Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 409 The Sherlock Holmes of the Automotive World
Tao Runze chimed in from the side, "Even if the teacher is banging a gong on stage and you're fighting in the toilet, the sound is the same."

As everyone chatted and laughed, Luo Jianmin remarked with emotion:
“Wenwei, you’re really daring! Even when the teacher brought a big gong on stage, I was afraid he would use it to slap us all on the head.”

"We've finally completed this big task! Everyone worked so hard!" Chen Luyang breathed a sigh of relief, then clapped her hands happily and started making arrangements:
"I said before that if our program goes smoothly, I'll go to the state-run store in front of Tiananmen Square and treat everyone to braised pork. Let's go this weekend!"

"We'll meet at the school gate on Saturday morning. I'll go to the window to queue up and register. You guys can just have some porridge in the morning and save room for meat!"

Du Qiming also wanted to go.

But when he thought of his uncooperative belly, he lowered his head and looked dejected.

Chen Luyang glanced at him and immediately noticed what he was thinking, and said with a smile:
“Especially Lao Du, if you can’t eat spicy food, then don’t eat it! Just have some corn porridge on Friday night, don’t go to the toilet and have diarrhea while we’re eating meat.”

Du Qiming's eyes lit up instantly when he heard that he could go too.

But he deliberately put on a tragic and sorrowful expression:
"I messed up today and dragged the class down, so I'm not going..."

Chen Luyang rolled her eyes: "Don't cause any trouble. There's nothing anyone can do about unforeseen circumstances during a performance. You've done your part in the rehearsals, even if you didn't contribute much."

"Come on! If you don't come, I'll go to your dorm and drag you away!"

"Let's go!"

Laughter, footsteps, and voices mingled with the night breeze on campus as a group of young people, who had just struck the chorus of the times in the auditorium, walked away, weary yet proud, chatting and laughing all the way.

……

Unfortunately,
The braised pork that was promised for Saturday did not arrive.

"We've been selected for a special National Day celebration gala? What's that?"

In the office of the economics department class teacher
Chen Luyang, Tao Runze, and several other class leaders stared at Teacher Shang in astonishment and asked a question.

Teacher Shang said, "This morning, the art group of the school's Youth League Committee came to the department and your fast-paced storytelling program has been included in the 'National Day Special Art Performance'."

"The National Day celebration performance is the most important university-level arts performance at Peking University every year at the end of September. University leaders, representatives from the Municipal Education Commission and the Municipal Youth League Committee, as well as representatives from other universities, will attend the performance, and reporters will also be there to cover it. It's a very rare opportunity!"

"The secretary of the school's Youth League Committee took a liking to your performance at the welcome party and personally brought the clapper talk to the party."

"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, you will attend the program rehearsal in the conference room on the fourth floor of the student activity center."

After a pause,
Teacher Shang also comforted them, saying, "You all practice these programs every day, so you have the material in your heads. Just perform the same way you did at the welcome party. Don't feel too much pressure."

Chen Luyang, Tao Runze, and the others sighed inwardly and nodded.

I haven't done anything lately except for this stupid clapper talk.

Early Saturday morning, dozens of economics students, who were supposed to be eating braised pork and drinking soy milk in front of Tiananmen Square, all arrived and stood in unison at the entrance of the conference room on the fourth floor of the student activity center.

This building houses the Peking University Youth League Committee, the university's radio station, and the university's arts and literature studio.

The corridor walls were covered with slogans promoting "University literary and artistic creation to serve the four modernizations," as well as notices on the preparation of programs to celebrate National Day printed on red cloth.

Chen Luyang checked the time against the note on the door frame: "Program review: 9 o'clock sharp. Late arrivals will be disqualified."

"Tsk, quite formal."

As they were talking, the door to the rehearsal hall was suddenly pulled open, and a member of the Youth League Committee peeked out:

"Economics Department Clapper Talk Team, come in."

……

The rehearsal went very smoothly.

Besides the best programs submitted by various school clubs, programs like the "Big Clapper Talk" that are selected for the welcome party can also be chosen.

Chen Luyang originally thought their show would be among the last few in the rankings.

Clapper talk, huh?
It was lively as it was, but it was ultimately a "supporting project".

But to everyone's surprise, their performance was the third program in the main venue of the National Day Gala, and in a prime spot!
They were delighted.

But the drama club members weren't happy about it.

The reason for their displeasure is simple: their show is second.

They were performing excerpts from revolutionary plays, with heavy themes, slow speech, and almost entirely relying on dialogue to build up the emotions.

Originally, it was ranked second, which could also be considered a "reflection of emotions" position.

But now, the whole thing is ruined. Right from the start, there's a fast-paced storytelling performance. The drums and gongs start beating, and the solemn atmosphere that was just created is completely destroyed!

Instead of adding brilliance to their own program, it became a mere "setup".

Seeing the drama club members looking so defeated, the economics students felt incredibly relieved!

……

The two events were held not long apart.

To celebrate the National Day in advance, the National Day gala will be held on the evening of September 30.

For large-scale gala performances like the National Day celebrations, in addition to inviting relevant city leaders, the school also invites some well-known alumni to return to campus to watch the performances.

The teachers from the school's Youth League Committee, who were in charge of the gala, were on high alert backstage, fearing that this important school-level program might have any mishaps.

As soon as it got dark, the parking spaces outside the auditorium were already full of vehicles from all directions.

There were official vehicles from the Education and Culture Office, including old-fashioned yellow-plated jeeps.
The vehicles were covered in mud and had scratches on the doors, hardly resembling the image of spirited alumni entering Peking University, yet each of them carried an invitation.

As the performance time approached, a black Hongqi slowly drove into the school gate.

As it turned, a deep "putt-putt" sound came from the tail of the exhaust pipe.

"Ok??"

Outside the auditorium, Chen Luyang and several male students from the Economics Department were helping to transport props backstage for the gala.

Upon hearing that familiar "putt-putt-putt" sound, Chen Luyang frowned and subconsciously turned her head to the side.

"What are you looking at, Wenwei?" Zhao Lixin asked curiously.

"That car... something's not right!" Chen Luyang looked at the gray Hongqi and felt more and more uneasy as she listened.

Although his skills are not as good as Chen Dazhi and Zhang Guoqiang.
However, being in the workshop every day, one's ears and eyes are always more sensitive than the average person.

"You guys go backstage first."

After giving a brief instruction, Chen Luyang quickly ran towards the black and red flag.

at this time,

The car slowly came to a stop, and a middle-aged man got out.

Just as he was about to close the car door, he saw a young student running straight towards him.

"Sorry to bother you, comrade. Your car's engine... the tail cylinder ignition is a bit shaky, it sounds like the intake rhythm is off. If you're going to drive a long distance after the party, you should probably check the ignition coil."

Ok?
Both the middle-aged man and the driver were stunned for a moment.

The driver, in particular, felt his eyelids twitch slightly!
Chen Luyang kindly said, "I just came to remind you not to break down on your way home at night."

As she spoke, Chen Luyang pointed to the exhaust outlet and then glanced at the front of the car.

Although he wanted to help the middle-aged man check his car now, the party was about to start, and there were dozens of people waiting for him backstage.

"You're busy, I'll be going now."

After speaking, Chen Luyang didn't wait for a response, turned around, and quickly ran towards the side door of the auditorium. Watching Chen Luyang's retreating figure, the driver quickly spoke:
"Boss, I will check the car thoroughly."

"Hmm." The middle-aged man nodded, picked up the invitation in his hand, and walked towards the main entrance of the auditorium.

……

The gala performance was a great success!
Finally, all the performers went on stage together for a curtain call. After the curtain closed again, all the students who performed let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Cultural Committee, can we not have any more programs?" Zheng Zhe asked with lingering fear.

The intense rehearsals and performances over the past two weeks have left everyone feeling dizzy.

"No way, even if there were, we wouldn't go on stage." Chen Luyang said, her eyes darting quickly across the stage.

The backstage area is in complete chaos right now.

The props team had just removed the set, and in the corner there was a pile of spare metal wires, colored light extension cords, and unused microphone stand parts on the stage.

Chen Luyang scurried about like a little hamster, scratching and prodding in all directions.

"Wenwei, what are you doing picking up these things?" Zheng Zhe asked, puzzled.

"There's a car outside that looks broken down. I'm worried, let me go check it out."

After Chen Luyang finished speaking, she took a small handful of things she had picked up and squeezed through the crowd to quickly run out of the auditorium.

When they returned to the front of the car, the hood of the Hongqi had been lifted.

The driver was wiping his hands with an old cloth stained with oil, next to him were several broken cables and a piece of ignition wire that had been temporarily removed.

"Master, how's the car coming along?" Chen Luyang quickly stepped forward.

"I didn't have enough materials, so I borrowed some old cables from the mailroom clerk... and managed to tie it up," the driver replied.

"I just got some materials from backstage too." Chen Luyang squatted down and spread all the materials he was holding on the edge of the Hongqi's hood.

"It's not a proper repair part, but wrapping the coil around it should provide a temporary solution."

"This is the spare wire from the lighting control panel. It's conductive, I've tested it."

"This is a protective film wrapped around the stage light rig. I tore off a corner of it to use as insulation."

The driver stared at the things Chen Luyang had pulled out, then asked, "Did you take these from the back office to fix the car?"

"It wasn't dismantled, it's just leftovers," Chen Luyang said, deftly rolling up his sleeves.

He found a cut piece of flexible metal wire, carefully stripped the copper wire, and wound it into a short flexible connector. Then, he located the loose ignition wire, deftly wrapped the metal wire around twice, and gently tied it tightly with the stripped copper wire. While wrapping it with tape, he muttered:

"This is just a temporary measure to get you home tonight, but we can't make any more trips."

at this time,

The middle-aged man followed several alumni out of the school auditorium.

Seeing someone repairing a car behind the hood, several people curiously walked over.

"When did our school add a repair major?"

Hearing the voices behind him, Chen Luyang replied without turning his head, "Before I went to university, I was the workshop director of the provincial machinery factory. I know a lot about cars, and I can tell right away that there's something wrong with your car."

The middle-aged man was taken aback: "How old are you? You're already a workshop foreman?"

Chen Luyang didn't answer, but just smiled and said, "...Master, turn on the engine, let me hear how it sounds."

Upon hearing this, the driver immediately ran back to the car and started the engine.

Less than five minutes later, the engine started again, the sound was a bit deeper, and it was much smoother.

As Chen Luyang listened, he leaned down to take a few more glances at the coil connector before straightening up and closing the hood.
"Alright, your car should be able to get back safely tonight. But if you really need to go on a long trip, you'll still need to go to the repair shop to get the ignition coil fixed."

At this point, Chen Luyang took the opportunity to promote and advertise his repair center:

"There's a car maintenance and repair center that our factory just opened near the West Railway Station. All the mechanics there are highly skilled. If you have the chance, come and check out our cars. We'll make sure to take good care of them inside and out."

The middle-aged man was taken aback: "You own the auto repair center at the West Railway Station?"

Chen Luyang smiled and nodded: "Yes, I am in charge."

The middle-aged man became curious.

He looked Chen Luyang up and down and asked, "Excuse me, what's your major?"

Chen Luyang grinned: "My name is Chen Luyang, and I'm a freshman in the Economics Department, Class 1."

The middle-aged man chuckled: "Economics Department? Then I'm your senior."

Chen Luyang was taken aback: "Senior, you're also in the Economics Department?"

The middle-aged man sighed, "Yeah, I'm from the Economics Department, class of '56. You can figure out how much older I am than you!"

Chen Luyang immediately seized the opportunity: "Senior, when you go to the West Railway Station to get your car repaired, just mention my name. I can round it down for you; every little bit helps!"

The middle-aged man laughed: "If it's not a senior brother, then we won't round down?"

Chen Luyang said seriously, "I'll still apply it, but not as much as you! Being called 'Senior Brother' deserves some special treatment, doesn't it?"

"Our repair center is just starting out, so please support us in the future."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Okay."

We happily saw the middle-aged man off.

Chen Luyang stood behind the Hongqi car, took a deep, forceful breath with her eyes closed, as if every pore on her body had opened up!
Correct……

This is the taste!!!

That exhaust fumes smelled like a cloying mix of sweet, leaden, sulfurous, and tarry odors!
So familiar!

I've been at school for a month, and every day I've been flipping through books and writing.

Taking a sudden breath of car exhaust is really refreshing and invigorating, making you feel much more energetic!

"Cultural Committee member, what are you sniffing here?"

Gao Xiaolin covered her nose and fanned the air in front of her to smell the odor.

"I smell the car exhaust," Chen Luyang replied.

"What's so smelly about this?" Gao Xiaolin asked, puzzled.

“There’s a lot to say about this,” Chen Luyang chuckled.

"If you smell the slight odor in the exhaust, it has a hint of aromatics. That means it's been mixed with 95-octane gasoline. Ordinary government vehicles can't afford this kind of fuel. And look at the paint. It's a bit shinier than standard black, so it's a specially approved paint. Ordinary ministries use gray plates and Hongqi cars, with a number sticker on the trunk. This car has a black plate and a unique number."

Gao Xiaolin didn't understand, and subconsciously asked, "And then?"

"And then?" Chen Luyang raised an eyebrow slightly. "Then I analyzed that this car should belong to the municipal party committee, someone at the deputy level or above."

Gao Xiaolin exclaimed in shock, "Wenwei, you're practically Sherlock Holmes... you can even deduce someone's level just by smelling the odor of gasoline!"

"Then, can you tell which unit's car that belongs to?"

Chen Luyang said helplessly, "Xiaolin, if I could tell which unit's car this is... I should be on temporary assignment in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Public Security Bureau right now, specifically responsible for investigating car-related cases."

(End of this chapter)