You only learn to cherish things after you've suffered.

 　　When I was little, my mother often told me, "No pain, no gain." Back then, I was naive and couldn't understand the meaning of those words. I only saw my mother toiling for the family without a single complaint. My mother lived by that motto, striving and struggling her whole life, enduring hardship and suffering. Now, I'm grown up, and our family's living conditions have improved. It should be time for my mother to enjoy her retirement, but even in her sixties, she still eats only until she's seven-tenths full and prefers worn-out clothes. Meanwhile, I spend hundreds or even thousands on clothes, discarding them after only a year or two; I eat and drink indiscriminately, harming my health and stomach, and developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and fatty liver at a young age. My mother sees all this and is worried, but she never scolds or criticizes me. Instead, she gradually influences me through her own actions.

　　One day, I returned from a business trip, parched and thirsty. My mother handed me a glass of water, which I gulped down, only to spit it all out immediately. "Why is it so bitter?" I looked at my mother with a puzzled expression. My mother said, "This is bitter tea that your fourth aunt sent from Zhejiang. It's said to lower the three highs (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol). Look at you, so young, yet so full of ailments. From today onwards, I'll drink bitter tea with you." My mother's words warmed my heart. I picked up the teapot filled with bitter tea, filled my cup, and slowly sipped it. Savoring the taste, a fragrant aroma of tea wafted up, and the bitter tea surprisingly had a hint of sweetness in my mouth.

　　My mother not only drank bitter tea with me but also added bitter melon to my meals. Under my mother's care, my "three highs" indicators gradually returned to normal. I smiled and asked my mother, "Drinking bitter tea and eating bitter melon with me, haven't you suffered enough in your life?" My mother smiled kindly and said, "How can you remember bitterness if you don't experience it? Only by learning to endure bitterness and knowing its taste can you appreciate the sweetness of happiness." My mother's words echoed in my heart for a long time, constantly reminding me of the meaning of life.