The Kind Daughter-in-Law

Once upon a time, there lived a man named Lao Lin-mu. He had a son and three daughters.

The daughters were as beautiful as goddesses and very eloquent, which was something their father especially loved to boast about to his neighbors.

"Whenever my daughters speak, all the pigeons from the trees flock to them," he would say.

Word of the eloquent girls spread far and wide, and the father's heart was filled with joy.

Several years passed. The daughters got married, and the son also married. Lao Lin-mu's daughter-in-law was modest and hardworking. The house and yard were always clean and tidy under her care. She was skilled at weaving and embroidery and worked deftly in the fields.

Everything she did turned out well. She and her husband lived peacefully and loved each other. She deeply respected her father-in-law, and everyone in the village called her a good daughter-in-law. But Lao Lin-mu did not like her because she could not speak as beautifully as his daughters.

Before the New Year, Lao Lin-mu took out several silver coins he had earned over the year and gazed at them for a long time. He was reluctant to spend them on new clothes for himself. Nor did he want to buy a new dress for his daughter-in-law, even though she had worked so hard for the household. He wanted to give the money to his daughters. But there wasn’t much money, and it had to be divided into three parts. He couldn’t favor one daughter over the others. The father stayed up all night, thinking about what to do with the money, and finally came up with a plan.

The next day, he got up at dawn and, without having breakfast, left the house. "I’ll eat a little at each daughter’s house, and that way I’ll be full," he decided.

Lao Lin-mu walked ten *li* (a unit of distance, varying in different times and places in China, often equivalent to 0.576 km) toward the rising sun and arrived at the home of his eldest daughter. Seeing her father, the daughter was overjoyed and showered him with kind words about how much she had been waiting for him. Lao Lin-mu nodded with pleasure and smiled.

"How well my daughter speaks," he thought. "And she says such nice things. I’ll give the money to her."

The eldest daughter said many things, but not a word about breakfast. And the father realized that her welcome was insincere, that her words were all she had to offer. He did not give her the money and left.

After walking another ten *li*, he reached the home of his middle daughter. Seeing her father, she, too, was overjoyed and spoke many kind words, repeatedly saying that she should definitely prepare breakfast for him. But she never actually started cooking. And Lao Lin-mu realized that her welcome was also insincere. He did not give the money to the middle daughter and moved on.

Lao Lin-mu walked another ten *li* and arrived at the home of his youngest daughter. Like her sisters, she welcomed him warmly and hurried to say that she would make *zamba* (a type of flatbread made from flour and butter) for breakfast and feed him a meal prepared with her own hands. Lao Lin-mu smiled and nodded. After all, he loved his youngest daughter so much! Meanwhile, she got to work.

Seeing such a sincere and warm reception, the father decided to give all the money to his youngest daughter so she could sew herself a new dress.

But the meal still hadn’t been served. Lao Lin-mu had gotten up early, hadn’t eaten breakfast at home, and had walked thirty *li*. He was truly very hungry.

So Lao Lin-mu went to the kitchen. There, hot *zamba* was steaming, but the hostess was nowhere to be seen. Lao Lin-mu took one flatbread and was about to put it in his mouth when his daughter suddenly walked in. He quickly took off his hat, placed the hot flatbread on his head, and put the hat back on. After counting the flatbreads and noticing one was missing, the daughter looked up and saw steam rising from her father’s head. Realizing what had happened, she said:

"Father, you’re so tired that steam is coming from your head. You should take off your hat."
"Having daughters like you, a father can’t help but sweat from joy," Lao Lin-mu replied sarcastically.

The daughter remained silent. And Lao Lin-mu realized that she, too, did not mean what she said, that her words were sweet but her heart was harsh. He gave her nothing and returned home with the money.

At that time, his daughter-in-law was sitting by the gate, spinning. Seeing her father-in-law, she immediately set aside her spinning wheel and began serving lunch. Before the father-in-law could even sit down, hot and fragrant food was already on the table.

"I’ve already had breakfast three times today at your sisters’ houses and I’m still full," Lao Lin-mu lied. "Take the food back."
"Eating once at home is better than eating three times as a guest," replied the daughter-in-law.

Lao Lin-mu no longer refused and ate three full bowls.

And then he realized that his daughter-in-law was truly good: without unnecessary words, she had taken care of him and fed him.

"I should give the money to her," Lao Lin-mu decided. And so he did.

From that day on, Lao Lin-mu no longer boasted about his daughters. And when people praised his daughter-in-law, he chuckled with satisfaction.

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The Kind Daughter-in-Law

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