Chapter 10 Mistaken Identity
Jiang Zhizhi felt a little helpless. Only then did she remember to ask her if it was okay? This man was really reckless.
However, she's really good at repairing cars; after all, she was the team's best all-around player in her previous life.
She pursed her lips and smiled faintly: "Let me see first."
Liang Dazhuang was now wondering, could such a delicate girl really repair a car? Was he too anxious just now? The car had only been broken for two or three days, and it was the busy farming season, so how could he not be anxious?
Upon hearing Jiang Zhizhi's words, he quickly went over and lifted the bed sheet, revealing the gleaming front of the car.
Jiang Zhizhi walked around the front of the car and looked at it, then asked Liang Dazhuang to start the engine and take a look.
Modern tractors are started by inserting a crank handle into a hole and cranking it vigorously.
Liang Dazhuang shook the car dozens of times, but it didn't respond at all; in fact, it made a hissing sound.
Jiang Zhizhi called a halt: "Okay, use a screwdriver to take this apart. There's a small belt missing inside. Just put it back on."
Judging from the sound, she guessed that the two gear belts under the engine had come loose and could not mesh, which was why the car couldn't start.
Liang Dazhuang exclaimed in surprise, "Really? They came to fix it before and said there was no problem there."
Jiang Zhizhi looked at Liang Dazhuang with a smile: "If you believe in me as an expert, just open it and see if I'm right."
Liang Dazhuang hesitated for two seconds, then remembered what his father, the Party Secretary, had said: if he couldn't fix the car, he'd have to plow the fields! He quickly went to find the tools and, as Jiang Zhizhi had instructed, disassembled the front of the engine and then the bottom.
Jiang Zhizhi squatted aside, giving instructions with her hand.
After disassembling everything, it was indeed found that the belts of the two small gears inside were broken. Because it was on the bottom layer, it would not have been discovered without completely disassembling it.
Liang Dazhuang looked at Jiang Zhizhi with admiration: "Amazing, you're amazing! You knew exactly where the problem was just by listening to the sound."
Jiang Zhizhi looked at Liang Dazhuang, whose face was covered in oil and looked a bit funny, and smiled, "Alright, go buy a belt and put it on, and the car will run."
Liang Dazhuang happily ran to buy a belt and put it back together under Jiang Zhizhi's instructions.
I couldn't wait to try starting it up, and a pleasant, rattling sound rang out.
Liang Dazhuang grinned, showing off his big white teeth. Before Jiang Zhizhi could react, he threw her bag into the back of the truck: "Comrade, get in the truck quickly. My dad told me to pick you up and go home as soon as possible."
Jiang Zhizhi hesitated; she wasn't an expert: "I'm not the expert you're looking for..."
Liang Dazhuang recklessly tried to pull Jiang Zhizhi away: "I don't care, if you fix it, I'll pick you up. I've been waiting for two days already. If I can't get you back by now, my dad will kill me!"
Jiang Zhizhi quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, I can come up."
Holding the side of the car with one hand and stepping on the wheel, he jumped in easily and sat down by the side.
Liang Dazhuang happily shouted to Jiang Zhizhi to hold on tight, then drove off.
Once you leave the city, the road becomes bumpy, uneven, and crisscrossed with ditches.
Jiang Zhizhi didn't have time to look at the surrounding scenery; she gripped the edge of the car tightly with her left hand to avoid being thrown off.
I felt like my internal organs were about to fall out of place. I wanted to tell Liang Dazhuang to slow down, but before I could even make a sound, my mouth was filled with dust. So I just pursed my lips and told him to drive however he wanted.
Jiang Zhizhi didn't know how long they had been driving, but it felt like an eternity. When her whole body felt like it was about to fall apart, they finally entered a village. The low mud-brick houses had firewood piled up behind them, looking dilapidated and desolate, but that was the typical rural landscape of that era.
The sound of the tractor drew a group of children and adults who hadn't gone to work, who stood at the village entrance watching.
Liang Dazhuang parked the threshing ground at the village entrance, jumped out of the vehicle with a flourish, and said to the onlookers, "The tractor is fixed, we can use it to plow the fields later."
The group of people, who were initially focused on the tractor, stopped in their tracks, filled with curiosity, after seeing Jiang Zhizhi on the tractor.
There were educated youths from the city in the village, but this was the first time I had ever seen such a fair-skinned and delicate girl.
When Old Man Liang saw his son return with a pretty girl, he was so angry that he went over and hit Liang Dazhuang on the head with his pipe: "I told you to go pick up the experts from the city, and you brought back a girl instead? Where are the experts?"
Liang Dazhuang jumped aside, clutching his head, and stood next to Jiang Zhizhi: "Dad, she's the one who fixed the tractor, of course I'll bring her back."
Old Man Liang was surprised and glanced at Jiang Zhizhi in disbelief. He still couldn't believe it: "What did you say? It was this girl who fixed the tractor?"
Liang Dazhuang rubbed his head, quite unconvinced: "Dad, how can you judge a book by its cover? It was this Comrade Jiang who fixed the car. She's amazing. I just shook it twice, and she knew exactly where the problem was."
Jiang Zhizhi smiled and looked at Old Man Liang without saying a word. Anyway, she was the one who repaired the car. As for his identity, she neither denied nor admitted it.
Old Liang was so shocked his eyes widened, and he exclaimed several times, "I'm so sorry, Comrade Jiang, I was blind to your greatness. It's just that my rascal son of mine always lies. He was gone for two or three days..."
Jiang Zhizhi smiled slightly and shook her head: "It's okay."
Old Man Liang pondered for a moment and called to his son, "Da Zhuang, what are you still standing there for? Help Comrade Xiao Jiang carry the bag home. Let Comrade Xiao Jiang stay at our house tonight. Oh, and there will be a leader from the army coming over soon. You better be steady and don't be so reckless that you make a fool of yourself."
Jiang Zhizhi didn't hesitate to follow the Liang father and son. She planned to observe for a while to see whether she should tell the truth to Old Man Liang and then stay in the village.
As Old Man Liang led Jiang Zhizhi back, he waved to the onlookers, saying, "Hurry up and go back. The commune will be showing a movie after dinner tonight. Remember to come and watch the movie after you've eaten."
Upon hearing that a movie was being shown, the adults and children who had been watching scattered excitedly.
Old Liang shook his head and laughed: "Comrade Jiang, you must be laughing at me. Movies are only shown once a month, and sometimes the weather is bad, so they don't even come. That's why everyone is so happy."
At this point, she suddenly remembered something and turned to her son, saying, "After dinner tonight, go to the educated youth settlement and check on those two rooms on the side. Four educated youths are coming tomorrow, three women and one man."
Liang Dazhuang asked curiously, "Why are there more? Didn't you say you wouldn't come anymore? The previous ones were all difficult to deal with, and now four more have come. It's such a hassle."
Old Liang glared at him: "Just go if I tell you to. They're all city people, it's understandable that they're a little spoiled. As long as no one dies here, they can make as much trouble as they want."
After saying this, he remembered that Jiang Zhizhi was also from the city. Afraid that this statement might offend Jiang Zhizhi, he quickly explained, "Comrade Jiang, please don't misunderstand me. I meant that those young people from the city are all troublemakers and very difficult to deal with."
Jiang Zhizhi murmured in her heart. She was also a young person from the city and not a troublemaker at all.
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