Double Bracelets

Wang Jiyue didn't have any dissatisfaction or regrets about coming to Hong Kong to study English. She thought it was a good choice, and she didn't make a wrong choice.At least she got in touch with more people from different places with different backgrounds and even conflicting positions in Hong Kong.That's a nice, diverse world.

Although this is such a small island, she has learned Cantonese for daily use in the past six months. She doesn't like the Western food in the school cafeteria, so she asks her roommates to go to teahouses, and even goes to the market in Wanchai to buy meat and vegetables to cook for herself.I have been there several times, and the owner of the butcher shop has already gotten to know her well, knowing that she is from the north, a person from Suzhou, every time she comes, she will sigh with her wife, this is the lady in the drama.

Arriving in Lingnan, crossing the Pearl River, it seems to be another world.From then on, no one needed to care about her background, and when she came, she just asked one or two familiar servants from her uncle to go with her.For a long time, she lived completely alone, and suddenly felt at ease.No hassle to deal with, no one to accompany, all alone, very relaxed.She even began to go to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception {66} at leisure, and although there was nothing to confess and nothing to pray, she wanted to go.It seems that there is too much free time, and the original grades are too good, but there is nothing to work as hard as before.

Sometimes, for example, when it comes to English literature in the 18th century, she is a little bit blind and always confused.Thinking of Jiang Xijie, who was the first student in the school to major in 18th-century English literature, it should be good to have her here, right?

I set out that day and deliberately lied to you, are you angry?You sent many letters, but I didn't read any of them.

In fact, Hong Kong is not cold in winter, and she even gave birth to the idea of ​​climbing Victoria Peak.The roommate is an overseas Chinese, and there is a mother from Foshan, who laughs at her silly, why climb Victoria Peak if there is nothing to do, and go to the top of the mountain to see Victoria Harbour?Why not take a ferry to see Victoria Harbour?So she went to take the ferry.At three o'clock in the afternoon on a gloomy Friday, there was no one on the boat, she sat on the side, the sea breeze was blowing slowly, it was actually very comfortable, but she couldn't help thinking, she couldn't swim, if the boat capsized, it would be the end of it .

She didn't think it was a bit unlucky to think so, Duanduan felt that it would be a big show if the scenery of Victoria Harbor was destroyed by strong ships and sharp guns. In troubled times, the grand scene is annihilated, and there is an indescribable beauty.At that time, whether it is the common people in Kowloon or the nobles on the top of Victoria Peak, there will be no escape.War itself may be very unjust, but it brings just life and death, just crushing, and just destruction.

When the boat docked, you can see the brand-new “Far Eastern Lady”—Peninsula Hotel when you look up.This beautiful building made her think of the Bund, and of the letter she recently received from Wang Haopeng, which said that Jiang Xijie got drunk every night, and everyone knew how drunk she was.

I set off that day and deliberately lied to you, so you should be angry.I sent a lot of letters and I didn't read any of them and didn't reply. You must be angry.But why do you have to humiliate yourself when you are angry?

Or maybe you're an alcoholic and it's just that the time wasn't up when I met you.Suddenly, I thought of the face that smiled so devilishly and asked himself "I don't know if my slave should be Yun Niang".Wang Haopeng's letter also said that people kept running to Jiang Xize to match Jiang Xijie, but they were stopped by the elder brother.Oh, it seems that it should be easier to get married than me.I'm waiting in my boudoir, or I'm waiting for a price, but you have a price but no market.But is it because you don't want to meet matchmakers, or is it because your brother doesn't want you to marry those people?Forget it, I've been free, thinking about these things.

I was wrong.I said such serious things to you, and lied to you, not letting you send me off, not replying to the letter, not even reading it.Sometimes I also feel cruel, and cruelty comes from a strange stubbornness, and I have been born with a stubbornness that I still rely on to this day.It's just that I can't be honest with myself at this moment, let alone talk about being stubborn to you.I am not like you, so simple and natural to determine my own mind.Now maybe you're not sure either?

Maybe you're also unsure, and then cringe, and then find that it's not interesting, and then give up.

That's what I hoped for myself too, but it didn't work.In the days without you by my side, although everything goes well, although I am at ease, I miss you very much.From time to time, I would think, if Xijie was by my side at this time, what would she do, what would I do, how would everything develop?

Will you go to the vegetable market with me?Can you learn Cantonese faster than me?Would you cook better meals every day?Will you accompany me to climb Victoria Peak?Would you join me on a small boat and listen to me with a helpless face, what if the boat sinks at this moment?You'll go to church with me,

No, you won't go to church with me.Because if that's the case, if you're here, I don't need to go to church.Every time I want to repent, but I can't tell my sin.I believe love is innocent, but guilty of everything you do.I was willing to be that criminal, but I never thought that there would be a day of repentance.

She had checked the route early in the morning, but at this moment she deliberately dragged her feet and swayed slowly to the bus platform.Always pass the time like this.Always tired from walking.I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, I'm too lazy to go shopping with others, and I'm too lazy to drag others to go shopping, and I always disappear by myself for no reason.

In the blink of an eye, on Christmas, the school held a banquet for the students who didn't go home. The dormitory nun was in a good mood and cooked a lot of dishes.It's just that there is too much butter, Wang Jiyue doesn't like it very much, she hates greasy.Students who did not go home sat on both sides of the long table, candles were lit on the table, turkey salad, garlic bread, and egg tarts, which are still rare in Hong Kong, appeared, accompanied by a huge apple pie—the same The nuns come from all over the world, otherwise how can you eat apple pie and Spanish yellow rice {67}.Everyone got up and raised their glasses to toast. They spoke English accents with perfect accents, Hong Kong accents with wrong accents, and soft Southeast Asian accents. Portuguese and Spanish accents were mixed together. "Merry Christmas!"

After taking her seat, she smiled at the nurse in charge, and stretched out her hand towards the Spanish rice naturally.Looking at a table, she can eat that.The nanny in charge seemed to know her taste was too bland, and she also handed her another layer of stewed beans.Her roommate has already rushed to the turkey, the bread in her hand is thickly buttered, seeing that she is still eating what she usually eats, she can't help but curse her, it's Christmas, it's rare for the nuns to bleed to cook such delicious food , you still eat rice with beans!

Who told her to like it? She really liked it.Like bland ochazuke, very bland, I eat it often, and I like it very much {68}.

Wang Jiyue sat across from the nanny in charge. This nanny especially liked to cook, but she was usually very busy, but today she was free, so she crazily cooked and made half of the table.Now handing over this and that, I am very happy.She waited for everyone to start eating before she sat down and took a sip of coffee leisurely. She saw Wang Jiyue on the opposite side still looking like a lady chewing and eating slowly. He opened his mouth and said {69}: "Jiyue, why don't you go back?"

The nanny can also speak some basic Cantonese—that’s enough, and usually responds to the distant calls of the girls from upstairs with a series of “Here we are”—it sounds very authentic.

Wang Jiyue was taken aback for a moment, not knowing what to say.Those who stay in the dormitory include those from medical school, those from relatively poor families who don’t want to waste money and time going home, and those who are greedy for Hong Kong’s prosperity and waste their time here, but she, Wang Jiyue, is none of them.One day, Mammy saw her coming back from the library carrying a large stack of books. She thought she was eager to learn and improve. After asking, she found out that she had read them before, but she wanted to read them again, "I'm afraid I might forget them."

why don't you go homeBut it is Guangzhou across the sea.Even if you go back to Shanghai, if your family is rich, what are you afraid of.At best, she's just lazy, hmph, she's really a lady from a rich family, so delicate. . .

"I don't really want to go back. I like to stay in school." She wanted to find some excuses such as being reluctant to bear her mother, but it is not appropriate for the public to flatter her.Mammy smiled, handed her the pickled olives, and began chatting with her in Spanish-accented English.The nun in charge was friendly with her, and sometimes she spoke unguardedly.At this moment, I think everyone is chatting with pigeons, so they pour beans and say something like you don’t want to go back, I am attached to school, and I am also attached to school, but I also want to go home, but my life has been dedicated to God, and God wants me Wherever I go, I will go, and God is my destination.

The atmosphere was relaxed, and Wang Jiyue didn't care too much about whether the ears had a little energy for herself, so she asked the mother, do you have any family in Spain?Mammy had said her home was a small Catalan village. "No! Nothing! I can't find it!" It turned out that there was no one else in her family. She was poor when she was a child, so she was sent to be a nun. On the day she left Spain to preach in East Asia, she was the best in Catalonia. The most devout nun has no news of her family for more than ten years.Mammy said that she had no worries or concerns, and she was dedicated to spreading the gospel of God.

Wang Jiyue nodded, and sometimes couldn't help admiring the perseverance of these nuns who stayed in the distant East Asia for more than ten years.Does everyone want to be Tang Ruowang?But I have been separated from my family for decades, and I don’t want to look for it anymore, and I don’t want to talk about it in detail. Are there many cold past events hidden like sinking stones at the bottom of a lake?It was too painful and too cold, so I had to give up salvage.Wang Jiyue asked, Mommy, haven't you thought about looking for them?

Mammy said, I have abandoned them for too long, and I can't find them anymore.Looking for things is like drinking coffee, you have to hurry up while it’s hot, otherwise you’ll gradually stop looking for it, the coffee won’t taste good, and you won’t be able to find it any more.

Although in class, the professor often said that when you think it is the latest time, when you have no time to work hard, it is the best time and the earliest time; but when you think about the matter of separation and impermanence, sometimes what Mammy said is reasonable, after all, others It is also subject to change.

She wanted to find some comforting words to say, but Mammy's expression changed, and she became a little narrowed, as if she didn't need to say any comforting words.Mammy smiled and said, Look, these children stay here, some study hard, some seek pleasure, either for their studies or for their marriage, but you are the only one who does nothing.

She thought that Mammy meant that she was mean to waste resources and stay here, causing the nuns to cook an extra meal every day.So he defended himself, blushing for a while.Before she could say a few words, the nuns laughed and asked her if she wanted to go to a missionary school as a volunteer.Knowing that they all knew that their previous major was education, Wang Jiyue felt a little unreasonable and agreed.

When she remembered at night, the nuns belonged to the Canossa Sisters of Charity {70}, and they arranged for her to go to St. Mary's School {71} under its umbrella to do chores, which were clearly their own business. It's not over, so I put myself in and sold it.

But she was really bored, she was too idle to think too much, if something went wrong, just go.Even though she seems enthusiastic about the world around her now, she is actually very indifferent.

The author has something to say:

{66} is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. It is located on Caine Road, Central, Hong Kong. It was completed in 1888 and is still in existence.All that appear in this chapter and later are the existing historical monuments in Hong Kong.

{67} What is being quoted here is the rice sautéed in salted butter that I often get at my local Spanish restaurant in Miami these days.Rather than the Spanish paella that everyone generally knows.

{68} Ozu Yasujiro "The Taste of Tea and Rice"

{69}For ease of reading, the following dialogues are written in Chinese and Cantonese.

{70} Originated in Italy, it is a Catholic convent founded by Magdalene Canossa.In the early years, it provided education, medical care and orphanage services for the poor, but now it mainly focuses on running schools.

{71} St. Mary's College Canossian, located at 162 Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, was founded by the Canossian Sisters of Charity in 1900. It is a girls' secondary school with a long history in Hong Kong.

When writing this chapter, I saw a very interesting person, He Shili, the son of the famous Sir Ho Tung among the ancestors of gambling kings.That is, the uncle of gambling king Stanley Ho.If you are interested, you might as well check it out. It is very interesting how many people in that era lived for their ideals until they died.