Happy Year of the Sheep! Couple of days ago, I stumbled across the Book “The Last Yin Yang Master”, aka “The Last Onmyoji” 《最后一个阴阳师》, a supernatural ghost story available for free online. Grab the whole thing Zhuaji.com.
我叫林小凡,今年23岁。大学刚毕业。一个三流的大学四流的成绩,大学是在杭州读,毕业之后最开始在一家房地产公司做销售员,底薪一千八。因为业绩太差,公司没说辞退我,我自己就不好意思待了。
在杭州转了两个月,投了不知道多少份儿简历,面试了多少次,都没有通过。盘缠花光之后,就回了老家。
我的老家是洛阳。洛阳的乡下,一个叫做十里铺儿的小村儿落。
之所以回来,是因为村儿里小学唯一的教师得了肺痨,病的已经非常严重,我作为村里走出来唯一的大学生,村长愿意一月掏出一千块的巨资来请我去代课。
所以我回来了。
在外面活的不如一条狗的我,在老家得到了极大的尊严。
在偏远的山村,大学生,还是一个极其厉害的存在,村民们在看到我父亲的时候,都会为他竖起大拇指,说:“老林家祖坟冒了青烟,竟然出了个大学生,以后你就走出了大山咯。”
每当这个时候,我父亲都会憨厚的笑一笑,抹去他脸上的汗水。
我回到村子之后,方圆几里的媒婆都争着抢着给我介绍对象,几乎踏破我家的门槛儿,这不是吹牛。你不在那个环境里,不知道大学生三个字的分量。
父亲也极力的给我张罗,在他们眼里,23岁,甚至已经过了结婚的年纪。跟我同龄的人,现在儿子已经可以光着屁股到处跑了。
为了不让他们操心,我也去一次次的应付相亲。
对,是应付。
大学,说白了就是一个区分性与理性的地方,虽然是山村出来的,可是我的相貌并不算丑,甚至可以说英俊。也谈过一个女朋友,我没钱,她也不是非常的富裕,可是就算这样,我们还在在一起了三年,我尽我所能的打零工,来做一个男朋友该做的。大三那年,我们分手。
那一天,我在我们学校的后山喝了一瓶2块钱的二锅头。醒来之后,不再悲伤,继续浑浑噩噩的过日子。
关于相貌这一点,我继承了我母亲。
一个不知道故乡在哪里的美貌女人。
她有痴呆症。
在几十年前,我父亲进城,用了三百块钱把她买了回来。
我父亲说,他那一天花了两元钱给母亲买了一身衣服,回来的时候母亲的美貌,让村里的人哈喇子都流到了地上。
可惜,她是个傻子。
如果不是傻子,我父亲也买不起。
后来有了我,母亲的痴傻一直都是那样,可是她的傻,并不是像街头的疯子一样,她非常安静。
不说话,不动。只是安静的坐着。
我就在这样的一个环境下长大,可是我并不想文艺的说,我有孤僻的性格,因为就算是这样,我还是有完整的童年。
我父亲非常的勤劳,他尽一个农民的极限,利用手中的农具,养活一个家。我没有什么怪他的地方。
没钱,这是命。
我爷爷,是一个退伍的老军人,他不识字,没有农民典型的精明,反倒是实诚的可怕。有人说他是gmd,有人说他是gcd,可是他自己都不知道自己到底是哪个党,他唯一知道的,就是他拿枪打日本鬼子,鬼子打跑之后,他就回到了家。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 林 | Lín | surname Lin; Japanese surname Hayashi |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 凡 | fán | ordinary; commonplace; mundane; temporal; of the material world (as opposed to supernatural or immortal levels); every; all; whatever; altogether; gist; outline; note of Chinese mu…; variant of 凡[fan2] |
| 今年 | jīn nián | this year |
| 岁 | suì | variant of 歲|岁[sui4], year; years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests) |
| 大学 | Dà xué | the Great Learning, one of the Four Books 四書|四书[Si4 shu1] in Confucianism |
| 刚 | gāng | (literary) hard; firm; strong; exactly; precisely; barely; only just; just; only a short while ago |
| 毕 | Bì | surname Bi |
| 业 | Yè | surname Ye |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 三 | Sān | surname San |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 绩 | jì | to spin (hemp etc); merit; accomplishment; Taiwan pr. [ji1] |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 杭 | ||
| 州 | zhōu | prefecture; (old) province; (old) administrative division; state (e.g. of US); oblast (Russia); canton (Switzerland) |
| 读 | dòu | comma; phrase marked by pause |
| 之 | zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 一家 | yī jiā | the whole family; the same family; the family ... (when preceded by a family name); group |
| 房地产 | fáng dì chǎn | real estate |
| 公 | gōng | public; collectively owned; common; international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar); make public; fair; just; Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 w… |
| 司 | Sī | surname Si |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 销 | xiao | to melt (metal); to sell; pin; bolt |
| 售 | shǒu | (bound form) to sell; to retail |
| 员 | yuán | (bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member; classifier for military generals |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 薪 | xin | (literary) firewood; fuel |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 千 | qiān | thousand; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 八 | bā | eight |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 差 | chā | difference; discrepancy; (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction); (literary) a little; somewhat; slightly |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 说辞 | shuō cí | excuse; pretext; entreaties; arguments |
| 退 | tuì | to retreat; to withdraw; to reject; to return (sth); to decline |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 不好 | bù hǎo | no good |
| 意思 | yì si | idea; opinion; meaning; wish; desire; interest; fun; token of appreciation, affection etc; CL:個|个[ge4]; to give as a small token; to do sth as a gesture of goodwill etc |
| 待 | dǎi | to stay; to remain |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 转 | zhuǎi | see 轉文|转文[zhuai3 wen2] |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 投 | tóu | to throw (sth in a specific direction: ball, javelin, grenade etc); to cast (a ballot); to cast (a glance, a shadow etc); to put in (money for investment, a coin to operate a slot … |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 多少 | duō shǎo | number; amount; somewhat |
| 份 | fěn | classifier for gifts, newspaper, magazine, papers, reports, contracts etc |
| 儿 | ér | child; son |
| 简历 | jiǎn lì | curriculum vitae (CV); résumé; biographical notes |
| 面试 | miàn shì | to be interviewed (as a candidate); interview |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 通过 | tōng guò | to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation); to pass (a test); by means of; through; via |
| 盘 | pán | tray; plate; dish; (finance) (bound form) market prices; (computing) (bound form) disk; to coil (a rope, pigtail etc); to check; to examine; to investigate; to transfer; to sell (p… |
| 缠 | chān | to wind around; to coil; to involve; to annoy |
| 花光 | huā guāng | to spend all one's money |
| 回 | Huí | Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); to curve; to return; to revolve; variant of 迴|回[hui2] |
| 老家 | lǎo jiā | native place; place of origin; home state or region |
| 洛 | luǒ | Luo (a river in Henan, used in place names) |
| 阳 | yáng | positive (electric.); sun; male principle (Taoism); Yang, opposite: 陰|阴[yin1] |
| 乡 | xiang | country or countryside; home village or town |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 铺 | pǔ | to spread; to pave (pu1); a shop; a bed (pu4) |
| 村 | cūn | village; (dialect) to scold; rustic; boorish; variant of 村[cun1] |
| 落 | là | to leave out; to be missing; to leave behind or forget to bring; to lag or fall behind |
| 之所以 | zhī suǒ yǐ | (after a noun N and before a predicate P) the reason why N P; Example: 我之所以討厭他|我之所以讨厌他[wo3 zhi1 suo3 yi3 tao3 yan4 ta1] "the reason why I dislike him (is ...)" |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 小学 | xiǎo xué | elementary school; primary school |
| 唯 | wēi | only; -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義|主义[zhu3 yi4] or 論|论[lun4], e.g. 唯理論|唯理论[wei2 li3 lun4], rationalism) |
| 教 | Jiào | surname Jiao |
| 师 | Shī | surname Shi |
| 得了 | dé le | all right!; that's enough! |
| 肺 | fěi | lung |
| 痨 | ||
| 病 | bìng | illness; CL:場|场[chang2]; disease; to fall ill; defect |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 严 | yān | strict; severe; tight; rigorous; father (formal); surname Yan |
| 重 | chóng | to repeat; repetition; again; re-; classifier: layer |
| 作为 | zuò wéi | one's conduct; deed; activity; accomplishment; achievement; to act as; as (in the capacity of); qua; to view as; to look upon (sth as); to take sth to be |
| 走出 | zǒu chū | to leave (a room etc); to go out through (a door etc) |
| 大学生 | dà xué shēng | university student; college student |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 一月 | Yī yuè | January; first month (of the lunar year) |
| 掏 | tao | to fish out (from pocket) |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 巨资 | jù zī | huge investment; vast sum |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request |
| 我去 | wǒ qù | (slang) what the ...!; oh my god!; that's insane! |
| 代课 | dài kè | to teach as substitute for absent teacher |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 外面 | wài miàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface; exterior; external appearance |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 不如 | bù rú | not equal to; not as good as; inferior to; it would be better to |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 狗 | gǒu | dog; CL:隻|只[zhi1],條|条[tiao2] |
| 得到 | dé dào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 极 | jí | extremely; pole (geography, physics); utmost; top |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 尊 | zūn | senior; of a senior generation; to honor; to respect; honorific; classifier for cannons and statues; ancient wine vessel |
| 偏 | pian | to lean; oblique; to deviate from average; stubbornly |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant; remote; (intensifier in a comparison) by far; much (lower etc) |
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 其 | qí | his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
| 厉 | lǐ | strict; severe; fierce; to sharpen; surname Li |
| 害 | hài | to do harm to; to cause trouble to; harm; evil; calamity |
| 存 | cún | to exist; to deposit; to store; to keep; to survive |
| 民 | Mín | surname Min |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 父亲 | fù qīn | father; also pr. [fu4 qin5]; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 都会 | dū huì | city; metropolis |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 竖起 | shù qǐ | to erect (a tent etc); to prick up (one's ears); to raise (one's eyebrows); to stick up (one's thumb); to turn up (one's collar); (of a bird) to puff up (one's feathers) |
| 拇 | ||
| 指 | zhǐ | finger; to point at or to; to indicate or refer to; to depend on; to count on; (of hair) to stand on end |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 家祖 | jiā zǔ | (polite) my paternal grandfather |
| 坟 | fén | grave; tomb; CL:座[zuo4]; embankment; mound; ancient book |
| 冒 | mào | old variant of 冒[mao4]; surname Mao |
| 青 | Qīng | short name for Qinghai 青海[Qing1 hai3] |
| 烟 | yan | cigarette or pipe tobacco; smoke; vapour; tobacco plant |
| 竟 | jǐng | unexpectedly; to go so far as to |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 大山 | Dà shān | Dashan, stage name of Canadian Mark Henry Rowswell (1965-), actor and well-known TV personality in PRC |
| 咯 | ||
| 每当 | měi dāng | whenever; every time |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 憨 | ||
| 厚 | hòu | thick; deep or profound; kind; generous; rich or strong in flavor; to favor; to stress |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 抹 | mó | to wipe |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 脸 | liǎn | face; CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 汗水 | hàn shuǐ | sweat; perspiration |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 方圆 | fāng yuán | perimeter; range; (within) a radius of ... |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 媒 | mēi | medium; matchmaker; abbr. for 媒體|媒体[mei2 ti3], media, esp. news media |
| 婆 | pō | (bound form) grandmother; (bound form) mother-in-law |
| 争 | zhēng | to strive for; to vie for; to argue or debate; deficient or lacking (dialect); how or what (literary) |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 抢 | qiáng | (literary) to knock against (esp. to knock one's head on the ground in grief or rage) |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 介 | jiè | to introduce; to lie between; between; shell; armor |
| 绍 | Shào | surname Shao |
| 对象 | duì xiàng | target; object; partner; boyfriend; girlfriend; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 乎 | hu | (classical particle similar to 於|于[yu2]) in; from; than |
| 踏 | tā | see 踏實|踏实[ta1 shi5] |
| 破 | pò | broken; damaged; worn out; lousy; rotten; to break, split or cleave; to get rid of; to destroy; to break with; to defeat; to capture (a city etc); to expose the truth of |
| 家的 | jiā de | (old) wife |
| 门 | Mén | surname Men |
| 槛 | kán | banister; cage for animal or prisoner |
| 这不 | zhè bu | (coll.) As a matter of fact, ... (used to introduce evidence for what one has just asserted) |
| 吹 | chuī | to blow; to play a wind instrument; to blast; to puff; to boast; to brag; to end in failure; to fall through |
| 牛 | Níu | surname Niu |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 环 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 境 | jǐng | border; condition; circumstances |
| 字 | zì | letter; symbol; character; word; CL:個|个[ge4]; courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China |
| 分量 | fēn liàng | (vector) component |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 力 | Lì | surname Li |
| 张罗 | zhāng luo | to take care of; to raise money; to attend to (guests, customers etc) |
| 眼 | yǎn | eye (CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1]); (often used with 一[yi1]) a look; a glance; small hole; (bound form) salient point; classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 了结 | liǎo jié | to settle; to finish; to conclude; to wind up |
| 婚 | hūn | (bound form) marriage; wedding; (bound form) to marry |
| 年纪 | nián jì | age; CL:把[ba3],個|个[ge4] |
| 跟 | gēn | heel; to follow closely; to go with; (of a woman) to marry sb; with; compared with; to; towards; and (joining two nouns) |
| 同龄 | tóng líng | of the same age |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 光 | guāng | light; ray (CL:道[dao4]); bright; shiny; only; merely; used up; finished; to leave (a part of the body) uncovered |
| 屁 | pǐ | fart; nonsense; (not) a damn thing |
| 股 | gǔ | thigh; part of a whole; portion of a sum; (finance) stock; share; strand of a thread; low-level administrative unit, translated as "section" or "department" etc, ranked below 科[ke1… |
| 到处 | dào chù | everywhere |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 为了 | wèi le | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 操心 | cāo xīn | to worry about |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 付 | Fù | surname Fu |
| 相亲 | xiāng qīn | blind date; arranged interview to evaluate a proposed marriage partner (Taiwan pr. [xiang4 qin1]); to be deeply attached to each other |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 说白了 | shuō bái le | to speak frankly |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 区分 | qū fēn | to differentiate; to draw a distinction; to divide into categories |
| 性 | xǐng | nature; property; attribute; sex; suffix forming adjective from verb; essence |
| 与 | yú | variant of 歟|欤[yu2] |
| 理 | lǐ | texture; grain (of wood); inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic; truth; science; natural science (esp. physics); to manage; to pay attention to; to run (affairs); to handle… |
| 地方 | dì fāng | region; regional (away from the central administration); local |
| 虽然 | suī rán | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 相貌 | xiàng mào | facial features; looks |
| 并 | bìng | and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並|并[bing4] |
| 算 | suàn | to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...) |
| 丑 | Chǒu | surname Chou; shameful; ugly; disgraceful |
| 英 | Yīng | United Kingdom; British; England; English; abbr. for 英國|英国[Ying1 guo2] |
| 俊 | jǔn | old |
| 谈 | Tán | surname Tan |
| 女朋友 | nu:3 péng you | girlfriend |
| 钱 | Qián | surname Qian |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 富裕 | Fù yù | see 富裕縣|富裕县[Fu4 yu4 Xian4] |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 尽 | jǐn | to the greatest extent; (when used before a noun of location) furthest or extreme; to be within the limits of; to give priority to; to use up; to exhaust; to end; to finish; to the utmost; exhausted; finished; to the limit (of sth); all; entirely |
| 所 | suǒ | actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 零工 | líng gōng | temporary job; odd job |
| 男朋友 | nán péng you | boyfriend |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 大三 | dà sān | third year of university |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 分手 | fēn shǒu | to part company; to split up; to break up |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 学校 | xué xiào | school; CL:所[suo3] |
| 喝 | hē | to drink; variant of 嗬[he1] |
| 瓶 | píng | bottle; vase; pitcher; CL:個|个[ge4]; classifier for wine and liquids; variant of 瓶[ping2] |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 锅 | guo | pot; pan; wok; cauldron; CL:口[kou3],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 醒 | xǐng | to wake up; to be awake; to become aware; to sober up; to come to |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 悲伤 | bēi shāng | sad; sorrowful |
| 继 | jì | to continue; to follow after; to go on with; to succeed; to inherit; then; afterwards |
| 续 | xù | to continue; to replenish |
| 浑 | hūn | muddy; turbid; (bound form) simple; natural |
| 噩 | ě | startling |
| 过日子 | guò rì zi | to live one's life; to pass one's days; to get along |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 承 | chēng | to bear; to carry; to undertake; to inherit; to continue |
| 母亲 | mǔ qīn | mother |
| 故 | gù | happening; instance; reason; cause; intentional; former; old; friend; therefore; hence; (of people) to die, dead |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 美貌 | měi mào | good looks; beauty; good-looking |
| 女人 | nu:3 rén | woman |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 痴 | chī | imbecile; sentimental; stupid; foolish; silly; variant of 痴[chi1] |
| 呆 | dai | foolish; stupid |
| 症 | zhèng | disease; illness; abdominal tumor; bowel obstruction; (fig.) sticking point |
| 年前 | nián qián | by the end of the year; at the end of the year; shortly before New Year |
| 进城 | jìn chéng | to go to town; to enter a big city (to live or work) |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 百 | Bǎi | surname Bai |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy; to purchase |
| 天花 | tiān huā | smallpox; ceiling; stamen of corn; (old) snow; (dialect) sesame oil |
| 元 | Yuán | surname Yuan; Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) |
| 一身 | yī shēn | whole body; from head to toe; single person; a suit of clothes |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 哈 | Hā | abbr. for 哈薩克斯坦|哈萨克斯坦[Ha1 sa4 ke4 si1 tan3], Kazakhstan; abbr. for 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[Ha1 er3 bin1], Harbin |
| 喇 | ||
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 地上 | dì shang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 惜 | xi | to cherish; to pity |
| 傻 | shá | foolish |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 买不起 | mǎi bu qǐ | cannot afford; can't afford buying |
| 有了 | yǒu le | I've got a solution!; to have a bun in the oven (abbr. for 有了胎[you3 le5 tai1]) |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 街 | jiē | street; CL:條|条[tiao2] |
| 疯子 | fēng zi | madman; lunatic |
| 安静 | ān jìng | quiet; peaceful; calm |
| 说话 | shuō huà | to speak; to say; to talk; to gossip; to tell stories; talk; word |
| 不动 | bù dòng | motionless |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 长大 | zhǎng dà | to grow up |
| 不想 | bù xiǎng | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 文 | Wén | surname Wen |
| 艺 | yì | skill; art |
| 孤 | gū | lone; lonely |
| 僻 | pǐ | (bound form) remote; off-center |
| 格 | gē | used in 格登[ge1 deng1] |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 童年 | tóng nián | childhood |
| 勤劳 | qín láo | hardworking; industrious; diligent |
| 农民 | nóng mín | peasant; farmer |
| 限 | xiàn | to limit; to restrict; (bound form) limit; bound |
| 利用 | lì yòng | to exploit; to make use of; to use; to take advantage of; to utilize |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 中的 | zhòng dì | to hit the target; (fig.) to hit the nail on the head |
| 农具 | nóng jù | farm implements; farm tools |
| 养 | yǎng | to raise (animals); to bring up (children); to keep (pets); to support; to give birth |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 怪 | guǎi | odd; strange; uncanny; to find strange; to regard as odd; (coll.) somewhat; rather |
| 命 | mǐng | life; order or command |
| 爷爷 | yé ye | (coll.) paternal grandfather; grandpa |
| 伍 | wú | five (banker numeral); a group; to mingle; surname Wu |
| 军人 | jūn rén | serviceman; soldier; military personnel |
| 识 | shí | to know; knowledge; Taiwan pr. [shi4] |
| 典 | diǎn | canon; law; standard work of scholarship; literary quotation or allusion; ceremony; to be in charge of; to mortgage or pawn |
| 型 | xīng | mold; style |
| 精明 | jīng míng | astute; shrewd; smart |
| 反 | fǎn | contrary; in reverse; inside out or upside down; to reverse; to return; to oppose; opposite; against; anti-; to rebel; to use analogy; instead; abbr. for 反切[fan3 qie4] phonetic sys… |
| 倒 | dǎo | to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit |
| 实 | shí | real; true; honest; really; solid; fruit; seed; definitely |
| 诚 | chēng | (bound form) sincere; authentic |
| 可怕 | kě pà | awful; dreadful; fearful; formidable; frightful; scary; hideous; horrible; terrible; terribly |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 党 | Dǎng | surname Dang |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 枪 | qiāng | gun; spear |
| 日本 | Rì běn | Japan |
| 鬼子 | guǐ zi | devil (derog. term for foreign invaders); (esp. during resistance against Japanese aggression 1931–1945) Jap; Nip |
| 打跑 | dǎ pǎo | to run off rebuffed; to fend off; (to fight off and make sb) run off |
My name is Lin Xiaofan, I’m 23 years old this year. I just graduated from college. A third-rate school with fourth-tier grades, my college was in Hangzhou, and after I graduated I first went to work as sales staff at a real estate agency with a salary of 1,800 [translator’s note: this is a very low salary, about $300 USD / month]. My sales performance was poor, and the company never fired me, but I was so embarrassed that I left.
I wandered around Hangzhou for two months, submitted I don’t even know how many resumes, or went to how many interviews, but nothing came through. After I’d spent all my travel money, I went back to my home town.
My home town is Luoyang. In the Luoyang countryside falls a little village called Shilipu’er.
The reason I went home is because the village’s only teacher got tuberculosis, and he was very seriously ill, so as the village’s only person who’d ever gone off to college, the village chief dug up a thousand-dollar [translator’s note: “1000 kuai” is “1000 Chinese Renminbi”] investment and asked me to substitute teach.
So I went home.
My life away from home wasn’t even as good as a dog’s, but I get plenty of respect in my home town.
In such a remote village, being a college graduate is still an extremely awesome thing to be, and every time the villagers see my father, they all give him a thumbs-up and say, “Your family’s ancestral grave is emitting green smoke, unexpectedly out popped a college student! You’ll be walking off this mountain after a while!” [translator’s note: this is a compliment regarding the family’s lineage.]
Of course at these times, my father would smile in a simple and honest way, wiping the sweat off his brow.
After I came back to the village, all the local matchmakers tried to set me up with someone, almost trampling down my door, no exaggeration. If you’ve never been in that [village] environment, you don’t know the power of those three words, “College Degree Holder”.
My dad also made a supreme effort to settle me, because in his eyes, at 23 years old I’d already passed marrying age. Everyone my age already had kids running around with their bare butts hanging out.
So as not to make him worry, I’d already coped with my first blind date.
Yes, it was definitely “coping”.
College, speaking frankly, was a place with completely different place with different rationales, but although I came from a farm village, I wasn’t considered ugly, you might even say I’m handsome. I had a girlfriend, but I had no money, and she wasn’t very rich either, but that’s just the way it was, we were together three years, and I used up all my part-time work money trying to do all the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. In the third year, we broke up.
On that day, on the hill behind our school, I drank a bottle of 2-dollar liquor. After I woke up, I wasn’t sad anymore, and I just continued muddle-headedly passing the days.
About my looks, those I inherited from my mother.
A good-looking woman from who-knows-where.
She had dementia.
A few decades ago, my father went to the city, and spent three hundred dollars to buy her and bring her home.
My dad said, that day he spent two bucks to buy mom some clothes, and when he returned, mom’s good looks made everyone in the village drool all over the ground.
Pity, she was an idiot.
If she hadn’t been an idiot, my dad could never have afforded her.
Then I came along, and mom’s dementia continued as before, but her brand of dementia wasn’t like a crazy street person’s, she was very quiet.
She didn’t speak, didn’t move. Just quietly sat there.
This is the environment I grew up in, but I don’t want to make it sound literary, I had an antisocial nature, but even so, I still had a full childhood.
My father is very industrious, he has a farmer’s strength, using the farm tools in his hands, he nurtured a household. I don’t have anything to blame him for.
No money, that’s just life.
My grandfather is a retired soldier, he’s illiterate, and he doesn’t have any of a villager’s typical shrewdness, on the contrary he’s terrifyingly honest. Some people said he was GMD [translator’s note: GMD = guo min dang, the fascist party in the Chinese civil war, who lost], some people said he was GCD [GCD = gong chang dang, the communist party that won the war and remains in power today], but he doesn’t even know himself which “dang” [translator’s note – this “dang” means “political party”] he was in, the only thing he knows is that he grabbed a gun and fought the Japanese devils [the Japanese invaded while the GMD and the GCD were fighting each other], and after the devils ran away, he went home.