No Letup in Work
《不要直起腰》

Many people asked Liu Zhenyun, a well-known Chinese writer, about the secret of his "high productivity". He smiled and told a story about his grandmother as a sort of an answer.
很多人询问作家刘震云“高产”的秘诀，他笑了笑，讲了祖母的故事。
His grandmother, when young, was not very strong physically. Only 1.5-odd meters tall, yet she was a good worker in the fields. Landowners all liked to hire her on short terms in busy farming seasons. Once she worked together with a male laborer who was the most capable farmer in that locality. In a length of 1.5 km field ridge they began cutting wheat side by side. When she finished, the man was left far behind, not reaching half of the length. Liu was very curious and asked his grandmother how she could do so. She smiled and answered, "It's very simple. Before I began I drew a deep breath and told myself. Hold on cutting to the end, keep bending and never straighten up. If I straighten once for a pause, I'd do so twice and thrice."
刘震云的祖母年轻时身体并不强壮，身高只有1.5米多。可每到农忙季节，她一直是东家们抢夺的短工。有一次，她与当地最得力的男劳力一起下地割麦子，3里长的一垄麦子，她割完了，男人才割了不到一半。刘震云很好奇，他问祖母有什么诀窍？祖母笑了笑，回答简单而质朴：“下地之前，我就深吸一口气，对自己说一直割到底，中间不要直起腰来。因为如果直了一次，歇了一次，就会有第二次、第三次。”
Liu was so deeply impressed by his grandmother's story that from then on he often reminded himself of her being buried in a boundless sea of fields cutting wheat. This image has a lifelong influence on him. He said, "I have all along taken my grandmother for a good example. When I work I do my best not allowing myself a letup. I'll hold on to the end. Only so doing can I achieve a little in my career—be able to succeed in entering Beijing University and winning a place in the literature circles."
自此，祖母在地里被漫无边际的麦田掩盖的情景，深深地印刻在刘震云的心里，影响了他的一生。他说，“我一直以祖母为榜样，在干活时尽量不直起腰，要干就干到底。只有这样，我才能取得一点成就，才能进北大，才能混迹于文艺圈。”