N-M Chapter 37 The Zhang Family
Chapter 37 The Zhang Family
The loquat trees in the service station courtyard still have green leaves even after the fruit has been picked.
Every morning when Ah Guang waters the trees, he squats under them for a while and says that the fruit is sweeter this year than last year, and it will definitely be even sweeter next year.
Jiang Haiping came out of the workshop, holding the torque wrench calibration record in his hand.
This new wrench was delivered from the province almost a month ago. Ah Hai has used it to tighten hundreds of bolts, and the torque value of each one is recorded on the maintenance slip.
He flipped through the records, confirmed there were no problems, closed the notebook, and put it back in the drawer.
Work in the yard continued as usual. Old Fang squatted at the workshop entrance smoking, Qiu Changhai sat by the stone trough sewing, and Ahai led Hong Xiaobing to dismantle a gearbox that needed repair in the workshop.
Lin Xiu'e was preparing lunch in the kitchen. The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, and steam escaped from the cracks in the lid, carrying the fresh aroma of fish ball soup.
Trainees came and went in batches. Old Chen's brother-in-law had already learned how to change the filter himself. After returning home, a fisherman surnamed Zheng from Zhoushan called several times to inquire about the quality of diesel fuel.
I'm going home today.
Yesterday, Zhouzhou's mother asked someone to pass on a message saying that her father's back pain had flared up these past few days and he was lying at home in bed.
Jiang Haiping knew that Jiang Weiguo's back pain was an old problem, a ailment he developed from years of working in the shipyard workshop. It wasn't serious, but when it flared up, he would have to lie down for several days.
He handed over the service station to Lao Fang and rode his bike home along the seawall.
It takes him less than half an hour to cycle from the service station to home. He rides very slowly, with a bag of dried shrimp that his mother has dried and two cans of loquat in his bike basket.
The loquats were from those trees in the yard this year. Lin Xiu'e picked them, boiled them with rock sugar, put them in a glass jar, and said she would let Director Jiang try them.
When I got home, the yard was quiet.
The three tiled houses remain unchanged, with vines climbing all over the courtyard walls and a row of scallions planted at the base of the walls.
Jiang Weiguo lay on a bamboo recliner in the main room, a thin blanket draped over his legs, and a newspaper in his hand.
Hearing the sound of a bicycle entering the yard, he put down his newspaper, propped himself up, and glanced out the window.
"dad."
"You're back." Jiang Weiguo rocked the recliner but didn't stand up.
Zhouzhou's mother poked her head out of the kitchen, still holding a spatula in her hand, her apron covered in flour, and said, "Why didn't you call ahead so you could buy more groceries?"
Jiang Haiping took the things out of the bicycle basket and put them on the table, saying that his father's back pain had flared up and he had come back to check on him.
Jiang Weiguo said it was an old ailment, and he would be fine after resting for a couple of days.
Zhouzhou's mother put the dried shrimp and canned loquats into the kitchen, saying that Xiu'e was skillful and could cook the canned loquats better than she could.
She then asked what he wanted to eat for lunch, and went to buy groceries. Jiang Haiping said anything was fine.
Zhouzhou's mother said there was no such dish, took off her apron, picked up her shopping basket, and walked out.
He turned back at the door and said that he should invite Xiu'e to come to his house for dinner next time.
Jiang Haiping sat down on the stool next to the bamboo recliner.
Jiang Weiguo folded the newspaper and placed it on the coffee table, then took off his reading glasses.
The father and son remained silent for a while, with only the pendulum of the wall clock echoing in the main room.
Jiang Haiping saw several blueprints on the coffee table. They were layout diagrams of the engine room for the shipyard's new ship model, with several modifications marked in pencil.
He knew that his father hadn't been idle these days, even while lying at home; the construction schedule was pressing and he couldn't afford to slack off.
Jiang Weiguo noticed his gaze, flipped the blueprint over and placed it face down on the coffee table, and asked him how the service station was doing lately.
"It's alright. The seafood company has finished dismantling all the scrapped boats, and we've sold several refurbishment machines. The fishermen's feedback has been good."
Jiang Haiping also mentioned the torque wrench, saying that the new wrench provided by the province was made in Shanghai and had a dial. Ah Hai now uses it to tighten bolts every day, and the wrench will make a sound after tightening to the specified value.
Upon hearing the torque value, Jiang Weiguo unconsciously tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest of the recliner, saying that the assembly procedures were more important than the tools themselves.
He used his fingers to simply demonstrate the tightening sequence of the cylinder head bolts on the back of the drawing: first the middle, then the diagonals, and finally tighten them one by one.
Jiang Haiping nodded and said that's how Lao Fang taught him too.
Jiang Weiguo withdrew his hand, shifting his gaze from the blueprints to his son's face.
"You used to sit in the factory watching them shovel barnacles, now you're discussing torque."
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke in his usual unhurried manner.
Jiang Haiping said that after spending several years at the service station, he had to learn even if he didn't understand.
Jiang Weiguo put down his teacup and said that torque is just the final step in assembly. Whether a diesel engine with thousands of parts can run at full power depends on whether each part is perfectly aligned.
After saying that, he unfolded the blueprints again, put on his reading glasses, and continued to look at them, as if he had just mentioned it casually.
Jiang Haiping sat beside him, his gaze fixed on his father's hands holding the blueprints.
Those hands were as steady as when they were young, the calluses on their joints gently rubbing against the corner of the blueprint.
He knew that his father had supported the family with his own hands, sending three of them to university, leaving him, the youngest, to work at the service station.
He pushed the can of loquats toward his father, saying that Xiu'e had asked him to bring it; it was made with rock sugar.
Jiang Weiguo glanced at the canned food, then flipped the drawing over and covered up the torque lines he had just drawn.
Zhouzhou's mother came back carrying a shopping basket and started working in the kitchen.
Jiang Haiping went in to help pick vegetables, and Zhouzhou's mother told him about the neighbors' affairs while cutting meat.
Aunt Wang next door got married; the soy sauce at the supply and marketing cooperative at the street corner has a new brand and is saltier than before; her father's factory distributed two boxes of apples this year, and she took one box to deliver to Xiu'e's family.
Suddenly, he stopped wielding the cleaver and asked if the service station had enough money in its account.
Jiang Haiping squatted on the ground, picking vegetables, holding a bunch of chives in his hand, and said, "That's enough."
Zhouzhou's mom said again, "Don't be too frugal; you have to spend money when necessary."
Jiang Haiping peeled some of the dried chive leaves and said he understood.
For lunch, Zhouzhou's mom made four dishes: braised ribbonfish, stir-fried greens with garlic, stir-fried eggs with chives, and pork rib soup.
Jiang Weiguo sat in a chair with a pillow behind his back, slowly eating from his bowl.
Zhouzhou's mother picked up a piece of ribbonfish for Jiang Haiping, and then scooped a spoonful of ribs from her bowl into his bowl, saying that he had lost weight and must not have eaten properly at the service station.
Jiang Haiping said that Lin Xiue delivered meals to him every day, so he didn't go hungry.
Zhouzhou's mother said that Xiu'e was a good cook, and that she could make fish ball soup even better than her.
He also mentioned seeing Lin Xiu'e mixing tung oil putty at the service station last time, saying that the girl was skillful and meticulous, and a good homemaker.
Jiang Haiping kept his head down and ate his rice without saying a word.
Jiang Weiguo picked up a piece of green vegetable and said that he had been talking all morning, so he should finish his meal first.
Zhouzhou's mother glared at him and said, "All you do is protect him."
Jiang Haiping picked up the bowl, glanced at his father and then at his mother, and ate all the rice in the bowl.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Haiping put the dishes and chopsticks away in the kitchen. Before leaving, he stood in the main room and said that once the loquat cans were opened, they could be stored in a cool place for a week.
Jiang Weiguo said he understood.
Zhouzhou's mother chased after him to the gate of the courtyard, stuffed a bag of salted duck eggs into his bicycle basket, and said that she would bring Xiu'e back for dinner next time.
Jiang Haiping agreed and rode his bike back.
It was already evening when I rode back to the service station along the seawall.
The lights in the workshop were on. Ah Hai and Hong Xiaobing were still disassembling gearboxes. Lao Fang was squatting at the workshop entrance smoking. Hearing the sound of a bicycle, he looked up and asked his father how his back was.
Jiang Haiping said it was an old ailment, not serious.
Old Fang stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe and said that no one who works in the shipyard's workshop can get back pain when they get old. Your dad's back pain is a result of what happened when he was young.
After a while, he said again, "Your dad has spent his whole life on blueprints. He never says a word in the factory, but he knows the strengths and weaknesses of every main unit that leaves the factory better than anyone else."
The sea breeze blew in from the rocky beach, causing the fluorescent lights in the workshop to sway slightly.
The row of wrenches on the tool wall gleamed with a dark silver light, new and old hanging side by side.
Jiang Haiping put the salted duck eggs his mother had given him into the kitchen. When he came out, he stood for a while, looking at the loquat seedlings of different heights growing in the crevices of the rocks.
He recalled the revision marks he had seen on the drawings today, each one precise to the millimeter.
Skill isn't something you can just talk about; it's something you earn by doing one task at a time.
The wooden sign on the wall of the service station was bathed in the red glow of the sunset, indicating that there was still work to be done tomorrow.