The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2 · chapter 6 of 8
The First Cup
第一杯茶
The three of them take the train to Chengdu to return a notebook. A tiny shop is waiting behind a faded sign, and so is a secret.
Read what you hear
- Lu Fang 到了！你们看，就是那家小店。
Dào le! Nǐmen kàn, jiùshì nà jiā xiǎo diàn.
We're here! Look, that's the little shop.
- Jiang Ning “第一杯茶”。这是妈妈的店名吗？
“Dì yī bēi chá”. Zhè shì māma de diàn míng ma?
"The First Cup." Is that the name of your mom's shop?
- Lu Fang 对。妈妈说，客人喝的第一杯茶，最重要。
Duì. Māma shuō, kèren hē de dì yī bēi chá, zuì zhòngyào.
Yes. Mom says the first cup a guest drinks is the most important.
Chapter 6 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 我小时候，天天在这儿写作业。
Wǒ xiǎoshíhou, tiān tiān zài zhèr xiězuò yè.
When I was little, I did my homework here every day.
- Lu Fang 阿伟，你说“你好”的时候，不要哭。
Āwěi, nǐ shuō “nǐ hǎo” de shíhou, bú yào kū.
A-Wei, don't cry when you say "hello."
- Lu Wei 我不哭……我只是有点儿冷。
Wǒ bù kū… wǒ zhǐshì yǒudiǎnr lěng.
I'm not crying... I'm just a little cold.
- Jiang Ning 这么小的店。门口一个人也没有。
Zhème xiǎo de diàn. Ménkǒu yí gè rén yě méiyǒu.
Such a small shop. Not one person at the door.
- Lu Fang 以前，这里天天有很多人。现在很少了。
Yǐqián, zhèlǐ tiān tiān yǒu hěn duō rén. Xiànzài hěn shǎo le.
Before, there were lots of people here every day. Now there are few.
- Lu Wei 为什么我不知道？
Wèishénme wǒ bù zhīdao?
Why didn't I know?
- Lu Fang 妈妈不让我们说。她说，孩子们不要难过。
Māma bú ràng wǒmen shuō. Tā shuō, háizimen bú yào nánguò.
Mom wouldn't let us say. She said the children shouldn't be sad.
- Lu Wei 江宁，我该说什么？
Jiāng Níng, wǒ gāi shuō shénme?
Jiang Ning, what should I say?
- Jiang Ning 第一句话最难。你就说“你好”。
Dì yī jù huà zuì nán. Nǐ jiù shuō “nǐ hǎo”.
The first sentence is the hardest. Just say "hello."
- Jiang Ning 阿姨，您好。您的本子在火车站，我们找到了。
Āyí, nín hǎo. Nín de běnzi zài huǒchēzhàn, wǒmen zhǎodào le.
Hello, Auntie. We found your notebook at the train station.
- Mama Lu 你们……怎么来了？
Nǐmen… zěnme lái le?
You... why did you come?
- Lu Wei 妈，我们来看你。
Mā, wǒmen lái kàn nǐ.
Mom, we came to see you.
- Mama Lu 我很好。你们看，我的店很好。
Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐmen kàn, wǒ de diàn hěn hǎo.
I'm fine. See, my shop is fine.
- Mama Lu 你们坐了一天火车，饿了吧？我去做饭。
Nǐmen zuò le yì tiān huǒchē, è le ba? Wǒ qù zuòfàn.
You rode the train all day, so you must be hungry. I'll go cook.
- Jiang Ning 我……我来做饭吧！
Wǒ… wǒ lái zuòfàn ba!
I... I'll cook!
- Mama Lu 不用！
Bùyòng!
No need!
- Jiang Ning 阿姨，对不起，我看了最后一页。
Āyí, duìbùqǐ, wǒ kàn le zuìhòu yí yè.
Auntie, I'm sorry, I read the last page.
- Mama Lu 你看了？
Nǐ kàn le?
You read it?
- Mama Lu 第一个问题，你们回答了。阿伟不回来，可是他开心。
Dì yī gè wèntí, nǐmen huídá le. Āwěi bù huílái, kěshì tā kāixīn.
You answered the first question. A-Wei isn't coming back, but he is happy.
- Lu Wei 妈，第二个问题呢？
Mā, dì èr gè wèntí ne?
Mom, what about the second question?
- Mama Lu 这个店，下个月就要关门了。
Zhège diàn, xiàgèyuè jiùyào guānmén le.
This shop closes next month.
- Lu Wei 关门？
Guānmén?
Closing?
- Mama Lu 客人少了，房子的钱太多。
Kèren shǎo le, fángzi de qián tài duō.
Fewer customers, and the rent is too much.
- Jiang Ning 和王阿姨的茶馆一样。
Hé Wáng Āyí de cháguǎn yí yàng.
Just like Auntie Wang's teahouse.
- Mama Lu 可是我不要别人帮我。这是我的店，我的第一杯茶。
Kěshì wǒ bú yào biérén bāng wǒ. Zhè shì wǒ de diàn, wǒ de dì yī bēi chá.
But I don't want anyone's help. This is my shop, my first cup.
- Mama Lu 你们回去吧。我自己关。
Nǐmen huíqù ba. Wǒ zìjǐ guān.
Go home. I'll close it myself.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is the name of Mama's shop?
“第一杯茶”
- Why is the first cup of tea important, according to Mama?
“客人喝的第一杯茶，最重要”
- How is the shop doing now?
“现在很少了”
- Why will the shop close?
“客人少了，房子的钱太多”
- What does Mama tell the visitors at the end?
“你们回去吧。我自己关”