"Wh-what’s wrong? What happened?" Gordon Lynch felt a wave of panic. He knew his daughter’s usual temperament. Even if she wanted something, she would always discuss it with them. This was the first time Gordon had ever seen her act so forcefully.
"I’m home, and I’m waiting for you right now.
"If you don’t come back, I’ll just keep waiting!"
Without giving her father a chance to ask anything else, Wendy Lynch hung up the phone.
Gordon stared at the disconnected call, a conflicted expression crossing his face. Taking time off now meant losing his perfect attendance bonus. However, thinking of the anxious tone in his daughter’s voice, he could only let out a helpless sigh.
About an hour later, the familiar sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by the CLICK of keys turning in the lock.
Lana Miller started complaining the moment she walked in. "Wendy? What on earth happened?
"Calling us back in such a frantic hurry..."
However, the words died in her throat when she saw her daughter on the couch. Wendy’s eyes were red, and she was staring intently at them. Her gaze quickly swept over her parents. Seeing that both of their hands were perfectly intact, not missing a single finger, her tense nerves finally relaxed.
"WAAH..." Unable to hold it in any longer, she threw her arms around her parents and burst into loud sobs.
This sudden breakdown completely bewildered Gordon and Lana.
Lana panicked, clumsily patting her daughter’s back. "Oh, my precious daughter! What’s wrong?
"Did someone bully you? Tell Mom!
"Did something happen during your trip?"
Gordon looked equally at a loss, simply letting his daughter hug him as she cried.
Wendy cried for a long time, as if trying to vent all her grievances. She certainly couldn’t tell them the truth, so she choked back her tears and offered the excuse she had prepared in advance.
"A... a good friend of mine... her mom... was working overtime at the factory yesterday.
"She was so tired she couldn’t focus... and accidentally... her entire hand got... got sliced off by the machine..."
Weeping, she haltingly recounted the fabricated story based on information from the future.
Hearing this, Gordon and Lana’s faces paled. They had worked in factories for over twenty years. Although they had never witnessed such a bloody workplace accident with their own eyes, they would hear about a severe incident at a neighboring plant every few years. Machines had no eyes; the slightest carelessness could cost a finger, an arm, or even a life! The two instantly imagined themselves in that situation. A chill ran down their spines, and cold sweat broke out on their skin.
"That... that’s too tragic..." Lana patted her chest, lingering fear in her heart.
"So... the moment I heard the news, I was terrified... I just wanted to see you immediately..."
Wendy looked up at her parents. "Dad, Mom, your work is so dangerous. How about you quit?
"My salary is really high now. It’s more than enough to support you!
"Plus, I’ve had amazing luck lately. Not only did I make 300,000 from stone gambling, but I also helped the police spot an A-list wanted criminal yesterday and earned over 200,000.
"Over 500,000 isn’t a huge amount, but it’s enough to take over a small storefront at the entrance of our neighborhood.
"Didn’t you guys mention before that running a breakfast joint is profitable?
"Why don’t we open one?
"Of course, if you think running a breakfast place is too exhausting, we could open a convenience store instead."
As their daughter, Wendy knew her parents’ personalities inside out. They were only in their forties; there was absolutely no way they would agree to just retire straight away. That was why she had formulated a countermeasure: find something else to keep them busy.
Lana exclaimed, "Wendy, weren’t you supposed to be on a trip?
"How did you get mixed up with a wanted criminal?"
Wendy hurriedly explained. "Don’t worry, Mom. I was just strolling through a scenic spot when I noticed a guy who looked a lot like a fugitive.
"So, I called the police. This morning, they told me they successfully caught the guy, and he really was the criminal. The 230,000 reward money will be wired to my account in a little while!"
Relieved to hear that their daughter hadn’t actually come into contact with the fugitive, both Lana and Gordon breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Gordon frowned and cautioned her. "Assisting the police in catching criminals is indeed our duty as citizens.
"However, you must remember that your safety comes first! You absolutely, absolutely cannot act recklessly, understood?!
"You’re our only daughter. If anything happened to you, what would we do?!"
Compared to the reward money, Gordon and Lana obviously cared much more about their daughter’s personal safety.
Feeling their concern, Wendy nodded vigorously. "Don’t worry, I definitely won’t do anything foolish. I even waited until I got back to the hotel to call the police!"
With that, she swiftly shifted the conversation back to their retirement. "Let’s put my stuff aside for a moment and talk about you two.
"What do you think of my proposal?"
Gordon furrowed his brows in thought for a moment before shaking his head with a bitter smile. "We’ve been working in factories for over twenty years. What do we know about running a business?
"I think it’s better if we keep working at the plant. Besides, your mom is due to retire in a couple of years anyway."
Lana chimed in from the side. "That’s right. I’m already forty-nine this year. According to national regulations, I can retire in just six years.
"Let’s not make things complicated. Besides, our factory is pretty safe."
Hearing her parents’ unhesitating refusal, the last shred of hope in Wendy’s heart shattered. She released her grip on her parents, took a step back, and wiped the tears from her face. The atmosphere in the room instantly stiffened. What had been a heartwarming family reunion just moments ago now carried a hint of confrontation.
Wendy couldn’t understand. "Why? Why do you insist on working at the factory?
"When we didn’t have a choice in the past, staying at the factory was indeed the only option.
"But now we have money. We clearly have better choices!"
Lana’s brows knitted together, her tone turning slightly displeased. "What do you mean by ’better choices’?
"Doing business involves risk. What if we lose money?
"That 500,000 might look like a lot, but if we actually rent a storefront, renovate it, and stock up on goods, it’ll vanish in a flash!
"We’re doing perfectly fine at the factory. It’s stable, we get a guaranteed salary every month, and we have our social insurance and housing fund. What’s wrong with that?"
Gordon echoed his wife’s sentiments. "Your mom is right.
"Wendy, I know your heart aches for us.
"But doing business isn’t as simple as you think. Your mom and I are just honest, hardworking laborers. We wouldn’t be able to navigate all those complex tricks of the trade."
It was the same old excuse. A wave of powerlessness surged in Wendy’s chest. She knew her parents had a typical blue-collar mindset—they sought stability, feared risks, and were accustomed to taking orders and earning a steady paycheck their entire lives. Forcing them out of their comfort zone to face a completely unknown territory was indeed a difficult task.
However, Wendy was even more certain that as they grew older, processing machine parts would become increasingly hazardous for them. They were almost fifty years old; their energy and physical strength could no longer match that of the younger workers. The factory’s management wouldn’t assign them a lighter workload just because of their age.
If the work was easy, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But what if one day they felt unwell, or were forced to work consecutive overtime shifts and lost their focus? The consequences could be fatal. She absolutely refused to allow such a tragedy to occur in her parents’ lives.
Reasoning with them wasn’t going to work.
Wendy took a deep breath. The lingering sorrow and vulnerability on her face completely vanished, replaced by an unprecedented look of determination.
"Fine, you don’t want to make things complicated. You want stability. I understand."
She looked at her parents calmly, enunciating every single word.
"If you don’t resign, then I’ll resign."
"..."
"..."
The expressions on Gordon and Lana’s faces instantly froze, as if they thought they had misheard her.