However, no one is born wanting to be a member of the “poor but well-fed” group. Behind every member of this group, there is their own helplessness.
Before becoming a member of the “poor but well-fed” group, Fang Sisi used to be someone who barely made ends meet. She used to rent a dormitory room provided by the company, a four-bedroom apartment with poor sound insulation. In addition, she was preparing for exams and was constantly disturbed, which made her a bit mentally exhausted. Her friends at the time advised her to rent another place. However, being barely able to make ends meet, she had no choice but to endure.
But life often adds insult to injury. One time, there was a fire in the apartment above hers, and the fire department came to extinguish it. As a result, her dormitory downstairs was also affected, and the entire room was filled with water.
“When I returned home from work that night, all my luggage and books were soaked in water, and everything was ruined.” At that moment, she experienced what it meant to be “homeless.” She thought to herself, “I’ve been living in this city for eight or nine years, and there are so many brightly lit houses, but not a single one is my own.” In that instant, she wished to have her own house.
However, these experiences were not enough to make Fang Sisi firmly decide to become a member of the “poor but well-fed” group by saving money to buy a house.
After all, the belief of not being able to afford a house had deeply rooted in her mind. The high housing prices and low wages made it seem like no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t afford a house in this city. It was better to seek compensation through retaliatory consumption for a sense of pleasure.
What truly motivated her was the arguments with her parents.
She was very independent and didn’t want to burden her parents in any way. From graduation until now, she had never taken a single penny from her family, even during the time when her dormitory was flooded and she had nowhere to go, she didn’t tell her parents.
At the same time, her relationship with her parents was also tense. She could never forget the time when her mother got angry and told her to “get out of the house.” Additionally, her parents ran a business, and the entire house was renovated to look like a hotel. In that big house, there wasn’t a single room for her, and she slept in the living room for many years.
During a holiday, their arguments escalated. Fang Sisi originally wanted to reconcile with her parents, but when she returned home, her mother was busy all day, cooking, washing dishes, and entertaining guests. Maybe due to fatigue, they started arguing again in the evening, and her mother said hurtful words, “This is my house. If you’re not happy, just leave. I’ve never seen someone like you, not getting married or achieving anything at your age.”
That night, she packed her luggage and left home again. After that day, the Fang Sisi who used to barely make ends meet disappeared, and she transformed into the “poor but well-fed” Fang Sisi.
