Along the way, the irregular arrangement of thatched huts and earthen houses, Xiashan Village, although nestled by mountains and water, remained a remote and impoverished village. The local people's utilization of the mountains and water was limited to meeting their basic needs. To build a house, they would go up the mountain to cut down a few trees to bring back as beams; when there was no rice for cooking, they would go up the mountain to find some wild vegetables and fruits, or fish a couple of small fish from the river to cook. The feudal peasant economy still relied on farming, and most villagers struggled to make ends meet with their three-tenths of an acre of land. Only a few landlords were relatively wealthy.,“Mother, oh, it hurts, it hurts! I'm not a child of two or three anymore,” Zhu Ping’an cried for mercy, his chubby little hand clutching Chen’s arm, tiptoeing to lessen the pain.,"Phooey, you're only five," Chen lowered her head and looked at her five-year-old son as he said this, a strange feeling of amusement washing over her. Her youngest son, with his energetic and lively nature, was much more spirited than his older brother.。