Three months in, one of the three partners has brought nothing. Chen Hao is caught between friendship and the business.
Chen Hao
公司开起来了，可是合伙人的问题比我想的多。
Gōngsī kāi qilai le, kěshì héhuǒrén de wèntí bǐ wǒ xiǎng de duō.
The company is up and running, but there are more problems between the partners than I expected.
Xiaoyu
怎么了？上个月你还说一切顺利。
Zěnme le ? Shàng gè yuè nǐ hái shuō yīqiè shùnlì.
What has happened? Last month you were still saying everything was going smoothly.
Chen Hao
老李答应负责销售，结果三个月一个客户也没带回来。
Lǎo Lǐ dāying fùzé xiāoshòu, jiéguǒ sān gè yuè yī gè kèhù yě méi dài huílai.
Lao Li undertook to handle sales, and in three months he has not brought back a single customer.
Zhang laoshi
他自己怎么说？你当面问过他吗？
Tā zìjǐ zěnme shuō ? Nǐ dāngmiàn wèn guò tā ma ?
What does he say himself? Have you asked him face to face?
Chen Hao
他说市场不好。可是另外两个人都出了活儿。
Tā shuō shìchǎng bù hǎo. Kěshì lìngwài liǎng gè rén dōu chū le huór.
He says the market is bad. Except that the other two have delivered.
Xiaoyu
当初的分工写在纸上了吗？
Dāngchū de fēngōng xiě zài zhǐ shàng le ma ?
Was the division of work put down on paper at the start?
Chen Hao
写了，可是没写做不到怎么办。
Xiě le, kěshì méi xiě zuò bùdào zěnme bàn.
It was, but we did not write down what happens if someone does not manage it.
Zhang laoshi
这就是大多数合伙散掉的地方。股份按出资分，活儿却靠自觉。
Zhè jiùshì dà duōshù héhuǒ sǎn diào de dìfang. Gǔfèn àn chūzī fēn, huór què kào zìjué.
That is precisely where most partnerships come apart. Shares are split by what people put in, the work rests on goodwill.
Chen Hao
我现在很为难。说重了，几年的交情就没了。
Wǒ xiànzài hěn wéinán. Shuō chóng le, jǐ nián de jiāoqing jiù méi le.
I am in an awkward position. If I speak too harshly, years of friendship go up in smoke.
Zhang laoshi
不说，公司就没了。你要哪个？
Bù shuō, gōngsī jiù méi le. Nǐ yào nǎ gè ?
And if you say nothing, the company goes. Which do you want?
Xiaoyu
也别把话说死。先问他是不是遇到了困难。
Yě bié bǎ huà shuō sǐ. Xiān wèn tā shì bùshì yùdào le kùnnan.
Do not close the conversation off either. Ask him first whether he is running into difficulties.
Chen Hao
万一他只是不想干了呢？
Wànyī tā zhǐshì bù xiǎng gān le ne ?
And what if he simply does not want to carry on?
Zhang laoshi
那就让他退出，把股份折成钱。体面地散，比拖着强。
Nà jiù ràng tā tuìchū, bǎ gǔfèn shé chéng qián. Tǐmiàn de sǎn, bǐ tuō zhe qiáng.
Then let him withdraw, and convert his shares into money. Parting decently is better than dragging it out.
Chen Hao
恐怕这次躲不过去了。我今天就约他，把话说清楚。
Kǒngpà zhè cì duǒ bù guòqu le. Wǒ jīntiān jiù yāo tā, bǎ huà shuō qīngchu.
I am afraid there is no dodging it this time. I will arrange to see him today and say it plainly.
老李 has nothing to do with age: it is how two adults who know each other well address one another at work, the equivalent of first names between English-speaking colleagues. Its counterpart for a younger person is 小, as in 小王. Neither is used with a superior, who keeps his title.
To produce work, to turn out visible results. The expression is colloquial and does not translate literally; it serves precisely to compare, between several people, what has been done rather than what was promised. The final 儿 is northern; elsewhere people simply say 出活.
To close a conversation off, leaving no way out. It stands against 留余地, keeping some room. The 把 construction is compulsory here: 说死话 means nothing, it is the words themselves that are being handled and frozen. Xiaoyu advises the opposite, which is the ordinary rule of a Chinese negotiation.
