Precious Treasure

Precious Treasure

 In the Spring Festival Gala of 1999, a famous comedian offended all workers in China because of a line he said in his performance: For the sake of the country, workers should be laid off voluntarily. In 1998, the economy of China was on the verge of collapse. The Chinese government decided to sell state-owned enterprises to private companies. At that time, the biggest problem of the enterprises was that capacity was much greater than demand, which meant there were too many workers in the factories. Therefore, when the new owners took over the enterprises, the lay-off of those redundant workers was inevitable. My parents were on the list of the redundant workers. Their lay off was a nightmare for my family, but on the other hand, it gave me an unusual opportunity for growth.

The first year after getting laid off, my parents were exhausted trying to adapt to their new job. My father was lucky. He was rehired to his old position, but got two times less payment than before. He worked six days instead of five and always worked overtime. Sometimes, I couldn’t see him for days because he came back home after I went to bed and left before I woke up. However, my mother didn't have the fortune to get her job back. Instead, she sold cigarettes on the street, but she could only earn at most five cents with each pack. Even worse, selling cigarettes on the street was illegal because she didn’t have the license to sell cigarettes. Thus, she had to go out early in the morning in order to hide from the police. Every time I saw their exhausted faces, I admired the positive attitude as they faced the biggest change in their lives.

Although my parents worked very hard, it was hard to get back to our normal life. In the past, working in a state-owned enterprise could offer people a stable life. My parents could not only make money, but also earn daily bonuses, like rice, oil, even soap. Therefore, it was easy to put away some money and buy something nice. After the new owner took over the enterprise, he paid the salary only, but cut off all the extra perks. Due to this, my family lived in poverty for years after they got laid off. I remembered that we almost ate cabbage and potatoes every day. Furthermore, my mother lost her job which meant she didn’t have health insurance anymore. One time, she fell down and hit herself on the edge of a chair. It was a bad injury because she had a swollen lump on her chest. She didn’t go to see a doctor. Instead, she lay in bed for a month because she was too hurt to move. However, regardless of how hard life was, they never complained.

While my parents worked so hard for our family, I realized that I needed to do something to relieve their burden. After their job changed, my parents were too busy to clean the house. Therefore, I started to do some housework, such as washing dishes and mopping the floor. Likewise, I learned to cook, so that I could prepare breakfast and dinner for them. In addition, I did some part-time jobs too. My first part-time job was giving out leaflets. I didn’t make a lot of money. When I handed my first salary to them, my mother reproached me that I should focus on my classes. However, I could see from their eyes that they were proud of me. What I learned that time influences me even now. The life skills I gathered back that time helped me a lot since I came to the United States alone.

There is saying that you can’t see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain. The economic downturn in 1998 was a disaster for countless people. Meanwhile, the loss of their jobs gave my family a hard time too, but also tightly bonded us. My parents didn’t give up when they lost their job or complain about the low standard of living. They also encouraged me to do what I could do to help the family. I found I love them more than ever since we overcame the difficulty, and so do they. I saw many families break because of the lay-offs, but I believe that as long as you can make it from the difficulty, the experience you have been through will become the most precious treasure in your life.