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At that time, the old town of Hengdian was divided from the center into upper street and lower street.Shops lined the old town and upper street, where rich people lived.Poor people lived in the lower street instead, who were craftsmen, farmers or small traders.Before our family moved to Hengdian, my father had rented a place with three and a half rooms in the street with the help of his friend who ran the blacksmith workshop.The room facing the street could be a small shop, and we could live in the other two and a half rooms in the back.We were next to the blacksmith’s shop, so the two families could look after each other.
My father was very smart and quick-witted.He switched between a few businesses to provide for his family, but he was still poor.With money lost in business and debt due to gambling, he eventually sold off his fields and property in his hometown.
In my memory, at that time, my family had made steamed bread, opened a wonton restaurant, and opened a hostel inn after my eldest sister married and moved out.A dozen temporary beds were installed in the attic.We also had opened a casino to make a cut.
When my family made steamed bread, my father invited an old friend from northern town to be his master.My brother, three sisters and the whole family all helped to make the bread.I was too young to make steamed bread, but I had work too.Wheat flour was to be ground out by cattle.The cattle pulled a large millstone and walked in circles one after another.When the cows were not eating, I went out and took them to graze.I didn’t know if we owned the cow or rented it.When we ground the wheat ourselves, I gave a hand too.With both hands holding the big stick to my chest, I pushed as hard as I could.The millstone was very heavy.
When my family made sweet desserts, my father shouldered the pole to sell them door to door.I took a rod and followed behind.A bag of rice in exchange of half a bag of sugar, I would weigh it and carry the rice we exchanged for.When I was older, my father asked me alone to carry the sugar on my shoulder.I shouted “Sugar sweets.In exchange for Rice.” My footprints covered all the villages in Hengdian and Pingyan, big and small.
At that time, I heard this folk saying: “A small business or craftwork only makes small people, while peasants can live on the land for thousands of years.” Small business was very unstable.
Indeed, when our family operated small businesses and had no fields to live on, we needed to buy everything in the market: firewood, rice, oil, salt, and vegetables.The rice we bought was the cheapest brown rice with a third of it being rice bran.Sometimes when business was good, we could afford rice to eat.Mostly we could only eat porridge, barley and coarse grains.When making steamed bread, we could have some; when making wontons, we could have some boiled wonton skins.We had nothing to eat after those businesses went under.
On top of the lack of food, there was no oil in the house.My mother was a good person, and she was well-connected everywhere she went.When we moved to Hengdian, my mother made a good relationship with the neighbor.They sold hams and were relatively rich.Once, my mother took me to their place to play.It was the season for curing ham.A row of hams dried in the yard, oil from the hams was dripping in the sun.My mom told me to take a bowl to collect the dripping oil and take it home.
I did what my mom said, while holding a bowl to collect the oil in the sun.Although I was very young and hadn’t been going to school, I was very embarrassed.I cried, tears mixed with sweat, my eyes dimmed and my face beaded as if I had just come out of water.That was when I started to ask why our family was so poor while others were so rich.It didn’t make sense to me, but I felt very embarrassed and inferior, and could not lift up my head in the street.I didn’t want to go out to the street either.I said no when my mom asked me to buy tofu.I didn’t want to go to the street and see people.
But if someone bullied me, I became brave again.At that time, the son in the dying shop was one year older than me and much taller.He looked down on me, laughed at me, and tried to bully me.Once, my mother asked me to buy tofu, and I had no choice but to go.When I was half way there, the father of that guy, stood in the road and blocked my way.I moved to the right side, and he moved to the right side.I moved to the left side, and he moved respectively.He called his son out to give me a lesson.He thought I wouldn’t fight back with him there backing his son up.But when his son came over, I went up, knocked him down, and then I ran away into a alley nearby and took a long detour to take tofu home.