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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.
在我们清理完之后迈克坐公共汽车回家了。他会在他爸爸晚上回家后和他谈，问他爸爸是否愿意教我们赚钱。迈克答应我，无论多晚，他和他爸爸一谈完就给我电话。
The phone rang at 8:30 p.m.
晚上8点30分，电话响了。
Mike’s dad had agreed to meet with Mike and me.
迈克的爸爸同意与我们会面。
At 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, I caught the bus to the poor side of town.
星期六早上7点30分，我坐上了公共汽车，向小镇上比较穷困的街区驶去。
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.
我和迈克在那天上午8点与他的爸爸会面了。他已经开始忙碌了，而且在这之前他已经工作了1个多小时。当我走进富爸爸那简朴、窄小而整洁的家时，他的项目监理人刚开着小卡车离开。迈克站在门口迎接我。
“Dad’s on the phone, and he said to wait on the back porch,” Mike said as he opened the door.
“我爸爸正在打电话，他让我们在门廊后面等着。”迈克边开门边说。
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.
当我跨过这座老房子的门槛时，旧木地板发出“吱吱嘎嘎”的响声。门里面地板上有个破旧的垫子，垫子放在这里是为了隐藏无数脚步经年累月在这块地板上留下的痕迹，它虽然很干净，但还是该换了。
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.
当我走进狭小的客厅时有些害怕，里面塞满了陈旧、发霉而厚重的家具，它们早该成为收藏品了。有两个女人坐在沙发上，她们的年纪比我妈妈大一些，在她们的对面坐着一个穿工作服的男人。当我和迈克经过他们身边时，他们冲我们微笑，我也有点腼腆地冲他们笑笑。我们向厨房走去，穿过厨房可以到达门廊，在那里可以眺望整个后院。
“Who are those people?” I asked.
“他们是什么人？”我问迈克。
“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，他们是给我爸爸干活的。那个年纪稍大的男人负责管理货仓，那两个女人是餐馆的经理。刚才在门口你看到的是项目监理人，他在离这儿80千米远的一个公路项目中工作。他的另外一个项目监理人正在负责房地产的项目，不过他在你到这儿之前就已经走了。”
“Does this go on all the time?” I asked.
“每天都是这样的吗？”我问。
“Not always, but quite often,” said Mike, smiling as he pulled up a chair to sit down next to me.
“并不总是，但经常是这样忙的。”迈克笑了笑，拉了一张椅子坐在我身边。
“I asked him to teach us to make money,” Mike said.
“我问他愿不愿意教我们挣钱。”迈克说。
“Oh, and what did he say to that?” I asked with cautious curiosity.
“哦，那他怎么说？”我急切地问。
“Well, he had a funny look on his face at first, and then he said he would make us an offer.”
“嗯，开始时他露出一种很想笑的表情，然后他说会给我们一个建议。”
“Oh,” I said, rocking my chair back against the wall. I sat there perched on two rear legs of the chair.
“太好了！”我说着，用椅子的两个后腿撑着，把椅子靠着墙翘起来。
Mike did the same thing.
迈克也学着我这么做。
