Her husband was still lying in bed. She gently touched his face with a trembling finger. At that moment, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled calmly at her. “It’s ok, my dear. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” He ran his right hand lovingly through her black hair and stroked the wisps out of her eyes. It had been painful enough to accept this incomplete left hand and even worse to hear him casually say, “I’ll be fine”. She felt a tingle in her eyes and felt tears run down her cheeks.

“Mr. Chen! We are here to visit you. Do you feel better?” Three men entered the room. One man held a red banner on with the words “Self Sacrifice” written across it. Another man brought a fruit basket and consolation money. He was the manager. The last man, who looked strange and smiled reluctantly, was Liude.

Mrs.Chen wiped her tears and let them sit down on small, stiff chairs.
The manager comforted Mr.Chen and congratulated him on becoming a lifetime worker in the factory. They gave the banner and fruits to her and then stood up and walked out of the room. Only Liude remained.
Mrs. Chen stared at Liude and felt puzzled. If her husband had not stuck his neck out for the man, it would be him lying on the bed.


Mr. Chen felt his left hand become more painful. He could not speak. Mrs.Chen slapped Liude on the face.
Liude put his hands over his cheek, “What are you doing?” Mrs.Chen looked indignant and tried to lift the chair to beat him.
“Stop that!” Mr. Chen shouted out to her. The room suddenly returned to silence.
“I didn’t know you will think like that, Liude. It’s a little bit of cruel to hear. ” Mr.Chen said gravely, “You know what, you also take lots of my chances. The chance for me to do normal work. The chance I have a complete left hand. The chance to hug my daughter tight. So who can I ask?”


Mrs.Chen choked back a sob. Liude became quiet and silence, he looked astonished.
“But I will never regret, Liude. If my friend were in that situation, I would do it again.” Mr.Chen smiled to ceiling and kept said
Now Liude was stunned by Chen smiling. Liude felt something he did not know how to describe that made him feel very uncomfortable. But Mrs.Chen knew something from Liude’s face at that moment. Whatever it was, she extremely knew her husband really did the right thing