There is an old saying in the countryside: "There are three difficulties in the world, and it is necessary to be hard to strike while the iron is hot." How bitter is it?

There is an old saying in the countryside: "There are three difficulties in the world, while punting while the iron is hot, while grinding bean curd". These three occupations, punting, blacksmithing and grinding bean curd, have existed for at least thousands of years, and they are recognized as particularly hard work by rural people. Now there are still people engaged in these three occupations.

Let's start with punting. Many people find punting easy. Why not paddle directly with paddles or bamboo poles? It's simple. I can do it, too. In fact, this idea is very wrong. Many rivers have no bridges, but they cross by punters. All year round, they get up early and get greedy for the dark, rain or shine, and work hard. Villagers in nearby villages need boatmen to cross the river. In case of emergency medical treatment in the middle of the night, they have to get up from their sleep and work overtime. Moreover, the labor cost is still very low, and they will all die when they encounter storms.

Besides, while the iron is hot, it is really hard work that everyone can understand. In the era when there was no mechanical processing, weapons and farm tools were still made by hand while the iron was being struck. Blacksmiths come to endure high-temperature roasting, bellows pulling, sweating like rain, and even banging at extremely high temperatures. They also need certain skills to create different shapes, not only cast iron, but also casting people. Most people simply can't stand this bad working environment and hard physical labor. Nowadays, young people are estimated to stay for a few seconds and then run away.

Finally, grinding bean curd, although tofu is very soft, it is extremely hard to make tofu. Simply put, I am as tired as a donkey. After getting up in the middle of the night, I began to push the stone mill to grind the soybeans into fine pulp, and then I ordered the brine and then suppressed it. The working process is very complicated, with low profit and low status.

If we say that with the development of science and technology, machinery has gradually replaced handwork, we are making continuous progress, but we can't forget the hardships before.