Eating chaff and swallowing vegetables, living on grass roots and tree bark, is still living. Eating lavishly, selecting only the best meat, is also living, but the two are worlds apart in the minds of mortals.
In the counties under the Pure Land's governance, in years when times are tough, there will definitely be miles upon miles of barren land, with many starving to death in various villages. At these times, the state capitals and temples would provide porridge, saving whoever they can, but it is merely a drop in the bucket.
Under Qingming's governance, when someone mentions that the people's livelihood is in decline and life is unbearable, the underlying meaning is that everyone is so poor they can hardly afford guinea pig meat, and it's gotten to the point where they can only spread vegetable margarine on bread slices.
This is reality.
