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Disappointed, Mike and I sat in silence for about twenty minutes before we began cleaning up our mess. The business was over on opening day. Sweeping the powder up, I looked at Mike and said, “I guess Jimmy and his friends are right. We are poor.”
失望之中，邁克和我呆坐了大約20分鐘才開始收拾殘局。我們的生意在開始的第一天就結束了。在我清掃熟石灰粉時，我看著邁克，對他說：“我猜基米他們是對的，我們是窮人。”
My father was just leaving as I said that. “Boys,” he said. “You’re only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most people only talk and dream of getting rich. You’ve done something. I’m very proud of the two of you. I will say it again: Keep going. Don’t quit.”
爸爸正要離開時聽到了我的話，“孩子們，”他說，“如果你們放棄了，你們就只能是窮人了。最重要的是你們已經嘗試了。大多數人只是夸夸其談，夢想著發財致富，而你們已經付出了行動。我真為你們驕傲，我要再說一遍，繼續努力，不要放棄。”
Mike and I stood there in silence. They were nice words, but we still did not know what to do.
邁克和我默默地站在那兒，這些話聽起來不錯，但我們仍然不知道應該做些什么。
“So how come you’re not rich, Dad?” I asked.
“那你為什么不是富人呢，爸爸？”我問。
“Because I chose to be a schoolteacher. Schoolteachers really don’t think about being rich. We just like to teach. I wish I could help you, but I really don’t know how to make money.”
“因為我選擇了當一名老師。老師不該去想怎么發財。我們就是喜歡教書。我希望我能幫你們，但我真的不知道怎么才能賺大錢。”
Mike and I turned and continued our cleanup.
邁克和我轉過身去繼續清理現場。
“I know,” said my dad. “If you boys want to learn how to be rich, don’t ask me. Talk to your dad, Mike.”
“我了解，”爸爸說，“如果你們想知道如何致富，不要問我，去和你爸爸談談，邁克。”
“My dad?” asked Mike with a scrunched-up face.
“我爸爸？”邁克苦著一張臉問道。
“Yeah, your dad,” repeated my dad with a smile. “Your dad and I have the same banker, and he raves about your father. He’s told me several times that your father is brilliant when it comes to making money.He seems to be building an empire, and I suspect in a few years he will be a very rich man.”
“對，你爸爸。”爸爸微笑著重復道，“你爸爸和我聘請同一個銀行經理，他對你爸爸非常崇拜。他對我提過好幾次，說你爸爸在賺錢方面是個天才。他似乎正在建立一個帝國。我想也許幾年之后他就會成為一個非常富有的人。”
With that, Mike and I got excited again. With new vigor, we began cleaning up the mess caused by our now-defunct first business. As we were cleaning, we made plans for how and when to talk to Mike’s dad. The problem was that Mike’s dad worked long hours and often did not come home until late. His father owned warehouses, a construction company, a chain of stores, and three restaurants. It was the restaurants that kept him out late.
聽完這番話，我和邁克又興奮起來了。我們身上充滿了干勁，開始清理首次失敗的生意所造成的混亂局面。我們一邊清理一邊制定了一個與邁克的爸爸談話的計劃，例如：該怎樣談，何時談。問題在于邁克的爸爸工作時間很長，并且經常很晚才回家。他爸爸擁有一個貨倉，一家建筑公司，一些連鎖商店和3個餐館。他到很晚才能回家。
