The old master and his old machine

The old master is retiring, and he used to twist the power button of that machine with rough hands.

I didn't hear the rumble of the machine that had been carved into my bones. Oh, I forgot, this machine is no longer used, and it has become a pile of scrap metal.

In the 1980s, the master was still a young man wearing bell bottoms. The spring breeze of reform and opening up did not blow into Guangdong, a remote small city, so young people happily followed a group of young people to Shenzhen, hoping to do something in that enclosed place. Graduated from junior college, he is also a cultural person. I sold CDs, opened restaurants, stumbled across rivers and stumbled for years. Although not famous, it is still a small achievement.

That was in the 1980s, when state-owned enterprises implemented the substitution system. The young man was called back to this small city by his father's critically ill phone call. Facing his dying father and haggard and helpless mother, he finally stayed in his hometown, followed in his father's footsteps and entered the factory. At that time, most parents always wanted their children to have a stable job and a visible future. A son can only do this, his parents are here, he doesn't travel far, he gives up his distant dreams and shoulders the burden of a family. When his father did not survive that year, the young man picked up his father's toolbox.

In the second year, he married a female colleague in the factory, and his mother was very satisfied with this female colleague. He had a girlfriend when he was in Shenzhen. My girlfriend has curly hair, lipstick endorsed by movie stars, and a red skirt with half legs exposed. She is in Shenzhen, so she won't come back with him. The wife of a female colleague has long thick dark hair and two braids hanging from her shoulders to her waist. When she first got married, she always wore a black and blue Chinese tunic suit. She loved to laugh and had a row of neat teeth. She is also very kind and capable. Later, his wife's big black braid turned into rhubarb waves, when it was fashionable for foreigners to dye their hair yellow. He said to himself, that's enough.

The old master was not a teenager when he entered the factory, but he was still young and his colleagues called him Xiao Wang. Xiao Wang is a hard-working young man. Although he is no longer eager to travel, he is still full of passion. Drilling and welding with pliers and hammers became a young man who was repeatedly praised in the factory, so when the enterprise transformed and spent a lot of money to introduce the latest machine of a production line that year, he became the first batch of boot masters in the factory.

Last winter, it snowed in this small town of Guangdong, which was a great surprise for the native people. For them, snow only exists in textbooks and stories of the elderly. Xiao Wang has begun to become Lao Wang at this time. He is not happy at all because his mother is ill. He once thought that his father's departure was the last time he faced the terrible demon of disease, but everyone in the world would be killed by disease without exception. Father took away half the sky, and now mother wants to take away the other half. Since then, there has never been a day to support him in the world, and he has become an orphan. Children without parents are orphans.

In the same winter, his children had children, and he had a new identity, grandpa. Lao Wang's life may be extended in a newborn. Their flesh and blood became one, and he became another world. The mother likes this great-grandson very much, but she is extremely uneasy about her son. No mother in the world wants to leave her children. However, death forced her to let go. She was speechless with her nearly middle-aged son in her arms. I don't know if it's because of illness or heartache. At that time, the list of boot masters had been announced and new machines were being installed in the workshop. Lao Wang tried his best to make his mother happy and relaxed, and kept talking about how huge and advanced the new machine was. Mother smiled and listened, and never spoke again.

That spring, he had a new machine in the factory. In the 300-square-meter workshop on the third floor, the new machine holds its head high like a giant, extending from the first floor to the third floor. Lao Wang is in charge of the first floor, which is the beginning of the whole production line and the most important position. This arrangement is recognition of his working ability, his professionalism, and even a kind of comfort for his loss of parents. Standing on the ground, he looked at the new machine painted with green paint, and the place where people could stand was silvery white. Cold iron makes cold, but he feels warm all over.

Machines are to workers what territory is to kings and swords are to heroes. He will go to work early every day, check every part of the machine to ensure its safe operation, then hold down the power button and turn it gently. Like a general who just woke up, the machine began to chop waves and rumble. During the operation, I have been patrolling to see if it is running normally. When you stop at night, you should carefully maintain the parts that wear quickly, bit by bit. Don't be lazy and don't forget.

Lao Wang is a master, and his attitude towards his disciples is not always consistent. In daily chat, he will tell some jokes that are not funny, and when he is happy, he will invite a group of people out to drink. Generally speaking, he is easy to talk and humorous. However, when you are not at work, once you turn on the computer with your apprentice, you will become a legendary unsmiling, serious and harsh master. He doesn't want to tolerate even a little mistake of his disciples, so he must correct it until his disciples learn it. He is also a skilled and generous master. He always gives all his skills to others.

Time passed slowly in the roar of the machine. In order to expand the scale, the factory has built a new workshop with more advanced new machines. The same batch of boot masters have retired, and Lao Wang has become an old master. The new recruit master came, left and came, leaving the old master alone, holding his sword and sticking to his position. The old master has many opportunities to go to other posts, but he can't bear to part with his machine. He was still middle-aged when he turned it on, and he may have been old when he left. Older people are always nostalgic.

When this machine was first installed, it was magnificent. Now, like an old master, it is lifeless, its green body has become dull, and its silver-white pedals have rusted. Even if it is well maintained over the years, it will eventually become obsolete and backward. There are always some problems at work. The newcomers who come to the internship keep complaining, and the old master only feels distressed. He tried to keep the machine healthy and strong, but time managed to spare everything he cherished and finally became an old machine. This 10-year-old machine lasted until its 15 birthday.

On the fifteenth birthday, the factory finally decided to scrap this group of hardworking heroes, and his output could no longer bring profits. The old master will retire in a month, and he was stunned for a long time when he heard the news. Before, he thought he could turn off the old machine by himself on the last day of retirement, and then give it to the next person completely. Now someone told him that the old machine must leave before him, just like his father and mother. He can't breathe, because he can't smell the oil on the rotating bearing of the old machine anymore, he can't hear the sound, because he may never hear the rumble of the machine again, and he can't walk, because he has been walking around the machine alone for the past fifteen years.

The old master is ill. A month before his retirement, the factory leader sent a person in charge to express condolences. His wife, who is now at the forefront of fashion, secretly explained the situation to the person in charge. This is a heart disease, and a cardiologist is needed. This old workshop is no longer the main workshop of the factory. It only undertakes a few tasks that the main workshop can't complete. Several factory leaders sat together for a meeting. No matter how unreasonable it was, the result was that they finally decided to let the old master finish the machine for the last month, let them stop working together and send each other away.

On the last day before the master retired, he habitually twisted the power button of that machine with rough hands.

I didn't hear the rumble of the machine that had been carved into my bones. Oh, I forgot, this machine is no longer used, and it has become a pile of scrap metal.

However, the old master is no longer sick, because both of them have completed their tasks perfectly, delivered their youth and dreams, left behind those who should quit, and left behind their memories.

The master walked out of the workshop slowly, behind him was an old machine standing quietly. The lights are dim and the sun is still shining.

I recently chatted with an old master who is about to retire. He said that he entered the factory at the age of 18. He has been gone for 42 years and devoted his life to this place. I can't help feeling that there are many such masters in the world, and it takes him a lifetime. )