Chapter 89 Repairing the Escort Cart
Since he was already there, Dong Hao clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute and got straight to the point:
"My name is Dong Hao, and I am the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of Changfeng镖局 (escort agency) in Ping'an County. Excuse me for bothering you, shopkeeper. Our carriage has run into some trouble on the official road. The tenon on the axle has cracked, and we can't secure the wheels. We would like to ask if you have any replacement parts or any handy tools that we can borrow to fix it."
He pointed to the wooden wheels that had been removed outside the door and the large wooden tenon and mortise that had split in two next to them. The broken surface was rough, obviously caused by excessive weight.
Jiang Ling peeked outside and saw three men surrounding a crooked carriage, scratching their heads in frustration.
Another man, about the same age as him, walked in, his eyes questioning.
She did have hardware tools in her shop, but Jiang Ling's knowledge of these machines was only so-so.
"I do have some tools, but I don't quite understand what kind you specifically need... I'll take you to see them, and you can pick out whatever suits you."
As Jiang Ling spoke, she led them to a row of shelves at the back of the shop.
This entire row is filled with hardware tools. Various pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, hacksaw blades, etc. The sizes are complete, and they gleam with a cold, hard sheen.
I just don't know if they'll know how to use it?
Anyway, Jiang Ling doesn't really know how to use it.
I looked at the whole row of tools that gleamed coldly.
Dong Hao and Xiao Yi, who had just entered, were immediately drawn to it.
"Huh—" Xiao Yi couldn't help but exclaim.
Their security escort agency travels all over the country year-round, and they often make repairs themselves, but they have never seen so many tools in such a complete set!
Dong Hao also looked shocked, "I never expected that the girl's shop... would have so many tools!"
"I don't know which ones are suitable either. You can pick and choose, and take them out if you think they are useful."
Xiao Yi immediately squatted down and picked up an adjustable wrench. It was heavy!
That's really heavy!
He looked at it over and over, marveling at its smooth metal surface, precise adjustable teeth, and heavy feel.
"This one must be worth a lot of money..."
Dong Hao picked up a claw hammer, his fingers tracing the smooth head and sturdy wooden handle, then weighed it in his hand, his eyes gleaming:
"What excellent steel! The quality of this iron... is unbelievably pure! The forging skill is simply unheard of!"
The iron tools they usually used all had impurities and forging marks, unlike the tools in front of them, which had a smooth, mirror-like surface and an incredibly uniform texture.
There are just too many tools to look at them all at once.
They picked out some that looked familiar and that they knew how to use, and took them out.
"Let's see if it can be repaired first," Dong Hao said.
Jiang Ling had nothing else to do at the moment, so she followed them outside to take a look.
Dong Hao worked quickly, first removing the entire broken wheel.
Several bodyguards immediately busied themselves with the task. They first used large wrenches and pliers to hold the broken old parts in place, and then carefully cleaned out the remaining fragments from the shaft hole.
Jiang Ling watched for a while, but couldn't understand what they were doing.
The sun was too bright, so she turned around and went back to sit in the shop.
After sitting for a while and drinking some water, she curiously walked over to the row of hardware shelves and started looking through them.
Actually, she hadn't looked around carefully yet, and she didn't know exactly what was there.
As I rummaged through the tumbled a few boxes of steel nails of various sizes, a few boxes of bolt and nut sets, and a small can of strong metal glue.
Finally, in a corner, they found several solid steel cylindrical pins of different sizes.
When they came out again, the bodyguards were already trying to reassemble the wheels.
The entire vehicle is made of wood, and if anything is missing, materials are used on-site, such as cutting down a sturdy tree to make it.
A slightly younger man was whittling a wooden stick.
The group worked together seamlessly, clearly seasoned veterans who frequently dealt with unexpected situations on the road.
Jiang Ling stepped forward and said, "Young Master Dong, I found some tools on the shelf. See if you can use them."
Dong Hao was inspecting the goods in the truck when he heard this. He turned around, took the things Jiang Ling handed him with both hands, and found them to be cold and heavy.
"This box contains steel nails, and this small can contains strong metal adhesive. Also, here are several types of cylindrical pins; see if any of them are suitable."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi immediately came over, picked up a box of steel nails, opened the lid, and his eyes widened in shock!
"Huh?! This is a box of steel nails! They're all the same size and thickness!"
Normally, they have a hard time finding a few nails of the same length, as new nails are expensive, and they mostly use rusty old ones.
Steel was extremely valuable in this era and was mostly used to make weapons. The finest refined steel was only affordable to the wealthy.
The swords used by their bodyguards were made of ordinary iron.
Who has ever seen anyone willing to grind such good steel into nails that are exactly the same?
He stammered, "Shopkeeper, this...this is too expensive, isn't it?"
Jiang Ling smiled and said, "It's not expensive. This box only costs a few dozen coins."
She had too many heavy hardware tools in the shop and wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.
So as long as we don't lose money, it's fine.
Dong Hao pulled out a steel nail and examined it closely. The nail was straight and the tip was sharp. "It's really good, perfect for reinforcement."
His gaze immediately fell on the steel pins, with a tiny hole at the end. "Shopkeeper, what's this for?"
Jiang Ling thought for a moment, "Hmm, it's probably a fixed usage, right?"
He seemed to have thought of something. He walked to the broken wheels, picked them up one by one, compared them to the dimensions of the broken tenons, and carefully measured the diameter and length of the steel pins. Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on his face:
"Xiao Lin, come and take a look. Is the thickness and length just right?"
Xiaolin is the youngest of the five, and also the most skilled at woodworking.
Upon hearing this, he immediately put down the half-whittled wooden stick he was holding and walked to the wheel. He picked up the steel pin from Dong Hao's hand and compared it to the wheel.
His face lit up with joy: "Hey! This is perfect! It fits perfectly and stays in place! It's like it was made just for this!"
Dong Hao said, "Weren't you worried that the wet wood would shrink when it dries? With this, you won't have to worry about it no matter how long you walk."
Xiao Yi immediately shouted, "Come on, everyone, come and lend a hand!"
Then, the men worked together to lift the heavy wooden wheel.
Kobayashi forcefully hammered one end of the polished steel pin into the groove of the shaft head, making it lock firmly in place.
Next, they aligned the mortise of the wheel with the other end of the steel pin, and several workers worked together to carefully hammer the wheel back into place through the thick wooden board with a sledgehammer.
Finally, Dong Hao applied a layer of strong adhesive to the crucial joint and hammered in several large steel nails to secure it tightly.
I patted the frame and shook the wheels vigorously. Combining modern materials and tools, it looks even sturdier than the original iron tenons and mortise joints.
Xiao Yi clapped his hands and said, "Alright! It won't fall again now, right?"
Seeing that the matter was resolved, Dong Hao clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Thank you very much, shopkeeper. I really owe you a lot today!"
Jiang Ling waved her hand: "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com