Breaking Free from Greed

After transferring this month's salary to my parents, I pulled out the simple bread rolls I had brought from the company cafeteria and ate them with water for dinner.

When I was very young, my parents told me that our family was not well off. They lived frugally and used all their money to support my education.

So after graduation, I sent home $9, 800 out of my monthly salary of $10, 000, and I kept the remaining 200 for food.

I didn't dare buy makeup or new clothes, and even meals were limited to what I could get from the company cafeteria.

The company provided lunch, so every day at noon, I would take two extra simple bread rolls, wrap them up to take home, and use them to cover dinner and breakfast.

I shared an apartment with my childhood friend, Delilah Johnson.

She covered the entire rent, with the only condition being that I was responsible for cleaning the apartment.

Delilah and I grew up in the same village, but the difference between us was stark. Her family was well-off, and she was their only child, while my family was poor, and I had a younger brother, Anthony Walker, who had just graduated from college.

When Anthony started college, I had just graduated myself. My mother told me that my father had injured his back and couldn't work anymore, asking me to send 10, 000 dollars to cover his medical expenses.

At the time, I had just started my job and was still repaying my student loans, so I couldn't come up with that much money.

I tried negotiating with my mother, suggesting I send 5, 000 dollars first. My mother asked the relatives to take turns to call and persuade me. The implicit meaning of those relatives' words was nothing more than that I had grown up and become independent, but I didn't care about the elderly at home when they were sick, and I was unfilially.

The constant barrage of phone calls from relatives, each urging me to comply, wore me down. Even my boss started to complain, saying my frequent interruptions at work were affecting my productivity.

In the end, I had no choice but to ask Delilah to borrow a few thousand dollars and transfer it to my family, and then the situation calmed down.

To repay the debt, I worked tirelessly, sleeping only four hours a night and taking on freelance jobs during every spare moment.

But the following month, my mother called again, saying my father's back couldn't be cured and that he would never be able to work again. She asked me to give them 3, 000 dollars a month for living expenses, and another 5, 000 dollars to Anthony for living expenses, for a total of 8, 000 dollars.

My salary at that time was 5, 500 dollars a month, and I had to pay for rent and living expenses. I couldn't afford 8, 000 dollars even if I tried.

What was more, when I was admitted to university, my parents asked me to drop out of school and work to reduce the burden on the family on the grounds that the family had no money.

I worked hard during summer breaks, earning a few thousand dollars to hand over to them, and promised to cover all my college expenses myself.

Only then did they agree to let me attend college and return my admission letter to me.

Why did they not only agree to let Anthony go to school, but also ask me to give him so many living expenses?

I refused their request outright. For the next few days, I ignored their calls.

Eventually, my parents took a train to the city where I worked, tearfully apologizing to me. They said they had wronged me in the past, nearly preventing me from going to college, and now that Anthony was in school, they wanted to make up for their mistakes. That was why they had asked for so much money.

They said they hadn't realized how hard my life was and regretted asking for so much.

Looking at their aging faces, my anger dissipated, replaced by a sense of helplessness.

In the end, I agreed to send them living expenses, but told them Anthony would have to earn his own money. I wouldn't give him a single cent.

Over the years, as my salary increased, so did their monthly requests.

Parents from a rural, economically disadvantaged background didn't need much money to live on, but they told me that as a daughter, I would need money when I got married.

They promised to save the money for me and give it to me all at once when the time came and I agreed.