In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 240 Repairing the Engine of a Jiefang Truck

Yu Dawei planned to start the truck and take a look to see if there were any other problems besides the engine.

He took the key from the short man. The truck driver seemed to be a clean person. After opening the door of the Jiefang truck, he sat in the main seat and saw that there were no other miscellaneous items in the cab except for some instant noodles and empty small plastic bags.

There was a small, thin cotton blanket next to it, neatly folded on the passenger seat. However, there was a strong smell of engine oil in the car, which must have been quite a chore for the driver.

In the 1980s and 90s, driving a truck was quite lucrative. He once read a report about a person who bought a house in Beijing but couldn't afford the mortgage. So he chose to drive a truck and paid off the entire mortgage in just six years.

It was indeed hard work. Yu Dawei might not know some of the industry's details, but he was very knowledgeable about machinery. Once a truck exceeds a certain load capacity, its brakes become practically useless.

This is related to the knowledge we learned in junior high school: gravity and friction. The greater the gravity, the greater the inertia, and the harder it is to stop.

Any truck driver or truck owner naturally wants to earn more money per trip, so no one will stick to the rules on the "lifeline" and will load as much as they can until they can't fit anymore.

The end result is that if you don't encounter a driver with two arms, but if someone in front of you brakes suddenly, you'll definitely crash into their car, and whether you live or die will depend entirely on luck.

The chances of a truck crashing forward are actually relatively small. The most common problem is rolling over, because trucks are not wide enough but are too long. If you are not careful when turning a corner, you will roll over.

This is why many knowledgeable drivers remind their loved ones that when driving, if you encounter a large vehicle, never linger nearby, as it could easily overturn and its contents could crush and kill someone.

This is not just a saying; staying away from large vehicles on the highway means staying away from danger.

"Puff, puff puff puff." Yu Dawei inserted the key into the ignition, but the engine failed to start the first time he tried to turn it.

He tried a couple more times and finally got it started, making a "putt-putt-putt" noise.

"Old Ji, go check what kind of smoke is coming out of the exhaust pipe in the back." Yu Dawei rolled down the car window and shouted to Old Ji below. Then he slowly pressed down on the accelerator, and the engine roared even louder, like an old man who was overwhelmed by the burden.

"Blue smoke! It's all blue smoke!" Old Ji shouted from behind the truck bed.

Yu Dawei knew what was going on and tried shifting gears. The gear changes were relatively smooth, but once in gear, the engine seemed to have reached its limit and had no power at all. It was like an eighty-year-old man carrying a fifty-pound bag of rice, feeling a little overwhelmed. Finally, the old man threw the rice on the ground, cursing, "Damn it, whoever wants to carry this rice can carry it!"

Then, the engine inexplicably shut down.

"Well, the good news is that so far, only the engine seems to be the problem." Yu Dawei opened the car door, jumped out of the driver's seat, and looked at the truck driver. "The bad news is that the pistons and other four components inside the engine are probably all ruined, and the cylinders also need to be replaced."

"Sigh, let's change it, but it will be a hassle for Master Yu." The short truck driver sighed and took out a pack of cheap cigarettes from his pocket, handing one to Yu Dawei.

"No, thank you." Yu Dawei smiled and shook his head. He turned around and opened the hood to let the engine cool down quickly.

The truck driver then handed cigarettes to Lao Ji, Yao Jinfu, Boss Liang, and Duan Dahai who had rushed over. As for Xiao Agui, he said it was too young to give cigarettes, as it might corrupt the child.

"How's it going, Dawei?" Boss Liang took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, and then took out a box of matches from Lao Duan's pocket and lit it. "We've put your engine next to the van with a tripod and a chain hoist."

“Okay, it’ll be convenient to fix it later if we leave it there.” Yu Dawei nodded, then patted the Jiefang truck behind him. “Old Liang, get a set of four-piece Jiefang parts. The spark plugs are probably worn out too, get a set of those as well, and the cylinder liners…”

Yu Dawei listed seven or eight items, big and small, making the truck driver next to him twitch at the corner of his mouth and feel like his heart was bleeding. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would never have used a government vehicle to transport goods.

After this trip, I estimate I won't have made any money, and I might even have lost some.

Since the truck driver was in a hurry, Yu Dawei didn't dare to delay and began preparing to disassemble the engine.

Lao Ji asked Yao Jinfu for help, but Yu Dawei refused. In the early stages, the parts hadn't arrived, so no matter how fast you disassembled it, it was useless and would only delay the work in your own factory.

Yu Dawei told the two men to continue handling the odd jobs in the yard, while he and Xiao Agui could disassemble the engine.

After writing down the engine parts he needed with a pen and paper, Boss Liang left with Duan Dahai. Did Jiefang have any engine parts in the town? Yes! But Boss Liang didn't want to use his.

Among business associates, everyone knows each other perfectly well, and Boss Liang knows exactly what parts they use. He wouldn't risk harming his own brothers for some petty gains.

Back at his parts shop, he started contacting suppliers in the county, but when he found he couldn't gather enough parts, he simply called Old Zhang at the auto parts market in the development zone of the oil city and got all sorts of parts for the Jiefang engine from him.

Old Zhang is Zhang Shuangxi, also known as Zhang the Millionaire. After their first meeting and a meal together, they exchanged contact information. Boss Liang would sometimes call him to inquire about a certain brand and model of parts.

Old Zhang was a very honest businessman. He would say if he had something, and if he didn't, he wouldn't. He would even explain which parts were used and which were new. He never tried to cheat or shirk his responsibilities towards Boss Liang. Because of this, the two of them collaborated on several projects over a period of time. Although they were all small amounts of money, the cooperation was still very pleasant.

Upon hearing that the parts were for Xiao Yu's brother, Zhang Baiwan personally went to the warehouse to compare the models of the four-piece set before calling back Boss Liang. He promised to ship the parts by noon the next day, but those who wanted good cylinders would have to wait another day.

The cylinders sold on the market are all ordinary ones, which can be used in most truck engines. They are not original parts and rarely have problems, but the chances of them malfunctioning are not small.

Zhang Baiwan planned to wait a day and then get an original set to send directly to Yu Da and the others.

After thinking about it, Boss Liang agreed. Time was tight, but he also wanted to ensure that the repairs were done well and that they wouldn't cause any negative impact on Yu Dawei's repair work.

After agreeing on the parts, Boss Liang had nothing else to do. He continued chatting and joking with Boss Duan, while keeping an eye on the parts shop. Since he was already there, he couldn't leave easily, just in case some business came his way.

On the other hand, before preparing for the repairs, Yu Dawei first helped the driver find a hotel not far from his repair shop, just across the street from the pork butcher restaurant next door.

Two red lanterns covered in snow hung at the entrance of the inn. As I went in, I happened to meet the landlady, a woman with broad shoulders, a wide waist, and wide hips.

A pair of squinty eyes and thick lips were perfectly set in that plump, round face.

Yu Dawei had heard of this boss lady's reputation, from what Lao Liang had told him after drinking. He said her husband worked at a flour mill and was a junior manager there, always working overtime and never coming home.

This caused the woman to be restless, and since there were always some strong men in the hotel, there were bound to be times when she was starving.

Old Liang told him and Old Duan that this woman had three daughters, each of whom looked different from her father, and the daughters also looked different from each other. Many people were talking about it in private, saying that this old woman was probably promiscuous and had fathered someone else's child.

Although the matter had reached the ears of the junior supervisor at the flour mill, there was ultimately no news from him.

As for the hotel owner, she didn't care at all and continued to do as she pleased.

Yu Dawei didn't know if the child was that husband's, but he did know that whenever Lao Ji passed by the hotel and went to the convenience store to buy something, he would always be approached by that old woman.

Every time Lao Ji saw the other person's face, he almost threw up when he got back. He simply couldn't bear to look at him. He didn't know which bastard was so reckless, throwing away all his money and acting like a heartless philanthropist.

Instead of wasting time going home, he should go and take care of his wife.

The main reason Yu Dawei chose this hotel was that the hotel next door was full, and these were the only two hotels in the vicinity.

He could only endure the discomfort and send the truck driver to this place to stay for the time being.

Actually, there was something Yu Dawei didn't tell Lao Ji: with his burly physique and muscular build, he had already been targeted by the old woman at the hotel.

Luckily, the hotel was on the opposite street from the repair shop; otherwise, Yu Dawei would have been absolutely disgusted.

This time was no different. When that old woman saw Yu Dawei, her eyes lit up, and she showered him with concern and care. Her two impressive pectoral muscles almost seemed to be pressed against Yu Dawei's body.

Startled, Yu Dawei exchanged a few words with the truck driver, turned around, and ran away. This hotel was comparable to the Spider Cave in Journey to the West, except that the adult female spider was unbearable for most people.

Just before leaving, Yu Dawei noticed that the truck driver's gaze towards the hotel women was a bit off, but he was too lazy to investigate further.

Hurry up and get the car fixed. Once it's fixed and you've received the money, go do whatever you need to do.

It's best to avoid this hotel as much as possible.

When Lao Ji heard that Yu Dawei had taken the truck driver to Chengcheng Hotel, he was so frightened that he trembled all over and could barely hold the wrench in his hand.

"Boss, can he take it with his small frame? Should we rescue him in the middle of the night?" Old Ji still felt sorry for him.

"Save my ass! What if it was consensual between them? Let's get the car fixed." Yu Dawei rolled his eyes.

Don't they know how to respect fate? Who told them that such a nice hotel next door was full of people?

(End of this chapter)