Author: Chien You-Ju 簡佑如
The life story I want to tell is about my grandpa. He was born in the 34th year of the Republic of China, which is around 1945. This year, he is eighty years old. Ever since I was little, I often heard Grandpa talk about what happened during his childhood, or listened to him recount these stories to my mother and others. Every time I heard them, I felt how fortunate I am to have been born in this era. When I was younger, because I disliked eating meat, Grandpa would scold me. He always said that in his time, people could not even afford to eat meat and could only eat sweet potatoes, so much that they eventually did not want to eat them anymore. Because I was still very young then, I always thought Grandpa was exaggerating. It was only as I grew older that I truly began to understand the life Grandpa lived back then.
According to Grandpa, in his childhood years, meat was only available during major festivals. At other times, it was almost impossible to eat any. In the past, even children who were not biologically related could be given up for adoption. Grandpa himself was adopted by his father’s cousin because his biological father could not afford to raise so many children. Grandpa’s adoptive father ran a fireworks factory, and it is said that when Grandpa was young, the family was relatively well-off. However, there was once a major factory explosion in which many people reportedly died, and from that point onward, the family declined. Because compulsory nine-year education did not yet exist at that time, Grandpa only studied until graduating from elementary school before going off to learn a trade.
My grandpa became a carpenter. In my memory, most of the interior work in our home was done by him personally. Even when Grandpa’s own house was rebuilt, the living room interior was designed and constructed entirely by him. I think Grandpa is an incredibly capable person. Even at such an advanced age, he can still accomplish so many things. Grandpa is truly the person I admire most in our family.
When it comes to Grandpa’s younger years, I cannot avoid mentioning his love story. To be honest, I do not know all the details. I only know that Grandpa married quite early. Grandma was introduced to him by relatives from her side of the family. Even so, they have truly accompanied each other for decades and remain together to this day. Grandpa really likes looking at beautiful women. Whenever Grandma catches him sneaking glances, she scolds him. There are no photos of Grandpa from his youth displayed at home, so what he looked like back then has always been something of a mystery to us. This makes us wonder whether Grandpa might once have been a handsome man. Judging by his facial features, Grandpa has deep-set eyes and a well-defined nose; traits passed down genetically. His only flaw might be that he is not very tall. Perhaps this secret should not be uncovered by future generations, or Grandpa would no longer seem so mysterious.
Grandpa not only has a special background, but also a very special name. In the past, household registration records were handwritten. Grandpa’s name is Erlong, but originally there should have been someone named Yilong. Because the staff at the household registration office misread the name when recording it, the Grandpa who should have been named Yilong became Erlong instead. I have always thought Grandpa’s name is very cool, unique, and unlike the common, ordinary names people used to have. Perhaps behind this cool name lies a meaning that belongs to him alone.
Grandpa is not only cool in name, but also in his actions. He is very fond of a manual motorcycle called the Wolf 125. Every time a new model was released, he would definitely buy one. Even though he is already eighty this year and we have strictly forbidden him from riding, his beloved motorcycle is still kept in the garage, clean and well maintained. To Grandpa, it is no longer just a motorcycle, but a Wolf 125 that carries memories of his youth. Although Grandpa keeps buying new ones, perhaps it also reflects his desire to return to those youthful years once more!
我要述說的生命故事是關於我阿公的，我阿公是出生於民國34年大概是西元1945年今年80歲，小時候
常常聽到阿公在說他小時候發生了怎麼樣的事情，又或者是聽阿公跟媽媽他們說，每次聽到都覺得我很幸運
出生在這個年代，以前因為不愛吃肉所以都會被阿公罵，阿公都說在我們以前的那個年代根本就吃不起肉，
只能吃蕃薯，吃到都不想再吃了。因為還很小，所以一直覺得阿公在騙人，直到越來越大之後才了解到了阿
公當年的生活⋯⋯⋯
據阿公的述說他們小時候的那個年代除了逢年過節有肉可以吃其他時間大部分都不會吃到，在以前就算不是自己親生的小孩也可以過繼給別人，我阿公就是過繼給爸爸的表哥養，因為爸爸自己養不起，生太多
小孩了，而阿公的養父是開煙火工廠的，據說阿公小時候家裡還算是有錢，但是因為有一次工廠大爆炸，好
像有很多人過世，所以從此就落寞了。因為以前還沒有九年國教，所以阿公讀到國小畢業就去學手藝了，我
的阿公是一位木工師傅，印象中家裡的裝潢都是阿公一手包辦，甚至是阿公家重建的時候客廳裝潢也是阿公
自己用的，我覺得阿公是一位很厲害的人，歲數這麼大了還可以做這麼多事，阿公真的是我在家中最崇拜的
一個人。
說到年輕時的阿公，就不得不說到他的愛故事了，其實具體是怎樣我也不太了解，我只知道阿公很早就結婚了。然後阿嬤是家裡那邊介紹給阿公的，不過他們也確實一起相伴走到現在已經好幾十年了，阿公很喜
歡看美女，每次阿嬤看到阿公在偷看美女都會罵他，印象中家中沒有放阿公年輕時的照片，所以以前的模樣
對我們來說是一件很神秘的事情，讓我們不禁懷疑阿公以前會不會是一位大帥哥，根據臉部輪廓，阿公有著
遺傳的深邃眼眸，挺拔的鼻子，唯一的缺點大概只有身高不高吧，或許這個秘密可能不能被我們後代發現吧
，不然阿公就不神秘了。
阿公不只有著特別的身世還有著特別的名字，以前的戶政事務所登記戶口是手寫，阿公的名字叫做二龍，但其實原本應該有叫一龍的，因為當初的戶政事務所裡的人員在登記戶口時，竟然看錯了名字，所以原本
應該有叫一龍的阿公變成了二龍。我一直都覺得阿公的名字很酷，非常的特別，也不像以前的人會取的菜市
場名字，但這酷酷的名字背後或許也有他獨特的意思吧！阿公不只名字很酷，行為也很酷，阿公很喜歡一台
檔車叫做野狼125，每當出新車時絕對會買，就算今年已經八十歲，被我們勒令不能騎車了，他的愛車還依舊
在車庫，保持著乾淨、整潔，這對阿公或許已經不是一台車了，而是一台承載著年輕時回憶的野狼125，雖然
阿公一直換新，可能也代表著他想要重返年輕時的歲月吧！