I have tried my best to achieve happiness.

    always believed happiness is a luxury, not just an abstract concept, but something that must be realized through substantial material possessions. Happiness is like a fish; to catch it, you need at least a fishing rod and some bait, right? Happiness is like a bird; to obtain it, you need at least a birdcage, right? Therefore, I've always believed that happiness not only has a price, but it's very expensive.

    To achieve happiness, I've worked tirelessly. To live in a big house, I gave up all my vacations, made my home in the office, just to earn more overtime pay. Until one day, a stomach ailment flared up, forcing me to undergo surgery. After the surgery, I was incredibly weak, and the emotional despair made me even more disheartened. My mother brought me a bowl of chicken soup, feeding me spoonful by spoonful. When I heard my mother softly say, "Child, as long as you're alive, there's hope," two streams of tears of happiness flowed down my face. Only then did I deeply realize that happiness is actually very simple. As a daughter, to enjoy my mother's love is happiness itself.

    Now, owning a small apartment, my heart is at peace and content. Flowers bloom outside the window, and the sun shines brightly. I finally understand that happiness has nothing to do with the size of one's home. For an ordinary person, having a small room to shelter from the wind and rain is happiness; being able to do what one wants is happiness; being able to live the life one wants is happiness; being able to reunite with family is happiness; being able to walk down the aisle with the one you love is happiness; being able to enjoy family life with one's children is happiness…

    Happiness is truly cheap. For those in distress, seeing a ship sailing in the distance brings tears of joy; for the unemployed, finding a job is doubly cherished; for those suffering setbacks, never giving up leads to the dawn of success; for those far from home, encountering relatives is a joyous occasion. And all of this requires little investment.

    Happiness is truly cheap. The happiest life is actually the most ordinary life. A person with a small room to live in, two or three close friends to gather with, flowers, birds, fish, and insects to soothe their soul, music and books to cultivate their mind, working diligently during the day and peacefully drifting off to sleep at night—this is immense happiness. Happiness is

    truly cheap. Having charcoal in the snow, an umbrella in the rain, a bowl of rice to fill one's stomach when hungry, a coat to keep warm when cold, and someone to care for one when sick—this is immense happiness. In short, the fewer desires one has, the higher the happiness index.