Zhao Xin | Short Story Series 9: Maupassant (8, 9) "Mother of Freaks", "Small Wine Barrel"

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Zhao Xin | short story series nine: Maupassant

(8, 9) "Mother of Freaks", "Little Wine Barrel"

8. "Mother of Freaks"

"A few days ago, on a beach that the rich loved to go to, I saw a Parisian lady passing by, young, pretty, very moving, and loved and respected by the public. It reminds me of this terrible story and this terrible woman. Again, but this time concisely.

"The story I'm going to tell is a long time ago, but people won't forget it." - Emphasis.

"At the invitation of a friend, I went to stay at his home in a small provincial town. Then I'll tell you how she became a freak factory. "---------------------------------------

"He took me to the suburbs.

~~~ The average person will also think that this is the residence of a notary who has retired from work. —Irony.

"A maid led us into a small rustic living room, and it wasn't long before the bad guy showed up.

She was about forty years old. She was tall and her facial lines were not soft, but she was in good shape, energetic, and in good health, a true example of a strong peasant woman, half an animal, half a woman. ----------------------

She knew she was condemned by the world, so she had to accept her guests with hatred and humility.

～～～

'Nothing! Nothing! Lovely sir. He was probably uglier than those few. I am really bitter, really miserable. Everyone is like this, kind sir, everyone is like this, really unlucky! How can a merciful God be so cruel to a lonely woman, how can he be so cruel? —Each has its own tricks.

She spoke quickly, shrugging her eyelids, that false expression, like a beast pretending to be timid. She tried to soften her sharp voice, but the words spoken in a false voice from this parched and huge skeleton would only surprise people; for she was strong and thick-lined, and seemed to have been born to behave violently and howl like a wolf. - Animalistic depictions.

My friend demanded:

We want to see your little son. ’

My partner went on to say:

Why don't you show us? You've seen it a lot of people. You know who I'm talking about! "—Made clear.

Enraged, she ripped open her voice, vented her resentment, and shouted:

'You're here for this, aren't you?' To humiliate me, isn't it? Because my kids look like beasts, right? Not to show you, not to give, is not to show you; roll, roll. I really don't understand, why are you torturing me like this? ’

We were forced by her to go backwards one after another. Really angry?

My friend shouted:

Be careful, devil (that's what the locals call her), be careful, and one day you'll be punished. ’

Seeing that she was about to pounce on us, we fled in a hurry; this was enough to disgust us. "------------------------------------

"When I got to the door, my friend asked me:

'Hey! Did you see her? What do you think? ’

Here's the story he told me on his way home. --The second suspense.

"She used to work as a hired man on a farm, and was a capable, steady, frugal girl. ~~~ This is also a stupid thing that girls do. It turned out to be good.

Soon she found out she was pregnant, tormented by shame and fear. His torso was very short and round like a walnut. It turned out that the deformity was strangled.

"One spring morning, she gave birth in a crop field.

She actually hated him to the death; if it weren't for the fact that the priest in the church had expected her to commit a crime and had frightened her by sending her to court, she might have strangled him to death. "--" Freaks bring bad luck.

"Coincidentally, one day, a group of people who walked through the rivers and lakes and played with the eight strange people passed by here, and when they heard that there was such a freak, they asked to see it, and if they liked it, they took him away." The other party promised to pay her another four hundred francs a year, as if renting this beast. Because the "monster" has been transported again ~ and so shrewd.

This unexpected gain made the mother lose her mind; from then on she was bent on having another monster so that she could have a few annuities like Mrs. Kuo.

The freaks she gave birth to were long and short; some resembled crabs, and some resembled lizards. Several more died, leaving her feeling unbroken. ------------------

"The judicial authorities have tried to intervene, but they have no choice but to prove that she has any illegality." So she had to let her create monsters unscrupulously. - The social dimension.

"She now has eleven survivors, on average, good and bad years, and can bring her fifty or sixty thousand francs a year. ~~~ If the goods launched are very valuable, she will organize them to bid on it. "—"Goods"...

"My friend finished. I felt a deep disgust in my heart, and I was very angry, and I really regretted that I hadn't strangled her when I was close to my hand.

I asked:

So who is the father of the child? ’

He replied:

That's not clear. He or they are, and they are still a little ashamed. He or they never showed up. Maybe they share some dividends. --Alienation, materialization.

"That day, when I saw the elegant, feminine, handsome woman on the beach frequented by fashionable society at that time, who was loved and respected by the people around me, I no longer thought about this distant past.

That's why I thought of another woman, the country woman, the devil who betrayed the monster. --Two-way irony.

* * *

This one is fine.

Just a little bit.

Just say the truth.

The wording and wording are still a little indebted.

The theme is very meaningful.

9. "Small Wine Barrel"

Hicko, who runs an inn in the town of Epeville, stops his two-wheeled light carriage in front of Aunt Magnol's farm. It was a tall man of about forty years of age, with a red face and a big belly; he was cunning and well known in the local area. "-Cunning is the key word, and the following is the explanation.

He tied his horse to the stake of the fence gate and went into the yard. He tried ten times and twenty times to try to buy the land, but Aunt Magruvar always stubbornly refused. So the highest task is to get that land by cunning.

"'I was born on this earth, and I will die on this earth.'" She said that every time. --Difficulty level.

He walked in and saw her cutting potatoes in front of the house. Hicko patted her on the shoulder affectionately and sat down on a small stool beside her. --Time difficulty.

"'Hey! Big Mom, this body bone, always so tough, right? ’

'Okay! That's great! --Bad hope.

She stopped talking. Hickory watched as she finished the job at hand. Three daring old hens followed one by one, went under her skirt to pick potato peels, and then ran away with the harvest and the enclave. "--Emphasis on health.

Hicko looked a little embarrassed, hesitant and worried, and when the words came to his mouth, he couldn't say them. In the end, he made up his mind:

'Hey, Aunt Magruvar...'

The old woman stopped her potato cutting and stared at the innkeeper with her eyes that burned under her wrinkled eyelids. "------------------------

He went on to say:

I'll just say it. I give you one hundred and fifty francs a month. Hear me clearly: Every month, I drive my two-wheeled wagon and bring you thirty silver coins of one hundred sus. Besides, nothing has changed, nothing has changed; you live in your house as usual, you don't have to worry about my side at all, you owe me nothing. You just take my money. Do you see the line? ’

~~~She asked:

This is what makes sense for me; but what about you, this farm, you still can't get it?' —doubt about pie falling from the sky.

He went on:

You don't have to worry about that. How long god of goodness allows you to live, how long you live here. This is your home. However, you have to go with me to the notary and make a small note, saying that after a hundred years, this property will belong to me. You have no children, only a few nieces and nephews who you don't take seriously. Do you think that works? You keep your property alive, and I give you thirty silver coins of one hundred sus a month. You make a lot of money. --Meat rotting in a pot... Unless the old woman squandered all the money, it was all cunning people.

The old woman still felt incredulous and uneasy; but her heart was already moving. She replied:

I'm not saying no, but I'll have to figure out why. You'll come back next week. I'll give you a letter of approval when I get there. ’

Boss Hicko was gone, happy as if a king had just conquered an empire. "------------------------

Aunt Magloval was puzzled for a long time. 'If you live another fifteen years,' said the notary, 'even if you pay in this way, he will have to pay only forty-five thousand francs.' It's like some kind of financial deception.

The old woman was so excited at the thought of being able to take fifty silver coins of one hundred Su for free every month; but she was still not at ease, afraid that there would be such and such a strange thing or a hidden conspiracy, and she refused to leave, asking this and that until dark. After grinding until the end, she ordered the preparation of the note. When she got home, she was already dazed like she had drunk four cans of newly brewed cider. "------------------------------------

When Hickory came to hear the echo, she asked him for a long time, saying that she really did not want to sell, in fact, she was afraid that he would not agree to give fifty silver coins of one hundred su. Finally, seeing that he had an iron heart to buy, she showed the bottom card.

He stomped his feet in disappointment and refused. Could it be collusion in good acting?

So, in order to convince the other party, she argued how long she would live.

Rest assured, I'll live another five or six years at most. I'm almost seventy-three years old, and my body is out of bones. It was as if someone had hollowed me out, thanks to someone carrying me to bed. -------------------------------------

"But Hicko is not a good tricker.

~~~ Obviously the old woman did not give in, and finally the innkeeper had to promise to give her fifty silver coins. The drama is very real.

"They signed the next day. Aunt Magruvar also asked for ten silver red envelopes. "------------------------------------

"Three years have passed. He hated her, it was a fierce and sinister hatred, a hatred of a countryman who had been robbed. --Sima Zhao's heart.

So he figured out how.

After a few minutes of small talk, he said:

I said, "Mom, when you came to Epeville, why didn't you always eat in my shop?" ～～～。 When you want to come, just come, don't be polite; I am happy. --Weasel gives the chicken a New Year's greeting.

"Aunt Magruvar did not need him to ask for anything; on the third day, when she went to the market in the carriage driven by the long-time worker Selstein, she led the horse into the horse barn of the Hickory boss without hesitation, and asked for the lunch promised by the shopkeeper herself." This is the mentality of a boiled frog in warm water.

The innkeeper smiled and treated her like a noble lady, serving her chicken, enemas, eels, leg of lamb and fatty slices with cabbage. But she ate almost nothing; she grew up simple and accustomed, living a life of a plate of vegetable soup and a piece of bread and butter.

Hickory was disappointed and repeatedly advised her to eat more. She also doesn't drink. She even refused to drink coffee. What can simplicity do with so much money, not for the cunning shopkeeper.

He said:

'You always have to have a small drink, right?' ’

'Oh? This is reversed. I don't refuse. "—Hooked.

So he shouted with all his strength to the other end of the inn:

'Rosalie, come with a bottle of good liquor, the finest, the most concentrated. It's finally done.

The waitress appeared, holding a long bottle with a grape leaf-shaped logo attached to it.

'Yes, it's really good wine. -- The poor mentality.

Before her voice could land, Hicko filled her second cup. It was too late for her to resign, so she tasted it slowly like the first cup.

She actually wanted to drink it too, so she agreed; but she only drank half a cup. -------------------------------------

At this moment, Hicko suddenly became generous and said loudly:

'Hey, since you like it, I'll give you a small bucket just so you can see that we've always been a good couple.' ’

The old woman didn't say no, and left; she was already a little drunk. "------------------------------------ It's like a drug gate.

The next day, the innkeeper entered Aunt Magruvar's yard and took out of the car a small wooden barrel with iron hoops. ~~~Before leaving, he said:

'Hey, listen, you're done drinking, I still have it there, don't look out.' ’

With that he jumped on his two-wheeled light carriage. —The door was wide open.

"He came again four days later. ～～～

So they touched the cup and filled it two or three times. Confirm that the plan is proceeding smoothly.

But soon there was word of war in the localities that Aunt Magruvar was often drunk alone. ～～～

Hickory stopped going to her house. Someone talked to him about this country woman, and he always said with a look of regret:

Isn't it sinful to be caught up in this hobby at her age? You see, people are old, there is really no way. In this way, sooner or later, she will suffer a big loss. Already hooked, there is no need to send wine... Even this money has been saved ~ cat crying rats ah.

Sure enough, it made her suffer a big loss. The following winter, near Christmas, she got so drunk that she fell to her death in the snow.

Hicko's boss inherited her farm. He also asserted: '

This old lady, if she is not greedy, she will definitely have ten years of life. It's sad and hateful.

There is a kind of folktale tone in general.

Presents the temperament of a long Aesop fable.

Simple and honest people, small farmers or small citizens, or live in peace, but they are not cunning people, taking advantage of small profits and eating big losses, and there is no free lunch in the world.

Don't be afraid of thieves robbing, afraid of thieves.