Joyful Moments in Oxford

By Xia Mo

In Oxford, England, Yang Jiang encountered twists and turns in her life, yet she stayed optimistic, saying that even when life was tough, one should learn to console oneself.

An Unexpected Fall in Oxford

When they were in Oxford, the couple, Yang Jiang and Qian Zhongshu shared an apartment with two single medical experts at the Old Jin’s home. The apartment manager would help clean up the room and provided three meals and an afternoon tea.They didn’t need to worry about trivial things and had plenty of time to enjoy classics of all kinds.

While living there, Qian Zhongshu had a bad fall and smashed one of his front teeth.When he came back home covering his mouth with a big handkerchief, Yang Jiang was shocked. “Blood was all over the handkerchief and in his mouth,”she said.“When I opened the handkerchief, half of the broken tooth fell out. Fortunately, our roommates were both doctors,who told us to look for a dentist as soon as possible, so that he could have the broken tooth removed and get a false one put in its place.”

This bloody incident ended up with a false tooth in Qian Zhongshu’s mouth and a hardwon lesson.

The bedroom was very small,which made life inconvenient.On the other hand, sharing a bathroom and toilet with others could also be an awkward experience sometimes. To make things worse, the food provided by the landlord was also getting worse and worse, which made it very uncomfortable for Qian Zhongshu, who had a picky stomach.

Since he couldn’t appreciate the taste of cheese and Western food,Yang Jiang saved her own foods for him, but he was always still hungry. The sight of her husband withering away made Yang Jiang feel uneasy, and she started looking for a new place, planning to move out.

一切從牛津開(kāi)始

文/夏墨

在英國(guó)牛津，楊絳的生活也有各種波折起伏，但她樂(lè)觀地說(shuō)，即使生活再不如意，也要學(xué)會(huì)自我慰藉。

在牛津摔了一跤

在牛津時(shí)，她和錢(qián)鐘書(shū)在“老金家”公寓與兩位單身醫(yī)學(xué)專(zhuān)家同住。公寓管理員會(huì)幫忙收拾房間，還提供一日三餐和下午茶。他們不用為生活操心，有充裕時(shí)間享受琳瑯滿(mǎn)目的文學(xué)經(jīng)典。

到牛津不久，錢(qián)鐘書(shū)摔了一跤，磕掉大半個(gè)門(mén)牙。當(dāng)他用大手絹捂著嘴回到家時(shí)，楊絳嚇了一跳：“手絹上和嘴里全是鮮血，抖開(kāi)手絹，落下半枚斷牙。幸好同寓都是醫(yī)生，他們教我們趕快找牙醫(yī)，拔去斷牙，然后再鑲假牙。”

一場(chǎng)帶血的鬧劇以假牙收?qǐng)觯蛟S，對(duì)錢(qián)鐘書(shū)來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一次血的教訓(xùn)。

臥室太小，起居總不方便，公用浴室、廁所也偶遇尷尬。另外，公寓的伙食也越來(lái)越糟，這對(duì)飲食保守的錢(qián)鐘書(shū)來(lái)說(shuō)，很是折磨。

錢(qián)鐘書(shū)受不了干酪、西餐一類(lèi)的洋味兒，楊絳便把她能吃的通通省下來(lái)給他，但他依然填不飽肚子。看著丈夫日漸消瘦，楊絳心疼，便張羅起搬家的事兒，一個(gè)人偷偷地找起了房子。

伙食也是冒險(xiǎn)

楊絳去看了好幾處房子，都不太滿(mǎn)意，不是偏遠(yuǎn)，就是太貴。她忽然想起曾經(jīng)在牛津大學(xué)附近看到一座三層洋樓上貼著招租啟事，便決定去碰碰運(yùn)氣。

到那里時(shí)，啟事不見(jiàn)了。她深吸一口氣，敲門(mén)想問(wèn)個(gè)究竟。門(mén)開(kāi)了，女主人將她打量一番，帶她到二樓看房。臥室、起居室、廚房、廁所、陽(yáng)臺(tái)……看著一應(yīng)俱全的設(shè)施，楊絳動(dòng)了心。另外，這套居所是與其他房間隔離開(kāi)的，可由花園小門(mén)直接出入，這意味著完全的獨(dú)立和私密。

環(huán)境幽雅，租金合適，最重要的是，離學(xué)校和圖書(shū)館近，她相信，錢(qián)鐘書(shū)一定會(huì)喜歡。

果然，錢(qián)鐘書(shū)看到房子時(shí)，喜出望外。他們搬進(jìn)了新居所，有了屬于他們的私密空間。

搬進(jìn)新家后，兩個(gè)從未做過(guò)飯羹的年輕人開(kāi)始為吃飯發(fā)愁。有一次，錢(qián)鐘書(shū)想吃紅燒肉，楊絳買(mǎi)回肉，用剪子剪成方塊狀，丟進(jìn)鍋里使勁煮，湯煮干又加水，可這鍋“頑固的犟肉”怎樣都沒(méi)煮爛，第一次做紅燒肉以失敗告終。事后，楊絳想起母親做橙皮果醬時(shí)用文火，于是第二次做紅燒肉時(shí)，她開(kāi)始試著小火慢燉，還買(mǎi)了瓶雪莉酒當(dāng)黃酒使用。紅燒肉總算是做成了，錢(qián)鐘書(shū)吃得酣暢淋漓。

錢(qián)鐘書(shū)與楊絳 Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998, Chinese scholar and writer) and his wife Yang Jiang (1911-2016, playwright, author, and translator)

Baffling Cooking

Yang Jiang had a look at sev eral houses to no avail, since those places were either too remote or too expensive, neither of which was satisfactory. Then she remembered that she had once seen a “for rent” notice on a three-story building near Oxford University, and she decided to go and try her luck.

She got there only to find the notice gone. Taking a deep breath,she knocked, and a woman opened the door. The hostess eyed her carefully before letting her in.Yang Jiang looked at the second floor and felt herself pining for what she saw in the bedroom,living room, kitchen, toilet, and balcony. Additionally, the suite was separated from other rooms and could be accessed directly from the garden gate, which meant complete independence and privacy for them.

The environment was tranquil and the rent was within their budget. Most importantly, it neighbored the campus and library, which she believed Qian Zhongshu would appreciate the most.

Sure enough, when Qian Zhongshu came to the house, he was overjoyed. They moved into the new home and finally had their own private space.

After moving into their new home, the young couple who had never done any cooking in their life began worrying about their meals. Once, Qian Zhongshu wanted to eat braised pork. Yang Jiang bought meat, cut it into cubes with scissors, threw it into the pot, and boiled it. When the soup was boiled dry, she added more water and continued the boiling process. But this pot of“stubborn meat” just wouldn’t get soft. Her first effort with braised pork ended in failure.

Afterwards, Yang Jiang remembered when her mother made orange peel jam, she just let it simmer. So, the second time when she tried, Yang Jiang had the meat simmer gently on a small fire. She even got a bottle of sherry to use as yellow wine, which she’d seen used for cooking back home.This time she had success with braised pork and Qian Zhongshu had his feast.

Yang Jiang was enthusiastic about life and always maintained her optimism. Later, she applied the same simmering method to chicken and lamb, which all turned out not bad, even when simmered in plain water.

From Amateur to Gourmet Chef

At the very beginning, the couple just boiled their vegetables. Once,Yang Jiang recalled the way her mother used to stir fry vegetables,she tried replicating that from memory. The taste ended up quite well, or at least better than boiling, so she began to stir fry vegetables.

One day, the grocery store delivered lentils, which neither of them recognized. They peeled and complained about their small size seeds and thick shells. Later,they figured maybe the shells were also edible. Yang Jiang tried to simmer them, and the result was delicious.

On another day, they bought live shrimp. Yang Jiang said confidently, “We need to cut off their tentacles and feet.” She then picked up scissors and began to cut. The live shrimp twitched in her hands, frightening her into throwing the shrimp across the room, running out of the kitchen,and yelling, “The shrimp is hurting too much.”

Her words amused Qian Zhongshu a lot.

The couple responded to their daily problems in their own way.Their cooking skills got better and better, which Yang Jiang jokingly reflected was like walking from the wilds into civilized society.

楊絳對(duì)生活充滿(mǎn)熱忱，始終保持著樂(lè)觀的心態(tài)，后來(lái)做雞肉、羊肉，她都如法炮制，用文火慢燉，竟然發(fā)現(xiàn)白煮也頗為可口。

從原始走入文明

剛開(kāi)始，他們是把蔬菜煮著吃的。一次，楊絳按著記憶里母親炒菜的模樣，開(kāi)始清炒起來(lái)，竟發(fā)現(xiàn)味道不錯(cuò)，至少比煮的好吃，于是她試著炒蔬菜。

一次，商店給他們送來(lái)扁豆，兩人都不知道這是什么，一邊剝皮還一邊抱怨殼厚豆小。后來(lái)，他們琢磨，興許這扁豆就是吃殼的呢，于是楊絳試著燜了一下，還挺不錯(cuò)。

還有一次，他們買(mǎi)了些活蝦，楊絳內(nèi)行地說(shuō)：“得剪掉觸須和腳。”她拿起剪刀剪了下去，這一剪，活蝦便開(kāi)始在她手里抽搐，嚇得她把蝦扔出老遠(yuǎn)，逃出廚房，大喊：“蝦，痛得抽抽了。”

她的話逗樂(lè)了錢(qián)鐘書(shū)。就這樣，兩人不斷應(yīng)對(duì)著生活難題。飯菜做得有模有樣了，楊絳更是戲稱(chēng)自己從原始人走入文明社會(huì)。

楊絳也遇到過(guò)令人哭笑不得的意外。一個(gè)初春的清晨，她送錢(qián)鐘書(shū)出門(mén)上課，回屋時(shí)，一陣風(fēng)把門(mén)鎖上了，而她忘了帶鑰匙……楊絳想找鎖匠，奈何身上沒(méi)帶錢(qián)，想盡辦法才從氣窗下沿鉆了進(jìn)去。

早飯前、晚飯后，他們會(huì)牽著手，慢慢走著，不管道路通往何方，也不管遇到什么樣的風(fēng)景。自得其樂(lè)間，他們忘掉了陌生，忘掉了不愉快，只余快樂(lè)蔓延。

（摘自《生于優(yōu)秀歸于優(yōu)雅：做楊絳一樣的女子》中國(guó)華僑出版社）

Yang Jiang also encountered many funny accidents. One morning in early spring, she walked Qian Zhongshu out to campus. When she returned to her house, a gust of wind slammed the door shut, while her key was still left inside. She wanted to find a locksmith, but she didn’t have any money on her, so she did the next best thing: squeezing in through the window.

The couple always went for a walk, hand in hand, before breakfast or after dinner. No matter where the path led,or what kind of scenery was in front of them, they always enjoyed whatever they saw.With a joyful attitude towards life, they forgot the strangeness and unpleasantness they had encountered living in the foreign land. The only thing left was happiness.

(FromBorn to Elegance and Excellence: Be a Woman like Yang Jiang,China Overseas Press.Translation: Lu Qiongyao)