By Du Zhequan

My wife and I once traveled to the United States to visit our relatives. We stayed at our daughter’s home. One day, after our daughter and son-in-law went to work, the doorbell rang. My wife and I both felt awkward, because we had formed the habit of not opening the door blindly for a long time. In China, when the doorbell rang, we would look at the smart doorbell display on the wall to find out who was coming and, if need be, asked what they wanted. They would then enter the safety gate of our apartment complex and come upstairs to the doorway of our home, we would observe him or her through the peephole embedded in the door before opening the door. However, our daughter’s home did not have such facilities. We wanted to ask about who it was, but we could not speak English. If we ignored it, that would be rude. Finally, we had no choice but to open the door nervously.

It was a grey-haired old man—holding a small simple object in his hand, he talked to us while making gestures. I had no idea what he was saying, so I pointed at my ears, his mouth, and the object in his hand, and then waved my hands. What I meant was that I did not understand his words, nor did I know what he wanted. Afterwards, imitating the foreigners I see in China, I spread my hands, shrugged my shoulders, shook my head, and said “sorry”—one of the few words I could say. The old man smiled and left.

When my son-in-law came back from work, I told him about the old man. He said, “That man came to sell little trinkets. If you didn’t open the door, that would be impolite. Just open the door. There’s nothing to worry about.” He also told me that retired Americans were restless—they work odd jobs mostly for exercise or fun.

Once, my daughter drove me to the store. On the way, we saw an old man doing cartwheels, front flips, and backflips continuously in a vacant lot. There was a large simple signboard standing tilted nearby which was taller than a person and made of something that looked like cloth.

I asked my daughter what the old man was doing. She told me that some manufacturers hired temporary staff to promote their products here and there. The old man was showing off his skills to attract the attention of passersby.

One Sunday morning, our family was going out, and the doorbell rang. It was a man, about 70 years old, holding a bottle with a strange mouth. My son-in-law invited him to come in. Next to the stairs was a table where the toy trains were put. The old man said something to my son-inlaw, and then squeezed a little of the thick liquid out of the bottle onto a special eraser. He rubbed part of a table leg with the eraser, and that part immediately turned much cleaner and newer than other parts.

I had already put on my shoes and was ready to go. The old man saw that and said a few words. My son-in-law told me that the old man would like to polish my shoes for me. I was of course happy with that. He got down on one knee, which embarrassed me, because he was about my age. I took off my shoes, but my son-inlaw interpreted his words, “He asked you to put them on, so that it will be easier for him to do the work.” A few minutes later, as a result, my leather shoes took on an entirely new look.

The old man got up, squeezed out a little liquid onto his palm, and applied it on his face. My son-in-law explained that he was showing us that this new product was not corrosive and gentle enough to use on your face.

I urged my son-in-law to buy a few bottles so that I could take them back to China both for my own use and as gifts for my friends. But he was afraid that such thing could not be taken onto plane, and related what I said to the old man.

At the end, I bought two bottles. The old man talked for a while, and then left with a grin.

(From Old Friend, Issue 9, 2018. Translation: Chen Jiani)

闲不住的美国老人

文/杜浙泉

我与老伴在美国探亲，住女儿家。一天，女儿和女婿都上班了，门铃一响，我俩很为难，因为在中国早已养成习惯，不能盲目开门，要先透过屋内墙上的智能门铃显示屏，看清问明，来人进入单元安全门，上楼到了房门口，再观察镶嵌在门上的猫眼加以确认。女儿家没有这种设施，想问问，语言不通；不予理睬，又没礼貌，只好忐忑不安地去开门。

来者是一位白发老人，并不进屋，手里拿着个小巧简单的物件，连说带比画。我根本不明白他说什么，于是指指自己的耳朵，再指他的嘴巴，转而指他手里的东西，复又摆手，意思是说，听不懂你的话，不知道你要干什么。然后我学着外国人的表达习惯，做了一个摊手、耸肩加晃头的连贯动作，伴随一声仅会说的几个单词之一“骚瑞”（对不起）。对方笑笑，走了。

女婿下班后，我说给他听，他说，这人是来推销小商品的，不开门，对人家不礼貌，尽管开门，不会有事的。他还说，美国退休老人根本闲不住，出外工作，大都是为了活动身子骨，或者图个乐。

有一次，女儿驱车带我上街，途经某处，见一位老人在路边空场地上连续做侧翻和前后空翻的动作，旁边斜戳着一块一人多高、材质像是布面的简易大招牌。

我问女儿，这位老人在干什么？她说，厂商为推销产品，临时雇用人到处做宣传，这位老人以“耍把式”来吸引路人眼球。

一个星期日的早晨，我们全家正要外出，门铃响了，来者是一位年近古稀的老人，手里拿着个带异状嘴儿的瓶子。女婿请他进屋，恰巧楼梯旁有张摆放玩具小火车的桌子，老人跟女婿说了几句，便往专用的擦子上挤出一点儿半稠的液体，在桌腿局部蹭了几下，顿时显出与其他地方不同的干净本色。

此时，我换上皮鞋，准备出发，老人见状，说了几句，女婿告诉我，老人家要给我擦擦鞋。我当然乐意。只见他单腿跪下，我承受不起，因为他的年岁与我相仿，于是，我便脱下鞋来。女婿又翻译：“他让你穿上，擦起来得劲儿。”结果两三分钟，皮鞋焕然一新。

老人起身，对着手心挤出一点儿液体，抹到脸上。女婿说，他是在让咱们看，这种新产品没有腐蚀性，脸上的皮肤都可以接受。

我赶紧让女婿买上几瓶，带回中国，连自己用带送人。女婿说，这东西恐怕不能上飞机，又把我的意思转述给老人。

末了，我买了两瓶，老人又是一通叽里咕噜，然后笑嘻嘻地走了。