Hooked on a bicycle in a shop window but broke at the end of every month, Xiao Li digs out a little notebook and starts writing down every cent she spends.
The Empty Wallet
月底了，小丽打开，里面只剩三块钱。
It was the end of the month. Xiao Li opened her wallet, and there were only three yuan left inside.
她每天下班都路过那家自行车店，橱窗里那辆蓝色的车她看了快两个月。
Every day on her way home from work she passed that bicycle shop, and she'd been eyeing the blue bike in the window for almost two months.
Xiao Li
也不少啊，怎么一到月底就没钱了呢？
My salary isn't even that small, so how come I'm always broke by the end of the month?
她翻了翻，找出一个没用过的小本子，在第一页写下今天的日期。
She rummaged through a drawer, dug out a little notebook she'd never used, and wrote today's date on the first page.
从那天起，买什么、花多少，她都记下来。
From that day on, whatever she bought and however much she spent, she honestly wrote it all down.
The Secret in the Notebook
记了一个星期，小丽把本子摊在桌上，自己都吃了一惊。
After a week of keeping records, Xiao Li spread the notebook out on the table and even surprised herself.
光是和路边的小吃，七天就花掉了快两百块。
On bubble tea and street snacks alone, she'd burned through nearly two hundred yuan in seven days.
Mom
我看你天天捧着一杯，原来钱都喝进肚子里啦。
I see you cradling a cup of bubble tea every single day — so that's where all your money's been going, straight into your stomach.
Xiao Li
明天起我自己带杯水，先停一停吧。
Starting tomorrow I'll bring my own water — the bubble tea can take a break for now.
她在本子里夹了一张纸条：每省下一杯，离那辆车就近一点。
She tucked a slip of paper into the notebook: every bubble tea I skip brings me one step closer to that bike.
The Blue Bicycle
三个月后的一个周末，小丽推开了那家车店的门。
One weekend three months later, Xiao Li pushed open the door of that bike shop.
她从包里掏出那个鼓鼓的，里面是她一笔一笔下来的钱。
From her bag she pulled out a bulging envelope, filled with the money she'd saved up bit by bit.
Xiao Li
就要橱窗里那辆蓝色的，我等它很久了。
I'll take the blue one in the window — I've been waiting for it a long time.
傍晚，她骑着新车回家，妈妈站在楼下笑着冲她招手。
At dusk she rode her new bike home, and her mom stood downstairs smiling and waving to her.