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Life was very hard when I was a child.It was harder for my parents.They were the ones who supported the whole family.As a child, I didn’t have a full view of life.I played and helped with the family during the day, and fell into a good sleep at night.
My mom bore all the hardship.My dad was the bread winner and supported the family.He was smart and hard-working, but he was superstitious and ill-tempered.He also liked gambling.Sometimes he quarrelled with my mom about what she served for dinner.One year, my family rented a 0.25 mu plot of barley at the foot of Chaoshuidian Mountain.My mom worked hard from planting to harvesting, and grew about 30 jin of barley in the end.However, my father had me carry it to “bet on flowers”（a gambling game）, and lost all of it.All my mother’s hard work turned into nothing.My mom was very distressed and blamed my dad.My dad lost his temper, and again they got into fight.Mom had to bite her tongue.After we moved to Hengdian, my mother developed asthma.Any slight change in the weather, or the change of her temper made her cough.She raised 7 children （my younger brother and younger sister were born after we had moved to Hengdian）, and carried the burden of worrying about the whole family.She was like all the traditional and kind-hearted wives and moms in rural China.
My brothers and sisters were very sensible.We all knew that we were poor, and wouldn’t compare our food or clothes with that of the rich kids.We all tried to do some housework and help the family.But being active and naughty is the boy’s nature.Sometimes we made mom worry.
When I was young, there were many rich people in Hengdian.The children from upper street often bullied the children from lower street.Children from lower street would come to me for help, because I was precise at throwing stones.I grew up with this skill, and even could hit a sparrow with a stone without the help of slingshot.When the children came to me for help, I would lead them in fighting back on the creek.Two parties of children would draw a line in the middle and throw stones at each other.One of the children would hit a kid on the other side and they would back away in fear.Later their parents would come to my house and complain to my mom.My mother would get angry, and I would be scolded or spanked.To make amends, my mom would put a smile on her face and give them some eggs as compensation.The eggs that we saved were wasted by me.I felt very sorry about this when I grew older.
Old Hengdian Village
The east creek and the South that run through Hengdian were a natural playground for us.We went to play in the water and go fishing to enjoy the time.Yet my mother often said, “Fire and water are merciless!” She didn’t allow me to go to the Nanjiang River.But I always sneaked away to play in the water with friends.I became good at swimming, and my mom loosened her focus on me.
As a result, I got bolder.Every summer, I would gather a group of kids my own age to swim in the Nanjiang River.We held our breath beneath the water and saw who could stay under the water longest; or competed at who could jump into the water from higher places, or swim fastest in the river.I was always tan during the summer.
One summer, there were many wooden rafts floating in the upper part of the Nanjiang River.These logs were cut from the mountains of the Pan’an County.After being lashed together, they were floated down the Nanjiang River.The Nanjiang River flowed through Hengdian, where a big bend was located, so a wooden raft was kept on the Nanjiang River.Many of us would go into the river to take trees and bring them home for firewood.One day, when we were working there happily, a girl’s sickle suddenly fell into the water, and she burst into tears.I rushed to comfort her and promised to jump into the water to find her sickle.She told me where sickle fell.I pushed the wood away with my hands and plunged it down with a jerk.I dove in the water but found nothing.I wanted to return to the surface to take a breath, but I couldn’t find the hole.What should I do? I thought I was going to drown that day.
This kind of raft was very wide, and over ten of them were connected in a row, floating in the water.I calmed down and realized the dark side must be the shore.So, I went to the dark side, and finally touched the shore.I turned around and pushed with my foot like an arrow.Then my head came out of the water.I gulped for air and finally calmed down.Although I didn’t find the sickle for the little girl, I came close to death.