Forty-Eight

The last day

最后一天

Min-jun was a mechanic at a car-parts factory in Seoul. He was forty-eight years old. He fixed the machines there.

民俊是首尔一家汽车零件厂的修理工。他四十八岁。他在那里修理机器。

On the last Friday in March, the boss called the workers into the big hall.

三月的最后一个星期五，老板把工人们叫到了大厅里。

Some workers looked at the floor. One woman started to cry. Min-jun stood at the back and listened.

一些工人看着地面。一个女人开始哭。民俊站在后面听着。

“I’m sorry,” said the boss. “The company is closing the factory. Today is our last day.”

“对不起，”老板说。“公司要关掉这家工厂了。今天是我们的最后一天。”

Nobody said anything. Then Min-jun’s friend from the next line put up his hand.

没有人说话。然后，隔壁线上的民俊的朋友举起了手。

“What about our money?” he asked.

“我们的工资怎么办？”他问。

“You’ll get two months’ pay. And a letter from me. I’m very sorry. You are all good workers.”

“你们会拿到两个月的工资。还有我写的一封信。我非常抱歉。你们都是好工人。”

After the meeting, Min-jun went back to his machine. It was number seven, a big grey machine for car doors.

开完会后，民俊回到了自己的机器旁边。那是七号机，一台用来做车门的大灰色机器。

He started at the factory in 2004. He worked here for twenty-two years. Every day, he came at seven and left at five.

他是2004年来这家工厂的。他在这里工作了二十二年。每天，他七点来，五点走。

He knew every machine by its sound. A good machine had a good sound. A sick machine had a different sound.

他能通过声音认识每一台机器。好的机器声音好听。坏的机器声音不一样。

His friend came and stood next to him. “What are you going to do, Min-jun?”

他的朋友走过来，站在他旁边。“民俊，你打算做什么？”

“I don’t know. I’ve never looked for a job. I came here at twenty-six.”

“我不知道。我从来没有找过工作。我二十六岁就来这里了。”

“Me too. Who wants an old mechanic? Everything is computers now.”

“我也是。谁会要一个老的修理工呢？现在到处都是电脑。”