Chapter 5 five

Winter went to spring, and the two uncles finally divided the family.Uncle Yakov was assigned to the city, Mikhail to the other side of the river.My grandfather bought a very interesting mansion on Polevoi Street: a tavern downstairs, an attic above, a valley beyond the back garden, and bare willow stalks everywhere. See it, these are good whips!Grandfather stepped on the melting snow, pointed to the willow sliver, blinked slyly, and threatened me that it is almost time to teach you how to read, and at that time, the whip will be more useful. The house was full of tenants, and my grandfather had only one upstairs for himself, while my grandmother and I lived on the top floor.Our windows looked out onto the street, and on holiday or weeknights we could watch throngs of drunks come out of the pubs, shaking and shouting.Sometimes they are thrown out of the tavern, they roll on the ground, get up and squeeze into the tavern.Crash, squeak, squeak, ouch, there was a loud noise, and they started fighting!It was so much fun to stand at the upstairs window and watch it all!

Every morning, my grandfather would go to the dyeing workshop of his two sons to ask for help.When he comes back at night, he always looks tired and angry. Grandma cooks at home, sews clothes, plants in the garden, and is busy every day.She took snuff, sneezed several times with relish, wiped the sweat from her face, and said: Oh, thanks to Our Lady, everything has become so wonderful!Valyosha, my darling, how peacefully we live! peaceful?I don't feel any peace at all!All day long, the tenants came and went in the yard, and the neighbor's women often ran over, talking about this and that, and I didn't know what they were busy with. Someone always shouted:

Akalena.Ivanovna! Akalena.Ivanovna was so amiable to everyone and cared for everyone meticulously.She stuffed the shredded tobacco into her nostrils with her thumb, carefully wiped her nose and fingers with a red checkered handkerchief, and said: My wife, in case of lice, needs to take a bath frequently and take a peppermint steam bath!It doesn't matter if you have ringworm and scabies, just put a spoonful of clean goose oil, a little water, and three or two drops of mercuric acid in a plate, stir it seven times with a piece of broken foreign porcelain, and wipe it on your body!Never use wood or bone for grinding, as that will destroy the mercury liter, and also do not use copper or silver vessels, which will damage the skin.

Sometimes, after a moment's pause, she said: Ma'am, go to the Peciore Monastery and find the ascetic Asaf, I can't answer your question. She delivers babies, mediates family disputes, treats children, recites the dream of the Virgin Mary (it is said that a woman can get good luck if she can recite it), and introduces some common sense of daily life: When the cucumber should be pickled, it will tell you by itself, that is, it will be fine without the rusticity.Kvass [Note: Russians love a refreshing drink with a sour taste. 】The taste is only after fermentation, don't make it sweet, just put a little raisin.If sugar is added, a bucket of wine can be put at most half and two sugars.Kefir comes in many flavors: Spanish, Danubian, and Caucasian

I followed her around the yard all day long, and visited with her. Sometimes she sat in other people's homes for hours at a time, drinking tea and telling various stories.I always followed her, almost became her tail.In the memory of this period of life, except for this old lady who is busy all day long, my mind is blank. Once I asked my grandmother: Can you do witchcraft? She smiled, thought for a moment and said: Witchcraft is a science, it's very difficult, I can't do it, I can't read!Look at your grandfather, how smart he is, he can read, the Holy Mother didn't make me smart!

Then she told her own story: I was an orphan since I was a child, and my mother was poor and disabled!When she was a girl, she was frightened by the landlord. At night, she jumped out of the window and broke half of her body!Her right hand was atrophied.This is a fatal blow to a maid who sells lace for a living!The landlord drove her away.She wanders around and lives by begging.In those days people were richer than they are now, and the carpenters and lace weavers of Barahana were very kind.Every autumn, my mother and I stayed in the city to beg for food, and when the Archangel Gabriel drove away the winter with a wave of his sword, we continued to walk forward, wherever we could see.I have been to Murom, I have been to Yulevitz, I have walked upstream along the Volga River, and I have also walked along the quiet Oka River.After spring and summer, wandering on the earth is really a beautiful thing!The grass is fluffy, the flowers are in full bloom, breathing the sweet and warm air freely!Sometimes, mother closes her blue eyes and sings a song, the flowers and trees prick up their ears, the wind stops, and the earth hears her singing!Life as a vagabond was really fun, but as I grew up, my mother felt a little embarrassed to lead me around begging for food.So we stayed in the city of Barahana, and every day she went to the street to beg from door to door, and on festivals, she went to the door of the church to wait for people's alms.I just sat at home and learned to weave lace. I tried my best to learn it, and I wanted to learn it so that I could help my mother.In more than two years, I learned it, and the whole city became famous, and people came to me for handicrafts: Hey, Akaleya, knit something for me!I am very happy, like Chinese New Year!Of course, this is what my mother taught me.Although she has only one hand and cannot operate it, she is very good at pointing. You must know that a good teacher is more important than anything else!I couldn't help being a little complacent, and I said: Mom, you don't have to beg for food anymore, I can support you!She said: Shut up, you have to know, this is to save money for your dowry!Later, your grandfather appeared. Back then, he was an outstanding young man. He was only twenty-two years old, and he became the foreman of a large ship!Her mother examined me carefully, and she thought I was quite dexterous, a beggar's daughter, and very honest.She sells bread, she is very fierce, don't recall this, why should you recall the bad guys?God knows best.

Speaking of this, she smiled, her nose quivered ridiculously, and her eyes sparkled, which made me feel very kind. I still remember drinking tea with my grandmother in my grandfather's house one quiet evening. My grandfather was not in good health, and he was sitting on the bed without a shirt on, with a towel on his shoulder, and he had to wipe his sweat every once in a while.His voice was hoarse, his breathing was rapid, his eyes were dark and green, his face was purple, and his ears were terribly red!His hands trembled as he reached for the teacup.At this time, others also become docile:

Why don't you add sugar to me?His tone was like a spoiled child.Grandmother told him gently but firmly: Give you honey to drink, it's better for you! He was panting, drinking hot tea with a sip: Watch me carefully, don't let me die! All right, I'm careful! Alas, if I die now, it will feel as if I have never lived! Well, just lie down and stop thinking about it. He closed his eyes and was silent for a long time.Suddenly, as if pricked by a needle, he opened his eyes and said to himself: Yashika and Mihika want to get married soon, maybe the wife and kids can keep them quiet, don't you think?

So, he started talking about looking for a suitable girl in the city.Grandma sat there without saying a word, drinking black tea cup by cup.I sat by the window and looked up at the sunset in the sky. At that time, it seemed that because of some mistake, my grandfather forbade me to play outside the house. In the garden, beetles buzzed around the birch trees.The cooper in the next yard was at work, making a loud thud.There is also the sound of sharpening knives.In the valley outside the garden, children ran about in the bushes, and there was a constant noise flying over.A kind of melancholy at dusk welled up in my heart, and I really wanted to go outside to play.

Suddenly, my grandfather patted me and was very interested in teaching me how to read.In his hand was a small new book, which he had come from nowhere.Come on, kid, you guy with high cheekbones, what word is this? I answered. Ah, yes!what about this? I answered again. No, bastard! His roar resounded incessantly in the house: By the way, what about this? No, bastard! By the way, what about this? By the way, what about this? No, bastard! Grandmother interjected: "Old man, just lie down for a while!" Leave me alone!Only when I teach him how to read can he feel comfortable, otherwise he will always think wildly!Well, read on, Alexey!My grandfather put his hot arm around my neck, and the book was placed in front of me. He passed over my shoulder and pointed to the letters with his finger.The smell of sourness, sweat, and roasted onions on him made me breathless.But he just kept yelling those letters one by one!

The word is recognized, but the Cyrillic alphabet does not correspond to its name: like a worm, like Gregory the hunchback, like my grandmother and me, and my grandfather has something in common with all the letters of the alphabet.He read the alphabet backwards and forwards, asked questions along, backwards, and scrambled.I also got excited, my head was sweating, and I shouted with a long voice.He may have thought it was ridiculous, coughed, patted his chest, crumpled the book, and said in a hoarse voice: Old mother, listen to how high this kid's voice is!Hey, hey, you Astrakhan swinger, what are you yelling about?Um, what are you shouting for? didn't you shout I looked at him and then at my grandmother, feeling very happy.The grandmother put her arms on the table, pressed her fist to her cheek, and said with a smile: All right, stop shouting! Grandfather said gently: I yelled because I was not in good health, how about you?Why? He didn't wait for my answer, shook his sweaty head and said to grandma: The dead Netanlea said he had a bad memory, which is not true!You see, he remembers his way like a horse!Alright, nose up, keep reading! I read it aloud again.Finally he jokingly pushed me off the bed. All right, take this book away!Tomorrow you must read all the letters to me, and I will give you five kopecks if you get them right! I reach for the book.He pulled me into his arms and said sadly: Alas, your mother has left you to suffer, little devil! Grandmother trembled all over: Hey, old man, why are you bringing this up? I really don't want to say it, but I feel too uncomfortable!What a good girl, when I walked on that road, he suddenly pushed me and said: Go play, don't go to the street, just in the yard, in the garden I ran into the garden as if flying, and climbed up the hill.Wild boys throw pebbles at me from the valley, and I hit them back excitedly. Oh, here comes the boy, skin him!They saw me from a distance and cried out. One against a crowd, and especially one that can beat a crowd, is such a delight that the stones hit so well that they run off into the bushes.Everyone has no malice in this kind of battle, and there will be no enmity left. I learned to read and write very quickly, and my grandfather cared more and more about me, and rarely beat me.According to previous standards, in fact, he should hit me more often: because as I grew up day by day, I began to break more and more rules of conduct set by my grandfather, but he often just cursed twice and slapped me a few times That's all. I thought, he must have hit me wrong before, and it didn't make sense.I told him the idea. He gently lifted my chin up, raised my head, blinked, and asked in a long voice: What? Then he chuckled: You heathen!How do you know how many times I hit you?Get out! But he grabbed my shoulder again and stared into my eyes: Oh, I said, are you smart or stupid? I have no idea have no idea?OK, let me tell you.You have to learn to be smart, stupid is stupid, smart is smart!Sheep are stupid, but monkeys are smart!Well, remember!go play Soon I was able to spell out the Psalms, and I usually read the hymns after evening tea.I used a small stick to move back and forth on the book, reading, feeling boring, so I asked: The sage is Uncle Yakov, right? I will give you a head so that you can understand who is a sage!Grandfather blows his nostrils angrily.I'm used to his angry look, and I think it's just a bit of putting on. Look, am I right? After a while, he forgot about the unhappiness just now, and muttered: When he sang, he was like King David, but when he acted, he was like the vicious Absalom [Note: "Old Testament.In 2 Samuel, Absalom was the son of King David. He killed his brother and tried to usurp the throne, but he was defeated and died. 】!Ah, you can sing and dance, you can talk sweetly, jump and dance, how far can you jump? I stopped reading poems and listened carefully, looking at his gloomy face.He squinted and looked over my head, looking out the window, his eyes were sad and kind.He tapped his fingers on the table, his dyed nails gleamed, his blond eyebrows quivered. Grandpa! ah? Tell a story! Slacker, read it!He rubbed his eyes as if he had just woken up, preferring jokes to reading psalms But I think he prefers jokes to poetry.But he remembered almost all the psalms, and he swore to read a few verses aloud every night before going to sleep, like a deacon in church. I begged him repeatedly, and he finally gave in. Alright alright!Psalm is always on you, I'm about to go to God for judgment As he spoke, he leaned back on the embroidered backrest of the ancient easy chair, looked at the ceiling, and talked about old things: Long, long ago, a gang of bandits came.My grandfather's father went to the clock tower to ring the bell to call the police. The bandits caught up with him, hacked him to death with a saber, and threw him under the big clock.At that time, I was very young, so I don't remember.I was sensible in 1812, when I was just twelve years old.More than thirty French prisoners came from Barahna.They were all small and rags, worse than beggars, and they were all so froze that they could hardly stand.The common people surrounded them and wanted to beat them to death, but the escorting soldiers refused to let them go and drove the common people back home.But later, we all got to know these Frenchmen, they were happy people, and they sang a lot.Later, a large group of gentlemen came from Nijni, and they all came in three sets of carriages.Some of them beat and scolded the French in a very bad manner; others talked to them kindly in French, gave them clothes, and gave them back money.An elderly Frenchman cried: Napoleon has made the French suffer!Look at how good the Russians are, even the gentlemen have pity on us He was silent for a while, touched his head with his hand, trying to recall the past years, and then continued: In winter, a raging blizzard swept across the city, and it was so cold that people would freeze to death!The French captives would run under the windows of our house to dance, make noise, knock on the glass, and they would ask my mother for hot bread.My mother sells bread.She passed the bread out the window, and the Frenchman grabbed it and put it in his arms. It was fresh from the oven!They actually stuck to the meat all at once!Many French people just froze to death, they are not used to such cold weather.We have a bathroom in our garden, and in it live two Frenchmen, an officer and an orderly, the orderly called Millet.The officer was terribly thin, skinny to the bone, and wore a women's coat that reached only to his knees.He is very kind, but he is a drunkard.My mother secretly brewed beer and sold it. He always bought it, drank it, and sang when he was done.He learned some Russian, and often said: Ah, you are not white here, but black and vicious!We can understand what he said.Yes, our place is not as good as the lower reaches of the Volga, where it is much warmer, across the Caspian Sea, and there is no snow all year round. Neither the Gospel nor the Acts mentioned snow and winter, so Jesus lived there. After reading the poems, let’s read the Gospel! He stopped talking again, as if dozing off; he was thin and small, squinting and staring out the window, as if thinking about something. You speak!I quietly reminded him. Ah good!He flicked, and then said: France is also a human being, and has nothing less than us.They call my mother Madam, which means madam, ah, madam, madam, but our lady can carry five poods at a time.Thirty-eight kilograms. 】flour.Her inexhaustible strength is a bit scary. When I was twenty years old, she could still grab my hair and shake it effortlessly a few times.Miller, the orderly, is very fond of horses. He often goes to the yards of each house, gesturing to wash the horses for them!At first everyone was afraid that he had some bad ideas, but then the common people took the initiative to find him: Miller, wash the horses!At this time, he would smile, bow his head and follow along.He was a guy with red hair, a big nose, and very thick lips.Taking care of horses is his forte, and treating horses is also a must.Later, he worked as a horse doctor in Nijni, and soon after, he went mad and was beaten to death.In the spring of the following year, the officer also fell ill, on the anniversary of the spring god Nicholas [Note: May 9th. ] That day, he sat in front of the window with a heavy heart, stuck his head outside, and died.I cried secretly because he was so good to me.He used to grab my ear and talk kindly in French that I didn't understand.The closeness between people cannot be bought by money.I wanted to learn French from him, but my mother refused.She took me to the priest, who had someone beat me up and sue the officer.Oh baby, it was so hard back then, you didn't catch up, someone else took the blame for you It was completely dark.Grandfather seemed to suddenly grow bigger in the darkness, his eyes were shining like cats, his tone was fierce and fanatical, and he spoke much faster.This is how he talked about himself, contrary to his usual cautious and thoughtful state. I don't like his appearance very much, and I don't like him talking about himself.I was very reluctant to remember what he said, but it was imprinted in my memory indelibly. He blindly recalls the past, there are no fairy tales or stories in his mind, only the past, he doesn't like others to ask him questions, but I want to ask him: Ah, so who do you say, the French or the Russians? Who knows?I have never seen how the French live in their own homes! Well, how about the Russians? There are good ones and bad ones.Maybe people were better off in the slave era, when people were tied with ropes.Now, I am free, but I am so poor that I don't even have bread and salt.The gentlemen are naturally not very charitable, but they are all smart, and of course there are also fools, whose heads are like pockets, and whatever you put in them, they will go around. Are the Russians strong? There are many strong men, but only strength is useless, and agility is also needed, because no matter how strong you are, you can't beat a horse! Why did the French attack us? That's the business of the emperors, we don't know. What did Napoleon do? He is an ambitious man, he wants to conquer the whole world, and then he wants everyone to live the same life, there is no master or servant, no rank, everyone is equal, just with different names.Of course there is only one faith.This is nonsense!As far as things in the sea are concerned, only lobsters look the same and cannot be distinguished, but there are all kinds of fish: trout and catfish cannot get along, and sturgeon and herring cannot be friends.We have also sent Napoleon faction in Russia, what Racine.Stepan, Timofeev, what Bugach, Yemilyan, Ivanov He stared at me silently, his eyes wide open, as if seeing me for the first time.That's a little off-putting. He never talked to me about my father and mother. My grandmother used to come in when we were talking.She sat in the corner and didn't say a word for a long time, as if she was not there. But she would suddenly and softly interject: Old man, don't you remember, let's go to Murom Chaoshan, how nice it is?What year was that? The grandfather thought for a while and answered seriously: Yes, it was before the cholera epidemic, the year of the capture of the Oranitz in the woods? correct!we are still afraid of them That's right! I asked again: What do the people of Oranitz do?Why did they flee into the woods? Grandfather said impatiently: They are all ordinary people who escaped from factories and villages. How to catch them? Just like a child playing hide-and-seek, some run and others chase.If caught, they will be whipped with tree sticks, their noses will be broken, and their foreheads will be branded as marks of punishment. Why? It's hard to say, it's not something we want to understand. Grandmother said again: Father, do you remember?after the fire Grandfather has always been serious about everything, he asked solemnly: Which fire? They started reminiscing about the past together and forgot about me.They recalled word by word in a low voice, as if they were singing songs, all of which were not very happy songs: disease, sudden death, fire, fight, beggar, master You have seen it all!Grandfather grumbled. Never forget anything! Do you remember the spring after Voloya was born? Oh, it was 1848, the year of the Hungarian expedition, and Godfather Tikhon was taken to war the day after Christmas There will be no news from him in the future Grandma sighed. Yes Yes!However, since that year, the grace of God has continued to visit our home.alas volvola Come on, sir! Grandfather got angry, with a sullen face: What can I do?Our hard work is in vain, none of these children are promising! He couldn't help yelling, scolding his children, and waving his thin fist at his grandmother: It's all you!You've spoiled them, old wretch!He roared, ran to the icon, and beat his chest, God, is my sin so serious?Why? He was trembling all over, tears were pouring down like rain, and his eyes gleamed with grievance and viciousness. Grandmother crossed herself and comforted him in a low voice: You stop doing this!God knows why!You see, there are not many people who are better than our sons and daughters!Father, everyone's home is like this, noisy and messy, all parents are suffering from the same pain, not just you These words seemed to stabilize his mood, and he sat on the bed as if falling asleep. If it was the same as usual, I would be fine if I went back to the top floor to sleep with my grandmother, but this time my grandmother wanted to comfort him a few more words, so she walked to the bedside.The grandfather turned over suddenly, raised his fist and slapped the grandmother on the face.The grandmother staggered and almost fell down. She pressed her hand to the bleeding wound on her lip and said in a low voice: hey you big fool Then he spat a mouthful of blood on the front of his feet.He growled and raised his hand: Go away, I will kill you! Big fool!The grandmother said something again, and then walked towards the door without haste.Grandfather rushed towards her, she opened the door casually, and the door almost hit him in the face. Smelly old woman!Grandfather held the door frame with his hands and scratched it vigorously. I couldn't believe what I saw. This was the first time he hit my grandmother in front of me. I felt extremely humiliated!He was still scratching the door frame, and after a long, long time, he turned around in pain, walked slowly to the middle of the room, knelt down, leaned forward, straightened his upper body again, and beat his chest: God, God I ran out immediately.Grandmother was rinsing her mouth on the attic. Does it hurt?I asked my grandmother distressedly. She spat the water into the dirty bucket and said quietly: It's all right, just a broken lip! Why is he like this?I said angrily. She looked out the window and said helplessly: He always feels that everything is not going his way, so he loses his temper all the time, go to sleep, don't think about it I asked her again what, and she finally said sternly: Why are you disobedient, go to sleep! She sat down by the window, sucked her lips, and kept spitting blood into the handkerchief. I got into bed, undressed, and watched her.Stars shone through the blue windows above her head.The street was quiet and the house was dark.She came over, patted my head and said: Go to sleep, child, I have to go and see him, don't be too close to me, maybe I'm wrong to sleep too! She kissed me and walked out.I jumped off the bed, walked to the window, looked at the cold street outside, and felt extremely sad.