I was lunching at DinTaiFung at Shin Kong yesterday and overheard a conversation between 3 women at the next table. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but they were talking loudly. I only paid sporadic attention as I was trying to write something at the same time. All women look to be in their mid-late 30s.
Woman 1 (slightly matronly tai tai): Children these days don't understand the value of money.
Woman 2 ( slightly more fashionable tai tai): I agree! My son is terrible. He's always spending money....
Woman 3 ( a very chic looking tai tai) nods in agreement
Woman 1: Well, good thing my daughter knows not to spend money frivolously. I give her a small allowance whenever we go to the supermarket, to allow her to pick up her own snacks. And I always tell her to make her own choice. She can choose to buy 1 expensive item and enjoy the snack once or buy a few cheaper ones and enjoy a little longer. She always knows how to maximize what I give her.
Woman 2: I'm always telling my son how great you've been with your daughter! If I give my son a 1000 yuan budget. He'll never pick the 900 yuan item. He'll always pick the one that's 1000 yuan and not a dollar less! And he won't know to pick several items. He'll just pick 1 item that meets the full budget or more.
I wanted to raise my eyebrows at this point. Is this just an analogy or does woman 2 really give her son 1000 yuan to spend in a shop? That seems like quite a bit and from the general gist of this conversation, it seems that both women's kids are very young. I went back to scribbling some work down and eating my noodles. Until another bit of conversation interrupted my thoughts
Woman 3: Oh! You have an LV bag! ( Woman 1 was carrying a dark brown LVbag. I have no clue which model it is) You know, there's a coffee colored version and a grey one. I like the coffee one and was planning to buy it when I was on holiday. But considering that there are so many fakes of this model, i decided not to get the bag.
( woman 3's mobile rings so she leaves conversation)
Woman 1: Aiyah! This is not the real thing! It's a fake. I have a real LV wallet but I couldn't bear to spend on the real bag. Our family was on holiday in Paris and my husband offered to buy me the bag but i found it too extravagant. I mean, look at this bag. It looks quite real doesn't it? And it's functional. I don't have to worry about taking care of it.
Woman 2: I agree! It's ok to buy yourself a fake one. Leave the expensive things for your man to buy for you! That's the way it should be. That's why women need to marry well.
Woman 1 ( laughes): True but I would like my daughter to have her own career in future and have her own money. I've told her many times that she should be a doctor when she grows up. And she understands where I'm coming from. She wants to be able to earn big bucks so that she can take care of us.
Woman 2: You've taught your daughter well. If only my son was like that. It'll be great if my son grows up to marry well. Then I don't have worry about him.
I was quite horrified by woman 2's responses. Whose fault is it that her son spends so much money and in future grows up to be a money grubbing, fortune hunting groom??? Hers! I wonder if that's what China's nouveau rich are teaching their kids these days.
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