It seemed to him that the fate of the poor was like a jujube kernel, pointed at both ends and round in the middle: if you were lucky enough not to die of hunger as a child, you could hardly escape starving to death in your old age.

• 穷人的命、他似乎看明白了，是枣核儿两头尖：幼小的时候能不饿死，万幸； 到老了能不饿死，很难。