The vegetable market uncle's "hedging" wisdom: Keep busy, and someone will pay attention to you

That day at the vegetable market, I overheard a conversation that deeply touched me.

A young man asked an elderly vendor, “Business seems so-so, why do you come here every day? Why not stay at home and rest?” The old man cheerfully replied, “Do you think I’m doing this to make money? I’m doing it to ‘hedge’ against something. As long as I’m out here selling vegetables, my daughter-in-law will bring me lunch at noon, and my wife will prepare dinner for me in the evening.”

“If I stayed at home all day, haha, life would be tough. My daughter-in-law doesn’t like me, and she always finds something to complain about; my wife is even harsher, nagging me all day without repeating herself.” As he sorted through the vegetable leaves, his tone was full of life’s wisdom.

That remark made me pause. Thinking carefully, what the old man said wasn’t about business strategies but about life principles. He found a clever balance—maintaining harmony in the family through “having something to do.” When you are valuable and useful, family members will naturally care about you; but when you are idle and just stay at home, even the closest relationships can easily cause friction.

This is actually a form of deep “family management wisdom.” The old man didn’t explicitly talk about the complexity of family relationships but expressed it in the simplest way—living isn’t just for oneself, but to be valuable to your family.

Nowadays, many people dream of retiring at home, but they overlook the loneliness that comes with doing nothing. Instead of waiting for family members to keep you company, it’s better to first find your own sense of purpose. That way, your wife and daughter-in-law will naturally think of you and care about you.

The old man’s life experience teaches us: the highest form of life wisdom is to always have something to do, so you can maintain your family’s concern and also keep your inner fulfillment.