Genius translator Jin Xiaoyu's "solo" life, time after his father's death | Jin Xiaoyu | father
Jin Xiaoyu's daily life is orderly, like a strictly enforced "form".
Before 6 o'clock every day, Jin Xiaoyu wakes up to wash up and have hot meals. At 7 o'clock, he walked for an hour to the market three stops away from home to buy groceries, and then took the bus back. Wash the vegetables first when you get home, and return to the bedroom from 9:00 to 10:30 to start his fixed translation time.
After my father passed away, the cooking schedule in the "table" was advanced by half an hour. At 10:30 am, he scooped half a cup of rice to cook. After finishing his meal, he would listen to the radio for half an hour, then take a half-hour lunch break, and then it was time for a steady translation. Hot leftover food at 5:30 pm, take a shower and go to bed before 8 pm at the latest, listen to the radio for half an hour, and then go to bed.
This is a true portrayal of Jin Xiaoyu living alone in this 60 square meter small house for the first time in over 50 years. Less than two years after her mother's death, on January 18th this year, Jin Xiaoyu's father also passed away due to illness. Jin Xiaoyu started learning how to cook, arranging the rice bags in chronological order. He calculated the cost of the dishes and the remuneration for the manuscripts, gradually filling the psychological gap after his father's passing with these details of life.
He described himself as a "ascetic monk," and the misfortunes of his youth made him complacent. Two years ago, his father's article "My Genius Son" pushed him out of the door, opening up his interface with the world. As he gained attention, he began to gain recognition from the outside world. During his over 100 days of living alone, this time, he took the initiative to step out of the door.
——①——
"Juvenile" mind
Jin Xiaoyu, who is already in his fifties, has almost no white hair and fair skin, like a young man in his thirties. His way of speaking, tone of voice, and youthful expression are more like an inexperienced teenager. Not long after the reporter entered, he came over from the kitchen with a plate of yangmei and later took out three chocolate flavored ice creams - he shared his favorite food like a child.
He also has a unique understanding and rules of things around him, similar to that of a teenager, and does not allow others to invade or break them at will. This stubbornness is a manifestation of his inner order.
For example, following a routine daily routine, after using the computer, one must move the table and return the keyboard and mouse to their original positions. For example, he feels that his left eye vision has been declining recently, and he believes that it is closely related to taking some medication to treat bipolar disorder.
Starting from 10am, Jin Xiaoyu, who was nestled on the sofa, rubbed his hands back and forth and engaged in a half hour debate with the community secretary Huang on the issue of medication. "Why don't you cut half of the pills?" Despite trying her best to persuade him, Secretary Huang compromised. She was well aware of the consequences of discontinuing medication for patients with mental illnesses and analyzed various possible causes of blurred vision from him.
"It still doesn't work. If you eat it bad, your eyes won't recover." Jin Xiaoyu repeated this sentence, flipping open the column in the medication description that may cause "blurred vision" for everyone to see. "Previously, I only needed to expand the document to 193%, but now it needs to be expanded to over 200 to be clear."
The matter was ultimately decided after consulting with the doctor. Jin Xiaoyu promised not to reduce the dosage of the medication, and Huang Shuji never forgot to instruct the community's Master Ade to give Jin Xiaoyu eye drops three times a day to alleviate his vision problems.
Jin Xiaoyu values his eyes very much, which is his translation of "window". At first, Jin Xiaoyu didn't know that without one eye, it would be like an empty end of a balance, completely overturning the balance of his life.
When Jin Xiaoyu was 6 years old, a needle shot from a toy pistol hit his right eye and he had to undergo a lens removal surgery. When he was a child, he didn't dare to do radio gymnastics because his parents told him that if there were any problems during exercise, he needed to have his eyes removed, which would have a significant impact on his appearance.
Afterwards, Jin Xiaoyu lived with one eye and lived cautiously. Despite his excellent grades, he also began to tire of studying due to his vision problems. In high school, he suffered from a disease that swayed like a pendulum - bipolar disorder. This disease later caused him to drop out of school and he would be hospitalized two or three times a year.
Ms. Cao, the mother, always makes important decisions at critical moments of Jin Xiaoyu's growth. For example, in 1993, he purchased a computer and allowed Xiaoyu to study online. Later, he arranged for self-study exams and asked Jin Xiaoyu to borrow books from the Zhejiang Library. Xiaoyu self-taught Germany, Japan, and English for six years. And because her mother agreed to the invitation from her alumni, Jin Xiaoyu embarked on a journey of translation in life: a foreign short story called "Boat Heat".
"At present, if it weren't for these things, my life would definitely have been different from now." Jin Xiaoyu's father, Jin Xingyong, once joked that Ms. Cao was "a descendant of Cao Cao and a strategic planner in the family.". "My dad may seem to have a dispute with her on the surface, but in reality, big things are decided by my mom, and my dad personally implements them. Without these, I can't imagine what it would be like now," said Jin Xiaoyu.
——②——
The Subject of "Death" and "Alone"
On January 18th, his father Jin Xingyong passed away due to illness. In March of this year, Jin Xiaoyu experienced the longest hospitalization.
Half a month before Jin Xingyong passed away, he was accompanied by Jin Xiaoyu. After finishing lunch every day, Jin Xiaoyu would rush back to the hospital to accompany his father. After his father left, he agreed to his last wish: to donate his body. In fact, at the beginning, he faced fierce opposition from Jin Xiaoyu and even tore up the documents signed by his father. Later, Jin Xingyong secretly filled out a new one behind his back.
Not long after his father passed away, Jin Xiaoyu's old illness recurred and he was hospitalized for nearly two months. After discharge, Jin Xiaoyu approached Secretary Huang and expressed his willingness to donate his body. In fact, the willingness to donate a body is also learning from one's father. Donating the body was originally Jin Xingyong's last wish, and he did not want his future affairs to burden his son. Jin Xiaoyu also stated that he must help his father fulfill this wish. "If he donates, I will do the same as him."
When signing the body donation on the same day, Red Cross staff said that signing the body donation like Jin Xiaoyu would have greater significance. Because Jin Xiaoyu also donated his brain tissue, it has great significance and value for the research of mental disorders such as bipolar disorder.
The death of her mother made Jin Xiaoyu feel the impact of death for the first time, and when facing the death of her father, Jin Xiaoyu had to face the issue of walking alone in the future. Compared to being hit and helpless, Jin Xiaoyu believes that it has "more facilitated a deep-seated driving force for life.".
"I am now in my 50s, and my father passed away at the age of 86. If I could live to his age, even if I could only live for a few more years, it wouldn't matter."
At first, Jin Xiaoyu was also immersed in the pain of losing loved ones. "I think it's better to gradually get rid of it. Being immersed in it all the time is not good, and it's no use thinking about him," Jin Xiaoyu said. Just like when my mother left, my father quickly disposed of a lot of her clothes. Jin Xiaoyu said he couldn't bear to lose it. His father told him not to immerse himself in some things, but to actively move forward.
My father once told Jin Xiaoyu that the past is over, so don't talk too much about difficult things. Just do what you think is right.
In Jin Xiaoyu's view, this is a rare balance of mentality, so fathers will live longer. Jin Xiaoyu's conclusion made Secretary Huang laugh. Jin Xiaoyu's occasional humor brought some light to this dull room.
Xiaoyu continued to explain the reason. He thought of the gray time when he didn't study or work after his eyes were injured when he was young. He didn't eat for several days in a row, which caused certain damage to his health. "So I may not be able to live up to his age," he smiled, and his smile quickly dissipated.
Jin Xiaoyu is worried that older people may suffer from hypertension and kidney failure, and he always worries that there is not enough time left now. "If time passes, it's too late to regret. Now that the conditions are good, young people who find the tricks learn foreign languages faster and have shorter learning time. Therefore, besides translation, as long as there is an opportunity, I will continue to work hard to learn Spanish," said Jin Xiaoyu.
On the one hand, learning a new language has made Jin Xiaoyu eagerly await it, and on the other hand, his cousin, cousin, and community secretary often visit him, providing him with some support. He arranged the rice bags in chronological order and said, "My goal is to have 7 bags of rice at home, each weighing 60-70 pounds. I want to finish these rice bags first."
——③——
Translate "ascetic monk" and "genius" translator
Turn left through the living room, and the bedroom near the entrance is Jin Xiaoyu's room. The room is not large, with a single bed on the right next to the window, and his computer desk and bookshelf on the left. The bookshelf is filled with dictionaries, relevant books from his previous studies in computer science, and a collection of his translated original works.
Jin Xiaoyu's first translation of "Ship Heat" was released by Nanjing University Press. "Except for Nanjing University, no one in the translation industry knows who Jin Xiaoyu is, and no one in society knows how much effort my son put in, let alone how many books were translated by a bipolar disorder patient." On January 17, 2022, translator Jin Xiaoyu's father, Jin Xingyong, wrote in this autobiography titled "My Genius Son".
Jin Xiaoyu described his life as that of an ascetic monk. He remembers preparing a small German Chinese dictionary with a thickness of over 800 pages while translating the Benjamin Letters. He memorizes one page every morning, reviews six pages, and it takes about an hour just to memorize vocabulary. He memorized for more than two years, improving his vocabulary while translating. When he finished memorizing the dictionary, he also finished translating this book.
Having been facing the desktop computer all the time, Jin Xiaoyu's neck, back, and eyes were painful, and his way to relax was by taking the bus. He has a free bus card, and he doesn't set a destination. Wherever the car takes him, he will get off and play if he is interested. "Sometimes on the way by bus, it feels like an ancient landscape painting outside the car window," said Jin Xiaoyu.
Perhaps Jin Xingyong did not expect the huge response caused by that self narration. After being seen by the outside world, Jin Xiaoyu joined the Zhejiang Writers Association and Translation Publishing House, and his life circle finally expanded outward. The community also established a "Xiaoyu Translation Corner" for him. On May 20th, he participated in the English learning activity for the Asian Games in Shuangdang Community with several senior members of the Provincial and Municipal Translation Association, and as a community volunteer, shared his experience of learning a foreign language with his neighbors.
Jin Xiaoyu is currently translating the Inca Civilization. "I translated 40 pages in 20 days and it will be over soon," said Xiaoyu. Recently, the Japanese author Qiichiro Hirano's "Burial" was mailed by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, and he is still reading it. The two sides have not yet discussed the contract. "I hope to increase my remuneration a bit." Jin Xiaoyu believes that in addition to the cost calculated by word, it would be best to give him some extra income for each printed book.
"I will have a hope. If he sells a million copies for one yuan, I will have a hope." Jin Xiaoyu paused, "so I am still a relatively ordinary person." After my father passed away, he lost a fixed income in terms of finances, and he would occasionally think about making money. "I will try my best to fight for what I want," he said.
Jin Xiaoyu's main expenditure is on food. The discount at the elderly cafeteria near home may be much cheaper, with a meal costing around 30-40 yuan. "Making it myself is definitely much cheaper, for example, a vegetarian elderly cafeteria costs over 8 yuan per plate. If I make it myself, it won't cost much, so I can still have two meals." He calculated the price of the dishes and counted the pork ribs in the refrigerator.
Jin Xiaoyu will buy ice cream at a 50% discount during the off-season and visit several vegetable stalls to compare prices. He eats shrimp almost every meal, and as someone who has never bought chicken, duck, or fish, he once worried that "the old duck he bought for 60 yuan has no meat". However, others told him that the old duck has less meat and is used for stewing soup. By gradually filling the psychological gap after his father's passing with these details of life, Jin Xiaoyu's body also slowly became tinged with some smoke and anger.
One day in June, Jin Xiaoyu received two emails from the editorial commission of People's Literature Publishing House, hoping that he would read the full text. If he felt it was good, he would see if it was possible to translate these two books for People's Literature Publishing House. Jin Xiaoyu felt very happy because his father, Jin Xingyong, regarded the People's Literature Publishing House as the highest hall of the publishing industry before his death. If he could publish a book at the People's Literature Publishing House, it could be considered as fulfilling his aspirations for my career during his lifetime.
Regardless of his halo or title, Jin Xiaoyu felt that due to his nickname "genius", it would be a good thing if more people could discover him. The life of an ascetic monk also began to taste a bit of sweetness.
——④——
The Last Companion of "Old Cat" and "Old Mouse"
With the spread of "genius translators", many readers have turned their attention to Jin Xiaoyu's translations. What most people see is the talented and unlucky multilingual translator who emerged from media reports after Jin Xiaoyu became famous.
After the release of "My Genius Son", this small house of several tens of square meters was immersed in an unprecedented lively atmosphere. For a long time afterwards, the door of the house was often open, and Jin Xingyong tirelessly introduced a flood of media reporters into the house, or sat around the small pavilion in front of the house, repeatedly introducing Jin Xiaoyu's talent in translation. Jin Xiaoyu remained quiet on the side and answered briefly.
But what Community Secretary Huang sees more is that during the more than thirty years of Jin Xiaoyu's relationship with bipolar disorder, Jin Xingyong silently bears such a long and day after day responsibility for taking care of children behind his back.
Jin Xiaoyu falls ill every year and sometimes goes out to provoke others. Jin Xingyong always follows behind, apologizing to others and admitting his mistake. Jin Xingyong will also ask the community to come forward and coordinate, and Jin Xiaoyu will go out to "cause trouble" again, asking the community secretary to say good things to others, "We apologize and are willing to lose money.". Secretary Huang felt that Jin Xingyong's fatherly love was both introverted and profound.
At first, Jin Xiaoyu didn't know how to find a way out when he was in high mood or under pressure. "Before, he used to always throw things at home, but later he couldn't do it anymore, so he couldn't throw things anymore.". One day, Jin Xiaoyu felt that his parents were getting old and couldn't bear the pressure, so he said, "Let me go out and take a break.". He picked up the free bus card and chose to go out to relax.
In Secretary Huang's view, there may be a lack of communication between Jin Xingyong and his son, and there may be some minor conflicts in daily life.
Once, Xiaoyu went out alone without bringing his phone. Jin Xingyong told Secretary Huang that Jin Xiaoyu was lost, so they started searching. They searched for a long time but couldn't find it, so they were very anxious. Until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Jin Xiaoyu returned by himself. Huang Shuji asked him what he had done and he said he would go see if the cemetery was suitable. He wanted to find a cemetery for his mother.
Dad was very opposed, and the father and son had a big argument. "Xiaoyu told me that as a child, he has the ability to help his mother find a cemetery and want to do a good job in her future affairs, but Jin Xingyong thinks it's better to save this money for Xiaoyu. He wants to leave the money for Xiaoyu so that he can live his life well. So I think Xiaoyu has more parents in his heart, and father has more Xiaoyu in his heart."
Leaving dignity for suffering is out of the dignity of intellectuals. During the three years when Jin Xiaoyu's mother was bedridden, Jin Xingyong took on the task of taking care of his wife. Every two hours at night, Jin Xingyong had to turn her over, so he hardly slept the whole night. However, during the day, he still had to continue cooking, washing clothes, and taking care of Jin Xiaoyu. At that time, Secretary Huang asked if he wanted to help find a caregiver, but Jin Xingyong said it was inconvenient and that taking care of him might be better.
Jin Xingyong was still cooking two days before being hospitalized, and Jin Xiaoyu asked him to hire a nanny or go to a nursing home. Jin Xingyong, however, was unwilling and proposed spending 100000 yuan on renovating the house to find a spouse for Jin Xiaoyu. "If he is willing, he may still be able to live a little longer," said Jin Xiaoyu.
When Jin Xingyong was alive, he never mentioned any difficulties in life to Secretary Huang. After Jin Xiaoyu became famous, many people wanted to donate to him, but Jin Xingyong refused. He also told Secretary Huang that if anyone in the community has difficulties, he can take out his family's food to help others.
One day after eating Wonton, Jin Xiaoyu took the initiative to mention the topic of death to reporters.
Jin Xingyong was seriously ill and hospitalized. The doctor said he would be discharged in a few more days. Jin Xiaoyu thought his father would be fine, "it's strange." At that time, Jin Xiaoyu also fell ill and was hospitalized. He didn't understand why his father ultimately couldn't be discharged.
On the day of his mother's funeral, Jin Xiaoyu did not hesitate to take photos, fearing that he would lose his thoughts in the future. Seeing the photo, Jin Xiaoyu couldn't say how she felt. "Does it feel like someone suddenly leaves your life without a sound?" the reporter asked. "Mmm," Jin Xiaoyu replied.
My mother's zodiac sign belongs to the tiger, while my father and Jin Xiaoyu both belong to the mouse. A few years ago, after her mother was bedridden and "skinny and bony," Jin Xiaoyu affectionately called her "old cat.". Jin Xiaoyu said that in the last three years of "Old Cat", fortunately, there were two "mice" accompanying her. After his mother passed away, he often muttered "Old Cat has gone, Old Cat has gone" alone.
In the past year, Jin Xiaoyu has noticed that his father is becoming more and more like an "old mouse", but he never dares to call him an "old mouse". At the moment of parting, Jin Xiaoyu touched his father's head for the first time and for the last time, the "old mouse" gradually disappeared in front of Jin Xiaoyu.
