受戒 (7 page)

When the New Year came, various spring couplets appeared in the street. Some were specially designed with the shop's name. The Baoquantang had the couplet "Heaven bless common people; may all live long!'’ designed by the shop owner, a
bagong
.
^[4]
 Some big shops, like the draper's, posted rather ambitious couplets:“We follow Zigong
^[5]
  in career and imitate Taozhu
^[6]
 in trade." The most popular was:"A thriving business miles and miles round; a large fortune all over the country." For shops which operated on a small margin of profit, the couplets would be modest. One of them read:"May our business thrive like grass in the blooming spring and our financial resources grow like mushrooms after the rain." The last one would be most appropriate for Wang Er's business, which was more than a stall and less than a shop. However, it had never occurred to Wang Er that he should put up a couplet like this. Besides where would he put it? The space where he had established his stall belonged to the Yuanchang. But his business was indeed like grass in the blooming spring and mushrooms after rain. The most conspicuous indication
of his prosperity was a puffing gas lamp which replaced his high-screened kerosene lamp. In those days gas lamps were used only in old-fashioned private banks and silk and satin shops. What a sight to see a gas lamp above Wang Er's delicatessen stall! By contrast, the kerosene lamp above the counter of Yuanchang Cigarette Shop looked all the dimmer.

这条街上过年时的春联是各式各样的。有的是特制嵌了字号的。比如保全堂，就是由该店拔贡出身的东家拟制的“保我黎民，全登寿域”；有些大字号，比如布店，口气很大，贴的是“生涯宗子贡，贸易效陶朱”，最常见的是“生意兴隆通四海，财源茂盛达三江”；小本经营的买卖的则很谦虚地写出：“生意三春草，财源雨后花。”这末一副春联，用于王二的超摊子准铺子，真是再贴切不过了，虽然王二并没有想到贴这样一副春联—他也没处贴呀，这铺面的字号还是“源昌”。他的生意真是三春草、雨后花一样地起来了。“起来”最显眼的标志是他把长罩煤油灯撤掉，挂起一盏呼呼作响的汽灯。须知，汽灯这东西只有钱庄、绸缎庄才用，而王二，居然在一个熏烧摊子的上面，挂起来了。这白亮白亮的汽灯，越显得源昌柜台里的一盏煤油灯十分地暗淡了。

Wang Er's rise to fortune could also be perceived from his other activities. He could now afford to listen to
pingtan
^[7]
 
whenever he liked. Listening to
pingtan
was his favourite pastime. Of all the notices and posters in the street. what attracted him most were those announcing
pingtan
events. They were usually written in thick Chinese ink on sheets of yellow paper measuring three inches by four feet, which read:"
Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of the Marsh or Anecdotes of General Yue Fei
by special invitation of so-and-so from Yangzhou at a certain Teahouse: performances given every day rain or shine as from a certain date. "In those days going to a
pingtan
teahouse involved some consideration. Firstly it was an expensive pastime. Secondly it was also a time-consuming entertainment. Last but not least the
pingtan
audience generally enjoyed relatively high social status. People might talk if a deli vendor frequented the
pingtan
teahouse. But in recent years, Wang Er did not feel out of place sitting among the audience. He did not fear gossip anymore and went wherever it pleased him, either to the Little Fairyland or Five Willow Garden teahouses to listen to
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh,
or
Anecdotes of General Yue Fei
. In the summer when the days were long he went more often, dressed in a long gown made of thin cotton or linen, with a string of cash around him. The matinee started at one o'clock. At nearly four o'clock the story-teller or ballad-singer would stop, usually at a point which was a critical juncture of the plot. A waiter of the teahouse would shout:"Please come early tomorrow!" Then the audience gradually rose to leave. At this time of the day, Wang Er still had time to do his business. Wang Er was busy all day long except for the few hours in the afternoon. The second indication of his prosperity was that during the Chinese New Year he never hesitated to stake money playing
paijiu
^[8]
 
. Wang Er never gambled except for the first five days of the New Year. Gambling was not prohibited during that time. It could be seen in any store. So from the first day on, the shop gate was closed. It was rather dark inside. Behind the counter of the Baoquantang, there was a narrow passage where people offered sacrifices to Shennong
^[9]
 . As there was a skylight overhead, it was fairly bright there. After the table in front of the portrait of Shennong was pulled out, the tiles and dice were poured onto the table. Those who played mahjong were of similar social status, but the
paijiu
players might be from all walks of life. Except for Mr Tao and an apprentice named Chen, all clerks of the Baoquantang took part. So did the rent collector and the live-fish seller who had a scar on his left eye. Some pupils nicknamed him Bayan Har
^[10]
 Mountain. and the name stuck and spread. Everyone in the street called him Bayan Har Mountain, though some people, Wang Er for one, hardly knew the full story.

The stakes they laid were neither high nor low, about ten strings of cash for one game. Ten strings of cash equalled three silver dollars. For higher stakes, one string of cash was divided into three parts ; 300
wen
^[11]
 
, 300
wen
, and 400
wen
. If he got eight spots, he won double, or 600
wen
; if he got nine spots, heaven spots,
^[12]
  or earth spots,
^[13]
 he won the whole string of 1,000
wen
. Wang Er often played this game. When he staked five strings of cash on One throw, his heart did not race, and his hands did not tremble. But when the rent collector staked as much as 500
wen
, his hands trembled uncontrollably. When Wang Er had won quite a lot of money, he offered to be the dealer. Strangely enough, with paijiu players, the more money one had, the more arrogant one became. More often than not. Wang Er was the winner.

王二的发达，是从他的生活也看得出来的。第一，他可以自由地去听书。王二最爱听书。走到街上，在形形色色招贴告示中间，他最注意的是说书的报条。那是三寸宽，四尺来长的一条黄颜色的纸，浓墨写道：“特聘维扬×××先生在×××（茶馆）开讲××（三国、水浒、岳传……）是月×日起风雨无阻。”以前去听书都要经过考虑。一是花钱，二是费时间，更主要的是考虑这于他的身份不大相称：一个卖熏烧的，常常听书，怕人议论。近年来，他觉得可以了，想听就去。小蓬莱、五柳园（这都是说书的茶馆），都去，三国、水浒、岳传，都听。尤其是夏天，天长，穿了竹布的或夏布的长衫，拿了一吊钱，就去了。下午的书一点开书，不到四点钟就“明日请早”了（这里说书的规矩是在说书先生说到预定的地方，留下一个扣子，跑堂的茶房高喝一声“明日请早——！”听客们就纷纷起身散场），这耽误不了他的生意。他一天忙到晚，只有这一段时间得空。第二，过年推牌九，他在下注时不犹豫。王二平常绝不赌钱，只有过年赌五天。过年赌钱不犯禁，家家店铺里可赌钱。初一起，不做生意，铺门关起来，里面黑洞洞的。保全堂柜台里身，有一个小穿堂，是供神农祖师的地方，上面有个天窗，比较亮堂。拉开神农画像前的一张方桌，哗啦一声，骨牌和骰子就倒出来了。打麻将多是社会地位相近的，推牌九则不论。谁都可以来。保全堂的“同仁”（除了陶先生和陈相公），替人家收房钱的抡元，卖活鱼的疤眼——他曾得外症，治愈后左眼留一大疤，小学生给他起了个外号叫“巴颜喀拉山”，这外号竟传开了，一街人都叫他巴颜喀拉山，虽然有人不知道这是什么意思——王二输赢说大不大，说小可也不小。十吊钱推一庄。十吊钱相当于三块洋钱。下注稍大的是一吊钱三三四。一吊钱分三道：三百、三百、四百。七点赢一道，八点赢两道，若是抓到一副九点或是天地杠，庄家赔一吊钱。王二下“三三四”是常事。有时竟会下到五吊钱一注孤丁，把五吊钱稳稳地推出去，心不跳，手不抖。（收房钱的抡元下到五百钱一注时手就抖个不住。）
赢得多了，他也能上去推两庄。推牌九这玩意，财越大，气越粗，王二输的时候竟不多。

After Wang Er had moved his stall to the Yuanchang Tobacco Shop next door, at nine o'clock every evening he would still go to the Baoquantang with a cup of tea in his hands and sit for an hour or so. His son had grown up and could alone manage to serve the small number of customers who might turn up in the evening.

The Baoquantang was an apothecary with a moderate shop front. For some reason, the shop owner never employed local people. All his employees from manager to water carrier came from Huaicheng. Every year they took a one-month vacation in turn during which time they were allowed to go home to be with their families. For the other eleven months they lived in the shop and their wives were "widowed" for the same period of time. All the clerks in the shop were addressed as"Mr.". Among them, the
guanshi
, manager, had the highest position, and also a lifelong position. The dismissal of a
guanshi
was rare. Only when the old
guanshi
had died could a new one be hired. A
guanshi
was entitled to"person shares", also known as "labour shares".
^[14]
 He had the right to draw dividends at the end of the year like a shareholder. Consequently he was industrious and loyal to the business. He shouldered all the responsibilities in the shop as the shop owner hardly made an appearance. As was the usual practice, he lived alone in a room behind the portrait of Shennong. The general accounts book, money and precious medicines such as rhinoceros horn, antelope and musk were all locked in this room, and the key was kept in his pocket. Ginseng and pilose antler were not regarded as precious. At mealtimes the manager would sit in the last seat, the seat for the host, indicating that he played host to everyone present on behalf of the shop owner. Few people were able to rise to the post of manager. There were just a few apothecaries in the whole county. The manager of the Baoquantang was surnamed Lu.

Clerks of the second rank were called
daoshang
, whose job was to cut Chinese traditional medicine into slices or shreds and "drip" bolus.
^[15]
 There was a great amount of medicine to be cut at the drugstore every day. Whether the
yinpian
^[16]
 
looked neat and beautiful or not directly affected business.An adept eye could tell by merely glancing at the
yinpian
what level the
daoshang
was. A
daoshang
was a skilled clerk earning the highest salary and the best reputation in the store. As a rule he sat at the second of the "honoured" seats, the first being always vacant unless there was a guest present. During festivals and on the birthday of the Founder of Medicine (said to be Sun Simiao, rather than Shennong) wine was served at mealtimes. When the manager raised the cup, the
daoshang
would drink the first mouthful before the others followed suit. The
daoshang
of Baoquantang was the best medicine cutter in the county. Should he lose his temper and threaten to resign, he would soon receive letters of appointment from other apothecaries. Nevertheless, conceited and headstrong as he might be, he hardly ever got angry. His surname was Xu. The other employees were called tongshi
^[17]
 . The tone of the term was somewhat queer, the stress being laid on the first character. They made out prescriptions and kept accounts. They were but common clerks and might be dismissed any year. Before one was dismissed, the manager did not say anything. He only arranged a dinner party in the last month of the year to express gratitude to everyone for their hard work in the past year. Whoever was invited to sit at the head seat would then roll his bedding and go to work elsewhere. Of course, he had already had an inkling and did not really get fired without a moment's notice. Those dismissed had such a presentiment after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some of them had already signed agreements with other apothecaries at an earlier date. They quitted rather smartly. Others, however, would ask some people to mediate and linger in the store for another year. Those who stayed would always make a sort of self-criticism and pledge to work to the best of their ability, but "twice-baked cakes are not good to eat." One who hung on to his place after being discharged could lose face and lower his position. Mr Tao of the Baoquantang was three times on the verge of sitting at the head seat. He had a persistent cough and asthma and was anything but shrewd. He was not fired after all because some of his colleagues had helped patch things up. To him dismissal meant unemployment. Who would accept a man coughing and spitting now and then? Another reason why he remained employed was that he too had his strong points. He never went home. Although in his forties, did not have to perform the duty of rearing offspring, for he was not married. What he had to do now was to be all the more diligent and all the more prudent. Whenever he was seized with fits of asthma, on being asked, "So you are not too well these days, Mr Tao, eh?" he would answer in the midst of his coughs, "As a matter of fact, I...I'm quite well...quite...well." Then he was wheezing again.