Wen Ruan could clearly hear the conversation between the two people in the room. After confirming that the people outside were Wen's mother and Song's mother, she felt a little nervous for some reason. After composing herself for a while and checking that there was nothing wrong with her, she took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

While chatting, Wen's mother and Song's mother were casually wiping the room's furnishings when they heard the sound of a door opening in the next room. Both of them were a little surprised and looked over at the door.

"Wow!" The two exclaimed in surprise. They were quite surprised to see Wen Ruan and didn't even recognize her at first. After a few seconds, they finally realized who she was and their eyes were filled with joy.

"Mom, I'm back," Wen Ruan said, noticing their surprised expressions.

As soon as she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing this, Wen's mother and Song's mother also felt a pang of sadness, and their eyes reddened along with Wen Ruan's.

After calming down, the three of them sat down on the sofa in the living room and began to talk about what had happened between them during the time Wen Ruan was away.

Everyone originally thought that Wen Ruan would not be able to return for a while, but she returned much earlier than expected, several months earlier than anticipated.

Wen Ruan explained that the English education system is different from that of China, with students in spring and autumn semesters. Although she was a student in the spring semester, her studies and research progressed faster, and with the consent of her supervisor, she could apply for graduation together with the students in the autumn semester. In addition, due to the various procedures, it has been delayed until now.

Wen's mother and Song's mother felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this.

Nothing particularly significant has happened at home recently, except that Wen's mother retired; Wen's father officially became the director of the steel plant, shining brightly in the factory; and Song Yan went to Linxian to serve as the director, and everything is progressing very smoothly, except that the family members miss Wen Ruan very much.

Seeing that Wen's mother and Wen Ruan were both in tears, Song's mother understood and suggested that Wen Ruan go back to the Wen family home for a few days to keep her parents company, and that they could talk about other things later.

Wen Ruan was both moved and grateful upon hearing this, and promised to return to the compound the next afternoon to visit Mr. and Mrs. Song. Mrs. Song was overjoyed and repeatedly praised Wen Ruan for being sensible.

That evening, Wen Ruan and her mother returned to the steel factory's residential compound. Wen's father was not there. In Wen Ruan's mother's words, "Your father is doing very well in his career now, it seems like his career has experienced a second spring."

"In the current environment, various state-owned factories are facing many shocks and challenges. Many employees have resigned and gone into business. In addition, with the emergence of many private factories, many state-owned factories are not doing well and have been greatly impacted."

“But the Beijing Steel Plant is different. If you ask me, my daughter and son-in-law deserve credit for this too!” Mother Wen said with a hint of pride, which puzzled Wen Ruan. She didn’t know what her daughter had to do with it, since she wasn’t an employee of the steel plant.

Seeing Wen Ruan's expression, Wen's mother immediately knew what Wen Ruan was thinking and said, "When the steel plant proposed reforms, my son-in-law was the first to respond and put forward various practical solutions. Don't underestimate the newspaper you wrote for the factory before; it was that newspaper that attracted the attention of the higher-ups."

"The leaders attached great importance to this matter. The plan to attract talent and introduce technology by using our steel plant as a pilot project was able to be implemented. Otherwise, given the lukewarm nature of the previous factory director, the implementation of this plan would have been much more difficult."

"And that batch of equipment imported from Germany has generated tremendous benefits for our factory. It is said that our factory's R&D department and the mechanical research institute above have conducted a detailed analysis of these machines, saying that they want to develop our own forging steel machines!"

"Rumor has it that it will be on the production line soon!" Wen's mother said excitedly to Wen Ruan as she spoke.

People in the family compound are saying that you and Song Yan made a great contribution.

The factory is only so big, and as family members, we know everything that happened inside.

Looking at her mother's smug expression, Wen Ruan was both amused and exasperated.

"Mom, I just overheard you and my mother-in-law discussing your early retirement. What's going on?" Wen Ruan asked.

In Wen Ruan's eyes, her mother loved her job very much, had a straightforward personality, was kind to others, and was always respected by the surrounding residents. In addition, she was in her prime, so unless something bad happened, Wen Ruan found it hard to believe that her mother had voluntarily requested to take early retirement and go home.

Mrs. Wen hesitated, unwilling to talk about the upsetting things, only saying that she was getting old and her energy wasn't what it used to be, and that she wanted to go home as soon as possible, like Mrs. Song, to have some tea and go shopping in her spare time, living a carefree life...

Wen Ruan couldn't get an answer from her, and seeing that she was in very good condition, radiant and with a rosy complexion, she gradually felt relieved. As long as she was happy and content, that was all that mattered.

The two chatted for a long time afterward. When it was almost lunchtime, Wen's mother picked up a basket, took some money, and went to the market to buy groceries. Wen Ruan wanted to go with her, but her mother thought that she had just gotten off the plane that morning and wanted her to go and rest. In the end, Wen Ruan couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she went back to her room after her mother left.

When Wen Ruan returned to her room, she found it spotless, with not a single item in its original position. Wen Ruan couldn't imagine what her mother must have felt while she was away, cleaning the room and meticulously wiping every object. Her heart was filled with complex emotions.

As soon as Wen's mother reached the bottom of the stairs, she could no longer hold back her tears. She had been too embarrassed to cry in front of Wen Ruan, mainly because she didn't want her child to worry.

But now, when she is alone, she can no longer suppress her feelings. Heaven knows how many times she has thought of her daughter in the middle of the night. During the time Wen Ruan was away, she and her father worried about her every day. She didn't eat well, worked and studied too hard, and worried that something might happen to her alone in a foreign country.

Fortunately, the child finally returned safely...

"Oh, Director Ruan, where are you going?" Wen's mother had just composed herself and stepped out of the building when she was greeted by a neighbor from the compound.