dognovel Chapter 86 Family Letter
Chapter 86 Family Letter
Half a month after the Frost's Descent, the sea breeze grows stronger day by day.
Jiang Haiping squatted on the rocks, spreading the account book on his knees.
The page for credit bills rustled in the wind; he pressed it down with his palm and moved his fingers down the list of names.
Hong Laosan's line was changed to pay half before the winter solstice, Lao Chen still owes twenty yuan, and Hong Chuandong's line was crossed out with a red pen.
He went through the names in his mind, closed the ledger, and stood up.
As they reached the courtyard gate, Hong Xiaobing ran over from the other side of the seawall, clutching a letter in his hand.
"Brother Haiping, the postman just delivered your letter."
Jiang Haiping took it.
The envelope was made of kraft paper, with slightly frayed edges, and the stamp on it was an eight-cent Great Wall stamp.
The letter was sent in his mother's name and the address was the shipyard's residential compound.
He turned the letter over; the seal, made of rice grains, was already a bit loose.
I haven't been back for three months.
When he left last time, his mother said the roof was leaking, and he promised to go back and fix it when he had time.
I haven't been able to find the time.
He put the letter in his work clothes pocket without opening it.
When I entered the courtyard, Lin Xiu'e was squatting in front of the stove, using fire tongs to pick up honeycomb briquettes. The edges of the briquettes slowly turned red, and the flames licked the coal holes, illuminating the kitchen for a while.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up, stood up, wiped her hands on her apron, picked up a piece of paper from beside the stove, and handed it to her.
"Wang Cunzhi brought it this morning. He said the scoring criteria have been released."
Jiang Haiping spread the mimeograph paper out under the loquat tree to look at it.
The scoring criteria listed four items: for diesel engine disassembly and assembly, the order of disassembly and assembly and torque value; for welders, the appearance of the weld and the depth of penetration on the back; and for caulking, the precision of the groove and the density of the filling.
The section on old parts management is the most detailed, divided into three categories: accurate classification, model identification, and availability assessment.
He read the words "availability determination" twice.
The scoring criteria for old files management are different from what I originally thought.
Classification and identification are the basic requirements, but usability assessment is the key to high scores.
It's not enough to just recognize all the old parts; you have to be able to determine on the spot which parts are still usable, where they can be used, and how much pressure they can withstand.
This reminded him of what Ding Haifeng had been doing these past few days: measuring each bearing one by one with a micrometer, picking out the usable ball bearings, and marking the rated speed downgrade on the back.
That's essentially a usability determination.
After he finished reading, he stood up and walked towards the old parts warehouse.
After taking a couple of steps, I reached into my pocket and touched the letter.
The letter paper was a thin layer inside the envelope, and you could feel the folded edges through the kraft paper.
He stopped under the loquat tree, took out the letter, and opened it.
His mother's handwriting, done in pencil, was a little shaky. The letter was short, only half a page.
"My dear Haiping, the roof at home is fixed now. Your third brother came back and fixed it, so don't worry about it. It's getting cold, and the sea breeze is strong where you are, so remember to wear more clothes."
Your dad didn't say anything, but when your third brother came back last month, he talked about you and asked you several questions.
We have enough food coupons at home; we have a surplus of five jin this month. Do you have enough in your service station's account? If not, tell your family. Don't be too frugal; make sure you eat your fill. (Mother)
After reading the letter, he folded it up and put it back in the envelope.
There was a small pencil mark next to the address my mother wrote on the envelope, probably from a shaky hand when she was writing the letter.
He put the letter back in his pocket and leaned against the loquat tree trunk for a while.
The sea breeze rustled the loquat leaves, and the broken seashells circled in the sun, turning white.
He rubbed his face with his palm and walked to the door of the old parts warehouse.
Zhou Haisheng squatted at the warehouse entrance, holding the old parts shelf layout diagram that A Guang had reorganized, and was comparing it with the old parts on the shelf one by one.
The vernier caliper rested on his lap, the handle stained with some machine oil, which he wiped repeatedly with cotton gauze.
"The scoring criteria have been released. The old parts management test includes three aspects: classification, identification, and usability assessment." Jiang Haiping squatted down and handed over the mimeograph paper.
Zhou Haisheng read through it from beginning to end, and his lips tightened when he saw the section on usability assessment.
He returned the mimeograph paper to Jiang Haiping and continued to check the shelf layout diagram. When he got to the second shelf, his hand stopped in mid-air. He took down an old bearing seat, flipped it over, and looked at the casting on the bottom.
"The model number of this bearing housing does not match the one in the register. The register says 206, but the casting number is 207."
Ah-Guang was writing the first page of the seventh register at his worktable when he heard this, so he put down his pen and came over.
He took the bearing housing, examined the lettering on the bottom, and then checked the register. "There was a mistake when it was registered. This is number 207, and the ball diameter is two millimeters larger than that of number 206. They are not interchangeable."
He crossed out "206" in the register and wrote "207" next to it, noting the date of the correction.
Zhou Haisheng put the bearing housing back on the shelf and picked up the next old gear.
This time, he didn't ask Ah Guang. He measured the tooth tip circle diameter himself with calipers, compared it with the data on the racking diagram, and only put it back after confirming that it was correct.
Ah Guang watched from the side for a while.
When Zhou Haisheng picked up the third old item, A-Guang frowned.
"Did you measure that gear you just mentioned?"
"It's been measured."
"Did you record the data?"
"I didn't remember."
"Measure it and don't remember it, then you'll forget it later." Ah Guang's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was a bit firm. "If you make a mistake, correct it. It's an extra effort."
Zhou Haisheng took the gear off again, measured it with calipers, and wrote down the data in his notebook.
He didn't look up; the tips of his ears were a little red.
Ah Guang didn't say anything more.
He returned to his workbench and continued writing in the register, the pen scratching on the paper. He stopped writing when he reached the third line of the first page of the seventh register, and looked up at the old parts warehouse.
Zhou Haisheng was squatting in front of the shelf, measuring and noting each old item he picked up before putting it back.
Over at the workshop, Ahai's diesel engine load test was in its final hour.
The water jet from the pump hit the drainage ditch, and the splashing white foam was blown over the courtyard wall by the sea breeze.
He squatted down next to the diesel engine, checking the water temperature gauge every ten minutes, his notebook filled with densely packed data for more than half a page.
Old Fang walked over from the workshop entrance with a cigarette in his mouth, bent down and glanced at the water temperature gauge.
"How many."
"Seventy-three." Ahai wiped the diesel fuel off his hands with a cotton swab. "Never exceeded seventy-four throughout."
Old Fang didn't say anything and stood by the diesel engine for a while.
The exhaust pipe emitted only a light amount of smoke, without any black smoke. The belt pulley rotated smoothly, and the water pump's output momentum did not decrease at all.
Beside the stone trough, Lin Xiu'e was already twisting the eighth pine plank.
With only one training board left out of the eight, the tung oil residue on his fingers dried and then got wet again, leaving a red mark on the base of his thumb.
After she finished sizing one seam, she placed the chisel on the edge of the stone trough and shook her hand.
The small notebook next to him was filled with data. Each of the eight boards had more than twenty seams, and the depth of each seam and the amount of hemp filling had been measured three times with calipers.
She finished trimming the last seam, straightened up, took calipers to measure the data at three points on the groove, wrote it down in her notebook, stacked it with the records of the previous seven boards, and tied it with two rubber bands.
Qiu Changhai sat on a stone stool, twirling a walnut in his hand, squinting as he watched her stack the eight boards of records, then stood up and slowly walked over.
He bent down, picked up the records on the first board and flipped through them, then picked up the records on the last board and flipped through them again.
The two boards were separated by almost twenty days. On the first board, there were several places where the groove depth was half a millimeter too much, while on the last board, every single one of the data was within the tolerance range.
"Eight pieces of wood have improved from beginning to end." He put the record back on the stone trough, took out the two walnuts from his pocket, and placed them next to Lin Xiue's record book.
The walnuts, polished smooth and glossy, were placed side by side on the stone trough, reflecting the sunlight slightly.
Lin Xiue looked down at the walnuts, then looked up at Qiu Changhai.
Qiu Changhai had already turned around and walked towards the asbestos tile shed, his back slightly hunched, his steps slow but steady.
"Master Qiu," she called out.
Qiu Changhai paused for a moment.
"Take the walnuts home; you'll be turning them every day."
Qiu Changhai didn't turn around, waved his hand, and continued walking towards the asbestos tile shed.
The sea breeze blew, making his gray hair all messy, but he ignored it.
Jiang Haiping leaned against the loquat tree trunk and watched all of this unfold.
He touched the letter in his pocket; the paper was slightly warm from his body heat.
He stood up straight, walked to the kitchen door, took the enamel mug off the stove, and scooped in half a spoonful of white sugar.
There was only a little sugar left in the sugar jar; I had to scrape it out with a spoon after a couple of scrambles.
He poured boiling water, then squatted under the loquat tree with the jar in his hand.
Before the tea was even brewed, the sugar slowly dissolved in the hot water. I stirred it a couple of times with a spoon, and the sweet aroma rose with the steam.
In the new workshop, Ding Haisheng took off his mask and squatted at the door to wipe the red marks on his wrists caused by molten iron with cotton yarn.
Ding Haifeng walked out of the old parts warehouse, holding a micrometer, and stood at the entrance of the new workshop without going in.
He watched as Ding Haisheng finished wiping his wrists, put the micrometer back in the toolbox, took his brother's enamel mug from the shelf, went to the kitchen, scooped out half a spoonful of sugar, poured boiling water over it, and brought it back to place on the ground next to Ding Haisheng.
Ding Haisheng looked down at the jar, then looked up at him.
"Master Fang told us to take a break."
"Hmm." Ding Haisheng picked up the jar and took a sip.
Ding Haifeng didn't leave; he leaned against the doorframe. His brother's wrist had a row of red burn marks next to old scars.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and turned to walk towards the old parts warehouse.
After walking a few steps, I stopped under the loquat tree, bent down and straightened the crooked piece of shell that Ah Guang had gathered in a circle of broken shells.
The seashell had probably been stepped on and was stuck at an angle in the soil. He picked it out with his fingers, pressed it back in, and flattened it before leaving.
Under the loquat tree, Jiang Haiping pulled the half-old newspaper out of the account book and looked at it again.
Several items are listed above.
"Hong Laosan, halfway before the winter solstice."
"Old Chen, before the New Year..."
"Hong Chuandong, has been cleared."
"Checking the general accounts before the New Year, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month."
"The day after the grand competition, we collected debts on credit."
He took out a pen from his pocket and added another line above "Reviewing the general ledger before the New Year": Go home and fix the roof.
Ah Hai's diesel engine ran for a full hour.
He pulled down the stop lever, and the diesel engine sputtered a few times before falling silent, followed by the gurgling sound of the water pump.
He squatted down by the water outlet and touched the water pipe connector. It wasn't hot to the touch. He wiped the water off his hands with a cotton swab, wrote down the last data in his notebook, and when he stood up, his face was covered in black oil stains. When he smiled, he revealed a set of white teeth.
"Master Fang, the water temperature never exceeded 74 degrees Celsius and the oil pressure never dropped during the entire hour-long run."
"Okay." Old Fang took the cigarette out of his mouth, flicked off the ash, and said, "Finished installing the sealing gasket."
Ah Hai ran to the entrance of the old parts warehouse, took his enamel mug from the workbench, and went to the kitchen to make a cup of sugar water.
He carried the jar to the loquat tree, squatted down next to Jiang Haiping, took a sip, and was scalded by the heat, his breath coming in hot gasps.
He breathed out a couple of breaths and tilted his head to see the corner of an envelope peeking out from Jiang Haiping's pocket.
"Who sent the letter?"
"My mom." Jiang Haiping stuffed the envelope into his pocket.
"What did you say?"
"The roof is fixed. Let me put on some clothes."
Ah Hai said "Oh" and took another sip of the sugar water.
The sea breeze blew in, causing the damp cloth drying at the kitchen door to stick to the wall, and the loquat leaves rustled in the breeze.
The sun climbed directly overhead, shrinking everyone's shadow to their feet.
On the seawall outside the courtyard gate, Old Sun walked slowly over with his hands behind his back, carrying a cloth bag. He paused when he reached the gate and looked back at the sea.
Several fishing boats were heading towards the shore on the sea. The muffled sound of their diesel engines carried on the sea breeze, as if they were coming from a great distance.