Chapter 28 Little Repairman

  Dad has returned to Liujiashan, and my elder sister is on winter break, so she's also back in Liujiashan. ***The happiest ones are my second and third sisters. They don't understand the situation and pressure Dad is facing now.

  This is also good, and can fully enjoy the joy of family reunion.

  Not everyone can be reborn as a human. The vast majority of people only have one lifetime, and childhood memories are only once. My father absolutely does not want my second and third sisters' childhood to leave any shadows because of this matter.

  He even bought back a harmonica and patiently taught his three sisters to read sheet music and play the harmonica.

  On the contrary, it's my homework, he doesn't have to worry about it at all.

  Old Dad returned home from the commune, and Mr. Zhou didn't say a word, but the next day he packed up his bedding and left with Teacher's wife. He only went to the commune to be a laborer on the cultural team because of Yan Yucheng and Old Dad's face.

  A dignified professor, even if he falls, should still have some dignity, shouldn't he?

  According to Mr. Zhou, with my current English level, I can live in an English-speaking country without any problems at all. Even with Russian, I can barely cope with daily conversations, but when addressing someone's full name, I need to be extra careful.

  It's no wonder, it's just the old Russian family, born with a mouthful of words, using Russian for a lifetime, and sometimes being dizzy from their own names. If Chinese people's names were also dozens or hundreds of characters long, I'm afraid there wouldn't be many who wouldn't be dizzy either.

  My talent in learning languages is just the tip of the iceberg, my "genius" goes far beyond that. Mr. Zhou has decided to stop teaching me math because he majored in liberal arts and has almost forgotten university-level mathematics. If he found out that his understanding of calculus was not as profound as mine at the age of eight, he would probably be furious with shame.

  I still can't keep up with Mr. in terms of knowledge of literature and history, and I think it's unlikely that I'll be able to catch up with him in the future either. Now, I'm limited by my social status and young age, and I don't have the opportunity to make a name for myself. In a few years, I reckon I won't have much time to indulge in old books either. If Dad can overcome this ordeal and rise to power, even if I don't go into politics, I'll go into business and become a real "tycoon".

  However, for the vernacular writing part, the teacher basically also adopted a self-study approach, occasionally raising some tricky and strange questions to challenge me. Only when it came to classical Chinese did he become more strict. Poor me, at such a young age, every day I was either rolling my tongue to speak foreign languages or reciting "zhi hu zhe ye" phrases, being trained into a little old man.

  It seems that reducing the burden on primary and secondary school students is more urgent and necessary than reducing the burden on farmers!

  As for me not going to school, my mom still has some opinions about it. She doesn't doubt Mr. Zhou's level, as he is the only university professor in Xiangyang County who farms at home, and there are no other branches. It's just that she thinks it's strange that all the other kids are in school, but our kid isn't. But I couldn't tell her that with my current knowledge, I estimate that getting into Tsinghua or Peking University would be no problem. The college entrance exam was reinstated last year, and if it's convenient, I could get a set of test papers to do and check my level. Sometimes I even think about calming down and doing some academic work, and maybe even winning a Nobel Prize for fun. Even if I'm just mediocre, I've still got a 30-year head start, which is a huge advantage. If I want to be the first Chinese person to win a Nobel Prize, it shouldn't be too difficult.

  Of course, it was just an idea and didn't put into action.

  To be a world-renowned scientist? Hehe, forget it. Life in the spotlight isn't necessarily that great.

  To be honest, I'm not very serious about reading. At the age of 40, who can really calm down and read? It's just that doing nothing is also doing nothing, learning a bit more is better than nothing.

  I don't go to school, and Mr. Zhou can only teach me for about two hours a day. He also has to work outside to earn some work points, doesn't he? Otherwise, he would be out of job. Most of the time, I study on my own.

  Dad went to Lianhua Commune to accompany Mom.

  I had been reading "War and Peace" for a while, my brain was getting dizzy. My second sister and third sister, along with a bunch of kids, made a thick rope out of straw and hung it from the beam to make a swing, chattering away noisily. I put Tolstoy's book aside, stood up and stretched my waist, suddenly feeling like a kid again, wanting to join them and have a go on the swing too.

  The roar of motorcycles grew louder and closer.

  It's strange, in Liujiashan, a place where birds don't even shit, there are actually motorcycles?

  In 1978, looking around China, motorcycles were extremely rare and all belonged to the public.

  My heart is filled with tension. What are these people from the public security bureau doing at the Liu family mountain? Nine out of ten it's to find my dad. Could things have changed in such a short period of time?

  Good or bad?

  With a wandering mind, his eyes were fixed on the three-wheeled motorcycle that was jumping and turning on the mountain road.

  Two people, not very old, judging from their clothes and dressing style, they don't seem to be county officials, so the hanging heart can relax a bit.

  "Teacher Liu, is Teacher Liu at home?"

  Calling him Teacher Liu, he must not be a county or commune cadre. Otherwise, he should be called Director Liu or Comrade Liu Jincai.

  "What's wrong?"

  The elder sister walked out upon hearing this.

  "Who are you? My dad is not at home."

  My grandfather and uncle went out to work, my grandmother was busy in the private land, there were no adults at home, so naturally my elder sister should take charge.

  Two young men looked very disappointed, but still said: "We are from the Qi Yi coal mine and came to ask for Teacher Liu's help. Our winch motor is broken and we can't find anyone who knows how to fix it... Where did Teacher Liu go? We'll go pick him up."

  This remark left me stunned.

  The Qi Yi coal mine is not far from Liujiashan, about 7 or 8 miles away. The level is not low, it's at the county team level, and it belongs to the Baizhou Mining Bureau's direct jurisdiction. The Baizhou Mining Bureau and the Baizhou area are at the same level, directly under the national Coal Industry Ministry's jurisdiction.

  What? A county-level coal mine doesn't even have a professional electrician?

  Well, this is not impossible. I recall that in Mr. Xiao Bo's "Like Water Flowing" it was written: In a coal mine in Henan Province, they couldn't afford to hire professional electricians, so when the large electrical machinery broke down, they had no choice but to call on the accountant and the female doctor from the mine hospital to repair it. The people in charge probably thought that those who had received higher education, even if their majors were different, should at least have some basic knowledge of mechanics and electricity. You young man, since you've attended university, haven't you ever seen a pig walk? When the electrical machinery breaks down, shouldn't they call on you guys who have attended university to take a look? Would they instead call on illiterate people who can't even recognize characters? This is quite similar to what some martial arts novels say: "One method mastered, all methods mastered".

  "My dad went to the Lotus Commune and won't be back today."

  The young man's expression was almost desperate.

  Lotus Commune is over 40 li away, it's not even worth going to the county town.

  I couldn't help but ask: "Master, doesn't your mine have an electrician?"

  "The electrician at the mine is one of them, and his mother-in-law just turned sixty, so he took leave to go back to Weining County..."

  The Baozhou area has jurisdiction over one city and seven counties. Unfortunately, Weining County is located on the periphery, about 300 li away from Xiangyang County. In 1978, this was a distance that made people's heads spin.

  Another young man sitting on the edge of the motorcycle said impatiently: "Teacher Liu is not at home, let's go back and calculate, what can we say to a little kid?"

  I'm feeling suffocated, going out for a walk isn't bad either. Thinking this in my heart, I casually said: "I'll go with you guys to take a look."

  "What?"

  Everyone was shocked.

  Before anyone could speak up, Big Sister shouted: "Xiao Jun, what nonsense are you talking about? What did you go to the mine for?"

  Two young men from the July 1st Coal Mine laughed: "Little kid, you must be Teacher Liu's son? There's nothing fun to play with at the mine."

  I said calmly: "Do you think I'm going there for fun? I'll help you guys fix the engine."

  "You... fix motorcycle..."

  The newcomer's mouth was open wide enough to swallow a duck egg.

  Sister was both angry and anxious: "Xiao Jun, don't talk nonsense here."

  Two young people shook their heads, and the one who was riding had already started the car.

  "What is the power of your elevator motor? 37 kilowatts or 45 kilowatts? Vertical or horizontal?"

  The young man who was concentrating on starting the car suddenly lifted his head and exclaimed: "Little friend, you really know how to fix an electric machine?"

  I raised my head and said irritably, "Nonsense, Liu Jincai is my dad, he can fix it, I can fix it too. The matching motor of the mine hoist is not complicated in structure, what's difficult to repair? But if the coil is burned out, you need to rewind the coil, which takes time. I don't know if your mine has a spare enameled wire. Forget it, forget it, why am I talking about this with you guys, you don't understand anyway."

  Haha, this is called giving back in kind, using his own way to deal with him! Aiya, slow down, don't become Murong Fu!

  The two young men were surprised and delighted, looking at each other, the one on the bus said: "The leaders of the province and the mining bureau will arrive soon, Zhang Mine is anxious to jump his feet, since Little...Little Liu Master knows how to repair electric machines, we can invite him over too."

  I feel a bit dazed, it's the end of the year and various routine inspection tasks have increased. The leader who came this time may be a heavyweight figure.

  The cyclist nodded and put on a smiling face: "Little... Little Liu Shifu, then trouble you to go with us."

  Before you know it, the little kid has become "Little... Little Liu Master".

  They used to look down on me, which made me very unhappy. At this time, I naturally want to take revenge.

  "Repairing electric motors is dirty, tiring and no fun, I don't want to go anymore."

  It's actually not anyone else's fault, it's just that I'm too small myself, and can't be compared to such a large mine motor.

  Sister was stunned, and when she saw me getting on the motorcycle, she came to her senses and shouted: "Xiao Jun, don't go!"

  I patted my head. How could I have forgotten this? Without an adult accompanying me, I went to the mine alone, and it's likely that Grandpa and Grandma will be so anxious that they'll spit blood.

  "Sister, haven't you heard that the provincial leaders are coming to inspect? Zhang Kuang is so anxious he's about to hang himself. Can't we lend a helping hand? Why don't you and I go together?"

  Without waiting for the big sister's reaction, I said to the young man on the motorcycle: "Master, no matter whether it can be repaired today or not, we won't spend the night at the mine. You have to take us home."

  "Alright, alright... of course... Little sister, you come up too. You and your brother sit in the back... Ah, Jianjun, you move to the back."

  The older sister was not yet sixteen years old, still a half-grown child with a playful temperament. Seeing the motorcycle, and the owner agreeing to send her back home at night, she immediately had a change of heart, hesitated for a moment before getting on, and held me in her arms.

  "I didn't forget to call out: 'Second sister, third sister, tell Grandpa that I'm going with big sister to repair the motor at the July 1st coal mine and we'll be back tonight.'"

  The motorcycle roared onto the road, and Big Sister couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Jun, can you really fix engines?"

  I laughed and said: "Sister, rest assured, if it were any other machine, I wouldn't have been so confident, fixing an electric motor is no big deal."

  This is not bragging. Electric motors are the most widely used electrical equipment and also the most mature electrical equipment. I've been tinkering with this stuff for nearly twenty years, so it's unlikely that I'll make a fool of myself at the July 1st coal mine.

  I spoke loudly, and Jianjun and others heard it, their expressions on their faces were even more relieved.

  The widest road between Liujia Mountain and the July 1st Coal Mine is a 3.5-meter-wide rural highway that has been neglected for years, with many potholes and unevenness. The motorcycle dodged left and right, twisting and turning like a spinning top, taking a full 20 minutes to reach the July 1st Coal Mine, shaking me so hard my bones ached.

  A crowd of people gathered at the entrance of the mine, and when they saw the motorcycle, they rushed forward to greet it. As they approached, they all froze in place. One of them, a man in his thirties who looked like a cadre wearing a Sun Yat-sen suit, opened his mouth and asked: "Where is Teacher Liu?"

  Jian Jun jumped down from the back seat and said: "Mine Master, Teacher Liu is not at home. His kid said he can repair electric machines and came with us..."

  This middle-aged man must be Zhang Kuangzhong.

  Zhang Kuang looked at me and my sister in confusion, asking my sister with some surprise: "You're Teacher Liu's daughter, right? Can you fix electrical appliances?"

  Although the eldest sister didn't look like a repair worker, at that time the slogan was "Women can hold up half the sky", and my mother was a typical example of this. With Teacher Liu's reputation and family background, it's possible that the eldest sister really knew how to fix electrical appliances.

  The elder sister immediately blushed and pushed me forward with some embarrassment.

  "This is my brother, he...he can repair electric motors..."

  "Huh?"

  Zhang Kuang's eyeballs were about to pop out.

  The workers watching laughed loudly.

  "What...what kind of joke is this?"

  Zhang Kuang's eyes turned red with rage, and he pointed at Jian Guo's nose, about to scold him.

  I stretched my limbs and lazily said: "Director Zhang, the leaders from the province and the Mining Bureau are coming, right? Where's the motor, take me to see it."

  "What?"

  Zhang Kuang was absent-minded and couldn't come back to his senses.

  I couldn't help but laugh: "If you want to be criticized by the leader, that's up to you. Big sister, they don't welcome us, let's go back."

  At such a young age, speaking fluently without being intimidated, with an air of confidence, the workers stopped laughing. Zhang Kuanglong was skeptical: "Young friend, can you really fix the electric motor?"

  "Yeah, my dad taught me."

  The mine owner of the July 1st Coal Mine, Zheng Xian, is at the county team level, with a rank similar to that of Wang Benqing. Even as a deputy, in this area, he is still an extraordinary figure. It's not convenient to be too arrogant and talk too much.

  "Alright, come with me."

  Zhang looked at his watch, his face changing color, gritted his teeth, and stamped his foot, with the air of trying to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

  Everyone followed over, looking like they were watching a Western movie, wanting to see what would happen in the end.