An Old Couple

By You Jin

There was an old couple who lived in a small village in Tianjin Bay,Shandong Province, nourishing each other for many years.

In autumn, when a big gourd was picked from thefield, the old lady put it on a tall wooden stool and positioned it with her hands as her husband cut it off with a saw. They wanted to make a ladle to scoop water for their daily use.

Resting, they sat against a pile of sunburnt corn. The old lady scratched the old man’s itchy back. “Up a little bit. A little bit more. That’s it!” he said

At the age of six, the old lady had to follow the tradition of binding her toes into the shape of snails. Generally after a busy day of farming, the old lady would put her three-inch “golden lotuses” on her husband’s knee, and he would bow his head down, trimming her stone-hard toenails with great care and patience.

When hisfinger was carelessly pricked by a thorn while working,the old lady would put on her presbyopic glasses and pick the thorn for him carefully. The old man joked, “You’re not picking a thorn. You’re digging a pit or cutting a tree.”

The old lady would reply in a low, slow voice, “I’m too old and blurred to see it clearly.”

On one Spring Festival, the old lady suffered from her lung disease and was hospitalized.The old man sat alone in the hall,poorly attended and crestfallen.When the old lady’s condition improved, the old man could not wait to rush into the hospital room. The old lady sat on the bed.He sat beside her, and wiping away his tears, he said, “We have been married for sixty-eight years.This is the first time we haven’t spent the New Year together.”

On the 70th anniversary of their marriage, their son bought an air ticket for the couple to travel to Beijing. The old lady,who was flying for the first time,was horribly jittery. The old man pretended to be a hero with an indomitable spirit and held her hands to ease her. After arriving in Beijing, the old couple, with four legs and two crutches,printed their footprints all over the capital, hand in hand.

They grew older, and one day the old man pressed the heavy coffin he had prepared and told the old lady, “You have endured a lot with me all your life. I’ll leave this coffin for you, and make a thin one for myself.”

The old lady beamed with satisfaction and said to everyone she met, “I haven’t wasted a lifetime with a carpenter.”

山东天津湾的一个小村里住着一对老夫妻，多少年相濡以沫。

秋天，从地里摘回来的一个大葫芦。老妪把大葫芦搁在高脚木凳上，用手摁住，老翁则用锯子把它锯开做一个舀水的瓢，物尽其用。

闲来无事时，两人坐在一长串曝晒着的玉米底下，老妪为老翁挠背。老翁说：“往上点儿，再往上点儿，你听见了吗？”

老妪6岁缠足，趾甲长成了蜗牛的样子。忙完农事后，老妪把三寸金莲放在老翁膝上，老翁低着头，很用心地为她修剪那坚硬如石的趾甲。

老翁干活时，手指不小心扎进了刺，老妪戴上老花镜，细心地为他挑。挑疼了，老翁便嚷道：“你这哪里是挑刺呢，简直是挖坑、刨树嘛。”老妪细声慢语：“老了，眼花了，看不清了。”

将近春节时，老妪的肺病发作，住进了医院，老翁孤孤单单地坐在冷冷清清的大厅里，没精打采。老妪的病情好转了，老翁迫不及待地赶往医院。老妪坐在床上，老翁坐在床边一边抹泪一边说：“咱俩结婚68年，这可是头一回不在一块儿过年啊。”

老翁和老妪结婚70周年时，儿子买了飞机票，让他俩到北京旅游。第一次乘飞机的老妪十分紧张，老翁则像个顶天立地的好汉，握着她的手安抚她。抵达北京后，两个老人，四条腿、两根拐杖，他们手牵着手，把足迹印在京城各处。

两人日趋衰老，老翁抚着收藏在家里的那口厚重的棺木，对老妪说：“你跟着我受了一辈子苦，这口棺材留给你吧。俺再做口薄的给自己。”老妪露出了心满意足的笑容，逢人便说：“俺没白跟当木匠的过一辈子啊。”