National Tide 1980.

"Ah, I'm finally done."

Mrs. Taniguchi rubbed her shoulders, but looking at the table full of more than a hundred greeting cards and the results of her hard work, her face was filled with joy.

There is no way around it. After all, when it comes to New Year's cards, it is because Japanese people have too little interaction with each other on a daily basis.

The living habit of "knowing each other's chickens and dogs but never interacting with each other until death" makes receiving a greeting card with greetings from others at the end of the year a very important thing.

As the year goes by, the Japanese use these small greeting cards to maintain the relationships with distant relatives such as aunts and uncles, as well as some social relationships that are not even remotely related.

It is very rude if you receive a greeting card from someone else and don't send it back to them.

If you miss someone or don't bother to send it to someone, it will be even more awkward if you have the chance to meet them.

Moreover, these New Year greetings must be written and sent out before December 12th of each 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 this most important social 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 wordings.

Although it was just a formal greeting, she was still meticulous.

It’s only December 12th now, and we’ve already completed the most difficult part.

Tomorrow is also the weekend. As long as we send these letters to the post office early tomorrow morning, it is not too late and will definitely not delay anything.

Director Taniguchi sees his wife's contributions and hard work and keeps them in mind.

So as he sat in the living room, watching and flipping through the newspaper, he discovered that his wife had finally completed her annual "great achievement".

Not only did he tactfully give compliments, but he also considerately brought hot tea and oranges to comfort his wife.

"You've worked hard. Come and take a break. How about I give you a shoulder massage?"

This heartwarming behavior, coupled with these equally warm words, made Mrs. Taniguchi's eyes sparkle with joy.

However, although she was happy, Mrs. Taniguchi was habitually picky while tidying up the New Year's cards on the table. This may be a common problem among all women in the world.

"Oh my, why are you so attentive all of a sudden? Did you do something out of the ordinary?"

Director Taniguchi knew his wife's problem and didn't mind. "What can I do that's out of line? I don't gamble, I don't cheat, and I don't owe any debts. I come home after get off work every day and I don't have any plans to go out on weekends. What else do you have to suspect? I just think you've been very busy recently. It's the end of the year and there are a lot of trivial things to do, and the housework is heavy. You've written so many New Year's greetings in two consecutive days. You must be uncomfortable in your shoulders. I deal with documents in the office every day, and I know this feeling best..."

As he spoke, Director Taniguchi sat behind his wife and began to rub Mrs. Taniguchi's stiff shoulders and back.

While enjoying the comfortable massage, Mrs. Taniguchi squinted her eyes with happiness, but at the same time she felt a little sad in her heart.

This was because the couple had not had such a warm time together for a long time, and also because she could hear some frustration in her husband's words.

Yes, if a Japanese man is successful in the workplace, he will spend an hour or two with his colleagues and superiors before going home after get off work every day.

My husband doesn’t participate in this kind of activity at all now. I can only say that he has really given up on getting a promotion.

However, unlike in the past, Mrs. Taniguchi's requirements for her husband have changed because of the improvement of her family's living conditions and the changes in the social environment and social customs, which she herself is not aware of.

In the past, if she heard her husband say such words, she would probably be furious from the bottom of her heart and would definitely scold her husband for being useless, not striving for progress, and not knowing how to curry favor with his superiors.

But now she has no dissatisfaction at all. She just thinks that her husband is working too hard and that her husband's boss is blind, which is why he let Director Taniguchi, such a kind and hardworking model employee, sit on the bench.

"Hubby, you've been working hard too. You've been the only one supporting the family. It's really hard for you."

"Ah... it's nothing. What's wrong with you? Why are you saying that all of a sudden? I know I might be a little useless. I haven't been promoted to section chief in all these years. I'm sorry for you. But I will work hard for it, and I will do my best to..."

"No, no, how could I mean that. I'm serious. Take the New Year's greetings I wrote for example. It only took two days and I wrote over a hundred of them. I was so tired that my back and waist ached. But you have to deal with more documents than that every day in the company, right? When I think about how you're such a hard worker every day and have persisted for so many years, I feel that you're amazing."

"Haha, thank you for the compliment, but to be honest, I feel a little ashamed. Because everyone works like this. It's really no big deal."

"You can't say that. I know how hard-working and responsible you are. There has never been a mistake in the documents you have handled. Your work attitude is completely different from those young people. You are 100% dedicated to your work, which is a very remarkable thing. Your company is lucky to have a responsible employee like you, but they are too stupid to realize this. Sooner or later, they will regret not promoting you to an important position."

Listening to his wife's increasingly biased praise, Director Taniguchi also felt a rare happiness, so much so that he even blushed a little.

"Oh, that's enough. I feel a little embarrassed for you to say that. 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? How can anyone say that about themselves? Please don't say such things again. To be honest, I have already figured it out. I shouldn't have asked you to find a way to get a promotion. I am very satisfied with our life now. On the contrary, if you get a promotion, I'm afraid I will be worried."

"Ah? Why... why is this?"

Director Taniguchi could tell that what his wife said was not just a nice compliment, but that she really meant it, so he naturally felt strange.

I didn't expect Mrs. Taniguchi's reasons were quite convincing.

"Needless to say, when you become a section chief, whether you like it or not, you will have more social engagements and interactions. You will inevitably have to go to places with women, and drinking every day is not good for your health. You know the Tanaka family in the building 59C, Mrs. Tanaka has divorced her husband now. It was because her husband was a section chief of a milk company, and he said every day that he would accompany clients to Snack Bar, but he ended up having an affair with a wild woman and had an illegitimate child outside. Now Section Chief Tanaka has made up his mind to abandon his wife and children. I heard that in addition to the house and a son and a daughter, he left everything to Mrs. Tanaka, and only left her 61 million yen in cash. With such a small amount of money, the eldest of the two children is only in junior high school. Mrs. Tanaka will have a hard time in the future. And there is the Kurokawa family in B. Just a few days ago, Mr. Kurokawa went to the hospital for a check-up because he was not feeling well, and he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. The doctor said that it was because he stayed up late every day and drank every day for clients and superiors. Mrs. Kurokawa burst into tears when she talked about this matter now, and it is too late to regret it..."

When Director Taniguchi heard such a shocking thing, he couldn't help feeling sad for a moment.

This kind of thing sounds far away, but it actually happens around us every day and is completely devastating to families.

No matter which family it is, it would be a tragedy if such a thing happened.

What is particularly strange is that, since some time ago, everyone’s tolerance for this kind of thing has suddenly increased, and no one really cares about this kind of tragedy around them anymore.

Or it can be said that people'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’s hearts are becoming more and more indifferent.

Fortunately, I...

"Hubby, why don't you say anything? Is there anything wrong with your body?"

Mrs. Taniguchi couldn't help but ask more because she didn't hear any response from her husband for a long time.

Director Taniguchi responded quickly.

"No, no. I'm in good health. I just had a check-up in the middle of the year, and everything is normal." "That's good. To be honest, husband, you must always be as energetic as you are now. I now feel more and more that promotion and salary increase are not that important. It's better to be healthy and have a happy family. Just like our family is now, it's good. Xingyou and Sachiko have grown up healthily. Although they didn't go to any famous schools, doesn't Xingyou have a good job? That's enough, right? Although Sachiko is still a little willful and spoiled, she is a girl. She doesn't have to be like Xingyou. I have been supporting a family by myself. If I can find a good home, I will feel relieved when I get married. What's more, you have made so much money from stock trading. Our family's current financial strength is actually not less than that of the section chief's family. Especially this stock market crash, we escaped safely, all thanks to your wisdom and timely withdrawal of money. Now none of the wives in the neighborhood laugh at me. Many of them are losing money, and without exception, they all sigh at your wisdom in stock trading and ask me if you have any unique tricks. So compared with others, you are already very good, there is really no need to force yourself. We should just be happy like we are now."

Director Taniguchi was really surprised and deeply moved by his wife's considerate words today.

He never expected that his wife, who had always been so picky about him, always envious of other people's families and liked to compare everything in other people's families with his own family, would be so virtuous today and would actually take the initiative to persuade him not to compare himself with others.

He didn't know how to express his excitement for a moment, so he thought for a while and said, "Thank you, honey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"Honey, you're so polite. But if you really want to thank me, you could use a little more force. Your technique is very professional."

"Really?" Director Taniguchi responded and added a little more force.

At the same time, I did not forget to report the good news to my wife.

"Oh, by the way, I have something else to tell you. After Chairman 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 hold on to it, and he also recommended Mitsubishi Estate to me."

"Oh, really? Then did you do as President Ning said?" asked Mrs. Taniguchi.

"Of course, I used the 10 million yen I saved to buy Mitsubishi Estate, and guess what? Chairman Ning is really amazing. It went up in value right after I bought it. Now it's 11.34 million in just two days. So as for the money, we may be able to get more in the future, and we may be able to live a more comfortable life."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Sure enough, this is great. Honey, you are awesome."

"Haha, it's not me who's good, it's President Ning who's good. After all, he was the one who recommended the stocks to me. I just bought them according to what he said."

Needless to say, Director Taniguchi's good news put Mrs. Taniguchi in a better mood, and naturally she felt the desire to spend money.

"Anyway, as long as we make money, that's good. Oh, by the way, if that's the case, let's buy Sachiko the CD player she wanted. Although she likes to spend money recklessly and quickly spent the 1 million yen we gave her, it's really annoying to see that she doesn't have the money to buy something she really likes. But after all, it's New Year's Day, and she likes listening to pop music and following fashion so much, so I think it's better to give her one. For a young girl like her, if she always covets what others have, it will hurt her self-esteem. What do you think?"

"I have no objection. If you want to buy it, then buy it for her. After all, you are our finance minister..."

"What are you talking about? I don't admit it. The money you used to invest in stocks is not in my hands. I'm saying that the money to buy gifts for Sachiko must come from your account. Who made you make money..."

"Okay, I'll do as you say. That's all right."

Director Taniguchi is definitely easy to talk to and doesn't want to argue with the petty Mrs. Taniguchi at all.

In his opinion, this was a trivial matter. It was the common property of the couple anyway, so as long as his wife was happy, it was fine.

Unexpectedly, while they were planning, their daughter Sachiko had actually bought a CD player and brought it home happily.

"Dad, Mom, you guys are so close. Am I back too early? Sorry to bother you."

When Sachiko entered the house, she happened to see Director Taniguchi massaging Mrs. Taniguchi's back, and she couldn't help but make a joke about her parents.

It was obviously inappropriate for the Taniguchi couple to continue to relax like this in front of their daughter.

They were even a little embarrassed about it.

Director Taniguchi immediately stopped massaging his wife, and Mrs. Taniguchi jumped down from the sofa. She then saw a CD player box held high in Sachiko's hand.

"Oh, you've already bought it?"

"Yes, I bought it."

"Where did the money come from?"

Mrs. Taniguchi was filled with anxiety. Her daughter bought such an expensive thing for no apparent reason. Any mother would be worried.

"I earned it by working. You don't pay me."

"You work part-time? Where do you work?"

"The bookstore where my brother works part-time. Chairman Ning's Huiwentang Bookstore. The store manager, Ms. Kagawa, is also my father's colleague."

Fortunately, her daughter's reply put Mrs. Taniguchi at ease.

After all, if it was Huiwen Hall, there wouldn't be any problem.

Because even if my daughter wanted to lie, she wouldn't be stupid enough to tell a lie that could be easily exposed.

Mrs. Taniguchi's only worry now is that her daughter can't do anything and is afraid that she will cause trouble to others.

"You are such a willful child. Why didn't you tell your family?"

"Whatever you say, if I tell you, you will definitely say I can't do it and won't let me go."

Her daughter's words really hit the nail on the head for Mrs. Taniguchi, and she felt a little embarrassed and changed the subject.

"So when you went there, how did you perform? Was it easy to work there?"

"To be honest, it was a bit hard. I now know how hard it is to make money. Especially when I see other people in the store working so hard, I seem to know nothing in comparison."

"It's great to have such an understanding. Congratulations. After all, Sachiko earned money through her own efforts and bought herself the gifts she wanted. This is a great progress." Director Taniguchi also came over to encourage her daughter.

However, they did not expect that an even more unexpected scene would occur.

Their daughter, Sachiko Taniguchi, actually shook her head and said, "No, I didn't buy it for myself. I bought it for my mother."

Then, 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 it more than I do."

At this moment, Mrs. Taniguchi covered her mouth in surprise. After being stunned for a long time, she realized that she was not dreaming and her daughter had really grown up.

"Oh, no, no, Sachiko, I can't have it. This is the money you earned yourself, and it's what you want most. I just discussed with my father and wanted to buy one for you..."

However, Sachiko was very persistent. "Don't be like this, Mom. This is my first salary. Please accept it. This is what I want to accomplish the most."

Tears wet her eyes unconsciously, and Mrs. Taniguchi was more and more certain of one thing: her life was already happy enough. (End of this chapter)