Story of a young couple struggling to settle down in Beijing after graduation

Interwoven with simple, crisp, humorous, robust, and youthful expressions, the story draws an authentic picture of the life of a young Chinese couple in a big city. It is a journey full of financial struggle, love, tears, conflict, growth, and passion.

Roughcast Couple has been written by 1982-born Ma Xiaotao, who is a member of the Chinese Writers’ Association. Translated by Lilian Guth, this story has been selected from the book The Sound of Salt Forming – Short Stories by the Post-'80s Generation in China, published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in 2016.