The Little Noodle Shop · chapter 4 of 8
Free Noodles
对面开店了
Grandma isn't angry at all, and Xiao Hu shares his big secret wish. But a shiny new restaurant opens across the street, and the whole shop goes quiet.
Read what you hear
- Nainai 小虎，坐。先喝一点儿水。
Xiǎo Hǔ, zuò. Xiān hē yìdiǎnr shuǐ.
Xiao Hu, sit down. First have some water.
- Xiao Hu 奶奶……我拿了您的碗。对不起。
Nǎinai… wǒ ná le nín de wǎn. Duìbuqǐ.
Grandma… I took your bowl. I'm sorry.
- Nainai 你给了钱，还写了字。我不生气。
Nǐ gěi le qián, hái xiě le zì. Wǒ bù shēngqì.
You paid and even wrote a note. I'm not angry.
Chapter 4 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.
- Nainai 蓝碗是给饿了的人用的。
Lán wǎn shì gěi è le de rén yòng de.
The blue bowl is for anyone who is hungry.
- Xiao Hu 真的吗？我可以再用它吗？
Zhēn de ma? Wǒ kěyǐ zài yòng tā ma?
Really? Can I use it again?
- Nainai 当然可以。但是要先告诉我。
Dāngrán kěyǐ. Dànshì yào xiān gàosu wǒ.
Of course you can. But tell me first.
- Baba (Old Lin) 小虎，你妈妈几点回家？
Xiǎo Hǔ, nǐ māma jǐ diǎn huíjiā?
Xiao Hu, what time does your mom come home?
- Xiao Hu 她晚上十点回家。星期天是她的生日。
Tā wǎnshang shí diǎn huíjiā. Xīngqītiān shì tā de shēngrì.
She gets home at ten at night. Sunday is her birthday.
- Xiao Hu 我想给她做一碗长长的面。可是我不会。
Wǒ xiǎng gěi tā zuò yì wǎn chángcháng de miàn. Kěshì wǒ bú huì.
I want to make her a bowl of very long noodles. But I don't know how.
- Nainai 那是长寿面。面很长，人也有很多很多岁。
Nà shì chángshòu miàn. Miàn hěn cháng, rén yě yǒu hěn duō hěn duō suì.
Those are longevity noodles. The noodle is long, and so is the person's life.
- Nainai 可是面不能断。断了，就不好。
Kěshì miàn bù néng duàn. Duàn le, jiù bù hǎo.
But the noodle must not break. If it breaks, that's bad luck.
- Baba (Old Lin) 好！小虎，我教你。下午你来我们店。
Hǎo! Xiǎo Hǔ, wǒ jiāo nǐ. Xiàwǔ nǐ lái wǒmen diàn.
Good! Xiao Hu, I'll teach you. Come to our shop this afternoon.
- Xiao Hu 真的吗？谢谢您！我马上去学校！
Zhēn de ma? Xièxie nín! Wǒ mǎshàng qù xuéxiào!
Really? Thank you! I'm off to school right now!
- Nainai 去吧。走路小心！
Qù ba. Zǒulù xiǎoxīn!
Go on. Walk carefully!
- Boss Gao 大家好！我的新店今天开了！三天，面免费！
Dàjiā hǎo! Wǒ de xīn diàn jīntiān kāi le! Sān tiān, miàn miǎnfèi!
Hello, everyone! My new restaurant opens today! Free noodles for three days!
- Lao Wang 免费？！李老师，你听见了吗？
Miǎnfèi?! Lǐ lǎoshī, nǐ tīngjiàn le ma?
Free?! Teacher Li, did you hear that?
- Teacher Li 听见了。免费的面，为什么不吃？
Tīngjiàn le. Miǎnfèi de miàn, wèishénme bù chī?
I heard. Free noodles, why not eat them?
- Lao Wang 可是……老林的面……
Kěshì… Lǎo Lín de miàn…
But… Old Lin's noodles…
- Teacher Li 只吃一次。一次，没关系。
Zhǐ chī yí cì. Yí cì, méi guānxi.
Just once. Once doesn't matter.
- Boss Gao 请进，请进！免费的面，又快又热！
Qǐng jìn, qǐng jìn! Miǎnfèi de miàn, yòu kuài yòu rè!
Come in, come in! Free noodles, fast and hot!
- Lao Wang 走走走！老林不会知道的！
Zǒu zǒu zǒu! Lǎo Lín bú huì zhīdào de!
Let's go, go, go! Old Lin will never know!
- Baba (Old Lin) 十二点了。一个客人都没有。
Shí'èr diǎn le. Yí gè kèrén dōu méiyǒu.
It's twelve o'clock. Not one customer.
- Nainai 老王去了对面。李老师也去了。
Lǎo Wáng qù le duìmiàn. Lǐ lǎoshī yě qù le.
Old Wang went across the street. Teacher Li too.
- Baba (Old Lin) 免费的面……我们怎么和免费比？
Miǎnfèi de miàn… wǒmen zěnme hé miǎnfèi bǐ?
Free noodles… how can we compete with free?
- Baba (Old Lin) 没有客人，怎么买面粉？怎么教小虎？
Méiyǒu kèrén, zěnme mǎi miànfěn? Zěnme jiāo Xiǎo Hǔ?
No customers, how do we buy flour? How do I teach Xiao Hu?
- Nainai 别怕。我有一个好主意。
Bié pà. Wǒ yǒu yí gè hǎo zhǔyi.
Don't be afraid. I have a good idea.
- Baba (Old Lin) 什么主意？
Shénme zhǔyi?
What idea?
- Nainai 明天你就知道了。小美，拿笔来！
Míngtiān nǐ jiù zhīdào le. Xiǎo Měi, ná bǐ lái!
You'll see tomorrow. Xiao Mei, bring me a brush!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Xiao Hu want to make long noodles?
“星期天是她的生日。”……“我想给她做一碗长长的面。”
- What does Grandma say the blue bowl is for?
“蓝碗是给饿了的人用的。”
- What does Gao Laoban offer at his new restaurant?
“我的新店今天开了！三天，面免费！”
- What happens at noon in the little shop?
“一个客人都没有。”
- What must the birthday noodle not do?
“面不能断。”