Fiction: Group 3
How Lucky Could A Man Get?
Chinese International School, Fung, Liam - 13, Fiction: Group 3
30-year-old unemployed man, Tian, left his 30-square-foot flat in To Kwa Wan, walking slowly
and sombrely to the bus station. He barely had enough for the bus fare, let alone the return trip, and
he owed 10 months’ worth of rent.
“Get out of my office,” the boss said as Tian reached out to shake his hand. “You are useless to this
company! No experience, unable to do simple tasks… You have let this generation of workers down.” The
boss pointed to the door. “Out!” Tian shook his head. This was the thirty-something time he was rejected
from a job, but he could not do anything about it. Sombrely, he reached for the doorknob and rushed out.
Nobody could recognize his potential. Nobody could recognize that he wasn’t useless. How unlucky could
a man get?
Tian walked home, realizing that there was nothing he could do to comfort himself except get angry at the
boss. Calling him useless, Tian snorted. He would know what useless meant if he looked in the mirror! He
sat down in his chair with the hundreds upon hundreds of newspapers he had, looking for job opportunities.
Suddenly something caught his eye. “Quick money! Come to Shenzhen and apply as a factory worker!” He
saw the glint of an opportunity. This was his chance, to prove wrong all of those who had doubted him, to
prove that he was a man who could work.
*
Long worked at the Factory of Good Hope for a long twenty years, slowly moving through the ranks to
become a general supervisor of the packaging wing. Every day, there were people who went up to him
looking for a job, and every day those people would go home heartbroken. He crossed his arms, looking at
his workers. Little did he know that this would be his last day at the factory. Suddenly, the siren went off
and Long was summoned to the boss’s office.
The boss was sweating and seemed very pressured, with dark bags under his eyes. “We can’t do anything.
This factory is going downhill and profits are shrinking by the minute.” He looked up sadly into Long’s
eyes, handing him his last pay check. “This factory is going to get shut down. You should move out of here
and tell your workers to leave.” This struck Long like a bullet through his brain. It had taken him twenty
long years to get to this position, and in the end it just shuts down? This was very hard for him to accept,
but he murmured, “Yes sir,” and walked slowly out of the office. Luckily, he had a large pension fund that
had accumulated over the years.
Long went back home, disappointed, and knowing that it was hard to get a job nowadays in Shenzhen
without a degree, he felt hopeless. He slumped into a soft couch and thought hard. What could he do to get
a job? Suddenly, a thought struck him. If he couldn’t get hired, couldn’t he hire others and give them an
opportunity? He thought about some way to find people who would do their job properly. Suddenly, he
had a great idea.
*
Tian was finally in glorious Shenzhen. He went to the address the newspaper had given him and walked up
to the reception area. After a while, the interviewer shook his hand and Tian jumped out of the office,
ecstatic. He had a job, finally!
1 month later…
Tian, who had stayed in the factory for a whole month, was happy about his security and was sure he could
continue living as he now did for a good time to come. Suddenly, he saw his wing’s manager walk up to
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