Chapter 23 Twenty-three, green door

If you take a stroll on Broadway after supper, leisurely nibbling on a cigar, planning to enjoy the cigar evenly, smoking it for ten minutes while thinking about where to move your legs, you are going to watch an entertaining tragedy Well, it's better to appreciate the seriousness contained in the singing and dancing.Suddenly, a hand rests on your arm.You turn around and look straight into the bewitching eyes of a beauty wearing a Russian sable cloak covered in pearls and jaspers.She hastily shoved a hot pancake into your hand, but saw a pair of exquisite scissors flashing white, and cut off the second button on your coat, muttering meaningfully: Parallelogram and then flying away Crossing the intersection, I looked back with lingering fear.

It's a real adventure.Are you willing to accept her gift?you will not.You'll flush with embarrassment; you'll throw the burrito away with embarrassment and continue down Broadway, fumbling feebly at your coat for the missing button.You will, unless you are one of those blessed few in whom the pure spirit of adventure has not died out. There are never many true adventurers.Most of the published explorers like this one were businessmen using newly invented methods.They left their homes and looked for what they longed for, the Golden Fleece, the Holy Grail, a woman's love, gold and silver treasures, power and fame, and so on.The real explorer wanders aimlessly, going straight ahead, to face and meet the unknown fate.A good example is the story of the prodigal son [Note] on his way home.

【Note】This is a story in Jesus’ sermon: A man took the property given by his father and went to a faraway place, where he dissipated, squandered his property, and squandered all his property.Later, he suddenly woke up and returned to his hometown.Originated from the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. The half-hearted adventurer, the brave, the extraordinary, abounds.From the Crusades[1] to the Palisades[2], they enriched the history books, and the trade of historical fiction.Yet each of them has a medal to win, a ball to kick in, an ax to sharpen, a race to compete in, a new fencing third stance to pull, a new The name is engraved on the trophy, and one thing is to compete with others!Therefore, they are not true adventurers.

【Note 1】Refers to a series of wars waged by Christian churches in Western Europe <11th｜14th centuries> to restore the Holy Land from Muslim control. [Note 2] Palisades Hills: Sandstone cliffs on the west bank of the Hudson River in southeastern New York and northeastern New Jersey.There is a park in the area, and there are hiking, camping, skiing and other facilities in the park. In this great city, the spirit of the twin sisters of romance and adventure is always everywhere, seeking a true follower.As we wandered the streets, they slyly disguised themselves, changing their appearance again and again, spying on us and molesting us.We often look up suddenly for no reason, only to see a face in a window, that face is like a very familiar friend. Cries of pain and fear; the cab driver did not stop on the side of the road we are familiar with, but laid us like eggs in front of the strange door, and a man stood in front of the door, opened the door for us with a smile, and beckoned us to enter ; a piece of paper with writing falling from the high lattice on the altar; we and the bustling passers-by on the street glanced at each other hurriedly, exchanging mutual disgust, tenderness and anxiety; In the heavy rain, our umbrella may be able to shelter the daughter of the moon god and the big cousin of the sidereal almanac; at the corner of every street, handkerchiefs float down, delicate fingers beckon to us, and pairs of eyes draw us All around us, the adventurer's ever-changing bait of loss, loneliness, ecstasy, mystery, and danger is sprinkled around us without anyone noticing it.Yet we feel that few of us are willing to take the bait.We feel the old ways go straight down our backs like a buttock, and we are stiff and numb.We continue our unremarkable life journey; one day in the future, when a dull life is coming to an end, we begin to reflect that the romance of our life is pale and dismal, at best it is only one or two marriages, a Brocade rosettes stored in a safe in the vault, a lifelong struggle with the incessant retch of the steam heater.

[Note] A sidereal year: equal to three hundred and sixty-five days, six hours, nine minutes and ten seconds. Rudolph.Steiner was a true adventurer.One of his cells was by the passage, and he seldom failed to leave it in the evenings, to go out in search of excitement, in search of oddities.In his opinion, the most interesting thing in life is the strange things that happen to you when you are close at hand. His willingness to take risks sometimes leads him astray.Twice he spent the night at a station; several times he was duped repeatedly by simple-minded, greedy swindlers;However, he is still the same, and he does not change his infatuation. Whenever there is a temptation, he will gladly go there and continue his happy adventure life journey.

One evening, Rudolph was walking on a street that crossed the city in the center of the old city.The sidewalks on both sides were filled with two streams of people hurrying home and the flustered line of people who had left home to dine in a gaudy company lit by a thousand candles. The young adventurer had a pleasing presence, and he strolled soberly and alertly.During the day, he is a salesman for a piano store.His tie was not fastened with a tie clip, but on a topaz ring.Once, he wrote a letter to the editor of a magazine, saying that Miss Li Mi's "Julie's Love Test" was the book that had the greatest impact on his life.

A set of teeth chattered in a glass case on the sidewalk as he walked, and at first seemed to draw his attention (with a bout of nausea) to a restaurant where the glass case was kept in front; but a closer look reveals the illuminated signboard of a dentist's clinic hanging high next door.A giant-like black man dressed in a red coat with hand-embroidered embroidery, a pair of yellow trousers, and a military cap, discreetly distributed promotional cards to passers-by who were willing to accept his gifts. Rudolph has become accustomed to this way of advertising dentists.Usually, he just walks by and doesn't pay attention; but tonight, the black African, with his quick and skillful movements, slipped a card in his hand without anyone noticing, so that he was holding a promotional material, and he was not very interested in the success of the black. Smile.

He walked forward a few yards, glancing casually at the card in his hand.He couldn't help being startled, turned over the card, and looked closely with interest.One side of the promotional material is blank; the other side is handwritten with the word "Green Gate" in ink.Then Rudolph saw a man three steps ahead throw away the card that the Negro handed him.Rudolph picked up the card, which had the dentist's name and address printed on it, along with the usual timetables for when dentures would be fitted, bridges and crowns, and the promise of a painless operation, all gaudy.

The adventurous piano salesman stopped on a street corner to reflect.In a moment, he crossed the street, crossed a block, crossed the road again, turned around and joined the flow of people going back.When he passed by for the second time, he didn't seem to pay attention to the black man, and casually took the promotional card in his hand.Ten steps away, he examined the card carefully.It has the word Green Door written on it in the same handwriting as the first card.The three or four pedestrians in front of him and behind him threw the cards on the sidewalk, and the cards fell to the ground, blank side up.Rudolph turned them over one by one, and on each one was printed a bizarre legend about the dentist's operating room.

Adventures This number one goblin rarely needs to ask his true protégé Rudolf.Steiner waved twice.But it has already paid attention to Rudolph, not to mention its request is still going on. Rudolph walked slowly back to where the African giant stood, next to him was a glass cabinet with rattling teeth.This time, he walked over without any hassle but didn't get the card.The Ethiopian, in spite of his gaudy and ridiculous attire, stood there with a sort of natural, savage dignity, deftly handing out propaganda to some passers-by, and letting others pass undisturbed. Pass.Every half minute, he yelled a harsh word that no one could understand, just like the yelling of the conductor in the train carriage or the hurried libretto in the grand opera house.This time not only did he not issue a card, but Rudolph saw a cold, almost contemptuous look on his large, shiny black face.

The man's look stung the adventurer.He read from it the silent reproach that some one had said he lacked.Whatever the meaning of the two mysterious words on the card, the Negro had chosen him twice from the passing stream; and now he seemed to reproach him for lacking the wit and courage to solve the riddle. The young man stood aside, avoiding the hustle and bustle of people, and quickly looked at the building in front of him. He felt that this adventure would not be elsewhere, but was inside the building.The building is five stories high, and there is a small restaurant in the basement. The door on the first floor is closed at the moment, and it looks like a women's headdress shop or fur clothing shop inside.The signboard of the electric dentist flickers outside on the second floor, that is the dentist's office.Upwards are various names and signboards in the style of the Babel Tower, you squeeze me, I squeeze you, showing the respective locations of palmistry, tailors, musicians and medical practitioners in multiple languages.Further up, IWF-style diapers and white feeding bottles on the windowsills indicate a residential area. After careful observation, Rudolph quickly climbed up the high stone steps and entered the building.The stairs were carpeted, and he climbed two flights and continued up, stopping only at the top floor.There were two dim gas lamps burning in the aisle, one far to his right and the other nearer to his left.He looked towards the nearest lamp, and in the dim halo he saw a green door.He hesitated for a moment; for a moment, he seemed to see the arrogant and mocking face of the African swindler who issued the card; then, he went straight to the green door and raised his hand to knock on the door. The waiting time is so long.His breathing became fast and tense in the face of real adventure.There's nothing behind the green door panel!The red-eyed gambler; the cunning rogue skillfully set traps and traps; the beauty fell in love with the warrior, and thus used her means to make the warrior chase herself; danger, death, love, disappointment, and absurdity He knocked so rashly that any one of all the strange things might happen to him. There was a slight rustling sound from inside, and the door opened slowly.A girl less than twenty years old stood at the door with a pale face and staggering steps.She let go of the latch, swaying weakly, groping with one hand.Rudolph grabbed her and helped her to lie down on an old sofa against the wall.He closed the door, and looked around the room neatly by the flickering gas lamp.Neat but poor, this is his impression of the house. The girl lay still, as if unconscious.Rudolph searched excitedly up and down the house for a lute barrel.Those kind of people always have to be rolled around on the bucket, those are no, no, no, let the drowned ghosts roll like that.He took off his hat and started slapping her with it.It worked, and he touched her nose with the brim of his bowler hat, and she opened her eyes.Then the young man saw that the face was one of the faces he knew very well, and it was the face he had been looking for.The open gray eyes, the presumptuously turned up little nose, and the curly chestnut hair that looked like tendrils of lima beans seemed a fitting end and reward to all his thrilling experience.But sadly, the face was yellow and thin. The girl looked at him calmly, then smiled, passed out, didn't she?She asked weakly, hey, who can resist it?For three days and three nights without sticking to your teeth, come and try! Oh My God!Rudolph jumped up, yelled, and waited for me to come back.He rushed out of the green door like an arrow and flew downstairs.Twenty minutes later, he came back again, tapped on the door lightly with his toes, and asked her to open the door.He clutched a stack of grocery and restaurant purchases in his hands.He put things on the table bread and butter, cold meats, cakes, pies, pickles, oysters, a roast chicken, a bottle of milk, and a jug of boiling tea. Resisting without eating, Rudolph stammered, it was really ridiculous.You need to stop this beauty betting game.Supper is ready.He helped her to sit down on a chair in front of the dining table and asked: Is there a cup for tea?On a shelf by the window.she replied.When he came back with the glass, he saw her eyes sparkle with delight as she began to eat a large dill pickle that she had plucked out of paper bags with a woman's instinct.Laughing, he snatched the kimchi from her mouth and poured a full glass of milk, drink this first, he ordered, and then, you should have some tea, and then a chicken wing.If you feel fine, you can eat kimchi tomorrow.Now, if I'm allowed to be a guest here, let's have dinner together. He dragged the only chair left in the room.The hot tea brightened the girl's eyes and made her face rosy.She started to eat, her eating was just like a starved glutton, picky and greedy.The young man was here to accompany her and help her, and she didn't seem surprised or uncomfortable with it, as if she didn't want to depreciate the value of traditional customs, but it was a right given to her by some force to get rid of human affectation.However, with the gradual recovery of physical strength and a feeling of comfort, a certain traditional concept showed its head again.That's just the same story you hear every day and every night. The store women are underpaid. What was already a poor salary is made even less by deductions. Deductions make the store a lot more money. A lot, because I couldn't go to work because of illness, I lost my job because I couldn't go to work, I lost hope, and then adventurers knocked on the door. However, to Rudolph, this part of her past sounds as thrilling as "Iliad"[Note], or as dangerous as "Julie's Love Test". [Note] "Iliad": also known as "Ilion", an ancient Greek epic with 24 volumes, which is said to be written by Homer.Set against the background of the Trojan War, it narrates the wrath of Achilles and the course of the war. Thinking about you, you have suffered so much, hey!He sighed deeply, that was really a bit of a pain.The girl also has a serious face, don't you even have a relative or friend in this city?not even one. I am also alone in this world.Rudolph was silent for a while, then said. I'm so happy.The girl went on quickly; and the young man was somehow pleased to hear the girl applaud his tragic bereavement.Suddenly, she lowered her eyebrows and let out a long, deep sigh, "I'm going to die," she said, I feel so comfortable.Rudolph stood up and took his hat. Well, I have to go.A good night's sleep will do you good.He held out his hand, and she took his hand and said good night.However, her eyes clearly asked a question, and the eyes were so meaningful, frank and frank, pathetic and moving, that it made him speak out. Oh, I'll come back tomorrow and see how you're doing.You can't get rid of me so easily. Then, looking at the door, as if how he got here was more important than the fact that he came, she asked: How did you come to knock on my door? He looked at her, remembered those cards, suddenly felt a little jealous, and felt a dull pain in his heart.What if those promotional cards fell into the hands of someone else as adventurous as he was?He quickly made up his mind that she couldn't know the truth of the matter.He would never let her know that he knew the truth of the matter: that she had been compelled by extreme poverty to resort to this bizarre expedient. A piano tuner from our piano shop lives in this building.He said, I knocked on the wrong door and knocked on your door. The last thing he saw in the room before the green door closed was her smiling face.At the foot of the stairs on the ground floor, he stopped and looked around curiously.Then he walked down the corridor to the other end; he turned back and climbed to the upper floor, and he continued to look around.He found that every door in the building was painted green. Suspicious, he went downstairs and onto the sidewalk outside.The queer African is still there.Rudolph confronted him face to face with two cards in his hand. Why are you giving me these cards?What do they mean?Can you explain it? The negro grinned kindly, and showed him a charming advertisement, which stated his master's occupation, here, at Lo (there), boss.He pointed to the other side of the street and said, but I thought (thought) that it would be too late for you to cut (watch) a scene. Looking in the direction he pointed, Rudolph saw a lighting advertisement for a new play hung above the gate of a theater. The lights were brilliant, and the play was called "Green Door". They told me, Mr. Sheng, this is a first-class performance.The black man said that the agent in charge should have given me one dollar, sir, and asked me to help distribute a few promotional cards, with an advertisement for Doctor Yi on it.Do you want an ad for Yisheng, sir? [Note] This black man's English tongue is not flexible enough, and the author intentionally shows this.The translator intends to translate it in an approximate way. Rudolph stopped at the corner store on the block where he lived, had a beer and smoked a cigar.He left the shop with a lighted (bad) cigar in his mouth, buttoned his coat, pushed his hat back on his head, and said firmly to the lamppost: What's the difference, I believe it's the hand of fate that came up with this solution to the problem and asked me to find her. In this case, the decision certainly made Rudolf.Steiner ranks among the worthy believers in the history of romance and adventure.