Humpty Dumpty In Oakland by Philip K. Dick

A down-on-his-luck salvage dealer in Oakland fights to keep his small business and fragile dignity amid mounting debts, family obligations, and the petty betrayals of friends and customers; through a mix of darkly comic misadventures, schemes, and moral compromises, the story probes how economic pressure corrodes relationships and self-respect while revealing the yearning for simple security and human connection in an indifferent city.