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The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2 · chapter 4 of 8

The Truth About Green Tea

绿茶的真话

Twenty years of green tea, and one honest sentence. Lu Wei finally tells his mother the truth, and Mama's answer is a train ticket.

The Truth About Green Tea illustration

Read what you hear

  1. Mama Lu 什么事？说吧。

    Shénme shì? Shuō ba.

    What is it? Go ahead.

  2. Lu Wei 妈，我……我不喜欢绿茶。

    Mā, wǒ… wǒ bù xǐhuan lǜchá.

    Mom, I... I don't like green tea.

  3. Mama Lu 你说什么？

    Nǐ shuō shénme?

    What did you say?

Chapter 4 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.

  1. Lu Wei 我喜欢红茶。我一直喜欢红茶。

    Wǒ xǐhuan hóngchá. Wǒ yìzhí xǐhuan hóngchá.

    I like red tea. I've always liked red tea.

  2. Mama Lu 二十年！我给你泡了二十年绿茶，你都说“最爱”！

    Èr shí nián! Wǒ gěi nǐ pào le èr shí nián lǜchá, nǐ dōu shuō “zuì ài”!

    Twenty years! I made you green tea for twenty years and you always said "my favorite"!

  3. Lu Wei 对不起，妈。我不敢说。

    Duìbùqǐ, mā. Wǒ bù gǎn shuō.

    I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't dare say it.

  4. Mama Lu 不敢？你怕我？我是你妈妈！

    Bù gǎn? Nǐ pà wǒ? Wǒ shì nǐ māma!

    Didn't dare? You're afraid of me? I'm your mother!

  5. Jiang Ning 阿姨，他不是怕您。他是怕您不开心。他真的很爱您。

    Āyí, tā bú shì pà nín. Tā shì pà nín bù kāixīn. Tā zhēnde hěn ài nín.

    Auntie, he isn't afraid of you. He was afraid of making you unhappy. He really loves you.

  6. Mama Lu 江宁，你早就知道了？

    Jiāng Níng, nǐ zǎojiù zhīdao le?

    Jiang Ning, you knew all along?

  7. Jiang Ning 我知道。昨天是我说，喝一口就好。对不起。

    Wǒ zhīdao. Zuótiān shì wǒ shuō, hē yì kǒu jiù hǎo. Duìbùqǐ.

    I knew. Yesterday it was me who said one sip would be enough. I'm sorry.

  8. Mama Lu 你们两个，都不说真话！

    Nǐmen liǎng gè, dōu bù shuō zhēnhuà!

    You two, neither of you tells the truth!

  9. Lu Wei 妈，我喝了很多很多绿茶！都是因为你！

    Mā, wǒ hē le hěn duō hěn duō lǜchá! Dōu shì yīnwèi nǐ!

    Mom, I drank so much green tea! All of it for you!

  10. Mama Lu 喝了那么多，还说不爱？

    Hē le nàme duō, hái shuō bú ài?

    Drank that much, and you still say you don't love it?

  11. Lu Wei 我不爱绿茶。可是我爱你！

    Wǒ bú ài lǜchá. Kěshì wǒ ài nǐ!

    I don't love green tea. But I love you!

  12. Mama Lu 你爱我？你二十年，都没说过真话。

    Nǐ ài wǒ? Nǐ èr shí nián, dōu méi shuō guò zhēnhuà.

    You love me? In twenty years you've never told me the truth.

  13. Jiang Ning 陆伟的眼睛红了。陆妈妈的眼睛也红了。

    Lù Wěi de yǎnjīng hóng le. Lù Māma de yǎnjīng yě hóng le.

    Lu Wei's eyes are red. Mama's eyes are red too.

  14. Mama Lu 我不听。

    Wǒ bù tīng.

    I'm not listening.

  15. Mama Lu 在成都，我一个人卖了二十年茶。我想，我的儿子最爱我的茶。

    Zài Chéngdū, wǒ yí gè rén mài le èr shí nián chá. Wǒ xiǎng, wǒ de érzi zuì ài wǒ de chá.

    In Chengdu, I've sold tea alone for twenty years. I thought my son loved my tea most.

  16. Lu Wei 我爱你，也爱你的茶。可是我喜欢红茶。

    Wǒ ài nǐ, yě ài nǐ de chá. Kěshì wǒ xǐhuan hóngchá.

    I love you, and I love your tea. But I like red tea.

  17. Mama Lu 我的儿子这么大了，我还不知道他喜欢喝什么。

    Wǒ de érzi zhème dà le, wǒ hái bù zhīdao tā xǐhuan hē shénme.

    My son is all grown up, and I still didn't know what he likes to drink.

  18. Mama Lu 我累了。我想回家。我明天就回成都。

    Wǒ lèi le. Wǒ xiǎng huíjiā. Wǒ míngtiān jiù huí Chéngdū.

    I'm tired. I want to go home. I'm leaving for Chengdu tomorrow.

  19. Mama Lu 阿伟，你跟我回去。我的店里，就我一个人。

    Āwěi, nǐ gēn wǒ huíqù. Wǒ de diàn lǐ, jiù wǒ yí gè rén.

    A-Wei, you're coming back with me. There's only me in my shop.

  20. Lu Wei 回去？可是我的工作，我的家……

    Huíqù? Kěshì wǒ de gōngzuò, wǒ de jiā…

    Go back? But my job, my home...

  21. Mama Lu 明天早上六点的火车，在火车站。

    Míngtiān zǎoshàng liù diǎn de huǒchē, zài huǒchēzhàn.

    The six o'clock train tomorrow morning, at the station.

  22. Jiang Ning 阿姨……

    Āyí…

    Auntie...

  23. Mama Lu 你来，还是不来？

    Nǐ lái, háishi bù lái?

    Will you come, or not?

Hear the chapter

What changed in the story?

  1. What does Lu Wei tell his mother?

    “我不喜欢绿茶”

  2. Why didn't Lu Wei say it for twenty years?

    “他是怕您不开心”

  3. What does Jiang Ning admit to Mama?

    “喝一口就好”

  4. What does Lu Wei say he loves?

    “可是我爱你”

  5. What does Mama ask Lu Wei to do at the end?

    “早上六点的火车”

All chapters in The Second Cup of Tea: Season 2.