release是什么意思World of Plainness

2021年1月19日发(作者：swear)
World
Chapter
=========
One

of
(2009
Plainness

version)
One day as usual, between February and March 1975, it is sleety; the woolly raindrops blended with
sparse snowflakes are floating the way down to the earth. Insects will awake from winter sleep soon,
how can the snow stay any longer? Mostly, the flakes have disappeared totally before they touch the
earth. On the Loess Plateau, the coldest and longest winter is leaving, but the warmest spring is far
from

On such a sleety day, no person is w
illing to go out, if it doesn’t matter. The county town is much less
noisy than usual in every streets and lanes. In the shades, the leftover snowdrifts and ice blocks are
fading away by the knocks of raindrops, so the flagstone streets are overflowed by dirty liquid. The
wind is still cold. The streets are empty, but at random, there will be a yokel, wearing a poky felt cap
merely enough to cover the forehead, with a basket of potatoes or radishes in one arm, and yelling
for possible buyers in a feeble voice. Alas, a town would lose all vigor in such a day, and nothing is
lovely

Fortunately, in the county high school yard half way up the hill, scenes are different. Right after the
bell ring of lunch, groups of boys and girls are rushing out of rows of stone caves. They are knocking
their bowls and chopsticks aloud as thunders, stepping on the muddy ground, noising across the
yard, to throng southward until the foot of wall at the General Office which is also a row of caves.
Such a big yard is trampled into a mud pit in a twinkling of an eye. At the same time, those day
students living in the town are also gushing out of the east gate of school in two or threes. They are
holding umbrellas, chatting and laughing on the way, across a long downhill path pre-embedded with
sidelong
stone
pallets,
and
after
a
short
while,
they
have
disappeared
in
the
streets
and
lanes.

At the root of southern wall of school yard, a dozen lines of students are ranked by class numbers.
The students on duty are distributing foods to everybody. Since everybody registered and paid for
the foods yesterday, the process is simple now, and the students on duty merely have to allot the
booked share of foods as scheduled. The vegetables are ranked in three classes: first, second and
third
class.
The
first
class
vegetables
are
mainly
potatoes,
cabbages
or
sweet
potato
vermicelli,
studded with appetizing meat slices, 30 cents per serving; the second class vegetables are almost
the same with the first class, except for absence of meat, 15 cents per serving; and the third class
vegetables are much poorer than the other two, freshwater boiled white turnips
—
with several dots
of chili oil floating on the surface symbolically, attempting to cover up such excessive freedom from
fattiness. Nevertheless, the third class vegetables are much cheaper than the other two, 5 cents per
serving.

For every line of students, a bit of the first class vegetables are contained in a small washbasin,
indicating few students can afford the vegetables with meat. A bit of the third class vegetables are
also
contained
in
a
small
washbasin,
showing
few
students
are
willing
to
favor
the
lowest
class
vegetables. Only the second class vegetables are contained in a big enamel foot basin, too full to
overflow, obviously, most students enjoy the second class vegetables, neither luxury nor poor. The
staple foods are also ranked in three classes: wheaten bun, maize bun and sorghum bun; white,
any
more.
coming.
yellow and black, the three colors show a difference; so the students joke them to be Europe, Asia
and

Most students of the queuing flock are from countryside, with cheeks and bodies branded more or
less
with
signs
of
labor.
Except
a
few
of
them
are
dressed
as
boorish
as
their
parents
who
are
peasants, these st
udents who are regarded as “masters” by their fathers and uncles are dressed
decently. Although in this moment the peasants living in poverty-stricken mountainous areas are
mostly in lack of clothes and foods, their children studying in a bigger world deserve some pieces of
decent clothes, so they are setting their teeth in order to save for such clothes. Anyway, there are a
couple of students from richer rural families who are dressed up almost the same as those from
politically influential urban families, and what is more, on their wrist there is always a watch shining.
Such “foreigners” are standing in the crowd, like a Triton of the minnows, not hiding their superiority
complex at all. They are queuing behind the uncommon basin containing the first class vegetables,
so

On
this
barren
and
sterile
Loess
Plateau,
a
county
high
school
may
be
the
highest
education
institution of the county; notwithstanding such height, it can possibly afford to build a mess hall for its
students
in
no
case. Whatever
the
weather
is
like,
all
students
will
have
meals
in
the
open
air.
Fortunately, these young people from countryside and mountainous areas are used to this kind of
picnic in the middle of labor in the wilderness. Who cares? Usually, in sunny days, they will squat in
a
circle
with
best
friends,
talking
and
laughing,
and
give
end
to
each
meal.

Well, today is different. All who have received foods and vegetables are protecting their bowls with
their straw hats or elbows, toddling through the muddy yard to their own dormitories in a panic. In a
short time, the mess ground is vacated, with few left. Most students on duty, the distributors, have
also

Now, only one distributor in class 1 of grade 1 stays on the unmanned mess ground, waiting. This is
a pudgy lame girl student, likely a polio survival. In front of her body, the three basins are already
vacant of vegetables, and the bun basket is almost empty, with four coke-like sorghum buns left.
Whose buns are
they, the girl’s? Of course not, since she holds a wheaten bun and a maize bun, and
her bowl seemingly contains the second class vegetables. This tells the lame girl is from a middle
class family. Look, she is apparently unhappy, waiting for the latest comer, with her own foods and
vegetables
in
her
hands
under
the
dripping
eaves.
Let’s
imagine,
the
latest
comer
must
be
the
poorest
guy
who
eats
the
poorest
staple
foods,
alas,
without
even
the
cheapest
third
class
vegetables,

Snowflakes are thickening in the rain, all of a sudden, blurring people's far or near field of vision. The
day is as silent as the night in this voiceless town. A cock crow is heard from afar, adding a dreamlike
gloom

At the instant, from the north end of this empty yard, a tall thin lad is coming. He is hunching over and
staggering
in
the
mud,
with
an
empty
bowl
in
his
armpit.
The
lad
is
thin,
sallow-faced,
with
low
cheekbones and an upright Grecian nose. His fading boyish greenness has not been replaced by
in
this
grey
world.
5
cents
per
serving!
left
one
after
another.
eye-catching
although
they
are
a
few.
Africa
respectively.
the

special
glory
of
youth
at
his
age,
obviously
due
to
malnutrition.
He is stretching his long thin legs, stepping in muddy water. Perhaps, he is the owner of those black
buns, isn’t he? Whoever wears this poor will eat this poor. Look,
his clothes are somewhat like what
a student should wear, but they are dirty, unevenly dyed, and made of cotton cloth waived manually.
He wears a pair of old yellowish training shoes with two pieces of cotton ropes in place of the original
shoelaces, and the upper of one shoe is even clouted with a strip of blue cloth. His aged trousers are
merely long enough to cover one half of his legs; thanks to his half hoses, he is not barelegged. (No
body but he knows the heels of his cotton half hoses are holes, which seem intact with covering of
the

He is walking directly to the mess ground. Now it is certain that he is coming to fetch these black
buns. The lame girl cannot wait to have limped away with her own foods and bowl before he arrives
at

He comes before the basket, stares for a second, and then bends down to pick up his serving of two
sorghum
buns.
The
other
two
are
left
in
the
basket;
god
knows
why
he
does
not
take
all.

He stands up and has a quick glance at the three empty basins on the ground. He is lucky enough to
find
some
remains
are
better
than
nothing
on
the
bottom
of
basin
vacant
of
the
second
class
vegetables. The drips from the eaves are spilling the vegetable juice out. He looks around and finds
no one in the yard covered by the misty rain and snow. He squats soon, in haste like a thief, and
spoons all remaining juice mixed with rainwater from the basin bottom to this own bowl. The thrilling
noise created by the scrapping spoon on the basin bottom is exploding like bombs. Blood flushes
onto his sallow cheeks. A big drip from the eaves drops on the bottom of the basin, scattering the
vegetable juice onto his cheeks. He closes his eyes and two teardrops are seen falling down from his
chin.

He stands up, palms his cheeks, and carries his half bowl of leftover vegetable juice to the boiled
water room at the southwestern corner. He mixes the vegetable juice with some hot tap water from
the wall, tears the sorghum buns into shreds, soaks them in the mingled juice, and then squats under
the

Suddenly, he stops chewing, and sees a girl student who comes to the basket and picks up the other
two
black
buns.
Yes,
she
also
comes.
He
stares
at
her
back,
poorly
clothed,
for
a
good
while.

This is nearly a custom: since the beginning of this semester, whenever it is time for meal, she or he
is always the latest comer, picking up two black sorghum buns and silently moving off. This is not
agreed. In fact, they are not familiar with each other, nor have they talked to each other. Either of
them is promoted to county high school right after graduation from local commune middle school.
Since this semester begins freshly, most students in one class know no more than the ones from the
same

He squats under the eaves, gobbling and pondering: why does she come as late as he to take foods?
village
or
same
school.
eaves
to
devour
the
foods.
Alas,
can
we
suppose
he
is
weeping
the
chili
juice
out?
the
basket
of
buns.
shoes).
Oh, she must be as poor as I. Oh, yes, we are too poor to have good foods, but we have our own
tender
and
sensitive
self-esteems,
so
we
escape
public
eyes
and
silently
take
away
our
own
indecent

However, he knows almost nothing about her, except that her name is known as Plum Hao in the first
roll

Perhaps he is only known as Fred Sun to her?


Chapter

Fred Sun finds it so hard to spend his school days. As a boy aged 17 or 18, he can eat a horse.
Unfortunately, in each meal his offerings are no more than two sorghum buns. Once his father told
him that sorghum was not even used as livestock feed in old society -- this food is not nutrious. Even
such sorghum food is not sufficient for him. At least 4 or 5 such black buns can satisfy his appetite in
one meal. However, such a small allotment of food is just enough to save him from starving to death.
He may endure the whole day staying in classroom; however, in the years of
students must learn from farmers and workers outside school, even if they are staying in school, they
must labor half the time. As to study, in fact, there is no textbooks except these mimeograph teaching
materials
distributed
by
district
government,
and
the
lessons
taught
in
class
are
no
more
than
reading editorials of newspapers. No real lessons are taught in class since the school opens, and all
the
class
are
studying
and
discussing
the
theory
of
proletarian
dictatorship.
Of
course,
most
speakers are students from urban areas, while few students from rural areas dares to speak except
bold

Daily labor is a must, lasting from 2:00pm to supper time, which period is the most unbearable to
Fred Sun. Every time he totes two baskets of waste soil with a shoulder pole from the bottom of the
slope out of the school gate to the hilly fields behind the school, he will feel dizzy, the world around
him is whirling, his senses are completely absent, except that he mechanically creeps his shivering
legs

But to Fred Sun, these are perhaps acceptable. What pains him the most is the harms caused by
poverty to his proper pride. He is already 17 years old, with a beating heart in his chest, which is
sensitive and shy. He thirsts for a decent suit of clothes that he could wear before girl students; he
wishes that every day in the queue he could receive an offering of the second class vegetable the
same as many others, and in every meal he could have a white bun or yellow bun to match with the
vegetable. This is not only for stomach, but also for a respectable life. He never expects to live in the
same advantageous conditions as students from urban areas, and what will satisfy him is to live in
similar

However, this is absolutely impossible. In fact, it is not easy for his family to let him go to high school
in the town without living by earning workpoints in such an adult age. In the past, his big brother
returned
home
to
become
a
farmer
after
graduation from
senior
primary
school
at 13
years
old,
conditions
as
most
students
from
rural
areas.
step
by
step
climbing
up
the
winding
hilly
path.
ones.
II

(2011
version)
call
of
the
class.
black
things,
to
avoid
too
many
wordless
insults!
without attending the examinations for junior high school, so the family could afford the schooling of
Fred Sun and his younger sister. Worse still, big sister has never gone to school for even one day of
her life. Now he deeply appreciates such dearest persons, so what else can he expect from them?
Fred
knows
that
his
family
is
near
collapse.
His
grandmother
is
nearly
80
years
old,
bed-bound
suffering from
hemiplegia;
his
parents
are
aging
too,
who
can
hardly
earn
some
workpoints;
his
younger sister also goes to junior high school in the commune, increasing expenses; worse still,
married with an irresponsible man, his elder sister is bringing up two kids on her own, and food is so
insufficient
that if
the
mom
and
children
have
food
in
one
meal
they
will
starve
in next
meal,
so
usually

His
parents
love
the
two
small
grandchildren,
and
often
receive
them
into
home
to
raise
them.

Actually, in the family only big brother is a full laborer -- who is only 23 years old though! Dear big
brother from 13 years old has undertaken the heavy burdens of family life; without big brother, God
knows

In normal sense, to raise such a few family members, father and big brother the two persons are
working, so life may be sustainable. But in reality, over many years, growers have suffered not a few,
but they are still empty-handed year after year. Since the production team is poor, how can a family
in the team be not poor? Furthermore, parents are not clever nor capable, so the root is poor to the
bone. Every year the family is in shortages, becoming poorer and poorer, and it seems that there is
no

In such situation, it is a miracle for him to study
in high school, so how could he complain about
anything?
In
other
words,
even
if
the
family
have
some
good
foods,
or
good
clothes,
the
aged
grandma and underage sister will be prioritized; much more the two infants of Fred's elder sister! He
is self-inferior in current environment. Although he is the tallest of the class, he feels he is shorter
than

While poverty exaggerates his self-esteem. He often feels that others are laughing at his misery, so
he has a heart-felt abnormal hostility to all classmates whose families are in good conditions. For
example, now he is strongly hostile to the very manneristic monitor, Volk Gu. Every time when he
finds Volk, trimly and modishly dressed, stands on the platform, calling the roll elegantly, at times
raising
his
wrist
to
look
at
his
watch,
a
nameless
rage
will
start
burning
in
his
chest,
which
is
uncontainable. In a roll call, one who is called shall answer
didn't answer knowingly. The monitor glared at him, and called his name again; however, he was
mute again. If this happened in junior high school, such condition might arouse a violent conflict.
Perhaps
all
the
students
are
fresh
to
high
school,
they
don't
know
each
other
too
much,
so
the
monitor skipped such insulting ignorance, and continued to call the roll. After the roll call, Fred left the
classroom with Wave, a classmate from the same village with Fred. This guy secretly congratulated
him
with
a
erected
thumb,
and
smiled:

done!

thought
he
would
fight
with
me.
Fred
Sun
somewhat
regretted
his
misbehavior.

he?
utterred Wave in wide-open eyes, swaying his fist in the air. Wave is at the same age with Fred, but
he is one head shorter than Fred. He is white, beautiful, looking like a girl. But his heart is hard, and
any
others.
hope
of
a
better
life...
how
the
whole
family
will
decline!
his
family
will
often
help
her
with
a
few
food
to
save
lives
--
he
does
everything
without
delay.
He
is
quiet
like
a
pussycat,
while
acting
like
a
tiger.

Wave's father is a truck driver of transportation company in this district, his family conditions are
better
than
Fred's,
and
his
living
standard
is
higher
of
the
class.
Fred
is
in
unbelievably
good
relationship with this
Later, they went to school together. In the village, since Wave's father works outside, at times some
labor is wanted for Wave's family, so Fred's father or elder brother often helps them. In addition,
Wave's younger sister also goes to school with Fred's younger sister, and the two girls are as close
as twins. As to Wave's helps to Fred, it is not worth words. When they were in commune junior high
school, about 5km from the village, in order to save food and money, they ate at home -- returned
home in evening, and went to school the next morning, bringing along one feed for lunch. The daily
route was 10km long, among the students of the village who were going to the same school, Wave
and Vive (son of Fortune George, party secretary of production brigade) each had a bike, and Fred
was the only one who walked to school. So Wave shared his bike with Fred. Two years later, Vive's
bike appeared still new, but Wave's bike was worn, so his father had to buy him a new one. Now Fred
is in county high school, more than 30km away from the village, so he goes back home only on
weekends, depending more on Wave's bike. In addition, after Fred comes to this high school, Wave
has tried to gift him white flour coupons for half a dozen times. However, Fred has not accepted --
because in these years white flour coupons are rare for every family; moreover, several white buns
won't

Well, although life is so hard, Fred Sun feels a wordless joy deep in his heart. He has come to a
bigger world from a rural corner. This fact is already a great thing to him, son of a poor farming family!
Every day, if there is nothing in school, Fred Sun will go out to find every places of the town: streets
and lanes, downtown and uptown, ins and outs, anyway, he will find any place that he has not been
to. He has visited the courtyards of almost all public services, except a few awesome organizations,
such as county revolution committee, county military department and county public security bureau;
he has managed to get access to those places by cheating the old gatekeepers that he would go to
toilet. As a newcomer, he forgets his shabby clothes in public eyes, and indulges himself in roaming
throughout the town unrestrictedly. By roaming, he has acquired numerous fresh images, even the
coal smoke hovering over the town smells different. Certainly, he cannot understand everything new
to him, but everything has impressed him undoubtedly. In the mirror of urban life, he apparently sees
through the village where he has lived for more than 10 years
-- in that familiar old world, many
meaningful things now turns to be somewhat meaningless and common. In contrast, many important
things were not noticed by him in the past, but now suddenly are coming to his mind vividly. Apart
from this kind of aimless roam, he has one more habbit, reading extracurricular books. This habbit
was formed in the last year of his junior high school. Once he went to Vive's home, he found a book
named How the Steel was Tempered, on the top of a box, which was used by Vive's mother as a
holder of shoe patterns. At first, he did not care for it -- what on earth can a steelmaking book mean
for? After reading some pages, he felt strange: a book in such a name, not telling about steelmaking
or ironmaking, tells nothing but the details of a Soviet man named Paul Korchagin. Suddenly he was
strongly curious about that strange book. He wanted to see what happened in that book. Vive told
the book belonged to his elder sister who was a teacher in the town and scarcely came back home;
that
book
was
taken
by
his
mother
from
the
town,
and
used
to
hold
shoe
patterns.
make
a
difference,
except
spoiling
his
stomach...

With the consent of Vive's mother, he took that book home, hurried home and read it immediately. He
was enchanted by that book at once. The next day was Sunday when he should have gone out in the
hills and chopped a bundle of firewood for family use; but in reality he did not go anywhere but hide
himself behind a wheat straw stack on the wheat threshing ground of the village, to greedily read
through that book before dark. The story of Paul Korchagin, an ordinary person in another country,
strongly shocked his young and weak heart. After the curtain of night thickened, he did not return
home.
In
stead,
he
stayed
beside
the
threshing
ground
silently,
looking
at
the
stars
overhead,
listening to the waterflow clearly from the river, and lost himself in thoughts untellable. His minds
were messy and floating, mysterious and inmeasurable. He suddenly recognized that there is a big
world outside Diaqua village blocked by mountains. More importantly, now he was aware though not
clear that whoever in whatever conditions can live what a good life! In that moment, his 16 years old
chest was filled with poetic imagination of life. He saw Paul's sharp cheeks and vigorous build. Paul
who was not blind at all was staring at him brotherly from afar with blue eyes. Of course, Fred could
never forget Donia, lovely daughter of a rich family. She was so good. She so deeply loved Paul, son
of a poor family. Fred did not hate Donia even in the end of the story. He burst into tears for Donia
finally parting company with Paul. He thought: how good will it be if he could encounter a Donia!

That day, he forgot the supper, and did not hear his family calling him home for supper. He forgot
everything around him, until he was back home, hearing his father's complaining voices and seeing
his elder brother's condemning eyes, and yes, he was back to the cruel real life when he took a bowl
of

From then on, he is in love with novels, especially Soviet novels. Before going to high school, he has
already

Now, he has thousands of ways to search for books from the school library and the library of county
cultural center. He dislikes recent books published in China, because he has already read several
Soviet novels, so those new books in China don't interest him any more. He is only searching for
foreign

Gradually, he is intoxicated in reading everyday. When he is free, he will lie reading on his bed of
ragged bed clothes, without an end. Even when he strolls outside school, he is already carrying a
book under his arm -- if he is tired of strolling, he will find a quiet and secluded place for reading.
Later,
he
develops
to
read
in
classroom
when
he
secretly
hide
his
readings
under
the
desk
disregarding

Soon,
his
misbehavior
was
reported
by
somebody
to
head
teacher,
where
he
is
accused
of
indifference to proletarian politics and exclusive reading of
lame girl sitting not far from his seat, Jade Duke, who is careful of other's privacy. It seams that
defective physiology brings defective psychology: she is most careful of other's defects in life, maybe
trying her best to prove nobody on the earth is complete -- although your legs are better than mine, I
am better than you in other aspects! Jade Duke is always the first speaker in discussion, interpreting
the
theories
of
proletarian
dictatorship,
looking
like
cadres.
In
labor,
she
is
struggling
to
work,
the
meeting
or
political
study
wich
is
going
on.
books,
and
Chinese
books
published
before
the
Cultural
Revolution.
read
The
Story
of
Zoya
and
Shura.
cold
sorghum-rice
porridge
from
the
top
of
kitchen
range...
although her legs are not good. Of course, she also loves to help others; at the same time, she is
monitoring all irrevolutionary acts of the class, as if she was secretary of the discipline supervisory
committee.

One day, the class was studying an article titled Leaders and cardres should lead to study good
things,
an
editorial
on
the
People's
Daily,
which
study
was
chaired
by
the
head
teacher,
and
interpreted by class monitor Volk Gu. Fred Sun did not hear even one sentence, while he is bending
his head to read the secret novel under the desk. He did not find that lame girl had signaled the head
teacher to take care of his misconduct. When the teacher walked to him and seized his book from his
hands, he is suddenly surprised. The whole class burst into laughs. Valk Gu stopped interpreting the
newspaper, and posed as an outsider, but Fred Sun felt that the monitor was gloating at this event,
who was expecting how the teacher would dispose of Fred. The head teacher put the confiscated
book on the teacing desk, did not say anything at first, and let Volk Gu to continue interpreting. After
the study finished, the teacher called Fred to his office, surprisingly returned Fred's book, and told
him:
now...
little condemn, instead he saw a fullness of kindness and enthusiasm. Such a trifle increases his
love to books. Yes, what else does he own except several black sorghum buns per day? It is only for
such books that he believes life is meaningful, his spirits are a little relieved, and his nature is calling
him for a beatiful life -- without this, he cannot stand every day of hardship and misery at present.

In his current life, there is actually another trifle he cannot tell, which brings a little warmth and joy to
his inner heart. This trifle is already known to us in fact, that is: in each meal every day, when he is
fetching his two black buns personally after every one is leaving after meal -- every such time, he will
see

Of course, at the beginning, he and the girl named Plum Hao took their buns respectively and left, as
they

God knows which day, she looked at him when she is coming by. He looked at her too. Although
there
was
no
words,
they
communicated.
People
usually
have
a
language
without
words
in
life.
Thence, this kind of eye
most beautiful girl of the class. Only because she wore raggedly, plus a sallow face, no body else
ever found her beauty. Boys at this age, once lucky enough to be educated a little, usually love to flirt
with
official families in urban areas are all like fairies who are descending to the world from the Heaven.
Of
course,
boys
and
girls
at
this
age
don't
really
know
love,
but
undoubtedly
they
have
known
superficially sex, and because they have just known it, they are more passionate about it even than
the experienced. Well, who has escaped such an age? In this Werther's age of disturbance, any
micro
emotion
between
different
sexes
may
cause
a
tornado
in
the
heart
of
a
lad!

Fred Sun is not in this step now. He only feels that in his poorest life, there is a girl looking at him with
dear and kind eyes, and this warms him limitlessly. Her loveable thin cheeks, her gracile neck, and
her ragged clothes only enough to cover her private parts, all these have rippled his heart, like spring
were
unrelated.
another
person
doing
the
same.