"How come you've been so free all this time? You even have time to think about me, this lone flower in bloom?"
"Don't even mention it, Yaping's mother came. It's so annoying, we just can't stand each other, and in the end I had to give up the territory I had just gained."
"Haha, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies. It's a basic principle of survival of the fittest. Do you really expect to get along with your mother-in-law and achieve a harmonious relationship like the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait? That's impossible."
"I think Siyu and her mother-in-law seem to get along quite well. Last time her mother-in-law came to visit, the two of them even went shopping hand in hand. Didn't you see that?"
"Oh! You just don't understand:"
The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship typically exists in the following forms:
The first type is a distant friendship. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, the farther the better. The younger generation occasionally calls, sends some money, and expresses a token of filial piety, which pleases the mother-in-law. They treat each other with respect, and conflicts are almost nonexistent. Occasionally, they stay for a couple of days, leaving only when they feel annoyed, and both are very restrained, resulting in a happy ending for everyone. Siyu is in this situation. Her mother-in-law has only been here a few days!
The second type is diplomatic relations. Non-interference in each other's internal affairs. This lifestyle often arises between Westernized mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. They understand and tolerate each other, coexisting peacefully despite having their own lifestyles. Major conflicts are unlikely. When have you ever seen American mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law causing discord? They maintain their own diplomatic space and strictly prohibit overstepping boundaries.
The third type is the superior-subordinate relationship. One party completely dominates, while the other completely submits to the organizational structure, obeying orders and commands. In reality, this is often divided by social status. For example, marrying up or down. If you married Jiang Zemin's son, would you still dare to criticize Wang Yeping?
The fourth type is the colleague relationship. It's a relationship that's neither too close nor too distant, without major conflicts, but minor frictions involving personal interests still occur. This type of relationship is quite common.
The fifth type is kinship. The relationship is relatively close, with mutual assistance. However, disagreements may arise on certain key issues. This can easily lead to problems like rats in a bellows.
The sixth type is the mother-daughter relationship. Turning natural enemies into close friends is something not every woman can do. The Korean drama I recently watched, *Miss Mermaid*, is a prime example. The prerequisites are that one woman is exceptionally naive, the other exceptionally intelligent and hardworking, and the mother-in-law herself doesn't have a daughter. This represents a favorable overall environment.
“I’m out of luck. I have a sister-in-law. Although she seems quite reasonable, her mother will never treat me as her daughter. I don’t plan to become her second daughter either; I just hope we can get along peacefully.”
"Then I'll categorize your relationship as the seventh type of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship: a clash of titans. Both are very capable, strong-willed, and unwilling to yield to each other, each wanting to maintain leadership. Little do they know, a family cannot have two masters. There can only be one mistress of the house; any outside intruder will cause the collapse of the family's stable triangular structure."
You're not even the worst off; the eighth type is the relationship between a wicked mother-in-law and a child bride. The mother-in-law is the absolute ruler, and the young daughter-in-law is subservient. This is more likely to occur in families with young, widowed single mothers. The widowed mother believes she has given so much to her family and son that she could never repay her in her next life, and she has absolute control over him. The son pities his mother's widowhood and is grateful for her kindness, so naturally he is obedient and subservient. The mother's word is law; the daughter-in-law either submits or the relationship ends. This is frequently seen in real life.
"One? What you're saying sounds a bit like my mother-in-law. Although she's not a widow, she seems fiercer than an old widow to me. She's not the kind who's glaring and blustering, but she'll make you feel uncomfortable with a smile. You feel like you can't sit or lie down comfortably, like there are always eyes watching you."
"The ninth type is a hostile relationship. It's a life-or-death struggle, a tense standoff, a deep and bitter conflict, a living hell. You mustn't let your relationship with your mother-in-law develop to that point of no return, because basically, that's a dead end—divorce. Another way out is to murder her. Of course, you can't murder her openly. You can make a small talisman and ask a fox spirit to help you, the kind covered in thorns."
"You're awful! I'm an atheist."
"Hmph! You'll become a theist when that happens. To be honest, I'm just puzzled. For hundreds of generations, people lived under the same roof as their mothers-in-law and managed to survive. How come it's become a life-or-death struggle today? In the end, it's still a matter of choice. Before, when there was no choice, people just accepted their fate, hoping their mothers-in-law would pass away sooner rather than later. Now that there are choices, like living separately or getting a divorce, society is in chaos. Everyone talks about wanting freedom and democracy, but I don't think too much democracy and freedom is necessarily a good thing. Right?"
"You brat, you're not even married yet, but you're already spouting off a whole bunch of stuff. You're practically an expert on mother-in-law/daughter-in-law issues."
"That's the advantage of observing from the sidelines. You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're in the mountain yourself. If you have any problems, just come to me, a marriage expert who has never experienced marriage."
Yaping came home unusually early today. He put on an apron, put a chicken in the pressure cooker, and started preparing the vegetables. When Lijuan entered the room following Yaping's instruction to "come home for dinner," a modest meal of one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a soup was already laid out on the table.
"Oh! What's the good news today! Manager Li, are you cooking for us personally? Don't tell me it's our 1000-day anniversary! I didn't prepare anything." Lijuan greeted Yaping with a beaming smile, snuggling against him and showering him with kisses. It had been over a month since her mother-in-law passed away, and Lijuan was gradually letting go of her mother-in-law's shadow. Although she still couldn't help but say "your mother, your mother" occasionally in conversation, her mood had clearly brightened.
"Eat first, I have some good news to tell you later."
"You got another raise?"
"It's no worse than that."
Yaping picked up a piece of braised duck for Lijuan with his chopsticks, saying, "These are the claws you like." He then poured a glass of juice and handed it to Lijuan.
"Why are you being so attentive? You seem like a completely different person. You've been promoted lately, and your temper has gotten worse. It's rare to see you so willingly serving me like this!"
“Juan! I received some good news from my sister today that is not good for the country but good for the people.”
"What news?"
"My brother-in-law's boss is secretly raising funds to start his own factory. Their factory is undergoing restructuring, right? Several of the managers want to buy up the old equipment and then take on freelance work, using their old clients and relationships—guaranteed profit. They approached my brother-in-law, wanting him to invest. It's like they're eyeing their own people for a share of the profits. One share is 200,000 yuan, with a 20% annual interest rate. Don't you think that's a good thing?"
"Is there really such a good deal? A 20% interest rate is too high! You might as well get a bank loan. Bank loans don't require such high interest rates."
"Why are you so stubborn? Isn't this benefiting our own people? We're all in the same circle, so we can make money together. Going to the bank is just supporting the bank and the country. Besides, bank loans are very strict; they require project plans and collateral. Their project is being done privately and can't be exposed. Otherwise, it would be obvious they're embezzling from the country to enrich themselves."
"Why are you telling me this? To show off that your sister and brother-in-law are exceptionally wealthy?"
"You still don't understand? What are your thoughts?"
“I don’t have any particular thoughts. I just think your sister and brother-in-law are quite fat, but they’re not very generous to you. It seems like they only gave you 1,000 yuan as a wedding gift when we got married.”
"So you're a liberal arts student! It's so hard to explain this to you. If they had that kind of money, why would they be telling me? They just can't raise it!"
"What do you mean? Get to the point." Lijuan looked at Yaping warily.
“My sister didn’t want to miss this opportunity. She asked my mom and us to pool together 200,000 yuan. Think about it! The interest on 200,000 yuan is 40,000 yuan a year. If we split it, we’ll all have our year-end bonuses.”
“Yaping, let me tell you, I’m not getting involved in this. This is your family’s business. They can ask their local relatives for help, but don’t come to us.”
"Why? Everyone would want to take such a good thing. My mom only asked us first because we're all family."
“I have to think for a long time about everything your mother says. Your mother is so stingy here, she even picks out the last items from the market when she buys vegetables, how could she scrape together so much money? This shows that your mother is only stingy with us. If she had money, why didn't she give it all to you when you got married? You are her only son. At least it shows that she cares more about Guanhua than you. Whenever Guanhua asks for money, she is busy taking it out, and she even tries to get it from us. We don't have any.”
"Honestly! My mom, Guanhua, and us, even though we pooled our money, it's all separate. She's not giving it to Guanhua, why are you making such a fuss about this?"
"Yaping, firstly, we don't have any money. Secondly, we did give money to Guanhua, explaining it was for pooling funds, but what proof do we have? Should we issue one receipt for the 200,000 yuan, or separate receipts for each party? What if we can't get it back later?"
"Lijuan! Honestly! We're all family, how can you not trust us? We agreed to pool our resources, so we'll pool them. Who's trying to take advantage of you? If you can't even trust my mom and my sister, who can you trust?"
"Wait! You see yourselves as one family, and your family's things can be mixed together. But in my eyes, your mother is your mother, your sister is your sister, and I am me. These are three different families. Don't always try to put everything in one pot. If your family is having any difficulties, helping out is the right thing to do. This is about financing, about making money. I have the freedom to earn or not earn. In business, it's not about who you can trust or not. I actually think you can't do business with your own people; if something goes wrong, you'll lose face."
"You're really cautious!" Yaping laughed. "Well then, if you don't trust them, how about I tell them to keep the 200,000 receipt with you? You treat them like outsiders, but they treat you like family. I believe they won't mind."
"Why do you act like you've already made up your mind? Don't you know we're broke? You make 10,000 a month, and I only make a little over 4,000 a month in total. Don't you realize that half of your 10,000 isn't paid out until the end of the year, and even then, it depends on your performance. Whether you get it or not is another matter. We still have a mortgage to pay, right? Gas, water, electricity, phone, internet, transportation, property management, insurance—that's all my salary gone. Food, drinks, entertainment, clothes, social obligations—your salary is all gone too. We haven't even bought any luxury goods, haven't traveled abroad, and we haven't saved anything. Where am I supposed to get money for you?! By the way! How much have your mom and sister already scraped together?"
"They seem to have raised 80,000, but they still need 120,000."
"Seriously! Give me a break. Turns out you raised our funds. You think you're some new rich kid? Giving me 120,000 just like that? You must have been bragging to your family, 'That 120,000 is my annual salary...' Pshaw, I haven't even seen a penny of that money! I think the gap is too big, I suggest you give up."