An Unexpected Visit to My Mother-in-Law: Overhearing the Neighbor’s Whisper that Stirred My Emotions

My husband is three years older than me, and he is an only child. After we got married, we moved to the city and rented a room while looking for jobs, as the wages back in our hometown were too low.

Every month, we send a sum of money to my mother-in-law to cover her living expenses, as she is getting on in years and doesn’t earn much from her work.

Initially, life in the city was challenging for us. Due to our low educational background, we could only find work as waitstaff in restaurants. However, we persevered and continued to study, eventually landing better jobs. With our increased income, our lives improved significantly.

After getting married, my husband and I decided to move to the city for better job opportunities. (Illustration)

In the past, my husband and I were so focused on work and saving money that we rarely visited my mother-in-law, only going back once a year during the Lunar New Year holiday. Whenever we called home, my mother-in-law would only share good news, so we felt assured that she was doing well.

This year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, my husband’s company organized a four-day trip. However, as we hadn’t been back to our hometown since the beginning of the year, my husband decided to use this opportunity to visit his mother instead. I agreed and took a few days off from work to accompany him. We wanted to surprise my mother-in-law, so we didn’t inform her of our visit beforehand.

After a long journey, we finally arrived at her house. From a distance, I could see my mother-in-law working in the fields, and I hurried over to call her home to rest. But as I approached, I paused for a moment, taken aback by how much she had changed. She had lost a significant amount of weight since the last time we saw her during the Tet holiday.

During our meal that day, I expressed my concern, and she replied:

– I’ve been having trouble sleeping and haven’t had much of an appetite lately, so I’ve lost some weight. It’s nothing to worry about.

I suggested taking her to the hospital for a check-up, but she waved off the idea, insisting that she knew her body well and that I shouldn’t worry.

Not long ago, we took a leave of absence to visit my mother-in-law. (Illustration)

Our short visit came to an end, and my husband and I had to return to the city. As we stood waiting for the bus at the edge of the village, we ran into our aunt, who lived next door to my mother-in-law.

– Are you two heading back to the city already?

She asked, and we smiled in response. But as we began to walk away, she called out to us again:

– I want to tell you something, but please don’t think I’m meddling. You should encourage your mother to eat more. She works tirelessly from morning till night, but her meals are so simple—just rice, soup, and a few pickled vegetables or eggs with fish sauce.

The aunt asked casually if her children didn’t send her money, to which she replied that they did, but she didn’t want to spend it. She wanted to save it for us to buy a house. However, her frugal eating habits were not the right way to save money. Eating like that wouldn’t give her the energy she needed, and she might end up getting sick.

Hearing these words, I felt a lump in my throat. Thinking of my mother-in-law’s kindness and selflessness, my husband and I resolved to work even harder to buy a house sooner and bring my mother-in-law to live with us.