Problems come in succession—as soon as you deal with one, another appears. It describes a situation where troubles multiply faster than you can handle them.
This imagery comes from rural kitchens where gourds (used as bottles) and ladles (made from half-gourds) float in water. Pressing one down makes another bob up—an endless, frustrating cycle.
This saying expresses the Chinese understanding that life is inherently full of interconnected problems. It signals resilience—acknowledging the chaos while implying that one must keep pressing down gourds anyway.
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