2015-08-02

【Aiden in English】

        The “fresh produce” you get at the grocery store isn’t always as “fresh” as you might think. To find the best produce, you have to go to the source. And at Styer Orchard in Langhorne of PA, people can pick from the freshest produce you can find. 

        Styer Orchard is a farm where people come in, grab a bucket, go out into the fields, and get some nice vegetables without worrying about how fresh it is. I mean, what can be better than picking it right off the branch or vine, or root, or something else. Mom said today’s goal would be to grab 10 pounds or so of flat beans. Having no idea what that was, I went into the bean section outside and started picking the flattest beans I saw. The beginning was a drag. The plants were out of stock, and hardly a bean was in sight. The sun was burning as we went deeper into the fields, and its burning rays pricked my skin like needles, By the way, I hate needles. 

       Half an hour or some passed, and still nothing much. To get near our goal, we would require two full buckets. At the moment, getting two buckets seemed just as likely as mom letting me quit piano. Apparently, there were a lot more smart people in this world than we imagined, and so those people came early. As for, well, these not-so-smart people, I don’t exactly mean us, had to take whatever remains. My mind flipped about the smart people once I got deeper into the fields. 

        It looks like those nerds were smart but lazy, which was good for us because the buckets suddenly seemed a lot smaller than before. One extremely giving and kind tree produced four beans the length of a foot or so, all dangling outside of the plant almost as if it wanted me to take. While everyone searched in the fields toward the front, those who took a tiny bit more effort that made it to the back were rewarded much more than even the first one here. That’s the way of life. Two people can get the rewards: the one that gets there first and the one who puts in a tad bit more effort than the rest. At the end of the pickings, two buckets were full. We barely missed our goal, falling short by a pound. Best of all, now we have the beans to last the entire month, and it only cost us eight dollars. I guess this place is fresh and cheap. And the feeling of eating these flat beans is going to be awesome because I put hard work and sweat into picking these, so I feel a bit proud. These beans would better taste good, or else.

        Well, the beans tasted okay, but anyway! The experience of the farms is the most important. So now, instead of going to the supermarket, you get the freshest thing you want, with the low price, at Styer Orchard. 

【紅霞譯文】

        從菜市場買來的“新鮮”蔬菜未必是你所想象的“新鮮作物”，欲求上等優質的農副產品，你不得不親臨種植產地，賓州蘭霍恩鎮就有這樣一個斯太爾果園，人們可以就地採摘新鮮營養的瓜果蔬菜。

        斯太爾果園實為農場，人們到此先領取用來盛東西的小桶，然後拎着桶下地開始隨意摘取各種新鮮尤物，還有什麼比直接從長在田野里的枝莖、藤莖、根莖或其它相關植物部位的產品更新鮮。媽媽說今天打算扛回家十磅左右的寬扁豆，我顧不上琢磨到底意味着什麼，一頭扎進豆科菜地，專門尋覓最寬的扁豆。開始進展欠佳，該項貨源奇缺，眼前連個寬扁豆的影子都難得看見。這時驕陽似火，把田間地頭烤得熱氣烘烘，肌膚表面被射線照得出現針扎般的痛楚，順便提一句，我忌諱打針。

        大約過了半個鐘頭，我們沒有多大進展，欲求達到預期目的，我們需要拾滿兩桶才夠，可照眼前情況來看，採摘兩桶之多的寬扁豆好比媽媽允許我放棄彈琴一樣難上加難。看得出有不少人具有先見之明，早已品嘗了豐收喜悅。而對那些不諳農時經緯的門外漢，我並非特指本家老少，只好收拾殘餘，哪裡容得挑肥撿瘦。

        瞧一瞧弄潮人的業績，他們嗅覺敏銳但足跡凌亂，這反倒給我們效仿者留下一線希望，眨眼之間小桶的寬裕空間變得越來越少。有一根大約一英尺長的厚道荊條竟然吊掛了四條寬扁豆，它們在枝頭上晃來晃去，仿佛招呼我過來採摘。來過農場的前輩大多徘徊在入口處附近，因此對於那些肯花力氣深入廣闊天地的後來者，恐怕比先導大軍更有收益，這恰好反映出人們的生活方式，英雄與豪傑殊途同歸：前者率先到達目的地，而後者則要經過不懈努力才能實現預想。收工時，我們的兩隻小桶已裝得滿滿登登，儘管比預計少撿一磅，可還算圓滿完成了計劃。最值得稱道的，這些綠色果實足以供給我們全家一個月的食膳菜餚，況且僅僅花掉八塊美元，這裡的東西果真既天然新鮮又便宜實惠，我覺得吃下這些寬扁豆肯定感覺美滋滋的，因為其中蘊含着自己辛勤汗水，內心不免有點自豪，但願寬扁豆口感如意，否則有愧此行。 

        憑心而論，寬扁豆的味道馬馬虎虎，本該如此！當然務農的經歷最為重要，由此說來，今後與其去超市買菜，不如來斯太爾農場挑選物美價廉的瓜果蔬菜。