The 37-degree high temperature at 12 o'clock baked the summer of '06, and the boiling voices in the canteen in the corner of the factory added a little temperature to the air, and the world seemed to be in an unstoppable fire.

At this point, it was ten minutes after the end of work.

Berlin stood at the door of the canteen sweatingly, looking at the crowded canteen window lined up with workers, and was a little overwhelmed for a while... After a long time, after reacting, he hurriedly squeezed into the crowd filled with the smell of sweat. After a busy morning, he was already hungry, and the smell of food in the cafeteria almost hooked his soul.

As for Berlin remaining at the factory, it was because the idea of abandoning the job was stopped.

The stop was so sudden.

Obviously, this job is so difficult, but when Berlin wants to make up his mind to change out of his factory uniform and leave the factory to go home, several scenes pop up in his mind - Chen Kexin in faded clothes, emaciated daughter Nini holding her little hand, old cottage, and only a hundred or so dollars of cash in the drawer. And, yesterday in the dimly lit rental house, with red eyes, Le Yao, who told him about grievances and unwillingness, and her stomach bulged slightly...

His hesitation collapsed.

The sense of escape in Berlin's heart instantly seemed so vulnerable under the pressure of family and the burden of life.

Yes, even if he makes less money, it is enough to subsidize his family and buy some clothes for his wife and daughter... But will it go on like this for the rest of your life? Staying in that small room and eating simple meals all your life? What about my daughter's tuition? What about Chen Kexin's medicine costs? That's a lot of money! Don't you care about it? Didn't you make up your mind early and work hard to make more money to make your family live better?

And Le Yao...

Asking yourself, Berlin could not escape.

He's not a 17-year-old anymore. He didn't even know how many times he had said it to himself.

Now he's 27 years old...

The family needs him, and many people need him...

...

The few fans hanging from the ceiling in the cafeteria stingy and blew a few insignificant cool breezes, and Berlin in the crowd did not enjoy the slightest coolness. Fortunately, after waiting in line for a long time, it was finally his turn. The cafeteria aunt picked up the rice bowl indifferently and asked lightly, "What do you want?" ”

"This stir-fried meat, this greens, this chicken thighs, and then two bowls of rice." Berlin was dazzled by the array of canteens, and ordered a few of his favourites.

"Five bucks." The aunt was good and handed it to Berlin.

Berlin was stunned, "How much!?" ”

"5 pieces." The aunt repeated.

"It's not... Why are these only five dollars? "Berlin was dumbfounded, 5 bucks? Yesterday, Lin Manman was still complaining, a bundle of vegetables bought a piece of five, two cents higher than usual, how many vegetables and how much meat? But before Berlin could say anything about returning and replacing, the urging behind him and the impatience of the cafeteria aunt interrupted his thoughts: "Hurry up!" Others are still queuing! He could only take out the 10 yuan in his pocket, find 5 yuan, and then squeeze out the pile, put a bowl of free seaweed soup at the free seaweed soup, and take it to a no-man's corner and sit down.

There was still an endless stream of people in front of the cafeteria. The cool breeze of the fan finally favored him a little.

But looking at the long-lost sumptuous lunch on the table, Berlin's hunger pangs are gone, and there is even some unspeakable discomfort...

Thinking of the lunch and dinner that Chen Kexin usually cooks, Berlin thinks that their family of three can't eat 2 or 3 yuan for a meal...

After a long silence, Berlin grabbed his chopsticks and ate slowly. The food is hearty, and the taste is much better than Chen Kexin's cooking, but the food in Berlin is very unpleasant...

If Chen Kexin knew that he ate five yuan in one meal, he would be very distressed...

Lunch is over.

Berlin hurried to the workshop, at this time there was no start to work, he belonged to the dormitory and home to rest, it was quite early.

There are only three or two female employees in the workshop who arrived early. They are all in their 3s and 40s, just a young man in his 20s. A few people were talking and laughing, and when they saw Berlin coming, a few people paused, and then they were not affected, and the laughter continued. Because it hasn't started yet, even if the fan is turned on and whining, everything seems so quiet in this empty workshop, and the ridicule and homely laughter in the reverberating workshop have dissipated some of the rustiness a lot.

While waiting for work, several people also communicated with Berlin. I asked Berlin's name, address, etc. After communicating, he finally stopped being a stranger with his colleagues, and there was no need to be embarrassed to stay away from the crowd when he entered the workshop.

Time gradually passed, and workers poured into the workshop one after another. As the workers arrived, the hum of the machine sounded, and the afternoon work began.

Box by box of candy fell down, and the box began to slowly accumulate.

The continuous high temperature, the unstoppable sweat, the soreness of the arms...

Berlin gasped and stood in a pile of boxes, with a little confusion in his eyes.

How do you survive the afternoon?

....

Summer nights come late, but by the time Berlin gets off work, it's getting dark.

Their group got off work at 7 o'clock. After a hard day's work, the work is finally over. Berlin did not change his factory clothes, and he was afraid that his clothes would be stained by wet sweat. When I got home, it was 7:30. It was dark, and only a dim incandescent lamp was lit in the hut in the middle of nowhere.

It's the first day of work.

Tired he was impressed. But it was so unforgettable and profound, but he forgot what he relied on to get through the afternoon, and on the way home, he didn't know what was supporting his tired and heavy body.

For the first time in the past few days in the future world, he felt that even a dull night was much more comfortable than coming from the factory floor. Even if there is no wind, at least you can't hear the non-stop humming machine, and you don't have to force your arms to carry one cardboard box after another and do unrealistic expectations for getting off work.

If he continues to work like this, it is really difficult for him to grit his teeth and persevere.

Even if it's a little easier...

Berlin stepped into the door.

The lamps lit up the hut silently. The house was so peaceful, so peaceful.

"Mommy, Daddy is back!"

Seeing Berlin, the daughter sitting in the seat shouted happily, put down the storybook, and ran over with small steps.

Berlin, which was tired and numb, couldn't help but squeeze out a smile...