Costly Comfort

by Huina Zheng

Even before I opened the door upon coming home, I heard a commotion from the living room. It was strange, because my family rarely quarrelled. When I walked in, my husband Jun was telling his mother, “You have been scammed! This device costs 100,000 yuan, the equivalent of a family’s annual income. How can it have such a magical effect to make you healthy?” He was speaking loudly and pointing to his mother’s room.

The door to my mother-in-law’s room was open. I saw an instrument the size of a wardrobe. I understood instantly.

* * *

My mother-in-law was hospitalized with back inflammation a few years ago. Afterwards, she always had problems with her neck, shoulders, waist, and digestion.

Every morning, she would go to the nearby park for aerobics. She befriended several elderly people there, who took her to a health center for physical therapy. It cost 50 yuan a visit. She felt that her pain was relieved, so she often went there.

Soon, she began to buy health products. I estimated that she spent several thousand yuan a year on these supplements, which, according to the salespeople, could enhance immunity, but I believed they were more for psychological comfort.

The staff often invited my mother-in-law and other elderly people for morning tea, encouraging them to bring their relatives and friends to the health center. They looked concerned about these elderly people, but their purpose was to persuade the elderly to continue to buy products. Although I disliked the methods, I couldn’t dissuade my mother-in-law. After all, she felt cared for.

The staff kept telling my mother-in-law how good the instrument was and that it was better to buy one so she could do physical therapy at home every day. She had purchased an instrument for 5,000 yuan two years ago, and the staff encouraged her to buy a better one.

A year later, she bought a new one the size of a suitcase for over 10,000 yuan. Jun said nothing as long as his mother believed it could relieve her malaise. And then the staff urged her to buy the “best” one, which cost 100,000 yuan.

I was becoming increasingly disgusted with the staff. I felt they pretended to care but gained the elderly people’s trust only to earn money. I speculated that my mother-in-law thought that if she bought the instrument, Jun would not object strongly, since he hadn’t done so before. So, she bought it without discussing it with us, a stark contrast to her usual behavior. When I had wanted to buy a new washing machine, she told me not to, because the old one could still be used.

My mother-in-law’s bank card only had 2,000 yuan, but the staff told her she could pay a deposit of 2,000 yuan and write an IOU. She asked them to deliver and install the instrument when my husband and I were at work. This time, my husband strongly opposed it. Jun said, “My friend’s dad was brainwashed and spent all his retirement savings on healthcare products. He was told they could help him get rid of leg pain, but he still has to walk with a cane because his leg hurts. Those people are in it for the money.”

“They aren’t,” his mother said. “I do feel better after the physical therapy,”

“Mom, it’s not that we don’t care about you. We do. But I checked online, and a similar instrument costs 30,000 yuan at most. A price of 100,000 yuan is definitely too much.”

“The staff said this is the best one.”

“This is an elementary math problem. You are 74 years old. Going for physical therapy daily will cost 18,250 yuan a year, and 100,000 yuan is enough for five years’ service. And you probably can’t go there every day.”

“Are you implying I won’t live for another five years?” she shouted.

Although I also believed my mother-in-law had been deceived, I felt I should remain silent; she would think I disrespected her if I voiced a different opinion.

My husband said, “The power of this instrument is immense, equivalent to that of three air conditioners. The staff didn’t even warn us of the electrical risk. We live in a building with old wiring, and it is prone to short circuits.”

My husband tried for two days to talk some sense into his mother, but she refused to give in. On the third day, she packed her bags and went to her sister’s flat, not wanting to talk with her son anymore.

As I expected, her sister’s husband immediately persuaded my mother-in-law to return the instrument. He was the most authoritative figure in their family. Relatives would ask him for advice whenever they couldn’t make a decision. Since he objected to her purchase, she could no longer insist.

She came home that night. My husband called the manager and asked them to take away the instrument.

The manager said, “Your mother really wants to buy it. If you oppose it, she would be nervous and depressed, increasing her blood pressure. You also want her to be healthy and happy, right?”

My husband was unmoved. He said, “Come and take it tomorrow.” Eventually, my mother-in-law lost her deposit of 2,000 yuan, and the farce was over.

Jun told his mother about his friend’s father. After the father had spent all his savings on healthcare products, he sold his apartment to buy more. Although his friend called the police and recovered the money, no one was sure that his father would not do it again. But Jun’s mother wouldn’t listen.

A week after we returned the instrument, my mother-in-law spent over 10,000 yuan on Ganoderma lucidum powder. Again, the healthcare staff encouraged her to write an IOU, since she would need about four months to accumulate that much money. The expensive bogus treatment farce was beginning again.