Chapter 39: Tandem Bicycle

Clatter.

The heavy iron chain hit the dark iron gate with a crisp ring.

The gate slowly creaked open, allowing sunlight to pour in and dispel the darkness within.

Click.

The warehouse manager switched on the incandescent light bulb.

Peering through the dim, yellowish light, Li Aiguo’s jaw dropped in shock.

The massive warehouse was packed to the brim with all sorts of objects.

"Let me see, the bicycle parts should be..."

The elderly female manager flipped through a frayed logbook and adjusted her tortoiseshell glasses. "That batch of confiscated bicycles is in that corner over there..."

She turned back to call out to Li Aiguo, but when she saw the young man standing beside him, the corners of her mouth twitched again.

Even in the middle of summer, this fellow couldn't just go around with a bare back.

What was it?

Did he think those bulging muscles were handsome?

Hmph.

Though, truth be told, the young man did look quite fit.

The manager's face flushed slightly.

Li Aiguo looked at Liu Haizhu beside him, feeling utterly speechless.

Liu Haizhu was a professional bicycle mechanic.

When Li Aiguo received the permit from the locomotive depot to gather bicycle parts and assemble a bike, Liu Haizhu was the first person he thought of.

Early that morning, after finding Liu Haizhu and explaining his intention, Liu Haizhu had tossed aside his wrench, pushed out his bicycle, and insisted on coming to the depot to help select parts.

A friend offering enthusiastic help was normally something to be happy about.

It was just that, at the time, Liu Haizhu wasn't wearing a shirt.

He wore a bamboo hat, black laborer trousers, and yellow rubber boots... but nothing on his upper body.

Walking the streets shirtless was considered indecent. For the sake of public decorum, Li Aiguo had urged him to put on a short-sleeved shirt.

But Liu Haizhu refused to yield, even unto death.

It was as if that jacket were a suit of iron armor; the moment he put it on, it would bind his very soul.

Li Aiguo had no choice but to endure it.

And so, a shirtless young man rode a bicycle racing down the street.

On the back seat sat an even younger man.

Recalling the strange looks from the passersby, Li Aiguo wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

Damn it.

If he ever rode on Liu Haizhu's bike again, he'd rather be a dog.

Facing the manager's astonished gaze, Liu Haizhu held his head high with pride.

Li Aiguo gave an awkward smile. "Comrade, he's just... he thinks it's too hot."

"Nonsense!"

The manager muttered under her breath and walked toward a pile of parts. "Here, these are the confiscated parts. You can only assemble them here; you can't take them out."

"Assemble them here?"

"Of course. Think about it—with so many parts, if you take one out and I take one out, won't our locomotive depot be emptied?"

The manager spoke with righteous indignation. "Even a small matter involving public property is a big deal, and even a big personal matter is a small deal."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo could only give her a thumbs up.

However, they hadn't brought any tools. How were they supposed to assemble anything?

Just as Li Aiguo was thinking about going back to fetch tools, Liu Haizhu pulled a wrench out from his trousers.

Seeing Li Aiguo's bewildered expression, he widened his eyes. "What? I'm a mechanic; it's normal to carry a wrench on me, isn't it?"

"It is indeed normal."

Li Aiguo sized him up. "It's just that I can't quite figure out how you pulled a wrench that large out of your pants."

Liu Haizhu: "..."

Liu Haizhu, who usually never felt shame, actually turned red this time.

Li Aiguo looked at the wrench and couldn't help but take two steps back.

He absolutely would not touch that wrench later.

Since the parts were all confiscated, they were a chaotic mix of brands and types.

A frame from a Yongjiu bike, a seat from a Flying Pigeon, a front wheel from a Phoenix, a rear wheel from a Baishan, and brakes from a Golden Deer.

There was also a large pile of unpackaged parts with no visible brand.

Liu Haizhu's eyes lit up as if he had entered a mountain of treasure. He quickly picked out a large assortment of parts.

"Good stuff, all good stuff!"

"Aiguo, just you wait. I'm going to assemble the sturdiest bicycle in Beijing for you."

Liu Haizhu grabbed his wrench, his movements a blur. Every now and then, he would tap and hammer, making appropriate modifications to the parts.

Two hours later, Liu Haizhu pushed the bicycle out.

"How is it? Sturdy enough?"

Whether it was sturdy or not, Li Aiguo wasn't sure, but it was certainly weird.

The front and rear wheels of this bicycle were each composed of two rows of wheels.

The entire vehicle had four wheels.

There were two horizontal bars, and the front fork, front axle, central axle, chain, freewheel, and rear axle all came in dual sets.

They were all held tightly together by iron clamps.

There were even two bells—one on the left handlebar and one on the right.

The pedals also came in two sets, one positioned in the front and one in the rear.

"How about it? This is my special design. This way, two people can pedal at the same time."

Seeing Li Aiguo standing there agape, Liu Haizhu explained proudly, "The speed will definitely be top-notch. If you're being chased by those 'Green Skins,' they definitely won't catch you."

"Also, since this bike has four wheels, even if your riding skills aren't great, you won't fall over."

Li Aiguo was now so shocked his mouth wouldn't close.

If this bicycle had a canopy added to it, wouldn't it be just like the tandem bicycles in parks in the future?

"Come on, don't just stand there. Give it a try."

Li Aiguo took the bicycle and pushed it to test it.

To be fair, while Liu Haizhu's personality was unconventional, his craftsmanship was impeccable.

The four-wheeled bicycle made no strange noises; the wheels turned with incredible lightness, as if they had been assembled by the manufacturer itself.

"Liu Haizhu, if you don't go work as a designer in a bicycle factory, it's a true waste of talent," Li Aiguo said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Ahem, well, I'm just a bicycle mechanic. This is just practice bringing forth knowledge and labor bringing forth wisdom."

"You're too modest. With skills like these, you could completely make a living customizing bicycles for people."

"Ha, I'd love to customize them, but I don't have the materials. If it weren't for you today, I wouldn't have been able to satisfy my itch to tinker."

As the two were exchanging mutual praise, the manager walked over with her logbook and asked, "Have you finished assembling—holy crap, what kind of monstrosity is this?"

Her gaze landed on the bicycle, and her voice cut off abruptly as if someone had grabbed her by the throat.

"...Wait... no, wait. How can you use parts from two different bicycles?" She pointed at the four-wheeled bike, her face full of shock.

"You can't do this!"

Li Aiguo's expression turned serious. "Ma'am, let me ask you: is this a bicycle?"

The manager stared at the bicycle in a daze for a long time before nodding hesitantly. "It has wheels, a chain, a freewheel... I suppose it counts as a bicycle..."

"There you go! Since the warehouse rule is that we can only assemble one bicycle and cannot take parts out, we haven't violated any regulations."

Hearing Li Aiguo's logic, the manager felt something was fundamentally wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Li Aiguo thought for a moment and continued, "Don't worry, I will record all the materials used and submit it to the depot, and then I'll pay the difference for the extra parts. I won't make things difficult for you."

Taking advantage of public property was something Li Aiguo would not do.

"Since you put it that way, then it is a bicycle."

The manager breathed a sigh of relief.

As a manager, the most important thing was that the accounts balanced. As long as the higher-ups didn't pursue it, why go looking for trouble?

Besides...

This tandem bicycle was actually quite interesting.

***

Back at the repair shop.

Liu Haizhu installed a motor on the tandem bicycle, mounted a headlight on the front, coated the chain in machine oil, adjusted the brakes, and then took out a dry cloth to carefully polish the entire bike.

Only after the tandem bicycle was polished to a brilliant shine did Liu Haizhu reluctantly hand it over to Li Aiguo.

"Aiguo, I hope you treat it well in the future."

"Don't worry." Li Aiguo pulled some money from his pocket. "How much for the bike?"

Liu Haizhu's face hardened. "Aiguo, I feel like you are insulting my ideals and insulting our friendship."

Seeing Liu Haizhu's persistence, Li Aiguo didn't say anything more and tucked the money back into his pocket.

If an opportunity arose in the future, he would just get Liu Haizhu a couple of bottles of good liquor.

(End of Chapter)