The record and narrate of a patched cotton trousers

Father started putting on this threadbare cotton trousers at the age of 16 when he was a senior high school student. After he finished his studies, he has been obliged to lose the opportunity to enter into the college on account of his family suffered from utmost destitution at that time. He had to go for heavy manual labor so as to cut down on his entire family’s expense to support his second elder brother to continue his college study. From 1960 to 1973, the old rough cotton trousers along with my dad by the age of 28 up to he joined in his formal career in local national tea factory.

From the very beginning, my grandmother tailored the cotton trousers by her hands full with callus, and it stayed with my father as he went through eight years’ rural laboring life as a period of educated youth. During that time, he wore them while chopping firewood in the hills and plowing in the fields. As time went by, the trousers were covered with full rows of small stitches,when they tore again, they were patched again. Piece by piece, scraps of fabric were sewn onto the trousers, gradually making them thicker and warmer. Some of the patches were sewn by my grandmother, while others were sewn by my father. Dad had no any substitutes to keep his body warm and continued to mend and wear the trousers year by year.

This shabby patched cotton trousers are a true historical epitome. Although the time has already entirely pushed forward 66 years, thinking of the classic folk adage that spreads from that time: “New three years, old three years, and patching up another three years.” Seeing this broken cotton trousers now truly makes people’s mood instantly incomparably heavy and heartbroken, making tears dye the lapel, and making people suddenly associate that era under China’s poverty with making people suffocating, even using miserable to describe it is not excessive at all.

Up to the time when my father at the age of 28 formally joined in work, he gradually bid farewell to life’s poverty but he also formed a lifelong bond of hardship with tea.  Although tea taste bitter, it naturally overflows fresh and sweet aftertaste. Fact is also like this, father’s whole life at the material level had no interest, eating enough and wearing warm is enough. Constantly pursuing  his tea career is his biggest happy meaning in life, bitter is the material’s simplicity, sweet originates from his spiritual world’s richness, this is the so-called person like tea’s nature life force, constantly pruning, constantly strong and constantly regenerating.

The utmost destitution to human nature’s soul and thought impact force is so violent, branded so deep and aroused my father’s tough and unyielding steel will, his tea career whole life constantly fell down and got up, constantly forged ahead….

As a tea second generation, I experienced the huge change from China’s Reform and Opening up initial stage industrial economy backwardness and material scarcity to now world industrial powerhouse, I equally forever remember Oriental Tea and Zhiqinghe Tea career’s beginning, shoulder heavy responsibility and devote to steady pace then can reach far, as well as have profound influence and meaning to next generation young people . I do not advocate poverty, but no matter for a nation or individual: when poverty then can think change; when encountering difficulties then can receive teaching; when faced with humiliated,then can hone a character of temper force with grace. We should use this as our core spiritual value meaning to constantly fight against challenge to ourselves.

This threadbare cotton trousers accompanying my father’s youth period , it will be as a collection with highly historical significance to be  enshrined in Zhiqinghe Tea Company tea culture exhibition hall permanently.

Zhiqinghe Tea Tech Co.,Ltd. Alex

Written on the night of September 22, 2026