The school announced an invention fair, and Ms. Ou said the rule was simple: teams of three. An An joined with Bo, who took everything apart, and Jing, who wrote everything down. They did not agree on anything. An An wanted a machine to water the garden, Bo wanted wheels, and Jing wanted to know who would pay for the parts.
学校宣布要办发明展，欧老师说规则很简单：三个人一队。安安和什么都爱拆开看的阿博、什么都要记下来的静静组了队。他们什么都谈不拢。安安想做一台给花园浇水的机器，阿博想要轮子，静静想知道零件谁来付钱。
Their first meeting ended with three separate drawings and no plan at all. An An walked home annoyed, then turned around and came back. The garden had been dry all month, and the lettuce was small and bitter. 'Fine,' she said, sitting down. 'Water first. Wheels later. Jing, find out what we are allowed to spend.'
第一次讨论结束时，白板上留着三张各画各的图，一个统一的计划也没有。安安气呼呼地走回家，又转身回来了。花园已经干了一个月，生菜又小又苦。“好吧，”她坐下说，“先解决浇水，轮子以后再说。静静，去问清楚我们能花多少钱。”
By the second week they had a working model: a bottle, a tube, and a timer borrowed from Bo's father. It leaked. Bo wanted to take the timer apart to see why. Jing said they should read the instructions. An An said the instructions were for a different timer. The argument grew loud enough that a teacher looked in.
到了第二周，他们做出了一个能运转的模型：一个瓶子、一根管子，还有从阿博爸爸那里借来的定时器。它漏水。阿博想把定时器拆开看看原因，静静说应该先读说明书，安安说那说明书是另一种定时器的。争吵声大得引来一位老师探头张望。
That evening An An wrote a list of what each of them was good at and sent it to the others. Bo could fix things but hated being watched. Jing noticed details but froze when asked to decide. An An could talk to anyone but rushed. At the next meeting they divided the work quietly, and the model stopped leaking for a whole afternoon.
那天晚上，安安把每个人擅长的事列成清单，发给了另外两个人。阿博会修东西，却不喜欢被人盯着；静静能发现细节，可一要她决定就发慌；安安跟谁都能聊，却总是太急。下一次讨论时，他们安静地分了工，模型整整一个下午都没再漏水。
On the day of the fair, their table stood between a robot and a model of a moon base. Their device was plain: a bottle, a tube, a timer, and a painted sign that read 'Drinks for Thirsty Plants.' Most visitors walked past. Then a girl asked whether it would work on her grandmother's tomatoes, and An An explained it three times without hurrying.
展示那天，他们的桌子夹在一个机器人和一个月球基地模型之间。他们的装置很朴素：一个瓶子、一根管子、一个定时器，还有一块手写的牌子，上面写着“给口渴的植物喝水”。大多数参观者走了过去。后来一个小女孩问，这东西能不能用在她奶奶的番茄上，安安不慌不忙地讲了三遍。
They did not win. The robot did. But when they went back to the garden that afternoon, the lettuce was standing up, and the soil was dark and damp. Bo knelt to check the tube. Jing wrote the date in her notebook. An An looked at the two of them and thought that the best part of the machine was not the machine at all.
他们没有获奖，得奖的是那个机器人。可那天下午回到花园时，生菜挺立起来，泥土又深又湿。阿博蹲下检查管子，静静把日期写进本子。安安看着他们俩，觉得这台机器最好的部分，根本不在机器本身。