B太太在12月3日渡过她100岁的生日,(光是蜡烛钱就比蛋糕还贵),本来当天家具店预计营业到晚上,对于每周工作七天的B太太来说,二话不说,等到晚上店关门之后,才开始她的生日宴会。
Mrs. B's story is well-known but worth telling again. She came to the United States 77 years ago, unable to speak English and devoid of formal schooling. In 1937, she founded the Nebraska Furniture Mart with $500. Last year the store had sales of $200 million, a larger amount by far than that recorded by any other home furnishings store in the United States. Our part in all of this began ten years ago when Mrs. B sold control of the business to Berkshire Hathaway, a deal we completed without obtaining audited financial statements, checking real estate records, or getting any warranties. In short, her word was good enough for us.
虽然B太太的传奇故事已广为人知,但我还是不厌其烦地再说一次,77年前她逃到美国来,不会说英文也没有受过正式的教育,1937年她以500美元创立内布拉斯加家具店,截至去年该店的年营业额达到2亿美元,远远超过全美其他单一家具店的业绩,我们与她的关系肇始于十年前,B太太将大部分的股权卖给Berkshire,当然双方既没有看会计师的财务报表、也没有对房地产权状或是提供任何保证,简而言之,B太太的一诺值千金。
Naturally, I was delighted to attend Mrs. B's birthday party. After all, she's promised to attend my 100th.