Chapter 6: Hard work will pay off for those who are diligent

  The Lingnan region, where the four seasons are not clearly demarcated, gradually cools down. An Yi finishes a bowl of Liangpi noodles with bean sprouts and no meat at all on a small stall by the South Embankment Road, pays for it, stands up, gazes at the sun hidden behind the clouds in the west, gently pats his still rumbling stomach, takes a deep breath, and walks towards the luxurious shopping mall across the street.

  "Tai Chang" is a large commercial firm specializing in the importation of machinery, and has become famous over the past two years for selling American and German sewing machines. The eighteen-meter-wide and nine-meter-deep storefront is located on the first floor of a French-style building, with exquisite decorations and neatly arranged displays that give people a sense of the owner's extraordinary aesthetic vision and solid financial resources from afar.

  "Halt! How come it's you again? Hurry up and leave!"

  Chen, the shopkeeper, was slightly plump and wore a pair of reading glasses. He looked about forty years old and wore a cloud-patterned long gown with a somewhat scholarly air. However, as soon as he saw An Ning enter for the third time, his expression changed. He walked out from behind the high cashier's counter and called out to An Yi, who was entering the store. His narrow face was full of disdain.

  "Mr. Chen, I've been observing from outside the store for a few days and indeed the business is good here. Many customers from northern provinces come in batches to purchase sewing machine parts and spinning machine accessories. So I think communicating with these out-of-province customers won't be a problem. Although I don't speak Cantonese yet, I can understand every sentence, and I believe I'll be able to speak it soon. Another thing is that you're short-handed, and you haven't been able to find a suitable person for a long time. Why not let me try? Just give me three days of trial period, if I'm not up to par, you can fire me immediately, and I won't dare bother you again."

  Chen Zhanggui looked at An Yi with a slanted eye, and because of his height of only about 1.6 meters, he had to raise his head when talking to the tall An Yi, which made him feel very uncomfortable: "Hey! You, a beggar who doesn't even have an elementary school diploma, also dare to enter the famous 'Tai Chang'? It seems that I was too polite to you in the past two times. Now, take advantage of my good mood and get out quickly... Are you leaving or not? Ah Qian, Ah Biao, throw him out for me!"

  "Hi!"

  "Slow down! I'm going, I'm going, I'll go myself." An Yi waved his hands repeatedly at the two shop assistants who rushed up to him, and then scurried out like a defeated rooster, earning a burst of ridicule from Chen Zhuangzhu and the store employees. More than ten customers selecting goods also found it amusing and burst into loud laughter.

  "I'll see you in hell..."

  An Yi sat on the outermost step of the business building, muttering to himself and occasionally letting out a low curse. However, no matter how much he cursed, it couldn't solve his employment problems or alleviate the shame of being discriminated against. He could only look up at the sky, slowly exhaling his grievances, and think about what to do next. After thinking for a while, he still had no idea, so he stood up, looked at the yellow flag above Mr. Lao's fortune-telling stall in the distance, and decided to go there to ask for some water to drink. At this point, An Yi didn't care about losing face anymore.

  As soon as An Yi took a step forward, he heard a noisy dispute coming from behind him. He turned around to see that the entrance of the shop was bustling with excitement. A fashionably dressed and seductive-looking wealthy lady was scolding Chen Zhuang, pointing at his nose and shouting insults. Passersby who were initially bored also gathered around to watch the commotion. Chen Zhuang, who had just yelled at An Yi, now seemed to have lost his backbone, nodding and bowing repeatedly as he apologized profusely under the wealthy lady's sharp and rapid-fire scolding. The previously fierce-looking Ah Qian and Ah Biao, along with the shop employees, all shrank back into the store, not daring to come out.

  An Yi thought it was strange, thinking that the 'Tai Chang' business wasn't something an ordinary person could afford to open, and there must be a powerful backer behind it. Now being confronted by a woman and becoming so frightened was indeed rare. But when An Yi saw the situation behind Mrs. Kuo clearly, he immediately understood, four Yunnan soldiers carrying sewing machines and two officers with holstered pistols on their waists, with faces full of hatred and arrogance, looking like they were waiting for Mrs. Kuo's order to rush in and smash this business.

  Mr. Chen apologized profusely under the intimidation, politely inviting Mrs. Kuo to come in and have a cup of coffee to calm down. But Mrs. Kuo, with her haughty attitude, didn't buy his account at all. She pointed at the sewing machine on the ground, shouting loudly, saying that she had spent over 300 dollars on it but it stopped working after just ten days or so, and what kind of trashy goods dared to cheat her... Her Yunnan dialect sounded like singing when scolding people.

  An Yi felt bored and turned to leave, but after walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped. He thought that the American-made "Singae" sewing machine from earlier wasn't much different from the later one, as they looked similar in terms of the machine head and needle plate. He guessed that the internal mechanisms were also roughly the same, with the only difference being that the later one used a foot pedal transmission whereas this one used a hand-cranked transmission. If he could fix it himself, risking another beating, perhaps this job would have a chance to work out.

  There's a saying that wealth and honor are sought in danger, the poor crazy An Yi gritted his teeth and took big strides back, pushing through the onlookers to get to the side of Master Chen, seizing the opportunity when Mrs. Guo was catching her breath, using authentic Sichuan dialect with a smile: "Sister don't be angry, our boss is apologizing to you, sister please go inside first and have a cup of tea to calm down, let me help you take a look at that machine."

  Mrs. Kuo looked at An Yi with annoyance, and when she saw An Yi's handsome face under his flowing long hair, she was taken aback for a moment, looking very surprised. Usually, whoever saw her, the second lady of the family, would respectfully address her as "Second Lady", but this young man in front of her, with just one mouthful, called out "Big Sister" left and right, making people feel comfortable all over, like a polite young man from next door.

  Perhaps after scolding for a long time, the anger had dissipated by half. The lady thought for a moment and ordered with a stern face: "Officer Xie, leave a few people at the door to stand guard, you come in with me, I want to see how he gets out of this today, humph!"

  "Yes!"

  An Yi saw that Mr. Chen was still standing there in a daze, and hastily patted his arm: "Mr. Chen, please go inside to entertain them for now, if you trust me, let me check this machine."

  "Alright! I'll leave this to you, I'll go take a look, I'll go take a look..."

  After Mr. Chen went in, dozens of onlookers were still tiptoeing and craning their necks to watch the excitement. An Yi walked to the middle of the steps and said loudly: "Everyone, uncles, brothers, sisters-in-law, don't watch the excitement here, there's nothing good to see, do what you should do, these gun-wielding officials are not in a good mood, I'm worried that they might accidentally bump into everyone later."

  Everyone listened to the young man's polite and reasonable words, feeling that he was right. They also saw several Yunnan military officers carrying guns outside the door, which was a bit intimidating. Since the female lead had already entered and there was nothing more to see, they dispersed one after another. An Yi let out a sigh of relief, wiping away the sweat beads on his forehead, his heart still racing wildly. Normally, he wouldn't dare do such a showy thing even if you killed him, but for the sake of two meals, he could only grit his teeth and bear it.

  An Yi turned around and entered the store, calling Ah Qian to help him carry the faulty sewing machine to the repair table in the corner of the store. He didn't notice a black American-made sedan parked under the shade of a tree on the left side of the shop, where a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses was watching the situation unfold with an air of elegance. His eyes were fixed on An Yi standing at the entrance, and he showed a look of appreciation. Meanwhile, he listened to his secretary's report outside the car door, nodding frequently with a smile.

  "Hey! Are you okay, kid?"

  Zhuang Shi's Ah Jian rubbed his slightly sunken nose nervously and asked, seemingly having no confidence in this good-looking beggar. He then went on to say that no one in the store dared to open the hood of this new-style machine, let alone understand the complex internal components, and if they messed up, the loss would be huge.

  An Yi was annoyed to death as he concentrated on dismantling the machine head. He thought that if he were really recruited into the store, he would be colleagues with this silly boy in the future. At this time, the silly boy's words were so disdainful. If he didn't take the opportunity to teach him a lesson now, it would definitely be difficult to get along with him in the future.

  An Yi stopped what he was doing and stood up straight, looking at Ah Jian without any reserve, saying in a low voice: "You look down on me? Come on!"

  "No, no! You come, you come... I see you disassemble screws so quickly and sharply, I think you have the skills." Ah Jian, who was in charge of security in the store, yielded to his knowledge.

  An Yi glared at him again before bending down to continue working, removing the transmission components and taking out the camshaft housing. Before long, he found the source of the problem. He removed the reed valve and took a look, stretching out his hand to touch it, but didn't find any trace of engine oil. He immediately understood why the machine had seized up. After inspecting it again, he raised his head in satisfaction, only to unexpectedly see Chen Zhanggui standing behind him with Mrs. Guo.

  An Yi picked up the faulty parts and explained: "Nothing, small problem, the transmission part of the machine is out of oil, causing the card to overheat and shift, so the machine can't move. Just push this part back to its original position, add enough engine oil, idle and lubricate, and it will be like new."

  Mr. Chen was first surprised and then beamed with joy: "This kid is not bad! He's got two skills, haha... Madam, you might have forgotten to add oil, look at this machine inside, it's very dry, there's no trace of engine oil."

  "Who says I don't add oil? I added some this morning, do you think I'm a country bumpkin?" Mrs. Kuo burst into anger.

  "None of that is correct, none of it! Sister, Mr. Chen, look at this: these three are oil filler holes, and this slightly larger round hole is probably for maintenance purposes. But the American manufacturer didn't clearly mark it on the machine, so it's understandable that they thought it was an oil filler hole too. You did add oil, sister, but unfortunately, it didn't flow into the part of the machine where it was needed, and instead flowed out along the base, which is why we had this small malfunction. But now it's fine, just reassemble it and you can use it easily again. Please wait for a moment, I'll have it fixed in 10 minutes."

  An Yi finished speaking and turned around to install the dismantled parts in an orderly manner. His seemingly slow movements produced an astonishing efficiency. Chen Zhanggui was a connoisseur, and upon seeing An Yi's actions, he noticed that there were no unnecessary movements. The wrenches and pliers were used with great precision and smoothness, as if he could accurately pick up and put down the tools placed beside him without even looking at them. In less than seven minutes, he had assembled the machine, wiped it clean with a soft cloth handed to him by Ah Qian, and then threaded the needle and pressed a piece of fabric onto it. As soon as he shook and turned the wheel, the machine started moving quickly and smoothly, sewing a tight and even line that left everyone in the circle staring in amazement and admiration.

  "Alright!" An Yi straightened up and wiped away his sweat with his sleeve, gazing at Manager Chen with profound meaning.

  Mrs. Kuo saw the handsome Kenning and this beautiful technique, a sweet smile also appeared on her face: "Brother, you're really good! I hear your accent is from Chengdu? As we say in Sichuan, 'Sichuan and Yunnan are one family', it's great to see a fellow townsman with such high skills here! Brother, tell sister, how long have you been working here?"

  "Uh..." An Yi didn't know how to respond.

  "Ahahahaha, Mrs., are you satisfied? Ahahahaha... This is our store's young master, he graduated from that American engineering university in Hong Kong, so although he's still young, his skills are very high, ahahahaha! Mrs., are you satisfied?"

  "It's okay!" Mrs. Kuo replied to Manager Chen without any ulterior motive, unaware that he had intentionally elevated An Yi's technician identity and linked it to the United States on his own initiative. She showed a sweet smile to An Yi: "Brother, what should I call you?"

  "My surname is An, and my name is Anyi. I am from Sichuan."

  Mrs. Kuo chuckled: "What's there to be shy about? We're all from the same hometown, my surname is Xu, just call me Sister Xu. Brother, thank you, sister! When you have time, come visit me at my place, maybe this machine will need your help then. It's not far, it's on the left side of the main gate of the Yunnan Army barracks in Beimen, the most beautiful Western-style building on the south side of the street is my home, remember?"

  "Uh... I remember." An Yi said with a embarrassed smile.

  Madam Kuai nodded in satisfaction, and then asked An Yi about his well-being for a while before walking out of the gate with her head held high, getting into a large green sedan chair carried by four men to return home.

  Chen the shopkeeper nodded and bowed to send off the pest, finally letting out a sigh of relief as he turned back into the store. He spoke to An Yi, who was squatting by the door wiping his hands, with satisfaction: "You're not bad, kid. You didn't talk big. I'll consider it, whether or not to take you on. I'll give you a clear answer tomorrow."

  "Mr. Chen, I really want to stay here." An Yi begged anxiously.

  Mr. Chen's face showed displeasure, just about to scold a few words when he saw the boss's secretary walking up the stairs in big strides, the shopkeeper hastily went forward with a respectful face, the tall and slender secretary whispered a few words in Mr. Chen's ear, then smiled at An Yi who was at a loss and turned to leave.

  Mr. Chen saw off his secretary and returned to An Yi's side, seriously instructing: "You can come to work tomorrow, the first half year will be paid as an apprentice salary, 16 blocks per month, and you can take a day off every ten days, did you hear clearly?"

  An Yi was overjoyed: "I understand! It's clear!"

  "And another thing, don't wear such tattered clothes to work. Our business is not some lowly street stall. Your attire can't be sloppy at all. Considering you might have difficulties and also made a contribution earlier, our boss... I've decided that later I'll go to the accounting room in the back and advance half a month's salary for you. Hurry up!" At this moment, Chen Zhanggui revealed his usual authoritative demeanor.

  "Thank you, Mr. Chen, I'll go now."

  "Halt! Come back!" Manager Chen pointed at An Yi's head: "Such long hair looks like what? Like a madman! I order you to cut off your long hair tomorrow morning, and make it the same style as Ah Qian and Ah Piao."

  An Yi looked to one side and Ah Jian was startled: "What? You want me to cut a disgusting rice scoop head like this? Or a pot cover head like Ah Piao's? Mr. Chen, spare me..."

  "Nonsense! If you don't get a haircut, then don't come to work!"

  Ten minutes later, An Yi arrived at Mr. Lao's fortune-telling stall with eight dollars in his pocket, looking dazed at the crowd of people with rice-bowl haircuts, pot-lid haircuts and traitorous middle-parted hair...