Chapter 101 Showcases the Mechanical Girl's Genius
He suddenly realized: Yes, the girl in front of him looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. Even if she really knew a little about machinery, could she compare to a professional?
I was momentarily flustered and made a mistake. Now I'm torn between agreeing and not agreeing. If I agree, the risk is too great.
If I don't agree, it will make me seem like I'm going back on my word and breaking my promise in front of the girl, which would be a huge loss of face.
He clutched his watch, so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground, filled with regret.
Xu Zhili sensed Director Zhang's embarrassment and the pressure from the surrounding gazes, but she simply looked at Director Zhang quietly, her eyes clear and firm, carrying a silent plea and confidence.
Finally, under everyone's gaze, Director Zhang gritted his teeth and reluctantly placed the watch gently on the table in front of Xu Zhili, his voice hoarse.
"Then... then I'll trouble you, young comrade... to take a look? Please be very careful." In the end, he couldn't bring himself to take back his initial request in public.
Xu Zhili breathed a sigh of relief and nodded solemnly: "Thank you for your trust." She carefully picked up the watch.
The subtle, rhythmic mechanical noise seemed amplified several times over the moment she picked up the watch, becoming incredibly clear to her ears.
At this moment, a wisp of mental energy sensed the internal structure of the table.
She held her breath, as if the whole world consisted only of the watch and its persistent clicking sound.
Amidst the curious and skeptical gazes of those around her, Xu Zhili calmly took a flat leather toolbox from her handbag.
Upon opening the box, one finds neatly arranged professional tools: a small watch opener, a fine watch removal tool, a pin puller, pointed tweezers, a miniature screwdriver, a high-powered magnifying glass... and even a small bottle of special watch lubricant.
The moment this set of professional equipment was displayed, the whispers around them immediately subsided, and many people showed expressions of surprise.
Xu Zhili seemed oblivious to this, and skillfully used a watch opener to open the back cover of the watch.
The intricate movement gleamed with a metallic sheen under the light, its tiny gears, as small as grains of rice, meshing tightly together.
She picked up a magnifying glass, brought it close to her eyes, and examined it closely; her fingers remained steady without trembling at all.
Soon, her gaze settled on one spot—the edge of an extremely tiny gear seemed a bit abnormal; its rotation was noticeably sluggish, causing the entire transmission chain to jam.
She gently moved the small gear with tweezers, her brow furrowing slightly. She understood: this was definitely not normal wear and tear. It looked like it had been stuck by some tiny foreign object, or there was a flaw in the assembly process, causing a small piece of the edge to be worn down.
Director Zhang stared intently at Xu Zhili's every subtle expression. When he saw her frown, his heart leaped into his throat, and his voice tightened: "Young comrade? Is... there a serious problem?"
Xu Zhili didn't look up, focusing intently on the fault point, and answered clearly, "Found it, Director Zhang. It's a small gear inside that's stuck due to wear on the edge, and there's also a tiny metal shaving that seems to be stuck in the shaft gap. It's not a big problem, it can be fixed."
As she spoke, she subconsciously used the tip of the tweezers to precisely manipulate the object.
Director Zhang subconsciously reached up to check the time, but only realized halfway up his wrist that the watch wasn't in his hand. Embarrassed, he put it down and could only ask again, his voice pleading.
"Young man, are you... really confident? Watch repair is a delicate job where even the slightest error can lead to disastrous consequences!"
His gaze was fixed on Xu Zhili's hands, as if afraid she might make a mistake.
"I know what I'm doing." Xu Zhili's answer was brief and powerful, carrying a composure beyond her years.
She steadily picked up the almost invisible metal shard with tweezers, and then, with extreme care, under a magnifying glass, used a special small file to make an almost imperceptible, extremely delicate repair to the worn edge of the gear.
Just as she was about to make the final adjustment, Xiao Li couldn't help but speak up again, his tone still filled with distrust.
"Young comrade, you're using clamps and files like that. This part is thinner than a hair. Don't let your hand slip and break it. Otherwise, even a god couldn't save it."
Xu Zhili didn't pause at all, and didn't even look up at him. She simply replied calmly, "Whether the tweezers are steady or not, your hand knows."
Before she finished speaking, she had already completed the final adjustments. She gently wound up the gears.
A miracle has happened!
The gears that had been stuck and stopped instantly resumed smooth operation, meshing tightly and emitting a uniform and faint "shush" sound. The annoying "click" noise from before completely disappeared!
Xu Zhili's tense face finally revealed a relieved smile.
She deftly and precisely reset the movement, closed the back cover, and finally carefully wiped the watch case clean with a soft cloth before handing it back to the focused Director Zhang.
"Director Zhang, it's fixed. Please give it a try."
Director Zhang almost trembled as he took the watch, carefully placing it to his ear. The familiar, even ticking sound was clear and pleasant to the ear.
Looking at the dial again, the second hand is steadily moving forward, tick by tick.
Overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, Director Zhang's eyes immediately welled up with tears. He gripped his watch tightly and thanked Xu Zhili repeatedly, his voice choked with emotion.
"That's great, that's great! It really works! Young comrade, you...you're amazing! Thank you so much, you've done me a huge favor! This watch...this watch has come back to life!"
He was so excited that he was almost incoherent, and his eyes were filled with sincere admiration and gratitude as he looked at Xu Zhili.
That's good, now his wife won't nag him endlessly about this watch at night.
A similar situation had occurred before; his wife had been nagging him all night, making it impossible for him to sleep peacefully.
But he knew in his heart that he couldn't hold a grudge against his lover, after all, they were husband and wife.
Fortunately, she only nagged all night that time. Just that one night was really torturous. Isn't it terrifying?
Does anyone know?
"Young comrade, you have quite a talent for mechanics," Director Zhang said, examining the precise watch closely, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration, and his voice rising a few decibels.
"This watch is really giving me a hard time. It breaks easily if I'm not careful. I've taken it to many people before, but none of them could fix it. I never expected that you would solve it for me today."
"Young comrade, you've really helped me a lot. I watched you disassemble, assemble, and debug with such clean and efficient movements. You're quite remarkable; you're a mechanical genius in this field."
"Young comrade, you have superb skills. You are truly a promising young man with a bright future."
The surrounding diners gathered around, marveling at Xu Zhili and looking at her with admiration.
Just moments ago, Xiao Li's face showed some doubt, and his words were full of obstruction.
But at this moment, he felt a burning sensation on his face, as if he had been slapped hard several times.
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