Chinese · Episode 16
Rocks Travel Cheaper
Spoken by 晓航
Why throwing metal to Earth is cheap (the city just flings it) and why he still cannot visit 小雨 on a whim.
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别人知道小雨在地球，就问我怎么不去看看她， When people know Xiaoyu is on Earth, they ask why I don't go see her,
说得好像买张票就能走。 like I could just buy a ticket and leave.
我当然想去，可票又贵又难等，哪能说走就走。 Of course I want to go, but tickets are expensive and hard to get—you can't just take off.
最让人没办法的是，我送回望城的石头， The most frustrating part is, the rocks I send back to Wangcheng
倒常常有机会去地球。 often get chances to go to Earth.
石头先做成铁这些有用的材料， The rocks are first turned into useful materials like iron,
再由爸爸他们在月亮上的码头装好， then Dad and the others load them at the dock on the Moon
用大机器往地球那边送。 and send them toward Earth with big machines.
你可以想成把东西朝远处扔出去， You can think of it as throwing things far away,
只是方向得算好，到了那边还要有人收。 only you have to get the direction right, and someone has to catch them on the other side.
送这些东西，比送一个人便宜多了。 Sending that stuff is much cheaper than sending a person.
材料装好就能走，人一路上还得有空气、有水， Materials can go once they're packed; people need air and water the whole way,
也得有能安全坐着的飞船。 and a spacecraft they can sit in safely.
所以码头能一箱一箱地送东西， So the dock can ship things crate by crate,
我却连一张合适的票都等不到。 but I can't even get hold of one proper ticket.
有时候等上一年，我才碰到一次能买的机会， Sometimes I wait a whole year before I get one chance to buy,
有时候连一次都没有。 and sometimes I don't even get that.
小雨问过我：“你送的石头都来了， Xiaoyu once asked me, "The rocks you sent all made it here,
你什么时候来啊？” when are you coming?"
她自己两边跑，当然知道买票不容易， She travels both ways herself, so of course she knows tickets aren't easy,
就是想让我早点去。 she just wants me to come sooner.
我只能告诉她还在等， I can only tell her I'm still waiting,
说完自己都嫌这句话说得太多了。 and even I get tired of saying that line so much.
上次回望城，我到码头看爸爸干活， Last time I went back to Wangcheng, I went to the dock to watch Dad work,
又看着一批材料往地球那边去了。 and saw another batch of materials head off toward Earth.
爸爸问我是不是在想小雨，我说是。 Dad asked if I was thinking about Xiaoyu, and I said yes.
他也没办法给我变出一张票， He couldn't conjure up a ticket for me either,
只让我有消息再告诉他。 he just told me to let him know if I hear anything.
小雨说她会回望城， Xiaoyu said she'll come back to Wangcheng,
不过我还是想去看看她在地球过的日子。 but I still want to see how she lives on Earth.
每次都听她讲， I always just hear her talk about it,
我也想有一次，能站在那条街上跟她一起走。 I want one chance to stand on that street and walk with her.