Chapter 73: Skill Upgrade, Power Boost

The well's pump was still humming, its sound steady as a pendulum. Zhao Jianguo stood there listening for a while, then turned back to the electrician's room. The light was on, the Toolbox was open, a screwdriver lay slanted on the table—he had tossed it there after fixing the pump last night. He didn't hurry to clean up; instead he sat down, dragged the scrapped electric water pump to the desk.

That contraption had lain in the courtyard for almost five years; everyone said it couldn't be repaired. The motor was burnt, the coil charred, even Lao Zhang from the factory's technical section had taken a look and waved it off: "Scrap metal, send it back to the furnace." But Zhao Jianguo didn't trust that. He crouched, ran his fingers along the housing, stopping at a cooling vent. There was a scratch there, shallow but neat, as if something hard had brushed it. He recalled the pump's last use three years ago, drawing water for the cellar, and it hadn't run since.

He pulled out his little notebook, flipped to the well pump maintenance log he had written last night, and compared the voltage, speed, and current parameters line by line. After a while, his brows furrowed. The numbers were way off. The one he had repaired could still be saved because its core component wasn't completely ruined. This one, however, was truly beyond repair.

"Just experience isn't enough," he closed the notebook and murmured.

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he went to the corner of the courtyard to check in. As soon as his hand lifted, a "ding" rang in his mind, like someone tapping a glass.

【Check-in Successful, detected host's continuous thirty‑day positive influence on neighborhood relations, unlocked 'Skill Enhancement Module'. Acquired 'Advanced Mechanical Repair Skill Pack'.】

He stared blankly for two seconds, then looked at his hand. It was unchanged; black mud from last night's pump cleaning still clung in the nail crevices. But suddenly his mind filled with something—not words, not schematics, but a kind of "knowing". Like someone who never rode a bike, then one day hops on, pedals, and it just clicks.

He turned back into the house without greeting anyone. He Yushui met him at the doorway and asked, "Jianguo, where are you off to so early?"

"Electrician's room," he replied with two words, his steps never pausing.

As soon as he entered, he shut the door. The scrapped water pump sat where it was on the table. He sat down and began to dismantle. He unscrewed the housing screws, exposing the stator; the enamel wire was blackened from scorching. By the old method, it would have required a new one. But now, at a glance, he saw the problem wasn't in the main winding but in the clearance between the start capacitor and the centrifugal switch.

He rummaged through the scrap pile for an old radio, removed its electrolytic capacitor, cut a piece of copper with pliers, bent it into a contact shape. His fingers moved lightning‑fast, as if he'd practiced a thousand times. The soldering gun sparked, a puff of white smoke rose, and the connection was made. Next came the winding—he took copper wire from another broken fan and rewound 36 turns, the tension even as if measured with a ruler.

At Meal Ticket time, Sha Zhu knocked, "Jianguo! Meal time!"

"Not eating," a voice called from inside, "Busy."

"Busy with what? Is the courtyard leaking again?"

"More important than a leak."

"Anything more important than a Meal Ticket?" Sha Zhu muttered as he walked away.

At three in the afternoon, the pump was reassembled. Zhao Jianguo connected the power and pressed the switch.

Buzz—

The machine jolted violently, then a gush of turbid water spurted from the outlet, splashing his face. He didn't dodge; instead he laughed. The sound was off, with noise, but it was turning! Not a short circuit, not jammed, it was truly rotating!

He quickly adjusted the voltage, lowering the speed, listening as the sound went from raspy to smooth. After five minutes, the water flow steadied, clear to the bottom.

"Fixed it?" He Yushui, appearing at the doorway, held a Meal Ticket box.

"Mm." Zhao Jianguo wiped the water from his face, "It can last ten more years."

"Your skill, even the veteran masters at the factory would call you brother."

"Don't brag." he waved his hand, "Just a handy job."

In the evening, Li Shen passed the electrician's room, saw the old pump placed at the doorway, the outlet pipe linked to a bucket, pouring water noisily. She was stunned: "This broken thing can still run?"

Wang Shen also came over: "Jianguo, how did you fix it? Two years ago my husband tried three times, couldn't even get electricity on."

"I swapped a small component." Zhao Jianguo crouched beside the valve, "Not hard."

"If it's not hard, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Even if I'd said earlier, there were no parts." he laughed, "Now we have them."

The two were talking when San Daye shuffled over, glanced at the pump, then at Zhao Jianguo: "Your hands are getting more skillful. Last time you repaired the well pump, this time the scrap iron, next will you tackle the boiler room's steam engine?"

"That requires the factory's approval slip." Zhao Jianguo joked, "Without the slip, I wouldn't dare touch it."

At night, after packing his tools, he carried a Meal Ticket box back. Passing the cafeteria, Sha Zhu handed them both a bun: "Top up, haven't eaten all day, lost a layer of fat."

"Not lost." he took it, "Just the mind spins fast, gets hungry early."

Early the next morning, he went to the factory. Not for work, but to borrow tools. The multimeter in the electrician's room was broken, needed factory calibration. He reached the technical department doorway, hearing a clamor inside.

"It rang again! As soon as it's turned on it buzzes and shakes, the bearing must be misaligned!"

"We took it apart, no wear."

"Then what's the problem? Can't be that the motor became sentient, right?"

Zhao Jianguo peeked, seeing an imported three‑phase asynchronous motor, model he recognized, German‑made, the factory's sole spare. It now sat on the repair bench, its housing half disassembled.

"May I take a look?" he asked.

Lao Zhang looked up: "Little Zhao? Do you know this?"

"I'll try." he walked over, hand on the motor housing, closed his eyes and listened for two seconds, "Not a bearing issue."

"If not the bearing, then what?"

"Eccentric wear, but not on the bearing, on the rotor shaft neck and end‑cap interface. Off by 0.3 mm; at high speed it shakes."

The room fell silent for two seconds.

"How did you know?"

"By feel." he opened his eyes, "Take it apart and you'll see."

Lao Zhang, half‑skeptical, called others to continue disassembly. When the end cap was removed, the shaft neck was exposed, indeed a ring of uneven wear marks.

"It's really there!"

"Still, Little Zhao has sharp eyes!"

"It's not sharp eyes, it's sharp hands." Lao Zhang patted his shoulder, "At your level, you'd qualify for a Grade‑7 worker assessment!"

"Don't assess." Zhao Jianguo laughed, "If assessed, I'd have overtime, and I still have to teach Night School tonight."

He didn't linger, calibrated the multimeter and left. Stepping out of the technical building, sunlight warmed his face. He didn't rush back to Siheyuan, but turned to the Materials Department, where Lao Zhang swapped two new batteries for him.

"Swapping batteries again?" Lao Zhang laughed, "Your trade pattern is becoming a factory rule."

"Practical." he tucked the batteries into his pocket, "Faster than an approval slip."

Back in the courtyard, He Yushui waited for him in the electrician's room.

"Heard about it? That imported motor at the factory, you spotted the fault at a glance."

"Just coincidence."

"Coincidence can produce a 0.3 mm error?" she rolled her eyes, "Zhao Jianguo, you really can't hide it now."

"Hide what." he unscrewed the battery cover, installed the new battery into the doorbell controller, "Skill upgraded, hands got faster."

"That's not an ordinary skill." she stared, "Where did you learn it before?"

"Self-study." He pressed the test button, the doorbell chimed "ding-dong", "Study more and you'll know."

Night School opened in the evening; the number of registrants was double the usual. Aunt Li and Wang Shen came, each bringing their own husband. Er Lengzi crouched at the doorway, peeking in.

"Can I listen?"

"Yes." Zhao Jianguo looked up, "Today we're lecturing on water pump maintenance; the last time you moved coal, if you understood this, you could have fixed it yourself by now."

"Then I really ought to study hard." Er Lengzi squeezed in and plopped down.

Halfway through the lesson, San Daye came in leaning on a cane, stood at the doorway listening for a while without disturbing. After class, he called Zhao Jianguo to the open space in the courtyard.

"Your skill isn't just for fixing things."

"Then what is it?"

"It's for establishing oneself." San Daye said in a low voice, "Before, everyone trusted you because you handled things fairly. Now they trust you because you have genuine skill. Fairness wins people over; skill wins hearts."

Zhao Jianguo didn't respond, he looked up at the sky. There were plenty of stars, and the wind wasn't cold.

The next day, the factory's Technical Section sent someone to the Siheyuan, specifically requesting Zhao Jianguo to help debug the newly arrived distribution cabinet. He went and finished it in one morning. Before leaving, the Section Chief handed him a slip of paper.

"Next month's skill evaluation, registration form. If you participate, I'll write you a recommendation letter."

"I'm not taking the evaluation." He pushed the paper back, "I live in the Siheyuan, so I have to do work for the courtyard."

"But your level shouldn't be buried here."

"Not buried." He smiled, "This place is also part of the factory."

On the way back to the courtyard, he detoured to the Scrap Yard, turned up a few old steel plates, and also picked up a scrapped transmission shaft. Carrying them home, He Yushui was waiting at the electrician's room door.

"Picking up junk again?"

"Not junk." He put the things down, "They're materials."

"What's it for?"

"To make a small dough press." He brushed off the dust on his hands, "The canteen kneads dough every day; Sha Zhu's arms are about to break."

"You even know how to make a dough press?"

"I can do it now." He chuckled, "Just learned it."