My cousin rented a market stall for 2,000 yuan a month, and he invited my mother and me to taste the food.

Eight tables occupy less than 10 square meters of space, and every inch of space is occupied.

Mother looked around and said to the cousin: “There is a man selling drinks behind you, and you are blocking the path to his stall. He will not be happy about it.”

My cousin replied: “This facade is my own, and the rent is high. I can make more money by adding one more table.”

My mother said, “The place is good for you, but you are preventing other people from making money. In life, we need to be smart one-third of the time, be silly for the other third, and make others happy the rest of the time.”

Reluctantly, my cousin put away a table so that people could pass through.

My cousin stopped by the other day and happily thanked my mother. He told her: “My snacks and the neighbor’s drinks went well together, and we were able to support each other’s business.”

Out of gratitude to my cousin, the young man selling drinks came to help put away the extra table in the morning. When he cleaned up his bottles, he would also clean up my cousin’s table and clean my cousin’s dirty bowls.

Use one-third of your time to help others. This is what my mother often says, and she has followed this rule throughout her life.

When we were young, my mother liked to leave a row unsown when planting the land. She said that growing crops too close to other people’s land would cause confusion and unnecessary disputes. Most importantly, if one planted corn while the others planted peanuts, it would interfere with each others’ crops’ growth.

My mother has been farming at home for more than ten years. She has never had a dispute with others over land boundaries. On the contrary, there are often people who are eager to help her plow and sow.

Set aside the time to help others, and others will respond with sincerity and warmth.

Every family in our community has a small vegetable garden. Under my mother’s influence, when I grow vegetables, I leave a vacant space around my plot so that the neighbors can easily access their gardens. Unexpectedly, this small act makes me feel warm inside.

I have a tight working schedule and have difficulty managing my vegetable garden, so I only grow leafy greens. However, every time I go to pick vegetables, one of my neighbors will give me beans, or the other one will offer me tomatoes.

What is even more heartwarming is that I worked a lot of overtime this year, so much so that I forgot about the vegetable garden. When I finally remembered about it, I found green spinach growing in my vegetable garden. It turned out that the neighbor saw that my garden was deserted when she was growing vegetables, so she leveled the ground, watered it, and planted spinach seeds. When I thanked her, she said that I set aside so much space for her walk every year, it was no trouble for her to return the favor by planting seeds.

Do I let too much land lie fallow? It’s not big enough to make a difference, and the warmth that I receive from my neighbors for my generosity is well worth it. They help me manage the vegetable garden and often help me look after my mother, who is over 80 years old. They help my mother to receive guests and put away the clothes drying in the yard.

Life is long, and regardless of whether you are a neighbor or a colleague, it is a form of self-improvement to respect others and spend so much time making them happy.

Make some time in your life to assist others, and you will find that life is less empty.

The original text is in Chinese. The author is unknown.

《留下三分暖別人》(網路文章-作者不詳!)

表弟以每月2000元的價格在小吃一條街租賃了一個攤位，他邀請我和母親去嚐鮮。

10多平方米的地方擺了8張桌子，每一寸空間都占得滿滿的。

母親前後左右看了看，就訓了表弟：「你後面就是賣飲料的，你把人家的路堵得死死的，時間長了，人家會有意見的」。

表弟說：「這門面是我自己的，租金那麼高，多一張桌子就能多賺錢啊」。

母親說：「地方是你自己的不錯，但你擋住了別人的
財路。做人啊，要精三分，憨三分，留下三分暖別人。

表弟有些不情願地撤下一張桌子，空出些地方讓人通過。

前些天表弟來我家，高興地對我母親表示感謝：他的小吃和後面的飲品正好搭配在一起，兩人還能相互照顧生意。

出於對表弟留路的感謝，早上出攤時，賣飲品的小伙子還來幫忙抬桌子，生意忙時，小伙子來拾自己飲料瓶時，還會順手把表弟的髒碗也收起來。

留下三分暖別人，這是母親常掛在嘴邊的話，也是母親一生堅守的生活準則。

記得我們小時候，母親種地時，喜歡剩下一壟不播種，她說種得太靠邊了容易和別人的莊稼混在一起，引起不必要的爭執，最重要的是，如果自家種了玉米，別人家種了花生，會影響別人的莊稼生長。

所以母親在家種地十多年，從來沒有因為地界和別人發生過爭執，相反的常有人熱心幫助母親耕犁播種。

留下三分暖別人，別人回報給你的是更多的真情和溫暖。

我們小區每家都有個小菜園，受母親的影響，種菜時兩邊我都要騰出一畦空地來，方便相鄰人家澆菜、摘菜時走路。沒想到這小小的給與讓我收獲了無限溫情。

我上班時間緊，疏於管理菜園，種的都是單一的葉子菜。可是每次去摘菜，不是西家送豆角，就是東家給西紅柿。

更暖心的是，今年單位加班時間多，我竟然忘了菜園這回事，當我想起來時，菜地裡已長出了綠油油的菠菜。

原來是東家的阿姨種菜時看到我家的園子荒著，就順手把我家的地整平後，澆了水，撒上了種子。

當我向她表示感謝時，她說每年我都空出那麼多地供她走路，撒一把種子算不了什麼。

我空出的地多嗎？屈指算來簡直不足掛齒，而別人給予我的溫情是無法量化的。

他們不但幫我管理菜園子，還常幫我照看年過八旬的母親、接待來家的客人、收拾曬在院子裡的衣物……。

人生悠長，無論鄰里之間、同事之間，凡事給別人留三分、替別人想三分是一種修養，也是對別人的一種尊重。

留下三分暖別人，你會發現，人生少冷漠，生活多溫暖。