Chapter 12: Repairing the Car

Gurgle, gurgle.

With his stomach making strange noises, Li Aiguo stretched and stood up, intending to lift his wrist to check the time.

However, he realized he wasn't wearing a watch.

In truth, Li Aiguo did own a watch—a "Modu" brand.

It was just that, in order to buy medicine for his father, his predecessor had sold it to a trust store.

Not having a watch was quite inconvenient; if the opportunity arose, he would have to get another one.

"Prepare for war, prepare for famine for the people! Closing time has arrived, comrades, please return your books to their original places."

At this moment, the shop workers began ushering people out.

Only then did Li Aiguo remember that in this era, shops were state-run. Except for restaurants, they all closed at noon and wouldn't reopen until 2:30 PM.

Li Aiguo placed the books back in their original positions, without a single error.

The female staff member who had been staring at him appeared somewhat disappointed. She sighed, waved to the other staff members, and then put the steel tube back into the counter.

Amidst the crowded throng, Li Aiguo exited the Women's Cultural and Sports Store.

Just as he stepped down the entrance stairs, Li Aiguo chuckled.

The girl who had been competing with him for the book was squatting on the ground tinkering with a bicycle; it looked like the chain had fallen off.

Right, her name seemed to be Ding Qiunan.

Driven by the spirit of enthusiastically helping the masses, Li Aiguo walked over slowly and smiled. "The world is one big family. Comrade, do you need help?"

In reality, Ding Qiunan had been tinkering here for nearly half an hour.

Fearing that the machine oil on the chain would dirty her hands and stain her clean clothes, she had tried to use a wooden stick to lift the chain and guide it onto the bicycle's freewheel, but she had failed repeatedly.

By now, beads of sweat were forming on her forehead from anxiety.

Seeing Li Aiguo speak to her, she hesitated slightly.

"It seems you don't need help. Goodbye then."

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute!"

Ding Qiunan ran over and blocked Li Aiguo.

"Comrade, please help me. It's just that this chain is quite tight and difficult to install. Can you do it?"

"Don't worry, I'm a big train driver. I can do anything."

As Li Aiguo spoke, he walked up to the bicycle. At this moment, the chain hung limply on the ground like a soft, long snake, looking rather lifeless.

He took the wooden stick from Ding Qiunan's hand, gave it a gentle lift, and engaged the chain with the upper part of the rear freewheel. Then, he slowly turned the pedals, letting the chain move bit by bit.

The chain moved bit by bit...

Back into place.

Back into place.

Back into place.

*Click.*

It got stuck.

Li Aiguo:...

Seeing Li Aiguo's failed attempt, Ding Qiunan said somewhat sheepishly, "I told you just now, this bicycle chain is too tight."

"It's fine! Let me show you what they call 'miracles through brute force'."

After a moment of silence, Li Aiguo swung his long legs, straddled the bicycle, placed his left foot on the pedal, and applied heavy force.

"Here goes!"

*Crack!*

Ding Qiunan:...

Li Aiguo:...

Looking at the chain that had snapped into two pieces, Li Aiguo's expression remained calm. "This bicycle of yours is a defective product."

Ding Qiunan:...

Li Aiguo: "The quality of Fei-ge Bicycles isn't good; they only look pretty. I suggest you don't distance yourself from the masses—next time, buy a 'Permanent' brand bicycle."

Ding Qiunan:...

Li Aiguo:...

Ding Qiunan:...

*Phew...*

Seeing Ding Qiunan's shoulders begin to shake, Li Aiguo said helplessly, "I'll take you to get it repaired. There's a repair stall not far ahead. The proprietor is a comrade from the Northeast; he's a very honest man."

"Mhm."

Around the corner of Nantongluo Alley, there was a repair shop.

In this era, the system of joint state-private ownership had been established, so repair shops also belonged to state-owned units.

The repairman's fees had to be turned over to the neighborhood committee, and then he would receive a monthly salary from them.

To attract business, an old bicycle rim was hung outside the shop entrance, with the word "Bicycle" (车) painted crookedly in charcoal inside the rim, making it very eye-catching.

"Uncle Liu, business is here."

Li Aiguo lifted the cotton curtain, whose color was indistinct, and called out into the dark room. A middle-aged man with a long face walked out carrying a wrench.

Seeing it was Li Aiguo, he nodded silently and squatted down in front of the bicycle to get to work.

Standing beside Li Aiguo, Ding Qiunan whispered, "Aiguo, why isn't this man talking? Is he..."

"Master Liu is just like that; he doesn't like to talk, but his craftsmanship is top-notch."

Li Aiguo hurriedly interrupted her and pulled out a cigarette to hand to Liu Haizhu.

Following the cigarette, Liu Haizhu glanced up at Li Aiguo, took it without a word, struck a match to light it, took two puffs, and then began working with nimble hands and feet.

Liu Haizhu had come from the Northeast seven or eight years ago. Having no relatives in the capital, the neighborhood committee had assigned him the bicycle shop when they saw he had the skills.

Li's father was a train driver and was often away from home. After school, the predecessor Li Aiguo liked to go to the repair shop to watch Liu Haizhu work.

The Li family was well-off, and Li's father loved alcohol, so the house kept quite a lot in stock. Li Aiguo often secretly brought alcohol out to drink bottle-for-bottle with Liu Haizhu.

Over time, the two became friends despite the age gap.

Actually, "age gap" was a stretch; Liu Haizhu was only in his twenties, but he looked aged and appeared to be in his forties.

Standing next to him, our Aiguo was clearly a full generation younger.

Later, when the Li family needed money, Li Aiguo wanted to sell his bicycle.

He had visited several repair shops. For a bicycle bought for 180 yuan plus a bicycle voucher, those shop owners only offered 80 yuan.

The reason given was simple: the tires were worn smooth, the tread was gone, the frame was chipped, and the fenders were muddy.

It was a joke; that bicycle hadn't even been owned for two years, and he had been very careful with it. They were insulting him.

When Liu Haizhu found out, he proactively sought out Li Aiguo and offered a high price of 150 yuan.

Despite their good relationship, they rarely spoke many words to each other.

It was often one person repairing and the other just squatting there watching.

Even though they were on good terms, Li Aiguo still felt Liu Haizhu was a strange man.

This man liked to wear yellow rubber shoes and three-quarter length trousers.

Regardless of the season, he always wore a bamboo conical hat.

The hat was an old-fashioned bamboo weave type that completely obscured his eyes and eyebrows. Combined with the goatee at the corner of his mouth, he looked quite fierce.

He was clearly a kind-hearted person, yet he acted fierce all day long. If that wasn't strange, what was?

*Click.*

With a crisp sound, the chain snapped back into place. Liu Haizhu stood up, still without saying a word.

Li Aiguo gave Ding Qiunan a meaningful look. "Pay him. 1 mao."

"Oh..."

Dazed, Ding Qiunan fished a 1-mao coin from her pocket and handed it to Liu Haizhu.

Liu Haizhu took it expressionlessly, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and turned gracefully to walk back into the room.

"He really is a strange man."

Ding Qiunan muttered softly at his retreating back, then looked up at Li Aiguo. "Comrade Aiguo, thank you."

"Then, goodbye?"

"...Goodbye."

Ding Qiunan mounted her bicycle and pedaled away. Watching the scenery recede around her, she felt something was slightly off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Li Aiguo greeted Liu Haizhu through the curtain and returned to the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

In this era, most families in the capital burned coal. Coal briquettes cost 1 fen per jin. Some who couldn't bear the expense would go to the outskirts of the city to buy firewood to use in their stoves.

It was currently midday, and in some households, wisps of cooking smoke were already rising.

The PM2.5 levels were surely off the charts.

If this were in the future, they would be fined into bankruptcy.

Muttering to himself, he returned to the back courtyard.

Li Aiguo saw that his family's bedsheets, clothes, and socks were already hung on the ropes under the eaves.

The house had also been cleaned.

Presumably, Third Aunt had been busy all morning.

(End of Chapter)