A Partnership Is Formed
建立合夥關係（四）
"A nice car and a nice house does not necessarily mean you're rich or you know how to make money," my dad replied. "Jimmy's dad works for the sugar plantation. He's not much different from me. He works for a company, and I work for the government. The company buys the car for him. The sugar company is in financial trouble, and Jimmy's dad may soon have nothing. Your dad is different Mike. He seems to be building an empire, and I suspect in a few years he will be a very rich man."
“高級車和高檔房子並不必然意味着你很富有或你懂得如何賺錢”，爸爸答道，“基米的爸爸爲糖料種植園工作，他和我並沒有多大差別，他爲公司工作而我爲政府工作，是公司爲他買了那輛車。但據說種植園正處於財務困境之中，基米的爸爸可能過不了多久就什麼都沒有了。而你爸爸則不同，邁克，他似乎正在建立一個屬於自己的帝國。我相信幾年之內他就會成爲一個非常富有的人。”
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 on 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.
聽到這番話，我和邁克又興奮起來了。帶着新的希望，我們迅速清理了首次失敗的生意所造成的混亂。我們還一邊清理一邊制定了一個與邁克爸爸談話的計劃，例如該怎樣談，何時談。問題在於邁克的爸爸工作時間很長，並且經常很晚纔回家。他爸爸有一個貨倉，一個建築公司，一些店鋪和三個餐館。正是這些餐館使他在外面要果到很晚。
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.
清理完畢後邁克塔上了回家的公共汽車，他會在他爸爸晚上回家後和他談談，並問他是否願意教我們如何賺錢。邁克答應和他爸爸談完後無論多晚都給我回電話。
The phone rang at 8:30 p.m.
晚上8:30電話響了。
"OK," I said. "Next Saturday." And put the phone down. Mike's dad had agreed to meet with Mike and me.
“下週六，太好了！”邁克的爸爸同意與我們會面。
At 7:30 Saturday morning, I caught the bus to the poor side of town.