Part 2
The Boy Who Kept Coming Back
Chapter 4
The Extra Piece of Meat
When 阿嬤 first began telling stories about the young man who would
one day become her husband, she did not begin with romance. She began with lunch.
Laughing at the memory, she recalled that the ladies in the bank
cafeteria always slipped an extra piece of meat onto Grandpa's plate.
It is such an ordinary detail that most people would never think to
mention it.
阿嬤 never forgot it.
For her, that small kindness revealed far more about Grandpa than any
list of accomplishments ever could.
Before he became a banker, Grandpa worked for the Taiwan Railways
Administration. It was honest work, but money was always carefully
counted. He later told 阿嬤 that he often spent only three and a half
dollars on lunch. The meal was enough to keep him going through the
afternoon, but little more.
Like many ambitious young people in Taiwan during the early 1960s, he
was looking for an opportunity to build a more secure future. A position
at a bank offered that chance, but first he had to pass a demanding
entrance examination. One of the subjects was Japanese.
That was where 阿嬤's family quietly entered the story.
阿嬤's mother belonged to the generation educated during the Japanese
era and spoke the language fluently. When she learned that the young
railway employee needed help, she willingly coached him for the
examination. She expected nothing in return. It was simply the sort of
kindness that came naturally to her.
Grandpa studied diligently, passed the examination and accepted a
position at a bank on Bo'ai Road, only a short walk from 阿嬤's
family home on Yanping South Road. 阿嬤 often marvelled
at how such ordinary decisions quietly shaped the course of a lifetime.
The new job brought a better salary, but that was not what stayed in
阿嬤's memory.
She remembered the people.
Each lunchtime, Grandpa joined the queue in the staff cafeteria. He
greeted the women behind the serving counter politely, thanked them for
every meal and treated them with the same respect he showed everyone
else. Before long, they began responding in their own quiet way.
Whenever he came through the line, someone would discreetly add an extra
piece of meat to his plate.
阿嬤 laughed every time she told the story.
It wasn't because the extra meat was especially valuable. It was because
she recognised what it represented. Kindness has a way of returning to
those who give it freely, often in the smallest and most unexpected
ways.
She was never
really talking about lunch. She was describing the kind of man Grandpa was.
Taiwan was changing rapidly during those years. Secure office jobs were
becoming symbols of a new generation's hopes, and banks were among the
country's most respected employers. Yet 阿嬤 never remembered Grandpa
as someone who chased status. She remembered a young man who worked
hard, lived modestly and treated everyone—from colleagues to cafeteria
staff—with quiet dignity.
Those qualities mattered far more to her than the title printed on his
business card.
There was one other consequence of his new job.
The bank was only a few minutes from her family's home.
Each evening, when work was over, the walk to Yanping South Road was an
easy one.
At first, he stopped by occasionally.
Then a little more often.
Neither of them realised it then, but those unhurried walks after work
were carrying him toward the family that would one day become his own.
第四章
多出來的那塊肉
阿嬤第一次說起那個將成為她丈夫的年輕男人時，她不是從浪漫開始講的。她從午餐開始講。
笑著回憶，她說銀行餐廳的阿姨們總是在阿公的盤子裡多放一塊肉。
這是個多麼平凡的細節，大部分人根本不會想到要提起。
但阿嬤一直記得。
對她來說，那小小的善舉，比任何成就清單都更能說明阿公是怎麼樣的人。
在成為銀行員之前，阿公在臺灣鐵路局工作。那是一份正當的工作，但錢總是算得很緊。他後來告訴阿嬤，午餐常常只花三塊半。那頓飯足夠讓他撐過下午，但也僅此而已。
和一九六○年代初期台灣許多有抱負的年輕人一樣，他在尋找機會，想為未來打下更穩固的基礎。銀行的職缺給了他這個機會，但他得先通過一場競爭激烈的入學考試。其中一科是日文。
就在這裡，阿嬤家靜靜地走進了這個故事。
阿嬤的母親是在日本時代受教育的一代，日語說得流利。當她聽說那個年輕的鐵路局員工需要幫忙時，她自願幫他補習考試。她不求任何回報。這不過是她天性中的善良罷了。
阿公認真讀書，通過了考試，在博愛路上的一家銀行得到了一份工作，離阿嬤在延平南路的家只隔幾步路。阿嬤常常感嘆，這樣平凡的決定，竟然就這麼靜靜地影響了一輩子。
新工作的薪水好了一些，但留在阿嬤記憶裡的，卻不是這個。
她記得的是人。
每到午餐時間，阿公在員工餐廳排隊。他禮貌地和櫃檯後的阿姨們打招呼，感謝她們準備的每一餐，用他對待所有人的尊重來對待她們。不久，她們也用自己的方式回應了。每當他來到隊伍前面，總會有人悄悄地在他盤子裡多加一塊肉。
阿嬤每次說這個故事都笑個不停。
不是因為那塊肉有多值錢。而是因為她看出了那代表了什麼。善意總會回到那些不吝付出的人身上，而且往往是以最小、最意想不到的方式。
她從來不是在說午餐。她說的是阿公是怎麼樣的一個人。
那些年，台灣正在快速改變。穩定的辦公室工作成了新世代希望的象徵，銀行更是全國最受尊敬的行業之一。但阿嬤記憶中的阿公，不是一個追逐地位的人。她記得一個努力工作的年輕人，生活簡樸，對待每一個人——從同事到餐廳阿姨——都帶著一份不張揚的尊嚴。
那些特質，遠比名片上的頭銜重要得多。
他的新工作還有一個連帶的結果。
銀行離她家只有幾分鐘的路。
每天傍晚，下班後，走到延平南路並不遠。
一開始，他偶爾會繞過來。
後來，越來越頻繁。
那時候，他們兩個人都沒有意識到，那些下班後不慌不忙的散步，正帶著他走向那個有一天會成為他自己的家。