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Mike caught the bus home after we had finished cleaning up. He was going to talk to his dad when he got home that night and ask him if he would teach us how to become rich. Mike promised to call as soon as he had talked to his dad, even if it was late.
在我們清理完之后邁克坐公共汽車回家了。他會在他爸爸晚上回家后和他談，問他爸爸是否愿意教我們賺錢。邁克答應我，無論多晚，他和他爸爸一談完就給我電話。
The phone rang at 8:30 p.m.
晚上8點30分，電話響了。
Mike’s dad had agreed to meet with Mike and me.
邁克的爸爸同意與我們會面。
At 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, I caught the bus to the poor side of town.
星期六早上7點30分，我坐上了公共汽車，向小鎮上比較窮困的街區駛去。
Mike and I met with his dad that morning at eight o’clock. He was already busy, having been at work for more than an hour. His construction supervisor was just leaving in his pickup truck as I walked up to his simple, small, and tidy home. Mike met me at the door.
我和邁克在那天上午8點與他的爸爸會面了。他已經開始忙碌了，而且在這之前他已經工作了1個多小時。當我走進富爸爸那簡樸、窄小而整潔的家時，他的項目監理人剛開著小卡車離開。邁克站在門口迎接我。
“Dad’s on the phone, and he said to wait on the back porch,” Mike said as he opened the door.
“我爸爸正在打電話，他讓我們在門廊后面等著。”邁克邊開門邊說。
The old wooden floor creaked as I stepped across the threshold of the aging house. There was a cheap mat just inside the door. The mat was there to hide the years of wear from countless footsteps that the floor had supported. Although clean, it needed to be replaced.
當我跨過這座老房子的門檻時，舊木地板發出“吱吱嘎嘎”的響聲。門里面地板上有個破舊的墊子，墊子放在這里是為了隱藏無數腳步經年累月在這塊地板上留下的痕跡，它雖然很干凈，但還是該換了。
I felt claustrophobic because as I entered the narrow living room that was filled with old musty overstuffed furniture that today would be collectors’ items. Sitting on the couch were two women, both a little older than my mom. Across from the women sat a man in workman’s clothes. They smiled as Mike and I walked past them toward the back porch. I smiled back shyly.
當我走進狹小的客廳時有些害怕，里面塞滿了陳舊、發霉而厚重的家具，它們早該成為收藏品了。有兩個女人坐在沙發上，她們的年紀比我媽媽大一些，在她們的對面坐著一個穿工作服的男人。當我和邁克經過他們身邊時，他們沖我們微笑，我也有點靦腆地沖他們笑笑。我們向廚房走去，穿過廚房可以到達門廊，在那里可以眺望整個后院。
“Who are those people?” I asked.
“他們是什么人？”我問邁克。
“Oh, they work for my dad. The older man runs his warehouses, and the women are the managers of the restaurants. And you saw the construction supervisor who is working on a road project about 50 miles from here. His other supervisor, who is building a track of houses, had already left before you got here.”
“噢，他們是給我爸爸干活的。那個年紀稍大的男人負責管理貨倉，那兩個女人是餐館的經理。剛才在門口你看到的是項目監理人，他在離這兒80千米遠的一個公路項目中工作。他的另外一個項目監理人正在負責房地產的項目，不過他在你到這兒之前就已經走了。”
“Does this go on all the time?” I asked.
“每天都是這樣的嗎？”我問。
“Not always, but quite often,” said Mike, smiling as he pulled up a chair to sit down next to me.
“并不總是，但經常是這樣忙的。”邁克笑了笑，拉了一張椅子坐在我身邊。
“I asked him to teach us to make money,” Mike said.
“我問他愿不愿意教我們掙錢。”邁克說。
“Oh, and what did he say to that?” I asked with cautious curiosity.
“哦，那他怎么說？”我急切地問。
“Well, he had a funny look on his face at first, and then he said he would make us an offer.”
“嗯，開始時他露出一種很想笑的表情，然后他說會給我們一個建議。”
“Oh,” I said, rocking my chair back against the wall. I sat there perched on two rear legs of the chair.
“太好了！”我說著，用椅子的兩個后腿撐著，把椅子靠著墻翹起來。
Mike did the same thing.
邁克也學著我這么做。
