袁立公益 | 山上有蛇，家里有酒

摘要：头一次见到有桂，是几年前基金会在湖南举办的一场公益夏令营中。她带着两个儿子，从很远的地方赶来。志愿者告诉我，她一路辗转换了好几趟车才到长沙。有桂是从广西嫁到湖南的，个子很高，脸庞周正，名字好听。

本文由袁立女士编写

头一次见到有桂，是几年前基金会在湖南举办的一场公益夏令营中。她带着两个儿子，从很远的地方赶来。志愿者告诉我，她一路辗转换了好几趟车才到长沙。有桂是从广西嫁到湖南的，个子很高，脸庞周正，名字好听。

The first time I met Yougui was at a charity summer camp organized by the foundation in Hunan a few years ago. She had traveled a long way with her two sons. Volunteers told me she had transferred several times before finally arriving in Changsha. Yougui, who had moved from Guangxi to Hunan after marriage, was tall with dignified features and a beautiful name.

今年夏令营，我们有了更多相处的机会。有一天傍晚，她洗完澡放下头发，月光下微风中，小麦色的皮肤，像个西班牙女郎，我脱口而出：“有桂，你好像个80年代的明星呀。” 我心里想，可惜生活在农村，丈夫又因为尘肺病去世了，留下她和两个儿子。这么美丽坚韧的女性，应该被生活、被更坚强的膀臂温柔以待。

This year's summer camp gave us more opportunities to spend time together. One evening, after she had washed her hair and let it down, her wheat-colored skin glowed under the moonlight and gentle breeze, making her resemble a Spanish beauty. I blurted out, "Yougui, you look like a star from the 1980s." I thought to myself, it's such a pity that she lives in a rural village, and her husband passed away from pneumoconiosis, leaving her alone with two sons. Such a beautiful and resilient woman deserves to be cherished and protected by life and by stronger arms.

有桂干活非常卖力。她不仅要照顾年迈的公公，凌晨就得上山割树油——那是一种松树油，用作衣服、塑料袋甚至工厂线路板的原料。一年辛劳下来，能挣个一万块钱，贴补两个孩子的学费。

Yougui worked extremely hard. Not only did she care for her elderly father-in-law, but she also had to wake up before dawn to hike up the mountains and tap pine resin—a material used for clothing, plastic bags, and even circuit boards in factories. A year of toil earned her about ten thousand yuan, which helped cover her children's tuition fees.

有桂，这么年轻，美丽的女子，本该被人捧在手心、好好疼爱，可命运却让她年纪轻轻就守了寡，困在一个偏僻的村庄，无论晴雨都要上山劳作。湖南山间多蛇，记得柳宗元的《捕蛇者说》，有桂就是生活在那一带，她说山里有许多坟墓和野蛇，她常常腰间系根绳子，别上柴刀就上山了，她的刀功也很好，划的树很有力量，我夸她像个武林高手，女子本弱，为母则刚！为了两个儿子的学费，她必须辛苦工作，甚至冒险。

Yougui, so young and beautiful, ought to be treasured and loved dearly. Yet fate had left her widowed at a young age, trapped in a remote village, laboring in the mountains rain or shine. The Hunan mountains are known for their snakes, much like the setting described in Liu Zongyuan's "The Snake-Catcher." Yougui lived in that very region and often mentioned the numerous graves and wild snakes in the mountains. She would tie a rope around her waist, tuck a machete into it, and head up the slopes. Her knife skills were impressive—the cuts she made on the trees were precise and powerful. I praised her, saying she moved like a martial arts master. "A woman may seem fragile, but motherhood makes her strong!" To pay for her sons' education, she had to work tirelessly and even take risks.

但是有桂是喜乐的，特别是和我们认识后，我们帮助她的孩子拨了助学金，每周我们还会视频通话，看看这一周的她的难处，夏令营也请有桂这样的妈妈们和孩子们一起出来，我们一直在牵挂着这样的孤儿寡母，虽然他们很坚强。

But Yougui was joyful, especially after we got to know her. We helped secure financial aid for her children, and we video-called weekly to check on her difficulties. The summer camp also invited mothers like Yougui to join their children for outings. We have always kept such widowed mothers and orphaned children in our thoughts, no matter how resilient they are.

去年过年时，我曾去到湖南永州的乡下探访她。那个家，真的很穷，土墙，泥地，可是有桂心灵手巧，正在用粮食酿酒。屋子里弥漫着浓郁的酒香，那一刻，虽处陋室，却如置丰收的暖房，格外温暖，真心希望有桂以后能越来越幸福，就像她的名字那样——有桂，越是压得低，越往土里扎得深。待到霜降过后，终将满村芬芳，绽放出那隐忍却持久的香气。

Last Chinese New Year, I visited her in the rural countryside of Yongzhou, Hunan. Her home was truly poor—earthen walls and muddy floors—but Yougui was clever and skilled. She was brewing liquor from grains, and the room was filled with a rich, aromatic scent. In that moment, though the house was humble, it felt as warm and abundant as a harvest room. I sincerely hope Yougui will find increasing happiness in the future, just as her name suggests—Yougui, like osmanthus: the lower it is pressed, the deeper it roots into the earth. After the frost descends, it will eventually fill the entire village with its subtle yet enduring fragrance.