87. OLD XU'S KNEES

　　Old Xu came to work at the Gao's as a servant when he was about 50. He worked hard and always did his duties quickly, without any complaining or back talk.The Gaos thought a lot of him.

　　One day, though, the sun was already high in the sky, but Old Xu was still in bed. He was usually the first up in the morning, so this was odd. Another servant went to his room to see what was the matter. First he knocked, then he pounded on the door. Finally, Old Xu came out, limping. He seemed to be in pain.

　　"Something wrong with your legs?" the other servant asked.

　　"Look at this, my knees are all red and swollen. I must have boils," Old Xu said, pulling up his pants.

　　He continued, "I had a weird dream last night. I saw thousands and thousands of eels. Two of the biggest ones came rushing at me and bit me in the knees. It hurt so much I woke up, and found I couldn't move. That's why it took me so long to answer the door."

　　Mr. Gao said, "That is an odd dream. Do you know what it's about?"

　　Old Xu thought a bit. "When I was 20, I opened a noodle shop in Dongguan. My eel noodles were famous. I killed dozens of eels every day to meet the demand.

　　"After thirty years, I had saved quite a bit of money, but I was getting pretty sick of cooking noodles day in and day out, so I decided to invest. I started hoarding stocks of oil to sell at high prices when supplies ran out, and everything was all set. Then a fire broke out in my warehouse and wiped me out. Thirty years of work burned out overnight! I didn't have anything left. That's why I came here to work as a servant.

　　"Do you think my dream might have anything to do with my knees, sir?" Old Xu asked.

　　"That was just a dream. Don't worry, I have just the thing for you." Mr. Gao got out a certain ointment that was his family specialty, and rubbed it onto Old Xu's knees. Before long, Old Xu was up and walking around again. But a few days later, he got boils on his knees again.

　　This time Old Xu couldn't even get up to open his door. They had to come in through the window. Old Xu showed them his knees. The flesh was almost all rotted off his bones.

　　"I'm doomed," he sobbed. "They came for me again last night. It hurts! I can't stand this much longer."

　　Within a few days, Old Xu had died of the pain.

87.老许的膝盖

　　老许50岁的时候，进了高家当仆人。他辛勤工作，手脚麻利，从不抱怨或背后议论，得到了高家的器重。

　　但是有一天，太阳已经升得老高了，老许还没起床。这实在很奇怪，因为他往往都是第一个起床的。另一个仆人去他的屋里看看是怎 么回事。他敲门，接着用力锤门。最后，老许一瘸一拐地出来了，他看上去好像很痛苦。

　　“你的腿怎么了？”那个仆人问。

　　“看，我的膝盖都红肿了。我一定是得了疖子。”老许一边说，一边把裤腿挽起来。

　　他接着说，“我昨晚做了一个怪梦。我看到了成千上万条鳝鱼。两只最大的向我直冲过来，狠狠地咬我的膝盖。我疼醒了，发现自己动弹不得，这就是我今天应门慢的原因。”

　　高夫人说，“确实是个怪梦。你知道这是为什么吗？”

　　老许想了一下，“我二十岁的时候在东莞开了一个面条店。我卖的鳝鱼面很有名气。每天为了满足需求，我都要杀几十条鳝鱼。”

　　“三十年后，我已经攒起了一大笔钱，但是我已经厌倦每天做鳝鱼面，所以我决定投资。我囤积了很多油，准备在油紧缺的时候高价卖出，一切都准备好了。可是店里发生了火灾，我破产了。三十年的所得一晚就全烧没了！我什么也没有了，所以才来这里做一个仆人。”

　　“老爷，您觉得我的梦和我的膝盖有什么关系吗？”

　　“只是个梦罢了。别担心，我有好东西给你。”高老爷拿来一盒祖传药膏，把它擦在老许的膝盖上。不久，老许又能起来四处走了。没几天，他的膝盖上又长了疖子。

　　这次老许甚至没法起床开门了。他们只好从窗里爬进去。老许给他们看自己的膝盖。那里的肉几乎都烂掉了。

　　“我该死了，”他抽泣着说，“它们昨晚又来找我了。好疼啊！我忍不了多久了。”

　　没几天，老许就疼死了。