Stop Working

The sun dyed the sky orange and the soft glow from it shines down on the kids playing together outside of their houses. 

Jay's family's house is located pretty high up in a hill, so Jay had to walk up for quite some time through those steps. 

Finally, after walking up for around 15 minutes, Jay arrived. 

"Phew~ I'm here!"

He looked at the simple house in front of him with a smile. 

It was a small house with the walls not even finished. The roofing is already rusting, no paint on the walls, even the gate is just a makeshift one.

From all this, you can already judge that the people living inside it are not rich or whatsoever. 

Despite that, when he is here in this house, Jay could only think of fond memories such as those times when he was still younger. 

Taking a step forward, Jay familiarly opened the gate and entered. 

Entering the house, Jay immediately saw the figure of his mother and father sitting side by side on the wooden sofa, watching TV. 

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Jay greeted me with a smile.

Hearing the sudden voice the two turned their eyes in his direction and were surprised. 

"Jay! Why are you here?"

"Son, did you eat already?"

The two of them asked, looking at Jay with surprise and worry.

As Jay's parents, it's been a long time since they last saw their son. 

They can't help but feel worried for him living alone somewhere far from home. 

However, there is nothing that they could do. All their life, they lived a poor life, unable to rise up.

No matter how much they desire for their life to change, life already seems so bleak and they can only try their best to survive.

So, now that Jay came home after such a long time, his mother and father can't help but look at him with caring eyes. 

Seeing all that and hearing their words, Jay smiled and reassured them. 

Laughing, he said, "I got some money as well as some free time, so I decided to come home today."

"Anyway, I haven't eaten anything yet, is there anything?"

His mother immediately reacted, "I haven't cooked anything yet. Wait, I will go and prepare food for you immediately."

Jay's mom immediately went inside the kitchen and started tinkering with what they have. 

As for Jay, he sat down on the wooden sofa and started chatting with his dad. 

"How's your foot now, dad?"

"It's alright now. It was just a minor injury. Thanks to the money that you sent, the hospital manager made a quick fix with it."

Hearing that, Jay silently heaved a sign of relief. 

To be honest, when he heard that his dad got into an accident, Jay was really worried and wanted to rush back home to see the situation. 

However, his circumstances don't allow for it, leaving him with no other option but to just send money. 

Now that he heard that his father is already in good condition, Jay was finally relieved. 

The two of them talked for just a minute before Jay's mom came back from the kitchen, holding a plate of rice and a bowl. 

Putting it on the table, she beckoned to Jay and said, "Come here, my son. You must be tired from your travels. You should eat now and get some rest after."

"Okay, mom."

Standing up, Jay walked to the table and immediately got a clearer view of what's in the bowl. 

It was sardines, canned sardines. 

Seeing him looking at it, his mother can't help but feel sorry. 

"Sigh… I'm sorry, Son. That's the only food we can afford right now."

Somehow, hearing his mother's apologetic tone makes Jay feel like a knife is stuck on his throat. 

Jay feels sorry for his mother. 

All her life, she tried to provide for their family, along with Jay's father. 

With their limited capabilities and achievements, it was really hard to get through all sorts of problems, especially financial ones. 

As a kid, Jay watched them work here and there, get embarrassed by others just for a pitiful amount of money.

So now, Jay can't help but feel emotional. 

However, Jay closed his eyes, quietly drew his breath and said,

"What are you even saying, mom. You don't have to apologize, that's still food, okay?"

Jay sat down without hesitation and started eating the rice with the sardines. 

On the side, Jay's mother watched her son silently with a sad look on her face. 

As for Jay's father, he sat there on the sofa, his eyes staring hard on the TV. But you can clearly see the emotions in his eyes, filled with sadness. 

After a while, Jay finished eating and let out a burp. 

"Burp~ Ahh, that was some nice food."

He turned to his mom and smiled, "Thanks for the food, mom."

Hearing that, Jay's mother put on a gentle, but forced smile. 

Jay thought of something at this moment and said, "Mom, Dad, let's all go out tomorrow. We should go out and do some shopping."

But to his words, Jay's mother actually shook her head, "I can't, Son. I still have to go to work tomorrow."

"Your dad also needs to go to the construction site, so we can't go."

Jay paused for a moment. 

Then he stood up and went to the wooden sofa where his father is and called for his mother, "Come here, mom. Sir beside dad, I have something to say to you two."

At this sudden turn of events, the husband and wife looked at each other and saw confusion in both eyes. 

Jay's mother sat down beside her husband and looked at her son. 

"So, what is it that you want to say?" asked Jay's father.

Jay sorts his words inside his head for a while before facing his parents and saying, "Mom, Dad, what I want to say is that… how about you two stop working from now on?"