"Ah, I'm finally done."
Mrs. Taniguchi rubbed her shoulders, but looking at a table with more than a hundred New Year's cards and the fruits of her hard work, her face was filled with joy.
There is no way. In the final analysis, when it comes to New Year's cards, it is still because Japanese people have too little interaction with each other on weekdays.
The living habit of "chickens and dogs hear each other and never interact until death" makes receiving a greeting card with each other's greetings at the end of the year a matter worthy of attention.
Over the past year, Japanese people have been using these small greeting cards to maintain the distant kinship between their seven aunts and eight aunts, as well as a number of social relationships that cannot be reached with eight poles.
It would be rude to receive a greeting card from someone else but not send it to them yourself.
If you miss someone or don't send it to someone because you find it troublesome, it will be even more embarrassing if you have a chance to meet.
Moreover, these New Year greeting cards must be written and sent before December 28 every year.
Because Japan Post Office no longer guarantees that recipients will receive greeting cards sent before the New Year.
In short, Mrs. Taniguchi did not dare to neglect the most important human task at the end of the year. She began to sort out the social relationships at home as early as Christmas Eve and started writing in different terms.
Although it was just a formal greeting, she was still meticulous.
It’s only December 26th, and the most difficult part has been completed.
Tomorrow is also the weekend. Just send these letters to the post office early tomorrow morning. It's not too late and it will definitely not delay things.
Director Taniguchi also sees his wife's contribution and hard work and thinks about it in his heart.
So he sat in the living room and watched, flipping through the newspaper, and found that his wife had finally completed her annual "great achievements."
Not only did he praise her intelligently, but he also thoughtfully brought hot tea and oranges to comfort his wife.
"Thank you for your hard work. Come and take a rest. How about I rub your shoulders?"
The heart-warming behavior, coupled with such warm words, made Mrs. Taniguchi’s eyes sparkle with joy.
However, she was happy. While clearing away the New Year greetings on the table, Mrs. Taniguchi was habitually picky. This may be a common problem among all women in the world.
"Ouch, why are you so attentive all of a sudden? Did you do something extraordinary?"
Director Taniguchi knew about his wife's problems and didn't mind, "What can I do to excess? I don't gamble, I don't have an affair, and I don't have any debts. I come home after get off work every day, and I don't have any plans to go out on weekends. You Is there anything else to be suspicious of? I just feel that You have been working very hard recently. As the end of the year approaches, you have a lot of trivial matters and housework. You have written so many New Year greetings for two days in a row. My shoulders must be uncomfortable. I deal with documents in the office every day, and I know this best. Taste..."
With that said, Director Taniguchi sat behind his wife and rubbed Mrs. Taniguchi's stiff shoulders and back.
While enjoying the comfortable massage, Mrs. Taniguchi narrowed her eyes in happiness, but at the same time, she also felt somewhat sad in her heart.
This was because the couple hadn't gotten along so warmly for a long time, and also because she could hear the frustration in her husband's words.
Yes, if a Japanese man is well-fed at work, he will spend an hour or two with his colleagues and boss before going home after get off work.
My husband no longer participates in such activities at all. It can only be said that he has really given up on promotion.
However, the difference from the past is that due to the improvement of her family's living conditions and the changes in the social environment and social atmosphere, Mrs. Taniguchi's requirements for her husband have also changed. Even she herself is not aware of this.
If she had heard her husband say such words in the past, she would probably get angry in her heart, and she would definitely scold her husband for being hopeless, not striving to make progress, and not knowing how to please his boss.
But now she is not dissatisfied at all. She only feels that her husband is working hard and that her husband's boss is short-sighted, which is why Director Taniguchi, a kind and hard-working model employee, has been benched.
"Husband, you are working very hard too. I have always relied on you to support the family. It is really difficult for you."
"Ah...it's nothing. What's wrong with you? You said this all of a sudden. I know I may be a bit useless. I haven't been promoted to section chief for so many years. I really feel wronged to you, but I will try my best. And I still do what I can to the best of my ability..."
"No, no, how could I mean that? I'm serious. Take the matter of me writing New Year's greetings as an example. In just two days and more than a hundred copies, I felt so tired that my back ached and I couldn't bear it. But you You have to deal with more documents than these every day in the company, right? When I think of you working so hard every day and persisting for so many years, you feel amazing.”
"Haha, thank you for the compliment, but to be honest, I feel a little ashamed. Because everyone works like this. In fact, it's not a big deal."
"You can't say that. I know best how diligent and responsible you are at work. There are never mistakes in the documents you handle. You have a completely different work attitude from those young people. You are 100% committed to your work. This is a very remarkable thing. Your company is really lucky to have such a responsible employee. It’s just that they are too stupid to realize this. Sooner or later, they will regret not doing so. You were promoted to an important position.”
Listening to his wife's increasingly partial compliments, Director Taniguchi also felt a rare happiness, so much so that he blushed a little.
"Oh, that's enough. You feel embarrassed to say it. But I'm still very happy. It seems that in your heart, I am finally no longer a waste."
"What are you talking about? Husband, no one would say that to me. Don't say such things again. To be honest with you, I have figured it out a long time ago. I shouldn't ask you to find a way to get promoted. Now I Our life is quite satisfying. But if you get a promotion, I’m afraid I’ll be worried.”
"Ah? This...why is this?"
Director Taniguchi could tell that what his wife said was not a nice polite word, but that she really thought about it, which was naturally strange.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Taniguchi’s reason was quite good.
"Needless to say, when you become a section chief, whether you like it or not, you will have more social activities and social interactions. You will inevitably have to go to places with women, and drinking every day is not good for your health. You know that building 59C The Tanaka family in the building, Mrs. Tanaka is now She divorced her husband. Because her husband was a section manager at a dairy company, he said he would accompany his clients to Snake House every day, but he ended up having an affair with a wild woman and gave birth to an illegitimate child. Now he is the section manager. I am determined to abandon my wife and children. I heard that in addition to the house He, his son and a daughter were all left to Mrs. Tanaka, and she only had 3 million yen in cash. The eldest of the two children was only in junior high school, and Mrs. Tanaka would have a hard time in the future. The Kurokawa family, just a few days ago, Mr. Kurokawa was He went to the hospital for a check-up due to physical discomfort, and unexpectedly found out that he had cirrhosis of the liver. The doctor said that it was because he stayed up late every day and drank every day to compensate his clients and bosses. Mrs. Kurokawa now sheds tears when she talks about this matter, and she regrets it no matter how much she does. It's too late..."
When Director Taniguchi heard such shocking things, he couldn't help but feel sad for a moment.
This kind of thing sounds very far away, but in fact it happens around us every day, and it is completely devastating to the family.
It would be a tragedy for any family if something like this happens.
What's especially strange is that, I don't know when, everyone's tolerance for this kind of thing suddenly became high, and no one really cares about this kind of tragedy around them anymore.
In other words, everyone's attention is no longer on these things, but on stocks and houses.
I really don’t know what’s wrong with today’s society. Everyone’s income has indeed increased, but people are becoming more and more indifferent.
Fortunately, I...
"Husband, why don't you say anything? Is there anything wrong with your body?"
Since she didn't hear her husband's response for a long time, Mrs. Taniguchi couldn't help but ask more questions.
Director Taniguchi responded quickly.
"No, no. My health is very good. I just checked in the middle of the year and everything is normal." "That's good. Seriously, husband, you must always be as energetic as you are now. I Nowadays, I feel more and more that promotion and salary increase are not that important, as long as I am healthy and my family can be happy together. . It’s good for our family to be like this. Both Xingyu and Sachiko have grown up healthily. Although they didn’t go to any famous schools, isn’t it enough for our Xingyu to have a good job? Although Sachiko is still a little willful and squeamish, fortunately she is a girl and does not have to support herself like Yukiyu. Come to a family. If I can find a good home, I will feel relieved when I get married. Besides, my husband has made so much money from stock trading. . Especially during this stock market crash, we escaped safely, all because of your wisdom and timely withdrawal of money. No one is laughing at me. Many of them are losing money. No one is exception. They all admire your wisdom in stock trading and ask me if you have any unique skills. So husband, you are already very good compared to others. , There is really no need to force ourselves anymore. We can be as happy as we are now.”
His wife said such considerate words today, which really surprised Director Taniguchi and was deeply moved.
He never expected that his wife, who was always picky about him, always envious of other people's homes, and loved to compare everything in other people's homes with her own, would be so virtuous today, and she would actually take the initiative to persuade him not to compare with others.
He didn't know how to express his excitement for a while. After thinking about it, he could only say, "Honey, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"Husband, you are too polite. But if you really want to thank me, you can use a little more force. Your technique is very professional."
"Really?" Director Taniguchi responded with a little more force.
At the same time, I didn’t forget to report the good news to my wife.
"Ah, by the way, I have something else to tell you. After President Ning came back, he called me the day before yesterday and told me that I could buy some more stocks. He also suggested that I buy a real estate company and just hold on to it. , and also recommended Mitsubishi Estate to me.”
"Oh, really? Then did you do what President Ning said?" Mrs. Taniguchi asked.
"Of course, I used all the 10 million yen I had saved to buy Mitsubishi Estate, and guess what? Chairman Ning is really amazing. The price went up as soon as I bought it. Now it's 1,134 It only takes two days. So as for the money, we may be able to gain more in the future, and our life may be more relaxed.”
"Sure enough, this is great. Husband, you are really good."
"Haha, it's not me, but Chairman Ning who is. After all, it was the stock he recommended to me. I just bought it as he said."
Needless to say, Director Taniguchi’s good news made Mrs. Taniguchi feel better, and she naturally had the desire to spend money.
"Anyway, it's good to make money anyway. Ah, by the way, if that's the case, then let's buy her a CD player that Sachiko wants. Although she likes to spend money randomly, she quickly gave it to us I spent a million yen carelessly, but now I see something I really like. I don’t have the money to buy it, which is really annoying, but after all, it’s the New Year, and she likes to listen to pop music and follow fashion, so I think it’s better to give her one. If a girl as young as her is always greedy. What do you think would hurt someone else’s self-esteem? ”
"I have no objection. If you say buy it, then buy it for her. Anyway, you are the finance minister of our family..."
"What are you talking about? I don't admit it. I don't have the money for your stock trading. I said, the money to buy gifts for Sachiko must come from your account. Who made you make money..."
"Okay, I'll do as you say, head office."
Director Taniguchi is absolutely easy to talk to, and he has no intention of getting into an argument with the fussy Mrs. Taniguchi.
In his opinion, this is a trivial matter. It is the joint property of husband and wife anyway, as long as the wife is happy.
Unexpectedly, as they were planning, their daughter Sachiko actually bought a CD player and happily brought it home.
"Dad, Mom, you are so close. Did I come back too early? Sorry to disturb you."
When Sachiko entered the house, she happened to see Director Taniguchi massaging Mrs. Taniguchi's back, and couldn't help but make fun of her parents.
In front of their daughter, it was obviously inappropriate for the Taniguchi couple to continue to relax like no one else.
They were even a little embarrassed about it.
Director Taniguchi immediately stopped massaging his wife, and Mrs. Taniguchi also got off the sofa where she was lying. Then she saw a CD player packaging box held high in Sachiko's hand.
"Ah, you have already bought it?"
"Yes, I bought it."
“Where did the money come from?”
Mrs. Taniguchi was filled with anxiety. Her daughter had bought such an expensive thing for no reason. Even a mother would be worried.
"I earned it from working. You don't give me money."
"Are you working? Where did you go to work?"
"The bookstore where my brother works part-time. Chairman Ning's Huibundang Bookstore. The store manager, Ms. Kagawa, is also my father's colleague."
Fortunately, her daughter's reply reassured Mrs. Taniguchi.
After all, if it were Hui Wentang, there would be no problem.
Because even if my daughter wanted to lie, she would not be stupid enough to tell such a lie that could be easily exposed.
Mrs. Taniguchi's only worry now is that her daughter can't do anything and may cause trouble to others.
"You are such a willful child. Why don't you tell your family?"
"What are you talking about? You must have said that I can't do it and won't let me go."
Her daughter's words really spoke to Mrs. Taniguchi's thoughts, and she changed the topic a little embarrassed.
"Then you went, how did you do? Is it easy to work part-time?"
"Frankly speaking, it is a bit hard. Now I know that making money is not easy. Especially when I see other people in the store working so hard, I seem to understand nothing in comparison."
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"It's good to have such an understanding. Congratulations. Anyway, Sachiko also made money on her own and bought herself the gifts she wanted. This is a great progress." Director Taniguchi also said Come and encourage your daughter.
But they didn't expect that an even more unexpected scene would appear.
Their daughter, Sachiko Taniguchi, actually shook her head, "No, I didn't buy this for myself, I bought it for my mother."
With that said, Sachiko handed the CD player to Mrs. Taniguchi, "Mom, I know that doing housework every day is boring for you, and there is no TV in the kitchen, so, Mom, please accept it, you need this more than me."
At this moment, Mrs. Taniguchi covered her mouth in surprise and was stunned for a long time before she realized that she was not dreaming and that her daughter had really grown up.
"Oh, no, no, Sachiko, I can't have it. This is the money you earned yourself, and it is also the thing you want most. I was discussing with my father just now and wanted to buy one for you..."
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However, Sachiko was extremely insistent, "Don't be like this, mom, this is my first salary, just accept it. This is what I want to fulfill most."
Tears unknowingly moistened her eyes. Mrs. Taniguchi became more and more sure of one thing: her life was happy enough. (End of chapter)