dognovel Chapter 67 Testing
Chapter 67 Testing
Ding Haifeng worked in the used parts warehouse for several days, but life at the service station continued as usual.
Old Fang is the first to arrive every day, wiping down the three wooden signs and sweeping the yard.
He squatted at the workshop entrance, smoked a cigarette, and then crawled into the engine room to dismantle the diesel engine of the government vessel that needed repair.
Ahai followed beside him, handing him a wrench. The clicking sound of the torque wrench echoed from the workshop until dark. Ding
Haisheng squatted in the welding area, welding and repairing the hull of a seafood company's transport ship.
When welding overhead, molten iron drips down and burns holes in his gloves, but he never flinches. After finishing the welding, he knocks off the flux residue, and the weld is still perfectly neat.
Ah Guang squatted down beside him, handing him welding rods, and held a weld seam inspection ruler in his hand, waiting to measure the data one by one.
Lin Xiu'e gets up early every day to mix tung oil putty, and four basins are neatly arranged on the windowsill, covered with a damp cloth.
Then, they chiseled and sewed the grooves along the edge of the stone trough. One pine plank after another was used up in the practice competition, and the curvature of the groove became more and more like the effect chiseled out by Qiu Changhai with his chisel.
Qiu Changhai sat on a stone stool, turning walnuts. He would occasionally look up and then continue turning the walnuts, which were worn smooth and shiny.
Two people came to the service station at noon that day.
It wasn't Ding Fugui, but two unfamiliar faces, in their early forties, wearing faded blue work clothes and canvas shoes with frayed edges.
One of them was tall and thin with prominent cheekbones. He was carrying a canvas tool bag with a wrench handle sticking out of the bag.
The other one was slightly shorter, with a round face and a friendly smile, but his eyes kept scanning around the yard, looking at the boats in the stone trough, the row of boats at the workshop entrance, and the few basins of tung oil putty at the entrance of the old parts warehouse.
Old Fang crawled out of the cabin, wiped his hands with cotton yarn, and asked them who they were looking for.
The tall, thin man said they came from Hongjia Island. They had heard that the Moon Island service station did a good job of refurbishing water pumps, so they wanted to ask about it. Several fishing boats in their village needed to replace their old water pumps, but buying new ones was too expensive, while refurbished parts were cheaper and more cost-effective.
As he spoke, he glanced into the workshop. His canvas tool bag rested on his lap; he didn't put his hand inside, but it was positioned very securely.
Old Fang glanced at him and said that the service station had refurbished and sold dozens of water pumps. Fishermen who used them all said they were good and the price was more than half the price of new ones. He then asked him where his boat was.
The tall, thin man said the boat was still at Hongjiadao Wharf, and the water pump hadn't been removed yet. He came to inquire about the market situation today.
Old Fang asked A-Guang to bring out the register of refurbished water pumps and flipped to the most recent sales records.
The pump model, refurbishment date, replaced parts, and warranty period are all clearly stated, along with the buyer's name and follow-up records.
The tall, thin man took the register and flipped through it quickly, not so much looking at prices and models, but rather at the format and sections of the register.
After flipping through the book, he returned it to Lao Fang, saying that the book was very well made and that he would discuss it with the villagers when he got back. He also mentioned that several wooden fishing boats in their area were about to be put into service, and that he would like to come and see the sewing process.
Ah Guang put the register back in the old parts warehouse. When he came back, he saw the round-faced man squatting by the stone trough watching Lin Xiu'e sew.
His squatting position was very subtle, close to Lin Xiu'e and also close to Qiu Changhai on the stone pier, his eyes fixed on the chisel and hemp thread in Lin Xiu'e's hand.
Lin Xiu'e had just finished smoothing one seam and was measuring the depth of the groove with calipers when she looked up at him, then continued measuring without saying a word.
Qiu Changhai paused for a moment while spinning the walnut in his hand, then started spinning it again, glancing at the round-faced man a few more times.
After the two finished looking at the register and the seam tightening, they went to the workshop entrance to watch Ahai tighten the cylinder head bolts with the new torque wrench.
After Ah Hai finished tightening one set of parts, he recorded the torque value on the maintenance sheet.
The tall, thin man stood next to Ah Hai, watching him tighten bolts. His eyes were fixed on the dial of the torque wrench until Ah Hai closed the notebook before he looked away.
The two of them looked at the scene neither too closely nor too casually, as if they had come prepared, yet also as if they were just looking around casually.
Before leaving, they paused at the gate of the courtyard. The tall, thin man turned around and asked Lao Fang if he could bring a boat next time to board the boat directly.
Lao Fang said it was fine, but he should call ahead to report the boat type so the service station could schedule it accordingly.
The two walked along the seawall, the canvas tool bag swaying back and forth on the tall, thin man's shoulder.
Old Fang stood at the workshop door watching them walk away. After a while, he turned back to A Guang and said to put that registration book away separately. That person didn't seem to be there to buy a water pump; he seemed to be there to learn the format.
He's met many people, and he knows that fishermen who actually buy water pumps will ask about the price as soon as they walk in, and the warranty period will be the second question. They won't flip through the register from beginning to end.
Ah Guang took out the register again and flipped through it from beginning to end. He found nothing unusual. As Lao Fang had instructed, he put it in a brown paper bag and placed it on the shelf at the very back of the used parts warehouse.
Lin Xiu'e rubbed her foot against the spot where the round-faced man had just squatted, and continued to rub her slit.
That afternoon, Ahai went to the county to deliver the maintenance record slip for the official vessel.
Wang Cunzhi invited him to have a glass of water in the duty room and mentioned something: In the past few days, two unfamiliar faces had been loitering around the entrance of the county's industrial and commercial bureau, asking about the service station's water pump renovation and how to apply for fishing boat repair qualifications.
After returning to the service station, Ahai told Jiang Haiping about it.
Jiang Haiping was dismantling an old water pump at the workshop entrance. After listening to the story, he put down the wrench in his hand, called Lao Fang out of the engine room, and told him the news that Ahai had brought back.
Old Fang stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe, thought for a long time, and said that these people didn't know the rules.
Refurbished parts cannot be sold to just anyone; the provincial regulations on the recycling of used parts have not yet been officially issued.
However, during the pilot period, the Moon Island service station followed the provincial ledger requirements for refurbished parts. There was no register or warranty commitment, so the parts could not be sold casually.
He asked Jiang Haiping when the official specifications for the refurbished parts would be released.
Jiang Haiping said that when Zhou Gong from the provincial government came back for the review, he mentioned that the earliest it would be next spring was next year.
During this period, some private repair shops have started to take on refurbished parts, but most of them do not keep records or offer warranty services.
After spending the last few days in the used parts warehouse, Ding Haifeng has already learned to disassemble and reassemble old water pumps independently.
After measuring the impeller of the water pump he had disassembled, Hong Xiaobing added two data entries to the disassembly and inspection record.
Jiang Haiping said that his brother was very organized in disassembling things, unlike a novice who was entering a repair shop for the first time.
Jiang Haiping thought for a moment and said that Ding Haifeng had followed Ding Fugui in business for a period of time and should have seen repair and disassembly, so it was normal for him to have this background.
Hong Xiaobing added that Ding Haifeng had asked him yesterday how the bill would be handled if the refurbished water pumps were sold to other places.
Jiang Haiping was silent for a while, then said that every sale of refurbished parts at the service station was recorded in the register, and the accounts had to be clear no matter where the parts were sold.
Hong Xiaobing said that Ding Haifeng asked the question himself, or that someone else asked him to ask it.
Jiang Haiping said that no matter who asked the question, the rules cannot be relaxed.
After finishing work in the evening, Jiang Haiping took the register of refurbished water pumps out of the kraft paper bag and flipped through it again.
After locking the drawer, he went to the new workshop and told Ding Haisheng about it, saying that the two unfamiliar faces might be related to Ding Fugui.
Ding Haisheng squatted in the welding area and had just turned off the welding gun. He pushed the mask up to his forehead, and a new burn scar appeared on the back of his hand. He could still smell the faint smell of welding flux.
He said his brother has been staying in the old parts warehouse for the past few days and hasn't gone out. He doesn't wander around after work every night and practices disassembling and assembling old water pumps on his own.
He couldn't say for sure about the two unfamiliar faces, and he couldn't guarantee anything, but Ding Haifeng was different from before.
The lights in the welding area were still on, and the welding slag, heated by the residual heat from the hull of the transport ship in the corner, emitted a faint smell of slag. After speaking, Ding Haisheng pulled down his mask again and continued welding the remaining seam.
For the next few days, everything was normal. The two people never showed up again, and the service station resumed its preparations for the competition.
Ahai practiced disassembling and assembling the main unit, starting with removing the cylinder head and then the crankshaft, doing it once a day. Lao Fang timed him with a stopwatch every day.
Lin Xiu'e copied the instructions for the twisting process from Qiu Changhai's master-apprentice lineage again, planning to exchange experiences with the twisting workers from Yantai during the pre-competition training.
Ding Haifeng is now able to independently complete the entire process of disassembling, assembling, and registering old water pumps in the old parts warehouse.
Hong Xiaobing asked Ashun to bring out all the vernier calipers that had been distributed by the province.
Ding Haifeng was given a new ruler. He stuck a piece of white tape on the handle and wrote the character "Feng" on it with a ballpoint pen.
Lin Xiue saw everything as she passed by the used parts warehouse and knew what was going on.
That morning, Wang Cunzhi delivered a written notice from the county fisheries bureau on his motorcycle: the provincial refurbishment standards drafting group would organize a special inspection of pilot units before the official release, and the Moon Island service station was listed as the first stop, with the inspection date set for two weeks later.
The old man, holding his cigarette holder, read the notice twice.
Jiang Haiping was told that if the service station could produce complete acceptance standards and follow-up records for refurbished parts when the inspection team came, perhaps future regulations would be written in the same format as Moon Island.
Jiang Haiping folded the notice and put it back in the envelope, saying that the sales records of refurbished parts and warranty follow-ups were all in A Guang's registers, and every entry had the buyer's signature or fingerprint. The inspection process and spare parts sources were also complete.
After thinking for a while, Lao Fang said that the inspection team should care most about the source of the old parts and the warranty commitment after refurbishment. The service station has never let go of these two aspects.
Jiang Haiping nodded and turned to ask Ahai to confirm that the nameplate numbers of all spare parts and old parts for the refurbished water pump had been filed.