Chapter 6 Chapter Four

For the next forty-five minutes I guarded Barbara's dressing awning as she received patrons.Only five people are willing to pay the price of two yuan, and they proudly line up.The first one gasped and moaned for seven minutes, came out and hurriedly covered his crotch, staggered away, and the next one went in. After the last guest had left, Barbara appeared at the door, naked except for an oriental silk gown without a belt.Her hair was disheveled, her lipstick was smudged, and she held a lit cigarette between her fingers. "That's it, honey," she said, waving me away.There was whiskey in her mouth and in her eyes. "I'm not entertaining you for free tonight."

I went back to the Kutch showroom to pack the chairs and help dismantle the stage while Cecil counted the bills.After work, I had an extra dollar of property in my name and my body was sore. The big tent was still on, and the dimly lit gymnasium was vibrating with the sound of music.I stared at the canopy and listened blankly to the voices of the audience.They laughed, clapped their hands, whistled, sometimes gasped together, and sometimes the whole audience screamed nervously.I look at my pocket watch.Nine forty-five. I wondered if I should go to the show, and was afraid that if I went through the scene, I would be arrested for work.The handymen casually find a corner to take a nap when they are free during the day, and now dismantling the city of canvas is as fast as building it.The tent lay flat on the ground, the stands toppled over.Horses, wagons, and laborers were on the grounds struggling to get everything back on the rails.

I sat down on the ground and rested my head on my knees. "Jacob, is that you?" I looked up, and Lao Luo limped over and looked at me sideways. "Boy, I'll say it's you. My old eyes aren't working." He slowly sat down next to me, pulled out a small green bottle, uncorked it, and drank. "That old bone's gone, Jacob. My back hurts every day when I'm done. I'm sore right now, and I'm not done for today. The Flying Squad doesn't start for another two hours. After another five hours, I have to do it all over again. This kind of life is not suitable for old people."

He handed me the bottle. "What the hell is this?" I stared at the disgusting liquid. "Ginger wine." He took it back. "You drink this stuff?" "Yeah, how?" We were silent for a moment. "God's prohibition on alcohol." Lao Luo finally said, "This thing tastes okay, but the government decided to make it bad. It still has the effect of drinking, but the taste is disgusting. Really bad As the saying goes, my old bones are relying on this to survive. I'm going to be useless, and I won't be able to do anything except sell tickets, but I'm too ugly to see people."

I looked at him and he was right. "Then do you have anything else to do? Backstage perhaps?" "Selling tickets is the end." "What are you going to do when you can't work?" "I'll probably go to Blackie to figure it out. Hey, do you have any cigarettes?" He looked at me hopefully. "No, sorry." "I guess so." He sighed. We sat quietly, watching group after group of people painstakingly get equipment, animals, canvas back to the train.Artists came out from behind the tent, disappeared into the dressing tent, and changed into casual clothes when they came out again.They stood in groups, laughing and laughing, some of them were still wiping off their makeup.Even without show clothes, the artist still exudes charm, while the workers around are running around unkempt, in the same universe as them but not in the same quadrant.Artists and workers do not offend the river.

Lao Luo interrupted my meditation. "You are college students?" "yes." "I think so too." He tossed the medicinal wine at me again, and I shook my head. "Have you finished reading?" "No." I said. "Why didn't you study until graduation?" I said nothing. "How old are you, Jacob?" "twenty-three." "I have a son as old as you." The music stopped, and the villagers began to come out of the tent in twos and threes.They paused, wondering what had happened to the animal tent they had passed on their way in.Just as they were coming out the front door, a procession entered from the back, unloading stands, seats, and performance area ties, and loading them into wagons noisily.Before the audience had even left, the workers began to dismember the tent.

Lao Luo coughed turbidly, until his bones shook.I turned to see if I needed to pat him on the back, but he held up a hand to stop me.He snorted again, cleared his throat again, spit again, then drank some medicinal wine, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looked at me, from head to toe. "Listen, I'm not trying to find out about you, but I can see clearly that you haven't been out for long. You are too clean, your clothes are too good, and you have nothing. Homeless people will accumulate along the way. Possessions, maybe not a good thing, but you will still keep them by your side. I know I am not qualified to speak, but a child like you should not come out to wander. I have been a wanderer, and that kind of life is not for humans." His forearm Resting on your knees, your face turned to me, "If you still have a home, I think you should go back."

I was stunned for a moment before opening my mouth, and my voice changed as soon as I opened my mouth. "I don't have a home." He looked at me for another moment, then nodded, "What a pity." The crowd dispersed, from the tent to the parking lot, and then continued on, back to the town and the market.A balloon popped up from behind the canopy and rose into the sky, followed by the long cry of a child.I heard laughter, engines, voices raised in excitement. "She can bend like that, can you believe it?" "When the clown's pants came down, I thought I was going to die laughing."

"Where's Jimmy? Hank, is Jimmy with you?" Lao Luo suddenly staggered to his feet. "Ho! There he is, and there's the old bastard." "Who is it?" "It's Uncle Ailan! We have to help you finalize the errand." He jumped forward faster than I expected.I stood up and followed. Uncle Ailan was easy to recognize, with a scarlet jacket, white breeches, a tall hat, and a waxed beard. From head to toe, he was dressed like a troupe master.He strode across the arena as if leading a band in a parade, belly out in front of him, and boomed his orders.He stopped to let the lion cage push past him, and then continued walking, passing a group of people who were struggling with the rolled up canvas, and slapped one of them in the face without stopping, and the man called out to look back, But Uncle Ailan had already left, followed by a group of people.

"This reminds me, no matter what, don't mention the Linling Circus in front of Uncle Ailan." Lao Luo turned to me and said. "why not?" "No, no, no." Lao Luo hurriedly caught up with Uncle Ai Lan and ran in front of him. "Uh, you're here," he said, in a voice that sounded like a kitten meowing. "I wonder if I could talk to you, sir?" "I'm not free right now, boy, I'm not free." Allen said in a loud voice, walking away like a Nazi soldier in a rough newsreel in a movie theater.Lao Luo limped and chased weakly, tilted his head to one side, and finally fell behind the team, chasing people like an abandoned puppy.

"Sir, just for a moment. I was just wondering, I don't know which department is owed." "You want to change errands?" Lao Luo's voice rose like a siren, "No wow, sir, it's not me. I like my job. Absolutely, sir, like it, that's it." He giggled like a maniac. The distance between them stretched.Lao Luo staggered and finally stopped. "Sir?" He called to Uncle Ailan who was walking further and further away, "Sir?" Uncle Ailan was gone, hidden among the crowd, horses, and caravans. "Damn it. Fuck it!" Lao Luo said, grabbing his hat and throwing it on the ground. "It's okay, Lao Luo, thank you for your dedication to me." "Who said it doesn't matter." He shouted. "Old Luo, I—" "Stop talking, I don't want to listen. You're a good boy, and I won't let you go just because that fat pighead doesn't have time. I won't let that happen, so, you Be respectful to the elderly, and don't cause trouble for me." His eyes were on fire. I leaned over and picked up his hat, dusted it off, and handed it back to him. After a moment, he took the hat and said fiercely, "Well, I think it's all right." Lao Luo took me to a caravan and told me to wait outside.I leaned on the wheels that had been fixed, picking the dirt under my nails for a while, and pulling weeds for a while to chew, to pass the time.At one point I dozed off, nearly falling asleep. Lao Luo came out an hour later, crooked, holding a flask in one hand and a rolling cigarette in the other, his eyes half-opened and half-closed. "Here's Earl. He'll cover you." He lisps, waving his hand behind him. A bald man got out of the wagon, a heavy build with a neck bigger than his head.Faint green tattoos ran from the knuckles to the furry arms.He held out a hand to shake mine. "Hello," he said. "Hello," I said, confused.I turned around to look at Lao Luo, who was staggering across the green grass, generally heading in the direction of the Feitian Brigade.He was humming a tune, which was ugly enough. Earl put his hands around his mouth: "Stop singing, Lao Luo! Get on the train quickly, if you are late, be careful that people will abandon you and drive away!" Lao Luo knelt down on the ground. "Oh my god. Hold on, I'll be right back," Earl said. He walked over and picked up the old man as easily as if he were a child.Lao Luo let his arms, legs, and head hang out of Earl's arms, giggling and sighing. Earle put Lao Luo at the door of a carriage, discussed with someone inside, and then came back. "That thing will kill the old man," he murmured, walking straight up to me. "Even if his guts weren't rotting, he'd roll off that stinky train and fall to his death. I don't touch that," he said, looking back at me. I'm still standing where he left me. He looked surprised, "Are you coming or not?" After the last train moved, I squatted under a bunk in the sleeping car, squeezed together with another person.He owned the place, and we persuaded him to let me hang out there for an hour or two for a dollar.Still, he grumbled on and on and on, and I hugged my knees as hard as I could to keep my seat out of the way. The compartment was stank, full of the stench of dirty bodies and clothes.There are three floors of bunks, one bed sleeps at least one or two people, and people sleep under the bed.The guy sleeping on the floor across from me was flapping a thin gray blanket in a futile attempt to shape it into a pillow. A Polish sentence came out of the miscellaneous voices: "Ojczenaszktprysjestwniebie, swiecsieimieTwoje, przyjdzkrolestwoTwoje—" (Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.) "Damn it," said my host, poking his head out of the aisle, "Damn Pole, speaking English!" Then he drew back and shook his head, "Some of these guys just got off the boat." "——iniewodznasznapokuszeniealenaszbawodezlego. Amen." (Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.) I leaned against the car wall, closed my eyes, and whispered: "Amen." The carriage shook, and the lights flickered and went out.The siren whistled from somewhere ahead, the train started to move forward, and the lights were turned on again.I was so tired that words couldn't describe it, and my head hit the wall hard. I woke up later to find a huge pair of work boots standing in front of me. "Are you up yet?" I shook my head, trying to figure out where I was. I hear a hamstring crackle, then I see a knee, and then Earl's face comes into view. "Are you still here?" He peered under the bed. "Yes, sorry." I staggered out and staggered to my feet. "Hallelujah," said my host, stretching himself. "Pierdolsie. (Fuck you.)" I said. A chuckle came from a bed a few feet away. "Come on. Alan has had two drinks and is already relaxed, but he hasn't drunk enough to make him temper. I think now is your chance." Earl said. He led me through two sleeping cars, and when we came to the end we faced another kind of car.A window in the door reveals the gleaming wood and intricate light fixtures inside. Earl turned to me. "Are you ready?" "Of course." I said. Actually not.He grabbed me by the back of the neck and smashed my face against the door frame.He opened the car door with his other hand and pushed me in violently.With my arms outstretched, I bumped into a brass pole to keep from rushing forward.I looked back at Earl in amazement, then saw the others. "What's the matter?" Uncle Ailan sat in the armchair with the three of them.A fat cigar is pinched between the thumb and index finger, and the other hand is holding five cards fanned out. There is a glass of brandy on the small table in front of him, and a large stack of poker chips is beyond the wine glass. "Sir, he jumped on our train and caught him in a sleeping car." "Really?" Uncle Ailan said, taking a puff of his cigar leisurely and putting it on the ashtray beside him.He settled down again, studied his cards, and exhaled slowly from the corner of his mouth. "I'll bet three bucks too, plus five bucks." He leaned forward, tossing a stack of chips into the bet pile. "Should I show him out?" Earl said.He stepped forward, pulled me by the collar and picked me up from the ground.I tense my muscles and grab his wrist.If he tries to throw me again, I'll catch him.My gaze moved from Uncle Allan to the lower half of Earl's face (I could only see the lower half), and then back to Uncle Allan. Uncle Ailan put away the cards and carefully placed them on the table. "Earl, don't rush to do it." He picked up the cigar and took another long puff. "Let him go." Earl put me down, let me land with my back to Uncle Ailan, and pulled my coat hastily, counting it as helping me tidy up. "Come forward a little bit." Uncle Ailan said. I was obedient and happy to get out of Earl's reach. "You don't seem to have given me the honor of knowing your name?" He exhaled a smoke ring. "My name is Jacob Jankowski, sir." "Please tell me, what is the purpose of Jacob Jankowski in coming to my train?" "I'm looking for a job," I said. Uncle Ailan continued to stare at me, blowing out smoke rings lazily, resting his hands on his belly, and patted his vest leisurely with his fingers. "Have you ever been in a circus troupe, Jacob?" "No, sir." "Ever seen a circus, Jacob?" "Of course, sir." "Which one?" "Brother Lin Ling." I said, a gasp came from behind me, and when I looked back, Earl was widening his eyes as a warning. "Their performances are terrible, terrible." I hastily added, and turned to face Uncle Ailan. "Is that so?" Uncle Allan said. "Yes, sir." "So have you seen our show, Jacob?" "Yes, sir," I said, feeling a blush run across my cheeks. "So what do you think?" he asked. "Very wonderful." "What's your favorite part of the performance?" My mind raced wildly, creating something out of nothing. "The part with the black horse and the white horse, and a girl in pink. That's the one with the sequins." "Did you hear that, August? The boy likes your Marina." The man opposite Uncle Ailan stood up and turned around.He is the man in the animal hood, except that he is not wearing a tall hat at the moment.His angular face was devoid of emotion, and his black hair was glossy with pomade.He also has a mustache, but unlike Uncle Ailan, his mustache only reaches to the edge of his lips. "What do you want to do when you come here?" Uncle Ailan asked, he leaned forward, picked up a wine glass from the table, shook the liquid, and downed his stomach in one gulp.A waiter appeared out of nowhere and immediately refilled it. "I'd do anything. I'd love to take care of animals if I could." "Animals. Did you hear that, August? The boy has to take care of the animals. I think you want to get water for the elephants, don't you?" Earl frowned. "But sir, we didn't—" "Shut up!" Uncle Ailan yelled and jumped up, his sleeves swept the cup onto the carpet.He stared at the glass, clenched his fists, and his face grew more and more gloomy.Then he gritted his teeth, let out an inhuman long howl, and stomped on the wine glass with his feet, stepping on it again and again. There was silence in the carriage, except for the regular sound of the rattling sleepers under the wheels.The waiter then knelt down and picked up the shards of glass. Uncle Ailan took a deep breath, turned to the window, and clasped his hands behind his back.Finally, when he turned to face us, his face was red again, with a smirk on his lips. "Just let me tell you what's on your mind, Jacob Jankowski." He pronounced my name word for word, as if it were something disgusting. "I've seen hundreds of people like you. Do you think I can't see through your mind at a glance? Did something go wrong with you? Did you quarrel with Mommy? Or did you just want to take advantage of school? Have a little adventure for summer vacation?" "No, sir, not at all." "I don't care about you. Even if I give you a job now, you can't last. You can't even survive a week, and you can't even survive a day. Our circus troupe is like a big running smoothly. Machines, only the strongest can keep up and keep up. But you don't know what toughness is, do you, Mr. Student?" He glared at me angrily, as if to see if I had any kind of rebuttal to him. "Now get lost," he said, waving me away. "Earl, get him out of the car. Don't throw him out of the car until you see a red light. I don't want to get in any trouble for hurting a mother's dear baby." "Wait a minute, Allen," August said, with a smirk on his face, obviously interested. "Is he right? Are you really a college student?" I feel like a mouse being tossed around by two cats. "I was originally a college student." "So what did you study? Something in the arts, maybe? Romanian Folk Dance? Aristotelian Literary Criticism? Or, Mr. Jankowski, you got a degree in accordion performance?" He shot teasing gaze. "I'm studying veterinary medicine." His attitude immediately changed 180 degrees, and he was completely changed. "Veterinary school? Are you a veterinarian?" "Not really." "What do you mean by 'not counting'?" "I didn't take the final exam." "Why don't you take the exam?" "I just didn't go." "Is it the final exam of your last school year?" "yes." "Which university?" "Cornell." August and Uncle Allan exchanged glances. "Marlena said that Silver Star was sick. She told me to call the advance man to arrange for a veterinarian. She didn't seem to understand that the advance man was someone who went to advertise before the circus troupe came into town, so that's why she called the advance man." August said. "What do you want to say?" Uncle Allan said. "Tell this kid to see Yin Xing in the morning." "Then where do you plan to let him sleep tonight? Our number has already exceeded the number of beds." He picked up the cigar from the ashtray and shook off the ash. "We can probably put him in the flatbed truck." "I was thinking of carriages for show horses," August said. Uncle Ailan frowned, "What? Go sleep with Malena's horse?" "yes." "You mean the place where the sheep used to be kept? Isn't that crappy little winter melon living there? What's his name?" He said, slapping the torreya, "Dingke? Jinke? That clown who keeps dogs?" "That's right." August smiled. August led me back through the men's sleeping car until we were outside a cattle car. "You're on your feet, Jacob?" he asked kindly. "Probably." I replied. "Very good," he said.Without further delay, he lunged forward, grabbed somewhere on the side of the car, and climbed nimbly to the roof. "Holy shit!" I yelled, looking warily first at the spot where August had disappeared, then down at the coupler and the skittering sleepers under the car.The train made a jerky turn.I reached out to balance my body, and my breath was short of breath. "Come on." A voice called me from the roof. "How did you get there? Where do you want to catch it?" "There is a ladder, just beside the carriage, you lean forward, reach out and feel for it." "What if I can't find it?" "Then we have to go, don't we?" I came to the edge cautiously, and could barely see a corner of the thin iron ladder. I fixed my eyes on it, wiped my hands on my legs, and leaned forward. My right hand finds the ladder, and I reach out with my left to scramble until I reach the other side.I planted my feet firmly between the rungs and tried to catch my breath. "Hey, come up!" I looked up, and August poked his head out to see me, grinning, hair blowing in the wind. I climbed to the roof and he moved the seat, and when I sat next to him, he put his hand on my shoulder. "Turn around, I want you to see something." He pointed to the end of the train. The train dragged behind us like a huge snake. The connected carriages swayed and bent as the train turned. "Isn't it beautiful, Jacob?" August said.I looked back at him, and he was staring at me intently, his eyes shining. "But not as beautiful as my Marina, hehe?" He clicked his tongue and winked at me. Before I could argue, he stood up and tap danced on the roof of the car. I craned my neck to count how many cattle cars there were.At least six knots. "August?" "Huh?" he said, stopping halfway in a circle. "Which car is Jinke in?" He squatted down suddenly, "You're really lucky this time around, huh?" He pulled off a roof ventilation panel and disappeared without a trace. I hurriedly moved over with hands and feet. "August?" "What's wrong?" A voice in the dark answered me. "Is there a ladder?" "No, just jump off." I lowered myself into the car, held on to the roof with only my fingertips, and fell to the ground.A startled neigh came from the darkness. Stripes of slender moonlight shot in from between the wooden compartment walls.I had a row of horses on one side, and a wall on the other, apparently nailed by laymen. August stepped forward and pushed the door inward until it slammed against the wooden wall, revealing a barely adequate room.The room was lit with a kerosene lamp, and the lamp stood on top of an upside-down wooden box, with a cot next to it.A dwarf was lying on the bed with a thick book spread out in front of him.He was about my age, and had red hair like mine, but unlike mine, his hair was bristling and thick and messy.His face, neck, arms, and hands were densely covered with freckles. "Kinco," August said contemptuously. "Auguste," said the dwarf, equally contemptuously. "This is Jacob." August said, walking around the small room, looking through things as he walked. "He's going to live with you for a while." I stepped forward, held out my hand and said, "Hello." Jinke shook my hand coldly, and turned his gaze back to August. "What is he?" "His name is Jacob." "I'm asking you what he is, not who he is." "He's going to help out at the animal tent." Jin Ke jumped up. "Beast tent? Don't talk about it, I'm an entertainer, and I definitely don't sleep with workers." There was a growl behind him before I noticed the Jack Russell.It stood at the end of the cot, its neck hair bristling. "I'm the circus director and animal steward," August said slowly. "You can sleep here purely because of my kindness, and it's also because of my kindness that this place is not full of handymen. Of course, I can take it back at any time." Kindly, besides, this gentleman is the new veterinarian of the circus troupe, and he has a degree from Cornell University, so in my eyes, he is much more advanced than you. Perhaps, you would like to consider letting him sleep in the bed." The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered in August's eyes, and his lips quivered in the dim light. After a while, he turned to me, bowed deeply, and stood at attention with a click. "Good night, Jacob. I'm sure Jinco will be very courteous, won't I, Jinco?" Jin Ke glared at him angrily. August smoothed the hair on both sides with his hands, then left, closing the door behind him.I stared at the rough wooden door until I heard his footsteps coming from the roof of the car, and then I turned my head. Jinke and the dog are staring at me.The dog barks its teeth. That night I slept on a crumpled saddle mattress against the wall, as far away from the cot as possible.The quilt is trendy.I don't know who was responsible for sealing the wooden gaps in the carriage and nailing it into a room. In short, the workmanship was very poor, and my quilt was soaked in rain and dew. I woke up with scratches on my arms and neck.I don't know if it's the horsehair or the bugs that make me itchy, and I don't want to know.From the gaps in the slats, the sky was dark and the train was still moving. I woke up from a dream, but I couldn't remember the dream.I closed my eyes and tried to drill into my heart to explore the dream. It's my mother.She was wearing a cornflower-blue dress, and she hung the clothes to dry on the clothesline in the yard.She had a few wooden clothespins in her mouth, and more in the apron tied around her waist.She was busy hanging up the sheets.She hummed a Polish song softly. A flash. I lay on the floor with stripper breasts hanging over my eyes brown areolas the size of silver coins swinging circles before my eyes, swinging out and back, pop, swinging out and back, pop .I feel a surge of excitement, then conscience condemns me, then nausea. Then I will... so I……