A few words from PalmtreeH, the translator:
I recently finished my third-time reading of Ding Mo"s novel Don"t Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏). I got curious about the English translation of this novel and searched online. Sure enough, there I found some chapters very nicely translated. I also regret that the translation is only partial. Although my English is not nearly as good as the other translators, I still want to try my hands on the translation. After all, this is one of my favorite Chinese novels from an author I highly respect. I hope my efforts would help the work be enjoyed by more readers.
I"m not sure how far or how fast I can go with the translation. I will just work on it as much as I can.
Don"t Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)
Chapter 7
The story is over. Monkey is somewhat urging in his tone: “Cla.s.s capitain, won’t you believe now? How do you feel?”
Mu Hanxia: “Quite stunning.”
Monkey: “Exactly, how cunning.”
Mu Hanxia: “No, why I feel my blood racing upon hearing this? So this is what a ‘business war’ is like.”
Monkey: “Huh...”
Mu Hanxia: “I suddenly remembered an old saying: All warfare is based on deception. Now I understand a little -- business is the same, ‘deception’ is exactly what is needed. Interesting. Can you tell me more about him?”
Monkey: “Oh, no...Why I have a feeling that I’m leading a good kid to the evil world! I didn’t mean for this to happen. Ahh...
--------”
Early morning. The sky is dimly lit and the air is still cold. Mu Hanxia wears his sports outfit, jogging in the morning mist.
Ever since her mother pa.s.sed away from a fatal illness, she has been exercising everyday to keep herself in a good shape. This has become her habit.
Not far from home, there is an athletic field, which is not far from the supermarket either. She comes here every day. Right now the mist is fading away, and not too many people are scattered around in the field. She is all by herself, breathing heavily from running.
She didn’t expect she would run into Meng Gang here.
There are some exercising equipment beside the field. As she runs closer, she sees a man in a gray T-shirt and black shorts working on weight lifting. The back looks really broad and strong, also quite straight and tall, somewhat familiar.
Then she sees Meng Gang turn around, seeing her squarely in the face.
Mu Hanxia stops with a surprise: “Manager Meng.”
The T-shirt Meng Gang wears is all soaked; the broad and full forehead is all sweat. His eyes steady and bright with a hint of smile: “Good morning, little girl.”
Mu Hanxia: “Good morning to you! How come you are also here exercising?”
Meng Gang chuckles, “Why, only you little girls are allowed to come and I’m not? Too much socializing and too little exercise lately. My body also needs some break.”
Mu Hanxia quickly replies, “Of course, of course. Exercising is the best. Manager Meng is the wisest!”
Meng gang chuckles again.
Mu Hanxia isn’t that good at interacting with leading figures. Seeing that Meng Gang doesn’t say anything or let her go, she tries, “So, Manager Meng... Anything else you"d like to command me to do?”
This time Meng Gang really gets amused by her funny little expression. Holding on to the exercise equipment in his hand, he laughs his deep hearty laughter: “Well, Hanxia, we are not boss and subordinates here. We are just regular friends. I don’t and shouldn’t command you to do anything. Go on with your jogging.”
Mu Hanxia’s heart feels a surge of tenderness for a moment by the sudden word of “friends.” Her brain warms up, and her footsteps have a drifty feeling.
“Yes, Manager Meng. Thanks.” She runs away with a little blush on her cheeks.
After finishing a circle, she hears the steady and strong footsteps from behind. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Meng Gang running up to her.
A man in his thirties is at the prime of his age, not to mention that Meng Gang rose from a laborer in the supermarket. In the rising sun, the masculine figure looks more slender and stronger, every move full of strength. But compared to younger men in their twenties, there seems to be something more in him.
Mu Hanxia draws her eye back, instinctively shuns to the inside to make way for him. He approaches; the heat from his body seems to radiate over to her.
“Running so slowly, huh?” He says in a low voice.
Mu Hanxia smiles and then mumbles, “Don’t dare to be faster than the boss.”
He smiles again, the stiff lines on his face instantly softened, and runs past her to the front.
After ten circles.
Mu Hanxia sits down on the stone steps by the field. She hasn’t rested long before Meng Gang runs slowly to her, stops, and sits beside her.
Mu Hanxia feels a little awkward, but still puts on a nonchalant smile on her face.
Unexpectedly, Meng Gange starts to talk about work with her.
“Do you adjust well to the sales department?” He asks.
The two of them sit side by side. Mu Hanxia can even smell the cigarette and sweat on him, mingled with the smell of gra.s.s beside the field. The sun simultaneously shines on both of them, bringing a strange feeling, as if the two of them get more familiar because of it and loses the previous sense of distance because of their positions.
“It’s fine,” Mu Hanxia smiles, “Everyone is really nice to me.”
Meng Gang smiles, takes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it up, taking a suck slowly. Although Mu Hanxia doesn’t like the smell of smoke, she doesn’t show.
“I asked your manager,” He says, “He said you are good and got potentials. But, you are just a little too uneasy and nervous and place yourself too low in front of everybody. Is that true?” He looks at her from the side of his eye.
Mu Hanxia doesn’t know what to say, “Oh...”
He smiles again, gaze fixed on the cigarette in his hand, and says slowly, “Hanxia, don’t be nervous, and don’t need to feel uneasy. Maybe when I hire an a.s.sociate, at least an a.s.sociate diploma is required or even an undergraduate degree. But there’s one thing at which you are the same as me--although we started low, we are not weaker than anyone. In business, diploma may mean something at the beginning, but in the end it’s the achievement that really matters. Diploma doesn’t matter a d.a.m.n bit. You understand?”
Mu Hanxia is silent for a few seconds, and then answers, “I understand.”
Both of them are quiet for a while. Mu Hanxia raises her head and sees the sun is already showing its whole face on the horizon. The sunlight is spreading on the whole field, bright and warm, just like her heart at the moment, warmed up by the remarks of Meng Gang.
“Manager Meng, I have some situation I’d like to report.” She suddenly says.
“Oh, what situation?”
Mu Hanxia says, “Here’s the thing -- I have a high-school cla.s.smate, who’s going to college in New York City right now. I remembered the other day a colleague said that Lin Mochen graduated from Columbia University in New York, so I casually mentioned him to my cla.s.smate. It just happened that my cla.s.smate had heard about him, and he told me some stories about him...”
......
The cigarette slowly burns out between Meng Gang’s fingers.
Mu Hanxia lifts her head to look at him, “Manager Meng, that’s all I have to tell you.”
Meng Gang ponders a little, little change in his expressions, but asks, “Why tell me this?”
Mu Hanxia looks him in the eye and says boldly, “Because I think the originally planned 5% off may not be enough to defense us from his attack.”
Meng Gang stays quiet for a few seconds, and then suddenly shows some unfathomable hint of smile in the eye: “Hanxia, you have even more guts and even more potential than I thought.”
Mu Hanxia’s heart starts pounding, “So, Manger Meng, what shall we do next?”
Meng Gang just goes back to have another suck of his cigarette and says mildly, “I will think it over. Shouldn’t we go now? Otherwise we will both be late.”
--------
The following few days, Mu Hanxia keeps quiet, secretly waiting.
Waiting for Meng Gang to announce new promotion plans.
However, the whole company or the supermarket still keeps perfectly calm. No action at all. The sales department is still preparing for the 5% off promotion. Mu Hanxia silently sighs to herself -- this won’t work, definitely won’t work. It can’t stop that legendary wolf.
The grand opening day of Yong Zheng is steadily approaching.
Mu Hanxia is but an unimportant figure; it is impossible for her to say something to her colleagues. It is also impossible for her to show up before Meng Gang to give orders. All she can do is stay quiet and watch for any possible changes. She wonders what ideas Meng Gang has ever got.
Well, Meng Gang has been amiable in the few interactions with her. But someone like him still strikes Mu Hanxia with awe rather than any feeling of closeness. So in the days after, she thinks about it and stops going to jog in that field. Instead she goes to the riverside.
She doesn’t know if Meng Gang still goes. But to Mu Hanxia, it will be too tiresome if she has to greet a leader every morning when she jogs. Therefore, she decides to go to the field every now and then, so that it won’t look like she’s avoiding him on purpose and she doesn’t have to accompany the leader every day. Perfect.
However, something major happens before Mu Hanxia has the chance to accompany the leader for a second time.
--------
The supermarket system always works six days a week, with Sundays off. Today is the late afternoon of Sat.u.r.day.
Exactly a week before Yong Zheng’s grand opening.
At almost six, Mu Hanxia is ready to go home when the manager comes into the office and announces with a solemn face, “All of you, stay (after work).”
Everybody looks at everybody else.
Also asked to stay are all the employees of produce department, procurement department, administration department..., all the important departments. Shortly, Mu Hanxia gets a message from He Jing, “Xia, something is going on? Today the supermarket closes early and we salespeople are all asked to stay.”
Mu Hanxia puts down her phone. Looking at the same sombor colleagues around her, her heartbeat begins to speed up.
It’s here.
It’s finally here.
As the sky gets dark, all employees are asked to gather in the grand conference room. All the salespeople are also told to gather in the empty s.p.a.ce at the store to listen to exhortations. In the meantime, some veteran employees, with the help of some people, carry in bundles and bundles of promotion posters, signs, price tags...The entrances for commodities are widely open, trucks drive in one after another, and goods are anxiously unloaded...
In the conference room.
The lights are bright, and the atmosphere serious. The room is filled with employees.
Mu Hanxia sits in the corner at the last row, listening to the whispers between people nearby. After a while, Meng Gang, followed by several managers, finally walks in.
The room instantly falls solemnly silent.
Meng Gang sit down in the front row, takes a look around, and starts， “I’m here to announce, as approved by the headquarter, starting from tomorrow, we will launch the grand promotion.”He pauses for a moment, and goes on, “It will last a week, with an investment of three million.”
The audience burst into an uproar. Almost all faces change colors. People start to whisper between each other.
It has to be noted that, although three million is not an astonishingly big amount of money, for a business with marginal profit like supermarkets, three million in seven days means losing 400 thousand each day. After all, the gross income of a supermarket is no more than 200 thousand. How many supermarkets have ever tried this?
Some quick-thinking employees immediately get the idea.
Manager Meng is determined to have an fierce battle against Yong Zheng, who’s opening in one week, so it won’t have a good opening.
“You should all know,” Meng Gang speaks slowly, “This is an unprecedented grand promotion in the history of our store. I hope we all work hard and unite as one for a beautiful battle, guard our leading position in the Jiang Cheng market, and achieve new peak performance. ”