All the difficult hours and minutes

所有困难的时刻

are like salted plums in a jar.

就像罐子里的咸李子。

Wrinkled, turn steeply into themselves,

满脸皱纹，陡然变回原型，

they mutter something the color of  sharkfins to the glass.

它们对着玻璃咕哝着鱼翅的颜色。

Just so, calamity turns toward calmness.

就这样，灾难转向平静。

First the jar holds the umeboshi, then the rice does.

首先放入梅子，然后放入米饭。