Outside the Factory Gates

In 1988, eighteen-year-old Chen Jianping walked into Ming County No. 2 Machinery Factory wearing his father's old blue work clothes. He thought that having a job at a work unit meant his future was secure for life.

Ten years later, the factory began revising its reassignment list. He knew his friend Song Weiguo's destination had been entered incorrectly, but he signed the verification form to protect his own position.

After that, the factory gradually shut down, and his friends stopped keeping in touch. Chen Jianping went south to find work, returned home to open a shop, raised his daughter, and saw his father off. Before long, he had grown into the age his father had been back then. The words he had never said were buried beneath plans for a house, medical records, payments owed, and the everyday meals on the table.

In 2025, the old factory gates were about to be demolished. A yellowed form was laid before him once again.

He had repaired many machines in his life, but he had no idea how to mend the thing he had broken with his own hands.