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. 

【红霞译文】

        从菜市场买来的“新鲜”蔬菜未必是你所想象的“新鲜作物”，欲求上等优质的农副产品，你不得不亲临种植产地，宾州兰霍恩镇就有这样一个斯太尔果园，人们可以就地采摘新鲜营养的瓜果蔬菜。

        斯太尔果园实为农场，人们到此先领取用来盛东西的小桶，然后拎着桶下地开始随意摘取各种新鲜尤物，还有什么比直接从长在田野里的枝茎、藤茎、根茎或其它相关植物部位的产品更新鲜。妈妈说今天打算扛回家十磅左右的宽扁豆，我顾不上琢磨到底意味着什么，一头扎进豆科菜地，专门寻觅最宽的扁豆。开始进展欠佳，该项货源奇缺，眼前连个宽扁豆的影子都难得看见。这时骄阳似火，把田间地头烤得热气烘烘，肌肤表面被射线照得出现针扎般的痛楚，顺便提一句，我忌讳打针。

        大约过了半个钟头，我们没有多大进展，欲求达到预期目的，我们需要拾满两桶才够，可照眼前情况来看，采摘两桶之多的宽扁豆好比妈妈允许我放弃弹琴一样难上加难。看得出有不少人具有先见之明，早已品尝了丰收喜悦。而对那些不谙农时经纬的门外汉，我并非特指本家老少，只好收拾残余，哪里容得挑肥捡瘦。

        瞧一瞧弄潮人的业绩，他们嗅觉敏锐但足迹凌乱，这反倒给我们效仿者留下一线希望，眨眼之间小桶的宽裕空间变得越来越少。有一根大约一英尺长的厚道荆条竟然吊挂了四条宽扁豆，它们在枝头上晃来晃去，仿佛招呼我过来采摘。来过农场的前辈大多徘徊在入口处附近，因此对于那些肯花力气深入广阔天地的后来者，恐怕比先导大军更有收益，这恰好反映出人们的生活方式，英雄与豪杰殊途同归：前者率先到达目的地，而后者则要经过不懈努力才能实现预想。收工时，我们的两只小桶已装得满满登登，尽管比预计少捡一磅，可还算圆满完成了计划。最值得称道的，这些绿色果实足以供给我们全家一个月的食膳菜肴，况且仅仅花掉八块美元，这里的东西果真既天然新鲜又便宜实惠，我觉得吃下这些宽扁豆肯定感觉美滋滋的，因为其中蕴含着自己辛勤汗水，内心不免有点自豪，但愿宽扁豆口感如意，否则有愧此行。 

        凭心而论，宽扁豆的味道马马虎虎，本该如此！当然务农的经历最为重要，由此说来，今后与其去超市买菜，不如来斯太尔农场挑选物美价廉的瓜果蔬菜。