New Adventures of Afanti

Author: Hu Erpu / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Afanti returns to Bisibag Village, and it's already late. He doesn't go straight to Hamit and his wife right away but first goes back to the house Hamit and his wife bought for him. He wants to think carefully about how to raise the four hundred silver coins. He knows that the twenty gold coins given by the old man Amai Jiang have almost been spent on the wedding and buying this courtyard, so borrowing from Hamit isn't realistic. Since childhood, he has always been involved in dealings with all sorts of people and won quite a bit of money, but he has always given it to the poor villagers. Now, he deeply realizes that it's necessary to keep some money on hand for unexpected needs. Afanti can't sleep on the kang because of the money. At this moment, a thief sneaks into Afanti's courtyard and spreads a coarse woolen carpet in the middle of the yard. The thief whispers to himself, "In a while, I'll put the stolen goods here and pack them up and leave." The thief tiptoes to the door of Afanti's living room. Afanti, lying on the kang, hears the noise outside and perks up his ears. Afanti laughs, "After wandering around for a while, I just came back to this new home, and the thief has already come to visit. I'll hide." Afanti quickly gets up and hides in an empty large wooden box placed at the head of the kang. After the thief enters the house, he searches around but finds nothing. The thief curses, "What a bad luck! This family is so poor that they have nothing!" The thief sees the large wooden box at the head of the kang and thinks, "Maybe the good stuff is hidden here." The thief opens the box but finds a big person inside. The thief is startled at first, then asks, "Friend, are you in our line of work too?" Afanti stands up from the box, "No, I'm the owner of this house." The thief doesn't understand, "Then why are you hiding in the box?" Afanti winks (which later became his signature move when he wanted to "be humorous"): "Well, to be honest, because I don't have anything you'd like in my house, I feel ashamed and don't dare to see you, so I hid in the box." The thief is embarrassed, "Friend, you're mocking me. I promise I won't visit your house again next time!" Afanti says, "This doesn't mean you've reformed; it's just that I really have nothing in my house! I hope you won't visit anyone's house in the future. Well, let me see you out, let's part on good terms." Afanti and the thief come out of the house to the courtyard. Afanti sees the coarse woolen carpet spread in the yard and asks, "Is this carpet what you brought to wrap the stolen goods?" "No, no, I don't know whose it is." The thief says and runs out of the yard, even turning back to close the gate. Afanti quickly calls out, "Comrade, go your way, leave the main gate open!" The thief is surprised, "Why?" Afanti winks, "You brought me a coarse woolen carpet to spread, so I'll take it as a mattress; leave the gate open, maybe someone else will bring me a cover, and I'll take it as a blanket." These noises wake up Halinisa Khan in the neighboring room. Hamit hasn't come back so late, and she can't sleep, worrying. Now, she can't sleep even more. She thinks, "Could it be Afanti has come back? If he comes back, how good that would be!" The moon has risen, round and bright. Suddenly, a prayer is heard from the neighboring courtyard. There's a ladder leaning against the wall, so Halinisa climbs up and peeks into the neighboring courtyard. She sees Afanti kneeling on the coarse woolen carpet in the middle of the yard, raising his hands to the sky, saying, "Oh, Allah, you should also see how the poor live. If you're not too busy, please take a little money from your endless treasure to help me and my poor fellow villagers. We don't need much, just four hundred silver coins, and we'll be very satisfied. And your wealth won't decrease. But, Oh, Allah, if you give me one less silver coin, Afanti will never accept this stingy Allah's gift!" Halinisa hears this and laughs, thinking, "It seems Afanti has encountered an urgent matter. But you shouldn't pray to Allah; you've given us so much, can't you accept a little help from us?" She goes down the ladder, returns to her house, takes out a money bag containing five hundred silver coins, and climbs back up the ladder, throwing the bag into the neighboring courtyard. Afanti, kneeling on the carpet, is praying when he suddenly hears a heavy object drop into the yard with a loud "thud." He jumps up and sees a money bag on the ground. He runs over, opens the bag, and sees, "Wow, it's shiny silver coins!" Afanti looks up at the neighboring courtyard wall and sees Halinisa's head briefly appear on the wall before disappearing. He feels warm inside and pretends not to see her, shouting to the sky, "Oh, Allah, you are so merciful! How should I repay your kindness?" After that, Afanti starts counting the silver coins one by one. After counting, he says, "Wait, how did one hundred extra silver coins appear? Oh, Allah, you are so generous, I will repay your kindness double-fold—Halinisa, stop laughing over there, I really need the money now, even if I borrow it from you, where did you get so much money?" Halinisa shouts, "Afanti, come quickly! Hamit hasn't come back yet, I'm so worried!" Just then, someone knocks on the door, and she rushes over to open it, only to see Hamit, drenched, entering the house. Halinisa, seeing this, can't help but rush forward, "Hamit, what's wrong with you!?" Hamit sadly says, "The melons have been stolen!" At this moment, Afanti also enters the yard. Hamit jumps with joy, "Afanti, you're back! You always appear when people need you!" Afanti asks, "Quickly tell me, what's going on?" Halinisa briefly explains the situation and says to Hamit, "I didn't expect the melons to be stolen, but tell me, what's wrong with you?" Hamit says, "Your father fell into the river, and I saved him." Halinisa exclaims, "Oh! Is your father okay?" Hamit says, "He's fine now, he forgives us and even asks us to go home—But what about Hadri Mullah coming to our house and touching you? I'm so confused!" Afanti tells Halinisa, "He's so poor that he just wants you to have a good life." Halinisa says, "Don't speak for him. Did I dislike him because he's poor? I fell for his kindness, hard work, and honesty, but I didn't expect..." Afanti says, "What he did was wrong, but even the best horse can stumble. Through this lesson, he'll be better than before—but I don't know, after getting through this, will Hamit still want to become a rich man overnight without working for it?" Hamit shamefully says, "No, no, I won't take wealth that isn't earned with my own hands, even if it means beinghead—I mean, what do you mean, 'after getting through this'? You..." Afanti winks, "What else would I be doing? Didn't you just say I always appear when people need me?" Hamit and Halinisa both say in unison, "Exactly! You really have a way?" Afanti says, "Tomorrow, you go and call all the neighbors nearby; the more, the better. Then wait for Hadri the old donkey to come, and we'll do this." Baku and his attendants, travel-worn, are making their way to Bisibag Village. An attendant says, "Sir, look, there's a village ahead. We can rest there and drink something." As it happens, Afanti has traveled far and wide and has returned to his "home"—strictly speaking, it can only be called a "dwelling"—and has rested for a week. Now, he's itchy to go on another journey. Just then, Baku's entourage enters the village and comes to Afanti's "dwelling" at the door. The attendants don't dismount and shout, "Hey, folks! Quick, bring out some yogurt, mix it with cold water, we're thirsty!" Afanti comes out calmly with his hands empty, slowly bows, and says, "I worked half the morning and got really thirsty. I've already drunk all the yogurt at home, there's none left now." Baku and his attendants are disappointed and have to leave. When they've gone far, they suddenly hear Afanti shouting from the roof, "Come back! Please—come back!" Baku and his attendants see the yogurt jar in Afanti's hands and are overjoyed. They immediately turn around and run back. When they reach the door, Afanti on the roof turns the jar upside down and says to them, "I'm really sorry, but look at this jar. There's really no yogurt left!" Baku is furious. The attendant says, "Sir, calm down, it seems we've found the bad person." Baku's anger turns to joy, "Good, take this poor devil away!" Afanti says, "Wait, you need to make it clear, what gives you the right to call me the bad person and take me away?" Baku says, "We're here to find the bad person for His Highness Hashim. Do you dare to defy him?" Afanti asks, "Hashim's predecessor was the ruler of Is, right?" Baku says, "This poor devil knows quite a bit. Will you go or not?" Afanti says, "Go, go! You've found the right person. Can I say goodbye to my good friends Hamit and Halinisa?" Baku says, "No!" "Then can you take my donkey too? Or else, it'll be so lonely at home!" Baku says, "No, we're looking for the bad person, not the bad donkey." Afanti says, "Sir, do you know why I'm the worst person in the world? Because I have the worst donkey in the world. If you force us apart, I won't be the worst person anymore." Baku hesitates. The courtier says, "Sir, just take this worst donkey along. You see, it's quite fat, it should be able to carry a hundred kilograms or so." Afanti shouts, "No, you can't do that!" Baku says, "Since it's the worst donkey in the world, it should be punished. Maybe in the next life, it can become the best donkey in the world, ha ha!" Afanti sadly says, "Oh, my poor Ushtan, forgive your master. Who can live without you?" The entourage continues forward. Afanti and his donkey, carrying heavy loads, walk in the. The guards "guarding" him are beside Baku. Afanti says, "Sir, why are you looking for the bad person and not the good person? Is it easier to find the bad person than the good person in this world?" Baku says, "This is the task His Highness Hashim gave me. Find the bad grass, the bad bird, the bad person. The first two tasks are already done. As for the bad person, until we find someone worse than you, it's you." Afanti laughs, "You've found the right person. Don't look any further, there's no one worse than me in the world!" "How can you prove that?" "Then you listen to a true story." Everyone listens intently, but Afanti remains silent. The attendant urges, "Kid, you quickly tell us!" Afanti says, "I'm tired from walking, I need a horse to ride." "This guy is really bad," Baku says to the attendant. "Alright, give him your horse." The attendant says, "Sir, couldn't he ride his own donkey?" Afanti says, "Sir, I'd love to ride my donkey, but who will carry the things? Better this way, let the donkey carry his things, and I'll ride my own donkey." Baku says, "Alright, let's do that. I'm increasingly convinced I've found the right person." The attendant feels wronged, "But you're rewarding this bad person who discovered the bad person." Baku roars, "Brave! Do as I say!" The attendant reluctantly gives up his horse and walks. Afanti rides the donkey, "Oh, my friend who shares my misfortunes, I'm much lighter than those hundred kilograms of goods." Ushtan barks happily, wagging his tail in gratitude and affection. Only then does Afanti say, "Now, please stretch out your ears and listen carefully!"