Joyful Moments in Oxford

By Xia Mo

In Oxford, England, Yang Jiang encountered twists and turns in her life, yet she stayed optimistic, saying that even when life was tough, one should learn to console oneself.

An Unexpected Fall in Oxford

When they were in Oxford, the couple, Yang Jiang and Qian Zhongshu shared an apartment with two single medical experts at the Old Jin’s home. The apartment manager would help clean up the room and provided three meals and an afternoon tea.They didn’t need to worry about trivial things and had plenty of time to enjoy classics of all kinds.

While living there, Qian Zhongshu had a bad fall and smashed one of his front teeth.When he came back home covering his mouth with a big handkerchief, Yang Jiang was shocked. “Blood was all over the handkerchief and in his mouth,”she said.“When I opened the handkerchief, half of the broken tooth fell out. Fortunately, our roommates were both doctors,who told us to look for a dentist as soon as possible, so that he could have the broken tooth removed and get a false one put in its place.”

This bloody incident ended up with a false tooth in Qian Zhongshu’s mouth and a hardwon lesson.

The bedroom was very small,which made life inconvenient.On the other hand, sharing a bathroom and toilet with others could also be an awkward experience sometimes. To make things worse, the food provided by the landlord was also getting worse and worse, which made it very uncomfortable for Qian Zhongshu, who had a picky stomach.

Since he couldn’t appreciate the taste of cheese and Western food,Yang Jiang saved her own foods for him, but he was always still hungry. The sight of her husband withering away made Yang Jiang feel uneasy, and she started looking for a new place, planning to move out.

一切从牛津开始

文/夏墨

在英国牛津，杨绛的生活也有各种波折起伏，但她乐观地说，即使生活再不如意，也要学会自我慰藉。

在牛津摔了一跤

在牛津时，她和钱钟书在“老金家”公寓与两位单身医学专家同住。公寓管理员会帮忙收拾房间，还提供一日三餐和下午茶。他们不用为生活操心，有充裕时间享受琳琅满目的文学经典。

到牛津不久，钱钟书摔了一跤，磕掉大半个门牙。当他用大手绢捂着嘴回到家时，杨绛吓了一跳：“手绢上和嘴里全是鲜血，抖开手绢，落下半枚断牙。幸好同寓都是医生，他们教我们赶快找牙医，拔去断牙，然后再镶假牙。”

一场带血的闹剧以假牙收场，或许，对钱钟书来说，这是一次血的教训。

卧室太小，起居总不方便，公用浴室、厕所也偶遇尴尬。另外，公寓的伙食也越来越糟，这对饮食保守的钱钟书来说，很是折磨。

钱钟书受不了干酪、西餐一类的洋味儿，杨绛便把她能吃的通通省下来给他，但他依然填不饱肚子。看着丈夫日渐消瘦，杨绛心疼，便张罗起搬家的事儿，一个人偷偷地找起了房子。

伙食也是冒险

杨绛去看了好几处房子，都不太满意，不是偏远，就是太贵。她忽然想起曾经在牛津大学附近看到一座三层洋楼上贴着招租启事，便决定去碰碰运气。

到那里时，启事不见了。她深吸一口气，敲门想问个究竟。门开了，女主人将她打量一番，带她到二楼看房。卧室、起居室、厨房、厕所、阳台……看着一应俱全的设施，杨绛动了心。另外，这套居所是与其他房间隔离开的，可由花园小门直接出入，这意味着完全的独立和私密。

环境幽雅，租金合适，最重要的是，离学校和图书馆近，她相信，钱钟书一定会喜欢。

果然，钱钟书看到房子时，喜出望外。他们搬进了新居所，有了属于他们的私密空间。

搬进新家后，两个从未做过饭羹的年轻人开始为吃饭发愁。有一次，钱钟书想吃红烧肉，杨绛买回肉，用剪子剪成方块状，丢进锅里使劲煮，汤煮干又加水，可这锅“顽固的犟肉”怎样都没煮烂，第一次做红烧肉以失败告终。事后，杨绛想起母亲做橙皮果酱时用文火，于是第二次做红烧肉时，她开始试着小火慢炖，还买了瓶雪莉酒当黄酒使用。红烧肉总算是做成了，钱钟书吃得酣畅淋漓。

钱钟书与杨绛 Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998, Chinese scholar and writer) and his wife Yang Jiang (1911-2016, playwright, author, and translator)

Baffling Cooking

Yang Jiang had a look at sev eral houses to no avail, since those places were either too remote or too expensive, neither of which was satisfactory. Then she remembered that she had once seen a “for rent” notice on a three-story building near Oxford University, and she decided to go and try her luck.

She got there only to find the notice gone. Taking a deep breath,she knocked, and a woman opened the door. The hostess eyed her carefully before letting her in.Yang Jiang looked at the second floor and felt herself pining for what she saw in the bedroom,living room, kitchen, toilet, and balcony. Additionally, the suite was separated from other rooms and could be accessed directly from the garden gate, which meant complete independence and privacy for them.

The environment was tranquil and the rent was within their budget. Most importantly, it neighbored the campus and library, which she believed Qian Zhongshu would appreciate the most.

Sure enough, when Qian Zhongshu came to the house, he was overjoyed. They moved into the new home and finally had their own private space.

After moving into their new home, the young couple who had never done any cooking in their life began worrying about their meals. Once, Qian Zhongshu wanted to eat braised pork. Yang Jiang bought meat, cut it into cubes with scissors, threw it into the pot, and boiled it. When the soup was boiled dry, she added more water and continued the boiling process. But this pot of“stubborn meat” just wouldn’t get soft. Her first effort with braised pork ended in failure.

Afterwards, Yang Jiang remembered when her mother made orange peel jam, she just let it simmer. So, the second time when she tried, Yang Jiang had the meat simmer gently on a small fire. She even got a bottle of sherry to use as yellow wine, which she’d seen used for cooking back home.This time she had success with braised pork and Qian Zhongshu had his feast.

Yang Jiang was enthusiastic about life and always maintained her optimism. Later, she applied the same simmering method to chicken and lamb, which all turned out not bad, even when simmered in plain water.

From Amateur to Gourmet Chef

At the very beginning, the couple just boiled their vegetables. Once,Yang Jiang recalled the way her mother used to stir fry vegetables,she tried replicating that from memory. The taste ended up quite well, or at least better than boiling, so she began to stir fry vegetables.

One day, the grocery store delivered lentils, which neither of them recognized. They peeled and complained about their small size seeds and thick shells. Later,they figured maybe the shells were also edible. Yang Jiang tried to simmer them, and the result was delicious.

On another day, they bought live shrimp. Yang Jiang said confidently, “We need to cut off their tentacles and feet.” She then picked up scissors and began to cut. The live shrimp twitched in her hands, frightening her into throwing the shrimp across the room, running out of the kitchen,and yelling, “The shrimp is hurting too much.”

Her words amused Qian Zhongshu a lot.

The couple responded to their daily problems in their own way.Their cooking skills got better and better, which Yang Jiang jokingly reflected was like walking from the wilds into civilized society.

杨绛对生活充满热忱，始终保持着乐观的心态，后来做鸡肉、羊肉，她都如法炮制，用文火慢炖，竟然发现白煮也颇为可口。

从原始走入文明

刚开始，他们是把蔬菜煮着吃的。一次，杨绛按着记忆里母亲炒菜的模样，开始清炒起来，竟发现味道不错，至少比煮的好吃，于是她试着炒蔬菜。

一次，商店给他们送来扁豆，两人都不知道这是什么，一边剥皮还一边抱怨壳厚豆小。后来，他们琢磨，兴许这扁豆就是吃壳的呢，于是杨绛试着焖了一下，还挺不错。

还有一次，他们买了些活虾，杨绛内行地说：“得剪掉触须和脚。”她拿起剪刀剪了下去，这一剪，活虾便开始在她手里抽搐，吓得她把虾扔出老远，逃出厨房，大喊：“虾，痛得抽抽了。”

她的话逗乐了钱钟书。就这样，两人不断应对着生活难题。饭菜做得有模有样了，杨绛更是戏称自己从原始人走入文明社会。

杨绛也遇到过令人哭笑不得的意外。一个初春的清晨，她送钱钟书出门上课，回屋时，一阵风把门锁上了，而她忘了带钥匙……杨绛想找锁匠，奈何身上没带钱，想尽办法才从气窗下沿钻了进去。

早饭前、晚饭后，他们会牵着手，慢慢走着，不管道路通往何方，也不管遇到什么样的风景。自得其乐间，他们忘掉了陌生，忘掉了不愉快，只余快乐蔓延。

（摘自《生于优秀归于优雅：做杨绛一样的女子》中国华侨出版社）

Yang Jiang also encountered many funny accidents. One morning in early spring, she walked Qian Zhongshu out to campus. When she returned to her house, a gust of wind slammed the door shut, while her key was still left inside. She wanted to find a locksmith, but she didn’t have any money on her, so she did the next best thing: squeezing in through the window.

The couple always went for a walk, hand in hand, before breakfast or after dinner. No matter where the path led,or what kind of scenery was in front of them, they always enjoyed whatever they saw.With a joyful attitude towards life, they forgot the strangeness and unpleasantness they had encountered living in the foreign land. The only thing left was happiness.

(FromBorn to Elegance and Excellence: Be a Woman like Yang Jiang,China Overseas Press.Translation: Lu Qiongyao)