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

Chapter 98 Delivery
“According to our normal pricing, a small excavator costs 150 a day, but I’ll give you 200 a day.” Uncle San sat in his chair and stopped Yu Dawei when he saw him about to speak. “The reason I’m giving you an extra 50 is because among the excavators we currently have contracts with, only yours is a wheeled excavator. Its advantages naturally allow it to earn an extra 50. You don’t need to feel guilty.”

“Furthermore, I plan to have your rotary excavator specifically handle the route from the town to your village, and we won’t hire any other excavators.” Third Uncle said with a serious expression, “Let me make this clear from the start: if the vehicle breaks down, I won’t deduct your pay, but you must meet the deadline. Not a single pit can be dug within three months.”

It's not that we lack funds, but rather that we can't find any small excavators nearby, and it would be too unprofitable to use large excavators for digging holes.

Now I can only make do with my nephew.

My second uncle chimed in, "Dawei, there's a pothole every fifty meters on the road, and thirty meters in the village. That's quite a lot of work. Make sure your car doesn't break down."

Yu Dawei sat upright, without a trace of joking on his face. He looked at his two uncles and nodded seriously: "Don't worry, I will do my best to prevent the vehicle from having any problems and ensure that the excavation and filling tasks are completed before the deadline."

Great! Both uncles really like Yu Dawei's style—he knows when to joke and when to be serious.

After both parties signed the contract, Uncle lit another cigarette: "By the way, one of the two Ackerman machines that General Manager Huang asked you to maintain seems to have a problem. If you have time, come with me to the site to take a look. I'm going to the site soon too."

"Broken? Which one broke down?" Yu Dawei's heart skipped a beat. He thought that after dealing with the PW40 wheeled excavator, he could go back to the village to rest for a few days, but the Ackerman excavator at the road construction site had another problem.

"The machine in section three has a problem walking. How should I put it?" My second uncle was at a loss for words when it came to mechanical matters. He exhaled a puff of smoke and thought for a moment, "It's just that one of its legs is lame. It walks with a limp now. Everything else is fine, and it's working normally."

"Manager Chang was originally going to look for you, but it seems he had some urgent business to attend to and got delayed. Coincidentally, I saw you today. Come with me in a bit, don't cause him trouble just because we have a good relationship," my second uncle earnestly advised.

“Of course.” Yu Dawei nodded in agreement. “Second Uncle, let’s go to Duan Dahai’s place first, then we’ll bring our tools over.”

"no problem."

Afterwards, Yu Dawei ate a bite at the project department's canteen, then secretly took two large watermelons, leaving his third uncle speechless.

"That little bastard." Third Uncle's face darkened, and he finally shook his head with a wry smile.

My uncle's straightforward and uncompromising nature, which he'd always maintained since childhood, hadn't changed at all. Although he'd lost a watermelon, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he remembered how he and his eldest sister's youngest son used to deliver grain to their family when they were children. (Author's note: [外道: meaning "outsider"))

Back then, all the relatives and friends kept their distance because they were poor. Only the eldest sister and brother-in-law would come to visit them whenever they had time. But once the two brothers became successful and the family was able to eat and dress well, the couple never contacted them again.

A few days ago, my second brother went to visit my sister and brother-in-law and found that they were living a mediocre life. They had nine daughters and one son, and the whole family relied on farming for their food.

When she left, her older brother left her two thousand yuan, but she refused to accept it no matter what.

My third uncle rested his hands on the window, gazing at the resting workers outside, lost in thought for a long time.

Yu Dawei returned to the scrap metal recycling station, tossed a watermelon to his good friend, and then took one of the two boxes of tools—one of which contained commonly used items—and put it in the trunk of the SUV.

The two then drove towards the scene. Once there, Yu Dawei shared the second watermelon with Fu Zi and Huang Man.

Then they found Supervisor Chang, who was dealing with a construction site accident; it seemed someone had fallen into the cement mixer.

Yu Dawei glanced at the package and knew that Supervisor Chang probably didn't have time to deal with him, so he greeted him and asked his second uncle to take him to the third section.

Upon arriving at the third section, Yu Dawei could see the Volvo Ackermann working from afar. Its rotating shovel was functioning normally, and its boom and forearm were also in good condition.

His anxiety subsided considerably. This situation indicated that the problem wasn't related to the machine's operation, but rather a faulty component assembly, which would be much less time-consuming and costly to repair.

"Master Yu!" The driver in the car saw Yu Dawei, quickly stopped, opened the door, and jumped out.

"Is there something wrong with this vehicle?" Yu Dawei asked curiously.

"Yes, there's a slight problem with the left track, but it doesn't seem like a big issue." The driver pointed to the track next to him. "Let me get in and check it out for you."

The driver first spoke with the excavator operator next to him, asking him to help out on his side, before turning around and getting on the excavator to try walking.

"I've put the tools here for you." My second uncle helped take the tools out of the trunk and put them on the ground. "I need to go check on my situation and also give Old Li a piece of my mind."

The "Old Li" mentioned by my second uncle is another contractor who competed with him for the road section. The section where the mixer accident happened belongs to Old Li.

To paraphrase what my second uncle said on the way, "Your own efforts are crucial, but relying on your peers for support is equally important. You should be able to climb up to the Eighth Institution line in the future."

"Don't worry, Uncle, let me know if anything comes up!" Yu Dawei smiled sincerely and picked up the toolbox with both hands. "Okay!" Uncle stood next to the SUV, lit another cigarette, and then got in and drove off with a flourish.

Ackerman, who was behind Yu Dawei, also started walking, but his walking posture was hard to describe; it was very strange.

First it moved diagonally, then it moved straight, and you could see that there was indeed a problem with the movement of the left track, it was jerking.

"How's it going, Master Yu? Does it need major repairs?" The driver jumped out of the car, looking a little nervous and uneasy. The job he was hired for wasn't paid monthly, but daily, like most people.

If your car breaks down, or it rains, and you can't work on those days, then don't even think about making money.

He's not exactly an expert; his car had some minor problems last time. He learned a lot of techniques from the mechanic in section seven, and it's gradually getting better, but now it's having trouble moving again.

He earns more by operating an excavator than other things, and he would be heartbroken if he didn't work for several days.

Now it all depends on what this master mechanic in charge of maintenance has to say. Everyone on the construction site is talking about this young Master Yu, but there are only a handful of people in the town who can repair imported excavators, and he is a master mechanic specially assigned to the Eighth Bureau!

The other party's single sentence could determine whether the car was alive or dead; how could he not be nervous?

"It's probably a problem with the drive motor or the drive gears. It won't require a major overhaul. If the parts arrive quickly, it can be fixed in a few hours." After Yu Dawei finished speaking, you could clearly feel the middle-aged driver next to him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let me take it apart and check it first. Once I'm sure, I can have Supervisor Chang contact Factory Director Bai to send the parts." Yu Dawei didn't delay. He opened his tools, picked up a heavy-duty wrench and an extension rod, and began to remove the large screws.

The drive system and the engine are two separate systems. If you want to remove the engine, you need to wait for it to cool down. Otherwise, rushing to remove it may cause unpredictable risks.

Walking is fine, and even if you work for a long time, there will be no overheating.

Yu Dawei didn't expect that Master Lü's vehicle would have so many problems. However, he had previously seen Master Lü's parts request list, which did not include the drive motor. This meant that the other party actually thought that the drive motor of this vehicle was not the problem.

"Dawei, have you found any problems?" Supervisor Chang arrived at this time, carrying a file bag and a folder.

"The gears are broken." After Yu Dawei removed the outer cover, four small gears appeared in front of the group.

The four gears were supposed to rotate around the central gear, but now two of them are cracked and their teeth are broken.

“No wonder, this gear must have been replaced before.” Yu Dawei removed all four gears, including the central gear. “These should have been replaced at the same time.”

"So, does that mean there's something wrong with all these gears?" Supervisor Chang walked over to Yu Dawei, squatted down, and stared at the gears closely.

"No, this set of gears should be an original import, the problem isn't with that." Yu Dawei glanced at the inside of the gears again, looked for a while, and then his gaze lingered on a certain spot. He stretched out his finger and dabbed a little bit of the black oil on that spot.

"It must be a problem with the gear oil." Yu Dawei rubbed his index finger and thumb together, feeling that the oil film was of very poor quality, and his heart sank.

Since there's a problem with the gear oil on this side, the gears on the other side will probably suffer the same fate in the future.

"Then, what do you mean?" Manager Chang looked at Yu Dawei blankly. Despite being in charge of the entire fleet and personnel, he knew very little about car repairs! At this time, they still had to rely on Dawei!

"Get two sets of drive gears and two barrels of gear oil, Volvo-specific gear oil," Yu Dawei said earnestly and seriously.

"Two sets?"

“Yes, if it’s a problem with the gear oil, the other track gear might also have a problem.” Yu Dawei looked at the other track of the Ackerman. “We’ll take it apart and check. If it still works, we’ll return the parts. If it doesn’t, we’ll replace them all at once. Otherwise, we’ll have to replace them again later. It’s the same principle, just a matter of time.”

Supervisor Chang finally understood completely. He immediately agreed and returned to the project department to contact Xiao Bai, asking them to expedite the process of sending the document.

“Master Yu, what about these past few days…” Ackerman’s driver looked at Yu Dawei, wanting to confirm the answer in his mind.

"Let's rest for a couple of days. If things go smoothly, the parts will arrive tomorrow, and with your help, we should be able to resume work the day after tomorrow." Yu Dawei reinstalled the outer cover to prevent dirt from blowing inside while waiting.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to help you. Let's get this car fixed as soon as possible so I can get back to work." The driver's dark face showed a shy smile.

Yu Dawei smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's common for these old cars to break down while working. Just remember to maintain them regularly to make them last longer."

(End of this chapter)