Ana became treasurer of the student council in September because nobody else wanted to count receipts. She was good at it. She kept a folder, a spreadsheet, and a rule that every purchase needed a reason written in a full sentence.
阿娜九月当上学生会财务，因为没人想数收据。她很擅长这件事。她有一个文件夹、一张表格，还有一条规矩：每一笔支出都要用完整的句子写明理由。
In May, while closing the year's accounts, she found a line at the bottom of the budget labeled 'miscellaneous activities' with 4,800 yuan still in it. She checked it twice, then three times. The money was real, and it had to be spent or returned before the end of June.
五月，在结算年度账目时，她发现预算表最下面有一行叫“杂项活动”，里面还剩四千八百元。她核对了两遍，又核对了第三遍。钱是真的，而且必须在六月底前花掉或退回。
She brought the news to the council meeting. The room changed immediately. People who had never attended a meeting in eight months began suggesting things: a party, new jerseys, a machine that made bubble tea. Ana wrote every idea down and felt the folder grow heavier in her bag.
她把这个消息带到学生会会议上。房间的气氛立刻变了。八个月没参加过会议的人开始提建议：办一场派对，买新球衣，买一台做珍珠奶茶的机器。阿娜把每个主意都记下来，觉得包里的文件夹沉了许多。
The bubble tea machine had many supporters. So did the party, and the jerseys, and a proposal to rent a coach for a trip to the coast that would consume the entire budget in one afternoon. Each idea was defended as a reward for a hard year, which was true, and as a way to make the council popular, which was also true.
珍珠奶茶机有很多支持者。派对也是，球衣也是，还有人提议租一辆大巴去海边，一个下午就能花光整笔预算。每个主意都被辩护成对辛苦一年的奖励——这是真的——以及让学生会受欢迎的办法——这也是真的。
Ana asked a question that made the room uncomfortable: if the money had not been found, would anyone have missed these things? The president said that was not the point. The vice president said the money would be taken away anyway if they did not spend it. Several people nodded at that.
阿娜问了一个让房间不舒服的问题：如果这笔钱从未被发现，会有人想念这些东西吗？主席说这不是重点。副主席说，如果不花掉，钱反正也会被收走。好几个人点头。
That night she read the council's own rules, which were four pages long and mostly about fairness. One sentence stayed with her: funds should serve students who cannot easily ask for what they need. She copied it onto a card and put it in her folder.
那天晚上她读了学生会自己的章程，四页纸，大多是关于公平。有一句留在了她心里：资金应服务于那些不容易开口表达需要的学生。她把这句话抄在卡片上，放进文件夹。
The next meeting she arrived with three prices. A water fountain for the second-floor corridor, where the tap had been warm since March. A repair service for the library's broken chairs. And two hundred new books chosen by the librarian. The total came to 4,760 yuan.
下一次会议，她带着三个报价来了。二楼走廊的饮水台，那里的水龙头从三月起就是温的。图书馆坏椅子的维修服务。还有两百本由图书管理员挑选的新书。总计四千七百六十元。
The president called it boring. Ana agreed. She also pointed out that the fountain would still be there in September, and the chairs would not need replacing next year, and the books could be borrowed by anyone with a student card, including the students who never came to meetings.
主席说这很无聊。阿娜同意。她还指出，饮水台到九月还会在那里，椅子明年不用再换，而那些书任何有学生证的人都能借——包括从不来开会的学生。
The vote passed by one. In June the fountain was installed, and the librarian put a small sign in the window that said thank you to the student council. Ana kept the receipts in her folder and wrote a one-page report. It was not exciting. But when she walked past the corridor in autumn, someone was always drinking.
投票以一票之差通过。六月，饮水台装好了，图书管理员在窗上贴了一张小牌子，写着“谢谢学生会”。阿娜把收据收进文件夹，写了一页报告。这不激动人心。但秋天她路过那条走廊时，总有人在喝水。