PDLP Chapter 88 After the Meeting
Chapter 88 After the Meeting
After the mock competition ended, Lao Fang called everyone to the loquat tree.
Ahai sat on the edge of the circle of broken seashells, a large oil stain on his work clothes.
He held the coupling he had just removed from the old water pump in his hand, examining the keyway over and over.
Ah Guang sat cross-legged next to him, with the register spread out on his lap, pointing to the parts list he had just written down, and silently reciting the numbers.
Hong Xiaobing ran over from the dock, still with a mud stain on his forehead, and squatted on the outermost edge.
Zhou Haisheng stood leaning against the loquat tree trunk, holding the broken impeller in his hand. Ding Haifeng had circled the cracked area with a red paint pen, making a crooked red circle.
Ding Haisheng didn't come over.
He squatted alone at the entrance of the new workshop, slowly wiping the fresh red burn mark on his wrist with cotton yarn soaked in diesel.
When he was welding the last rusted hole, molten iron dripped down, but he didn't dodge.
He could hear what was being said under the loquat tree, even though it was half a courtyard away.
Ding Haifeng stood at the very edge of the crowd, with his back against the wall of the kitchen.
Old Fang made him a judge for the whole morning, and he still hadn't gotten out of the role, with his hands in his work clothes pockets and his eyes looking at the ground.
Lin Xiu'e put away the tools on the stone trough, covered the tung oil putty basin with a damp cloth, and walked over to stand next to Jiang Haiping.
Qiu Changhai sat motionless on the stone stool, about two or three zhang away from the loquat tree, but he could still hear Lao Fang speaking.
Old Sun sat on another stone stool next to him, took out a tobacco pouch from his cloth bag and slowly stuffed tobacco into his pipe.
Master Song wasn't there, so Xiao Zhou listened in for him from the other side of the shed.
Old Fang took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked around at the people in the yard.
"I'll say a few things about the mock match this morning."
He looked at Ah Hai first.
Ah Hai was shoving the coupling into Ah Guang's hand when he heard Lao Fang mention his name, and his hand froze in mid-air.
"Ah Hai disassembled the pump, the order was correct, and the torque values were all correct. When he got to the third rusted bolt, the wrench slipped. In the competition, if you encounter a rusted bolt, you are not allowed to force it. Soak it in diesel fuel for fifteen minutes until it is thoroughly soaked before you start working. Forcing it will strip the threads, and points will be deducted."
"Understood." Ah Hai withdrew his hand. "Soak in diesel for fifteen minutes."
"Give me the parts list for the water pump."
Ah-Guang flipped the register to the page he had just written down and handed it over.
Old Fang took it and read it from beginning to end.
The handwriting is by A-Guang, and the characters are straight. Each part is marked as either usable or scrap, and the reason is written after the scrapped parts.
After he finished reading, he returned the register to Ah Guang.
"The list is correct. There's one thing missing. The broken section of rubber tubing at the inlet isn't on the list."
Ah Guang looked down and flipped through it, his lips pressed tightly together.
"It's leaked."
"Old parts management: everything that is dismantled must be registered, not even a single pipe can be missed."
"I'll add it." Ah Guang took a pen and added a line at the bottom of the list. The handwriting was smaller than before, but still neat and tidy.
Old Fang shifted his gaze to Zhou Haisheng.
Zhou Haisheng leaned against the loquat tree trunk, still holding the impeller with the cracks circled in red pen.
"Haisheng, when you touched the impeller today, the first time you only mentioned the rust on the blades. It was Haifeng who found the cracks."
"It was my oversight," Zhou Haisheng said in a low voice.
"You stopped when you touched the crack. You felt it, but you didn't continue touching it. That's when you stopped, and then it all leaked out."
Zhou Haisheng tightened his grip on the impeller slightly.
The red paint ring next to the crack was slightly reflective in the sunlight.
"Haifeng, you tell him."
Ding Haifeng straightened up from the wall of the kitchen.
He took his hand out of his pocket, walked over to Zhou Haisheng, picked up the impeller, turned it over, and pointed to the crack on the back of the blade.
"If you find something wrong, don't stop. You have to feel it from one end of the crack to the other, at least three times. You can't feel the depth of a crack just by touching it once. The first time you feel the surface roughness, the second time you can feel the depth, and the third time you will know exactly how deep the crack is."
"Three times," Zhou Haisheng repeated.
"At least three times."
Old Fang stood to the side, waiting for Ding Haifeng to retreat to the wall of the kitchen before continuing his story.
"Lin Xiu'e, you changed a board this morning."
Lin Xiu'e crossed her hands in front of her apron. "The grain of that pine plank is twisted. If you try to carve a groove along the grain, the chisel will go astray. It's not something that can be fixed by skill."
"Good change." Old Fang put the cigarette back in his mouth. "The pine planks used for the competition are all the same; you can't choose them yourself. If you encounter a plank with twisted wood grain, you know what to do."
"Try a couple of cuts first to see the grain direction. If you can't follow the grain, change direction. If you try to cut against the grain, the edges will chip."
"OK."
Old Fang looked towards the entrance of the new workshop. Ding Haisheng was still squatting there wiping his wrists; most of the diesel fuel on the cotton yarn had evaporated.
"Haisheng. The arc light flickered slightly during the flange repair welding. It was the wind."
"It's the wind." Ding Haisheng's voice came from the entrance of the new workshop, not loud, but steady.
"The competition is indoors, there's no wind. You're used to training outdoors, so a windless environment will make you more stable. But you're not allowed to weld your wrist this afternoon. You'll have to rest for half a day."
Ding Haisheng stood up and placed the cotton yarn in his hand on the door frame of the new workshop. He looked at his left wrist; the row of overlapping old and new burn scars gleamed in varying shades of red under the sunlight. He nodded but didn't speak.
Old Fang turned his gaze to Ding Haifeng.
"Haifeng, you're the judge today. Do you know who you resembled this morning?"
Ding Haifeng did not respond.
"Like a real technician."
The courtyard was quiet for a few seconds.
Ah Hai dropped the coupling he was holding onto the circle of broken seashells, picked it up, and wiped it with his sleeve.
Ah Guang bent down and finished filling in the rubber tube section in the register. The pen made two scratching sounds and then stopped.
Ding Haifeng was still standing.
The wind blew up the cuffs of his blue school uniform, revealing half of his wrist underneath.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.
Jiang Haiping leaned against the loquat tree trunk, remaining silent.
He went over every single thing Lao Fang mentioned in his mind: Ah Hai's wrench, Ah Guang's list, Zhou Haisheng's crack, Lin Xiu'e's board, Ding Haisheng's wrist, and Ding Haifeng's micrometer.
He remembered what his father had said before: managing the service station wasn't about managing the boats, it was about managing the people.
People are harder to repair than boats.
He didn't respond at the time, but now that he thinks about it, he realizes that what he said was absolutely right.
He glanced at Lao Fang, who happened to be looking over at him as well.
"Hai Ping, say a few words."
Jiang Haiping straightened up from the tree trunk and walked to the side to stand still.
"There are still a few days until the grand competition. There's no rush to catch up these few days. Ah Hai's wrench can't slip again, and Ding Haisheng's wrist can't suffer any more new injuries."
Haisheng, starting tomorrow, touch fifty old items every day, with your eyes closed, until you can find every crack on the first touch. Haifeng, you continue to help him with the verification.
Usability accounts for 40 points in the rating criteria, and that 40 points is what we have more than other service stations.
He paused for a moment.
"Hong Laosan's boat set sail yesterday. He should be able to return half of it before the winter solstice."
After he finished speaking, he retreated and leaned against the loquat tree trunk.
Old Sun tapped his pipe on the stone block twice, knocking out a small pinch of ash, which was then scattered by the sea breeze.
Old Fang put the cigarette back in his mouth. "Meeting adjourned. Everyone get back to work. Those who need a break, take a break."
Ahai sprang up from the ground, grabbed the coupling, and ran back to the workshop.
Ah Guang closed the register, went to the old parts warehouse, checked the parts list of the old water pump again, and filled in the blank column of the last line with the broken rubber hose.
Hong Xiaobing returned to the dock to continue repairing his family's sampan. When he left, the mud stain on his forehead had dried completely. He tried to pick at it a couple of times but couldn't get it off, so he just ignored it.
Zhou Haisheng placed the impeller with the crack circled in red in the most conspicuous position on the old parts shelf, took a step back to look at it, and then reached out and turned it so that the red circle was facing the door.
Ding Haisheng was still squatting at the entrance of the new workshop.
Old Fang said no more welding was allowed in the afternoon. He hung the welding clamp on the wall and sat down to look at the old water pump data that Ding Haifeng had written yesterday.
The draft paper was covered with dense numbers, each with its unit noted.
He flipped the draft paper to the back, which was completely blank, and then flipped it back.
Ding Haifeng stood under the loquat tree.
Old Fang's words were still ringing in his ears.
He took the vernier caliper out of his pocket; the white tape with the word "Peak" on the handle was already worn and frayed.
Jiang Haiping walked to the door of the kitchen.
Lin Xiu'e was carrying out enamel mugs one by one and placing them on the stone slab.
He took the jar but didn't drink from it.
A small piece of enamel was chipped off the outer wall of the jar, revealing the rusty iron underneath.
"What are you thinking about?" Lin Xiu'e placed the last jar on the stone slab and straightened up.
"I'm reminded of what my dad used to say: 'People are harder to repair than boats.'"
Lin Xiu'e took the sugar jar from the stove and scooped half a spoonful of sugar into his jar.
The sugar slid down the edge of the spoon and slowly spread across the surface of the hot water.
She put the sugar jar back on the stove and turned to go to the stone trough.
The sound of chisels striking the groove rang out again, mingling with the rustling of loquat leaves in the sea breeze.