The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2 · chapter 7 of 8
Say No, Say Yes
说“不”，说“好”
Lu Wei says no to one thing and yes to another. Then Jiang Ning makes a phone call that could change Mama's mind, or her whole week.
Read what you hear
- Mama Lu 你们回去吧。天黑了。
Nǐmen huíqù ba. Tiān hēi le.
Go home. It's getting dark.
- Lu Wei 妈，我不回去。我有话跟你说。
Mā, wǒ bù huíqù. Wǒ yǒu huà gēn nǐ shuō.
Mom, I'm not leaving. I have something to say.
- Mama Lu 说吧。你现在什么都敢说。
Shuō ba. Nǐ xiànzài shénme dōu gǎn shuō.
Say it. You dare to say anything now.
Chapter 7 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2 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 and Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing from start to finish.
- Lu Wei 第一，我不回成都开店。这是我的“不”。
Dì yī, wǒ bù huí Chéngdū kāi diàn. Zhè shì wǒ de “bù”.
First, I won't move back to Chengdu to run the shop. That's my "no."
- Mama Lu 我知道。
Wǒ zhīdao.
I know.
- Lu Wei 我今天说了两次“不”！我的心跳好快！
Wǒ jīntiān shuō le liǎng cì “bù”! Wǒ de xīn tiào hǎo kuài!
I said "no" twice today! My heart is racing!
- Mama Lu 你的心跳快，我的心跳也快。
Nǐ de xīn tiào kuài, wǒ de xīn tiào yě kuài.
Your heart races, and so does mine.
- Lu Wei 第二，我要帮你。这是我的“好”。
Dì èr, wǒ yào bāng nǐ. Zhè shì wǒ de “hǎo”.
Second, I'm going to help you. That's my "yes."
- Mama Lu 帮我？你在那儿，我在这儿。怎么帮？
Bāng wǒ? Nǐ zài nàr, wǒ zài zhèr. Zěnme bāng?
Help me? You're there, I'm here. How?
- Lu Wei 我不知道。可是我不会让你一个人。
Wǒ bù zhīdao. Kěshì wǒ bú huì ràng nǐ yí gè rén.
I don't know. But I won't let you be alone.
- Mama Lu 我不要你的钱。我自己可以。
Wǒ bú yào nǐ de qián. Wǒ zìjǐ kěyǐ.
I don't want your money. I can do it myself.
- Lu Wei 妈，你也会说“不”。我们家的人，都不太会说“好”。
Mā, nǐ yě huì shuō “bù”. Wǒmen jiā de rén, dōu bú tài huì shuō “hǎo”.
Mom, you say "no" too. People in our family aren't good at saying "yes."
- Mama Lu 我一个人，二十年了。
Wǒ yí gè rén, èr shí nián le.
I've been alone for twenty years.
- Lu Wei 那现在，你不是一个人了。
Nà xiànzài, nǐ bú shì yí gè rén le.
Then now you're not alone.
- Jiang Ning 阿姨，可以听我说一句吗？
Āyí, kěyǐ tīng wǒ shuō yí jù ma?
Auntie, may I say something?
- Mama Lu 你说吧。你是老师，你总有话说。
Nǐ shuō ba. Nǐ shì lǎoshī, nǐ zǒng yǒu huà shuō.
Go on. You're a teacher, you always have something to say.
- Jiang Ning 星期四晚上，我们的茶馆有很多人。
Xīngqīsì wǎnshàng, wǒmen de cháguǎn yǒu hěn duō rén.
On Thursday nights our teahouse is full.
- Jiang Ning 他们喝红茶，可是没喝过成都的绿茶。
Tāmen hē hóngchá, kěshì méi hē guò Chéngdū de lǜchá.
They drink red tea, but they've never had Chengdu green tea.
- Mama Lu 他们没喝过？
Tāmen méi hē guò?
They've never had it?
- Jiang Ning 王阿姨说，星期四晚上，你可以在茶馆卖你的茶。
Wáng Āyí shuō, xīngqīsì wǎnshàng, nǐ kěyǐ zài cháguǎn mài nǐ de chá.
Auntie Wang says you can sell your tea at the teahouse on Thursday night.
- Mama Lu 在别人的茶馆卖我的茶？
Zài biérén de cháguǎn mài wǒ de chá?
Sell my tea in someone else's teahouse?
- Jiang Ning 不是别人的。是我们的茶馆。
Bú shì biérén de. Shì wǒmen de cháguǎn.
It's not someone else's. It's our teahouse.
- Mama Lu 一个星期四，能卖多少茶？
Yí gè xīngqīsì, néng mài duōshǎo chá?
How much tea can you sell in one Thursday?
- Lu Wei 我们有一百个人。
Wǒmen yǒu yì bǎi gè rén.
We have a hundred people.
- Mama Lu 一百个人……
Yì bǎi gè rén…
A hundred people...
- Mama Lu 我的绿茶，比你们的红茶好。
Wǒ de lǜchá, bǐ nǐmen de hóngchá hǎo.
My green tea is better than your red tea.
- Jiang Ning 那就来比一比。
Nà jiù lái bǐ yì bǐ.
Then let's compare them.
- Mama Lu 好。就一个星期四。可是如果没有人来，你们别再说这件事。
Hǎo. Jiù yí gè xīngqīsì. Kěshì rúguǒ méiyǒu rén lái, nǐmen bié zàishuō zhè jiàn shì.
Fine. One Thursday. But if nobody comes, you don't bring this up again.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Lu Wei's "no"?
“我不回成都开店”
- What is Lu Wei's "yes"?
“我要帮你”
- What idea does Jiang Ning bring?
“你可以在茶馆卖你的茶”
- How many people does Lu Wei say they have?
“我们有一百个人”
- What does Mama agree to?
“就一个星期四”