A few years ago, a colleague joked with me: "Your family has a child, you should be careful, in case the two children give a 500 yuan of pressure money, how do you pay it back?"
I smiled and said, "There should be no such person, right?" Like my mother's side is a two-baby, everyone has always given an even number, I am half of the side to return, the family has said good, there has been no embarrassing thing. ”
My colleague patted me on the shoulder: "You! foolish! ”
I've always just taken this as a joke, and it turns out that I'm still too young, no, I've met the real thing on the first day of the New Year.
Our custom here is to go to the grave to worship the ancestors on the first day of the first year, and when we first arrived at the ancestral grave of the husband's house, we met the family of my husband's great uncle, including the cousin who was married far away.
This cousin is very powerful, her professional ability is strong, the husband who married her own company, they have bought a house in the provincial city and settled down, and last year they gave birth to a second treasure, which is the second time I have seen her in 6 years of marriage.
Just met is a wave of greeting, and then the cousin did not say a word to my son stuffed a red envelope, I old justice holding the child, look at me, not good resignation, took it.
I gave my husband a look: everyone has given, you can't pretend to be confused!
My husband shook his head at me, and I thought: Also, it is not good to give less, besides, this cousin I am not familiar with, maybe my husband has other ideas.
When I got home, I opened the red envelope and counted, I smiled: 5 red tickets, 500, my cousin's family is a two-baby! It's impossible to get back to 250, right?
At this moment, I couldn't help but think of the pity look in my colleague's eyes when he looked at me: Could he have encountered such a thing?
I asked the child's father directly: "This, how to get back?" Her family is a baby! Two 250 is not allowed, we are lagging behind, can only be more can not be less ah! ”
As soon as my mother-in-law came in, she heard my words and sighed with a calm face: "This girl's temper really follows her mother, and it has not changed at all!"
It turned out that this cousin was the same as the great aunt, but a powerful lord, before my husband went to her house, no work but no food, even when the husband and grandmother were taken care of by the two families in turn, as long as the time came, she must immediately send the old man over, not for one more day. If she encounters the New Year's money, she must take it out and count it in person.
However, fortunately, the eldest uncle is a very good person, and the relationship with the father-in-law is very good, the two families are not far away, often have contact, and take care of each other.
At this point, I have a number in mind.
I discussed with my husband in this way: the cousin's two children, she gave 500, her family's economic conditions are much better than ours, we don't have to be too deliberate or too calculating, after all, it is a family, just like the colleague said "meat rots in the pot, or a family", to the cousin's two children to pack two red envelopes, each put 300 yuan, in fact, the cousin's family also has two children, posting 100 yuan can not lose anywhere, after all, it is a heart, so it is not hurt and angry.
Our idea was supported by our in-laws and mother-in-law: I am not familiar with my cousin, and I have met twice in 6 years, and I can't say what will happen in the future, even if I give it every year, it will be a few hundred dollars.
In fact, my husband's cousin is not nothing, may not have thought so much, you know, I have heard of calculating relatives on the pressure of the old money before?
When I was young, most of the money given by relatives was 5 yuan or 10 yuan, and I once heard a best friend talk about the deeds of a strange relative in her family:
When others give 5 yuan, she gives 4 yuan, and earns 2 yuan for a round trip; when others give 10 yuan, she gives 8 yuan, and a round-trip account is 4 yuan.
Relatives are very dissatisfied, and the children directly say: "Why xx give less than my parents?" xx is a stingy ghost" But this is it, relatives are not easy to say anything because of their affection, and then they gradually become estranged.
Originally, the money for the pressure was to be lucky, but this was good, and the relationship between relatives was broken.
In recent years, we have come up with a new view here in terms of giving old age money: children do not need much money, even if they really want to use money, their parents have to decide, and the real need to use money and really have difficulties is the elderly.
Therefore, most of the money for the children is discussed with each other and then given, paying attention to the fact that you come and go, and the heart is on the line. And to give the elderly money is really just needed, such as my grandfather, more than 90 years old man, he has long been unable to make money, uncles work outside the home, in the grandfather need to buy what, there is no way to give money to him at the first time, and he will not use a smart phone, can answer a phone is good, WeChat, Alipay he will not use.
Most of the relatives have only one opportunity to get together during the Spring Festival, so everyone will always stuff some money for the elderly: "When we were young, you gave us money, and now that we are grown up, it is time for us to give you money to buy good food."
Whenever this time, even if the old man tried to resign, we all coaxed him to accept the money, and finally left a smiling family portrait.
Here, I sorted out the suggestions I got from netizens to press the old money:
1. If it is a relative who is doing well
Since it is good, there will generally be no embarrassing things, almost good, even if it is really like me to meet 500 bad returns, plus one or two hundred should be added, nothing.
2. Treat badly, love to calculate people
The best way is to preemptively: seal the red envelope first, don't need much, almost on the line, like we are all 100 started here, then 100 on the line, give it first, the other party does not return do not care. After all, we don't want to make a fortune with this bit of pressure money.
If you encounter someone like me, split into two halves, and half 260 or 300 has little impact.
After all, some people, you return 500 he is still not satisfied, there is no need to use their own money to please others.
3. Caring more for the elderly is the truth
Children are soft and naturally likable, but the elderly are easy to be forgotten, and they all say that "there is an old man in the family, such as a treasure" Remember to care more about the old man when you go home.