Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

After the previous collective deliberate neglect, this proactive response made Xu Xiaoyan secretly breathe a sigh of relief, and her tense nerves relaxed a little.

Whether this young man was the least experienced and assigned to do odd jobs, or simply acted out of character, he was at least willing to speak up and make contact.

A smile quickly spread across Xu Xiaoyan's face. She took a few steps toward the young man and stopped two or three meters away from him.

Then, she raised her hand and pointed to the direction where she had parked her car outside the door:

"Hello, sir, thank you for your help. It's that blue enclosed pickup truck outside." She paused briefly, trying to describe her core need as clearly and concisely as possible:

"I want to modify the passenger side area of ​​the car..."

Well, to be specific, I want to remove the passenger seat.

Then, there, it is transformed into a sturdy, stable, load-bearing, and smooth metal table or work platform.

As she spoke, she gestured with her hands to indicate the name, trying to make the description more intuitive:

"The table should ideally be about the same height as the bottom edge of the window for easy operation. And then, the interior of the carriage..." She turned her head to indicate the direction of the carriage.

"We need to install one or two bright LED lights for illumination, connected to the car battery, with their own switches. Also..."

She hesitated for a moment, but still made that request, which might be a little unusual:

"I want to weld the two double doors in the rear compartment shut from the inside, leaving only the small door between the driver's cab and the cargo compartment as the only access."

"Look, can we make this change here? Approximately how many points would it require?"

After listening, the young man's initial eagerness waned slightly, replaced by genuine concern and thoughtfulness.

He first habitually scratched the back of his head, which was covered in grease, without even noticing that his hair had become even more tangled.

Then he walked to the door, lifted the curtain, leaned out halfway, and carefully examined Xu Xiaoyan's dark blue enclosed pickup truck.

My gaze lingered for a moment on the car body structure, the door position, and the window height.

Then, he shrank back and walked back to Xu Xiaoyan, his brows slightly furrowed, clearly trying to digest and evaluate this "non-standard" requirement.

"Sister," he said, his voice still clear but with a hint of caution, "your request... is a bit much, and it's not quite the same as the food trucks we usually modify."

He tried to explain using his limited experience:

"Those open-top food trucks are easy to set up. The floor of the truck bed is basically flat, and the space is regular. You can just weld an iron frame into the truck bed and fix the stove, pots and such on it. Ventilation is also easy to solve."

"Your vehicle is a closed van; the body structure is different." He pointed outside the door and gestured towards the interior of the luxury car:

"First of all, the passenger seat is usually welded to the chassis frame, so it has to be cut to remove it."

We also need to deal with the remaining interfaces and any exposed wiring harnesses; it's not as simple as just tightening a few screws.

After dismantling it, a load-bearing platform needs to be built in that location; you can't just weld a piece of iron plate on top, as that would be unstable.

If the car shakes while driving, or if heavy items are placed on it, it may deform or even tear.

It needs to be reinforced with support underneath. It might be necessary to weld a frame using angle iron or square tubing, and then lay iron plates or thick composite boards on top to make it sturdy.

He continued, "Then you also have to consider the operating height and comfort, how high should the countertop be?"

Should we leave some space for our feet underneath?

There's also the issue of smoke extraction. If you're going to cook on that table with an electric stove, where will the smoke go?

You can't stay cooped up in the car all the time, so you need to consider adding a small exhaust fan or leaving a ventilation opening.

There are also fireproofing and heat insulation measures; the area under and around the countertop that comes into contact with the car interior and wiring must be insulated.

"If the oven gets too hot, it could burn the food or cause a fire, which would be a real problem."

Finally, he mentioned welding the back door shut: "Welding the back door shut isn't difficult, but have you thought it through?"

That means if you need to take things out of the carriage, you'll have to climb in and out of the driver's cab, which is very inconvenient, especially if there are a lot of things in the carriage.

Moreover, it's welded shut, so if you want to change it back later, it will be very troublesome.

He looked at Xu Xiaoyan and said, "Just taking the seat apart and welding a metal plate on it won't work. It's not stable or safe."

If we really want to do it according to your requirements, we need to design it carefully, and the materials and labor will be considerable.

The young man, who called himself Xiao Zhou, counted on his fingers, his brows furrowing more and more as he spoke.

"This job... I might not be able to handle it by myself. I'll have to ask Master Wang or Boss Li to take a look at some of the soldering and circuitry."

Moreover, angle iron, steel plates, wires, switches, exhaust fans, etc., all have to come from the store's warehouse, and there are accounts for them.

When he said "having an account," he meant that formal procedures were required, and the settlement would be made using points.

Xu Xiaoyan listened patiently without interrupting.

The difficulties Xiao Zhou mentioned were all within her expectations, and even more detailed than she had imagined. This shows that Xiao Zhou was at least seriously considering them, and not just giving a perfunctory answer.

After he finished speaking, Xu Xiaoyan nodded, her face still showing understanding and earnestness.

"Master Zhou, I understand everything you're saying. It's definitely a professional job and not easy. I'm just an outsider and don't understand anything about it."

That's why we came to 'Honghu' – because we value professionalism and peace of mind."

She leaned a little closer and lowered her voice, making sure Xiao Zhou could hear her clearly:

"How about this? Please do me the trouble of giving me a rough estimate and drawing a simple sketch."

I need to see what materials are needed and how many hours of work it will take, so I can have a better idea of ​​what's required.

As for the specific implementation details, which master craftsman should be consulted, and what materials should be used, I will follow your and the master craftsman's arrangements.

As she spoke, she seemed to naturally shift her body to the side and adjust the position of the hiking backpack she was carrying.

He reached into the side pocket and pulled out two packets of beef jerky and three individually packaged cigarettes.

Her movements were slow and somewhat casual, taking advantage of the moment when Xiao Zhou's gaze was still fixed on the direction of the vehicles outside the door.

He gently tucked the two small items into the chest pocket of Xiao Zhou's work clothes, where he usually kept pens or small parts.

"Just a little something to perk you up," she said, her movements fluid and natural, her voice calm.

Xiao Zhou's body stiffened visibly, and he subconsciously looked down at the small bulge in his chest pocket, where beef jerky and a cigarette pouch were clearly visible.

A fleeting look of panic crossed his face as he quickly glanced around.

Fortunately, the other workers were either facing away or busy, so it seemed that no one noticed this corner.

His cheeks flushed slightly, and his fingers twitched as if he wanted to take it out, but after hesitating for a moment, he didn't move in the end. Instead, he quickly pressed down the flap of his pocket.

When he looked at Xu Xiaoyan again, his eyes held a mix of emotions: joy, trepidation, and a subtle sense of satisfaction at being "valued."

He cleared his throat, and lowered his voice slightly:

"Sister, you...you're too kind. Let me take a look and give you a rough estimate, but whether it can be done in the end, and how it will turn out, really depends on what Master Wang and the others say."

"I understand, could you please take a look first?" Xu Xiaoyan nodded repeatedly, adopting a very humble attitude.

Xiao Zhou turned around and rummaged through a messy workbench next to him, finding a notebook and a short pencil. "What's your license plate number? I'll write it down first, then I'll go measure the dimensions of your car."

Xu Xiaoyan gave the license plate number and followed Xiao Zhou back to her car.

She could feel several gazes sweeping over her from behind, seemingly casually; they were from the other indifferent chefs in the shop.

She didn't turn around, but simply followed Xiao Zhou step by step.

For the next half hour, Xiao Zhou took a measuring tape and measured various dimensions in the cab of Xu Xiaoyan's truck.

He took measurements while writing and drawing in his notebook, occasionally pausing to think for a moment.

Xu Xiaoyan stood quietly to the side, helping to hand him a tool when needed, or answering questions about his usage habits when he asked.

During this time, an older man who looked to be in his forties with a scar on his cheek strolled over carrying a wrench.

He glanced at Xiao Zhou, who was busy in the driver's seat, and Xu Xiaoyan, who was waiting beside him, and snorted:

"Xiao Zhou, taking on jobs alone again? Be careful, don't make any mistakes and then the client comes knocking on your door, and I'll have to clean up your mess."

His tone was unfriendly, but he didn't say much and just wandered off again.

Xiao Zhou's face paled, and he didn't dare to retort, but he quickened his movements.

After completing the measurements, Xiao Zhou jumped out of the car, dusted off his hands, and frowned again as he looked at the scribbles and data in his notebook.

"Sister, I've roughly measured the size. Here, come into the shop with me, and I'll ask Master Wang if he has time to take a look."

Ask Old Zhang in the warehouse again if they still have those materials and what their approximate price is.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Master Zhou," Xu Xiaoyan replied hastily.

The two returned to the store.

Xiao Zhou asked Xu Xiaoyan to sit on a long bench near the counter for a while.

He took his notebook and walked somewhat nervously toward a small office partitioned off with sheet metal further inside the workshop.

Through the half-open door, you could see that the room was filled with smoke.

An older worker with gray hair, wearing the same work clothes but of slightly better quality, was looking at some document with his legs crossed.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't just sit and wait.

Her gaze swept across the shop, and the scarred craftsman who had been swaying earlier was leaning against the tool cabinet, looking at her with a half-smile.

On the other side, a thin, middle-aged man wearing reading glasses was squatting in front of an open parts box, taking inventory of something.

She composed herself and took out a bag of betel nuts and a packaged cigarette from her backpack.

Then he stood up, a perfectly timed smile on his face, and walked towards the scarred master.

"Excuse me, Master," she said softly, but loud enough for the other person to hear.

"I just talked to Master Zhou about modifying cars. I heard you have the most experience. Here's a little something, please don't mind it, just take it to pass the time."

As she spoke, she quickly and discreetly stuffed the item in her hand into the other person's work clothes pocket.