Who Really Wins in Life?

By Wang Caiqing

On a bus to the heaven,two souls from men who died at the same time happened to meet. They found each other familiar because they were childhood playmates, but they hadn't seen each other in decades, as they pursued different lifestyles after high school.

One of them was a celebrated academic at the international Academy of Sciences; the other was a lifelong fisherman back in their hometown.

As their bus ride continued,they both recalled many events from the past. “We were only 17 when you left the village where we grew up,” the old fisherman said,“But where did you go?”

“I went to a big city to find a part-time job while looking for some bigger opportunities. I was so lucky that I was accepted into the night class program at a university. A few years later, I was in an overseas study program funded by the government.”

The fisherman sighed while nodding his head, “Oh, I got married before I turned 20.”

“After I finished my education abroad, I couldn't afford to do anything but stay there, doing some painstaking research in order to pay off my tuition debts. You know—even locals themselves hated the job!”

The fisherman glanced at him, full of pity, “I took over my father's fishing boat and started my own fishing business.”

“It's really hard to work as a scholar. Even after more than ten years of efforts, with all my hair turning grey, my research was not valued at all.”

“As a fisherman, my life was so easy and free. When I didn't go out fishing at sea, I spent my leisure hours drinking tea,chatting, and playing chess with my fellow villagers.”

“It wasn't until several years before I died when all my work eventually paid off, as it turned out to be of great value. My patent brought me great fortunes to feed several generations,” the academic paused, letting out a long-drawn sigh as he gazed at his old friend, “Now, as I think back,I realize that you are smarter than me.”

“That's enough, pal! I am smarter? How so? You achieved stunning accomplishments with a lifetime of hard work,” the fisherman replied, with a loud laugh, “But a fisherman was only a fisherman, as I was all my life—a bag of lazybones.”

“Anyway, as you were, you just enjoyed your life,” the academic said in envy, “Even though my achievement was globally recognized, with generations of wealth earned, what's the point of all that? I can live a life only once.”(From Acting on God's Wishes, Behaving against Human Nature, Haitian Press.Translation: Wang Wen)

谁比谁聪明

文/汪采晴

在前往天堂的巴士上，有两个同时结束生命旅程的灵魂相遇了。他们都觉得对方很眼熟，原来两人是从小一起长大的玩伴，只是在高中以后，因为各自发展，几十年没有见过面。

他俩一个是任职于国际级科学院的院士，一个则是留在家乡捕了一辈子鱼的渔夫。

在巴士上，两人聊起许多往事。当渔夫的老人说：“我们是同一个村子长大的，你离开村子的时候，我们都只有十七岁，后来你到哪儿去了啊？”

“我到大城市一边打工一边找机会，竟然考上了一所大学的夜间部，几年后又考上公费留学，到国外去读书。”

渔夫点点头，说：“唉，我不到二十岁就结了婚。”

“我在国外读完书后，为了还欠下的学费债务，只好留在当地，做当地人嫌辛苦的研究工作。”

渔夫同情地看了他一眼，说：“我继承了父亲的渔船，开始捕鱼。”

“学者的路真不好走，辛苦了十几年，我的头发都白了，研究成果还是得不到重视。”

“渔夫的生活倒是挺悠闲的，不用出海捕鱼的时候，我总和村人喝茶、聊天、下棋。”

“一直到我死前几年，因为业界发现我的研究大有用途，我耗费一生的辛苦终于得到回报。我申请的专利，给我带来了几辈子都用不完的财富。”说到这里，做研究的学者看着多年不见的儿时玩伴，叹了一口气，说，“想来想去，还是你比较聪明。”

渔夫大笑，说：“我算哪门子的聪明？你用一生换来不凡的成就，而我用了一辈子偷懒，到死都还只是个渔夫。”

学者羡慕地说：“至少你偷了一辈子的闲，也算是享受到了啊。就算我的研究得到全世界的认同，赚到了几世的财富，又有什么用？我只能活一辈子啊。”

（摘自《顺天意做事，逆本性做人》海天出版社）