絕世好水─紅毛井

「最近要來寫寫紅毛井。」

“I want to write something about Red-hair Well.”

話才說完，老爸整個人亮起來。

The joy shined on Dad’s face as soon as I finished speaking.

「你還記得嗎？我以前常騎著機車去載水呢，還在後座擺個架子。」

“Do you remember? I used to carry water with my motorcycle. There was still a rack on the backseat.”

是呀，不只老爸那台野狼權充了好幾年的運水車，老媽也常騎著紅色達可達，載著姐姐和我去載桶水回家。（達可達真能載呀。）這裡不是只有井而已，井後方有土地公廟，土地公廟後面還有階梯可往山上走一段，可惜現在封起來了。我小時候也只敢往上爬個幾階，看到山路在樹林掩蓋下昏昏暗暗的，沒膽走下去就往回跑了。後來才知道那條路是通往民宅的，其實也走不上山。（所以就是好險沒走完）

Yes. Not only Dad’s SYM motorbike, Mom’s Sangyang TACT also took charge of carrying water along with my sister and me. (What great capacity a TACT had!) Red-hair Well is more than a well. There is an Earth God Temple behind the well and several stairs, now blocked, to the mountain around the temple. I always ran back after climbing up several stairs because of the dim shadow of trees. I knew that the stairs led to some personal houses, not to the mountain afterwards. So it was lucky that I didn’t go further to the end.

相較於山上的陰暗讓人心生恐懼，紅毛井前方則是我眼裡的大樂園。長長的洗衣水道位居廣場一側，用石頭塞著衣服隔成好幾階，泉水就順著石階徐徐流下。每次去都有幾個阿婆、歐巴桑蹲坐在水道旁洗衣服。他們遵循古法，拿起褐色的大塊肥皂往衣服搓呀搓、打呀打、扭呀扭，接著放入水道中晃呀晃，待水從清澈轉為乳白，撈起放到另一階繼續晃晃，重複個幾次動作就完成了。我好喜歡待在旁邊看著阿婆認真洗衣的手勁，聽聽水與衣服碰觸的啪啪聲，享受肥皂混著泉水散發出的清爽氣息。即使外頭的太陽再大，紅毛井這頭總是一派沁涼。

Compared to the gloomy and frightening mountain area, the front of the well looked like a big playground for me. The long laundry ditch which was separated into several stairs with stones is at one side of the plaza with water flowing down. There were always several housewives or grannies squatting or sitting to wash clothes beside the ditch whenever I visited. Obeying the traditional style, they rubbed, hit and twisted clothes, and shook them in the water. When the water turned from clean to milk white, they picked clothes up and put them onto another stair. The job was finished after repeating the procedure several times. I loved to stay and see the hard work, listen to the sound of water knocking against clothes, and enjoy the fresh smell from soap melting in water. No matter how hot it was outside, it was always cool inside.

可能因為小時候太常來了，甚覺親切，以至於到好久好久，長大之後才赫然察覺這也是處古蹟。《彰化縣志》記載：「…在東門外半里許，泉有數穴，味亦清甘，但吝於出，汲著每環井以俟其出，故老相傳，以為紅夷故井云。」這段話就是說紅毛井位在彰化老城的東門外，泉水從好幾處湧出，非常好喝。因為是紅毛人挖的（就是荷蘭人啦），所以叫做紅毛井。算算時間，這口井有三百多年歷史了呢。

Maybe it was because I came here so often in childhood and felt the well was so familiar, I found Red-hair Well was a historic monument until I grew up. Changhua County Record said, “There were several springs half a mile outside Eastern Gate. Its taste was pure and sweet but its amount wasn’t much. People waited around the well to get water. The well was called Red-Hair according to its builder, Dutchmen, whose hair was red.” Counting from then on, the well is more than three hundred years old.

儘管年紀老大，紅毛井卻沒有隨著歷史消失在彰化人的日常生活中。由於水質甘甜、深獲人心，到了民國七十幾年，即使家家戶戶都有自來水了，許多老彰化人還是不辭辛苦來這而打水回家喝，我家就是一例。小時後家裡只要是吃進肚子的水，通通都是從這裡一桶桶提回家的（現在想想老爸老媽真的很勤勞）。每次打水我也會趁機喝個幾口，那股直入脾胃的甘甜清冽，過了二十幾年還記在腦海。

Although the well is so old, it doesn’t fade away in Changhua people’s daily life with history. Many people love the sweet taste. In the 80’s, many locals still come here to carry water even though they can get running water at home. My family was one of them. All water we drank was carried from here bucket by bucket. (Dad and Mom were so industrious then.) When coming here, I would take the opportunity to drink some water. The fresh and pure taste has impressed me for over twenty years.

可惜，大概就跟天妒紅顏的道裡差不多。有著絕世好水的紅毛井後來也走上了這個路子，被「玷汙」了（泣）。由於周遭房子愈蓋愈多（老爸推測的，他說是因為周遭的化糞池滲到土裡），井水遭到汙染，紅毛井被驗出大腸桿菌，不能生飲了。這消息對許多老彰化人應該是晴天霹靂，那陣子親朋好友來我家的話題都是這齣慘劇。從到底是不是有大腸桿菌、怎麼發現的、怎麼會被汙染的、到最後市政府牌子一立塵埃落定確定市井傳說，這真是彰化市當年的重大民生議題哪！（好啦…搞不好僅限於我家飯桌上…）說到最後親朋好友總不忘提醒爸媽，「紅毛井現在不乾淨，別再去喝啦。」老媽雖然一臉不甘心，強調煮沸應該就沒事了，載水的次數還是日漸減少，最後終究全面轉喝自來水，紅毛井在我家真的成了歷史。

Unfortunately, the story that God is jealous of one’s talent happens all the time. Red-hair well repeated it and was stained (cry). Because there were more and more houses around the well (Dad guessed that some bad substances from septic tanks of houses sunk into the ground), the water was contaminated by colon bacillus and couldn’t be drunk without boiling. The news should be a great astonishment for many locals. Friends and relatives always talked about the tragedy then. Until the government set a bulletin to confirm the news, they kept wondering about all details, such as if there were truly colon bacillus, how they were found ,how the well be affected, etc. This was really an important livelihood issue at that time. At the end of the discussion, those friends and relatives always reminded Dad and Mom, “The water of Red-Hair Well is not clean any more, don’t drink it!” Although Mom emphasized that it would be ok if been boiled, she went there fewer and fewer times. In the end, my family eventually turned to running water instead, and Red-hair well really became a piece of history in our memory.

後來再去已經是好久以後的事了。九二一之後彰化整個停水，偏偏中秋節要到了，烤肉沒水怎麼烤呢？於是我和姊姊提著水桶，還有一大籃臭兮兮的衣服到這邊打水洗衣。那時紅毛井景象依舊，沁涼的氣息依舊，我終於有機會像那些阿婆一樣對著衣服搓搓打打扭扭，超開心的。

It had been a long time for me to visit there again. After 921 earthquakes, the water supply in Changhua was turned off. But Mid-moon festival was coming, how could we have BBQ without water? Thus my sister and I went to the well with buckets and a lot of smelling clothes. The scenery and fresh air there was still the same. I eventually had the chance to wash clothes like those grannies; I was so happy!

可惜又過了十幾年，紅毛井前的廣場重建後，洗衣水道變成短短一截，雖然還是可以洗衣服，但比起以前那種小溪般的景緻，迷你河道還是讓人好失落阿。好在井沒變，連那台打水器好像都沒換過，最重要的是，依舊有人來打水喝。拍照那天碰到一位先生提了一堆水桶來，說他喝來喝去，還是覺的紅毛井的水最好喝，拿來泡茶很適合，「大腸桿菌有什麼關係？煮一煮就好啦！難道自來水你就敢生喝嗎？」

Another decade passed. The laundry pitch was cut short after the plaza reconstruction. What a great pity. Though you can still do the laundry there, the tiny ditch is so disappointing comparing to the streamlet scenery before. Thank God that the well is still there, and the pumper remains the same. Most important of all, there are still people coming here to carry water. On the day of shooting, a gentleman took a lot of buckets here. He said he had tried a lot and always thought Red-hair well water is the most delicious. It’s pretty good to make tea with the water. “It doesn’t matter if it has colon bacillus in it. The water is ok to drink after being boiled. Could you drink running water without boiled?”