It was clear that Wang Dazhu was currently filled with nervousness and apprehension; he obviously had little confidence in the rice transplanters.
Before Wang An could speak, Liu Guilan said from the side
"Ever since they came back, those two have been tinkering away with all that clinking and clanking. I reckon it should be about ready by now."
One could tell that Liu Guilan was forcing herself to be deceived, or rather, comforting herself.
Wang An glanced at his parents and said with a smile
"Just put your hearts at ease. We'll know once we try it tomorrow, right?"
Wang Dazhu looked at the transplanter and asked with a frown
"And if it doesn't work, won't all this fussing have been for nothing?"
Liu Guilan interrupted, "The fussing is fine, I'm just afraid the land will be ruined. We finally got our allocated fields; if we have to buy grain to eat at the end of the year, how embarrassing would that be?"
Hearing the doubts repeated over and over, to be honest, Wang An was starting to get truly impatient.
Mainly, it was that among all these people, not a single one believed in him or looked upon him favorably; even his own parents were being relentless.
Moreover, modifying a rice transplanter required adding or removing parts, but in this era, substitutes were scarce. If he wanted a specific part, he had to find a way to make it himself. However, not only were the tools inadequate, but the materials were damn near non-existent.
This left Wang An feeling quite agitated. In Northeast dialect, he was "getting damn pissed off"!
Consequently, without looking up, Wang An said with a hint of displeasure
"If this thing doesn't work, starting tomorrow, I'll get in the fields and transplant the rice seedlings with you. Happy?"
Parents usually know their children best. Wang Dazhu and his wife instantly understood what Wang An's displeased tone meant.
Hearing this, the couple couldn't help but exchange a glance.
Liu Guilan seemed to want to say something, but she opened her mouth and nothing came out.
After a moment, Wang An looked up and saw his parents still staring. He frowned helplessly and said
"You two stop staring and go do whatever you need to do."
Wang Dazhu was stunned for a moment and seemed about to lose his temper, but seeing Wang An's serious yet distressed expression, he suppressed it.
After thinking for a bit, he said
"I used to tinker with this kind of thing too. How about I take a look with you two?"
Hearing this, Wang An's mood instantly improved.
After an entire afternoon, Wang An had finally heard a word of support.
Wang An pointed to the gear above and said
"Dad, look. With this gear, because it shifts back and forth, it's bound to miss seedlings. I've already clamped several layers of sheet metal on here, but the gear shaft is smooth as glass with nothing to stop it, so the metal won't hold."
To be honest, this was a problem that could be solved with a single electric drill, as he only needed to drill a hole in the gear shaft and insert a pin.
Unfortunately, let alone an electric drill, Kaoshan Village didn't even have electricity. Most importantly, the gear shaft was incredibly hard; without a drill bit of sufficient hardness, it was useless.
Wang Dazhu squatted there and studied it for a long time before saying to Wang An
"Since it's smooth, it's definitely going to be tough to clamp it. I reckon if we add two levers on top to keep pushing against the gear, it'll work."
Hearing this, Wang An's brain didn't register it immediately, and he fell into a state of confusion.
Seeing Wang An's puzzled expression, Wang Dazhu didn't speak. Instead, he picked up some thick iron wire and pliers and began to laboriously bend the wire back and forth.
Soon, Wang Dazhu had bent the thick wire into a very peculiar shape.
Then, he twisted this oddly shaped wire onto the angle iron to the left of the gear shaft.
Following the same pattern, Wang Dazhu bent another wire and twisted it onto the angle iron to the right of the gear shaft.
When Wang Dazhu hooked the two wires together, Wang An was so shocked he was speechless.
By arranging the two thick wires this way, it acted like a synchronizer, ensuring the two moving gears always remained engaged.
It solved the problem of gear dislocation instantly.
Most importantly, if some mud or grass roots got between the gears, it wouldn't completely jam them and stop them from rotating.
Although his old man always loved to tinker with things, it wasn't until now that Wang An realized his father was clearly a wasted scientist!
Just as Wang An was wondering why his dad wasn't a scientist, Wang Dazhu suddenly said
"Xiao An, try it again and see if this works. It'll be dark soon."
Wang An hurriedly nodded and stood up, turning the wheels of the transplanter while observing the engagement of the two gears.
Sure enough, Wang Dazhu's method was practically perfect!
Only after adding Wang Dazhu's "synchronizer" to all three transplanters did Wang An feel happy inside, though he complained to Wang Dazhu aloud
"Dad, why didn't you come back sooner? We've been tinkering all afternoon. I was already thinking about hauling the transplanter to the county seat to get holes drilled."
Having solved a major problem for his son and hearing the surface-level complaints that actually signaled his son's need for him, Wang Dazhu instantly felt wonderful—so wonderful he almost let out a big snot bubble.
Though he tried to hold it back, the smile in the corners of his mouth and eyes couldn't be stopped. He pretended to scold Wang An in a stiff tone
"You've been busy for half the day, and you didn't even think to offer your old man a cigarette? You're getting more backward as you grow."
Wang An laughed loudly and said
"Cigarettes! I've got to give you cigarettes, and the good kind too, hahaha!"
As he spoke, Wang An pulled out a pack of classic "Bingcheng" cigarettes. After lighting one for his father, he gave one to Wang Li, and the three of them began to blow clouds of smoke.
Halfway through the cigarette, Wang Dazhu looked at the filter and asked Wang An with a face full of confusion
"What brand is this? I reckon I've never smoked this before."
Wang An asked with a smile
"How is it? Does it smoke well?"
Wang Dazhu nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty good. Better than Changbaishan, though not as strong."
Wang An smilingly pulled out four packs of cigarettes and handed them over, saying
"I bought these specifically to honor you. Classic Bingcheng, 35 cents a pack."
Hearing this, Wang Dazhu was stunned for a moment, then said with sudden irritation
"You spendthrift! Two packs of these are enough to buy a whole carton of Changbaishan! How much better would it have been if you bought two cartons of Changbaishan with the money for these four packs? That would have lasted me half a month, you wasteful brat!"
Despite his words, Wang Dazhu stuffed all four packs into the inner pocket of his clothes, checking carefully after he finished.
Glancing at the pocket where Wang An had stuffed half a pack of cigarettes, Wang Dazhu blinked and suddenly said
"That... this cigarette isn't strong enough. Give me another one."
Wang An: "..."
(End of Chapter)