That evening, after dinner, my third son didn’t eat. I didn’t notice at the time, assuming he wasn’t hungry. I retreated to my home office to work on unfinished details for my T-shirt store. Just as I turned on my computer, I heard my third son sprint into the room, sobbing wildly. His mother chased after him, grabbed him, and grabbed a hanger from the closet, hitting him with it. I rushed to intervene, but she shoved me away, insisting on spanking him. She even found a belt and strapped his hands behind his back, dragging him downstairs while scolding him…
“What’s going on? Why are you treating him like this?”
“He stole money! Last time, he took ¥20 I left around the house. Today, he stole again—and even shoplifted snacks near the school gate!”
“Even if he’s wrong, don’t do this to him. Find another way.”
“My son is my responsibility—I don’t need you to lecture me!” My wife shouted furiously.
“You’re out of your mind! How could you treat our child like this?” I roared.
After exchanging harsh words, I retreated to our bedroom…
My wife kept punishing him for twenty minutes before finally stopping.
I don’t know why he turned out this way. Our third son is only seven, in first grade. How could he start stealing money and snacks? It’s baffling, infuriating. Am I to blame? His mother? I have no answers.
A Chinese saying goes: “Poor couples find sorrow in everything.” Does poverty truly drag everything into ruin? Yet we’ve both worked tirelessly. We’re kind to others, but life hasn’t been kind to us. Why?
While my wife went out to clear her head, I found my third son. I said, “Son, stealing is wrong. It’s illegal. If we want something, we earn it through hard work—not theft or force. Only effort brings what we deserve.”
He cried, “Dad, I’m sorry. I’ll never steal again. Never.”
“Go finish your homework. You haven’t done it tonight, and I’ll check it.”
“Okay.”
This story isn’t one I’d normally share publicly. But I’ve withdrawn from friends for too long, unsure who to talk to.
I must push harder. I will make this T-shirt store succeed. Then I’ll have the money and time to take my kids out, to explore the world. Keep going—I’ll prove it.