Shengliver’s Note: My student Wan witnessed a tragedy in his hometown. Gambling is a serious social problem, both in rural and urban China.

Something tear-jerking happened in my hometown when I was in middle school.

A young girl only finished middle school. The next year, she got married through a matchmaker, tying the knot with a lad whose family was the wealthiest in our village. Less than a year later, she mothered a baby.

Her husband was a hot-tempered man. When he got drunk, the young man would be yelling at his wife and abusing her physically. What was worse, the man was addicted to gambling, which made his wife mad and sad. One day, he got plastered at a banquet and then lost 10,000 yuan in mah-jong games.

When he got back home, he treated his wife to a feast of fists. The beating broke the woman’s heart. Having been humiliated by the man time and again, she grabbed a bottle of DDT and downed it. One hour later, her family found her lifeless in her chamber. It was not until then that the man realised how serious it was. He ended up being accused of abusing his spouse to death. Consequently, he was taken away by the constable.

How heart-rending the story is! Being hooked on gambling cost the man his marriage and his family.

From the story, we should learn that we are to respect others, especially our family. Charity begins at home. And we should be good-tempered. Should we go about our lives the way the man did, we would have to suffer dire consequences.