The Wrong Number

One small mistake

一个小错误

Wanjiru lived in Nairobi. She was twenty-nine, and she was a hairdresser.

万吉茹住在内罗毕。她二十九岁，是一名理发师。

She worked in a busy salon in the city centre. But the salon was not hers. The owner kept most of the money.

她在市中心一家很忙的理发店工作。但店不是她的。老板拿走了大部分钱。

Every month, Wanjiru saved a little. She had a plan. One day, she wanted her own salon.

每个月，万吉茹都存一点钱。她有一个计划。总有一天，她想开自己的理发店。

On Friday evening, she sat on the bus home and opened her bank app. There were 210,000 shillings in her account.

周五晚上，她坐公交车回家，打开了银行应用。她的账户里有二十一万先令。

“Two hundred and ten thousand,” she said quietly. “Ninety thousand more, and I can start.”

“二十一万，”她轻声说。“再有九万，我就可以开店了。”

Then her phone rang. It was her mother.

这时她的手机响了。是她妈妈打来的。

“Wanjiru? It’s Mama. How are you, my child?”

“万吉茹？是妈妈。你好吗，我的孩子？”

“I’m fine, Mama. I’m on the bus. Is everything OK?”

“我很好，妈妈。我在公交车上。家里都好吗？”

“Everything is fine. Well, almost. It’s the roof again. There was a lot of rain last night, and the water came into the kitchen.”

“都好。嗯，差不多吧。又是房顶的事。昨晚下了很大的雨，水流进了厨房。”

“Again? Did you call the man from the village?”

“又漏了？你给村里的那个人打电话了吗？”

“Yes. He came this morning and looked at it. ‘Fifty thousand,’ he said. ‘I can start on Monday.’”

“打了。他今天早上来看过了。‘五万，’他说。‘我周一可以开始。’”

Wanjiru looked at the number in her bank app. Fifty thousand shillings was five months of saving.

万吉茹看着银行应用里的数字。五万先令是存了五个月的钱。

“I’m sorry, my child,” said her mother. “I know about your salon. I don’t like asking you.”

“对不起，我的孩子，”妈妈说。“我知道你想开店。我不想向你要钱。”