The Fat Wife of the 1980s Awakens

The middle-aged woman placed the radio on the square wooden table under the locust tree with half belief and half doubt, while Xu Xiaohua looked at her sister nervously, secretly hoping that if her sister could run a repair shop like her father, it would undoubtedly be a bright way to make a living.

She was genuinely delighted at her sister's potential success.

Standing aside, Li Guifang was also full of anticipation. Thinking of all the help Xu Xiufang had given her in the past, she hoped that this moment would be an opportunity to repay her.

Holding the tools in her hands, Xu Xiufang skillfully removed the casing of the radio. With her sharp eyes, she immediately saw the cause of the failure.

For her, this kind of menial work is easy to handle even with her eyes closed.

"We need to replace the diode." Xu Xiufang said this softly with a hint of unquestionable calmness in her tone.

"What do you mean?" The woman frowned when she heard it. She was obviously confused by this sudden professional terminology, and her eyes were full of confusion and puzzlement.

It was only then that Xu Xiufang realized that the fast pace of modern society has kept most people away from basic physics knowledge, not to mention the more professional field of electricity.

She chuckled, her tone softened, and she patiently explained, "That is, don't pile up debris on it when using it, as this will affect its natural heat dissipation. If the internal temperature is too high, those delicate small accessories will be easily damaged, just like the human body will get sick if it is overheated."

"If you're not in a hurry, you can put the radio here first. I'll take some time to go to the market tomorrow to buy some necessary accessories, and then I'll replace and install it for you." Xu Xiufang suggested, her eyes revealing confidence and professionalism.

When the woman heard that she had to leave her beloved radio behind, she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. Her brows furrowed and her hands unconsciously twisted together.

Xu Xiufang keenly noticed the woman's hesitation and immediately proposed a workaround.

"Or, you can choose to take it back and send it back for repair tomorrow. In this case, the repair fee is five dollars, and you will have to pay for the accessories yourself."

When the woman heard that the repair fee was as high as five yuan, she immediately became dissatisfied. "This is clearly a rip-off! How can this be? I don't want to repair it. I don't want to repair it. Who knows if you will take my things, replace the parts and then resell them? Who can I complain to then?"

Xu Xiaohua, who was standing by, became furious when she heard this and was about to step forward to defend Xu Xiufang, but was interrupted in time by Li Guifang.

"Tell me, where can I buy those accessories? Why don't you let me go there and save you the trouble."

Xu Xiufang quickly took over the topic and explained to the customer: "In fact, these materials are only two cents. Who would cheat people for two cents?"

The woman stared blankly at the sincere repairman in front of her, thinking quickly in her mind.

In this way, the repair cost plus the material cost is only five dollars and twenty cents in total, and your beloved item can be given a new life.

Thinking of this, her tense expression gradually relaxed and a hint of relief flashed in her eyes.

"Don't bother you to buy them. I'll go there myself tomorrow. If I buy more, I might be able to get a much cheaper price. After some bargaining, 1.5 cents per coin should be an acceptable price." The woman's tone was firm, as if she had made up her mind.

After finishing her instructions, Xu Xiufang turned to the woman and said, "Then bring it back in two days. I will try to fix it for you as soon as possible. Look, my home and children are all here. Can I really run away with the brick?"

Just as the woman was moved by Xu Xiufang's sincerity and hesitated whether to agree, a roar broke the silence of the yard.

A small pickup truck carrying several sewing machines slowly drove into the yard. Amidst the flying dust, the village party secretary excitedly jumped out from the driver's seat.

"Xu Xiufang, good news, good news! My daughter works in a garment factory in the city. She said that several sewing machines are broken. She told the factory manager that there are experts in our village who can repair them. We have also negotiated the price in advance, 40 yuan per machine, and the factory manager has already agreed!"

The village party secretary's joy was beyond words.

Xu Xiufang looked at the six or so sewing machines in the car with a complicated expression on her face, showing both surprise and embarrassment.

If it is a simple problem, forty dollars for one machine is naturally a good deal; but if it is a major failure, not only will it require replacing expensive parts, but it will also require a lot of extra man-hours.

Before Xu Xiufang could speak, the village party secretary continued earnestly: "I tell you, if you can really take on this batch of work and successfully repair it, your name will soon spread throughout our county and you will be known as a skilled craftsman."

"You know, in addition to garment factories, our county also has cotton mills, gear factories, food factories, etc. Each factory has a variety of machines waiting to be repaired. When the time comes, you won't have to worry about having no place to put your skills to use."

The village party secretary's words were full of expectations for the future, but Xu Xiufang frowned slightly, with some doubts in her eyes, as if she was thinking about something, and asked softly: "Then what?"

The village chief's brows were furrowed and his feet were tapping back and forth on the ground anxiously.

He glanced sideways at Xu Xiufang, his eyes full of confusion and helplessness, as if silently questioning why she was so smart but so confused about this matter.

"Look, the lifeblood of those factories depends on the operation of those cold machines! But after all, they are made of steel and circuits. How can they never be damaged?" There was a sigh in his tone.

After hearing this, Xu Xiufang's mouth curled up slightly, and she almost rolled her eyes helplessly. The thought in her mind almost blurted out: "Do I need to say this? Everyone on earth knows it!"

But she still held back and didn't say this out loud, but just complained silently in her heart.

"Hey, don't be anxious. The key to the problem is that once the machines in those factories break down, we have to invite technical experts from the provincial capital to come all the way. Especially those high-end products with huge sizes and densely packed foreign language on the operation panels. In our small county, there are only a handful of people who can understand and use them!" The village chief's words were filled with worry.

He continued, "Once these big guys go on strike, it's not just a simple production line shutdown. You have to treat the experts who came from afar like gods, and pay a large amount of repair fees. If you meet a sincere master, you're lucky and the problem may be solved smoothly. But if you meet some slick masters, they will procrastinate and delay for ten days or half a month before taking action. During this period, the food and accommodation expenses are all expensive."

After hearing the village chief's analysis, Xu Xiufang suddenly became enlightened. The problems that she had never thought about before were now clearly visible.