In a village swallowed by dust storms day after day, an old man still goes out to the edge of the village to wait for the grandson who once promised to take him to see the Olympics. Every evening he takes out a tarnished medal, until the day a storm strips away everything he was holding on to.
At the End of the Dusty Road
天还没全黑，就从西边压过来了。
It wasn't even fully dark yet, and already the dust was rolling in from the west.
那截断墙后面，老周缩着脖子，眯起眼往土路尽头瞧。
Behind the broken stretch of wall at the edge of the village, Old Zhou hunched his shoulders and squinted toward the far end of the dirt road.
路上空荡荡的，只有几个塑料袋被风卷着，在半空打转。
The road was empty, with only a few plastic bags caught by the wind, spinning around in midair.
Old Zhou
再等一会儿，再等一会儿就回去。
Just a little longer, just a little longer and I'll head home.
这句话他对自己念了多少个黄昏，连他自己都数不清了。
How many dusks he had murmured those words to himself, even he had lost count.
The Tarnished Medal
屋里点着一盏昏黄的灯，老周从抽屉最里头摸出一个绒布小包。
A dim yellow lamp burned in the room as Old Zhou felt around at the very back of the drawer and pulled out a small velvet pouch.
包里是一枚，边上的早就磨掉了，露出底下发暗的铜色。
Inside the pouch was a medal, its plating worn away at the edges long ago, exposing the dull copper beneath.
他用袖口擦了擦，铜锈没下去多少，倒把袖子蹭脏了。
He rubbed it with his sleeve, but the tarnish hardly came off; if anything, he only smudged his sleeve dirty.
Old Zhou
小军当年塞给我的时候，还说这是他给我买的呢。
When little Jun slipped this into my hands back then, he even said he'd saved up his own money to buy it for me.
Old Zhou
他凑到我耳朵边说，爷，等我挣了大钱，就带您去现场看奥运会。
He leaned close to my ear and said, Grandpa, once I make some real money, I'll take you to watch the Olympics in person.
Words from the Doorway
隔壁的王婶端着半碗过来，看见他又在摆弄那枚。
Auntie Wang from next door came over carrying half a bowl of pickled vegetables and found him fiddling with that medal again.
Auntie Wang
老周啊，孩子在外头三年没信儿了，你心里也该有个数。
Old Zhou, the boy's been away three years without a single word. Deep down, you ought to face it.
Old Zhou
他忙嘛，城里头哪有那么容易，过两天准来信。
He's busy, that's all. Life in the city isn't easy. A letter's bound to come in a day or two.
王婶张了张嘴，到底没再说什么，把往桌上一搁就走了。
Auntie Wang opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing more, set the pickles down on the table and left.
门一关上，老周握着的手指，慢慢收紧了。
The moment the door closed, the fingers gripping the medal slowly tightened.
Carried Off by the Wind
第二天后半夜，像发了疯，把窗户拍得一阵阵响。
Past midnight the next day, the dust storm raged as if gone mad, rattling the windows in wave after wave.
天，老周还是揣着那张孙子的旧照片，挪到了。
At the first faint light of dawn, Old Zhou still tucked that old photo of his grandson against his chest and shuffled out to the edge of the village.
一阵狂风扑过来，照片从他里被生生抽走，转眼卷进了黄沙里。
A violent gust swept in and tore the photo clean from between his fingers, and in an instant it was swept away into the yellow sand.
他没去追，只是站着，任风把帽子也掀掉了。
He didn't go after it; he just stood there, letting the wind knock off his hat as well.
老周转过身，背着风往家走，脚步比来时慢了许多。
Old Zhou turned around and walked home with his back to the wind, his steps much slower than when he had come.