Electronic Nezha

Chapter 114 Transformation Plan

When I was in high school, I was caught playing games at an internet cafe by our dean of students. Later, my homeroom teacher went to the dean's office to pick me up. The scene wasn't embarrassing at all. As soon as we got out, my homeroom teacher let me go and reminded me that the two internet cafes I frequented were on the dean's blacklist.

Compared to that, today was practically a scene from hell.

The most awkward one is me. What does "guardian" even mean? Being a guardian doesn't mean you can make up an excuse to take your child shopping. What if Wang Aili sees me like this and decides to give up on Liu Zhenhua?
Although it won't affect my future, I hope that if I'm going to play it safe, I should play it safe in a proper way. If Wang Aili changes her attitude towards Liu Zhenhua because of this, then all my previous attempts to play it safe will have been for nothing.

"Teacher Wang..." For some reason, I suddenly wanted to use the poem "Thousands of pear trees in bloom" to describe the various inspirations that were popping into my head to explain the current situation. Some of them were reliable, some were unreliable, some sounded bizarre but were logical upon closer examination, and some seemed normal but couldn't stand the test of time.

There are two main approaches: one is to insist that it's a stomachache. For young people, a stomachache can be relieved by rubbing it, passing gas, or going to the toilet. However, the problem with this approach is that if the pain is gone, the parents should send the child to school!

The second approach is to aggressively target emotional appeals, saying that the child lacks the mother's presence, and the father, fearing the child might be overly sensitive, seeks compensation on behalf of the child, thus increasing parent-child time. If Teacher Wang, like Sister Zhao, has watched too many mindless domestic dramas, she might be moved to tears. The absurdity of this approach is that if the person asks you what you usually do, you'll be completely clueless.

Later, the excuse that the dog ate the ID card suddenly came to the fore—last time I went to the school and took Liu Zhenhua away, Wang Aili didn't ask him why afterwards, so this excuse still works…

Just as I was racking my brains trying to figure out how to lie, Wang Aili said calmly, "It's okay, you two go ahead and do your work."

"Okay, Teacher Wang." I led Liu Zhenhua away as if we were running away. As I walked quickly, I muttered to myself, "It's over, it's over, your Teacher Wang is going to give up on you."

Liu Zhenhua also whispered, "Not necessarily. Maybe it's just recorded in the books for later settlement—next time, try to ask for leave for me with a more reasonable excuse and see if she approves it."

Which one would you prefer?

"Regardless of which one, let's continue with our own business."

"You're so calm!"

"Dad, is our teacher Wang scarier than an alien queen?"

That's incredibly horrible!
Although we parted back to back, to avoid the pressure of walking in the same straight line as Wang Aili, I dragged Liu Zhenhua into a random store. Through the glass window, I watched Wang Aili and that man walk to the corner of the row of stores. As the saying goes, "just out of the tiger's mouth, gossip begins to stir." I could tell that Wang Aili was gentler than usual today because of the man beside her. If that man was her husband, the two of them skipping work to go shopping together, was that romantic?
Liu Zhenhua followed my gaze to the corner and said, "Dad, what are you thinking about?"

"Don't meddle in other people's business. Teacher Wang won't tell you what happened today, and you're not allowed to tell anyone either."

“I didn’t say anything—” Liu Zhenhua added, “I’m not stupid.”

"Ahem." The shop assistant coughed, clearly trying to get our attention.

I turned around and realized I was in a store selling children's watches, as well as high-end toys like Lego bricks. Even with his youthful appearance, Liu Zhenhua didn't seem suited to shopping here.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhenhua began to wander around the store with great interest. He asked the female shop assistant, "Sister, do you have any ordinary electronic watches here?"

"Does it need to be able to make phone calls?"

"Need not."

The saleswoman took out a high-tech electronic watch and introduced it: "This one has both hands and an electronic display, as well as a sports timer. It can even tell you the altitude when you're climbing a mountain..." She probably thought Liu Zhenhua needed a watch that he could wear while running.

"This is too complicated. As long as you can tell the time, that's fine."

The salesperson then brought out several similar products and displayed them on the counter. Nowadays, electronic watches are all pretty much the same: large dials, many buttons, and full functionality. In addition to the date and time, they also display altitude information. They're practically missing an almanac to tell you whether today is auspicious for weddings or funerals.

"It's still too complicated," Liu Zhenhua said. "I need one—"

“Simple and plain,” I said for him.

The sales clerk silently pulled a black digital watch from the corner of the bottom counter. The small dial only displayed the simplest time. "This is good, I'll take two," Liu Zhenhua said. He then went to the Lego brick section and bought some integrated circuit boards, sound sensors, and other items.

After we finished shopping, we were both looking around furtively on our way from the mall to the parking garage, afraid of running into Wang Aili again.

Once we got home, I immediately asked, "What are your plans?"

"I'll tell you later, I'll get to work first." He called Yuanyuan over, laid out the pile of things he had bought on the table, and began to tell Yuanyuan what to do. The two of them were talking in a language I couldn't understand.

After Liu Zhenhua finished assigning the tasks, Yuanyuan found the adze, chisel, axe, and saw in the corner.

"Ding ding ding, bang bang bang—"

The grand plan for AI-powered high-tech transformation of the future is unfolding, yet it remains as simple and unpretentious as ever; I'm no longer surprised by it.

Finally, one of the watches was modified first. Liu Zhenhua entered a long string of numbers into my phone, and after pressing the call button, the watch vibrated. Liu Zhenhua went to his room and shouted, "Dad, talk to me."

I then realized that my phone was already showing a call status. I whispered, "Hello?"

"Hey."

The sound is very clear.

"I'm hanging up, please call again and try the voicemail function."

I dialed the number again, and after five or six rings, the mechanical voice that Yuanyuan had recorded came on: "Master, Liu Zhenhua is not available to answer the phone right now. Please leave a message."

I said, "Guess what we're having for dinner. Repeat, guess what we're having for dinner?"

A few seconds later, Liu Zhenhua replied: "Maybe they'll eat steamed buns. I repeat, maybe they'll eat steamed buns."

I called out loudly, "Yuanyuan, are we having steamed buns for dinner?"

"Yes Master."

Liu Zhenhua ran out of his room triumphantly and said, "It's a success! From now on, this watch of mine will be a miniature mobile phone. You can contact me by phone or voice message."

I exclaimed in despair, "Why don't you just buy a smartwatch?!"

“Wang Aili won’t let me wear the phone watch either.”

“Uh, okay,” I said, “what about the other watch?”

That piece is for you.

"Mine doesn't need to be changed like that, I have a cell phone." The advantage of being a fruit vendor is that no one can restrict your cell phone use, and you don't have to attend those confidential meetings where you have to hand in your phone. From now on, the father and son will communicate entirely through their smartwatches when they can't see each other. The only advantage is that they can save a few dollars on phone bills, making China Unicom, China Mobile, and WeChat feel like they're facing a major threat.

“I have another use for that one—Yuanyuan, continue.”

then--

Ding ding ding, bang bang bang. The new renovation has begun.

(End of this chapter)