One month before the retirement age stipulated by the state, Ding Shikou, who had worked in the city's agricultural machinery repair factory for forty-three years, was laid off.Shi Fang’s mouth is a word for field, and Ding also means a strong man. A strong man who has a field will not worry about living a good life with enough food and clothing. This is his father’s good wish when he was named by his farmer. .But fate did not allow Ding Shikou to have a farm, but let him work in a factory as a worker, and lived a far happier life than a farmer.He is grateful to the society that brings him happiness, as if he can repay only by working hard.Over the past few decades, excessive physical labor has bent his back. Although he is not yet sixty years old, it looks like he is still in his seventies.

In the morning, as usual, he rode to work on that big National Defense bicycle produced in the 1960s. The black, stubborn and bulky bicycle caught the attention of the light and beautiful traffic, and the young men and women on the bicycle cast curious eyes. And then just avoid him like a fancy sedan avoids a rickety old tank.As soon as he entered the factory gate, he saw a group of people in front of the bulletin board.There was a lot of noise from the crowd, and the voices of several female workers were loud, like hens crowing eggs in a chicken farm.His heart skipped a beat, knowing that what the workers were most worried about had finally happened.

He set up his bicycle, looked around for a while, exchanged glances with the old Qintou who was guarding the gate, sighed a few times, and walked slowly towards the crowd.There was some sadness in his heart, but it was not serious.Not long ago, after the news that the factory was about to lay off a group of people spread, he once went to the factory director's office.The factory director, the handsome middle-aged man, graciously let him sit on the snow-blue sheepskin sofa, and then asked the female secretary to pour water for tea.Holding the hot teacup, he smelled the strong fragrance of jasmine in his nose, and his heart was full of gratitude, but he couldn't say what he wanted to say.The factory manager carefully straightened his beautiful suit, straightened his back and sat on the sofa opposite him, and said with a smile: "Master, I know the reason for your visit. The factory has been losing money year after year, and layoffs are inevitable, but, like A veteran like you, a provincial model worker, even if there is only one person left in the factory, that is you!"

People crowded forward, and Ding Shikou saw three big red papers pasted on the bulletin board through the gaps in the heads, and densely packed black characters were written on the red papers.In the past few decades, his name has always appeared on such big red paper several times a year, that is when he won the honorary title of Advanced Worker or Model Worker.His body was pushed back and forth by the young workers, and he wanted to move forward, but retreated instead.Amidst the people's abuse, a woman suddenly burst into tears.He recognized that it was the cry of Wang Dalan, a warehouse keeper of finished products.A former punch press mechanic, she ruined a hand while working, and later developed gangrene, which had to be amputated to save her life.The factory took care of the disabled workers and arranged for her to be a custodian.