Du Zhenqi, an 80-year-old resident in Beijing`s Chaoyang district, expressed his sympathy for the people who took away his towel gourds without permission.
    80岁高龄的北京朝阳区居民杜振祺（音译）在说到有路人偷摘了自己种的丝瓜时，反而带有一丝同情之心。

    Every year Du plants towel gourds in the community yard for ornament. But this year, before they turned ripe, they were all picked by his neighbors for food.
    杜大爷每年都会在社区院子里种些丝瓜，美化社区。可今年，还没等丝瓜成熟，就被邻居们摘去炒菜了。

    "The prices of many kinds of vegetables, not only the towel gourds, have gone up dramatically," said Du. "So I understand those people and it pleased me to offer my help to them."
    杜大爷说：“不仅仅是丝瓜，很多蔬菜都涨价了，价格贵的离谱。所以我也不怪他们，反而觉得这是在助人为乐。”

    The food price surge in China has made residents with low incomes feel serious financial pressure and forced them to spend wisely.
    食品物价上涨使低收入群体感到经济压力倍增，他们不得不精打细算了。

    An online collection of practical money-saving hints is thus becoming increasingly popular among Chinese netizens. If you search "money-saving strategies" in Baidu, China`s most popular search engine, you will find 4.27 million entries in 0.19 seconds.
    这样一来，就有越来越多的网友在网上晒各种实用的省钱妙招。如果在百度输入“省钱攻略”，不到0.19秒你便可以搜出427万个相关页面。

    The collection provides tips such as choosing local and seasonal products, avoiding buying vegetables on rainy or snowy days when higher transport costs increase prices, using e-commerce websites for purchases, and planting vegetables on the balcony.
    省钱妙招可谓五花八门，比如够买本地出产的应季产品；尽量不在雨雪天买菜，因为天气恶劣时运输费也会增加，到时羊毛全都出在羊身上；通过网上购物；还有在阳台上做“自耕农”。

    Some netizens consider buying in bulk to stay within a tight budget.
    为了节约开销，更多的人则会选择团购。

    Fei Yuqin, who lives in Jiading district in Shanghai, frequently hurries to a farmers` market before 6 am to buy large amounts of vegetables for her family and neighbors. "Instead of buying small amounts, I buy large amounts of vegetables at the market and get a 50-percent discount."
    上海嘉定区的居民费玉琴（音译）经常是早上6点去农贸市场大量批发蔬菜，自家和邻居拼购。她表示：“去农贸市场批发比散买要便宜一半多呢。”

    With these online tips, many people have become experts in cutting household expenses. However, financial pressure caused by the current round of price hikes still afflicts many Chinese people, just like the situation described in a popular song called China`s Price.
    有了这些网络上的省钱宝典支招，很多人已经深得节省花销、精明度日之道了。但物价上涨所带来的经济压力还是使得许多人叫苦不堪，正像那首《中国价》里唱的。

    "A student surnamed Guo spent 60,000 yuan ($8,996) for college education. He earned 1,000 yuan per month after graduation. No house and no car, let alone get married."
    “有个学生叫小郭，大学花了六万多；毕业了，找工作，每月工资一千多；没有房，别提车，结婚更是没着落。”