He brought me years of warmth with a watch

  Master Zhang is now in his seventies. I still do not know his full name, only that everyone who knows him calls him Master Zhang, much like 'Sixth Master' in the film Mr. Six. A few years ago, when I first moved to this city to make a living, he was repairing watches at a stall near the vegetable market. It was my first day here; my new accommodation was desolate, and because I was unfamiliar with the area, I nearly got lost looking for the address. It was his watch that saved me.

　　His hair was not yet fully grey, and his clothes were brand new; one could tell at a glance that he was meticulously groomed as he went about repairing various watches. I remember that back then, the market had not yet been standardised; dirt and disorder were inevitable, and the entire market was filled with the clamour and bustle of everyday life. However, Master Zhang's stall was very clean and tidy, and not nearly as noisy, serving as a “ pure ” sanctuary.

　　Although Master Zhang was just an old man repairing watches, his attire and demeanour revealed a spirited and capable nature. I secretly thought that if he had been repairing watches when he was younger, he must have been the Pan An of the watchmaking world. Various oddly shaped watches were neatly arranged in the display cabinet, looking very tidy and attractive. He would sit there quietly, and whenever someone came for a repair, he would put down his tools, stand up, take the watch with a deft hand, and accept it with a smile.

　　Master Zhang's repair technique was truly superb. Although I would often sit with him for a while, I could never get enough of watching his skilful methods. No matter what fault a watch had, Master Zhang would know what was wrong as soon as he took a look, and after a bit of tinkering, it would be fixed.

　　Arriving in Guangzhou a few years ago, I knew nothing about the place; I could not understand the local dialect, and others could not understand me. I had to take the bus or subway for a long time to get anywhere. Despite this, I got used to it and persisted in trying to survive in Guangzhou, learning all the local customs. The vegetable market also underwent earth-shaking changes; the old market was demolished and rebuilt, completely transforming into a clean and tidy standardised market.

　　These past few years seem to have passed in an instant, yet the one thing that remained unchanged was Master Zhang's watch repair stall in the corner of the market. His repair technique remained as skilful as ever, his prices were reasonable, and the repaired watches were all neatly arranged in the cabinet, uniform and orderly. We gradually became acquainted, and I learned that he was a retired state-owned enterprise worker with a decent pension.

　　I asked him why he came out to repair watches instead of enjoying his retirement at home. He smiled and said that repairing watches was a joyful thing, and he hadn't thought too much about it.

　　When I was young, I liked intense flavours; when I encountered setbacks, tears would be forced out by the spiciness. Later, as I grew up, I began to appreciate these exquisiteReplica watches, the hands rotating around the dial, recording the passage of time and preserving fragments of life one by one. When we feel lost and helpless, we can stop, look at the time on our wrists, and realise there is no obstacle that time cannot overcome; life goes on.