Food Stamps and QR Codes: the Survival Code of Two Generations

"Food Stamps and QR Codes: The Survival Code of Two Generations" takes the protagonist Li Qiang's journey of collecting food stamps as a clue to connect the social changes from the ticket era to the digital era. Li Qiangqiang came into contact with food stamps by chance. In 1993, when the stamps were about to become invalid, he bucked the trend and started collecting them. Since then, he has embarked on a collecting journey of more than 30 years. He has gone through the twists and turns of buying tickets, encountering fakes, learning appraisals, and even gave up his career as a teacher to focus on collecting. From collecting tickets personally to opening a business, and then to conducting exchanges and research across the country, he has made the leap from collector to researcher. He not only hides food stamps, but also hides the memories of the times and human warmth behind them. He tells the story of food stamps to the new generation by holding ticket exhibitions and preaching in communities and schools. The work uses food stamps as a carrier, and compares the era differences between them and modern QR codes, allowing old objects to become a dialogue code between two generations. It not only shows the tenacity of ordinary people's lives during the planned economy period, but also explains the true meaning of collection: protecting history, passing on warmth, allowing the memory of the times to live on in the inheritance, and witnessing the development and changes of the country from insufficient food and clothing to prosperity and well-being.