You would think we would be used to it by now. “Borrowed days” is the concept that’s been in use for quite a number of years; extending national holidays but making up for the lost time by turning a Saturday or Sunday into a working day.
你可能认为我们现在已经习惯了。 “借来的日子”这个概念已经使用了很多年了。延长国家法定节假日，但通过将周六或周日改为工作日来弥补损失的时间。
The idea has both those in favour and against. Some note the economic benefits to the country as a whole. Others say the stimulus is unevenly balanced. Then there are the chronologically challenged who have just no idea what day it is.
这个想法有赞成的也有反对的。一些人注意到这给整个国家带来的经济效益。其他人则表示刺激措施不平衡。还有一些在时间顺序上受到挑战的人，他们根本不知道今天是什么日子。
Taking the pulse of the nation, The Nanjinger reached out this morning to a cross section of society. Being “one of those days”, we today reproduce a selection of the comments received. Surnames have been omitted to protect contributors from any kind of possible authoritarian retribution.
今天上午，《南京人》把握国家脉搏，触及社会各阶层。作为“那些日子”，我们今天摘录了收到的评论。姓氏已被省略，以保护贡献者免受任何可能的专制报复。
Spare a thought, first though, for those working in hospitality. Many had to work overtime during the holiday to cater to increased demand. They too have been working today to pay back the so-called borrowed days.
不过，首先请考虑一下那些在酒店业工作的人。许多人不得不在假期期间加班以满足增加的需求。他们今天也一直在工作，以偿还所谓的借来的日子。
Nancy is a good example. “I should work 2 extra days before and after the Labour day holiday, and my company also arranged my business trip during the holiday on May 1st and 2nd, so I spent 4 extra working days for this short holiday. What a pity”, she said.
南希就是一个很好的例子。 “五一假期前后我应该多工作2天，公司又安排我在5月1日和2日假期出差，所以这个短暂的假期我多花了4天工作日，真可惜。”她说。
Candice is in entertainment and as such, works a 6-day week every week. She’s also not a fan of the present setup. “I can’t agree more to move the weekend to extend the holiday. Then I could have several days to make a travelling plan”.
Candice 从事娱乐业，因此每周工作 6 天。她也不喜欢目前的设置。 “我非常同意把周末移到延长假期。这样我就可以有几天时间来制定旅行计划”。
Many people also find that the twisted calendar messes with their regular schedule. An anonymous respondent told us, “It messed up some of my plans, like can’t send my kids to the weekend cram school. In my opinion holiday is holiday and weekend is weekend, so I can get ahead of my plan and make my days more fulfilling”.
许多人还发现扭曲的日历打乱了他们的正常日程。一位匿名受访者告诉我们，“这打乱了我的一些计划，比如不能送孩子去周末补习班。在我看来，假期就是假期，周末就是周末，这样我就可以提前计划，让我的日子过得更充实”。
Then there was Alan, who said, “I have to reschedule everything that I was supposed to do on weekend”.
然后艾伦说，“我必须重新安排周末应该做的所有事情”。
Alan is also among those who just want the whole thing scrapped. “Please cancel the days-off in lieu of rules for holiday. Even the holiday is adjusted to be shorter. As long as we have a 2 -day weekend, this is my bottom line”, he said.
艾伦也是那些只想废除整个事情的人之一。 “请取消休息日，代替假期规定。连假期也调整得更短。只要我们有两天的周末，这就是我的底线”，他说。
Many of the people The Nanjinger talked to also told us they find it difficult to remember which day it is.
《南京人》采访的许多人也告诉我们，他们很难记住今天是哪一天。
“I know today is Saturday because my daughter went to school unwillingly this morning (lol)”, said Nancy.
“我知道今天是星期六，因为今天早上我女儿不情愿地去上学了（笑）”，Nancy 说道。
But others’ brains can handle the change quite easily. Lady in Suzhou told us, “Everyone is getting used to it and knew it long before”.
但其他人的大脑可以很容易地应对这种变化。苏州女士告诉我们，“大家都习惯了，早就知道了”。
Others argue it’s a sacrifice worth making. And we should remember the original intention behind the idea was to keep the economy moving along at the breakneck pace the world is accustomed to seeing from China.
其他人则认为这是值得做出的牺牲。我们应该记住这个想法背后的初衷是让经济以世界习惯于从中国看到的惊人速度向前发展。
As a business owner, Vincent in Nanjing agrees. “I kind of support the way how it works now. Seems like we have a holiday each month and it will definitely bring the cost (staff salary) up a lot”, he said.
作为一名企业主，南京的文森特也表示同意。 “我有点支持现在的运作方式。看来我们每个月都有假期，这肯定会让成本（员工工资）上涨很多”，他说。
Vincent also recognises some cold-faced realities. “In order to have a better life in the short future for themselves or their children, people need to WORK to make things happen and yet, it is unrealistic to have a perfect life that you make enough money to support your family and meantime you are able to take as many days off as you wish”, he said.
文森特也认识到一些冷酷的现实。他说：“为了在不久的将来让自己或孩子过上更好的生活，人们需要工作来实现事情，然而，拥有足够的钱来养家糊口，同时又可以随意休假的完美生活是不现实的。”
And there was no shortage of suggestions as to what to do instead. Carrie told us, “It’s tiring and work efficiency becomes lower. I think it would be perfect if government can really extend Chinese holidays”.
关于该怎么做的建议也不乏。 Carrie告诉我们，“很累，工作效率也变低了。我想如果政府真的能够延长中国假期就完美了”。
Back in Suzhou, Lady said, “I propose that everyone has a certain amount of days to spend at any time in one year”.
回到苏州后，女士说：“我建议每个人在一年中的任何时候都有一定的天数可以度过”。
Some would also prefer a more internationalised working calendar. “I would prefer paid leave and the exact date should be optional, which is still not very well popularised in China, I like long vacations, but everyone taking vacation at the same time leads to terrible experience in traffic, bookings, and everywhere”, said Rui.
有些人还喜欢更加国际化的工作日历。 “我更喜欢带薪休假，而且具体日期是可选的，这在中国还不太普及，我喜欢长假，但每个人同时休假会导致交通、预订和到处都是糟糕的体验”，芮说。
Saving the most controversial for last, we finally asked whether people agree that moving weekends around to add extra days to holidays is, “the most ridiculous idea ever?”
把最具争议性的问题留到最后，我们最后问人们是否同意改变周末以增加假期的时间是“有史以来最荒谬的想法？”
“Totally agree. The long vacation gives us chances to spend more time with family and go on vacation. Our government should regard the holidays as a chance to stimulate economy and relieve civilians’ pressure, not to mess up their schedule and make them feel more exhausted…” (Nancy)
“完全同意。长假让我们有机会花更多的时间与家人在一起并去度假。我们的政府应该将假期视为刺激经济和缓解民众压力的机会，而不是打乱他们的日程安排，让他们感到更加疲惫……”（南希）
“Yes, especially now. U can tell that summer is coming, we need to work regularly and rest more!” (Alan)
“是的，尤其是现在，可以看出夏天来了，我们要规律工作，多休息！” （艾伦）
“No. For people who are sure of their mission, it is not ridiculous. I can manage my time well.” (Lady)
“不会。对于有使命感的人来说，这并不可笑。我可以很好地管理自己的时间。” （女士）
“I wouldn’t say it ridiculous, not even close. This decision was not easy to make. And the policy has adjusted for several times. People have different needs. Some approve and some don’t. It’s natural in a nation’s development. It also shows that the country is trying to meet the needs of the people. I mean, with such a large population, every decision and policy is not easy.” (Nicole)
“我不会说这很荒谬，甚至不近。这个决定不容易做出。而且政策已经调整了好几次。人们有不同的需求，有人赞成，有人不同意。这是一个国家发展的自然现象。这也表明国家正在努力满足人民的需求。我的意思是，在这么大的人口规模下，每一项决定和政策都不容易。” （妮可）
