Chapter 29: Director Liao of the Provincial Government

  In fact, this is just a mining area of the Qi Yi coal mine, and the mine's office is still over ten miles away. A coal mine with only one electrician, the simplicity of its equipment can be imagined. The broken large motor lies quietly in a small, dirty engine room, connected to two thick steel cables that stretch straight into the dark depths of the mine shaft.

  I estimate that the workers at the bottom of the well were mainly doing manual labor, and mechanical equipment such as windlasses and tunnel boring machines were rarely used. As for the high-pressure water knives that were later widely used in large coal mines abroad, the Qi Yi Coal Mine may not have even heard of them at this time.

  I frowned and said, "Turn on the light."

  A worker immediately turned on the light.

  I crouched down to take a look at the motor, which was already very old and had no nameplate, so I didn't know where it was from. The motor was horizontal, and judging by its appearance, its power was less than 30 kilowatts, or around ten or twenty kilowatts. It was bolted onto two steel rails with four large bolts, but three of the bolts were already very loose. Underneath the motor was a puddle of black oil stains.

  I didn't smell too much of a burnt smell, and I was 80% sure in my heart.

  Seeing me with a confident attitude, Zhang Kuang's confidence suddenly increased a lot, and he asked tentatively: "Little... little friend, how is it?"

  I stood up and said: "The problem shouldn't be too big. But we need to open the case to see what's going on."

  Zhang Kuang was overjoyed.

  "Haha, as expected, you're a true hero, the son of Old Liu. You're really something else. Now, please hurry up and get to work. Whether or not the Third District can complete this year's overproduction task on schedule depends entirely on you."

  As for the prevailing "Battle of Hundred Days" and "New Year's Battle" at that time, I knew a little about it. Official documents have always been indispensable throughout history.

  "Zhang, it's no problem to repair this motor..."

  "Don't worry, I've already prepared two bottles of wine, a pack of cigarettes and two catties of meat. Just fix this electric motor and I'll have them delivered to your home."

  Hehe, "two bottles of wine, a pack of cigarettes and two catties of meat", that's roughly the reward he prepared for his old man, not a small amount.

  "Zhang Mine is long, cigarettes and wine are nothing, it's all about doing revolutionary work."

  With Father's temperament, he wouldn't care about any returns. Now that we represent the face of the old Liu family, we can't appear too greedy and stingy either.

  "Alright, a good father doesn't have a bad son. Whatever you want, just ask."

  "Alright then, I won't be polite. I'm small and weak, so I can only provide technical guidance. You need to assign two people to assist me. It's best if they have some basic repair knowledge."

  "No problem, Jianjun, Sanmao, you two come over and assist Master Xiao Liu."

  San Mao is that young man who rides a bike.

  "Also, are there any spare parts here? I think the bearing has burned out."

  Zhang Kuang's confidence greatly increased, and with a wave of his hand, several people immediately pushed over a large pile of parts using a trolley, including enameled wires, bearings of all sizes, screws, and so on, everything was complete.

  "Heh heh, I didn't know what parts were needed, so I had them send over all the motor parts they had stored in the mine."

  This can save a lot of trouble, otherwise coming and going to the mine would waste a lot of time. It's hard to see that this mine manager is quite efficient in handling things, he's a seasoned player. No wonder he became the mine manager at such a young age.

  "Alright, let's get started. San Mao, you cut off the power first."

  I took it for granted and put on an air of being a master.

  With Zhang's unconditional praise, San Mao didn't feel embarrassed at all about being ordered around by a mischievous kid who was more than ten years younger than her, and obediently cut off the power.

  "Build the army, screwdriver... it's a starter, bring it over... here, here, all come out."

  Jianjun was also very diligent and worked hard with his screwdriver.

  As for me, this young master, authority is still not enough. But Zhang Kuang stood by and stared at him with wide eyes, who dared not to work hard?

  "San Mao, turn this screw over here, make your movements more efficient..."

  Zhang Kuang was taken aback and lost his smile, shaking his head slightly.

  This kid really has some of his master's style.

  Zhang Kuangchang is the head of the Qi Yi coal mine, I don't know if he knows my old man, maybe he just heard the workers in the San Cai mining area mention my old man's name, and the two may not have actually met. However, judging from his accent, he should be from near Fenglin Commune. It's possible that he is familiar with my old man, but it's not certain. The dialect of Xiangyang County is very mixed, each commune has a different accent, and even each production team has subtle differences in accent, as the saying goes "ten miles different sounds".

  The motor housing is opened, and as expected, the coil is not burned out, only the bearing is burned out. The reason is that the fixed rivets are loose, the motor vibrates severely, causing the bearing to wear out, and it will hang up after a long time.

  I let out a sigh of relief. I remembered what Zhang Kuangchang said about the reward. This "two bottles of wine, one pack of cigarettes, and two catties of meat" isn't hard to earn at all. As my dad is a national cadre, he might have some concerns about accepting rewards, but I'm not bound by any rules.

  "Boss Zhang, no big deal, don't worry, it'll be done in an hour at most."

  Unintentionally, a Cantonese term that was popular in the 1990s slipped out - "搞定"! Fortunately, Zhang Kuang, being a leader, had a good understanding and surprisingly understood it, his face suddenly filled with joy.

  "Great, great, should be able to resume production before the provincial leaders arrive..."

  A long and loud horn suddenly sounded, and Zhang Kuang's face changed abruptly.

  "Director Zhang, Director Zhang, leaders from the provincial government and the mining bureau have all arrived..."

  A woman in her thirties who looked like a clerk came running over, panting.

  "Hey, how did you get here so quickly?"

  Zhang jumped his foot (he had this habit of jumping his foot, hopefully the people living downstairs wouldn't get insomnia), turned around and ran out, not forgetting to shout a sentence as he left.

  "Master Xiao Liu, please hurry up a bit... I'll give you an extra pound of biscuits..."

  Cigarettes, wine and meat are all for my old man, but the one who actually did the cutting was me, this little kid. This pound of cookies must have been specially prepared to reward me. This is called "tempting with benefits". Director Zhang is efficient in handling matters, has a strong sense of decision-making, and his future prospects are unlimited. Such a person is worth getting to know.

  Replacing the bearing is a waste of time. The motor bearing was originally oily, and after more than ten years of tinkering with it in my previous life, I didn't fall in love with this thing. Plus, the coal mine is dirty and messy, making me even less willing to do it myself. Anyway, there are two free helpers available, so I don't have to worry about sharing wine, meat, tobacco, and sugar with them. Let them busy themselves, and I'll just be a hands-off boss.

  However, a few minutes later, I realized that this idea was wrong. Replacing the bearing is not a technical job, but people who are not used to it really can't handle it for a while. The oily bearing in San Mao and Jianjun's hands was like a mischievous loach, which couldn't be grasped steadily no matter what. They were sweating profusely, but still made no progress.

  Seeing them in such a flurry, I couldn't help but laugh.

  "Alright, alright, you two take a rest, I'll do it myself."

  Zhang Kuanglang bit his teeth and spent a lot of money to buy a pound of cookies, thinking that since someone had shown him kindness, he should also make an effort not to lose face in front of the leader.

  San Mao and Jian Jun hastily stepped aside as if they had received a great amnesty.

  They still had some dissatisfaction, wanting to see what I was capable of. Strong theoretical knowledge doesn't necessarily mean strong practical skills. Moreover, that bearing compared to my small hands is huge and disproportionate. Just look at my small arms and legs, grabbing the bearing would be a challenge in itself.

  As soon as I got the axle bearing in my hand, I knew it wouldn't be easy. If I had put it off until my previous life, this little weight would have been nothing to worry about. But now it's completely different. Fortunately, it's not to the point where I have to struggle to lift my "hand".

  "Xiao Zhang, what's going on here? The motor is broken and you didn't call anyone to fix it? This has delayed our work a lot!"

  A majestic male voice criticized Zhang Kuangzhong.

  I was busy and couldn't turn my head to look, presumably some leader from the Mining Bureau, feeling embarrassed in front of provincial leaders.

  "I'm sorry, Director Shao, it's because we didn't do our job well..."

  Zhang Kuangchang first apologized repeatedly, then explained in a low voice.

  "This motor also suddenly broke down, we are rushing to repair it, and will be able to fix it soon, resuming production."

  "Hmm, need to fix it immediately... Hey, why are there kids playing in the electrical room? Xiao Zhang, what's going on? You guys don't take safety production seriously at all!"

  Director Shao was somewhat flustered and exasperated.

  At such an important place and at such a critical moment, the provincial leaders actually saw such a scene, which really made him lose face. If it weren't for the sake of the provincial leader's dignity, he would probably be furious in an instant.

  "This... Director Shao, this kid isn't playing here, he... he's helping us fix the generator..."

  "What?"

  I was just putting the bearing sleeve on, didn't see Director Shao's face, guess it can't be good.

  "What are you kidding me? Letting a kid fix an electric motor? Where are your mine's electricians?"

  Director Shao seemed unable to hold back any longer and fired off a series of questions.

  "Lao Shao, no need to be so angry, you scared Comrade Xiao Zhang, haha... Director Zhang of the mine, what's going on? Tell us."

  The person who spoke must be a provincial leader. His words were neither warm nor cold, yet they carried a certain dignity that commanded respect from the bottom of one's heart.

  "Liao Director, yes, it's like this... The mine only has one electrician, and he just happens to be on leave back in his hometown... His hometown is in Weining County, which is quite far from here, over 300 miles away. Originally, we wanted to ask Mr. Liu from Liujia Mountain to come help with the repairs, but he's not at home either. This kid is the son of Liu Jincai and says he learned maintenance from his father, so he came forward on his own initiative..."

  I can imagine Zhang Kuang's appearance of desperately wiping cold sweat while explaining.

  Liu Jincai?

  Liao Director subconsciously repeated a sentence.

  "Yes, yes, it's Liu Jinchai from Hongqi Commune. He used to be a technical cadre in charge of repairs..."

  "What nonsense! A little kid, what does he know? Look at him, probably just started first grade in elementary school, can fix an electric motor? Little Zhang, I think you're really muddled!"

  Director Shao was extremely angry. This person today has really lost big time.

  At this time, I had already installed the bearing, wiped off the oil stains on my hands, stood up, and said to San Mao and Jianjun: "You two just disassembled it earlier, now how do you restore it, then install the shell, tighten the rivets, connect the power source and it can be turned on."

  Then he turned around and said lightly: "Ambition is not limited by age, no one has stipulated that primary school students cannot repair electrical appliances."

  A stout man in his fifties with a scowl on his face was probably Director Shao. Next to him stood another middle-aged man of similar age, wearing a greyish-black Changshan suit, with a square-shaped face and medium build, donning a pair of black-framed glasses, surrounded by a crowd of people like a celestial body. Undoubtedly, he was the provincial leader, Director Liao, who had come for an inspection today.

  It's strange that Wang Benqing and Cui Xiuhuo, the leaders of this county, were nowhere to be seen.

  It is said that the provincial leaders came to inspect, although it was an inspection of coal mines, the heads of Xiangyang County should have accompanied them. This is a basic official rule. The only explanation is that Director Liao directly went from the province to the Mining Bureau and then directly from the Mining Bureau to the 71 Coal Mine without notifying the local leaders.

  "Haha, a young man with great ambition! Little guy, you've got quite an attitude!"

  "Little friend, this is Director Liao, a leader from the provincial government."

  A secretary-like person next to Director Liao hastily reminded me, fearing that I was young and ignorant of the heights of heaven and earth, speaking recklessly and offending the leader.

  It's me, I know what kind of official Director Liao is in the provincial government. If it were some other kid, who would know these things? Of course, even in the whole province of Xiangyang, you couldn't find another eight-year-old student who can repair large electric motors.

  "Director Liao! My name is Liu Jun, I'm the son of Liu Jinchai, Vice Director of the Red Flag Commune Revolutionary Committee."

  I first bowed politely. This wasn't intentional, after working in a Taiwanese factory for many years, I had developed the good habit of being civilized and courteous. When seeing someone older, regardless of who it was, I would bow before speaking.

  "Haha, really? You're actually Liu Jincai's son?"

  "Of course it's true. What's good about pretending? I've only seen people fighting to be someone else's father, but never seen anyone fighting to be someone else's son."

  As soon as this was said, all four were shocked. Who would have thought that an eight-year-old child could be so sharp-tongued?

  "Does Director Liao know my father?"

  "Haha, your dad is now a big name in our province, and many people have heard of his name. As for knowing him, I haven't met him in person yet."

  I nodded.

  "It's also rare for someone as big of a leader as you to be so approachable, I mean, where would my dad ever get to meet someone like that?"

  Director Liao still had a smile all over his face, but his eyes behind the glasses were full of surprise. It was clear that this little kid had really caught him off guard.

  "Hey kid, is this motor really fixed?"

  "Ah, it's fixed now. The rivets on the motor base were loose, causing severe vibration during operation, which led to serious wear and tear on the bearings. Over time, they burned out. Now that new bearings have been replaced, it can be started up and run immediately."

  All he heard was a "slap" sound, San Mao closed the switch, and the motor shook slightly before humming happily.