Agriculture

Hin- Cheung Tsz-hin   Aunt- Hin’s maternal aunt   Mother- Hin’s mother

Hin：Can you talk a bit about the country life?

Aunt：In the past, we lived in a rural house. It’s a house made of blue bricks and tiles with an attic. We have many sisters. All of us slept in the attic and grandma slept downstairs. There were farm tools downstairs too, such as rice pounder – not sure if you have seen it before. It’s like a seesaw.

Mother：That pounder comes with a long, thick wood board. One end is sharper with a large stone placed below it. There is a deep hole in the middle of the stone.  When you step on the wood at the blunt end with force and then release your foot, the sharper end will slide down into the stone hole.

Aunt：Sometimes, you need two people to step on it. You (Hin) don’t understand Hakka… (Aunt and mother speak Hakka spontaneously when they talk about certain topics. As I don’t speak Hakka, I supposed aunt would like mother to explain what she said to me in Cantonese.)

Mother：Step on that board and put the grains into the stone hole. The grain hulls would be removed. Then, use a big winnow basket to filter out the hulls.

Aunt：We filtered until the hulls were fully removed and we could sell them or consume them ourselves. Some of the rice was used for making rice crispy treats. We ate the sticky rice, which is the type you eat daily. … To plant straws, we needed to sow the hulls. When the shoots came out, we used a shovel to shovel them up. Later, the farmers held the straw pieces, just like pizza. They tore them bit by bit for sowing. The whole field was filled row after row. They judged the correct spots for the rice seedling by eye only. There’re still many steps after the seedlings were transplanted. For example, if we needed to pour water into the field, we needed to transport the water. We pumped water from Shenzhen River next to the field. There was a ‘bai tau’. We call it ‘bai tau’ in Hakka. …（Aunt and mother talked in Hakka.）

Mother：‘Bai tau’ means waterfall. There was a small waterfall next to the field. When it’s high tide, we pumped water from the small waterfall for irrigation.

Aunt：Besides irrigation, we waited for the seedlings to grow steadily and taller. There would be a lot of weeds. We removed the large weeds and stepped the small ones into the soil. After harvest, the rice field lied fallow for a few months, during which we planted sweet potatoes, carrots and cabbages.

Mother：And peanuts too.

Aunt：Right, peanuts. We pulled up the peanuts, in a large pile. Everyone would then sit down to pluck the peanuts. The peanut leaves would be sundried and used for burning. Sweet potato leaves could be used to feed the pigs.

Hin：Sweet potato leaves can be eaten by humans, can’t they?

Aunt：In the past, we didn’t eat them. We fed them to the pigs.

Mother：The pigs ate ‘piu zai’ – the purple flowers – in the river. Sweet potato leaves too. In short, all useless leaves would be used to feed the pigs.

Aunt：In the morning, we went to school. When we returned at night, we chopped sweet potato leaves and other leaves for the pigs. You see these scars on my hand. I cut myself while chopping leaves for the pigs. At that time, there were no electric lights. We only had kerosene lamps. Even when we had got electric lights, we would still cut ourselves carelessly because of the lack of sleep. The kids who didn’t need to go to school would help on the farms. Those who went to school still needed to do farm work after school. They had to cut off the leaves and to chop them up for Ah Tai [1] to feed the pigs.

Hin：Where were the pig kept? Near the house?

Aunt：Very far from the house. The pigsty was partitioned. Our pigs were allocated by Kadoorie Farm to Ah Tai, as well as those ‘gwaa mou po’ [2]. Kadoorie Farm was very nice; we were raised by them. They gave us jumbo cans of butter, which were as big as milk powder cans. We didn’t have any main dishes for meals so we mixed butter with rice. They also gave us cans of lard. It’s yummy. We added a little soy sauce and it smelt great. When it’s someone’s wedding or when something good had happened, we killed a pig to treat the whole village. … Actually, when I cut the rice crop, I would cut my hand too. It wounded the same place when I cut myself while chopping leaves for pigs. Sometimes, I was just too impatient. This hand was indeed very susceptible to injuries. Now, my skin is wrinkled and the scars are less visible. When we worked in the city, the older generation in the factory would know we’re ‘hoeng haa mui [3] once they saw our hands.

Mother：I still recall when we cut the rice crop, some people from another field were listening to the radio, playing Twin Stars’ Love Song [4].

Aunt：The rice straw left over from growing rice would sometimes be piled up like a small hill – the way you see it in old Cantonese TV dramas. They were left to feed the cows in winter. At that time, we had two cows. Sometimes, we needed to herd the cow to the banana field, where weeds could be found. We used a very long rope to herd the cows. When the cows moved, they would drag the urns at the graves [5] and break them. I wasn’t scared because I simply didn’t understand what they were. When we herded the cows, urns were everywhere.

Mother：In the past, there was no toilet at home. In the small hours on a quiet night, going to the latrine was scarier.

Aunt：The latrine was far away. We had to walk past a few houses. It’s at the fung shui woods [6] behind the old house, in the direction of the wire fencing at the Frontier Closed Area. There were many trees and bamboos. It’s a scary experience every time we went to the toilet. So, it’s best not to have the call of nature in the small hours.

Mother：But what else could we have done, really?!

Migration of Refugees  

Aunt：It was very terrifying during the 1967 Riots [7]. People clustered around the wire fencing. Those people came to Hong Kong illegally through Shenzhen River. They hid in the grass and crossed the river when the soldiers weren’t paying attention. Some drowned. Those who managed to cross the river would wait for the right time to climb over the wire fencing. At the time, the People’s Liberation Army stationed at the hill tops nearby. They didn’t have telescopes so the illegal immigrants could enter Hong Kong when soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army couldn’t see them.

Mother：It was famine in China at the time. People would come to Hong Kong illegally. There were two illegal immigration waves during the famine and the Cultural Revolution.

Aunt：We were very frightened too during the Riots.

Mother：The atmosphere was tense. On the mountain opposite to the old house, there’re a lot of trenches dug by Gurkhas [8]. It was a militarized zone. Our village was between that mountain and Shenzhen River. If battles broke out, we would be doomed. So, for a period of time, to be safe, we moved over to Wo Hop Shek Village in Fanling to stay at the home of my elder brother’s wife. During that period, Ah Tai was reluctant to leave. She stayed behind to look after the old house. My younger sister didn’t want to leave either.

Hin：How many households were there in the entire village at the time?

Aunt：About 11 to 12 households.

Going to School [9]

Mother：When I was small, this place was a road. There’re people selling ice lollies here. People in the old times had fun among themselves. They played hide-and-seek at recess. On the other side, they played football, ran, took part in track and field events, and played basketball. This place was packed with bicycles. Many students went to school by bicycle. You heard ‘clang, clang, clang, clang’ at recess, before and after school. It was all farmland outside the school. This made those of us who studied here all ‘hoeng haa zai’ [3].

Hin：This was part of the school building too?

Mother：No, it wasn’t. It’s a tuck shop. This house at the side was where Uncle Tong used to live. He sold noodles to students. Later, the tuck shop, also known as ‘cooperative’, was established. Every recess, students would buy snacks at the tuck shop.

Hin：Was there a school bell?

Mother：Of course, there must be a school bell in a school. In those days, I think it was Uncle Tong’s handheld type, which went like  ‘ring, ring, ring’.

New Environment

Hin：Are you at home with the environment here?

Aunt：When I was living in Chuk Yuen Village, we walked directly out into the ground when we opened the front door. . There’s no need to climb the stairs or close the door. Children played outside the door; it was boisterous. Now, children don’t play in the open space any more. It’s like living in a high-rise in Kowloon. I can’t recognise the place I used to live; it has all turned into a mud hill, which is higher than the house we used to live.

[1] Ah Tai: Hakka family appellation. Ah Tai can be used to address mother’s grandfather or grandmother. In the text, Ah Tai refers to mother’s grandmother.

[2] gwaa mou po (widowed mother): refers to a woman whose husband is dead and has to raise her children single-handedly.

[3] hoeng haa mui/hoeng haa zai (bumpkin girl/boy): refer to the children from the countryside.

[4] Twin Stars’ Love Song《雙星情歌》: a Hong Kong pop song in the 70s, sang by Sam Hui.

[5] Urn: a type of container for the skeletal remains or ash of the deceased.

[6] Fung Shui woods:  the belief that forests bring good fortune and practical benefits such as climate regulation (the idea of ‘fung shui’ in this context), which motivated, early Southern China villagers to build villages near woods. Fung Shui woods refer to forests next to these old villages.

[7] Aunt uses the terms 1967 Riots to refer to the situations of the historical events of the famine and the Cultural Revolution in China between the 50s and 70s. In the context of the history of Hong Kong, the 1967 Riots is often taken to mean the series of violent incidents against the colonial Hong Kong government at that time.

[8] Gurkha: Nepalese mercenaries who accompanied the British Army to Hong Kong, responsible for border defence in colonial Hong Kong.

[9] In the 70s, Hin’s mother went to Shing Ping School in Ta Kwu Ling. The school has closed down and is now encircled by wire fencing.

務農

子軒：能否介紹一下農村的生活？

姨母：從前我們住鄉下屋，即是青磚瓦片屋，有個閣仔。我們有很多姊妹，都睡在閣仔，阿婆睡在樓下。樓下還會擺放農具，例如有用來舂米的機械，不知道你有沒有見過？好像搖搖板的。

母親：那個舂有一根厚長的木，木的一端有一根木樁咀，咀的下方會放置一塊大石頭，石頭中間有一個很深的洞。用力踏於木的另一端的腳踏，再放開腳，木樁咀便舂落去石洞。

姨母：有時候要兩個人踩，你（子軒）又聽不懂講客家……（姨母和母親在談到某些話題時會很自然地說客家話。由於我聽不懂客家話，我猜姨母是要母親用廣東話向我解釋。）

母親：踩起那條木，將穀放落石洞，那些穀殼就會被舂出來，再用一個大簸箕把殼篩走。

姨母：篩到完全沒有殼，便拿去賣或自己吃。其中一些米能拿來做米通，粘米就用來吃，即是現在你平常食飯會吃的那種。……種植禾稈要下穀，禾秧長出來後，就用鏟把它鏟起來。之後農夫拿著一片片的禾，好像pizza（薄餅）一樣，一點一點地撕下來種，一行一行地種滿整塊田，只用眼去看就能判斷插秧的位置。插秧後還有很多工夫，如要放水到田中，要擔水等。我們在農田旁邊的深圳河泵水，那邊有個「秘頭」，客家話叫「秘頭」……（姨母和母親用客家話聊天。）

母親：「秘頭」即是瀑布。田邊有個小型瀑布，水漲時便在小瀑布泵水，用來灌溉。

姨母：除了灌溉，待禾秧長穩長高後，會有很多雜草，然後我們便要除草了。大棵的草要拔掉，小棵的便用腳把它踩到泥下。禾稻收成後，中間還有幾個月很空閒，便會下秧種蕃薯，種蘿蔔，種椰菜。

母親：還有種花生。

姨母：對，花生。把花生拔起來，一大堆，大家便會坐著摘花生。花生葉便曬乾，拿來當草燒。番薯葉可以拿來餵豬。

子軒：番薯葉不是可以給人吃嗎？

姨母：以前我們不吃的，拿來餵豬。

母親：豬吃河裏的「漂仔」，即是紫色那種花。還有番薯葉，總之不要的葉便用來餵豬。

姨母：早上我們上學，晚上回來剁番薯葉及其他葉做豬菜。你看我手上的疤痕，是剁豬菜時弄到的。那時沒有電燈，我們只有火水燈，即使到有電燈時，也因為睡眠不足而不小心剁到自己。不用上學的孩子便去田工作，要上學的，放學回來也要去耕田，去割豬菜，剁爛它給阿太[1]拿去餵豬。

子軒：豬在哪裏養？在家的旁邊嗎？

姨母：離家好遠的。豬欄是一格格的，我們的豬是嘉道理農場分給阿太還有那些寡母婆[2]的。嘉道理農場十分好，她養大我們。她會派一罐很大的牛油給我們，好像奶粉罐那樣大，我們沒有餸，便拿一點牛油撈飯吃。她也有派一罐罐的豬油，很好吃的，撈一點豉油，很香。 當有人結婚或者發生什麼好事，便會劏豬，然後請整條村的人吃。 ……其實割禾時也會割到手，和剁豬菜時容易弄傷的是同一個位置，因為有時太心急了。總之這隻手多災多難，現在皮膚皺了，疤痕沒有那麼明顯。我們到外面打工，做工廠的老一輩一看我們的手，便知道我們是「鄉下妹」[3]。

母親：我還記得割禾時，其他田有些人捧著收音機，當時在播《雙星情歌》[4]。

姨母：種稻米剩下的禾有時候會堆成一座小山，就像粵語殘片中的模樣，留到冬天給牛吃。 那時家裡有一兩頭牛，有時要拉牛到香蕉田那邊，那邊都是荒草。放牛時用的牛繩十分長，牛走動時那條繩便會拖跨金塔[5]，打破金塔。當時不懂得害怕，放牛時周圍都是金塔。

母親：從前家裏沒有廁所，半夜三更時，月黑風高，要去茅廁更恐怖。

姨母：茅廁在很遠的地方，行幾間屋才到。就在舊屋後面的風水林[6]，近邊境鐵絲網那個方向，那裏有很多樹和竹。每次晚上上廁所都很驚，所以半夜三更千萬不要內急。

母親：急也要去，沒辦法呀。

難民的遷移

姨母：六七年暴動時很恐怖[7]，那條鐵絲網旁擠滿了人。那些人經深圳河從中國偷渡來香港，躲在草堆中，趁軍人看不到的時候便渡河，有些人溺斃，成功過河的人便等待合適時機穿過鐵絲網。解放軍當時駐守在附近的山頭，他們沒有望遠鏡，打算偷渡的人趁解放軍看不見時便翻身越過鐵絲網進入香港。

母親：那時中國飢荒，有人會偷渡來香港。有兩個偷渡潮，一個是飢荒，一個是文革。

姨母：暴動時我們也很害怕。

母親：氣氛緊張時，在老屋對面那個山上，啹喀兵[8]挖了很多戰壕，是個軍事地區。我們的村就在那個山和深圳河之間，如果開戰，我們便遭殃。所以我們有一段時間走難到粉嶺和合石村，在你的舅母的娘家住。那段時間阿太不願意離開，留在老屋顧家，我妹妹也不肯離開。

子軒：當時你們全村有多少戶？

姨母：大概十一、十二戶。

上學[9]

母親：在我小時候，這裡是馬路，有人在這裡賣雪條。以前的人很有趣，小息就玩捉迷藏。其他人踢足球、跑步、田徑，打籃球的就在另外一邊。這裡泊滿單車，很多同學都是踏單車上學的。小息、上學及放學就會聽到「鏗、鏗、鏗、鏗」的聲音。而學校外面都是田，在這裡讀書的都是「鄉下仔」[3]。

子軒：這個也是校舍嗎？

母親：這個不是校舍，是小食部。旁邊這間屋，棠叔以前就住在這裡，賣麵給學生。學校後來成立了小食部，又稱合作社，一到小息同學便會來小食部買零食。

子軒：學校有鐘聲嗎？

母親：學校當然有鐘聲，以前好像是棠叔來「鈴、鈴、鈴」的，手搖那種。

新環境

子軒：現在這裏住得慣嗎？

姨母：住在竹園村時，門外就是平地，不用上落樓梯，也不用關門，小朋友就在門外玩耍，很熱鬧。現在沒有小朋友走到空地玩了，好像在九龍住大廈一樣。現在我都認不出從前住的地方，都變成了泥山，堆得比我們從前住的屋高。

[1] 阿太：客家語家族稱呼，母親的祖父或祖母都可簡稱阿太。文中的阿太是指母親的祖母。

[2] 寡母婆：指丈夫離世，要獨力撫養孩子的女性。

[3] 「鄉下妹」、「鄉下仔」：這裡是指來自農家的孩子。

[4] 《雙星情歌》：七十年代的香港流行曲，由許冠傑主唱。

[5] 金塔：一種盛載先人骸骨或骨灰的器具。

[6] 風水林：早期中國南部的村民傾向選擇依林而居，因為他們相信樹林能帶來好運及實際好處，如調節氣溫。風水林是指這些村落旁的樹林。

[7]這裡姨媽以「六七年暴動時很恐怖」參照五十至七十年代中國發生飢荒及文革時期的情況。以香港歷史來說，六七暴動一般用以描述一九六七年於香港發生的連串反政府暴力事件。

[8] 啹喀兵（Gurkha）：隨英軍到港的尼泊爾僱傭兵，負責英國殖民地時期香港的邊防工作。

[9]  母親於七十年代，到位於打鼓嶺的昇平學校上學。學校現已停辨並被鐵絲網圍封。