Family Story: Grain coupons brought lovers together

Narrated by Chen Wenliang

Characters: Chen Wenliang and Fan Qinghua

Family members: 7 in all, including Chen Wenliang and Fan Qinghua, their daughter-in-law (their son passed away), their daughter and son-in-law, their grandson and granddaughter.

Profile: Beijing residents, now living in Tianxiang Community, Gucheng Sub-District in Shijingshan District

This is the wedding photo we took in April 1963. The colors were hand-painted.

In 1992, after our grandson was born, my mother, my wife, our children, grandchildren and I took this photo.

Now people can buy whatever grain they want to eat. However, it was not so easy between 1960 and 1993.

At that time, coupons were needed to buy flour, rice, table oil and even desserts.

However, in days of hardship, grain coupons brought Chen Wenliang and Fan Qinghua together. They had a difficult life in the years when grain coupons were needed and often had to live on vegetable leaves that they picked up from the fields. They cherish their happy life today because they lived through all those years.