$49,000 to raise a child

Author: Xu Hao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: "Mrs. Ou, Mrs. Ou, Mrs. Ou," the nurse nearly shouted her voice hoarse, but the mother calmly stood up from her chair. "Oh oh," she patted her bulging stomach, murmuring in a daze, clearly still lost in the dream she had just been wandering in. She must have dreamed she had given birth to a big, fat son, with a smile hanging on her lips while dozing. The doctor came over and told the mother that the fetus inside was doing well, and congratulations, the ultrasound showed it was indeed a boy. A boy! If it weren’t for the baby inside, the mother would have jumped for joy. "Mrs. Wang, the doctor said my baby is a boy!" "Mrs. Zhao, I told you so, it’s a boy! Look, look!" "Mrs. Li, I’ve named your child as the baby’s older sister!" The other women waiting for their appointments all said, "Congratulations, Mrs. Ou!" The nurse beside her smiled warmly at the mother, as if saying, "Congratulations, Mrs. Ou! Even the baby inside gently kicked the mother’s stomach, as if saying, 'Congratulations, Mrs. Ou!'" The mother happily looked around and felt as if the whole world were congratulating her. "Congratulations," the mother couldn’t help but whisper to herself. At that moment, a colorful poster on the hospital wall caught her attention. She pushed up her thick glasses and leaned closer: a little boy in a graduation cap stood at the top of a pyramid made of gold coins, smiling proudly at himself. Below it were a few large lines of text: "From birth to graduation, the direct cost of raising me will be as high as 490,000. Mom and Dad, have you prepared for it?" What? 490,000! Rubbing her eyes, she looked again, and the bold, red "490,000" seemed to be standing tall and defiant. The mother paused for a moment, turned around, and walked out of the examination room with a calm expression, but inwardly, she was already staggered by the sudden number. The recent elation was suddenly drained from her heart. She walked home listlessly, and the baby inside also seemed to have stopped moving as if she had made a mistake. "490,000" lingered like an unwavering shadow, filling her with doubts, panic, and pressure, swirling in her mind. She felt as if she saw the pyramid on the poster and herself, carrying countless bags of gold, stumbling up toward it. For the first time since becoming pregnant, she felt a sense of fear toward the life about to be born. But there was no time to dwell on it, as the baby inside had already gathered all its strength, preparing to break free from its cocoon. "This is too exaggerated," Dad remained unfazed after hearing the mother’s ramblings at home and even found it a bit absurd. "490,000? How much can I earn in a lifetime? If it really is 490,000, how many people can afford to raise a child? Besides, if it’s really that much, there’s nothing we can do—what we spend can’t be saved, so we’ll just have to take it as it comes!" He laughed a few times and continued reading the newspaper. "Just take it as it comes," Dad always said. But the mother still couldn’t feel at ease. "So, how do we support a child?"