第四天，几个掌柜的来看望常公，说：“实话告诉你吧！老东家去世的时候，我们都在场。老东家真是死不瞑目。他为啥死不瞑目？我们都知道！桃花女从小到大跟她爸宁；老东家说话，她就没信过几句。死不瞑目！还不都是担心她呀！守灵期限还没过，她就咬牙切齿地说： ‘我爸爸死不瞑目，都是让常公那个傻小子给迷的。’ 她发誓要整死你，派人到处找你。”

On the fourth day, three shopkeepers came to visit Constant Fair and said, “To tell you the truth! We were all present when the old Boss Liu died. He really could not rest in peace. Why did he die with eyes open? We all know! Peach Flower Girl is stubborn, she never believed a word the old Boss Liu said since child. Death with eyes open, all because of worrying about her! The spirits keeping term had not even passed, so she gritted her teeth and said, ‘My dad died with eyes open because he was mesmerized by that stupid guy Constant Fair.’ She swore she would kill you and sent people around to look for you.”

常公说：“谢谢几位老兄弟的实言相告，但我还是愿意留在这给老东家守灵，想出他的遗言。” 掌柜的们走后，常公就扑在老东家的无字碑上放声大哭。一边哭，一边想，自己从小就笨，书读得不好，常挨老师的打骂。长大后，我学做生意学得慢，老是出错。幸亏老东家的偏袒包庇，我才在努力的挣扎中学了些药剂学赖以为生。自从离开刘老东家，我是有家不能回，有苦无处诉，勉强能养活自己，到现在一事无成。刘老东家偏偏选择了我来照顾这个家，弄得商团分崩离析。哭着哭着，常公感觉到一股股暖流像温水一样从头顶流向全身，之后，他感觉心里身上又比以前舒服多了。

Constant Fair said, “Thank brothers, for your truthful words, but I am still willing to stay here for spirits keeping, and to think out his will.” After the shopkeepers left, Constant Fair threw himself on the Publican Liu's wordless tombstone and cried aloud. While crying, while thinking, I was stupid since childhood, not good at reading, often beaten and scolded by teachers. When I grew up, I was slow in learning to do business and often made mistakes. Fortunately, Publican Liu's favoritism harboring, I strugglingly learned some pharmacy to rely on for life. Since leaving Liu's family, I was not able to return home, and there was no place to complain about the bitter, barely able to support myself, until now nothing has been accomplished. The old master Liu chose me to take care of his family, causing the merchant group to fall apart. Crying, Constant Fair felt a stream of warmth flow like warm water from top of his head to his whole body, after that, he felt much more comfortable in his heart and body than before.

（2）

第五天，几个掌柜的又来劝常公：“刘老东家博学多才，是个罕见的世外高人，他的心思，我们怎么能猜得到呢！桃花女这人喜怒无常，面善心恶，没人能在她那里得到好结果。为她这样一个女人在这里浪费时间，不值得。走！我们几个老哥们给你凑钱治病，咱们不用她桃花女了！”

On the fifth day, several shopkeepers came to advise Constant Fair again: "Old Master Liu is erudite and a rare man of the world, how can we guess his mind! The Peach Flower Girl is a temperamental person with a goddess’ face and a scorpion’s heart, no one can get a good result with her. It's not worth wasting time here for a woman like her. Go! We several old brothers will gather money for your treatment, we don't need her Peach Flower Girl!"

常公说：“谢谢几位老兄弟的实言相告，但我还是愿意留在这给老东家守灵，想出老东家的遗言。” 掌柜的们走后，常公就扑在老东家的无字碑上放声大哭。他一边哭，一边想：是不是我真的没有那样的学问，想不出那样的词！？”

Constant Fair said, “Thank brothers, for your truthful words, but I am still willing to stay here for spirits keeping and to figure out his last words.” After the shopkeepers left, Constant Fair threw himself on the wordless tombstone and cried loudly. As he cried, he thought, “Is it true that I don't have that kind of learning and can't come up with that kind of words!?”

许多天中，常公的朋友们天天来劝他：“猜到了那八个字又会怎样？桃花女也不会按照老东家的意思做呀！你现在病成这样，她愣说你没病。自从你回来了，没人见她为你伤心。她还高兴了，闲着到后院赏花，还有心思去书房读书了。还有人看见她在花园里偷着乐。”

For many days, Constant Fair's friends came to persuade him every day: “What if you guessed those eight words? Peach Flower Girl will not do what our old boss wants! You are so sick now, and she said you are not sick. Since you came back, no one has seen her sad for you. She is still happy, admiring flowers in the backyard, and still has leisure heart to read books. Some people also saw her laugh stealthily in the garden.”

（3）

一天，在桃花村的礼堂里，桃花女正和掌柜的们议事，一个小伙计慌张地跑了进来，大喊：“不好了！新老爷在山上晕倒啦！”

One day, in the Peach Flower Village's auditorium, Peach Flower Girl was deliberating with the shopkeepers when a little servant ran in in a panic, shouting, “It's no good! The new Boss fainted on the mountain!”

桃花女厉声喝道：“住口！谁是你的新老爷！”

小伙计赶忙改口说：“新姑爷在山上晕倒了！”

Peach Flower Girl rebuked sharply: "Shut up! Who is your new Boss!"

The little servant hurriedly changed his words and said: “The new son-in-law fainted on the mountain!”

桃花女大发雷霆：“你给我滚出去！让你看着他！是如果他死了，别让野狗把尸体叼跑了，我好有个东西给他修坟，披麻戴孝地为他守灵！”

Peach Flower Girl was furious: “Get out of here! Let you watch him! It's that if he dies, don't let the wild dogs carry his corpse away, so that I can have something to build his grave and wear mourning for him!"

一个掌柜的焦急地说：“大当家的！咱这屋里就你的医术最好，咱们得立刻一起去山上看看！”

A shopkeeper said anxiously to Peach Flower Girl: “Big Boss! You're the best healer in this house, we must immediately go to the mountain to look!”

桃花女果然是医术高明，捏这儿捅那儿，几下之后，常公就苏醒过来了。桃花女站起来就说“他没病”，回村子了。

Peach Flower Girl was indeed a skilled healer, after a few pinches here and pokes there, Constant Fair woke up. Peach Flower Girl stood up and said， “He's not sick” ， then, went back to the village.

（4）

这天，几个掌柜的们又来到了常公的帐篷，说：“兄弟呀！这次我们不是来劝你的，是来向你告别的。你也知道，现在世风日下，人心不古。生意不好做，咱各个药庄的生意都是一日不如一日，我们也得养家糊口。”

On this day, several shopkeepers came to Constant Fair's tent again and said: “O brother! This time we are not here to advise you, but to bid you farewell. As you know, the world is going downhill, and people's hearts are not in the right place. Business is not doing well, the business of all our pharmacies is getting worse by the day, also we must support our families.”

常公一听就急了：“你们都走了！大小姐咋办？”

一个掌柜的生气地说：“这我可真不懂！你自己的命都朝不保夕，还惦记着她！”

Constant fair became anxious when he heard this: “You've all left! What about our lady!?”

A shopkeeper said angrily: “This is something I really don't understand! Your own life is at stake, and you're still thinking about her!”

常公愣住了，叹了口气，不由自主地叨咕：“这就是我的命啊！”

那个掌柜的嚷道：“我可知道，你不信神、佛、鬼，什么时候你开始信命了！”

Constant Fair froze, sighed, and muttered involuntarily: “This is my fate!”

The shopkeeper yelled: “I know you don't believe in God, Buddha, or ghost, when did you start believing in fate!?”

这时老管家火急火燎地跑来了，一边喘一边说：“我还以为赶不上你们了呢！”

掌柜的们对他说：“你不是不走吗！还来找我们干什么！”

At that moment the old butler came running in a great hurry, gasping for breath as he said: “I thought I wouldn't be able to catch up with you!”

A shopkeeper said to him: “I thought you weren't leaving! Why do you still come to us!”

常公问老管家：“你为什么不走？”

老管家说：“我发过誓！一次老东家哭着跟我说, ‘桃花女从小就怕孤单！我最怕将来她身边连个说话的人都没有’。我就发誓说， ‘老爷你放心，不管发生什么事，我都会陪在大小姐身边，跟她说话’。”

Constant fair asked the old butler： “Why don't you leave？”

The old butler said： “I took an oath! Once the old Big Boss told me in tears, ‘Peach Flower Girl has been afraid of being alone since she was a child! I'm most afraid that in the future she won't even have anyone to talk to around her.' So, I swore, ‘Don't worry! Big Boss, no matter what happens, I'll stay by her side and talk to her.’”

掌柜的们说：“那你还来干什么？”

老管家说：“我怕小姐偷偷地把老爷的遗嘱改了，我就抄了一份，用假的把真的换下来了。我也没地方保存这遗嘱，我信任你们这些掌柜的，想让你们替我保存。”老管家说着，把信交给了掌柜的们，又说：“我得回去了，小姐身边不能没有人说话。”

A shopkeeper asked: “Then what are you doing here?”

The old butler said: “I was afraid that our lady had secretly changed the old Big Boss’ will, so I made a copy and replaced the real one with a fake one. I also have no place to keep this will, I trust you shop managers and want you to keep it for me.” The old butler said, handing the letter to the shopkeepers, and added: “I must go back; our lady can't be left without someone to talk to.”

常公恍然大悟，说：“我猜到了！几位兄弟！大小姐是个爱面子的人，看在我的面子上，留下来多住几天。” 说着，他写了八个字：前世姻缘，命中注定。

Constant Fair realized and said: “I guessed it! Brothers! Our lady is a person who loves face, for my sake, stay for a few more days.” Saying this, he wrote eight hieroglyphics， “Former Generation’s Marriage Factor, Predetermining Fate”.

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