The Little Noodle Shop · chapter 2 of 8
Extra Money
多了五块钱
Grandma counts the money and finds five yuan too many, plus a mysterious note. Xiao Mei decides to catch the secret customer herself.
Read what you hear
- Nainai 一、二、三、四……不对！怎么多了？
Yī, èr, sān, sì… bú duì! Zěnme duō le?
One, two, three, four… That's wrong! Why is there extra?
- Xiao Mei 多了多少钱，奶奶？
Duō le duōshao qián, Nǎinai?
How much extra, Grandma?
- Nainai 五块钱！昨天晚上，我没有这五块钱。
Wǔ kuài qián! Zuótiān wǎnshang, wǒ méiyǒu zhè wǔ kuài qián.
Five yuan! I didn't have these five yuan last night.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Little Noodle Shop 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.
- Xiao Mei 这钱是从哪儿来的？
Zhè qián shì cóng nǎr lái de?
Where did this money come from?
- Nainai 在门口的地上，小桌子的旁边。还有一张纸。
Zài ménkǒu de dìshang, xiǎo zhuōzi de pángbiān. Hái yǒu yì zhāng zhǐ.
It was on the floor by the door, next to the little table. And a piece of paper.
- Xiao Mei 纸上有两个字：面钱。
Zhǐ shang yǒu liǎng gè zì: miàn qián.
The paper has two words: noodle money.
- Nainai 昨天晚上，厨房里的面少了一碗。
Zuótiān wǎnshang, chúfáng lǐ de miàn shǎo le yì wǎn.
Last night, one bowl of noodles went missing from the kitchen.
- Xiao Mei 有人吃了面，还给了钱！可是他是谁？
Yǒurén chī le miàn, hái gěi le qián! Kěshì tā shì shéi?
Someone ate noodles and paid for them! But who is it?
- Nainai 一碗面八块。他只给五块。他一定没有很多钱。
Yì wǎn miàn bā kuài. Tā zhǐ gěi wǔ kuài. Tā yídìng méiyǒu hěn duō qián.
A bowl costs eight yuan. He only paid five. He must not have much money.
- Lao Wang 老林！再来一碗！
Lǎo Lín! Zài lái yì wǎn!
Old Lin! One more bowl!
- Baba (Old Lin) 老王，你已经吃了四碗了！
Lǎo Wáng, nǐ yǐjīng chī le sì wǎn le!
Old Wang, you've already had four bowls!
- Lao Wang 我是大人，我要吃很多很多面！
Wǒ shì dàrén, wǒ yào chī hěn duō hěn duō miàn!
I'm a big man, I need to eat a lot!
- Nainai 好。一碗八块，四碗，三十二块。
Hǎo. Yì wǎn bā kuài, sì wǎn, sānshí'èr kuài.
Fine. Eight yuan a bowl, four bowls, thirty-two yuan.
- Lao Wang 三十块，行不行？我是老朋友！
Sānshí kuài, xíng bu xíng? Wǒ shì lǎo péngyou!
Thirty, okay? I'm an old friend!
- Nainai 不行！三十二块！一块都不能少！
Bù xíng! Sānshí'èr kuài! Yí kuài dōu bù néng shǎo!
No! Thirty-two! Not one yuan less!
- Lao Wang 好，好，好。奶奶，你真会算！
Hǎo, hǎo, hǎo. Nǎinai, nǐ zhēn huì suàn!
Okay, okay, okay. Grandma, you really can count!
- Lao Wang 对了！昨天晚上，我在街上看见一个小孩。
Duì le! Zuótiān wǎnshang, wǒ zài jiē shang kànjiàn yí gè xiǎohái.
Oh yes! Last night I saw a little kid on the street.
- Xiao Mei 小孩？他穿什么衣服？
Xiǎohái? Tā chuān shénme yīfu?
A kid? What was he wearing?
- Lao Wang 蓝色的大衣服。他跑得很快！
Lánsè de dà yīfu. Tā pǎo de hěn kuài!
Big blue clothes. He ran very fast!
- Baba (Old Lin) 你为什么不问他？
Nǐ wèishénme bù wèn tā?
Why didn't you ask him?
- Lao Wang 我在车里！我想问他，可是我的车比他还慢！
Wǒ zài chē lǐ! Wǒ xiǎng wèn tā, kěshì wǒ de chē bǐ tā hái màn!
I was in my taxi! I wanted to ask him, but my car was slower than he was!
- Xiao Mei 爸爸，今天晚上，我不睡觉。
Bàba, jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ bú shuìjiào.
Dad, tonight I'm not going to sleep.
- Baba (Old Lin) 什么？你是小孩子，你要睡觉！
Shénme? Nǐ shì xiǎo háizi, nǐ yào shuìjiào!
What? You're a child, you need to sleep!
- Xiao Mei 我要在门口等。那个人还会来！
Wǒ yào zài ménkǒu děng. Nàge rén hái huì lái!
I'll wait by the door. That person will come again!
- Baba (Old Lin) 好吧，等到十点。然后你睡觉。
Hǎo ba, děng dào shí diǎn. Ránhòu nǐ shuìjiào.
All right, wait until ten. Then you go to bed.
- Baba (Old Lin) 拿着这个，晚上很冷。
Ná zhe zhège, wǎnshang hěn lěng.
Take this. The night is cold.
- Xiao Mei 一个人在黑黑的店里……有点怕。可是我要看见他！
Yí gè rén zài hēihēi de diàn lǐ… yǒudiǎn pà. Kěshì wǒ yào kànjiàn tā!
Alone in the dark shop… a little scary. But I want to see him!
- Xiao Mei 后门……有人！
Hòumén… yǒurén!
The back door… someone's there!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the paper under the door say?
“纸上有两个字”……“面钱”
- How much does Lao Wang have to pay for four bowls?
“一碗八块，四碗，三十二块。”
- What did Lao Wang see on the street last night?
“蓝色的大衣服。他跑得很快！”
- Why couldn't Lao Wang ask the child anything?
“我在车里！我想问他，可是我的车比他还慢！”
- Why does Xiao Mei decide not to sleep tonight?
“我要在门口等。那个人还会来！”