--- title: 87.許的膝蓋 Old Xus Knees description: "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, wi" --- 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.老許的膝蓋 　　老許50歲的時候，進了高家當僕人。他辛勤工作，手腳麻利，從不抱怨或背後議論，得到了高家的器重。 　　但是有一天，太陽已經升得老高了，老許還沒起床。這實在很奇怪，因為他往往都是第一個起床的。另一個僕人去他的屋里看看是怎 麼回事。他敲門，接著用力鎚門。最後，老許一瘸一拐地出來了，他看上去好像很痛苦。 　　「你的腿怎麼了？」那個僕人問。 　　「看，我的膝蓋都紅腫了。我一定是得了癤子。」老許一邊說，一邊把褲腿挽起來。 　　他接著說，「我昨晚做了一個怪夢。我看到了成千上萬條鱔魚。兩只最大的向我直沖過來，狠狠地咬我的膝蓋。我疼醒了，發現自己動彈不得，這就是我今天應門慢的原因。」 　　高夫人說，「確實是個怪夢。你知道這是為什麼嗎？」 　　老許想了一下，「我二十歲的時候在東莞開了一個面條店。我賣的鱔魚面很有名氣。每天為了滿足需求，我都要殺幾十條鱔魚。」 　　「三十年後，我已經攢起了一大筆錢，但是我已經厭倦每天做鱔魚面，所以我決定投資。我囤積了很多油，準備在油緊缺的時候高價賣出，一切都準備好了。可是店里發生了火災，我破產了。三十年的所得一晚就全燒沒了！我什麼也沒有了，所以才來這里做一個僕人。」 　　「老爺，您覺得我的夢和我的膝蓋有什麼關系嗎？」 　　「只是個夢罷了。別擔心，我有好東西給你。」高老爺拿來一盒祖傳藥膏，把它擦在老許的膝蓋上。不久，老許又能起來四處走了。沒幾天，他的膝蓋上又長了癤子。 　　這次老許甚至沒法起床開門了。他們只好從窗里爬進去。老許給他們看自己的膝蓋。那里的肉幾乎都爛掉了。 　　「我該死了，」他抽泣著說，「它們昨晚又來找我了。好疼啊！我忍不了多久了。」 　　沒幾天，老許就疼死了。