Mandarin Chinese

Take Grandma Deng's New Year call with Master Chen: trade the greeting, ask after her health, hear her hesitate with the little words people say while they think, hear that the teahouse can hardly keep going, guess it is the rent, and promise to come in May.

Wrap dumplings at the New Year table with Lan's father, Lan and Missus Wang: be told yours look like buns, hear Lan dare her father to do better, hear who's afraid of whom, hear him back down with just kidding, tell him he wins, and be told not to gloat.

Watch the short video Old Hu shot of the frying room with Lan: praise it the way the street does, hear that ten thousand people a day watch, doubt it, hear there's nothing wrong with it, guess he wants to sell tea again, hear he cheats nobody, and offer to help him shoot.

Stand at the wok with Master Chen and Missus Wang when the first buds are out: hear this year is one batch a day, protest that it isn't enough, hear you do it and he watches, say his hands are still fine, hear he is old and there's no denying it, and agree in one word.

Run the frying room with Little Wu at the wok and Auntie Liu at the table: tell him to be quick because the heat is too high, hear him ask to stop, order him to turn and not stop, hear you sound like a master now, praise the work, and be asked to be his best man.

Ask Missus Lin and Missus Wang how much to put in the wedding envelope: hear it depends how close you are, say you're the best man, be told eight hundred and eighty, ask why not eight hundred, hear that eight sounds like getting rich and four like death, and offer six hundred and sixty.

Step off the train at the Yellow Mountain station with Lan and find Little Wu waiting: thank him for coming, hear you're brothers, hear Lan say you were nervous the whole way, hear what's there to be nervous about, say it's your first time as best man, hear the worst that can happen, and say it's in the bag.

Stand with Little Wu and his cousin outside the bride's door: hear Ling demand the red envelopes, hear the cousin beg her to open, be told the best man does ten push-ups, take the dare, hear the groom quizzed on what the bride loves to eat, hear him get it wrong and be punished with a song, and hear him give in.

Sit at the head table at Little Wu and Ling's wedding: hear the master of ceremonies call the couple to serve tea to the parents, hear Ling call them Mum and Dad for the first time, hear the call for applause, hear the thanks, be called up to say a few words you knew nothing about, protest, and bless the couple.

Hold your own at the wedding banquet with Little Wu's cousin, Little Wu and Ling: hear him drink first out of respect, tell him as you please because you can't drink, hear deep feelings mean down in one, hear the groom say he can't go on, drink in his place, answer the finger game's chant, and hear the bride call a halt.

Take a taxi across Chengdu with Lan: tell the driver where to go, hear there is a jam, ask how long, ask him to hurry, say you have come for fun, and ask him to call you when you arrive.

Arrive at Grandma Deng's teahouse in the park: be sat down with a lidded bowl of tea, praise the bamboo chairs, hear the teahouse has been open fifty years, ask what is wrong, and hear that the rent has doubled and the lease runs out at the end of June.

Watch the tea pourer at Grandma Deng's: point out the kettle, say the spout is a metre long, hear that from a metre away not a drop is spilled, praise his knack, be told to try, say you daren't, be told not to burn yourself, and spill half.

Be pulled into a mahjong game at Grandma Deng's: hear the table is three short of one, say you cannot play, be taught, hear the calls, be told you have won on your own draw, hear it is not over yet, hear that the loser treats, and tease back.

Meet the ear cleaner who works the tables at Grandma Deng's: hear him call out his price, be coaxed into trying, say you are a bit scared, be told to sit still and not move your head, be asked if it feels good, say it does, and hear him call the next customer.

Go for hot pot with Little Deng: be treated, say you cannot take much spice, order a half-and-half pot and mild, learn the seven up, eight down of tripe, say your mouth has gone numb, hear that numb is not spicy, and say the spice has made you cry.

Watch face-changing on the teahouse's old stage: be asked if you want to see it, ask what it is, hear that the face changes in a blink, say you cannot tell how it is done, hear it is a secret, hear from Little Deng that the tickets do not sell, and say such a show will find its audience.

Sit with Grandma Deng after closing and hear her story: ask what it was like before, hear she was twenty-eight back then, ask what a cup cost, hear five cents, ask what came afterwards, hear she married and had children, hear that fifty years passed in a flash, and say they are all in this one cup.

Hear Little Deng out: he asks his grandmother to listen, says the teahouse makes no money and young people no longer come, you say the regulars come every day, he asks her to close, and she answers that it is not about money and that she has the final say.

Hear Lan's idea for the teahouse: she says she has one, Grandma Deng tells her to go on, she proposes short videos that tell their story, Grandma asks who would watch, you say many people want to hear her story, she says she cannot film, Lan says she will film and Grandma need only talk, and Grandma agrees, because trying costs nothing.

Hear from Lan that the teahouse video has gone viral: ask how many people watched, hear a million plays and that it is on the trending list, ask what the comments say, hear they all want to come for tea, hear that a phone has blown up, and ask whether Grandma knows yet.

Face the queue the video has brought to the teahouse door: hear a woman say she has queued an hour, say there are no seats left, hear her ask for a seat to be added, hear Uncle Tang complain of the noise, hear Grandma say regulars come first, seat Uncle Tang, and ask the woman to wait ten more minutes.

Take the park office's notice with the Deng family: hear the park has sent a notice, ask what it says, hear the rent is going up to twenty thousand, call it outrageous, say you will go and negotiate, hear Grandma ask how, propose three years with no rise, and hear Little Deng say he is coming with you.

Meet the old storyteller of the teahouse stage: be introduced, ask how many years he has told stories, hear fifty and be asked if you want to learn, ask how to begin, hear about the wake-block and the opening words, ask what comes next, hear that you stop at the best part, and hear Grandma name the trick.

Rehearse your story with the storyteller and Lan: open with it is told that six years ago an American came, be told to slow down, say he could not speak a word of Chinese, hear Lan ask what happened next, hook her with guess what, hear her ask the upshot, deliver the fake tea and the tuition, and be told to say it just like that.

Take the regulars' joint letter with Uncle Tang and the Deng family: hear it has been written, ask whom it is for, hear the old neighbours have all signed, ask how many, hear more than two hundred, hear Little Deng count himself in, hear Grandma ask if he is signing too, and hear him say he is there for her.

Take the stage on the storyteller's night: hear him greet the elders and neighbours and announce that tonight is not the Three Kingdoms, hear Uncle Tang ask what then, hear it is the foreign apprentice's story, be called up by Grandma, open with it is told, be told to go on, close with the storyteller's cliffhanger, and hear Grandma praise the trick.

Hear the news from the park office with the Deng family: the lease is signed for three years, the rent did not go up, Grandma asks if her grandson still wants to close, he admits he was wrong, Lan asks what happens now, he plans tea and coffee together, and you say everyone is happy.

Say goodbye at the teahouse door: hear Grandma give you a lidded bowl, say you cannot take it, be told to take it and not stand on ceremony, hear Lan say you cannot bear to leave, hear Grandma say the same and ask you to come back often, hear Uncle Tang invite you back, wish Grandma good health, and hear her wish you a safe journey.

Come home to Longjing village: be told to have a cup of tea first, tell Master Chen the teahouse is saved, hear Mrs. Wang ask after Grandma Deng, hear Lan say she is very well, hear that Beijing has called, ask what about, hear the tea market wants you to open a stall, and hear Lan name the next stop.