我们三个人合租一套房子，厨房是唯一一起用的地方。
Wǒmen sān gèrén hé zū yí tào fángzi, chúfáng shì wéiyī yìqǐ yòng de dìfang.
The three of us share one apartment, and the kitchen is the only space we use together.
我上班朝九晚六，小周是护士，常常上半夜的班。
Wǒ shàngbān cháo jiǔ wǎn liù, xiǎo zhōu shì hùshi, chángcháng shàng bànyè de bān.
I work nine to six; Xiao Zhou is a nurse who often works night shifts.
老马说自己做自由职业，白天基本不在家。
Lǎo mǎ shuō zìjǐ zuò zìyóu zhíyè, báitiān jīběn bú zài jiā.
Old Ma said he worked freelance and was mostly out during the day.
刚搬进来的时候，我们还一起做过两顿饭。
Gāng bān jìnlái de shíhou, wǒmen hái yìqǐ zuò guò liǎng dùn fàn.
Right after moving in, we even cooked two meals together.
后来各忙各的，厨房里的碗越堆越多。
Hòulái gè máng gè de, chúfáng lǐ de wǎn yuè duī yuè duō.
Later everyone got busy, and dishes piled higher and higher in the kitchen.
我有点受不了，就写了一张纸条贴在冰箱上。
Wǒ yǒu diǎn shòubuliǎo, jiù xiě le yì zhāng zhǐ tiáo tiē zài bīngxiāng shàng.
I could not stand it, so I wrote a note and stuck it on the fridge.
纸条上写着：谁做饭，谁洗碗。
Zhǐ tiáo shàng xiě zhe: shéi zuò fàn, shéi xǐ wǎn.
The note said: whoever cooks washes up.
小周说好，老马也说好。
Xiǎo zhōu shuō hǎo, lǎo mǎ yě shuō hǎo.
Xiao Zhou agreed, and Old Ma agreed too.
一个星期以后，碗还是堆着，最多的是老马的。
Yí gè xīngqī yǐhòu, wǎn háishi duī zhe, zuì duō de shì lǎo mǎ de.
A week later the dishes still piled up, and most of them were Old Ma's.
他天不亮就出门，半夜才回来，回来就煮一包方便面。
Tā tiān bú liàng jiù chūmén, bànyè cái huílái, huílái jiù zhǔ yì bāo fāngbiànmiàn.
He left before dawn and came back at midnight, cooking himself a pack of instant noodles.
我越想越生气，觉得他就是故意的。
Wǒ yuè xiǎng yuè shēngqì, juéde tā jiùshì gùyì de.
The more I thought, the angrier I got; I felt he was doing it on purpose.
我写了第二张纸条：不洗碗的人，请不要用厨房。
Wǒ xiě le dì èr zhāng zhǐ tiáo: bù xǐ wǎn de rén, qǐng búyào yòng chúfáng.
I wrote a second note: those who do not wash dishes, please stay out of the kitchen.
第二天早上，纸条被水打湿了，字都花了。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, zhǐ tiáo bèi shuǐ dǎ shī le, zì dōu huā le.
The next morning the note was soaked and the words had blurred.
没有人说话，厨房安静得像没有住人。
Méiyǒu rén shuōhuà, chúfáng ānjìng de xiàng méiyǒu zhù rén.
Nobody said anything; the kitchen was as quiet as if nobody lived there.
周五晚上，小周忽然做了一大桌子菜，叫我们一起吃。
Zhōu wǔ wǎnshang, xiǎo zhōu hūrán zuò le yí dà zhuōzi cài, jiào wǒmen yìqǐ chī.
Friday evening, Xiao Zhou suddenly cooked a whole table of food and called us to eat together.
老马坐下来的时候，眼睛很红。
Lǎo mǎ zuò xiàlái de shíhou, yǎnjing hěn hóng.
When Old Ma sat down, his eyes were red.
小周轻声说：他妈妈住院了，在很远的一家医院。
Xiǎo zhōu qīng shēng shuō: tā māma zhùyuàn le, zài hěn yuǎn de yì jiā yīyuàn.
Xiao Zhou said quietly: his mother is in the hospital, a long way across the city.
他每天下班就过去，在床边坐到关门才回来。
Tā měi tiānxià bān jiù guòqù, zài chuáng biān zuò dào guān mén cái huílái.
Every day after work he went over and sat by her bed until visiting hours ended.
那些没有洗的碗，是他半夜回来煮面留下的。
Nàxiē méiyǒu xǐ de wǎn, shì tā bànyè huílái zhǔ miàn liúxia de.
Those unwashed dishes were left from the noodles he cooked at midnight.
我看着冰箱上那张花了的纸条，一个字也说不出来。
Wǒ kàn zhe bīngxiāng shàng nà zhāng huā le de zhǐ tiáo, yí gè zì yě shuō bù chūlái.
Looking at the blurred note on the fridge, I could not say a word.
那天晚上，我们把碗一起洗了，三个人，半个小时。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, wǒmen bǎ wǎn yìqǐ xǐ le, sān gèrén, bàn gè xiǎoshí.
That night we washed the dishes together, three people, half an hour.
老马抢着擦桌子，说：下次我做饭。
Lǎo mǎ qiǎng zhe cā zhuōzi, shuō: xià cì wǒ zuò fàn.
Old Ma grabbed the cloth to wipe the table and said: next time I cook.
星期天他真的做了四个菜，味道一般，我们都吃完了。
Xīngqītiān tā zhēn de zuò le sì gè cài, wèidào yìbān, wǒmen dōu chī wán le.
On Sunday he really made four dishes; they tasted ordinary, and we finished them all.
后来冰箱上的纸条换了好几次。
Hòulái bīngxiāng shàng de zhǐ tiáo huàn le hǎo jǐ cì.
Later the note on the fridge changed several times.
从谁该洗碗，变成了谁哪天有空。
Cóng shéi gāi xǐ wǎn, biànchéng le shéi nǎ tiān yǒu kōng.
From who should wash up, it became who is free when.
小周三下午休息，我周六不忙，都写在上面。
Xiǎo zhōu sān xiàwǔ xiūxi, wǒ zhōu liù bù máng, dōu xiě zài shàngmiàn.
Xiao Zhou rests Wednesday afternoons and I am free on Saturdays; all written there.
老马妈妈出院那天，他在厨房忙了一个下午。
Lǎo mǎ māma chūyuàn nà tiān, tā zài chúfáng máng le yí gè xiàwǔ.
The day Old Ma's mother left the hospital, he spent a whole afternoon in the kitchen.
他给我们每人盛了一碗汤，说：我妈妈教的，谢谢你们。
Tā gěi wǒmen měi rén chéng le yì wǎn tāng, shuō: wǒ māma jiāo de, xièxie nǐmen.
He ladled each of us a bowl of soup and said: my mother taught me this; thank you all.
那碗汤的味道，我到现在还记得。
Nà wǎn tāng de wèidào, wǒ dào xiànzài hái jìde.
I still remember the taste of that soup.
现在纸条还贴在冰箱上，字换了，心也换了。
Xiànzài zhǐ tiáo hái tiē zài bīngxiāng shàng, zì huàn le, xīn yě huàn le.
The note is still on the fridge; the words have changed, and so have our hearts.
规矩解决不了的事，一顿饭可以。
Guīju jiějué bù le de shì, yí dùn fàn kěyǐ.
What rules cannot solve, a shared meal can.
HearMandarin