照片上的秀兰
An old photo and a family secret
Name: ________________ Date: ________
春节前，我帮奶奶整理房间，在抽屉最里面发现了一个旧信封。信封里有一张黑白照片，边上已经有点儿发黄了。
照片上是年轻的爷爷，穿着白衬衫，笑得有点儿傻。他旁边站着一个姑娘，留着两条长辫子。这个姑娘很像奶奶，可是仔细一看，又不太像：她比奶奶瘦，眼睛也更大。
我把照片翻过来，背面写着一行字：“一九六三年春，和秀兰在公园。”
秀兰？可是奶奶的名字是秀梅啊。
我拿着照片，偷偷去问妈妈。妈妈看了一眼，脸色马上变了，小声说：“秀兰是你奶奶的姐姐。这件事，你千万别在奶奶面前提。”
我心里一下子乱了。难道爷爷年轻的时候，先爱上的是奶奶的姐姐？他们后来为什么没有结婚？奶奶知道这个秘密吗？爷爷已经去世五年了，我没法问他；去问奶奶，我又不敢。
那天晚上吃饭，我一直偷偷观察奶奶，饭也吃不下。奶奶放下筷子：“你今天怎么了？有话就说。”
我犹豫了半天，最后还是把照片拿了出来。
奶奶看着照片，先是愣了一下，然后竟然笑了起来，笑得眼泪都出来了。“傻孩子，这就是我啊！”
原来，那一年，有人给奶奶的姐姐介绍了一个对象，就是爷爷。可是姐姐已经有喜欢的人了，不愿意去相亲，就让妹妹穿上她的衣服，替她去。奶奶本来只打算去一次，跟对方解释清楚就回家。没想到，两个人在公园里聊了整整一个下午。
“你爷爷那时候以为我就是秀兰。”奶奶说，“他叫了我三个月秀兰，我一直不好意思告诉他真相。”
“那后来呢？”
“后来他知道了，气了整整一个星期。”奶奶把照片放回信封里，“然后就来我家提亲了。他说，名字叫错了可以改，人没找错就行。”
妈妈在旁边听完，也愣住了：“妈，这件事您怎么从来没跟我说过？”
奶奶看了她一眼：“你也从来没问过我啊。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 发现 | fāxiàn | to discover; to find; discovery |
| 旧 | jiù | old; used; worn |
| 张 | zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photo; picture |
| 年轻 | niánqīng | young |
| 衬衫 | chènshān | shirt; blouse |
| 像 | xiàng | like; as |
| 瘦 | shòu | thin; skinny |
| 整理 | zhénglǐ | to sort out; to put in order; to tidy up |
| 姑娘 | gūniang | girl; young woman |
| 仔细 | zǐxì | careful; attentive; carefully |
| 千万 | qiānwàn | ten million |
English (for the teacher)
Before Spring Festival I was helping Grandma tidy her room, and at the very back of a drawer I found an old envelope. Inside was a black-and-white photo, already a little yellow at the edges.
In the photo was Grandpa as a young man, in a white shirt, grinning a bit foolishly. Next to him stood a girl with two long braids. She looked a lot like Grandma, but when I looked closely, not quite: she was thinner than Grandma, and her eyes were bigger.
I turned the photo over, and on the back was a line of writing: “Spring 1963, with Xiulan in the park.”
Xiulan? But Grandma's name is Xiumei.
I took the photo to ask Mum. Mum glanced at it, her face changed at once, and she whispered: “Xiulan is your grandma's older sister. Whatever you do, don't bring this up in front of Grandma.”
My head was suddenly in a whirl. Could it be that when Grandpa was young, the one he fell for first was Grandma's sister? Why didn't they get married in the end? Did Grandma know this secret? Grandpa had died five years ago, so I couldn't ask him, and I didn't dare ask Grandma.
At dinner that night I kept sneaking looks at Grandma and couldn't eat a thing. Grandma put down her chopsticks: “What's the matter with you today? If you've got something to say, say it.”
I hesitated for ages, but in the end I brought out the photo.
Grandma looked at it, froze for a second, and then, of all things, burst out laughing until tears ran down her face. “Silly child, that's me!”
It turned out that, that year, someone had introduced a young man to Grandma's older sister as a match, and that man was Grandpa. But her sister already liked someone else and didn't want to go on the blind date, so she had her younger sister put on her clothes and go in her place. Grandma had only meant to go once, explain things clearly and go home. Instead, the two of them talked in the park for an entire afternoon.
“Your grandpa thought I really was Xiulan,” Grandma said. “He called me Xiulan for three months, and I never dared tell him.”
“And then what?”
“Then he found out, and he was cross for a whole week.” Grandma put the photo back in the envelope. “Then he came to my family to ask for my hand. He said a wrong name can be changed, as long as you've found the right person.”
Mum, who had been listening beside us, was stunned too: “Mum, how come you never told me any of this?”
Grandma gave her a look: “You never asked me, either.”