Judge Dee's Cases · chapter 6 of 8
The Medicine Shop
药铺
A pickpocket, a dog he fears and a timid shopkeeper lead Judge Di to a ledger and a green jade ring. Then the shopkeeper says the buyer came back for more.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 下午，陶干带着狄公，走进市场后面一条窄窄的小巷。
Xiàwǔ, Táo Gàn dài zhe Dí Gōng, zǒujìn shìchǎng hòumiàn yì tiáo zhǎizhǎi de xiǎoxiàng.
That afternoon Tao Gan led Judge Di into a narrow lane behind the market.
- Tao Gan 大人，这里有三家药铺。第一家，我不能去。
Dàren, zhèlǐ yǒu sān jiā yàopù. Dì yī jiā, wǒ bùnéng qù.
My lord, there are three medicine shops here. The first one, I can't go to.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 为什么不能去？
Wèishénme bùnéng qù?
Why can't you go?
Chapter 6 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Judge Dee's Cases is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Tao Gan 我去年想拿他们的一个钱袋，结果被他们的狗追了三条街。
Wǒ qùnián xiǎng ná tāmen de yí gè qiándài, jiéguǒ bèi tāmen de gǒu zhuī le sān tiáo jiē.
Last year I tried to take one of their purses and their dog chased me for three streets.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 三条街？你跑得不慢啊。
Sān tiáo jiē? Nǐ pǎo de bú màn a.
Three streets? You're not a slow runner.
- Tao Gan 狗跑得更快！所以我现在特别尊敬狗。
Gǒu pǎo de gèng kuài! Suǒyǐ wǒ xiànzài tèbié zūnjìng gǒu.
The dog was faster! So now I have great respect for dogs.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 好，那第二家呢？那个老板怎么样？
Hǎo, nà dì'èr jiā ne? Nàge lǎobǎn zěnmeyàng?
All right, and the second?
- Tao Gan 第二家的老板耳朵不好。你问他什么，他都回答：买一斤盐。
Dì'èr jiā de lǎobǎn ěrduo bù hǎo. Nǐ wèn tā shénme, tā dōu huídá: mǎi yì jīn yán.
The second owner is hard of hearing. Whatever you ask him, he answers: buy a pound of salt.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 那就只剩第三家了。我们现在就去，趁老板还没有关门。
Nà jiù zhǐ shèng dì sān jiā le. Wǒmen xiànzài jiù qù, chèn lǎobǎn hái méiyǒu guān mén.
That leaves only the third. Let's go now, before the owner closes.
- Tao Gan 对。第三家的老板胆子最小，你一看他，他就想说真话。
Duì. Dì sān jiā de lǎobǎn dǎnzi zuì xiǎo, nǐ yí kàn tā, tā jiù xiǎng shuō zhēn huà.
Yes. The third owner is the most timid. Look at him and he wants to tell the truth.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 进了店，你自己小心一点儿，不许偷店里的东西。
Jìn le diàn, nǐ zìjǐ xiǎoxīn yìdiǎnr, bùxǔ tōu diàn lǐ de dōngxi.
Once inside, behave yourself. No stealing from the shop.
- Tao Gan 大人放心，我今天已经戒了！不过，我的手有时候，不太听我的话。
Dàren fàngxīn, wǒ jīntiān yǐjīng jiè le! Búguò, wǒ de shǒu yǒu shíhou, bú tài tīng wǒ de huà.
Don't worry, my lord, I quit today! Although sometimes my hands don't listen to me.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 我不吓人，我只问话。走吧，别忘了你刚才说的。
Wǒ bú xià rén, wǒ zhǐ wèn huà. Zǒu ba, bié wàng le nǐ gāngcái shuō de.
I don't frighten people. I only ask questions. Let's go, and remember what you just promised.
- The Apothecary 客官要什么药？头疼的，肚子疼的，我这里都有……
Kèguān yào shénme yào? Tóu téng de, dǔzi téng de, wǒ zhèlǐ dōu yǒu…
What medicine do you need, sirs? For headaches, stomachaches, I have it all...
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 我想问一种药。吃了以后，人会睡着，再也醒不来。
Wǒ xiǎng wèn yì zhǒng yào. Chī le yǐhòu, rén huì shuìzháo, zài yě xǐng bu lái.
I want to ask about a medicine. A person takes it and falls asleep and never wakes.
- The Apothecary 客官……这个玩笑不好笑。我们这里不卖那样的药。
Kèguān… zhège wánxiào bù hǎo xiào. Wǒmen zhèlǐ bú mài nàyàng de yào.
Sir... that isn't a funny joke. We don't sell that kind of medicine here.
- Tao Gan 老板，你的账本放在哪儿？我最会看账本了。
Lǎobǎn, nǐ de zhàngběn fàng zài nǎr? Wǒ zuì huì kàn zhàngběn le.
Boss, where do you keep your ledger? I'm great at reading ledgers.
- The Apothecary 账……账本？那是我的私事……
Zhàng… zhàngběn? Nà shì wǒ de sīshì…
The ledger? That's private...
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 我是新来的县官，狄仁杰。
Wǒ shì xīnlái de xiànguān, Dí Rénjié.
I am the new magistrate, Di Renjie.
- The Apothecary 大人！小人不知道！账本在这儿，请大人过目！
Dàren! Xiǎorén bù zhīdao! Zhàngběn zài zhèr, qǐng dàren guò mù!
My lord! I didn't know! Here is the ledger, please have a look!
- Tao Gan 五天以前，卖了一大包老鼠药。买的人，没有留名字。
Wǔ tiān yǐqián, mài le yí dà bāo lǎoshǔ yào. Mǎi de rén, méiyǒu liú míngzi.
Five days ago, one large packet of rat poison was sold. The buyer left no name.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 买药的人，长什么样子？他说话的时候，有什么特别的地方？
Mǎi yào de rén, zhǎng shénme yàngzi? Tā shuōhuà de shíhou, yǒu shénme tèbié de dìfang?
What did the buyer look like? Anything special about how he spoke?
- The Apothecary 是一位年轻的先生，穿蓝色的丝绸衣服，手上有一个绿色的玉戒指。
Shì yí wèi niánqīng de xiānsheng, chuān lánsè de sīchóu yīfu, shǒushàng yǒu yí gè lǜsè de yù jièzhi.
A young gentleman in blue silk, with a green jade ring on his hand.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 蓝色的丝绸，绿色的玉戒指……陶干，你想到了谁？
Lánsè de sīchóu, lǜsè de yù jièzhi… Táo Gàn, nǐ xiǎngdào le shuí?
Blue silk, a green jade ring... Tao Gan, who do you think of?
- Tao Gan 那个表哥！他说话的时候，手总是放在最前面，好像怕别人看不见他的戒指。
Nàge biǎogē! Tā shuōhuà de shíhou, shǒu zǒngshì fàng zài zuì qiánmiàn, hǎoxiàng pà biérén kàn bu jiàn tā de jièzhi.
The cousin! When he talks his hand is always out front, as if he's afraid nobody will see his ring.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 老板，他为什么要买这么多药？
Lǎobǎn, tā wèishénme yào mǎi zhème duō yào?
Shopkeeper, why did he say he needed so much?
- The Apothecary 他说，家里老鼠太多。可是大人，老鼠药只要一点点。他买的，多得可以毒死一头牛。
Tā shuō, jiālǐ lǎoshǔ tài duō. Kěshì dàren, lǎoshǔ yào zhǐ yào yìdiǎndiǎn. Tā mǎi de, duō de kěyǐ dú sǐ yì tóu niú.
He said they had too many mice. But my lord, mice need only a pinch. What he bought could poison an ox.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 你为什么不问他？
Nǐ wèishénme bú wèn tā?
Why didn't you question him?
- The Apothecary 我问了，可是他笑着说，不关我的事。我心里害怕，就把每一样都记在账本上了。
Wǒ wèn le, kěshì tā xiào zhe shuō, bù guān wǒ de shì. Wǒ xīnlǐ hàipà, jiù bǎ měi yíyàng dōu jì zài zhàngběn shàng le.
I did, but he smiled and said it was none of my business. I was afraid, so I wrote everything down in the ledger.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 记得好。这本账本，就是证据。
Jìde hǎo. Zhè běn zhàngběn, jiùshì zhèngjù.
You did well. This ledger is evidence.
- Tao Gan 大人，我早就说了，老板胆子最小。
Dàren, wǒ zǎojiù shuō le, lǎobǎn dǎnzi zuì xiǎo.
See, my lord? I told you the owner is the most timid.
- The Apothecary 大人，还有一件事，我一直不敢说。
Dàren, háiyǒu yí jiàn shì, wǒ yìzhí bù gǎn shuō.
My lord, there's one more thing that I haven't dared to say.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 说吧。
Shuō ba.
Speak.
- The Apothecary 那位先生昨天又来了。他说，他要给一位老人家买药。我说药卖完了，他很生气地走了。
Nà wèi xiānsheng zuótiān yòu lái le. Tā shuō, tā yào gěi yí wèi lǎorenjia mǎi yào. Wǒ shuō yào mài wán le, tā hěn shēngqì de zǒu le.
That gentleman came again yesterday. He said he wanted medicine for an old lady. I said we were sold out, and he left angrily.
- Judge Dee (Di Renjie) 一位老人家……陶干，快去找马荣和乔泰！今天晚上，那位老太太有危险！
Yí wèi lǎorenjia… Táo Gàn, kuài qù zhǎo Mǎ Róng hé Qiáo Tài! Jīntiān wǎnshang, nà wèi lǎotàitai yǒu wēixiǎn!
An old lady... Tao Gan, quick, find Ma Rong and Qiao Tai! Tonight that old woman is in danger!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why can't Tao Gan go into the first shop?
“被他们的狗追了三条街”
- What does the second owner always answer?
“买一斤盐”
- What did the ledger show?
“五天以前，卖了一大包老鼠药。”
- Which person wears blue silk and a green jade ring?
“穿蓝色的丝绸衣服，手上有一个绿色的玉戒指。”
- Why is the old woman now in danger?
“他说，他要给一位老人家买药。”