This article is a fictional novel, the pictures are all network pictures, and the names of people and places are all apocryphal.
1
My name is Li Hua, I am 36 years old, and I am a middle-level manager of a state-owned enterprise.
I have a stable job and a monthly income of 12,000, which is not particularly high in the northern city, but it is enough for me to live a simple and comfortable life.
My parents are retired teachers and have always had high hopes for me, wanting me to achieve more.
However, my heart yearns for a simple and authentic life, and I hope that one day I can meet a partner who can understand me and support my lifestyle.
Last year, when I was 35 years old, I met Zhang Jing – a lively and cheerful girl from Shanghai – at a party organized by an old classmate.
Her frankness and unpretentiousness deeply attracted me, and after several times of getting along, we had a deep understanding and tacit understanding.
Soon after, we both decided to get married, which was a welcome change in the eyes of my parents, who thought I could finally move on to another phase of my life.
Soon after we got married, a sudden storm disrupted our peaceful lives.
My mother-in-law approached us, and she made an unbelievable request: she said that Li Qiang, my younger brother, was ready to start a business and needed 500,000 yuan as start-up capital.
The mother-in-law's tone was full of anticipation, as if the 500,000 yuan was just a small amount of money for me.
I looked at Zhang Jing and could feel the dissatisfaction in her eyes.
After all, this means that we not only have to work hard at work, but also have to take on the burden of meeting our mother-in-law's various requirements.
This incident has thrown our lives into embarrassment.
Zhang Jing and I have a combined salary of about 30,000 yuan a month, and our life is considered well-off, but it is by no means rich.
We also have our own plans, we want to save money to buy a house, and we also have the cost of our children's education to consider.
Half a million is not a small amount for us.
That night, Zhang Jing and I sat in the living room, discussing the matter over and over again.
Our mood was very low, Zhang Jing was even a little excited, she said: "This is a completely unreasonable request, how can we come up with so much money to support Li Qiang's entrepreneurial plan?" Don't they know that we also have our own difficulties and plans? ”
I sighed deeply, my feelings were extremely complicated, feeling both helpless and a little angry, and more apologetic to Zhang Jing.
After all, this kind of thing affects our lives and also puts pressure on her.
In the face of such a situation, I know that Zhang Jing cannot be left alone.
I think back to my mother-in-law's expectations and meticulous care, and my heart is very struggling.
I love my family, but I can't embarrass my lover either.
After some careful consideration, we decided to talk to our mother-in-law first to explain our current financial situation, as well as our plans and concerns for the future.
We want her to understand that while we are happy to support our families, we also have our own lives to consider.
2
When the weekend came, Zhang Jing and I went to visit my mother-in-law as planned, hoping to have a good talk with her and settle the dispute over money some time ago.
Who knows, our intentions have been exchanged for a quarrel.
The trigger for the incident was that Zhang Jing decided to transfer 8,000 yuan from my account as a birthday gift on my mother-in-law's birthday.
She believes that even if there are some misunderstandings between them, such gifts can show our filial piety and respect.
When I got home from work, I found that the situation was completely different from the reconciliation scene I had expected.
Zhang Jing's face was red, and she angrily told me what had happened.
It turned out that after her mother-in-law received a birthday red envelope of 8,000 yuan, she not only did not feel happy, but questioned that the money was too little, thinking that it was disrespectful to her.
This made Zhang Jing feel very angry and hurt, and she and her mother-in-law had a big fight over it.
When I heard this, I had mixed feelings.
I understand Zhang Jing's feelings, her intentions are misunderstood, and everyone will feel angry and insulted when she is treated like this.
I decided to go to my mother-in-law in person, hoping to explain that it was just a birthday gift and not money to fund a business.
Our respect and love for her is genuine, and we hope she understands our good intentions.
I went to my mother-in-law's house with great sincerity, hoping to settle this unnecessary dispute.
However, things turned out more than I expected.
I tried to explain that the 8,000 yuan was just a piece of Zhang Jing's heart for her birthday, hoping to convey our gratitude and respect.
But my mother-in-law seems to have formed her own opinion, insisting that the 8,000 yuan is too little, and our approach seems to despise her.
At my mother-in-law's house, we had another long discussion.
I tried to explain from different angles, hoping to get my mother-in-law to understand our predicament and position, but the conversation always seemed to be at an impasse.
I felt very helpless, and in the midst of such a stalemate, I realized that there might not be any words that could change my mother-in-law's mind.
Our stubborn arguments made the air heavier and heavier, and I felt nothing but a deep sense of exhaustion and powerlessness.
3
Just as my mother-in-law and I were at her home, trying to sort out this seemingly unsolvable contradiction, Zhang Jing was too excited and suddenly had health problems.
Before I could properly explain the intentions and hardships behind the 8,000 yuan red envelope, I received a call from a neighbor saying that Zhang Jing had fainted and had been rushed to the Eastern District Hospital not far from our home.
I was shocked, immediately put aside the dispute with my mother-in-law, and hurried to the hospital.
When I rushed to the hospital and saw Zhang Jing who had been pushed into the emergency room, my heart was like a knife.
Her face was pale, and everything happened too suddenly, and I blamed myself for not realizing Zhang Jing's emotional impact on this conflict earlier.
I realized that this family conflict could have been resolved through timely and effective communication, but it was pushed to a climax again and again because of the stubbornness and refusal of both of us to give in.
For the next few days, I stayed with Zhang Jing in the hospital and took care of her.
During this period, the mother-in-law also came to the hospital, and when she saw her daughter lying on the hospital bed, she had tears in her eyes and looked very remorseful.
This incident made her realize that she valued her belongings too much and neglected the feelings and understanding between family members.
In the ward, we had an in-depth exchange, said all the words in our hearts, and our misunderstandings and conflicts were resolved.
A few days later, Zhang Jing's health recovered, and although the doctor suggested that she would need some time to recuperate, she finally got through the difficulties.
This incident not only strengthened the relationship between Zhang Jing and me, and made each other understand and support each other, but also made my mother-in-law realize her mistake.
Zhang Jing also firmly believes that she will take good care of her health, for this family, for our future.
On the way home, I pondered the lessons of this family conflict.
No matter how difficult and misunderstood, as long as we are willing to sit down and communicate, we can find a way to solve the problem.
At the same time, we also realize that the health and emotions of our family need to be maintained and cherished together.
Although this training was difficult, our family found a way to reconciliation from the conflict.
In the face of life's challenges, we are more interdependent and support each other to move forward together.
This story is purely fictional, the names and events in the story are fictional, and the purpose of using place names is only for the purpose of describing the plot and making it easy to read and understand.