Xiaoyu asks her old teacher whether she should buy a small flat to let out. Chen Hao makes the case for bricks and mortar.
Xiaoyu
张老师，我想请教您一件事。
Zhāng lǎoshī, wǒ xiǎng qǐngjiào nín yī jiàn shì.
Zhang laoshi, I would like to ask your advice about something.
Zhang laoshi
你说。是不是又为买房的事发愁？
Nǐ shuō. Shì bùshì yòu wèi mǎi fáng de shì fāchóu ?
Go ahead. Is it the buying-a-flat business worrying you again?
Xiaoyu
是。手里这些钱，是买一套小房子出租，还是继续租着住？
Shì. Shǒulǐ zhèxiē qián, shì mǎi yī tào xiǎo fángzi chūzū, háishi jìxù zū zhe zhù ?
It is. With the money I have, should I buy a small flat and let it, or carry on renting?
Zhang laoshi
你先算一笔账。租金的回报，一年不到两个点。
Nǐ xiān suàn yī bǐ zhàng. Zūjīn de huíbào, yī nián bùdào liǎng gè diǎn.
Do the arithmetic first. The rental return is under two points a year.
Xiaoyu
这么低？那还不如存银行。
Zhème dī ? Nà hái bùrú cún yínháng.
That low? Then you may as well leave it in the bank.
Zhang laoshi
银行更低。问题是，钱压在房子上，想用的时候拿不出来。
Yínháng gèng dī. Wèntí shì, qián yā zài fángzi shàng, xiǎng yòng de shíhou ná bù chūlái.
The bank is lower still. The problem is elsewhere: money tied up in a flat cannot be got out when you need it.
Chen Hao
可是房子看得见摸得着，心里踏实。
Kěshì fángzi kàndéjiàn mōdezháo, xīnli tāshi.
But a flat you can see and touch, it sets your mind at rest.
Zhang laoshi
踏实是感觉，不是收益。既然你们还年轻，钱花在自己身上更值。
Tāshi shì gǎnjué, bùshì shōuyì. Jìrán nǐmen hái niánqīng, qián huā zài zìjǐ shēnshang gèng zhí.
Peace of mind is a feeling, not a return. Since you are both still young, money spent on yourselves is worth more.
Xiaoyu
您的意思是，不如去学点儿东西？
Nín de yìsi shì, bùrú qù xué diǎnr dōngxi ?
You mean it would be better to go and learn something?
Zhang laoshi
至少换工作的时候不被房贷绑住。我见过太多人，为了还贷不敢辞职。
Zhìshǎo huàn gōngzuò de shíhou bù bèi fángdài bǎngzhù. Wǒ jiàn guò tài duō rén, wèi le hái dài bùgǎn cízhí.
At least when you change jobs you are not tied down by a mortgage. I have seen too many people who dared not resign because of their repayments.
Chen Hao
那租房呢？房东说涨就涨。
Nà zū fáng ne ? Fángdōng shuō zhǎng jiù zhǎng.
And renting? The landlord puts it up whenever he likes.
Zhang laoshi
所以我说的不是哪个对，是哪个适合你。无论选哪条路，都别把退路堵死。
Suǒyǐ wǒ shuō de bùshì nǎ gè duì, shì nǎ gè shìhé nǐ. Wúlùn xuǎn nǎ tiáo lù, dōu bié bǎ tuìlù dǔsǐ.
That is why I am not saying which is right, but which suits you. Whichever road you take, do not block off your way back.
Xiaoyu
明白了。我回去再算一遍。
Míngbai le. Wǒ huíqu zài suàn yī biàn.
I see. I will go home and work it out again.
两个点 means two per cent. The word 点 serves as the unit for rates whenever people are speaking quickly, exactly like a financial commentator's "point", and it avoids the heavy 百分之二. Take care not to confuse it with the 点 of the clock or that of 点菜: context, and context alone, separates them.
还不如存银行 means "you may as well put it in the bank". 不如 compares two terms and gives the second as the better, unlike 比, which leaves the comparison open. With 还 in front, the sentence takes on a note of resignation: what follows is not brilliant, but what precedes is worse.
The construction 说 + verb + 就 + the same verb says a thing happens the moment it is announced, with no delay and no discussion: 说走就走, off on a whim; 说涨就涨, up overnight. It is very common in speech and almost always carries a complaint.
