Reborn in 1982: I Became the Richest Man by Repairing Cars

Despite my nagging, the joy in my heart is genuine and impossible to hide.

In the evening, the aroma of food wafted out of the courtyard, bathed in the warm yellow light.

Jiang Hui didn't touch the roast duck on the table again, but the little girl Jiang Yu ate it with a smile on her face, her mouth glistening with oil.

Zhang Yuxiu and her family kept putting duck legs and wings into her bowl, but she was in so much pain.

This made Jiang Yu giggle from time to time, and the room was filled with the lively atmosphere of cooking.

For the next two days, Jiang Hui and Lin Yuanwu continued to work at their bicycle repair stall at the entrance of the alley.

At that time, the hutongs of Beijing were still filled with the clanging and jingling of bicycles.

Occasionally, a Jiefang brand truck would drive by, kicking up a cloud of dust that would cause roadside vendors to scramble to make way.

The two of them, tending the stall, didn't find it boring at all.

Lin Yuanwu was reading a book, while Jiang Hui was thinking about some future plans.

But by Wednesday noon, this peace was shattered.

Jiang Dadong suddenly rode a slightly worn Forever brand bicycle and rushed to the stall. A military green canvas bag was hanging on the handlebars, and fine beads of sweat were on his forehead.

"Second brother, do you know how to fix an Isuzu TXD truck?"

Jiang Dadong asked, panting, but immediately realized he had asked an unnecessary question.

He himself had only come into contact with this kind of imported truck for the first time in the last two days. How could Jiang Hui, a young man who runs a stall in the alley, possibly know how to repair it?

The experienced workers at the factory had been working on the car for two days, but they were all at a loss and were ready to give up.

Coca-Cola is even considering having engineers from Japan fly over to repair it.

As one of the few large joint ventures in Beijing at the time, the Coca-Cola bottling plant had just imported a batch of Isuzu trucks from abroad at the beginning of the year to be used as transport vehicles.

The car usually runs smoothly, but a few days ago one of them suddenly broke down.

The factory's driver spent a whole day trying to fix it himself but couldn't, so he asked for help and found a mechanic from the Beijing Automotive Repair Shop to come to his factory.

These days, the mechanics at BAIC repair shops are top-notch in the industry. If they can't handle a job, probably no one else in Beijing can.

"Isuzu TDK?"

Jiang Hui looked up and asked in return, then quickly searched for relevant information in the system, "Is the engine a DA120 or a DA640?"

The system instantly displayed the truck's detailed parameters, giving Jiang Hui a clear understanding of its capabilities.

But you can't just say you can fix it; you have to show off your skills first to convince your father.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, Jiang Dadong's eyes lit up and he tightened his grip on the handlebars.

People unfamiliar with this imported car wouldn't be able to find out the engine model at all.

"No, it's the TXD45, equipped with the latest 5.79-liter 6BD1 diesel engine, a 150-horsepower direct-injection engine."

Jiang Dadong explained rapidly, his tone tinged with undisguised helplessness, "We've never even seen this kind of diesel engine before. Who would dare to take it so easily?"

He paused, then looked Jiang Hui up and down curiously. "How do you know all this, kid?"

"I went to the Capital Library a while ago and found some brochures and manuals for imported cars in the reading room. I jotted down some notes."

Jiang Hui made up an excuse on the spot.

In the early 1980s, libraries were indeed an important channel for ordinary people to access knowledge from the outside world, and this reason was reasonable.

He changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat tentative, "Dad, is the Coca-Cola factory controlled by the Americans, or by us?"

Coca-Cola is a Fortune 500 company, a true "big spender".

The saying "no business for three years, but enough to live off for three years" perfectly describes this kind of business.

"COFCO owns 75% of the shares, and Coca-Cola owns 25%, but many technical and management matters in the factory are decided by Americans."

Jiang Dadong stroked his chin. "If you can really fix it, you can definitely earn a few dozen yuan."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hui immediately objected: "Dad, what are you saying? If they were to hire engineers from Japan, the airfare and hotel alone would cost a fortune."

"Add in the repair costs, and it will easily cost several thousand dollars, and could even be tens of thousands."

"You're only letting me take a few dozen yuan? That's such a rip-off."

Jiang Dadong was taken aback by what he was said and remained silent for a moment.

His son's words made perfect sense, but he still felt that it was a bit unreliable to ask eighteen-year-old Jiang Hui to repair imported trucks and to ask for such exorbitant fees.

But he also wanted to confirm whether Jiang Hui was truly a car repair genius.

"Let's see if it can be fixed first. If it can't be fixed, there's no point in saying anything more."

After saying that, he had Jiang Hui sit on the back of the bicycle, told Lin Yuanwu to watch the stall, and then rode the bicycle to the Coca-Cola bottling plant.

Along the way, Jiang Dadong told Jiang Hui everything he knew, repeatedly reminding him, "You have to be sure before you start, don't mess around, we can't afford to pay for it if you break it."

Upon arriving at the factory gate, looking at the imposing iron gate and the bilingual (Chinese and English) signs on the wall, Jiang Hui said resolutely, "Dad, I've said it before, there's no car in the entire city of Beijing that I can't repair, only parts that I can't find."

"This was true before, it is true now, and it will be true in the future."

This certainty completely put Jiang Dadong's last concern at ease.

Since we've trusted our son, we'll take the gamble with him. At worst, we'll just get ridiculed by his colleagues at the factory.

He led Jiang Hui to the gate to register, knowing the way well. He had been coming here every day for the past two days to keep an eye on the car repair business, and the security guards at the gate all knew him.

"Dad, the problem with this car is actually caused by misaligned fuel injection timing."

Jiang Hui followed Jiang Dadong to the side of the Isuzu TXD, reached out and touched the vehicle body, and the system immediately provided the fault information and repair plan.

Jiang Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I'm actually quite lucky.

This time, the problem also didn't require replacing any parts; all that was needed was to recalibrate the timing angle of the fuel injection pump.

Then, using the markings on the flywheel and the positioning pins of the fuel injection pump, adjust the position of the coupling.

If parts need to be replaced, even if Jiang Hui knows the cause of the malfunction, he probably won't be able to fix it in a short time.

Because there are so few of these cars in the country now, spare parts are even fewer.

It wasn't until the mid-1980s, with Isuzu's cooperation with domestic automakers and the improvement of domestic diesel truck technology, that the maintenance of these imported models gradually became more convenient.

"Director Zhao, he can fix this car."

Jiang Dadong gritted his teeth, went directly to the person in charge, and introduced Jiang Hui to him.

"However, he is not from our repair shop, so you will need to discuss the specific repair price and time yourself."

After Jiang Dadong finished speaking, he took a step back, letting Jiang Hui communicate with Zhao Shijie himself.

"Master Jiang, the mechanics at your BAIC repair shop just gave up this morning, saying your shop can't fix it."

"Why are you saying it can be repaired now?"

Zhao Shijie looked at Jiang Dadong with great confusion.

Then he looked at Jiang Hui, who looked somewhat similar to Jiang Dadong.