Besides raising chickens and ducks, Ashan’s mom also kept a female cat. Ashan still remembered when the cat had her first litter of kittens. Farmers from the mountains came to Ashan’s house with longan and sugar cane, hoping to trade for some kittens to catch mice.
When Ashan brought out the litter of kittens for them to choose from, two of the kittens immediately wriggled out of the box and ran away as soon as he loosened his grip. One of the wrinkled-faced farmers shouted in Taiwanese, "Those two! They must be great at catching mice since they run so fast!" This made things difficult for Ashan, who had to work hard to catch the two mischievous kittens and hand them over.
Back then, there was only one rice planting season per year in the countryside. After planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, people often planted radishes or left the fields fallow. Many families bought radish seeds from the agricultural association and rented a plot of land to grow their own radishes. After harvesting, they made dried radishes, which is why it was common for countryside children to carry dried radishes with them every day.
Ashan's family was no exception. They rented a field and grew radishes, with Ashan helping to water and weed. When harvest time came, the whole family was busy and happy, truly enjoying the fruits of their hard work.
However, Ashan was still a child. While harvesting radishes in the field, he couldn't resist pulling up several large radishes from the neighboring field. Just as he was feeling proud of himself, his mother caught him, scolded him severely, and made him return the radishes.
Embarrassed, Ashan found the neighbor and returned the radishes, expecting to be reprimanded. Instead, the neighbor patted his head and said, "You're a good boy. You're the first to steal our radishes and then return them. Please tell the other kids not to steal anymore. You can keep these radishes as a favor." This was the first time Ashan realized the value of honesty. Not knowing how to refuse, he awkwardly carried the radishes home, wondering how he would explain everything to his mom.
While the harvest was a joyous occasion, processing the piles of radishes filling the house was exhausting. They had to wash, cut, sun-dry, and pickle them, which tired everyone out and gave them a real appreciation for the hard work of farmers.
Later, Ashan found it tough because for the entire following year, he had to eat dried radishes at every meal. After a year of this, he became so sick of radishes that he couldn’t stand the sight of them for quite a while.
除了平日養雞養鴨外，阿三媽也養了隻母貓。還記得當母貓生下第一窩小貓的時候，山上的農民居然挑著龍眼及甘蔗來阿三家，要「以物易物」的方式換幾隻小貓回去捉老鼠。
當阿三把一窩小貓抱出來給人家選的時候，才一鬆手，有兩隻小貓立即掙扎出紙箱的窩，溜跑了。那滿面皺紋的農民立刻大聲地用台語叫道：「就是這兩隻。這麼會跑，一定很會捉老鼠！」這下可苦了阿三，花了不少的功夫，才把這兩隻頑皮的小貓給抓了回來，送到人家的手中。
當時在鄉下的稻田是一年只有一耕。當春天插秧、秋天收成後，總是種些蘿蔔，或是根本就休耕了。所以有許多人家就向農會買些蘿蔔種子，再向農人租一塊田，就自家種了起來。收成後就做成蘿蔔乾。這也難怪鄉下孩子每天都會帶蘿蔔乾了。
阿三家也不例外。全家租了田，也種起了蘿蔔。於是阿三也幫著澆肥除草。到了收成的時候，全家人忙得很開心，也真正嚐到辛苦後帶來的歡愉成果。
阿三到底是小孩子。當在田裏收蘿蔔的時候，他忍不住把隔壁田裏的大蘿蔔，也偷偷地收了好幾根。正在沾沾自喜的時候，被媽媽發現了，狠狠地被罵了一頓，還強迫阿三一定得送還給人家。
當阿三慚愧地找到鄰居田主，把懷裏的大蘿蔔還給人家的時候，沒想到人家卻摸著他的頭說：「真是個好孩子。你是第一個偷了我們的蘿蔔，又送還給我們的孩子。希望你能告訴其他的孩子不要再偷蘿蔔了。這些蘿蔔就送給你，算是拜託你。」
阿三第一次體會到誠實做人的好處，也不知應如何推辭，只好傻呼呼地把蘿蔔抱回家。邊走心裏邊盤算，如何回家向媽解釋呢！
收成固然是件開心的事，可是要處理這堆得滿屋子的蘿蔔，累人的事才開始。先洗後剖，再曬得滿院子，然後再醃。把大家都累壞了，這也才知道農人們的辛苦。
不過阿三後來覺得很慘，因為往後的一整年，每天每頓飯都得吃蘿蔔乾。經過一年的狠吃後，阿三有好一陣子看到蘿蔔都怕了。
Traditional method of making dried radishes 蘿蔔乾傳統的製作方法