booktalesy Chapter 58 Intersection
Chapter 58 Intersection
A few days after the Frost's Descent, it rained for several days in a row on Moon Island.
The rain was light, fine as powder sifted from the cracks in asbestos tiles.
It landed on the rocky beach without making a sound, only wetting the stones until they turned black.
The seawater in the stone trough rose and receded, receded and rose again. The sampans on the boat raft were rained on and dried in the sun, and the old planks at the bottom of the boats absorbed the moisture and turned from dark brown to jet black.
Finally, the rain stopped, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, shining brightly on the wet rocky beach.
The service station courtyard became lively again, with the maintenance schedule that had been piling up for several days hanging full on the blackboard in the workshop.
Old Fang squatted at the workshop entrance early in the morning, with two water pumps that had just been brought from the aquatic products company and were waiting to be repaired at his feet. The outer shells were covered with a layer of white salt frost, which would fall off in a rustling sound when touched.
He dipped some diesel fuel in cotton yarn and wiped the rust off the water pump's nameplate, then squinted at the light to check the model number.
"One impeller is stuck, and the other's gasket is worn out. Disassemble the one with the stuck impeller first, and then check if the bearing is still usable."
Ah Hai squatted down beside him, opened the toolbox, and lined up the wrenches one by one.
Hong Xiaobing poked his head out of the used parts warehouse, holding a register in his hand, and recorded the model and arrival date of the two water pumps.
Beside the stone trough, Qiu Changhai was leading Lin Xiu'e and Xiao Zhou to mend the seams of the bottom of Old Sun's sampan.
The groove was cut a few days ago, and the new board has been inserted. Today, we're doing the final troweling.
Lin Xiu'e squatted by the sampan, holding a chisel in her hand, tearing the hemp fibers evenly and mixing the tung oil putty to the right consistency.
Her sewing technique is becoming more and more like Qiu Changhai's, but she is still a little lacking in strength, and the curves at the turns are not as smooth as Qiu Changhai's.
This time, Qiu Changhai didn't squat down to watch. Instead, he sat on a stone stool not far away, spinning walnuts in his hand. He would occasionally look up and then continue spinning the walnuts.
Jiang Haiping walked out of the workshop, holding the training schedule that Wang Cunzhi had given him yesterday.
The next batch of training subsidy applications from the province requires the service station's teaching records and a list of practical training consumables to be attached. He glanced at the situation by the stone trough and then looked down to check the blank columns on the form again.
The new training course will include a new course on the disassembly, assembly, and debugging of fuel injectors, so the models and inventory of spare teaching aids in the old parts warehouse need to be updated.
"Brother Guang, we still have a few old fuel injector training tools left." Jiang Haiping walked to the entrance of the used parts warehouse and saw Guang squatting in front of the shelf, using calipers to measure the inner diameter of an old bearing.
"There are three still in good working order, and four waiting to be cleaned." Ah Guang turned to the teaching aid inventory page in the register. "Two were damaged during the last training session. One nozzle was completely clogged and couldn't be cleared, and the other had stripped threads. They're both on the scrap rack."
Jiang Haiping asked A Guang to make a list of the teaching aids inventory, and then submit the training schedule and consumables application to Wang Cunzhi together.
Ah Guang agreed, turned to a new page in the register, and began to check each item one by one.
Beside him, Jiang Haibo, a new apprentice, was squatting on the ground dismantling the casing of an old water pump.
He was still a bit clumsy at using a wrench to tighten bolts, and got stuck on the third one. Not daring to use brute force, he glanced back at Ah Guang.
Ah Guang squatted down and took a look. He said that the threads of the bolt were corroded. He suggested soaking it in diesel fuel before tightening it, as forcing it would strip the threads and cause more trouble.
Jiang Haibo soaked it in diesel fuel until the oil seeped in, then tried to tighten it again, and this time he was able to.
He disassembled the casing, wiped the rust off the impeller with cotton yarn, and then arranged the removed bolts on the wooden tray in their original order.
Last time, I put one in the wrong hole and Lao Fang smacked my hand; this time I've learned my lesson.
In the workshop, Ding Haisheng and A Guang were welding and repairing the hull plating of the seafood company's transport ship.
The old cracks on the hull plating near the waterline must be welded through in one go, without any porosity.
Ah Guang squatted down beside him, holding a mask as he watched Ding Haisheng finish welding a vertical seam. After the slag was knocked away, a neat and even fish-scale pattern was revealed.
He picked up the welding torch and practiced the vertical seam finishing arc again on the scrap board next to him.
His welding skills improved rapidly after the provincial competition. Ding Haisheng patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to prepare for the next weld.
At the dock, Hong Ashun was squatting down washing an old water pump that had just been dismantled.
Use diesel fuel and a wire brush to remove the salt deposits and rust from the outer casing. After brushing, use a vernier caliper to measure the outer diameter and thickness of the impeller and record the data in a logbook.
These tasks used to be done by Hong Xiaobing, but now that he's learning to disassemble and assemble gearboxes, the basic tasks like identifying old parts and cleaning components have been handed over to Hong Ashun.
Hong Ashun cleaned the water pump casing, wiped it dry with cotton yarn, placed it in the inspection area at the entrance of the old parts warehouse, and then took out a vernier caliper from his pocket to measure the dimensions.
Jiang Haiping stood at the workshop entrance for a while, then folded up the training schedule and put it in his pocket.
Everyone in the courtyard was busy with their own things, without disturbing each other.
At the edge of the stone trough, Lin Xiu'e finished smoothing the last seam, placed the chisel on her knees, and wiped the blade with cotton yarn.
Qiu Changhai stood up from the stone pier, walked to the side of the sampan, squatted down, and ran his fingers along the seams.
He lingered a bit longer at the bend, shone his flashlight on the curve of the seam, then withdrew his fingers, stood up, and took the walnut out of his pocket and held it in his hand.
Qiu Changhai looked at her sewing hands and said without turning his head that Lao Zhou's sampan had also been put into service that afternoon. There were two old seams on the bottom of the boat that needed to be removed and re-sewn, and asked her if she dared to remove them herself.
Lin Xiu'e placed the chisel on her lap and said that she had done the chiseling several times before, and if the curve of the seam was a little more stable, there would be no problem.
In the afternoon, Old Zhou's sampan was mounted on the raft. Qiu Changhai handed the chisel to Lin Xiu'e and sat down on the stone stool next to her.
Lin Xiu'e squatted by the sampan, ran her fingers along the old cracks, and then drew positioning lines on both sides of the cracks with a stone pencil.
Then pick up the chisel, wed the blade on the dividing line between the rotten wood and the good board, and strike the first blow.
The rotten wood peeled off along the grain, leaving a clean cut.
Old Zhou squatted beside the sampan, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his eyes fixed on the trough.
Lin Xiu'e didn't look at him and continued to trim the second seam.
Over at the stone pier, Qiu Changhai gently tapped the walnut in his hand.
Just as we were finishing work in the afternoon, Mr. Zhou from the county's aquatic products company arrived on his motorcycle.
He parked his car at the gate of the courtyard, took two baskets of old parts off the back seat, and said that these were old water pumps and gears salvaged from a scrapped ship of the aquatic products company. He had heard that the service station was good at refurbishing parts, so he specially brought them over to see if they could be used.
Ah-Guang moved the old parts one by one into the old parts warehouse, wiped them clean with cotton yarn, and registered and numbered them.
The impellers of some old water pumps are still usable, and the meshing surfaces of the gears in the gearbox are still smooth.
He told Jiang Haiping that after these old parts were refurbished, they could be sold to fishermen at a low price, more than half the price of new parts.
Jiang Haiping agreed and told him to register the usable parts and the parts to be scrapped separately.
In the evening, Lin Xiu'e tidied up the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, and the enamel bowls made a slight sound as they tapped on the stove.
She ladled the last bowl of fish ball soup from the pot and placed it on the stove.
The bag of salted duck eggs that Zhouzhou's mother gave her last time is still on the top shelf of the cupboard, waiting for everyone to finish work before cutting them.
Jiang Haiping stood at the workshop entrance and checked today's schedule one last time.
The training schedule is filled out, the teaching aids list is ready, and the newly acquired used parts in the used parts warehouse are enough to refurbish several water pumps.
The noise in the yard gradually subsided. Ah Hai hung the last wrench back on the tool wall, and Ding Haisheng checked the equipment in the welding area.
Hong Xiaobing and Ashun gathered the shovels and bamboo baskets on the dock into place.
In the used parts warehouse, A-Guang labeled the newly arrived used water pumps, while Jiang Haibo arranged the cleaned impellers on the shelves according to their models, with the spacing between each shelf matching that of the old parts on the used parts shelf.
Beside the stone trough, Lin Xiu'e was still finishing the last seam, stuffing the hemp fibers tightly and smoothing out the tung oil putty.
Qiu Changhai had already returned to the shed, leaving only the faint imprints of the two walnuts on the stone block.
The waves gently lapped against the stone trough, and the loquat leaves rustled in the wind.
Several more government vessels will be coming to the service station for maintenance tomorrow, and the teaching materials for the next training course will be ready soon.