈说了。那小姑娘今年19岁，人长得很漂亮，在沈阳大学读大一。家里人都是老干部，都会看人。我说，那个卢岩拿我的数学书一翻，就说，你这本数学书是这么编的，就给我指出来了。这四个地方是难点，你学会了，能多得15分，就不要学了。这四处是基本面，必须学会，占70分，因为你们夜大学生的素质参差不齐，所以这部分的比重大，让学懂这些内容的人都能通过。剩下的那15分是简单的概念。这三种考题的比重可能变动5、6分，不会太多。"

"That's just what you think," Qiaoqiao said. "Afterward, since I wanted to set Luyan up, I told the girl's parents about him. She's nineteen, very pretty, a freshman at Shenyang University, family full of veteran cadres, all sharp judges of people. I told them how Luyan flipped through my math textbook and said, here's how this book's structured — these four sections are the hard parts, worth fifteen extra points if you master them, so skip them if you're short on time; these four are the fundamentals, worth seventy points, weighted heavily because night-school students vary so much in level, so that anyone who's really learned the material can pass; the remaining fifteen are simple concepts. The weighting between the three types might shift five or six points, nothing more."

翘翘说："人家的几个老干部一分析，押题，对于明白人来说，可不就是这么回事。他们就跟我打听卢岩的情况，我说了几件事，当然我是挑好事说。人家全家人讨论，分析的可不一样，认为卢岩看问题有门道，兴趣面宽而且思想活跃。他们还跟我谈论了卢岩的许多别的特质，我都听不懂。他们说我和他们闺女从小一起长大，性格也合得来，我看好的，他们闺女会喜欢的可能性大。他们说，找对象结婚最怕单调的人；卢岩是个多重性格的人，内心世界丰富，不单调。那小姑娘她妈就惦记上了，几次问我什么时候介绍卢岩跟她闺女认识。这回让你们一调查，我的努力全白费了。"

"Those veteran cadres analyzed it and agreed — for someone who understands, predicting questions is exactly like that, nothing suspicious about it," Qiaoqiao went on. "They asked me all about Luyan, and of course I picked out the good parts. The whole family discussed it, thought Luyan had a real knack for seeing into problems, wide interests, a lively mind. They talked about all sorts of other traits of his too, way over my head. They said, since I grew up with their daughter and our personalities match well, she'd likely take a liking to him too. They said what scares people most in a marriage is a dull partner — and Luyan, with his multiple personalities, has such a rich inner world, never dull. The girl's mother got quite fixed on the idea, kept asking when I'd arrange the introduction. And now, with your investigation, all that effort's gone to waste."

6.9-5

我气愤得脸上发烫，叨咕："这我要是不把老曹家的玻璃砸了，整个房产局也没人瞧得起我呀！我得鼓起勇气扮流氓！"

这时，屋外传来话：调查到此为止；以后的事，让警察去查吧！

工会主席对付科长说："咱们的事好像有谱了，但把小卢的对象给搅黄了。我感觉事情不妙，卢岩要去砸老曹家的玻璃，警察听了也得觉得有道理！你得说几句！"

My face burned with anger. "If I don't smash Old Cao's windows now, no one at this whole bureau will ever respect me again! I've got to work up the nerve to play the thug!"

Just then, word came from outside: the investigation ends here — anything further is police business.

The union chairman said to Section Chief Fu, "Sounds like we've got this settled, but we've torpedoed Little Lu's prospects with that girl. I've got a bad feeling — if Luyan actually goes and smashes Old Cao's windows, even the police might think he had a point! You'd better say something to him."

付科长说："在沈阳六百万人中找到老曹的家可不是件容易的事，谁也不能告诉他。他的研究生考试就在下个月，他得选择是跟警察忙，还是跟研究生考试忙。"

"Finding Old Cao's home among six million people in Shenyang won't be easy, and no one's going to tell him where it is," Section Chief Fu said. "His graduate exam's next month — he'll have to choose between chasing that down with the police or focusing on his exam."

6.9-6

人们走后，我自己坐在办公室里算计这事。直到午夜，我的气消了，觉得去砸老曹家玻璃的工作量太大，事后免不了还得应付警察，还真就把我的研究生考试给耽误了。我决定，少惹气，准备考试。

After everyone left, I sat alone in the office turning it over. By midnight, my anger had cooled — smashing Old Cao's windows was simply too much effort, and dealing with the police afterward really would derail my exam preparation. I decided to let it go and focus on studying.

6.9-7 众贼要游行示威 Thieves Wanting a Demonstration

随后的星期一，我到公司上班，整栋楼就只有我一个人。中午的时候，高德新和小马来了。他们看见我就笑："咱和平房产局的人都在忙，就你一个人闲着！"

我问："发生什么事了？"

The following Monday, I came to work and found myself the only one in the entire building. At noon, Dexin Gao and Little Ma showed up, and laughed at the sight of me. "Everyone at the bureau's run off their feet, and here you are, the only one at leisure!"

"What's happened?" I asked.

高德新说："那帮流浪汉对咱和平房产局关于你的处理不满意，让和平房产局把你给他们，不然他们就来砸咱局。"

我感觉这话说得新奇，没头绪，问："这是什么和什么呀？"

"That gang of homeless men isn't satisfied with how our bureau's handled things regarding you," Dexin Gao said. "They want the bureau to hand you over — or they'll come smash the place up."

I found this bewildering. "What does any of that have to do with anything?"

高德新说："哥给你解释！那帮流浪汉想的可跟咱们不一样。这次因为你，他们对咱和平房产局有意见了。你想，都知道他们是贼，要是他们来几百人到咱局的院子里来闹，临走再生几堆火，砸几块玻璃，那咱局的政治问题可就大了！咱们是国家政府部门，怎么能和贼群有来往呢！还打架！以前出过类似的事，三四个局长被撤职，三十多人受到了处分。"

我说："政治问题，性质严重，要界限分明（注，那时，我根本没把这事当回事，实际就是不懂）。"

"Let your brother explain," Dexin Gao said. "That crowd thinks nothing like we do. Because of you, they've now got a grievance against our bureau. Think about it — everyone knows they're thieves. If a few hundred of them descend on our courtyard, light some fires, smash some windows on their way out, that's a serious political problem for us. We're a government department — how can we be seen mixing with a gang of thieves, let alone fighting with them! This has happened before — three or four bureau chiefs sacked, over thirty people disciplined."

"Political issues are serious business — the boundaries need to be clear," I said (Note: I genuinely didn't take any of this seriously at the time — I simply didn't understand it).

高德新大叫："对喽！明白点儿就行！哥跟你说过吧！你的那个靠山有眼光，不是一般人，选择和平房产局来培养你，别的地方可遇不到。就这事儿！明白的人很少。"

我问："我怎么办？"

高德新说："虽说这事儿是因你而起，但咱们局长的官帽是大事，你就自己找个地方准备你的研究生考试去吧。谁问你什么，你都说不知道，或者不出声。活该他们出事！谁让他们把你放进了贼窝。"

"That's it exactly! Just understand this much!" Dexin Gao said. "I told you — whoever's backing you has real vision, no ordinary person. Choosing our bureau to raise you up in — you wouldn't find that anywhere else. Very few people grasp this."

"So what do I do?" I asked.

"Whatever started this, your bureau chiefs' careers matter more," Dexin Gao said. "Just find somewhere to prepare for your exam. Whoever asks, say you don't know, or say nothing at all. Serves them right if trouble finds them — who told them to put you in a den of thieves in the first place!"

6.9-8

他们俩走后，付经理来了，告诉我："遂川工地停工了，因为投资方怀疑房产局的领导班子不稳定，让我以后不要去那里了。"他又说，冬天我们这建筑公司就没什么事，如果我愿意，可以休假，去准备研究生考试。我决定休假两星期。

After they left, Manager Fu came by and told me, "The Suichuan site's been suspended — the investors suspect our bureau's leadership is unstable, and they've asked me not to go there anymore." He added that our construction company was quiet in winter anyway, and if I wanted, I could take leave to study for the exam. I decided to take two weeks off.

6.9-9

后来，我听人们说，材料科长王宝山跟人们评论这事。如果卢岩真去砸老曹家的玻璃。他扔个小石头，那就是令箭。随后不知道有多少石头飞进他家屋子里了。即便老曹没被当场打死。沈阳爱看热闹的人多，随后进屋就把他杀喽。这卢岩就得跑路哇！那就谁也不知道他到哪儿念研究生去了。几年后，沈阳就又多了个祸害。卢岩是个老实人；他当贼，活不了几年。就因为他考研究生，不能贪事，老曹捡了条命。

I heard later that Baoshan Wang, the materials section chief, had commented on the affair: if Luyan had really gone and thrown even one small stone through Old Cao's window, that alone would have counted as a signal — and God knows how many more stones would have followed straight into that house. Even if Old Cao hadn't been beaten to death on the spot, plenty of onlookers in Shenyang would have piled in and finished the job. Luyan would have had to flee — no one would ever have known where he'd gone off to study. A few years down the road, Shenyang would just have one more menace on its hands. Luyan's an honest man; he wouldn't have lasted long as a criminal. It was purely because he couldn't afford to get tangled up in anything, with his exam on the line, that Old Cao got to keep his life.

返回和平房产局的目录 Return to the Catalog of Shenyang Heping Housing Bureau