Bai´ Xu` Guang¯, name of a shopkeeper.
bing` bu´ shi`, definitely is not, certainly is not. (Bing` gives strong emphasis to the following negative word.)
bu´ qu`, not go -- not procede to do something
cheng´ gong¯ accompling + merit = to succeed
chu¯ men´, to exit the door, i.e., to go out (e.g., for the day)
da` jia¯, lit., the Chinese extended family --> everybody
XXX de YYY in chinese becomes YYY + relative pronoun + XXX in English
gan` huo´, to do something to earn a living
gei°, basic meaning is "to give," but in many instances it means to do something for somebody
gen¯, basic meaning is "to follow," from which we get the meaning "and," but, also, "from" (to borrow from) and "wit" (to speak with)
hen° duo¯ -de XXX, XXX that is very much or very many --> many XXX or much XXX
jie`, to borrow (also, depending on context, can mean "to lend")
kai¯ ye`, to open + enterprise --> to open a business, to begin an enterprise
lao° da` ge¯, venerable elder brother, a fictive kinship term used to express somebody's great worthiness, fraternal concern for everybody else, etc.
lao° Huang´, "old" Huang -- the word lao° is used to indicate a respectful attitude toward somebody with whom one is on personal terms
-le, "le" following a verb indicates that the action named by that verb did happen
-ma is a sentence ending that turns a statement into a question
mai` li`, lit., to sell strength --> to really put out, to make a considerable effort at work
mei´ you°, to not have --> to not exist
na`, as a sentence opener "na`" frequently means something like: "well then...," "in that case...," etc.
ni´ hao°, a greeting, "May you be well!"
ni° kan`, solicitation, almost a demand, to look at something: "You just take a look at...!"
ni° zai1 zher` -de XXX, the XXX that you do here
This whose phrase, "ren´ dao` ta¯ jia¯ qu` yao` qian´," is the object of "you°" -- it's what there was in the universe at that time and place
qi´ shi´, lit., its reality, i.e., "the fact of the matter is...," or "actually..."
qiao¯ zha`, to shake somebody down for money or "other valuable considerations" -- to take something by means of intimidation
shi` is the main verb in this sentence
shou° xia`, hand + under = under the control of
ta¯ jia¯, his family (or, his home)
ta¯ kan`, he perceives that --> in his view, in his opinion
tai` hao° -le, That's extremely good! That's great!
Wang´ Xian¯ -sheng, Mr. Wang (He's the "godfather" of this little story.)
wei` -le ta¯ hao°, for the sake of his good, i.e., for his benefit
wei` ta¯ hao°, for his benefit
wei` shen´ -mo, for the sake of X thing --> Why? What for?
wo° -men zher`, our [place] here, i.e., hereabouts
"wo° zhi¯ dao`" is a COMMENT on the TOPIC "zhe`." "As for this, I know it."
Xi¯ Bei¯ Hu°, "Tiger of the North West" -- You can probably tell by the name he chose for himself that he is not a very nice guy.
xiang°, think --> would like to
XXX yi° hou`, XXX + to the + aft = to the aft of XXX, i.e., after XXX. If no time is specified directly or by context,then it just means "after now," or "afterwards."
yi´ jian` shi`, a matter, a certain matter
you°, to have --> there are. If my sneakers HAVE holes in them, then THERE ARE holes in my sneakers.
you° shi`, to have business to transact
zai`, located at. Remember to "set the stage and only then tell the action." Zai` can introduce an adverbial clause that tells where or when something happens.
zai` ben° di`, located at + root + location = in the local place (similar to the idea of "local jurisdiction" when you are talking about the law in the U.S.)
zhe`, this. In the present case, "zhe`" is the topic in a topic-comment construction. "As for this..."
zhen¯, genuine (not forged, etc.), real, really, genuinely, truly, etc.
zhei` hui´ shi`, This MW event. Using "hui´," rather than some other Measure Word, indicates that the speaker is concerned about the "story" pertaining to the event. i.e., he's viewing the event as the subject of a narrative.
zhen` -mo yi´ hui` shi`, such an event --> any such event
zhi¯ dao`, to know (some kind of information)
zi` gu´ yi° lai´, from + antiquity + "to the" + motion toward speaker = from the beginning on down to my/our time
zui` you° di` wei`, most has status, i.e., has the highest status