This Pot of Happiness May Be Burnt, but We Have to Drink It

This is a realistic work about the struggles faced by modern families, with a somber plot. But unlike stories of families that abandon one another when disaster strikes and fall apart at the slightest provocation, this novel is about the unwavering perseverance, selfless love, courageous sense of responsibility, mutual tolerance, and understanding that remain even when family life is a complete mess. It is about the powerful support of a family that sticks together and keeps one another warm through the most desperate hardship!

A word of warning: Readers looking for a lighthearted, feel-good power fantasy should think carefully before diving in!

Story overview:

A pot of scorched porridge. A family on the verge of collapse.

A health supplement scam drains Chen Daqiang's retirement savings. A wave of middle-aged unemployment capsizes Chen Jianguo's career. Menopause threatens Li Meijuan's dignity as a working woman, while her teenage son, Chen Xiaole, hits one wall after another in livestreaming. The Chen family's life is like a pot of porridge cooked over an out-of-control flame: burnt on the bottom, smoking at the top, and bubbling with misery.

They argue, break down, and hurt one another as they stumble around looking for a way out: in hospital corridors, on recruitment websites, and over the paperwork for a used-car sale.

Then one day, Chen Daqiang folds a crooked paper boat with his stiff left hand. Li Meijuan picks up a menopause pill beside a shattered bowl. Chen Jianguo gives his son the only piece of meat in his boxed night-shift meal. Chen Xiaole starts talking to an empty livestream room about his collection of physics problems he got wrong...

One day, they finally realize: Even if the pot of happiness gets scorched, they still have to eat it.