Chapter 207

At dawn, He Yushui sat at the small desk in the technical room. The computer screen lit up; she tapped a few keys on the keyboard, dragging the 'Repair Water Pump' task from the to-do list to the 'Today Priority' column. She glanced at the time: 6:05, five minutes earlier than the scheduled go-live.

She pressed the send key, and a notification popped up: 'Siheyuan Management APP activated; please submit repair requests via voice or text.'

As soon as the announcement ended, the broadcast sounded.

'Attention, neighbors! Starting now you can report repairs via phone! Whether the light's out, the pipe's clogged, or the circuit breaker trips—just snap a photo or say a word!' Zhao Jianguo stood in the middle of the courtyard, holding up a speaker and shouting, 'If you don't know how to use it, find the building liaison; the list is posted on the first line of the notice board!'

San Daye walked out holding an enamel bucket, hearing the broadcast and pausing for a moment. He lowered his head to look at the new phone he had just received, then lifted his eyes to the notice on the bulletin board, muttering, 'Does this thing actually work?'

Not ten minutes later, a message came from Wang Nainai's home.

'Little Zhao! My light keeps flickering on and off, flashing so badly my head hurts!' The voice on the phone sounded urgent, 'It's like a ghost is blinking its eyes!'

Zhao Jianguo noted the apartment number, went back inside, grabbed his tool bag, and headed out. On the way he ran into Aunt Li holding a child, who also pulled him aside and said, 'The kitchen lost power after the circuit breaker tripped last night; we can't even warm the milk powder.'

'Don't worry, I've queued them.' Zhao Jianguo pulled out his phone, opened the APP, and marked both messages as red urgent. 'First go to Wang Nainai's place; electrical issues can't be delayed.'

When he arrived, the old person was sitting on the bedside rubbing their temples. The incandescent lamp in the room was indeed flickering on and off, as if about to die.

Zhao Jianguo turned on the tester, placed it against the wall outlet and scanned around; the reading jumped a few times. He opened the switch box, found the terminal loose, the copper wires blackened. He tightened the screws, swapped in a new interface, then flipped the switch—the light came on steady.

'All done.' He wiped the dust off his hands.

Wang Nainai leaned in to look at the bulb: 'Oh, it's not flickering anymore! This little gadget of yours is really handy!'

'Instrument plus skill.' Zhao Jianguo smiled, 'From now on you can just speak into your phone; no need to run around calling people.'

Just as he stepped out, the APP buzzed again. Old Man Zhang sent a voice message: 'The toilet's drain is spewing foul water! Step on it and the ground feels soft!'

Zhao Jianguo pulled up the map, showing this task was nearest to his current location. He turned toward the warehouse to grab a drain rod, and halfway there he ran into Dong Xu's hastily formed Mutual Aid Group. The two of them, one holding a wrench and the other a multimeter, were preparing to inspect the public Electric Box.

'You go handle the main power control first.' Zhao Jianguo reassigned Old Man Zhang's task to them, 'This one's theirs.'

The dispatch system automatically pushed the task to the three nearest people. Ten minutes later, someone in the group sent back a photo: a greasy cast‑iron pipe had been pried open, stuffed full of hair and soap scum.

'Just clear it out.' Zhao Jianguo replied.

By noon, the APP had already received seventeen repair requests. Some reported leaking faucets, some said the radiators weren't hot, and others complained that the corridor's voice‑activated lights had failed. Zhao Jianguo led the team through the East Wing Room and then the west courtyard, the soles of his feet heating up.

He Yushui stayed in the technical room. She stared at the backend data and noticed that a few elderly speakers were too soft, causing the system to mishear 'fix the door lock' as 'fix the mushroom'. She quickly added a local accent recognition module and retrained the voice model.

At two in the afternoon, He Yushui stepped outside for a breather and saw Zhao Jianguo squatting under a locust tree, chewing on a steamed bun.

'Want something hot?' she said.

'Can't spare the time.' Zhao Jianguo swallowed a mouthful of dry rations, 'Aunt Li's wiring check is done—the main line is aged and needs a new wiring channel. How's your side?'

'Running fairly steady.' He Yushui sat down, 'The problem now isn't technical; it's that people aren't used to it yet. Many still prefer to knock on the door and shout.'

'Take it slow.' Zhao Jianguo took a sip of water, 'The key is to let people see results in the first few days.'

Hardly had the words finished when his phone rang. San Daye sent a voice message: 'I'm trying that "one‑tap report" you mentioned… uh… I want to report a water‑pump repair! Right?'

Two seconds later, the system automatically replied: 'Task logged, number 019, estimated to be handled within two hours.'

The old man read it once himself, then grinned: 'Hey, it actually works!'

He took his phone and waited at the water‑pump room door. Less than forty minutes later, the repair crew arrived. They replaced the bearing, added lubricant, and with a whoosh the water pressure returned to normal.

At seven in the evening, Zhao Jianguo finally settled into the technical room. He Yushui was organizing the log.

'We received twenty‑three tickets today.' He Yushui pointed at the screen, 'Twenty‑two are done; only Old Zhou's radio with a poor contact remains unfixed, but we can take care of it tomorrow on the way.'

'What's the average response time?'

'Twenty‑seven minutes.'

Zhao Jianguo nodded. He opened the system overview page, and suddenly a line of tip floated up in the lower‑right corner:

'First community‑level IoT network construction completed.'

He didn't move or speak; he just stared at those words for a few seconds.

Footsteps sounded outside; San Daye came over again. This time he held his phone in hand, a hint of pride on his face.

'I tried it a second time,' he said, 'I filed a fake task—said my cat got stuck in the stove and couldn't get out. Did you really send someone?'

He Yushui blinked: 'Really? Who went?'

'Little Liu,' San Daye chuckled, 'He got to the door and realized the cat wasn't in the kitchen at all—it was basking on the roof.'

Everyone in the room laughed.

'That shows the system responds quickly.' Zhao Jianguo said, 'Even a false alarm can mobilize manpower at once.'

'But don't keep doing this.' He Yushui shook her head, 'Resources are limited; they need to be used where they count.'

'I know.' San Daye waved a hand, 'I just wanted to see whether your "computer" is clever. Now I've figured it out—it not only logs things fast, it also sorts priorities.'

As he was about to leave, he stood in the doorway and said, 'I used to think machines were cold and lifeless, but now I see that behind them there are still people in charge. As long as people's hearts are warm, machines can get things done.'

The lights dimmed, the courtyard grew quiet. A few windows still glowed, and occasionally a child's voice asked, 'How do you press Dad's phone?' Someone was trying to record a voice repair request; if it didn't work the first time, they tried again.

He Yushui shut down the main unit but didn't leave. She opened her notebook, which was full of user feedback: font too small, too many buttons, elderly afraid of pressing the wrong key…

She took a pen and circled a few key points, preparing to fix them tomorrow.

Zhao Jianguo stood in the courtyard, looking up at the streetlight. It was the third lamp he had fixed today, now shining steadily, casting a bright glow over the concrete ground.

He lowered his gaze to his phone; the APP interface was clean and simple, every task status showing green completed.

In the distance came the sound of a yawn; a Team Member shouldered a Toolbox and headed home. As he passed, he waved at Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo returned the gesture.

He turned and walked toward the technical room; the door wasn't shut tight, leaking a sliver of light. He Yushui was still writing, her back bent over the desk.

Zhao Jianguo was about to speak when his phone suddenly vibrated.

He pulled it out and glanced at it.

A new message came from the system:

'Abnormal device detected accessing the area network.'