Apologising to the Chronicle for her limited English, Mrs Liu smiled and raised her hands in a prayerful gesture of thanks. They are people who relate easily to each other, one translating when the other falters.
Mr Liu said he was "proud of his beautiful wife".
They married on December 29 last year in China and will celebrate their first wedding anniversary next week in Wanganui.
"We came to New Zealand with new hope. We want to build our home in New Zealand."
Mr Liu came to Waikato University to study education in 2003. Before coming to New Zealand he was a part-time lecturer in economics and trade at Hubei University in central China.
Mr Liu has New Zealand residency but Mrs Liu is on a work visa, which poses problems with what she is entitled to in government assistance.
The two are covered by ACC but, once rehabilitated, Mrs Liu will not be entitled to benefit.
The Lius were on their way to Te Puke to take up a labouring job when they were hit. The work would have given them flexibility to return to China.
They have not told their parents about the accident because they do not want to worry them.
Mr Randal has visited the couple and is now the police officer in charge investigating the accident.
He said the driver that hit them had returned to Australia but, once police had spoken to the Lius about the accident, the driver would have to return to New Zealand to face charges.
Mr Liu said he remembered well what happened in the moments leading up to the accident that wrote off their uninsured car.
The car and belongings in it were all they owned.
"I saw a car 300 metres ahead ... it was parked on the side of the road ... it suddenly turned."
Mr Liu was powerless to take evasive action as the turning car smashed into their car. The Lius' bodies bore the brunt of the crash. Mr Liu was pulled from the car after his wife because Mrs Liu received a massive blow to her head and the swelling alarmed emergency staff. Mrs Liu was taken by helicopter to Wanganui Base Hospital.
Mr Liu has a smashed left leg that now has a titanium rod in it. He can't bend his leg and he'll require intensive rehabilitation to walk again. His left thumb was smashed and his hand is in a plaster cast.
Mrs Liu has a titanium rod in her thigh to her knee and her lower right leg is broken and in plaster. She also has a broken right shoulder.
They said they had lost hope and were frustrated but the love of the people who continued to care for them kept them going.