Week 4 北京折叠
清晨4:50，老刀穿过熙熙攘攘的步行街，去找彭蠡。
It is 4:50 in the morning, Lao Dao walks through the bustling street to Peng Li’s.
从垃圾站下班之后，老刀回家洗了个澡，换了衣服。白色衬衫和褐色裤子，这是他唯一一套体面衣服，衬衫袖口磨了边，他把袖子卷到胳膊肘。老刀四十八岁，没结婚，已经过了注意外表的年龄，又没人照顾起居，这一套衣服留着穿了很多年，每次穿一天，回家就脱了叠上。他在垃圾站上班，没必要穿得体面，偶尔参加谁家小孩的婚礼，才拿出来穿在身上。这一次他不想脏兮兮地见陌生人。他在垃圾站连续工作了五小时，很担心身上会有味道。
Getting off from the shift at the recycling station, Lao Dao went back home for a shower. He changed to a white shirt and brown pants——the only decent outfit he’s got. The cuffs of the shirt are already worn thin, so he rolled them up to his elbows. Lao Dao is now 48, and not married. He’s already passed through the age of concerning his appearance, and has no one to take care of his daily life. He has been keeping this outfit for years, and folds it neatly every time he’s finished wearing it. He works at a place where he does not have to wear nicely. Thus he only takes this outfit out when he has to attend a wedding ceremony or something like that. But this time, he feels the necessity for a change to meet this stranger. After the 5-hour shift at the recycling center, he begun to worry he may smell bad.
步行街上挤满了刚刚下班的人。拥挤的男人女人围着小摊子挑土特产，大声讨价还价。食客围着塑料桌子，埋头在酸辣粉的热气腾腾中，饿虎扑食一般，白色蒸汽遮住了脸。油炸的香味弥漫。货摊上的酸枣和核桃堆成山，腊肉在头顶摇摆。这个点是全天最热闹的时间，基本都收工了，忙碌了几个小时的人们都赶过来吃一顿饱饭，人声鼎沸。
The pedestrian street is full of people who were just getting off from work. There are people surrounding the stalls looking for local products, they shout the prices out in order to get a better deal. Around the plastic table, sitting people who are wolfing down hot and sour potato noddles, they have buried their faces into steams. The aroma of fried oil permeated the air, and hills of wild jujube and walnut are sitting on the stalls. Over the heads, swaying pieces of preserved ham. It is hard to find anyone who’s still at work at this time, making it the busiest hours of a day. The streets are bustling, full of people who have been working hours and crave for a big meal.
老刀艰难地穿过人群。端盘子的伙计一边喊着让让一边推开挡道的人，开出一条路来，老刀跟在后面。彭蠡家在小街深处。老刀上楼，彭蠡不在家。问邻居，邻居说他每天快到关门才回来，具体几点不清楚。
Lao Dao follows a waiter and fights his way across the crowd. The waiter’s holding plates and nudges his way through, shouting“coming through”! Peng Li’s place is located at the far end of the street. Lao Dao goes up the upstairs and knocks on the door, but no one answers. He asks Peng’s neighbor who says Peng won’t be back until the closing time, and it is not sure what time will it exactly be.
老刀有点担忧，看了看手表，清晨5点。他回到楼门口等着。两旁狼吞虎咽的饥饿少年围绕着他。他认识其中两个，原来在彭蠡家见过一两次。少年每人面前摆着一盘炒面或炒粉，几个人分吃两个菜，盘子里一片狼藉，筷子扔在无望而锲而不舍地拨动，寻找辣椒丛中的肉星。老刀又下意识闻了闻小臂，不知道身上还有没有垃圾的腥味。周围的一切嘈杂而庸常，和每个清晨一样。
Lao Dao appears to be a little bit concerned. He looks at his watch, which says 5 in the morning. He walks back to the building gate and waits longer, surrounded by young men who are gobbling their food. He has met two of them at Peng’s place before. Each of them are presented with a dish of chow mein or chow fun, with several sharing two side-dishes. There’s barely anything left in the plates, yet they are still trying to find some meat among the hot peppers. Lao Dao takes a smell at his forearms, checking if there’s still malodor from the garbage. Everything is noisy and ordinary in this neighborhood, just like any other day.
“哎，你们知道那儿一盘回锅肉多少钱吗？”那个叫小李的少年说。
“Hey, dudes! Do you know how much it will cost a dish of Sichuan style stew pork at that place?”Says the young man who’s called Xiao Li.
“靠，菜里有沙子。”另外一个叫小丁的胖少年突然捂住嘴说，他的指甲里还带着黑泥， “坑人啊。得找老板退钱！”
“Shit! I just found sand in this dish.”Another fatty one who is called Xiao Ding just shouts out, covering his mouth with hand, and the mud in his fingernails is visible,“It’s a rip-off! Let’s go to the boss and ask for refunds.”
“人家那儿一盘回锅肉，就三百四。”小李说，“三百四！一盘水煮牛肉四百二呢。”
“It costs 340 only for a dish of Sichuan style stew pork,”says Xiao Li,“340! For sliced beef in hot chili oil, it’s 420!”
“什么玩意？这么贵。”小丁捂着腮帮子咕哝道。
“What the hell! That’s unbelievable!”Xiao Ding muttered, holding his hand to his chin.
另外两个少年对谈话没兴趣，还在埋头吃面，小李低头看着他们，眼睛似乎穿过他们，看到了某个看不见的地方，目光里有热切。
The other two show no interest in this conversation and just keep eating with their heads down. Xiao Li looks down at them, but his eyes seem to have passed through them and reached somewhere invisible, with earnestness inside.
