買這本書時(shí)并不抱有太大希望，心想也許跟《追風(fēng)箏的人》和《燦爛千陽》相差無幾吧。而當(dāng)我一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)地征服這本書時(shí)，我發(fā)現(xiàn)每次總會被各個(gè)人物平凡而又偉大的品格感動(dòng)得熱淚盈眶。一個(gè)真實(shí)的故事，一本完全超乎想象的書。如果你有“未來規(guī)劃恐懼癥”或者是“兌現(xiàn)承諾障礙”，不妨看看這本書吧，讓摩頓森的經(jīng)歷為你掃開前路的疑云，照亮你前進(jìn)的路。

—— Rico

作者簡介：葛瑞格·摩頓森，美國人，在1993年因救援同伴攀登喬戈里峰失敗，后被巴爾蒂人救起，從此與當(dāng)?shù)厝私Y(jié)下深厚感情。為兌現(xiàn)給巴基斯坦的窮困村莊建學(xué)校的承諾，他辛苦奔走，歷時(shí)12年?，F(xiàn)時(shí)他是中亞協(xié)會的負(fù)責(zé)人。

大衛(wèi)·奧利佛·瑞林，游歷世界的專欄作家，作品獲獎(jiǎng)無數(shù)。

“I tried to be a tough but fair taskmaster[工頭]，” Mortenson says. “I spent all day at the construction site， from sunrise to sunset， using my level[水平儀] to make sure the walls were even and my plumb line[鉛垂線] to check that they were standing straight. I always had my notebook in my hand， and kept my eyes on everyone， anxious to account for every rupee[盧比]. I didn’t want to disappoint Jean Hoerni， so I drove people hard.”

One clear afternoon at the beginning of August， Haji Ali tapped Mortenson on the shoulder at the construction

site and asked him to take a walk. The old man led the former climber uphill for an hour， on legs still strong enough to humble the much younger man. Mortenson felt precious[寶貴的] time slipping away， and by the time Haji Ali halted[停住] on a narrow ledge high above the village， Mortenson was panting[喘氣]， as much from the thought of all the tasks he was failing to supervise as from his exertion[努力].

Haji Ali waited until Mortenson caught his breath， then instructed him to look at the view. The air had the fresh-scrubbed[擦] clarity that only comes with

altitude[高度]. Beyond Korphe K2注1， the ice peaks of the inner Karakoram knifed relentlessly[殘酷地] into a

defenseless blue sky. A thousand feet below， Korphe， green with ripening barley fields， looked small and

vulnerable[脆弱的]， a life raft adrift[漂浮的] on a sea of stone.

Haji Ali reached up and laid his hand on Mortenson’s

shoulder. “These mountains have been here a long time，” he said. “And so have we.” He reached for his rich brown lambswool[羔羊毛] topi注2， the only symbol of

authority Korphe’s nurmadhar ever wore， and centered it on his silver hair. “You can’t tell the mountains what to do，” he said， with an air of gravity[莊嚴(yán)] that transfixed[使呆住]

Mortenson as much as the view. “You must learn to

listen to them. So now I am asking you to listen to me. By the mercy of Almighty Allah， you have done much for my people， and we appreciate it. But now you must do one more thing for me.”

“Anything，” Mortenson said.

“Sit down. And shut your mouth，” Haji Ali said. “You’re

making everyone crazy.”

“Then he reached out and took my plumb line， and my level and my account book， and he walked back down to Korphe，” Mortenson says. “I followed him all the way to his house， worrying about what he was doing. He took the key he always kept around his neck on a leather thong[皮帶]， opened a cabinet decorated with faded Buddhist wood carvings， and locked my things in there， alongside a shank[柄] of curing[腌制]

ibex[野生山羊]， his prayer beads， and his old British musket[滑膛槍] gun. Then he asked Sakina to bring us tea.”

Mortenson waited nervously for half an hour while Sakina brewed the paiyu cha. Haji Ali ran his fingers along the text of the Koran that he cherished above all his

belongings， turning pages randomly and mouthing almost silent Arabic prayer as he stared out into inward space.

When the porcelain[瓷] bowls of scalding[滾燙的] butter tea steamed in their hands， Haji Ali spoke. “If you want to thrive in Baltistan注3， you must respect our ways，” Haji Ali said， blowing on his bowl. “The first time you share tea with a Balti， you are a stranger. The second time you take tea， you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea， you become family， and for our family，

we are prepared to do anything， even die，” he said，

laying his hand warmly on Mortenson’s own. “Doctor Greg， you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.”

“That day， Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in my life，” Mortenson says. “We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We’re the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills[操練]. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea， to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them.”

Three weeks later， with Mortenson demoted[使降職]

from foreman[工頭] to spectator[旁觀者]， the walls of the school had risen higher than the American’s head and all that remained was putting on the roof.

“我努力當(dāng)好一個(gè)公正嚴(yán)明的工頭，”摩頓森說。“我整天待在工地，從日出到日落，用水平儀確保墻砌得平整，用鉛垂線量它們夠不夠直。我手里一直拿著筆記本，眼睛盯著每個(gè)人，緊張地計(jì)算每一個(gè)盧比。我不想讓

吉恩·霍爾尼失望，所以我把大家逼得很緊?！?/p>

八月初一個(gè)晴朗的午后，哈吉·阿里在工地拍了拍摩頓森的肩膀，邀他一起散步。老人帶著摩頓森往山上走了一個(gè)小時(shí)，腳勁好得讓比他年輕幾十歲的美國人自嘆弗如。摩頓森覺得寶貴的時(shí)間正在一點(diǎn)一滴地流逝。當(dāng)哈吉·阿里終于在狹窄的巖架上停下來時(shí)，錯(cuò)過監(jiān)工的想法和體力下降已經(jīng)讓摩頓森氣喘

吁吁。

等摩頓森緩過氣之后，哈吉·阿里

讓他看看眼前的景色?？諝馐歉呱缴咸赜械那逍拢h(yuǎn)在“科爾飛喬戈里峰”之外，喀喇昆侖山脈內(nèi)層的冰峰直刺藍(lán)天。千米之下的科爾飛，逐漸成熟的麥田一片翠綠，但看起來那么渺小脆弱，仿佛一直漂浮在巖石海洋中的生命

之舟。

哈吉·阿里伸手放在摩頓森的肩上。“這些山在這里已經(jīng)很久了，”他說?！拔覀円惨粯??！闭f著，他拿出象征村長權(quán)威的棕色羊毛“托比帽”，戴在銀白的頭發(fā)上?！澳悴荒軐ι秸f它應(yīng)該做什么?！彼Z調(diào)中的嚴(yán)肅把摩頓森震懾住了，一如眼前的景色。“你必須學(xué)會聆聽。所以現(xiàn)在我也請你聽聽我的意見。因?yàn)槿馨怖拇缺?，你為我的村民做了很多，我們很感激。但是現(xiàn)在你得再為我做一件事。”

“我愿意做任何事，”摩頓森說。

“坐下來，不要說話?！惫ぐ⒗镎f。“你快把大家逼瘋了?！?/p>

“然后他伸手把我的鉛垂線、水平儀和賬簿全都拿走了，走回科爾飛，”摩頓森說道?！拔腋呋匚堇?，不知道他到底要做什么。他脖子上一直戴著一個(gè)皮串，上頭穿了一把鑰匙。他用鑰匙打開一個(gè)褪色的佛教木雕柜子，把我的東西全鎖在里頭。柜子里面還有腌山羊肉、他的禱告珠，以及他那把舊式英國滑膛槍。然后他叫莎奇娜備茶?！?/p>

在莎奇娜煮“白玉茶”的半個(gè)小時(shí)里，摩頓森坐立不安地等待著，哈吉·阿里則隨手翻著他最寶貝的《古蘭經(jīng)》，沉浸在內(nèi)心世界里，默念著阿拉伯語禱詞。

裝著滾燙黃油奶茶的瓷碗在他們手中冒著熱氣，哈吉·阿里終于開了口?！叭绻阆朐诎蜖柕偎固谷〉贸晒Γ憔偷米鹬匚覀兊纳罘绞?，”哈吉·阿里邊說邊吹著他的碗?！爱?dāng)你第一次跟巴爾蒂人喝茶的時(shí)候，你是個(gè)陌生人；第二次喝茶，你就是我們的貴客；第三次再和我們一起喝茶，你就已經(jīng)是我們的家人了；而為了家人，我們會無怨無悔地做任何事，甚至不惜犧牲，”他把溫暖的手搭在摩頓森的手上說?！案鹑鸶襻t(yī)生，你必須花時(shí)間去喝這三杯茶。我們雖然沒受過教育，但是我們并不笨，我們已經(jīng)在這里生存居住

很久了?！?/p>

“那一天，哈吉·阿里教會我一生中最重要的一堂課，”摩頓森說?！拔覀兠绹苏J(rèn)為你必須盡快把事情做完。我們是個(gè)三十分鐘解決午餐、兩分鐘完成橄欖球訓(xùn)練的國家。哈吉·阿里則教我花時(shí)間喝上三杯茶，把速度放慢，像重視蓋學(xué)校一樣重視和他人的關(guān)系。他讓我意識到從一起工作的人身上，我還有很多東西要學(xué)，而不應(yīng)該自以為可以教給他們什么?！?/p>

三個(gè)星期后，當(dāng)摩頓森從工頭降級為旁觀者時(shí)，學(xué)校的墻已經(jīng)砌得比他的頭還高，只差把屋頂蓋上去了。