“Dad said this would happen. He said to meet with him when you were ready to quit.”
“我爸说早料到你会退出,他说如果你不想干了就让我带你去见他。”
“What?” I said indignantly. “He’s been waiting for me to get fed up?”
“什么?”我觉得自己被耍了,于是气愤地问,“他早就在等我去找他?”
“Sort of,” Mike said. “Dad’s kind of different. He teaches differently from your dad. Your mom and dad lecture a lot. My dad is quiet and a man of few words. You just wait till this Saturday. I’ll tell him you’re ready.”
“是的,我爸爸可不是一般人,他跟你爸的教育方法不一样。你爸你妈说得多,我爸说得少,不过他早就猜到你会这么说了。你要等到这个星期六,我会告诉他你已经准备好了。”
“You mean I’ve been set up?”
“你是说我被耍了?”
“No, not really, but maybe. Dad will explain on Saturday.”
“不,还不肯定,但有可能。我爸爸会在星期六说明的。”
I was ready to face him and I was prepard. Even my real dad was angry with him. My real dad, the one I call the poor one, thought that my rich dad was violating child labor laws and should be investigated.
我已经准备好要面对迈克的爸爸,就连我的亲爸爸也生气了。我的亲爸爸,我叫他穷爸爸,认为我的富爸爸违反了《童工法》,应该受到调查。
My educated,dad told me to demand what I deserve—at least 25 cents an hour. My poor dad told me that if I did not get a raise, I was to quit immediately.
我爸爸要我去争取应有的待遇。每小时至少应该得到25美分。爸爸说如果我得不到加薪,就应该立即辞职。
At eight o’clock Saturday morning, I walked through the door of Mike’s house when Mike’s dad opened it.
星期六早上8点,我又穿过了迈克家那扇摇晃着的纱门。
“Take a seat and wait in line,” Mike's dad said as I entered. He turned and disappeared into his little office next to a bedroom.
“坐下等着。”我一进门迈克的爸爸就对我说,说完便转身消失在卧室边的小办公室里。
I looked around the room and didn’t see Mike anywhere. Feeling awkward, I cautiously sat down next to the same two women who were there four weeks earlier. They smiled and slid across the couch to make room for me.
我环视整个房间,没看见迈克,我感到有些局促,小心地坐到了沙发上,4个星期前我见过的那两个女人笑着给我挪出了点地方。
Forty-five minutes went by, and I was steaming. The two women had met with him and left 30 minutes earlier. An older gentleman was in there for 20 minutes and was also gone.
45分钟过去了,我开始生气了。那两个女人已经见了迈克的爸爸,并且在30分钟之前就离开了。那个年纪大的男人待了20分钟也办完事走了。
The house was empty, and here I sat in a musty, dark living room on a beautiful sunny Hawaiian day, waiting to talk to a cheapskate who exploited children. I could hear him rustling around the office, talking on the phone, and ignoring me. I was ready to walk out, but for some reason I stayed.
一个小时过去了,那天阳光灿烂,我却坐在阴暗、发霉的客厅里,等待着和一个剥削童工的吝啬鬼谈判。我能听见他在办公室里走动、打电话,但他就是不理我。我很想出去,但不知为什么我还是留下来了。
Finally, 15 minutes later, at exactly nine o’clock, rich dad walked out of his office, said nothing, and signaled with his hand for me to enter his dingy office.
最后,又过了15分钟,正好9点,富爸爸终于走出了他的办公室。他什么也没说,用手示意我跟着他去那间阴暗的办公室。