peasants， 这词我们当然学过的，小学时就学了

poor  and lower－middle peasants， 就是那时最吃香的贫下中农。  那时是文革时期，越穷越光荣的。 查了一下这词的意思

a poor farmer of low social status who owns or rents a small piece of land for cultivation (chiefly in historical use or with reference to subsistence farming in poorer countries).