The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and fine dewdrops clung to the ridges of the fields in the Hongqi Production Brigade, spreading wet patches on her trouser legs. The wooden door of the "Late Autumn Food Workshop" was already open, and Lin Wanqiu stepped into the workshop in the morning light, a faded coarse cloth draped over her shoulder—since unlocking her basic mechanical repair skills, the machines in this workshop had become her "new partners," and checking their condition every morning had become an unwavering habit.

The workshop was still filled with the lingering aroma of baking from the previous night, mingling with the cold, hard scent of wood and metal, creating a unique, smoky flavor. Lin Wanqiu walked straight to the dough mixer in the corner. She had bought it last month from the county's secondhand market; the machine was rusty, and the mixing paddle was still covered with flour that hadn't been cleaned off the day before, like a thin layer of snow. She put down the cloth, her fingertips gently brushing against the machine, touching a slightly protruding screw, and frowned slightly—last night, while checking the accounts, she remembered that this machine always made a "creaking" noise when it was running. At the time, she had only thought it was due to wear and tear, but now that she had repair skills, she realized that this noise concealed a potential problem.

She took out her tool kit from her storage space; the metal tools clinked together, their crisp "clinking" sound particularly clear in the quiet workshop. Wrenches, screwdrivers, and a multimeter were neatly arranged on the wooden table, sunlight streaming through the window lattice and refracting a cold gleam onto the tools. Lin Wanqiu picked up the screwdriver, aimed it at the loose screw, and with a slight flick of her wrist, the screw clicked off. She looked closer and found that the bottom of the screw was slightly deformed, which explained its looseness. Looking further at the bearing connecting the agitator to the machine body, she saw a thick layer of grease mixed with tiny flour particles—this was the source of the strange noise.

"If this machine keeps going like this, it won't be long before it's completely broken down," Lin Wanqiu muttered to herself, secretly relieved that she had unlocked her repair skills. She took out a special cleaning agent and lubricant from her spatial storage. First, she used a cotton cloth soaked in the cleaning agent to carefully wipe the bearing. The black stains mixed with oil and flour were wiped away little by little, revealing the original metallic color of the bearing. Then, she dripped a few drops of lubricant onto the bearing, and turned it with her fingertips. The previously sluggish rotation instantly became smooth, and even the slight friction noise disappeared.

Just as she was focused on repairing the dough mixer, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Shen Tingzhou walking in carrying a cloth bag containing fried dough sticks and soy milk he had just bought from the commune canteen. "I've bought breakfast. Take a break before you continue repairing." He placed the bag on the table, his gaze falling on the dough mixer. Seeing that the machine's casing had been disassembled and the parts neatly arranged to the side, he couldn't help but admire, "It's only been a few days, and your machine repair skills are already so proficient."

Lin Wanqiu straightened up, rubbed her slightly sore shoulders, and took the soy milk from Shen Tingzhou. The warm touch spread from her fingertips to her heart. "It's all thanks to the skills I learned in the space," she said, taking a sip of the soy milk, the sweet aroma spreading in her mouth. "I used to get a headache just looking at these machines, but now I can see exactly where the problems are. Look at this bearing; if we don't take care of it, it might seize up next time it runs. Then we'll not only have to spend a lot of money to repair it, but we'll also delay production."

Shen Tingzhou walked to the dough mixer, looking at the cleaned bearings with a look of satisfaction in his eyes: "Last time, it cost twenty yuan to have a repairman in the county town fix the dough press, which also delayed the work by a day and caused us to lose an order from the supply and marketing cooperative. Now that you can fix machines, you can not only save a lot of money, but also avoid downtime. This has solved a big problem for the workshop." He remembered how Lin Wanqiu had been worried about the machine malfunction before, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep. Now, her eyes were full of confidence, and she no longer had the anxiety of the past, which made him feel particularly at ease.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Wanqiu continued repairing the grinder. This grinder was mainly used to grind sesame seeds, peanuts, and other fillings, but recently it had been producing unevenly ground powder, with small particles mixed in with the sesame powder, affecting the texture of the pastries. She disassembled the grinder's outer casing and carefully inspected the internal grinding disc, finding that the teeth on the disc were worn and the gaps had widened—this was the reason for the uneven grinding.

She took out a new grinding disc from her spatial storage. This disc was a matching one from the spatial tool rack, and its size perfectly matched the grinder. Changing the grinding disc required adjusting the gap. Following the method taught in her skills, Lin Wanqiu carefully measured with a ruler, adjusting the gap to the most suitable distance to ensure the ground powder was fine and even. Shen Tingzhou helped support the machine, watching her skillfully operate it, his eyes filled with pride—his wife could not only make delicious food that everyone praised, but also repair complex machinery; such a woman was hard to find anywhere else in the entire commune.

After replacing the grinding disc, Lin Wanqiu plugged in the power and pressed the start button. The grinder emitted a steady hum, much smoother than before, without the previous noise. She poured in a handful of sesame seeds, pressed the grind button, and after a moment, fine sesame powder slowly flowed from the outlet. She held it in her hand and gently rubbed it between her fingers; there was no grainy texture, and the aroma was wonderful. "Great! Sesame powder ground like this will make sesame cakes taste even better," Lin Wanqiu said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with joy.

At this moment, the villagers arrived at the workshop one after another. Seeing Lin Wanqiu repairing the grinder, they all gathered around. Aunt Wang, who was in charge of grinding the filling, came forward and looked at the fine sesame powder. She said in surprise, "Comrade Wanqiu, the powder ground by the grinder is much finer than before! The sesame powder we ground before always had granules, and the sesame cakes we made tasted much worse. Now it's much better."

"Not only does it taste better, but it also saves a lot of ingredients," Lin Wanqiu explained with a smile. "Before, the gaps between the grinding discs were too large, and a lot of sesame seeds were discharged without being ground, resulting in a lot of waste. Now that the gaps have been adjusted, the sesame seeds can be ground thoroughly, saving at least 10% of the ingredients."

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