Sometimes people complain about the smallest things, without appreciating how good they’ve really got it. This phrase which literally means, “I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice” is basically another way to tell someone to quit their whining.This is a pretty serious statement, given that the word rice in Chinese is synonymous with the word for meal as Chinese people eat rice in every meal of the day. In other words, someone who says “I eat more salt than you eat rice” is saying “I’ve been through way more hardship than you could even imagine