公尚文集
李公尚，定居美國。打工養家糊口之餘，喜愛搬弄幾千中英文字，聊解歲月之歎。
深夜電話
李公尚
前不久，我去亞洲公務旅行，到達北京的第四天，因時差的原因，晚飯後不久在賓館房間的沙發上睡著了。一陣電話鈴聲把我吵醒，我瞥了一眼床頭桌上的電子表，已是深夜兩點多。我拿起電話，對方報上姓名，是一位朋友的女兒打來的。這位朋友家住四川，托我帶了幾份史料，說帶到北京後，他讓他在北京讀大學的女兒來取。他自豪地告訴我，她女兒是學新聞的，現正放寒假，將來畢業後做電視節目主持人。他說他女兒是那所學校百裏挑一的學生。
朋友的女兒在電話中說，她爸爸托我帶的東西，前兩天就讓她來取，她總忘記，因為她覺得她爸爸要得東西都是些老古董，沒什麽要緊的。剛才她突然想起來，怕再忘了，所以連夜給我打電話。她希望我明天中午給她送去，並告訴我她的住址。我一邊記錄她的地址一邊想：新聞和古董難得相互通融。我告訴她，晚飯後我和她爸爸通過電話，如果再不來取，我就打算把他要的資料直接寄給他。她女兒聽了說：“那更好，就請你直接寄給他吧，省得你多跑一趟，我也省得麻煩。”
放下電話不久，電話鈴又響了。我拿起電話，對方說：“請找任可欣。”任可欣就是半個小時前打電話來的那位朋友的女兒。通話的是位女士，帶有明顯的外地口音。我告訴她：任可欣不住在這裏。
對方告訴我，她在京廣中心飯店外的公用電話亭裏撿到一個手提包，裏麵有錢包、手機和iPad。手機沒電，錢包裏的證件上有任可欣的名字和像片，還有一張寫有我電話號碼的紙條。
我告訴對方：任可欣半個小時前曾給我打過電話，可能是用這個公用電話打的，手提包很可能是她丟的。請留下地址，我想辦法盡快通知她去取。對方猶豫了一下，讓我記下她的電話號碼，說：“我就在附近，她來取時打我的電話就行。可是過了早晨八點，我就離開了，我會把手提包交到附近的呼家樓派出所，她可以到派出所去取。”
放下電話，我通知服務台幫我訂了一輛出租車，匆忙穿好衣服下樓出門。天下著蒙蒙凍雨，上了出租車一問，要去的地址離我住的賓館較遠。我心裏奇怪，她深更半夜到京廣中心去幹什麽？京廣中心離我住的賓館隻有幾站公共汽車的車程，她既然已經到了京廣中心，為什麽不順便到我住的賓館來一趟？
任可欣給我的地址是一個小區裏的出租公寓。小區的保安陪著我，在她住的門外按了很長時間的門鈴，一個身穿睡衣的男人焦躁地把門打開一條縫，伸頭看了看，見是小區的保安，發火說：“半夜三更敲門幹嗎？你們保安吃多了撐的？想夜闖民宅入室搶劫啊？”保安指指我說：“這位先生想找任可欣，有急事……”
男人看了看我，學著一口京腔沒好氣地問：“你哪的？幹什麽的？知道不知道現在是深更半夜？有什麽急事不能等到明天？火燒房子了還是死人了？火燒房子找消防隊，死了人找救護車……”說著就要關門。我趕緊用腳頂住房門，告訴他任可欣的手提包丟了，現在有人找到了，讓她抓緊去取。
男人愣了一下，轉身回到房裏。過了一會兒，任可欣衣冠不整地出來，我向她說明來意，她吃驚地說：“我的手提包丟了？不可能吧？你是給我爸爸梢東西來的吧？不是說好你給他寄去嗎？我寒假不打算回家了，我在這裏有很多事要做呢。”
我把我接到電話的事對她說了一遍，她身後的男人說：“別是騙子吧！現在又不是雷鋒那年代，哪有拾金不昧的？”任可欣打斷他，對我說他是她的學長……同鄉……男朋友。她的男朋友說：“絕對是騙子，你的包一直是由我拿著來的……”
任可欣轉身回到房裏，找了一會兒，大聲喊道：“真的，我的手提包不在！我打電話時是你搶著要給我拿的！”男人說：“我……我當時去招呼出租車……和出租車砍價，可是……？”任可欣對他發怒道：“包裏有一萬多塊錢呢，是我這些天主持夜總會掙的……”任可欣轉向我：“給你打電話的那個女人是幹什麽的？怎麽會從深更半夜傻等到天亮？你說，那錢還能拿回來嗎？”
看著這對年輕人，我無言以對。陪在旁邊的保安說：“在京廣中心飯店，到早晨才離開，應該是幹我們這行的。一般保安撿到東西，都會交還給失主。”任可欣的男朋友說：“你們？交還失主？哼！那個女人為什麽隻說手提包裏有錢包、手機和iPad，不說錢包裏有錢？如果她把錢包裏的錢私吞了，說撿到時就沒有錢，誰能替我們證明！”任可欣狠狠瞪了男朋友一眼，說：“都怨你！整個晚上一直用手機玩兒遊戲，你的手機沒電了，又用我的玩兒！如果我的手機有電，也不會滿世界去找公用電話！”男朋友委屈地說：“我一直在用手機給你聯係業務…….”
我勸任可欣：“不妨先給撿到手提包的人打個電話問一下情況。”任可欣的男朋友說：“不要打電話，現在就直接去找她，免得打草驚蛇。”
我們找到京廣中心飯店外那個電話亭，周圍悄無聲息，見不到任何人。遠處幾個身影，是清潔工，剛才我們的出租車路過他們，他們正各自在鏟路邊下水道口的積冰。任可欣的男朋友掏出電話，按我記下的電話號碼撥過去，夜幕中幾十米外的一個街角處，隱約響起了電話鈴聲。我們相互對視了一眼，循著電話鈴聲找去。
街角的路燈下，一團黃色物體正在地上蠕動。走近一看，是一個身穿黃色雨衣的清潔工，正從下水道的豎井裏，頭朝下腳朝上地往外退。電話鈴聲正是從那裏發出的。
這名清潔工上身鑽進下水道的豎井裏，在用鏟子敲打裏麵的積冰。她從冰冷的泥水中爬起身，摘下破舊的手套，抹一把蓬頭垢麵的臉龐，去掏腰間的電話。借著燈光，我看清這是一位五十多歲的女人，雜亂花白的頭發貼在前額。她透過前額上流淌下的雨水，平靜地看著我們。我向她說明來意，她仔細看了看任可欣，沒有說話，轉身走向附近停著的一輛人力三輪車。她挪開車裏的工具，從底層拿出一個用幾層塑料袋仔細包裹的手提包，默默交給任可欣。
任可欣接過手提包，他的男朋友急不可耐地說：“快看看，錢還在不在。他們這些外地民工最貪錢……”
女清潔工汙濁滄桑的臉，頓時僵住了，悲蒼地看著我們，目瞪口呆。等任可欣和她男朋友查驗完手提包，她慢慢低下頭轉過身去，喃喃地說：“我想要錢，我通過幹活能掙，我每天都掙錢，沒想要別人的。”說著，戴上手套，趴到地上，默默將上身鑽進下水道內。
我不由一震，心中無限蒼涼。敢問：在這個最初以為底層最廣大勞動者謀幸福作為立國之本的國度裏，勞動者的後代還信奉“勞動者最高尚”嗎？
我憐憫地看著身邊的兩個年輕人。任可欣從手提包裏抽出一疊錢，撿起掉在泥水裏的塑料袋包好，對著清潔工大聲說：“謝謝你，大姐……這些錢……”
女清潔工用鏟子不停地敲打著下水道裏的冰塊，始終沒有抬起身來，甚至不回頭看一眼。
2012年2月17日
於美國弗吉尼亞
這段見聞的英文版發表在CNN網站和EPISODE網站。附錄英文版如下。我想，類似的事情曾發生在日本，有人記下發表後，讀者無不頌揚。現在同樣真實的事情發生在中國，中國人相信嗎？但無論如何我還是寫出來，傳開去，因為人們的生活中需要美好，也需要發現美好。願美好永存！
Calling at Night
By Li, Gongshang
Not long ago, I went to Asia for business travel. After four days of my arriving in Beijing，China, sometime after dinner I dozed off on sofa in my hotel room due to still the effect of time difference.
It was 2 o’clock AM while I glanced at e-clock on beside table when a phone ring woke me. I picked up the phone, it was the daughter of one of my Chinese friends who is a college student in one university of Beijing, connected me for fetching something for her father that I carried from US. Her father, my friend, living in Sichuan province, had asked me bring some stuff for his historiography studies during my travel to China, was always proud of his daughter，and stressed that the girl is studying journalism now and host will do after graduation in the future. I was told that his daughter is cream of the crop in the college. Now she was on her winter vacation.
The girl explained that her calling me at midnight is for her always being so absent-minded that she fluffed her connecting to me for fetching her father’s something, which she though not worth a fig, now she suddenly remembered to should; otherwise she would forget it soon.
She asked me send the fig that she called to her by the noon of the next day, and then told me her address. I jot down the address while I assumed rare the bones and the feathers could mutual accommodation between her father and her.
I told her that I just called her father after dinner time this evening; he agreed if you couldn’t show up by tomorrow, I would mail the stuff to him. The girl was so glad after the hearing, said: “Please! That so much the better, please directly to him. So you would save a lot of trouble and me either to.” Then she hung up me.
But the phone rang once more lately, I picked up the phone at, connected each other, the opposite end was a lady with heavy accent: “Could I talk to Miss Kexin Ren, please?” She said. Kexin Ren is the girl who called me for her father’s carry on half an hour before; I told her that Miss Ren is not here.
“I found a handbag in a public phone booth outside the entrance of the hotel Jing Guang Center,” the lady said: “the handbag with wallet, cell phone and iPad, the cell phone had no power, and some ID cards in the wallet have Miss Ren’s name and photo, still there is a note with your phone number now I called to.”
I told the lady Miss Ren phoned me half an hour ago, it must probably be the public phone by which she called me and the handbag in the booth was likely to be her. I asked the lady give an address and I would inform Miss Ren as soon as possible to get. “Well, I’m in the neighborhood,” The lady said after a little wavering: “when she coming, just call me, please.” She gave me her number: “But I have to leave by eight o’clock in the morning,” the lady added: “while I’ll give the handbag to police station Hujialou nearby, and she can pick it up there.”
The phone was hung up and I informed the front desk for booking a taxi right away, then got dressed and went downstairs to go out in a hurry. It was drizzly freezing rain, and the address I want to go was far from my hotel the taxi driver told. I wondered why Miss Ren came to Jing Guang Center at midnight. And Jing Guang Center only a few stops away from my hotel, since she had been there why not come to my hotel by the way?
I reached the address; Miss Ren lived in a neighborhood of apartments. One of the community security guards with me rang the doorbell outside the residence until a man in a nightgown testily opened the door a crack. The man headed out to look at, while he found it was a security guard outside, shouted angrily: “you a not nosed bastard had enough support! Are you trying to house robbery?” The escort pointed at me: “It is emergency call; this gentleman needs to talk with Miss Ren.”
Talk to Miss Ren?” the rude man howled with some accent while copied Beijing accent: “Who hell are you? Gentleman! And where you stupid come over? Don’t you know it is damned deep night right now? Someone is dead or something is afire? Get out of here bastard and call either ambulance or fire brigade if happened one of the both!”
I resisted the closing door with my foot while the young man was discourteously about to close the door, and told him: “Kexin Ren had lost her handbag and was found by somebody now; she had to go fetching it.
The man got an awkward pause after my words, and then turned back in the room. After a while Miss Ren came into view with a sloppy joe. I explained to her the reason I was there while she was gawking at me. “I lost my handbag?” She said with surprise: “How it comes? You are just taking something for my dad, right? Hadn’t I gotten your consent for your mailing it to my dad directly? But you know I’m not intending to go back home during my winter holiday, I have a lot of work to do.”
I told her the whole thing about the strange call I got, the man behind her scrambled to say: “it must be crooks! Now is not an age of revolutionary heroes, where have so much great?” Kexin Ren introduced the man behind her with embarrass: “this is my……schoolmate……fellow townsman…..actually, boyfriend.”
Miss Ren turned back to the room for a while and soon shouted: “Yes, my bag is not there, I did find it nowhere, it’s gone! She moaned at her boyfriend: “It was you who jostled to take my handbag while I was calling in phone booth.”
“I…..I was going to call taxi then,” Ren’s boyfriend disputed with her: “I was busy to bargain with the driver then…… and……”
“There was more than ¥10,000 in my handbag!” Miss Ren shouted angrily: “it was my earnings that I hosted nightclubs these days.”
Her boyfriend seemed seeing a wolf with opened mouth. Miss Ren turned to me looked very prickly: “What is the woman who called you? Why would she be so silly waiting to me at midnight till dawn? Do you think I can get the money back from her?”
To the tow young guys, I could say nothing. “Jing Guang Center, to leave in the morning,” The community security guard beside me took the words: “I think the lady should be a security guard just like me. Generally, for security reason, each of the security guards picks up something would definitely return them to its owner.”
“Do you? Returned to owner?” Ren’s boyfriend said contemptuously: “Why did the woman mention only the purse, cell phone and iPad in the handbag, but never talked about there still are so much money in the wallet? If she pocketed the money and told there was no money inside the bag, who can testify for us?”
“It was all you made so much trouble!” Miss Ren glared her boyfriend and quarreled heatedly: “you used mobile phone playing games all night till your phone dead, and then continued playing by my cell phone. If my cell phone had power, never did I to find public phone all over.” Her boyfriend wrong to excuse: “I’ v been contacted business for you by the cell phone……”
“Perhaps you should call the lady who picked up your bag to ask first.” I advised Kexin Ren. “No! Don’t!” Ren’s boyfriend snapped back: “don’t call her now! We should go direct to her immediately, lest the sleeping dogs lie.”
Three of us went to find the phone booth outside the Jing Guang Center, where was silence by surrounded and not to see any person. Several figures in the distance, we took a taxi just passed by them, who were a few cleaners, were shoveling ice chunk mounted up on roadside sewer drain.
Ren’s boyfriend dialed the lady who had left the number; it seemed there was vague ring voice come over from a corner of a street dozens of meters away. Three of us looked at each other, and followed the ring reached there.
At the corner under a street lamp, a yellow body was squirming on the ground; we approached it while saw a cleaner in a yellow raincoat was drawing back her upper body out from the sewer chimney drain. The phone ring was out there.
The cleaner was breaking down the lump ice with a shovel while put her upper body into the chimney drain. She crawled up and got out of the cold water on the ground, took off her worn out gloves, wiped her dirty face with the back of her hand and then touched her cell phone in her waist.
By the light, I saw this is a woman about 50 years plus old, with some thin messy gray hair on her forehead. She watched three of us friendly through the rain water flowing down on her face. I explained the reason that we looked for her, she looked thoroughly at Kexin Ren, did not say any words, and soon turned into a rickshaw which parked nearby. She moved some working tools in the top of the cart and took out a handbag covered with several plastic bags, silently handed over to Kexin Ren.
Kexin Ren received the handbag while her boyfriend was eager to push: “Check it immediately, to see if the money still be there! These migrant workers are usually the greediest for money.”
Suddenly, the face in cleaner was straight and stiff with mess and hoary, she looked at us dumbfounded. After both Kexin Ren and her boyfriend checked on the handbag, the cleaner slowly lowed her head and turned away, murmured: “I need money, but I can earn it through my work, I make money every day, didn’t mean to others.” With the words, she put on her gloves, and lying on the ground, silently put her upper body into the sewer.
There was a great shock and countless sadness in my heart, I watched the both young guys with pity. Kexin Ren then took a bundle of money from her handbag and wrapped it with the plastic bags she picked up from dirty water, spoke to the cleaner: “I thank you, lady……this money……”
The cleaner kept banging on the ice in the drain with a shovel, and never lift up, didn’t even looked back over us.
February 16th , 2016
Arlington Virginia
