The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2 · chapter 5 of 8
The Six O'Clock Train
早上六点的火车
Lu Wei has one night to work out how to say a very small word to a very big person. The platform is cold, and the train does not wait.
Read what you hear
- Jiang Ning 那天晚上，陆伟一句话也不说。我们在河边走了一个小时。
Nà tiān wǎnshàng, Lù Wěi yí jù huà yě bù shuō. Wǒmen zài hé biān zǒu le yí gè xiǎoshí.
That night Lu Wei didn't say a word. We walked by the river for an hour.
- Lu Wei 江宁，我很怕。我不知道怎么办。
Jiāng Níng, wǒ hěn pà. Wǒ bù zhīdao zěnme bàn.
Jiang Ning, I'm scared. I don't know what to do.
- Jiang Ning 怕你妈妈吗？
Pà nǐ māma ma?
Of your mother?
Chapter 5 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 我怕说“不”。我说了，她那么难过。我不想再看到她哭。
Wǒ pà shuō “bù”. Wǒ shuō le, tā nàme nánguò. Wǒ bù xiǎng zài kàndào tā kū.
I'm scared of saying "no." I said it, and she was so sad. I don't want to see her cry again.
- Jiang Ning 你说的是真话。真话有时候是这样。
Nǐ shuō de shì zhēnhuà. Zhēnhuà yǒu shíhou shì zhèyàng.
You told the truth. Sometimes the truth is like that.
- Lu Wei 可是我怕她一个人回去，会哭。
Kěshì wǒ pà tā yí gè rén huíqù, huì kū.
But I'm afraid she'll go home alone and cry.
- Jiang Ning 那明天，你去火车站，对她说真话。
Nà míngtiān, nǐ qù huǒchēzhàn, duì tā shuō zhēnhuà.
Then tomorrow, go to the station and tell her the truth.
- Lu Wei 我也想帮她。可是我回成都，就没有你了。
Wǒ yě xiǎng bāng tā. Kěshì wǒ huí Chéngdū, jiù méiyǒu nǐ le.
I want to help her too. But if I go back to Chengdu, I won't have you.
- Jiang Ning 你想回去吗？
Nǐ xiǎng huíqù ma?
Do you want to go back?
- Lu Wei 不想。我的家在这儿。
Bù xiǎng. Wǒ de jiā zài zhèr.
No. My home is here.
- Jiang Ning 那你就说真话。她是你的妈妈，她会听的。
Nà nǐ jiù shuō zhēnhuà. Tā shì nǐ de māma, tā huì tīng de.
Then tell the truth. She's your mother. She'll listen.
- Jiang Ning 早上六点，火车站好冷。
Zǎoshàng liù diǎn, huǒchēzhàn hǎo lěng.
Six in the morning, and the train station is freezing.
- Lu Wei 妈！
Mā!
Mom!
- Mama Lu 你来了。你的包呢？
Nǐ lái le. Nǐ de bāo ne?
You came. Where's your bag?
- Lu Wei 我没有带包。妈，我不回成都。
Wǒ méiyǒu dài bāo. Mā, wǒ bù huí Chéngdū.
I didn't bring a bag. Mom, I'm not going back to Chengdu.
- Mama Lu 唉……
Āi…
Sigh... (a long pause)
- Lu Wei 我喜欢红茶，我喜欢这个地方。我喜欢江宁。可是，我也喜欢你。
Wǒ xǐhuan hóngchá, wǒ xǐhuan zhège dìfang. Wǒ xǐhuan Jiāng Níng. Kěshì, wǒ yě xǐhuan nǐ.
I like red tea, I like it here. I like Jiang Ning. But I like you too.
- Mama Lu 你喜欢我，可是你不跟我走。
Nǐ xǐhuan wǒ, kěshì nǐ bù gēn wǒ zǒu.
You like me, but you won't come with me.
- Mama Lu 我做的茶，你不喝。我的店，你不来。
Wǒ zuò de chá, nǐ bù hē. Wǒ de diàn, nǐ bù lái.
You won't drink my tea. You won't come to my shop.
- Lu Wei 妈，我会去看你。一个月去一次。
Mā, wǒ huì qù kàn nǐ. Yí gè yuè qù yí cì.
Mom, I'll visit you. Once a month.
- Mama Lu 火车要开了。
Huǒchē yào kāi le.
The train is leaving.
- Jiang Ning 阿姨……
Āyí…
Auntie...
- Lu Fang 阿伟！江宁！妈妈走了吗？
Āwěi! Jiāng Níng! Māma zǒu le ma?
A-Wei! Jiang Ning! Did Mom leave?
- Jiang Ning 走了。可是你看，她的本子还在椅子上。
Zǒu le. Kěshì nǐ kàn, tā de běnzi hái zài yǐzi shàng.
She left. But look, her notebook is still on the seat.
- Lu Fang 那是她的一千个问题！
Nà shì tā de yì qiān gè wèntí!
Those are her thousand questions!
- Jiang Ning 最后一页，就两个问题。
Zuìhòu yí yè, jiù liǎng gè wèntí.
The last page has just two questions.
- Jiang Ning 第一个：阿伟在那儿，开心吗？
Dì yī gè: Āwěi zài nàr, kāixīn ma?
The first: Is A-Wei happy over there?
- Jiang Ning 第二个：我的店，还能开几个月？
Dì èr gè: wǒ de diàn, hái néng kāi jǐ gè yuè?
The second: How many more months can my shop stay open?
- Lu Fang 她的店？江宁，我们得去成都！
Tā de diàn? Jiāng Níng, wǒmen děi qù Chéngdū!
Her shop? Jiang Ning, we have to go to Chengdu!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Lu Wei afraid of?
“我怕说“不””
- What does Jiang Ning say when Lu Wei worries?
“你就说真话”
- What does Lu Wei tell his mother at the station?
“我不回成都”
- What does Lu Fang find?
“她的本子还在椅子上”
- What does the last question in the notebook ask?
“我的店，还能开几个月”