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 Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1 and 2 of The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2 are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free 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”