Hubei Model：Blind twin brothers in Xiangyang find a bright future in their d...

Hubei Model：Blind twin brothers in Xiangyang find a bright future in their dark world

襄阳盲人兄弟黑暗中摸出光明路

极目新闻记者 周萍英

通讯员 周阳 彭德根

翻译 李盈 高克寒 吴术驰

JIMU News

Reporter:Zhou Pingying

Correspondent:Zhou Yang and Peng Degen

Translators:Li Ying,Gao Kehan,Wu Shuchi

双眼看不见，却能自己做饭干家务，甚至还能修车。不仅能修农民用坏了的农机设备，还能改造发明新机器。

Though blind,they can take care of their own livesand even repairvehicles. Theycan not only help fix broken agricultural machineryof their fellow villagers, butcan alsomodify and create new machines.

在湖北襄阳市襄州区古驿镇，有这样一对盲人兄弟，28年来不仅修理农机数万台，培养了30多个徒弟，还开办修理厂、维修站，成立农机专业合作社，带领乡亲们走上了致富路。

Thesearethetwin brothers in Guyi Town, Xiangzhou District, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, who have repaired tens of thousands of agricultural machinery and trained more than 30 apprentices in the past 28 years. They have led their fellow villagers towardsfinancial prosperityby setting up repair shopsand maintenance stations, and founded an agriculturalmachinery specialized cooperative.

哥哥失明弟弟给他当眼睛

The younger brother served as his blind brother's eyes

1月13日，襄州古驿镇S217省道边，襄州区佳富天宇农机专业合作社的大院子内，一听到当地宣传委员和极目新闻记者说话的声音，周成喜立马从钻铣机边起身打招呼。

On January13th, in the yard of Jiafu Tianyu agricultural machinery specialized cooperative on the side of S217 provincial highway in Guyi Town, Xiangzhou District, Zhou Chengxi immediately stood upfrom the drilling and milling machineafter hearing the local publicity agent and the journalist of Jimu Newsspeaking and offered his greetings.

搓了搓满是老茧、被铁锈弄脏的手，周成喜指着眼前的农机报废拆解车间和农机维修加工车间说，眼下腊月活不多，哥哥周付喜回二三十里外的老家种豌豆去了，晚点再过来。

Rubbing his rough hands stained by rust, he pointed to anagricultural salvage yardand a maintenance shop, and said that since it was the twelfth month of the lunar year, his brother Zhou Fuxi went back to their hometown about 15 kilometers away to sow peas, andhe would return severaldays later.

兄弟俩是双胞胎，1968年出生。他们的家乡古驿镇地多人少，8万多人口却有25万余亩地，广袤的平原适合大规模种植和使用农机，被称为“湖北农机第一镇”。

The twin brothers were born in 1968. Their hometown Guyi boasts a large territory with small population—with over 80,000 people possessingmore than 16,675 hectares of land. The vast flatland issuitable for large-scale farming by using agriculturalmachinery. This area is thereforecalled the top town of agriculturalmachineryin Hubei Province.

两兄弟学修理缘于父亲。今年80多岁的老父亲，早年曾是乡里唯一的拖拉机手，农忙时节给乡亲们帮忙，遇到机器故障就自己解决。两兄弟从小就常常在各种胶轮机、拖拉机上玩耍，耳濡目染，掌握了不少知识和技能。

The twins acquired their repairing skillsfrom their father. Back then their father, who now is in his old age and past eighty, wasthe only tractor driver in his town. He woulddrive a tractor to help people in the neighborhoodduring the busy farming season and deal with the occasional machinery malfunctions on his own. When they were little boys, the twin brothers would climb up rubber-tired machinesand tractors for fun and were able to witness how their father fixed machines.

两人动手能力强，读小学三年级时就能给大队钉锅、帮老师修理教室门锁。1979年，兄弟俩开始骑着自行车走村串户，给乡亲们修理农机设备。

When they were only third-grade students in primary school, their great hands-on skills enabled them to be able to forge iron pots for others in theircommunity and help their teachers fix door locks in the classroom. In 1979, the brothers started to provide door-to-door servicesof repairing agricultural machineryfor their fellow villagers, riding bikes from one household to another.

不幸首先降临在哥哥身上。一天，周付喜在田里干活，突然感觉眼睛难受看不清东西，家人慌忙把他送到医院，被诊断为视网膜脱落。因家庭条件差，错失最佳治疗时机，周付喜最终双目失明。

Tragically, a misfortune came upon the elder brother. One day, when Zhou Fuxi was working in the field, he suddenly felt discomfort in his eyes and a reduced vision of his surroundings. He was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with retinal detachment. Due to a lack of financial resources, he missed the optimal opportunityfor treatment and ultimately lost sight in both eyes.

生性不服输的周付喜并没有一蹶不振。“就算看不见了，我还是能继续修！”周付喜让弟弟骑上自行车带着自己继续走村串户，哪儿有农机坏了就去哪儿修。弟弟当他的“眼睛”帮忙查看故障，做他的助手帮忙递工具，兄弟俩配合默契。

However, Zhou Fuxi being a man of strong willdid not allow this setback in life stop him.“Blindness cannot stop me from repairing machines.”In order tocontinueprovidingdoor-to-doorservices in their village, he asked his little brother Zhou Chengxi to“be his eyes” andtake him by bike to whereverthere wasbrokenagricultural machinery.

周付喜逐渐练就了听、摸、修的绝活，不论是小型手扶拖拉机，还是大型农用车，有毛病他都能解决。

Gradually, Zhou Fuxi mastered a range of unique repair techniquesthrough the use of his senses ofhearing and touching. Any malfunctions in tractors and agricultural vehicles were sure to be cleared in his hands.

为了不再东奔西走，1994年，兄弟俩开了家修理店。兄弟二人的修车技术远近闻名，慕名前来修车的人络绎不绝。

In order to have a fixed place to repairagriculture vehicles, the twin brothers set up a repair shopin 1994. Their skills and workmanship were known far and wide,and manynew customers were introduced to their shop to get their vehicles fixed.

难兄难弟炼成修车高手

The unfortunate twinstrained themselves to be masters of repairing agriculture vehicles.

2009年1月，厄运再次降临，周成喜同样因为视网膜脱落而失明。

In January, 2009, the misfortune befell again. Zhou Chengxi lost his sight because of retinal detachment just like his brotherhad earlier.

周成喜的妻子王久香告诉极目新闻记者，当时小儿子还没成家，突如其来的变故让周成喜很不适应，整天坐在家里郁郁寡欢。

Wang Jiuxiang, wife of Zhou Chengxi told the journalist that on account of their unmarriedlittleson at that time, the unexpected diseasemade him feel depressed, and he could hardly accept the reality.

“她当时宽慰我说，顶多在家里看大门，什么都不干。”妻子的体贴，让周成喜振作起来。他跟着哥哥打下手。一开始，也很不习惯，钻孔时，看不见对不准，他就让别人标记好做什么尺寸，然后根据标记摸索。

“She tried to comfort me,”said Zhou Chengxi, “she told me that things couldn’t be worse than just staying at home with nothing to do.”The care and love from his wife revived his hope in life. He acted as an assistant of his brother. In the beginning, as he wasn’t used to workingin darkness and couldn’t drillprecisely, Zhou Chengxui asked others to mark the drill point and size, and then he would try to drill according to the mark.

“向内转20圈是8公分，往里推10圈是10公分。”他向极目新闻记者演示起钻铣打孔，随着机器嗞嗞声响起，金属屑四溅，旁人看着都捏一把汗，周成喜却驾轻就熟。
“20 times rolling inward will get an 8centimeterdeep hole, and 10 times, a 10 centimeter one,”he showed the journalist how to drill holes with a drilling-milling machine. Facing the rumbling machine and the scattering metal filings, Zhou Chengxi did this familiarwork with ease. There was nothing to be worried about.

经过短暂的适应期，周成喜学会了摸黑缠电机，给机器打孔、钻孔，修理秸秆还田机、旋耕播种机。周成喜的儿子周万虎说：“我爸装播种机传种器的手速，比健全人都快。”

Before long, Zhou Chengxi learnt how to coil the motor wire, drill holes, and repairstraw returning machines and rotary cultivator seeders in darkness. “My father can install seed delivery devices in seeders quickly,”said his son Zhou Wanhu, “he is even quicker than an able-bodied man.”

为了发展得更好，就在这一年，兄弟二人来到现在的古驿镇吕镇村，置办了四间门面房，办了营业执照，带着周成喜的两个儿子，又请来两个工人，开了一家新的修理店。

For better development, the twin brothers came to Lvzhen Village, Guyi Town and openedup a new repair shop earlier this year. They’ve rented a four-roomedshop and applied for a business license. Zhou Chengxi’s two sons and another two employed repairmen now work in the new shop.

刚来到吕镇村时，兄弟二人在路边修车，晚上也不开灯，还曾被人误当成小偷。

When they first came to Lvzhen Village, the brothers repaired vehicles on the roadside. As they worked one evening without the light on, they were once mistaken for thieves.

当地楼板厂老板郑文青说，第一次见到这对盲人兄弟时特惊讶，不管是倒水、做饭等生活琐事，还是修理设备、给厂房装线路这样的技术活儿，他们都自己干，看上去与常人无异。

Zheng Wenqing, boss of local floor slab factory, was shocked by the blind twin brotherswhen she first met them. Zheng said that they could not only take care of their daily life, but they could also repairmachinery and wire factories all by themselves, just like any other able-bodied person.

以前没手机的时候，为了不麻烦家人，兄弟二人靠脑子背下了两百多个电话号码。如今，弟弟的“老人机”里存了500多个电话号码。当着记者的面，他存下了记者的名字和电话号码。

In the past, when mobile phones were not so widespreadas today,the brothers had to memorize more than 200 phone numbersto avoid troublingtheir families. Nowadays, they benefitfrom the wide usageof mobile phones and have more than 500 phone numbers saved in the younger brother’s non-smartphone. The journalist’s number now is on the listtoo.

当地一位老人说，他曾对兄弟俩的修理技术有质疑，但后来，他有一台东方红1104拖拉机老是“咯吱咯吱”响，找人检查后只说变速箱有问题，但说不出具体问题在哪儿。找到盲人兄弟后，他们一听就知道是轴承坏了，当场解决了问题，老人佩服不已。

An aged local man was unsure of the blind brothers’skills.But on one occasion, they successfully got his Dongfanghong-1104 tractor repaired andthusearned his respect. Thattractor would make a creaking sound when it was operating. Someother repairmensuspected the problem to be its speed changing box, but couldn’tbe sure whatthe specific problem was. Just by listening, however, the blind brothers pinpointed the problem as its axle bearing and fixed it on the spot.

两兄弟的手艺被越来越多的人认可，但若是被人问起有什么绝活，他们总是回答：“哪有什么绝活，做多了就有经验了。”

More and more peoplehave come to acknowledgethe skill of the twin brothers and when they’ve been inquired of the knack of repairing, they always answer, “Skill grows from practice.”

办修理厂收了30多个徒弟

The blind brothers set up repair shop and trainedmore than 30 apprentices.

靠近合作社的马路边，有一栋4层新楼，那是两兄弟一大家子居住的房子。周成喜的儿孙，加上哥哥周付喜，一家十口人长期生活在一起。

The twin brothers and their family live together in a new 4 storey building on the roadside of the cooperative. The home houses 10 people in total, including Zhou Chengxi’s sons and grandsons, and his brother Zhou Fuxi.

王久香说，他们两口子结婚三十多年，从没红过脸吵过架。周付喜一直没成家，挣的钱都放在一起，两兄弟干活，她负责后勤，从没什么矛盾。

Wang Jiuxiang saidto the journalist that Zhou Chengxi and his wife who have been married for over 30 years, had never quarreled. As Zhou Fuxi isn’t married, the twin brothers give all their earnings to Zhou Chengxi’s wife who is in charge of logistical supportand they generallyget along very well.

在镇上扎稳脚跟后，兄弟俩还收了徒弟，十多年来先后收了30多个徒弟，如今古驿镇上不少修车行都是他们的徒弟开的。怕不怕徒弟抢饭碗？兄弟俩异口同声：“怕啥，生意做不完的。”

After building upagood foundation in this town, the brothers have trained more than 30 apprentices over the past 10 years. Now, most repairshopsin the town are operated by their apprentices. Someone askedthem if theywereworried about their apprentices taking over theirbusiness? The two brothers said with one voice: “There is nothing to beworriedabout.After all, we can’t get all the machineryrepaired.”

极目新闻记者看到，一些机器上用磁铁粘着各种钻头等工具，周成喜说，这些都是自己亲自收拾的。厂房一面墙是货架，7层高的货架上堆满了各种工具，屋子三面墙上也挂着零件，周成喜说，徒弟们找不到的东西都要打电话问他在哪里。

The journalistsaw many drills and tools attached onmachines with magnets. According to ZhouChengxi, he arranged them all himself. On a wall of the shop, there is a 7-story racklaid with various tools. On the other three walls, there hangs all kinds of repair parts. He told the journalist, if his apprentices couldn’t find any tools or parts, they would call him for help.

手艺好，修理量就大。修理厂忙时一天要修十来辆车，每年维修收割机1400余台、拖拉机1700余台、其他机具1500余台。一年到头难得休息。

A great deal of repair work benefits from their superb craftsmanship.On a busy day, they had to repair about a dozen vehicles. Every year, more than 1400 harvesters, more than 1700 tractors and more than 1500 other machines and tools would be repaired. They hardly get time off to rest in a whole year.

遇到一时解决不了的问题，兄弟俩就慢慢思考琢磨，实在不行，就让家人买来书念给他们听，从中学习摸索。

When faced with a difficult problem that they couldn’t solve, they would ponder overit and ifthat didn’t work, they would ask their familyto buy some related books and read the books to them, so that theycould learn and find outhow to solve the problem.

凭借辛勤的付出、敢想敢干的勇气，以及高超的手艺，兄弟二人的修理生意越做越大，门面从一开始的四间变成了八间，修理店变成了修理厂。

By virtue of their hard work, great courage, and superb craftsmanship,the brothers’businesshas grown. They have enlarged that four-roomed shop front to an eight-roomed shop. And the repair shop has been upgradedto a repair factory.

成立合作社种下几万亩庄稼

The blind brothers establisheda cooperative and planted thousands of hectares of crops

不仅修理技术好，兄弟俩还开始改造机器。2010年，有乡亲从河南买回一台可以一边播种一边施肥的机器，但这台机器的几个腿容易弯，撒种子不精准。两人想办法改好之后发现，这东西有市场！于是自己设计，委托周边汽车厂生产零配件，自己做起了农机，做得质量好又实用。后来乡亲们再买农机，都来他们这里买，甚至宜城、丹江口等地的商贩还主动找来给兄弟俩自产的机器做代理。

In addition to their excellent repair skills, the brothers began to modify machines. In 2010, a villager bought a machine from Henan that could sow seeds and apply fertilizer simultaneously. However, the legs of the machine would easily bend, and the seeds would thus not be sown accurately. After the two brothers managed to fix the machine, they found this kind of machine to have a huge market! As a result, the two brothers reinvented their own machine, entrusted a nearby automobile factory to produce spare parts, and therefore made their own agricultural machinery, with good quality and strong practicality. Later, local villagers bought the agricultural machinery from them, and even vendors in Yicheng, Danjiangkou and other places took the initiative to apply to be agents for the machines produced by the brothers.

周付喜设计、改造了玉米、花生、高粱精播机，调整了农具的播种距离，实现了粮食增收；利用网上购买的鼓风机，进行设计、修改，实现了高粱一次一颗地精准播种，不仅提高了粮食产量，还降低了动力消耗，减少了播种成本。

Zhou Fuxi reinvented the precision seeder of corn, peanut and sorghum, and adjusted the sowing distance of farming tools, so as to increase grain production. A blower purchased online was re-designed and modified to realize precise sorghum seeding of one grain at a time, which not only improved the grain yield, but also reduced the power consumption and sowing cost.

以前，人工撒化肥，一天只能撒三五亩地。后来，周付喜设计了撒化肥的机器，在拖拉机的带动下一天可以撒一千亩。

In the past, less than one hectare of land could be covered with fertilizer a day manually. Later, after Zhou Fuxi designed their own fertilizer spreading machine, about 66.67 hectares of land can now be covered with fertilizer a day with the help of a tractor.

抱团才能致富。2016年，兄弟俩把周边农场的农用车、拖拉机集中在一起成立了合作社。占地3200平方米的合作社厂房也是周付喜设计的。与设计车厢一样，需要什么尺寸的材料、多少门窗、多少柱子，怎么搭建，周付喜心里全规划好了，并参与材料的切割。合作社所有的水管、电线则是周成喜负责安装的。

The fire burns high when everybody adds wood to it. In 2016, the brothers established a cooperative by pooling agricultural vehicles and tractors from nearby farms. The 3,200-square-meter factory of the cooperative was designed by Zhou Fuxi. The design of the compartment, the size of the material, the number of doors and windows as well pillars, and the method of building, were all planned out in Zhou Fuxi's mind, and he even participated in the material cutting process. Meanwhile Zhou Chengxi was responsible for the installation of all water pipes and electric wires in the cooperative.

合作社主要从事农机作业、农机维修、农机配件加工等业务，服务范围覆盖襄阳、十堰和河南等地40多个乡镇，流转了200多亩土地，带领95个社员包种包收几万亩地。

The cooperative is mainly engaged in the operation and maintenance of the agricultural machinery, the processing of agricultural machinery accessories, and its service scope covers more than 40 towns and villages in Xiangyang, Shiyan, Henan and other places. In addition, the two brothers circulated more than 13.33 acres of land, and led 95 members to harvest thousands of hectares of land.

在黑暗的世界里，周付喜和周成喜兄弟自力更生，勤劳致富，还带领大家共同致富，让生活迎着光亮前行！近年来，他们先后获得“襄阳楷模”年度人物、“襄州楷模”年度人物、“残疾人自强模范”等荣誉，并在“湖北工匠杯”第三届全省农机职业技能竞赛中获得“特别奋进奖”。

In the dark world, Zhou Fuxi and Zhou Chengxi have lived a moderately prosperous life through self-reliance and hard work. They have also helped other villagers to achieve prosperity together, allowing the villagers’ lives move forward towards a bright future! In recent years, they have been awarded the honors such as Person of the Year of “Xiangyang Model” and “Xiangzhou Model”, “A model of self-improvement for disabled people”, and won the “Special Endeavor Award” in the third provincial agricultural machinery vocational skills competition of “Hubei Craftsman Cup”.

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