《美食祈禱和戀愛》Chapter 78 (176):老四賴爺的人生故事

Here is Ketut Liyer's life story pretty much as he tells it:

老四賴爺如此訴說自己的人生故事：

"It is nine generations that my family is a medicine man. My father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, all of them is a medicine man. They all want me to be medicine man because they see I have light. They see I have beautiful and I have intelligent. But I do not want to be medicine man. Too much study! Too much information! And I don't believe in medicine man! I want to be painter! I want to be artist! I have good talent with this.

"我的家族有九代擔任藥師。我的父親、祖父、曾祖父都是藥師。他們都要我當藥師，因爲他們看見我有慧根。他們看我有美和智慧。但我不想當藥師。念太多書！太多資訊！而且我不信藥師！我要當畫家！我想做藝術家！我有繪畫天賦。

"When I was still young man, I meet American man, very rich, maybe even New York City person like you. He like my painting. He wants to buy big painting from me, maybe one meter big, for lot of money. Enough money to be rich. So I start to painting this picture for him. Every day I painting, painting, painting. Even in night I painting. In this day, long time ago, no electric lightbulb like today, so I have lamp. Oil lamp, you understand? Pump lamp, have to pump it to make oil come. And I always make painting every night with oil lamp.

"我還年輕時，遇上一位很有錢的美國人，可能和你一樣是紐約人。他喜歡我的畫。他想出高價買我的大幅畫，大概一公尺大。賣畫的這筆錢足夠讓我成爲有錢人。我每天畫呀、畫呀、畫呀，甚至晚上也畫。從前沒有像今天這樣的電燈泡，只有燈。油燈，懂吧？抽油燈，得抽油才行。我每天晚上都點油燈畫畫。

"One night, oil lamp is dark, so I pumping, pumping, pumping and it explode! Makes my arm on fire! I go to hospital for one month with burned arm, it make infection. Infection goes all the way to my heart. The doctor say I must to go to Singapore for cut off my arm, for amputation. This is not my cup of tea. But doctor says I must go to Singapore, have operation to cut arm off. I tell doctor—first I go home to my village.

"一天晚上，油燈很暗，於是我抽啊抽啊抽啊，結果爆炸！我的手臂着了火！燒壞的手臂讓我住院兩個月，造成感染，感染到我的心臟。醫生說我必須去新加坡做截肢手術，切除手臂。這我可不喜歡。但醫生說我得去新加坡做手術切除手臂。我告訴醫生——我必須先回村子裏的家。

"That night in village, I got dream. Father, grandfather, great-grandfather—all they come in my dream to my house together and tell me how to heal my burned arm. They tell me make juice from saffron and sandalwood. Put this juice on burn. Then make powder from saffron and sandalwood. Rub this powder on burn. They tell me I must do this, then I not lose my arm. So real this dream, like they in house with me, all of they together.

"那天晚上在村子裏，我做了個夢。父親、祖父、曾祖父都來到我夢中，齊聚一堂，告訴我如何治療燒傷的手臂。他們要我提取番紅花和檀木的汁液，把汁液敷在燒傷處，然後把番紅花和檀木磨成粉，把粉塗在燒傷處。他們告訴我這麼做纔不會失去一條手臂。此夢如此真實，就像他們和我在屋子裏齊聚一堂。