Understanding the Requests of My Daughter-in-law, I Immediately Adjusted
The following story, shared by Mr. Ngô, a 68-year-old man currently living in China, has caught the attention of many people on the 163 website.
Wholeheartedness for the Children
I have a happy family where my wife, children, and I get along well with each other. My wife and I are both government employees. After retiring, we had plenty of free time, so we moved to the city to take care of our grandson, helping our son.
After graduating, our son started working in the city. Before he got married, we saved money to buy him a house on installments. Our plan was to live there when we grow old, take care of ourselves, and help our children. Living in the city is certainly more convenient than in the countryside. It is also easier for someone my age to go to the hospital. I haven’t discussed these thoughts with my daughter-in-law yet, but I have mentioned them to my son.
The house down payment, furniture expenses, and wedding costs amounted to more than 50,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 171.5 million Vietnamese Dong). I let my son handle the monthly mortgage payment as a motivation for him to work harder.
When my wife retired, she went to the city to take care of our grandson. After spending some time there, she told me that everything is expensive in the city, and our son must be under a lot of pressure, especially with the monthly mortgage payment and the cost of raising a child. Moreover, our daughter-in-law has high expectations for our grandson. She wants him to learn various activities such as drawing, playing musical instruments, and skateboarding. The tuition fees for these activities are not insignificant.
At that time, I hadn’t retired yet, so I could only meet my grandson during holidays and weekends. However, due to his heavy school schedule, there were weeks when I couldn’t see him. It was because of this that my son wanted to buy a car. One reason was for the convenience of taking our grandson to school, and the other was for quick trips back to the countryside. After discussing it, I gave my son 50,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 171.5 million Vietnamese Dong) to buy the car.
When my grandson started first grade, my wife moved back to the countryside. I noticed that she wasn’t in good spirits. At first, I thought it was because she had been working hard for our family over the years, but she just said that when we grow old, we should take care of ourselves without relying on our children. I didn’t think too much about what she said.
The Departure of My Wife
Two years ago, we were living quite comfortably. Our son and daughter-in-law rarely came to visit us in the countryside, and everything was peaceful in our home, so we didn’t have any worries.
However, last year, my wife’s health started to deteriorate. After a check-up, we found out that she had a serious illness. She passed away at the end of last year. After settling the funeral arrangements, my son suggested that I come to live in the city for a while, but I declined.
In the past, my wife was always there for me. She was not only my emotional support but also the person I trusted the most. But now, I am left all alone. I feel a great loss, unable to eat properly or sleep well.
Feeling disheartened, I took a bus to my son’s house one day.
When I arrived, I coincidentally met my son on his way back from work. He was delighted to see me and immediately called my daughter-in-law.
Sitting on the sofa, I could hear the sound of my daughter-in-law cooking in the kitchen. My son sat across from me, talking, and my grandson sat beside me. I felt peaceful and happy.
I want to live in the warmth of my family, being close to my loved ones, seeing them every day, and finding happiness in that. After finishing our meal, my son drove me back home. Before leaving, I asked my son for a small favor. After hesitating for a moment, he agreed. I simply requested that he give me a spare house key so that I could bring them some food and vegetables from time to time.
Three Conditions from My Daughter-in-law that Led to the Immediate Cutoff of Financial Support
One day, when my daughter-in-law came home from work and saw me in the kitchen, she was startled. I explained it to her, but she pretended not to hear me when I asked what she wanted to eat.
The atmosphere during dinner became quiet. Afterwards, I don’t know what caused my children to argue, but my daughter-in-law suddenly left, leaving me alone with my son.
It turns out that my daughter-in-law didn’t want me to come over. She said that it was infringing upon her personal freedom. She also demanded three conditions:
- I must inform her before coming to their house.
- I should not use the spare house key without permission.
- I cannot stay overnight.
Hearing these words, I felt completely helpless. I felt extremely uncomfortable. Looking back on how I helped my son, bought him a house, and a car, and now I can only visit with their permission. Since my son bought the car, I realized the pressure he has to face, so I voluntarily supported him with 3,000 Chinese Yuan per month (approximately 10 million Vietnamese Dong). Of course, this also meant that I had to be more frugal with my monthly expenses. I thought my children would appreciate it, but apparently, that was just my own wishful thinking.
I cannot accept my daughter-in-law’s three conditions. I have decided to stop providing financial support to my son and I will not go to their house anymore. I will take care of myself and use that money to enjoy my life.
This content was created for Business Today.