5.玉柱湯 Jade Chopstick Soup
- JADE CHOPSTICK SOUP
In Wenzhou in Zhejiang, there lived a boy called Xiao Zhen. One night a god in golden armor appeared in a dream and said, “Son, you can only live to be 18 years old.” When Xiao Zhen woke up, he was scared. He felt very sad that he would die so young.
Xiao Zhen’s father was a government official. He was very honest, so he got promoted and sent to Sichuan, another province far away. Xiao Zhen did not want to leave home, because he knew he couldn’t live very long. His father didn’t know about Chen’s dream, and insisted on taking him with him.? The day after his father got to his new post, the officials there prepared a party to welcome him, and of course Xiao Zhen was invited. For very special parties in Szechuan, after three courses comes the main dish, called Jade Chopstick Soup.
The way they made Jade Chopstick Soup was very cruel. They heated an iron chopstick until it was red hot, and then pushed that into a cow’s udder. The milk in the udder would stick to the chopstick, so when they pulled out the chopstick, it looked like jade, and some people thought it was delicious.
While Chen was waiting for the dinner to begin, he happened to go into the kitchen. He saw a cow fled to a stake, and an iron chopstick roasting on hot coals.He asked the cook what was happening, and the cook told him just what they were going to do. When Chen heard that, he ran back to his father and begged his father to stop them. He said, “They are going to stick a red hot chopstick into a cow’s udder just to make a tasty dish, but think how much the cow will suffer!Please, Father, make them stop! Don’t let them make this horrible dish!”
His father was a kind man, so he immediately ordered them to change the menu and release the cow.
A few nights later, the god in golden armor again appeared to Xiao Zhenin a dream. This time, he said, “Son, you have done a good deed. You will not die young, and what’s more, you will be so successful that one day you will be-come one of the highest officials in all of China. This is because you have a kind heart.”
Xiao Zhen did grow up to win a very high post in the imperial government,and he lived to be more than ninety years old.
- 玉柱湯
從前，在浙江溫州，有個名叫蕭振的男孩。有一天，他夢到一個身穿金甲的神對他說：「孩子，你只能活到18歲。」他醒來後，覺得很害怕。他非常難過自己那麼年輕就要死去。
蕭振的父親是一名官員，他很誠實，因此被提升並派去四川——一個較遠的省份任職。蕭振不想離開家鄉，因為他知道自己活不了很久。父親並不知道蕭振做的夢，堅持要帶他去。
他父親赴任後第二天，當地官員準備了筵席為他接風洗塵，蕭振也被邀請同去。 在四川，每當舉辦非常特殊的筵席，三道菜後，都會上一道叫做玉柱湯的主菜。
制作玉柱湯的方法非常殘忍。他們先把一根鐵條燒紅，然後把它插到一只母牛的乳房里。乳房里的牛奶就黏到鐵條上，當鐵條被拔出來時，看起來就像是白玉一樣。有些人認為這就是美味。
當蕭振等著吃飯時，碰巧走進了廚房。他看到一頭母牛被綁在一個樁子上，一根鐵條正在火炭上燒著。他問廚子這是在干什麼，廚子如實告訴了他。他聽後，馬上跑回去請求他的父親阻止他們。他說：「他們要把一根燒紅的鐵條戳進母牛的乳房里，這僅僅是為了做一道美味。但想想看，那頭母牛該會多麼痛苦啊！求你了，父親，阻止他們吧！別讓他們做這道恐怖的菜了！」
他父親是個仁慈的人，所以他馬上讓他們改做其它菜，並且放了那頭牛。
幾天後，蕭振又夢到了那個金甲神人。這次，他說：「孩子，你做了一件好事。你不會早夭，而且你還會功成名就，官至極位，這都是因為你有顆仁慈的心。」
蕭振長大後，果然在朝廷身居高職，活到了九十多歲。