Rust

Chen Mo, who is nearly forty years old, has spent fifteen years working on the assembly line of "Hongyuan Precision Instrument Factory". He once thought that this job was the "single fin" for his family - he could pay off the mortgage, provide for his daughter Xiaoya to go to kindergarten, and free his wife Lin Wan from having to worry about making ends meet. But the "optimization" notice came suddenly. Fifteen years of hard work only resulted in a termination agreement, and the compensation was barely enough for three months' expenses. The "Haiyun" community where he lives is full of traces of time, and the humid air is filled with the smell of rust and the fish market, which is very similar to his situation: the "family car" in Xiaoya's paintings has not been replaced. When Lin Wan is cooking dumplings, he always asks, "How many resumes will I submit tomorrow?", And the list of medicine bills from his parents in his hometown and the monthly mortgage deduction text messages all make him breathless. When looking for a job, I meet the threshold of "under 35 years old". If I want to start a small business, I am afraid of losing all my savings. I miss my hometown but have no place to stay. He was like an old machine tool left behind by the times, staring blankly at the "rust" of life - the mold spots in the bathroom, the polished leather of the steering wheel, and the fatigue in his eyes. Without good luck, Chen Mo relearned with free skills classes in the community; Lin Wan changed a half-knitted scarf into his gloves; Xiaoya pasted a family portrait on his mobile phone case. This is not a counterattack novel, but a record of ordinary people's lives: in the scraps of the times, relying on the warmth of family, they can wipe away the rust of life bit by bit and regain the strength to move forward.