What does the red mean?

[v0031]

 For years I wanted a flower garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.
I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on--and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with $100! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten by fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis, a sunflower stepping stone, and gardening books. That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.
I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold and summers are way too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me and I get tears in my eyes--every time.
I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

IOU is an initialism meaning "I owe you". Unlike most initialisms, it comes from the sound of the words being the same as the sound of those letters. That should be enough to let you figure out the red.

[v0031]

IOU is an initialism meaning "I owe you". Unlike most initialisms, it comes from the sound of the words being the same as the sound of those letters. That should be enough to let you figure out the red.

Thanks for telling me that. But what does the whole sentence mean? Does that mean I should do the digging for eight hours. That's a strange way to say in english.

[angus]

It means that he reckons that his labor is worth about twelve and a half dollars per hour.  Jeez, I thought you people were supposed to be good at math.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

[v0031]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

人渣，滚一边去！

[Edu]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

人渣，滚一边去！

For anyone too lazy to check, google translates this as "Scum, go to hell!"

ROFL

[Antonio the Sixth]

Clarence vs. V0031 has potential to become a legendary forum feud.

[v0031]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

人渣，滚一边去！

For anyone too lazy to check, google translates this as "Scum, go to hell!"

ROFL

How about put this into english?
坚守阵地。在敌人没有开枪以前，不要先开枪；但是，如果敌人硬要把战争强加在我们头上，那么，就让战争从这儿开始吧！这是为了纪念美国历史上著名的独立战争的第一个战役——莱克星顿战斗而立的。

[Edu]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

人渣，滚一边去！

For anyone too lazy to check, google translates this as "Scum, go to hell!"

ROFL

How about put this into english?
坚守阵地。在敌人没有开枪以前，不要先开枪；但是，如果敌人硬要把战争强加在我们头上，那么，就让战争从这儿开始吧！这是为了纪念美国历史上著名的独立战争的第一个战役——莱克星顿战斗而立的。

Stick to their positions . First enemy did not fire , not the first shot ; however, if war is imposed on us deliberately enemy, then let 's start the war from here ! This is to commemorate the famous battle in the history of the first battle of the American Revolutionary - Lexington battle position.

[muon2]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

人渣，滚一边去！

For anyone too lazy to check, google translates this as "Scum, go to hell!"

ROFL

How about put this into english?
坚守阵地。在敌人没有开枪以前，不要先开枪；但是，如果敌人硬要把战争强加在我们头上，那么，就让战争从这儿开始吧！这是为了纪念美国历史上著名的独立战争的第一个战役——莱克星顿战斗而立的。

Stick to their positions . First enemy did not fire , not the first shot ; however, if war is imposed on us deliberately enemy, then let 's start the war from here ! This is to commemorate the famous battle in the history of the first battle of the American Revolutionary - Lexington battle position.

I know no Chinese, but based on your translation, I believe the first part is the translation of Capt. Parker's famous quote to the Minutemen on April 19, 1775:
"Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war let it begin here."

And it always seemed to me that v0031 was doing his homework precisely by asking real English speakers these questions and not relying on automated translation programs. Compare Edu's translation of the translation with the original.

[rejectamenta]

I think v0031's strategy of asking native English speakers for assistance directly is commendable, and doing so on an insular, more technical than average site such as this rather than a giant community like reddit or whatever takes some balls. Plus, some of the things he has questions about highlight the nuance and structural oddities in our language we naturally understand and take for granted, which sometimes leads to interesting conversations.. or at least more interesting conversations than "which state u like beter washington or oklahoma #387138"

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

DO YOUR OWN ING HOMEWORK JACKASS!!!

人渣，滚一边去！

For anyone too lazy to check, google translates this as "Scum, go to hell!"

ROFL

How about put this into english?
坚守阵地。在敌人没有开枪以前，不要先开枪；但是，如果敌人硬要把战争强加在我们头上，那么，就让战争从这儿开始吧！这是为了纪念美国历史上著名的独立战争的第一个战役——莱克星顿战斗而立的。

I'll take the sesame bean curd.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

IOU is an initialism meaning "I owe you". Unlike most initialisms, it comes from the sound of the words being the same as the sound of those letters. That should be enough to let you figure out the red.

Thanks for telling me that. But what does the whole sentence mean? Does that mean I should do the digging for eight hours. That's a strange way to say in english.

He was giving a promise to do 8 hours of digging, and the story indicates he did so.