III

The shop was crowded, and Old Chuan was busy, carrying a big copper kettle to make tea for one customer after another. There were dark circles under his eyes.

"Aren't you well, Old Chuan? . . . What's wrong with you?" asked one greybeard.
　　
"Nothing."
　　
"Nothing? . . . No, I suppose from your smile, there couldn't be . . ." the old man corrected himself.
　　
"It's just that Old Chuan's busy," said the hunchback. "If his son. . . ." But before he could finish, a heavy-jowled man burst in. Over his shoulders he had a dark brown shirt, unbuttoned and fastened carelessly by a broad dark brown girdle at his waist. As soon as he entered, he shouted to Old Chuan:
　　
"Has he eaten it? Any better? Luck's with you, Old Chuan. What luck! If not for my hearing of things so quickly. . . ."
　　
Holding the kettle in one hand, the other straight by his side in an attitude of respect, Old Chuan listened with a smile. In fact, all present were listening respectfully. The old woman, dark circles under her eyes too, came out smiling with a bowl containing tea-leaves and an added olive, over which Old Chuan poured boiling water for the newcomer.
　　
"This is a guaranteed cure! Not like other things!" declared the heavy-jowled man. "Just think, brought back warm, and eaten warm!"
　　
"Yes indeed, we couldn't have managed it without Uncle Kang's help." The old woman thanked him very warmly.
　　
"A guaranteed cure! Eaten warm like this. A roll dipped in human blood like this can cure any consumption!"
　　
The old woman seemed a little disconcerted by the word "consumption," and turned a shade paler; however, she forced a smile again at once and found some pretext to leave. Meanwhile the man in brown was indiscreet enough to go on talking at the top of his voice until the child in the inner room was woken and started coughing.
　　
"So you've had a great stroke of luck for your Little Chuan! Of course his sickness will be cured completely. No wonder Old Chuan keeps smiling." As he spoke, the greybeard walked up to the man in brown, and lowered his voice to ask:
　　
"Mr. Kang, I heard the criminal executed today came from the Hsia family. Who was it? And why was he executed? 　　"
　　
"Who? Son of Widow Hsia, of course! Young rascal!"
　　
Seeing how they all hung on his words, Mr. Kang's spirits rose even higher. His jowls quivered, and he made his voice as loud as he could.
　　
"The rogue didn't want to live, simply didn't want to! There was nothing in it for me this time. Even the clothes stripped from him were taken by Red-eye, the jailer. Our Old Chuan was luckiest, and after him Third Uncle Hsia. He pocketed the whole reward--twenty-five taels of bright silver--and didn't have to spend a cent!"

Little Chuan walked slowly out of the inner room, his hands to his chest, coughing repeatedly. He went to the kitchen, filled a bowl with cold rice, added hot water to it, and sitting down started to eat. His mother, hovering over him, asked softly:
　　
"Do you feel better, son? Still as hungry as ever?"
　　
"A guaranteed cure!" Kang glanced at the child, then turned back to address the company. "Third Uncle Hsia is really smart. If he hadn't informed, even his family would have been executed, and their property confiscated. But instead? Silver! That young rogue was a real scoundrel! He even tried to incite the jailer to revolt!"
　　
"No! The idea of it!" A man in his twenties, sitting in the back row, expressed indignation.
　　
"You know, Red-eye went to sound him out, but he started chatting with him. He said the great Ching empire belongs to us. Just think: is that kind of talk rational? Red-eye knew he had only an old mother at home, but had never imagined he was so poor. He couldn't squeeze anything out of him; he was already good and angry, and then the young fool would 'scratch the tiger's head,' so he gave him a couple of slaps."
　　
"Red-eye is a good boxer. Those slaps must have hurt!" The hunchback in the corner by the wall exulted.
　　
"The rotter was not afraid of being beaten. He even said how sorry he was."
　　
"Nothing to be sorry about in beating a wretch like that," said Greybeard.
　　
Kang looked at him superciliously and said disdainfully: "You misunderstood. The way he said it, he was sorry for Red-eye."
　　
His listeners' eyes took on a glazed look, and no one spoke. Little Chuan had finished his rice and was perspiring profusely, his head steaming.
　　
"Sorry for Red-eye--crazy! He must have been crazy!" said Greybeard, as if suddenly he saw light.
　　
"He must have been crazy!" echoed the man in his twenties.
　　
Once more the customers began to show animation, and conversation was resumed. Under cover of the noise, the child was seized by a paroxysm of coughing. Kang went up to him, clapped him on the shoulder, and said:
　　
"A guaranteed cure! Don't cough like that, Little Chuan! A guaranteed cure!"
　　
"Crazy!" agreed the hunchback, nodding his head.

三

店里坐著許多人，老栓也忙了，提著大銅壺，一趟一趟的給客人沖茶；兩個眼眶，都圍著一圈黑線。
　　
“老栓，你有些不舒服么？——你生病么？”一個花白胡子的人說。
　　
“沒有。”
　　
“沒有？——我想笑嘻嘻的，原也不像……”花白胡子便取消了自己的話。
　　
“老栓只是忙。要是他的兒子……”駝背五少爺話還未完，突然闖進了一個滿臉橫肉的人，披一件玄色布衫，散著紐扣，用很寬的玄色腰帶，胡亂捆在腰間。剛進門，便對老栓嚷道：
　　
“吃了么？好了么？老栓，就是運氣了你！你運氣，要不是我信息靈……”
　　
老栓一手提了茶壺，一手恭恭敬敬的垂著；笑嘻嘻的聽。滿座的人，也都恭恭敬敬的聽。華大媽也黑著眼眶，笑嘻嘻的送出茶碗茶葉來，加上一個橄欖，老栓便去沖了水。
　　
“這是包好！這是與眾不同的。你想，趁熱的拿來，趁熱的吃下。”橫肉的人只是嚷。
　　
“真的呢，要沒有康大叔照顧，怎么會這樣……”華大媽也很感激的謝他。
　　
“包好，包好！這樣的趁熱吃下。這樣的人血饅頭，什么癆病都包好！”
　　
華大媽聽到“癆病”這兩個字，變了一點臉色，似乎有些不高興；但又立刻堆上笑，搭訕著走開了。這康大叔卻沒有覺察，仍然提高了喉嚨只是嚷，嚷得里面睡著的小栓也合伙咳嗽起來。
　　
“原來你家小栓碰到了這樣的好運氣了。這病自然一定全好；怪不得老栓整天的笑著呢。”花白胡子一面說，一面走到康大叔面前，低聲下氣的問道，“康大叔——聽說今天結果的一個犯人，便是夏家的孩子，那是誰的孩子？究竟是什么事？”
　　
“誰的？不就是夏四奶奶的兒子么？那個小家伙！”康大叔見眾人都聳起耳朵聽他，便格外高興，橫肉塊塊飽綻，越發大聲說，“這小東西不要命，不要就是了。我可是這一回一點沒有得到好處；連剝下來的衣服，都給管牢的紅眼睛阿義拿去了。——第一要算我們栓叔運氣；第二是夏三爺賞了二十五兩雪白的銀子，獨自落腰包，一文不花。”
　　
小栓慢慢的從小屋子里走出，兩手按了胸口，不住的咳嗽；走到灶下，盛出一碗冷飯，泡上熱水，坐下便吃。華大媽跟著他走，輕輕的問道，“小栓，你好些么？——你仍舊只是肚餓？……”
　　
“包好，包好！”康大叔瞥了小栓一眼，仍然回過臉，對眾人說，“夏三爺真是乖角兒，要是他不先告官，連他滿門抄斬。現在怎樣？銀子！——這小東西也真不成東西！關在勞里，還要勸勞頭造反。”
　　
“阿呀，那還了得。”坐在后排的一個二十多歲的人，很現出氣憤模樣。
　　
“你要曉得紅眼睛阿義是去盤盤底細的，他卻和他攀談了。他說：這大清的天下是我們大家的。你想：這是人話么？紅眼睛原知道他家里只有一個老娘，可是沒有料到他竟會這么窮，榨不出一點油水，已經氣破肚皮了。他還要老虎頭上搔癢，便給他兩個嘴巴！”
　　
“義哥是一手好拳棒，這兩下，一定夠他受用了。”壁角的駝背忽然高興起來。
　　
“他這賤骨頭打不怕，還要說可憐可憐哩。”
　　
花白胡子的人說，“打了這種東西，有什么可憐呢？”
　　
康大叔顯出看他不上的樣子，冷笑著說，“你沒有聽清我的話；看他神氣，是說阿義可憐哩！”
　　
聽著的人的眼光，忽然有些板滯；話也停頓了。小栓已經吃完飯，吃得滿頭流汗，頭上都冒出蒸氣來。
　　
“阿義可憐——瘋話，簡直是發了瘋了。”花白胡子恍然大悟似的說。
　　
“發了瘋了。”二十多歲的人也恍然大悟的說。
　　
店里的坐客，便又現出活氣，談笑起來。小栓也趁著熱鬧，拚命咳嗽；康大叔走上前，拍他肩膀說：
　　
“包好！小栓——你不要這么咳。包好！”
　　
“瘋了。”駝背五少爺點著頭說。