To live in extreme poverty, having to subsist on inadequate food like chaff and wild herbs for much of the year, symbolizing a life of great hardship and deprivation.
在那个艰难的时期，很多普通人家都过着糠菜半年粮的苦日子，仅仅是为了生存而挣扎。
During that difficult period, many ordinary families lived a harsh life with only chaff and vegetables for half a year's food, simply struggling to survive.
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