carry snow to fill a well
It's an idiom to dig a snow to fill a well. Pinyin is ti ā oxu ě Ti á NJ ǐ ng, which is a metaphor for work without success.
source
Gu Kuang, Tang Dynasty, wrote three difficult journeys: "if you don't work hard, you can't eat." Shi Zheng of Song Dynasty received Jiatai Pu Deng Lu: "how many Buddhist monks pick snow to fill the well."
usage
It means to work in vain.
interpretation
It's a metaphor for doing nothing
carry snow to fill a well
extort excessive taxes and levies - héng zhēng bào liǎn
East, West, North and South visitors - dōng xi nán běi kè
offering sacrifice with fragrant flowers - xiāng huā gòng yǎng