In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Sunday. Tongxian County.

Lida Auto Repair Shop is surrounded by three brick walls. The ground is covered with gravel and yellow soil, and every step you take leaves a dusty mess.

Three Dongfeng trucks were parked in the middle of the yard.

The hood of vehicle number one was open, the cylinder head had been removed, and the parts were scattered on the ground, resting on a dirty canvas.

Cars number two and three haven't moved yet; bricks are placed under their four wheels, and the car keys have been removed by someone.

Wei Shuyun arrived early.

Clutching her bag, she stood next to car number one, somewhat at a loss.

Five people were standing opposite Wei Shuyun.

The leader was a man in his forties with a fleshy face and an old scar on his chin; he didn't look like someone to mess with.

This man was Liu Decai, the owner of Lida Auto Repair Shop.

All the truck drivers in Tongxian County know Liu Decai.

His family charges high prices for car repairs and speaks rudely.

But this is the only repair shop nearby that can fix large trucks, so there's nothing anyone else can do.

Four apprentices stood behind Liu Decai.

The oldest was in his early twenties, and the youngest was only seventeen or eighteen. They stood there like gatekeepers, each carrying a wrench and a socket wrench.

"Miss Wei." Liu Decai's voice was unhurried as he tapped his fingers on a greasy tabletop next to him.

On the table lay a handwritten contract, three pages long, with the amount clearly written down—three thousand yuan.

"As you can see, we've already dismantled car number one. The cylinder head has been removed, and the crankshaft bearings have been taken out. We've done half the work. If you don't sign the contract, we can't continue the work."

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

"Sign it, and I'll fix it in three days. Don't sign it..."

He gestured towards the courtyard gate with his lip.

"You have to take it yourself. You can't get it out of that dirt road by the gate without a tow truck. The towing fee is separate, five hundred."

Wei Shuyun gripped the strap of the canvas bag tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Boss Liu, before my dad was hospitalized, they said to do a check-up first, not to remove the tubes."

"Then call your dad over! Anyway, he signed the inspection form, it's in black and white." Liu Decai pulled a form from the table and waved it in front of Wei Shuyun.

"Inspection includes disassembly and inspection; once it's disassembled, it has to be repaired, and once it's repaired, you have to pay for it. That's the rule."

"Even if I'm the King of Heaven, I'm still in the right!"

Wei Shuyun bit her lip and remained silent.

She wasn't unaware; her father had signed a maintenance order, not a major repair contract.

Maintenance and overhaul are two different things.

But Liu Decai dismantled the car, scattering parts all over the ground. How could she, a young woman, possibly argue with him?

"Boss Liu, but... three thousand yuan is too much." Wei Shuyun's voice was tinged with hesitation.

"One thousand for one car, three thousand for three cars is too expensive. My dad said he'll only pay a maximum of one thousand."

Liu Decai's face darkened.

"A thousand dollars!?" He stood up, placed his hands on the table, and leaned forward.

"Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? Cylinder head gasket, bearings, water pump, thermostat—all of these cost money! What about labor costs? My four apprentices have worked for two days, and a thousand yuan isn't even enough to cover their wages!"

He raised his voice, and several apprentices in the courtyard nodded and took two steps forward.

The strongest one slammed the socket wrench into his palm with a loud snap.

Wei Shuyun took half a step back.

"Besides," Liu Decai said, pointing at the disassembled engine with his finger, his speech becoming even faster.

"If you don't sign a contract, I won't be responsible for the safekeeping of these parts. The yard's oily and dusty; if the cats and dogs steal them tomorrow, don't blame me, Old Liu!"

Wei Shuyun's eyes reddened.

She didn't cry, she just gritted her teeth. Her father had been hospitalized for the past few days, and her mother was staying with him at the hospital. All the work at the factory was on her shoulders. She came today hoping to see him, but she didn't expect to be surrounded as soon as she entered the courtyard.

"Boss Liu, give me two more days—"

"Not even two days!" Liu Decai slammed his fist on the table. "Sign today, finalize it today. If you don't sign, you can walk all over the road in front of here, and you can tow your own car!"

A screeching sound of brakes came from outside the courtyard gate.

It's the sound of a motorcycle.

The Happiness 250, an air-cooled four-stroke engine, came to a stop at the gate of the yard with the distinctive chugging sound of its engine.

"Gah—"

The rear wheel left an arc on the gravel ground, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.

There were two people sitting on the motorcycle.

The young man riding the bike in front was wearing a white vest and a gray short-sleeved shirt.

The middle-aged man in the back seat was wearing blue overalls and carrying a large canvas tool bag in his right hand.

These two men were Zhang Yong and Zhang Defa.

Zhang Defa got out of the back seat and slung the tool bag over his shoulder.

He was a retired veteran with a straightforward temper. He smiled when he saw the other side; they were all from the same car dealership circle, and he had heard about Liu Decai's character.

"Wow! This is a car repair shop! You'd think it was run by gangsters!"

When Wei Shuyun saw Zhang Yong park his car and approach, tears welled up in her eyes.

She walked over quickly and greeted them.

Hello, Uncle Zhang.

"Zhang Yong, you've finally arrived."

"Yes, you told me yesterday that the car was here. So I came." Zhang Yong glanced at the crowd in the yard and figured out the situation.

"Has the contract been signed?"

Wei Shuyun shook her head.

"it is good."

Zhang Yong walked towards car number one.

Zhang Yong walked up to the disassembled engine and squatted down.

The system panel flickered at the edge of the field of view.

[Auto Repair Lv.2: Progress 67% (AFK)]

I left it running AFK for several days. The experience gained adds up to over three thousand hours.

Zhang Yong's current auto repair skills are equivalent to those of a seasoned professional. This is comparable to a skilled technician who has worked in a repair shop for five or six years.

Zhang Yong stared at the scattered parts on the canvas.

Zhang Yong frowned.

"Why is this cylinder head bolt broken?"

Zhang Yong squatted down and picked up a cylinder head bolt.

The bolt's cross-section is very clean. This bolt clearly belongs to an accessory from another location.

He flipped the bolt over and glanced at the root of the thread. The thread pitch was different from the standard for the bolts that came with the Dongfeng 140 cylinder head; it was half a thread thinner.

"This isn't the original bolt." Zhang Yong stood up and held the broken bolt up in front of Liu Decai.

"The Dongfeng-140 uses standard coarse-threaded M14×1.5 bolts, while this one is M14×1.25 fine-threaded. If you try to screw a fine-threaded bolt into a coarse-threaded bolt hole, it will slip halfway through, and if you tighten it too much, it will break."

He threw the bolt on the table with a loud thud.

"Once it breaks, you can say the bolt broke inside the cylinder block, and we need to enlarge the hole and tap it, which will cost extra. Right?"

Liu Decai's expression changed.

He stood up, and his voice immediately rose.

"Where did this brat come from? What do you know!" He pointed his finger at Zhang Yong's nose.

"This is Lida's territory! Who do you think you are, causing trouble here!"

Zhang Yong didn't move.

He turned and walked to the canvas, squatted down and picked up another part.

It is a crankshaft bearing.

He flipped the tile over and looked at it in the sunlight for two seconds.

There is a very shallow polishing mark on the back of the tile, the alloy layer is uneven in thickness, and there is a slight oxidation mark around the edge.

This is not a new item.

The new alloy layer is a uniform silver-white color, without any signs of oxidation. This bearing has traveled at least 20,000 kilometers.

"These tiles are old." Zhang Yong put the bearing on the table.

"Which scrap car did you take this from? You're using old parts and charging new prices?"

......