Wandering in the vast darkness

"I'm my parents' only child. People like us are called 'factory kids' online. It means our family owns a factory, and whether you like it or not, you have to go back and take over the business sooner or later. What else can you do? Your parents have worked so hard for so many years. When they get old and can't work anymore, if you don't take over, who will? Just throw it away?"

"If that were the case, my parents would probably be driven to their deaths by me. Besides, once you start a factory, there's no going back unless there are external factors, such as bankruptcy, forced demolition, or something like that. Otherwise, it's very difficult to shut it down on your own. It's not just about making money or not; it's about how many people depend on the factory for their livelihood. You can't just close it down and be done with it."

"Many people in the factory, including many workers, have been working with my parents since they were young, and now they are middle-aged or elderly. They have spent the first half of their lives in the factory. Now you say the factory is closing down, what will happen to them? Behind them are families. Where will they go if the factory closes down?"

"Logically speaking, my parents don't really need to earn money anymore. If they close the factory and do nothing, they can live comfortably from the rent of all those houses. But my dad still sleeps with one eye open. Why? I've thought about it, and it's because the factory is like another child to them."

"Honestly, sometimes when I think about it, they put more effort into the factory than into me. My dad yelled at me and dumped me at the school gate like trash. He didn't care about me at all. What was he doing? Busy with factory work."

"When I got a little older, it got even worse. They felt that as long as they gave me money and made sure I didn't lack money, they had already fulfilled their obligations as parents. They were busy as dogs outside every day, and when they came home, they didn't even want to say a word. Where would they find the time to tutor me or have a chat with me? There was none."

"We have a WeChat group, a WeChat group for 'second-generation factory workers,' and there are many girls like me in it. When we talk about it, we all feel the same way. There was another girl who was in her dad's car, and when we got to the gas station, she ran down to the gas station's convenience store to buy something to eat, and her dad didn't even notice."

"Her dad left after filling up the gas tank and went to the factory. She was so young then, she couldn't say anything about phone numbers or where she lived. She was so anxious, she just froze and could only cry. She cried until the police came, saw her dad's license plate on the surveillance footage, called the vehicle management office, got the owner's number, and called her dad. He was already at the factory when he realized his daughter was missing. Isn't that funny?"

"We don't like factories at all. What girl likes a factory? Even boys rarely like them now. They all prefer working in office buildings and don't like going back to the countryside. Factories can only survive in the countryside now. Those in the city have long been driven out, and the land has been used to build houses and sell them."

"We may seem to have no worries about food and clothing, living in villas, driving luxury cars, and even studying abroad, but no matter how crazy you are, it will only last for a few years. In fact, we have no freedom. Our fate has been predetermined. In a few years, no matter how much you resist, you will have to go back to the factory to take over the job."

"I really want to. I want to do a good job so that my parents can rest assured and know that their life's hard work will not be ruined in my hands. I also want them to be proud of me and see that I am doing a great job."

"Really, that's what I really think. No matter how much I wander around outside, or how many years I wander, I will eventually have to go back. I am destined to be a 'second-generation factory worker,' and that can't be changed. Being outside is just to broaden my horizons, learn from other people's management experience, learn from their strengths and make up for my weaknesses, absorb their knowledge and make it my own, and lay the foundation for the future."

"But look at me now, how am I supposed to do a good job, how am I supposed to take over their jobs? I really want to be normal again, but I just don't know how. Brother Yu, this morning, when I was able to leave the room and get into the car like a normal person, you have no idea how happy I was. I cried, I cried with joy."

"I don't even know how I did it, and I can't remember the last time I did something so simple and easy. Thank you, Brother Yu! I really couldn't have done it without you. I did it, and I'm so proud of myself."

Jiang Yihe kept talking, completely absorbed in her words, while Yu Wenhao listened attentively and intently. Even when the dishes were served, neither of them touched their chopsticks.

After Jiang Yihe finished speaking, Yu Wenhao said to her, "You can do it. You are very smart. Even if you go back to take over the business, there won't be any problems. I also work in a factory myself. I believe you can definitely manage the factory very well."

"Thank you!" Jiang Yihe said, though her face was still clouded with worry.

Yu Wenhao knew what she was worried about. After thinking for a moment, he picked up his phone, opened the photo album, and handed it to Jiang Yihe.

Jiang Yihe exclaimed, "This little girl is so cute! Who is she?"

"My daughter, her name is Qianqian, Qian as in shallow and deep," Yu Wenhao and Jiang Yihe said.

Yu Wenhao then told Jiang Yihe about Qianqian's illness and the pain she had endured time and time again. Jiang Yihe's eyes reddened as she listened, and she said:

"She's so young, and she already has to go through all this?"

Yu Wenhao nodded and said yes. Sometimes seeing her in pain makes her mother and I feel pain too. If we could take her place and suffer those pains instead, we would love to.

Yu Wenhao looked at Jiang Yihe and asked, "Do you know what she wants to do most?"

Jiang Yihe shook her head.

Yu Wenhao said, "She really wants to go out. If she weren't sick, she would be in second grade now, and she longs to go to school. Every day she sits in front of the window, and right below the window is our community activity center, with slides, swings, and all sorts of things. Every day, many children play there. She longs to go out and play with them, but it's impossible."

"Why?" Jiang Yihe asked.

"One problem is that many parents lack common sense about this. They don't know that leukemia is not contagious. When they see a patient with their child, they are afraid and discriminate against them, telling Qianqian not to go near their child. We don't want Qianqian to be humiliated like this, and we don't want her to know at such a young age that she is a person discriminated against by this society."

Jiang Yihe nodded, understanding.

"Also, if she plays with other children, and kids don't know their own strength, it's normal for them to roughhouse. What if she gets hurt? She's the least able to take a break from being hurt," Yu Wenhao said. "So even if she wants to go out, she can't. She can only sit by the window, staring blankly outside, watching the other children playing below."

Jiang Yihe was touched and sighed softly.

Yu Wenhao continued, "I'm not home all day. Her mother takes care of her. Her mother can only take her to the outside of the iron fence of the nearby primary school in the morning when she has classes. She loves watching the children doing radio calisthenics on the playground. Her mother said that she almost cried when she saw her daughter looking so dazed."

"It's the same at night. Her mother can only take her downstairs after nine or ten o'clock, when all the other children have gone home and gone to sleep, and then she can stay with her alone in the playground to play on the slides and swings."

"Brother Yu, I've already cried," Jiang Yihe said, tears glistening in her eyes.