Cave Refuge-Chapter 197 - 196: The Attitude of Parents_1
After Dong Tianyu left the Refuge Center, Mrs. Thompson cleaned up the dinner table in the evening and joined Mr. Thompson for a chat while semi-reclining in bed.
Couples chatting before sleep was a common occurrence before the apocalypse. After the apocalypse, perhaps due to the destruction of electronic devices, these chat sessions lasted longer.
"What do you think our son is doing outside that he can bring so many things back every time."
Although Mrs. Thompson didn’t say much when Dong Tianyu returned each time, she was still deeply worried about her son in her heart, hoping he was safe outside and not taking too many risks.
Hearing the concern in his wife’s voice, Mr. Thompson gave her a reassuring hug and comforted her, "Our son is grown up now; he has his own life. Things are not the same as before, and our past experiences can no longer guide him. The only thing we can do now is to trust him and support him."
As Mr. Thompson said these words, he was filled with emotion, perhaps the parents during the apocalypse differed from those of other nations.
Most parents always believed that their children were the creditors of their previous lives, and strove to give their children what they thought was the best.
Because they were used to making decisions for their children from an early age, they continued to make choices for their children based on their past experiences, even when their children had grown up and formed their thoughts.
Even when the children had grown up, having not only their own perception of the world but also values different from theirs, parents always assumed their children were still too young and wanted to make decisions for them.
Though the previous generation’s wisdom is valuable, times have changed, and some of their experiences lagged behind the present.
For people living in the 50s and 60s, the idea of entering a factory to become a worker was even better than joining the Officials.
Their view at the time was not wrong. Working conditions were indeed great. Once you became a worker, the factory would take care of your entire life.
When you reach the marriage age, the factory would introduce you to a partner. After having children, the factory would provide leave for breastfeeding and nursery care in the factory for the child after weaning.
As the children grow older, the factory offers primary and secondary education. If the children perform well academically, the factory would fund their high school or university education.
If the children’s academic performance was poor, they would be prioritised when the factory hires temporary workers, or they could take over your position when you retire.
Back then, if you became a worker, you were sure to be the envy of others.
So for those born in the 60s or 70s, when they reached adulthood, their parents would strongly advise them against doing business but instead going into factories and being a hardworking worker.
But how could those living in the 50s and 60s foresee the changes of the 80s and 90s? During that time, due to privatisation, countless state-owned factories went bankrupt, and workers’ benefits took a steep dive.
During that time, those they once looked down upon and those who were good at scheming, emerged and became wealthy individuals in a short time.
Those behaviours that were once punished and even rebuked became praised by the Officials in the 80s and 90s. The sudden change of social norms caused fear.
Because of their fear, they began to pursue positions within the Officials who interpreted the rules.
By the time the 60s and 70s generation became parents themselves, it was already the millennium. Although positions within the Officials were still respected, because of the phrase "let some people get rich first", the concept of cronyism began to distort, and the traditional morality that had been adhered to for thousands of years began to collapse. The pursuit of wealth became the mainstream belief.
When success was measured by wealth, people no longer worshiped righteousness but instead turned to worship the God of Wealth. These changes reflected the changes in times.
The paths that the 60s and 70s generation parents arranged for their children weren’t undesirable, just unfit for the current times.
By the time the 80s and 90s generation became parents themselves, living in the new era, they had already accepted the concepts of the new era. Hence the saying, "no matter how sweet, can’t spoil the child, no matter how bitter, can’t harm oneself," came about.
The sons and daughters will have their blessings; without sons and daughters, I will enjoy my blessings.
Raise the son and daughter in poverty, raise oneself in wealth and health.
The children are young, they have plenty to eat in the future, I won’t be here anymore, every meal I eat is one less.
If these phrases were spoken in the 50s and 60s, they would definitely be considered eccentric or even reported.
But in current times, these phrases get approval from many. This reflects the different perspectives due to different values, or what many people would call the generation gap.
Mr. Thompson didn’t understand this at first, but as the catastrophe continued, he gradually came to understand this principle and stopped imposing his own experiences on his son.
Because of the habit built over the years, when Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu were together, they either remained silent, or whenever they had a conversation, regardless of the topic, Mr. Thompson always wanted Dong Tianyu to listen to him and agree with his arrangements.
Like most parents, Mr. Thompson placed the responsibility on his children, whether they failed or succeeded. A successful action was due to his right planning, and failure was the responsibility of the child.
Though he was adamant about not admitting his mistakes, many times after problems arose, Mr. Thompson knew it was his fault.
But he couldn’t face it, he couldn’t bring himself to apologise to his son, which is why when Dong Tianyu wanted them to leave, he directly refused, not wanting to live with Dong Tianyu.
Aside from this reason, the main reason was that he and his wife, living in the Officials’ Refuge Center, weren’t living a hard life but rather quite a happy one.
The main issue living in the underground refuge was the limitation of supplies. Even though the Officials would distribute supplies enough for basic survival, those could only ensure survival; a comfortable life was nothing but a dream.
However, due to Dong Tianyu, they didn’t lack any supplies, and their life in the refuge was not much different compared to before the apocalypse.
In fact, compared to the time before the cataclysm, when they had to save money for Dong Tianyu’s dowry, their life in the refuge was much better.
As for the emotional aspect, even though they were living in the underground refuge, Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson actually expanded their social circles.
Regardless of other factors, generally speaking, generous people often make more friends.
Thanks to Dong Tianyu, Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson’s life in the Officials’ Refuge was quite comfortable.
(Chapter 195 is not unexpectedly blocked. To prevent deductions in word count like the last Chapter, I wrote extra. Do you know what it feels like when more than two thousand words are blocked? When I started my membership, all paragraphs were flagged, only two or three sentences were safe paragraphs.)
