Friday afternoon, 4:30 PM. The machines sound different. Not quieter, exactly. Just... the rhythm is a little slower. Everyone's still working, but there's this feeling in the air like "almost there."
Xiao Liu is squatting in the corner sorting sample socks, humming. I can't tell what song it is, but the tune is right. Old Zhou laughs at him: "You've been humming all afternoon. Aren't you tired?" Xiao Liu says, "It's Friday. I'm not tired."
I almost laughed. Friday means you're not tired? You've been stepping on the pedal all day. Of course you're tired. But Xiao Liu has a point—knowing you've got tomorrow off makes today's tiredness feel a little easier to take.
The cardboard box in the corner has another batch of test-worn samples. We'll go through the feedback on Monday. I walked over and flipped through a few. Some cuffs were a little tight. A few had good heel reinforcement. Every pair had been worn. Every pair had a note on a sticky pad, stuck to the side of the box.
Old Zheng came by in the afternoon. Picked up two new samples to take home and adjust the colors. He doesn't talk much. Comes, grabs what he needs, leaves. But he stopped at the door and said, "Samples ready Monday." I said okay. Didn't ask any more. We've worked together long enough. If he says Monday, it's Monday. No need to ask "are you sure?"
The machines kept running. Friday afternoon in the workshop. Nothing special, really. Just people working, someone humming, a few sticky notes. I stood at the door for a moment and thought, well, another week done.