My father couldn't do a regular job. To make ends meet, he and I picked beans every summer on farms. It was hard work, and they paid by the pound, not the hour.

Bottom beans were harder to pick. My father and I alway picked on opposite sides of the same row, and his constant, gentle reminders to “pick from the bottom up” still ring in my ears.

We had row bosses who would part the vines and step into our world quietly. They would check the area we had picked and if it wasn't picked clean, they sent us back. At first, I was

sent back a lot by the bosses. When that happened, my father would step through the vines and pick back toward me until we had cleaned up my mess. The vines were so thick that we

couldn't see each other, but we always talked while working. His voice would come, “Are you picking clean?”

......

The money we earned in the bean fields was barely enough to be worthwhile.

But the lessons I got -pick clean, bottom up, both hands - were principles of my father's life that shaped mine.

有几处不能理解：

1) and they paid by the pound - they 和 paid 不能理解，这里的they指的是什么呢？我看到网上另外一个版本篇写的是the farmers paid by...所以，这里的they指代的是the farmers 还是 beans呢？

另外，这里应该用paid还是were paid呢？

2) on opposite sides of the same row - 应该是 on "the" opposite sides of the same row  - 缺少定冠词the吗？前面用了一般过去时，still ring... 动词时态指现在吗？

    The money we earned in the bean fields was barely enough to be worthwhile. -这句话好难理解？

3) we had picked and if it wasn't picked clean...为什么用过去完成时？奇怪的是，为什么 if it wasn't picked clean 却不使用过去完成时？until we had cleaned up my mess - 这个时态应该使用一般过去时？！

    最后应该是shaped me, 而不是shaped mine ?

谢谢老师！