The article looks at how people in China spent money on household items in the early 1980s. The researchers used data from China's Statistical Yearbooks to see what people were buying and how much. They then made predictions about spending habits up to the year 2000. By analyzing historical data from 1949 to 1979, they estimated how people's incomes and prices affected what they bought. The study found that people in China were spending money on different things based on their income levels and the prices of goods.