10.22 鲁班献策 Luban Offers Advice

 

几天之后，小龙女和女婴带着三十公斤黄金回来了，告诉娥黄工期被延长了一个半月。她俩问娥黄索赔的事办得怎么样？

A few days later, Little Dragoness and Heroine returned with thirty kilograms of gold, telling Beauty Yellow that the construction period had been extended by a month and a half. They asked Beauty Yellow how the compensation claim was going.

娥黄回答：“哎呀！你们夏国的法院办事效率太高了；不像印度，上法庭得排期，先等150年。到那儿，我先去了设计院。院长见到我就请我喝茶，可热情了。他送我离开送出了大门，递给我一张名片，说，‘你用我的名片去告我不用排期。你有什么疑问可以直接问大法官。’真像他说的那样，到法庭我就把材料交给了接待我的人。那人一看我拿的名片，就说，‘您先到待客室喝杯茶，我把这材料交给大法官的秘书，看他怎么说。’我那茶有点热，还没等我喝到茶水呢，秘书就叫我去和大法官谈话。大法官亲自给我讲合同的条款，结论是我申请赔偿的理由和证据不充分，建议不要申请立案。我一想，这大法官都给结案了，我还立案干啥，当天就回来了。前后我在那里总共花费了四个小时。”

Beauty Yellow replied, "Goodness! Your Xia courts work so efficiently. Unlike in India, where you must schedule a court date and wait 150 years. When I got there, I went straight to the design institute. The director greeted me with tea—so warm and welcoming. He walked me out the gate, handed me his business card, and said, 'Use this card to sue me, and you won't need an appointment.' If you have any questions, go straight to the Chief Justice.' Just as he said, when I arrived at the court, I handed my materials to the receptionist. The moment he saw the card, he said, 'Please take a seat in the waiting room for some tea. I'll pass these documents to the Chief Justice's secretary and see what he says.' My tea was still hot, and before I could take a sip, the secretary called me in to speak with the Chief Justice. He personally explained the contract terms to me. His conclusion was that my grounds and evidence for seeking compensation were insufficient, and he advised against filing a lawsuit. I thought, “If the Chief Justice himself has dismissed the case, why bother filing?” So, I returned home that same day. The entire visit took me about four hours.”

2.

牛郎把六公斤黄金交给奴隶公司后，就买了拜师礼，给鲁班送去了。鲁班打开礼盒，看出了是拜师礼，就问：“你哪里赚来的钱，买这么贵重的礼物？”

After handing over six kilograms of gold to the slave company, Cowboy bought a gift for Luban's apprenticeship and delivered it to him. Luban opened the gift box, recognized it as an apprenticeship gift, and asked, "Where did you get the money to buy such an expensive gift?"

牛郎说：“买这礼物的钱是我上次来您这里时，雇主给的。当时雇主说，我是来学术交流的，可以给我差旅费。她们不认识你，不能给您送礼，就多给我了这些差旅费。那时我是奴隶，不能送礼。我送礼，会给接受我礼物的人带来麻烦。现在我已经被雇主赎身了，不是奴隶了；所以我用以前他们给的礼物钱，买了现在给您的礼物。”

Cowboy said, "The money for this gift came from my employer during my last visit to you. At that time, my employer said I was here for academic exchange and could receive travel expenses. Since they didn't know you, they couldn't give you a gift, so they gave me extra travel funds. Back then, I was a slave and couldn't offer gifts. Giving gifts would have caused trouble for the recipient. Now that my employer has purchased my freedom, I am no longer a slave. So, I used the money they gave me for gifts back then to buy this present for you now."

鲁班说：“那这礼物我收下了，以后你在也别给我买礼物了。师傅我赚钱容易，你赚钱不容易！说说你这次干什么来了。”

牛郎就述说了古墓工地龙骨锁（据说图10.22-2中鲁班手中的就是龙骨锁）事故的前后经过。

Luban said, “Well then, I'll take this gift. But don't ever buy me anything again. Teacher-Father here makes money easily, but you don't! Now tell me what brings you here this time.”

Cowboy then recounted the entire incident involving the dragon-spine-lock (It is said that the lock in Lu Ban's hand in Figure 10.22-2 is the Dragon Spine Lock) dome at ancient tomb construction site.

鲁班惊叹道：“你造成这么大的损失，她们还为你赎身了；你真是遇到好人了！”

牛郎说：“我想请师傅帮我分析一下事故的原因，是不是有人搞破坏？”

Luban exclaimed in amazement, “You caused such immense damage, yet they redeemed you! You've truly met some good people!”

Cowboy said, “I'd like to ask you, Teacher-Father, to help me analyze the cause of the accident. Could it be that someone sabotaged it?”

3.

鲁班好奇地问：“你懂龙骨锁的力学原理吗？”

牛郎回答：“我在这儿上学的时候，学习过？”

鲁班立刻意识到了问题的所在，问：“那你对我说说力是怎么在龙骨之间传导的？”

牛郎述说了自己的看法。

Luban asked curiously, “Do you know about the mechanics of dragon-spine locks?”

Cowboy replied, “I studied them when I was in school here?”

Luban immediately grasped the crux of the matter and asked, “Then tell me how force is transmitted between the keel blocks.”

Cowboy explained his perspective.

鲁班听后，摇摇头说：“你跟我来！”他领着牛郎来到了木工高级班的工房，用龙骨锁的模型和图纸给牛郎讲解。

牛郎听明白后，沮丧地说：“你以前没说过这些内容！”

鲁班说：“龙骨锁穹顶是两年制高级木工班的课程，我给你介绍了一些龙骨锁是因为你问起了龙骨锁。你过来看！”说着，鲁班给牛郎看这个木工学校的教学大纲。

Luban shook his head and said, “Follow me!” He led Cowboy to the workshop of the advanced carpentry class, where he explained the concept using models and blueprints of dragon-spine-lock.

After understanding, Cowboy sighed dejectedly, “You never mentioned any of this before!”

Luban replied, “The dragon-spine-lock dome is part of the two-year advanced carpentry program. I only showed you the dragon-spine-lock because you asked about it. Come see!” With that, Luban showed Cowboy the school's teaching syllabus.

4.

牛郎看后哭了，叨咕：“原来在古墓工地搞破坏的人是我！”

鲁班说：“对于你们工地的这个事故，你有责任，但不多。主要责任人是你的雇主。”

牛郎哭着说：“用山核桃木做龙骨锁是我提议的。我这人老实，说话容易使人相信。她（即小龙女）就信了。是我害了她呀！”

After reading it, Cowboy wept and muttered, “So it was me who caused the destruction at the ancient tomb site!”

Luban said, “You bear some responsibility for this accident at your construction site, but not the primary one. The main responsibility lies with your employer.”

Cowboy wept, “It was my suggestion to use hickory wood for the keel locks. I'm an honest man, and people tend to trust what I say. She (i.e., Little Dragoness) believed me. I'm the one who ruined her!”

鲁班又意识到了，以牛郎目前的知识水平，理解不了这事故中的权责关系，就说：“这事，你师父我也有责任，（当初就没给你介绍清楚施工中的权责体系）。这么办吧！你领我去那家工地，看看我能不能提供一些帮助，让她们快速地竣工。”

牛郎同意了，不哭了。

Luban realized that with Cowboy's current level of knowledge, he couldn't grasp the responsibilities involved in this incident. So, he said, “This matter—your teacher-father here bears some responsibility too (I never clearly explained the construction responsibility system to you back then). Here's what we'll do! Take me to that construction site. Let's see if I can offer some help so they can finish the project quickly.”

Cowboy agreed and stopped crying.

5.

这天，古墓工地的人看见牛郎领着一个中年人进来了，径直去了龙骨锁的刷漆烘干工作室。他俩在里面停留了很长时间，出来后就去了事故现场。

娥黄对小龙女说：“这是正事，我们不能索赔全部的损失。如果有专家帮我们找出些他们的责任，我们能得到10%或15%的赔偿也挺好。”

小龙女和女婴听后，高兴了，就跟了过去。

That day, workers at the ancient tomb site saw Cowboy lead a middle-aged man inside, heading straight for the Dragon-Spine Lock painting and drying workshop. The two stayed inside for a long time before heading to the accident site upon exiting.

Beauty Yellow muttered: “This is serious business. We can't claim compensation for all the losses. If experts help us pinpoint some of their responsibility, getting 10% or 15% compensation would be quite good.”

Little Dragoness and Heroine, hearing this, were delighted and followed along.

鲁班看见工地的主人来了，就自我介绍说：“我是XYZ木工学校的老师。牛郎是我的学生。我听说他接受了不胜任的工作，给雇主造成了重大的损失，感觉我这做师傅的也有责任：教学不严。我就请牛郎带我过来看看，能不能为雇主提供些帮助。”

Luban saw the owner of the construction site arrive and introduced himself: “I am a teacher at XYZ Carpentry School. Cowboy is my student. I heard he took on work he was unqualified for, causing significant losses to the employer. As his teacher, I feel responsible for not teaching him rigorously enough. So, I asked Cowboy to bring me here to see if I can offer any assistance to the employer.”

这时牛郎拿着几块带有过度切割刀痕的组件给鲁班看。鲁班一看就明白了，牛郎没有熟练掌握龙骨锁部件的应力分布，却说：“我不知道这过度切割的刀痕是否和龙骨的坍塌有关系。我已经对你说了三十几种你刷漆烘干过程中的错误。这些龙骨锁组件全部报废了。走！我们去那个门楼上看看！”

At this point, Cowboy showed Luban several components bearing excessive cutting marks. Luban understood immediately that Cowboy hadn't mastered the stress distribution of the keel lock components. He remarked, "I don't know if these excessive cutting marks are related to the keel collapse. I've already pointed out over thirty mistakes in your painting and drying process. All these keel lock components are scrapped. Come on! Let's go check that gatehouse!"

鲁班走出去一段距离后发现牛郎走得很慢，不愿意放弃研究事故的原因。他走回来说：“这龙骨锁构件裂了，全都不能用了。我们得重新设计一个主楼顶。在给主楼安了顶之后，这个工地就看起来顺当了，会呈现出新的面貌。设计主楼顶要综合整体布局来考虑。站在那个门楼上可以俯瞰整个院子。”

After walking a short distance, Luban noticed that Cowboy was moving slowly and refused to abandon his investigation into the cause of the accident. He walked back and said, “The keel lock components have cracked and are all unusable. We must redesign the main building's roof. Once the main building is roofed, this construction site will look much smoother and take on a new appearance. Designing the main roof requires considering the overall layout. Standing atop that gate tower, one can overlook the entire courtyard.”

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