Who Really Wins in Life?

By Wang Caiqing

On a bus to the heaven,two souls from men who died at the same time happened to meet. They found each other familiar because they were childhood playmates, but they hadn't seen each other in decades, as they pursued different lifestyles after high school.

One of them was a celebrated academic at the international Academy of Sciences; the other was a lifelong fisherman back in their hometown.

As their bus ride continued,they both recalled many events from the past. “We were only 17 when you left the village where we grew up,” the old fisherman said,“But where did you go?”

“I went to a big city to find a part-time job while looking for some bigger opportunities. I was so lucky that I was accepted into the night class program at a university. A few years later, I was in an overseas study program funded by the government.”

The fisherman sighed while nodding his head, “Oh, I got married before I turned 20.”

“After I finished my education abroad, I couldn't afford to do anything but stay there, doing some painstaking research in order to pay off my tuition debts. You know—even locals themselves hated the job!”

The fisherman glanced at him, full of pity, “I took over my father's fishing boat and started my own fishing business.”

“It's really hard to work as a scholar. Even after more than ten years of efforts, with all my hair turning grey, my research was not valued at all.”

“As a fisherman, my life was so easy and free. When I didn't go out fishing at sea, I spent my leisure hours drinking tea,chatting, and playing chess with my fellow villagers.”

“It wasn't until several years before I died when all my work eventually paid off, as it turned out to be of great value. My patent brought me great fortunes to feed several generations,” the academic paused, letting out a long-drawn sigh as he gazed at his old friend, “Now, as I think back,I realize that you are smarter than me.”

“That's enough, pal! I am smarter? How so? You achieved stunning accomplishments with a lifetime of hard work,” the fisherman replied, with a loud laugh, “But a fisherman was only a fisherman, as I was all my life—a bag of lazybones.”

“Anyway, as you were, you just enjoyed your life,” the academic said in envy, “Even though my achievement was globally recognized, with generations of wealth earned, what's the point of all that? I can live a life only once.”(From Acting on God's Wishes, Behaving against Human Nature, Haitian Press.Translation: Wang Wen)

誰比誰聰明

文/汪采晴

在前往天堂的巴士上，有兩個同時結束生命旅程的靈魂相遇了。他們都覺得對方很眼熟，原來兩人是從小一起長大的玩伴，只是在高中以后，因為各自發展，幾十年沒有見過面。

他倆一個是任職于國際級科學院的院士，一個則是留在家鄉捕了一輩子魚的漁夫。

在巴士上，兩人聊起許多往事。當漁夫的老人說：“我們是同一個村子長大的，你離開村子的時候，我們都只有十七歲，后來你到哪兒去了啊？”

“我到大城市一邊打工一邊找機會，竟然考上了一所大學的夜間部，幾年后又考上公費留學，到國外去讀書。”

漁夫點點頭，說：“唉，我不到二十歲就結了婚。”

“我在國外讀完書后，為了還欠下的學費債務，只好留在當地，做當地人嫌辛苦的研究工作。”

漁夫同情地看了他一眼，說：“我繼承了父親的漁船，開始捕魚。”

“學者的路真不好走，辛苦了十幾年，我的頭發都白了，研究成果還是得不到重視。”

“漁夫的生活倒是挺悠閑的，不用出海捕魚的時候，我總和村人喝茶、聊天、下棋。”

“一直到我死前幾年，因為業界發現我的研究大有用途，我耗費一生的辛苦終于得到回報。我申請的專利，給我帶來了幾輩子都用不完的財富。”說到這里，做研究的學者看著多年不見的兒時玩伴，嘆了一口氣，說，“想來想去，還是你比較聰明。”

漁夫大笑，說：“我算哪門子的聰明？你用一生換來不凡的成就，而我用了一輩子偷懶，到死都還只是個漁夫。”

學者羨慕地說：“至少你偷了一輩子的閑，也算是享受到了啊。就算我的研究得到全世界的認同，賺到了幾世的財富，又有什么用？我只能活一輩子啊。”

（摘自《順天意做事，逆本性做人》海天出版社）