母親是個“好勞動”,從我能記憶時起,總是天不亮就起床,全家二十口人,婦女們輪班煮飯,輪到就煮一年,母親把飯煮了,還要種田,種菜,喂豬,養蠶,紡棉花,因為她身材高大結實,還能挑水挑糞。
母親這樣地整日勞碌著,我到四五歲時就很自然地在旁邊幫她的忙,到八九歲時就不單能挑能背,還會種地了,記得那時我從私塾回家,常見母親在灶上汗流滿面地燒飯,我就悄悄把書一放,挑水或放牛去了,有的季節里,我上午(注,只常翻譯畫線部分)讀書,下午種地:一到農忙便整日在地里跟著母親勞動,這個時期母親教給我許多生產知識。
Mother toiled all day long at doing these things, so it was natural for me to help her alongside when I was four or five years old. and then at the age of eight or nine. I could not only carry loads on a shoulder pole or on the back, but also farm the land. 1 remember at that time whenever I came home from school, mother was always cooking in the kitchen soaked with sweat, and I would slip my books down to carry water or graze the cattle. In some seasons I would study in the forenoon and do farm work in the afternoon, while in the busy season I would spend days working along with mother in the field. During this period, mother taught me a lot about farming.