Star Hunter.

Chapter 220 More people, more things go.

Chapter 220: More People, More Things Go Well

Two days later, although Xilin had not fully recovered, he was able to move around freely.

Old Man Chang has been all smiles these past two days. Gray Cat may seem unreliable, but he has indeed played a significant role in Old Man Chang's repair work. He and the three little ones work very quickly. In the past, Old Man Chang would only earn a maximum of 100 Lansa coins a day, and that was only when there was work to be done. If there was no business, then there was no income.

However, Xilin heard that the situation had been good these past two days, with one or two orders being received every day. Old Man Chang's average income had exceeded 120 Lansa coins. Overjoyed, Old Man Chang specially bought a box of fish compressed capsules and prepared different meals for Gray Cat every day.

After Xilin was able to move around freely, he helped Old Man Chang with his work.

Old Chang runs a repair shop. Not only Old Chang's shop, but the whole street is lined with repair shops. The repair street is quite famous among the lower-class people. One reason is that the repair fees here are not expensive and are within the people's affordability. Another reason is that many people know each other and are all on the same level, so they just look out for each other.

Old Chang's shop isn't very big on the repair street; there are plenty of shops bigger than his. But Old Chang is quite content. After all, he has limited manpower and knows how many orders he can take. If he can't handle too many, people will get impatient.

Most of the customers at Old Chang's are regulars, and today's order was one of them. The driver had a minor collision with another flying car while delivering goods. He didn't think much of it at the time, but when he got back, he found that the flying car was consuming a lot of energy, and its speed was slow, making strange noises after only a few steps. Fortunately, he didn't have to deliver goods today, so he brought the flying car to Old Chang's for repairs.

After grumbling for a while, the man looked at Old Man Chang and said, "Old Chang, look at this car. Can it be fixed today? I need to deliver goods tomorrow."

Old Man Chang thought for a moment and then said, "I'll put this order aside for now. Since you need it urgently, I'll fix your car today. It should be repaired by tomorrow."

"Hey Lao Chang, I knew your place was the best. I have to go back and get back to work. Contact me when it's fixed."

There's usually a queue at repair shops, and regular customers get preferential treatment. For this car owner, Old Chang's shop was the best option because it was both a regular customer and offered reasonable prices. Understanding what Old Chang was saying, the car owner was quite satisfied and left after a brief conversation.

Xilin overheard the man saying goodbye just as he got off. He glanced at the flying vehicle parked at the maintenance dock; Xilin had rarely seen this type of vehicle back in the Star Alliance.

The flying vehicle looked quite old, probably over ten years old. It wasn't a large vehicle, but the interior was spacious, with a small cargo compartment attached to the back, specifically for transporting small amounts of goods. These kinds of vehicles are frequently seen on the repair street.

Old Chang put down a machine he was repairing, stood up, took the water his grandson handed him, took a sip, and then saw Xilin coming down. He smiled and said, "Xilin, how are you feeling?"

"It's great." To show that he could move freely again, Xilin stretched his arms and did some simple exercises. This series of movements proved that he had indeed recovered quite well.

After glancing at the gray cat sorting through the recycled parts with the little toddler, Xilin walked over to the newly delivered flying car and examined it. "A problem with the energy system?"

Old Chang nodded and adjusted the control stick next to him, moving the maintenance platform holding the flying car further in. A partition was then raised in the middle.

  

Seeing Xilin looking at him with a puzzled expression, Old Man Chang explained, "Children shouldn't touch this."

Xilin nodded knowingly.

When it comes to important metals or energy systems, Old Man Chang absolutely forbids his grandchildren from touching them. These things might not matter much to adults, but they have a significant impact on children's development. Radiation sickness and heavy metal poisoning are common occurrences. People in this area don't have much time for medical checkups; they only realize the problem when symptoms fully appear, but by then the condition is already quite serious. Eighty percent of the children who die young on this street die this way. Treatment is very expensive, and not every family is as attentive to their children as Old Man Chang.

If a pregnant woman is frequently exposed to this kind of thing, the child she gives birth to will likely be severely deformed or have congenital defects, and such a child will not live long. However, for survival, the entire family usually works together. Walking down this street, you will find that even some pregnant women with protruding bellies will be tied up while doing things, otherwise they will be looked down upon. They are not the wealthy ladies in upscale urban areas.

It's extremely rare to find a family on this repair street that raises triplets like this; it's a blessing for the three little ones.

The three little ones were obviously familiar with this kind of thing. After seeing the raised partition, they consciously stayed away from it, where there were special tools and parts racks, so they didn't need to pass parts to each other often.

"I can help you; I've dealt with this before."

"It's better not to. You're still recovering, and you've finally gotten a little better. It's not good for you to be exposed to these things," Old Man Chang said, waving his hand.

"It's nothing, I need to stretch my muscles after lying down for so many days."

Seeing that Xilin insisted, Old Man Chang pointed to a cabinet: "There are gloves and protective gear over there, you can take them with you."

Xilin walked over and opened the cabinet. Inside was a complete set of protective gear, including gloves, outer clothing, and shoes. Old Man Chang was already wearing a pair of protective gloves, meaning that apart from the gloves, which came in two pairs, everything else was a single piece. This was understandable, as protective gear for repair work wasn't cheap.

Xilin only brought a pair of gloves, without a coat or shoes, but gave those to Old Man Chang.

"You silly child..."

"It's okay, I'm used to it, I'm immune to it." Xilin said that it didn't matter if he didn't wear it, and walked up to the maintenance table to start looking at the flying car.

Old Man Chang quickly discovered the problem with the flying car; the energy system had indeed malfunctioned.

"Aging parts consume energy, but this is excessive. I took a look and it is indeed a problem with the energy system, but this is only a temporary fix. Several key parts also need to be replaced, but judging from their appearance, they are unwilling to replace them, so let's ignore those parts for now."

While looking at the problem with the flying car, Old Man Chang explained the situation to Xilin. Repairing it was one thing, but in this area, to attract repeat customers, repairs had to be tailored to each individual.

Having lived in this area for so many years, Old Man Chang has a pretty good grasp of what the locals are thinking. He can maximize customer satisfaction without anyone having to bring it up, which also saves the customers enough face.

Xilin is good at repairs, but his experience in some areas that vary from person to person is far inferior to that of Old Man Chang. When he was working with Mo Heng, it was a different style. Mo Heng was the perfectionist type, with very high requirements for every single part. So, compared to that, his approach is completely unsuitable here.

As Old Man Chang shared his experience, Xilin listened attentively, occasionally asking questions and helping Old Man Chang out.

Repairing the flying car's energy system wasn't difficult. It could have been completely fixed before dinner, but with Xilin's help, the repairs were completed more than two hours earlier, and the process was much easier, as someone helped share the workload. Old Man Chang was very happy. Having a helper really makes a difference.

After repairing the energy system, Xilin examined the flying car's main operating system and this operating system. No wonder it had lasted for ten years; it seemed the owner had indeed invested a considerable amount when buying it. It's worth noting that many lower-end flying cars only have one operating system, while those with this operating system are significantly more intelligent.

However, based on the information gathered by Xilin during his bed rest and recovery, both the main operating system and the auxiliary operating system of this flying car are outdated. The auxiliary system is even more advanced, dating back twenty years. No wonder this flying car isn't very agile now; it's practically a car with dementia, so it's unlikely to be nimble. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the driver had a collision with another vehicle. Insensitive operation inevitably leads to various minor and major collisions.

Xilin checked the primary and secondary operating systems installed on the vehicle. It was impossible to completely replace or upgrade them; that would be too expensive, and the owner certainly wouldn't be willing to spend that money. Besides, the compatibility wouldn't be good either, so it wasn't worth it.

Old Chang is quite skilled at repairing parts, but he's not so good at systematically improving and organizing procedures and internal operations. Besides, the people in this area don't have that kind of awareness. Their education level isn't very high, so who would bother to familiarize themselves with those dizzying program instructions?

The simple sorting of the primary and secondary systems didn't take Xilin long. Ten minutes later, the pile of junk instructions caused by program chaos and the system's outdated technology was cleaned up. He believed that no matter what, when the car took off again, its sensitivity would definitely be better than yesterday.

Old Man Chang didn't stop Xilin from fiddling with the internal operating systems. He saw that Xilin was quite confident, the kind of confidence a maintenance engineer has. Old Man Chang just watched quietly from the side. After Xilin finished, he started the flying car to test it out and check the repair results. And sure enough, it was much better.

"Good lad, you've got some skills!"

"I don't know much, I only have a slight understanding of this."

"No need to be modest, come on, let's get this machine sorted out before dinner!"

Seeing that Old Man Chang had finished the repairs, the barrier over there was lowered, and the triplets, along with the gray cat, happily came over to help hand over tools and parts.

Many hands make light work. Before dinner time, the order was completed. Old Man Chang contacted the customer to pick up the item. Xilin, along with the three little ones and the gray cat, went to make dinner. The three little ones got to work while Xilin watched. It was a very simple dinner made of compressed capsules.

Old Chang had a good income that day, two hundred Lansa coins. When the car owner got into the car and started flying, he could clearly feel that the car looked much younger today.

"Old Chang, your skills have improved! I'll definitely come back next time!"

Old Man Chang just chuckled happily.

After returning home, the car owner recommended Old Chang's shop to many of his acquaintances, saying that his old car looked much younger after being repaired. Many people didn't believe him, but it's common for people to solicit customers for acquaintances in this sparsely populated area, so everyone was used to such talk and just gave perfunctory answers.

Old Man Chang gave Xilin fifty of the two hundred Lansa coins he had earned that day. Xilin did not refuse, as Old Man Chang had agreed to this beforehand and he could not refuse.

During dinner, Chang Xiaoqi was very excited, "Grandpa, Grandpa, is Fifth Brother coming back tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll pick him up from Xiao Wu tomorrow." Old Man Chang sighed as he spoke of his unfortunate grandson, his smile fading considerably.

Chang Xiaowu was affected by a large-scale electromagnetic radiation incident while in her mother's womb, which nearly caused her to die at birth. She miraculously survived, but her body is weak and she frequently needs to be examined. She is a regular at the hospital.

Xilin had seen the image Chang Xiaoqi showed him. Chang Xiaowu in the image was indeed very thin and looked listless. Moreover, his eyes lacked the innocence and naivety of a child, showing only silence and gloom. He was the complete opposite of the triplets.

If any other family's child were in this situation, they would have given up long ago. It's rare that Old Man Chang has persisted, but some neighbors and people on the street are not optimistic. After all, if a child like this doesn't receive thorough treatment, they basically won't live past ten years old. Now Chang Xiaowu is seven years old, and the chances of him getting sick are increasing. He has to go to the hospital for treatment every now and then. He takes more pills than compressed capsules.

Xilin's understanding of Chang Xiaowu was mainly through the triplets. The triplets were very sensible and often took care of this taciturn fifth brother, which was probably more than what Old Man Chang had told them.

Now, Old Man Chang is basically trying to make ends meet while saving money for Chang Xiaowu's treatment, dragging Chang Xiaowu's life along. No matter what, being alive is hope.

After the triplets went to sleep, Old Chang was still sitting in the repair shop, lost in thought. He usually gets one job a day, and two today would be considered good. So even if Old Chang wanted to stay up all night to catch up, there was no work.

Inside Xilin's room, the gray cat listlessly flicked its tail. After yawning, it said to Xilin, "That old man seems to be crying."

There are surveillance cameras in the repair shop, not necessarily for customers. It's a basic installation in a repair shop, and it serves many purposes. Gray Cat uses this monitor to see Old Man Chang's expressions.

Xilin scratched the gray cat's chin. "Since they've been kind to us, we should help them if we can. Things will get better."

"Hmm, make more money. I miss my dried fish cakes. I wonder if Snowball and the others have stolen my stash." Actually, what Xilin was listening to was the last sentence.

The next day, Old Man Chang went to the hospital to pick up Chang Xiaowu, while Xilin and the three little ones stayed at the repair shop. In the past, whenever Old Man Chang went out, he would lock the shop door tightly and tell the triplets to be careful, as the area wasn't very safe. Although his family didn't have much money, no one could predict what might happen.

This was the first time the triplets were able to openly squat at the shop entrance waiting for Old Man Chang and Xiao Wu.

"Huh? Where's Old Man Chang?" A speeding car stopped in front of the shop. The driver was obviously an acquaintance. After looking at the situation inside the shop, he asked.

"My grandfather went out," Chang Xiaoliu said.

"Going to pick up Xiao Wu?" The person seemed quite familiar with the place. After getting off the flying car, he walked into the store and pinched the triplets' chubby little faces.

"Uncle Hass, you're bullying us again!" the triplets simultaneously pointed at the man and accused him, but their faces were full of smiles, clearly indicating that they were very familiar with each other.

Has chuckled, picked up the smallest one, Chang Xiaoba, tossed him up and caught him, making Chang Xiaoba wave his little arms and shout with delight.

Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi quickly stepped back a few paces.

Xilin is puzzled. Logically speaking, these three little guys should really enjoy this kind of tossing exercise, so why do they seem to be a bit resistant to it?

Has tossed Chang Xiaoba around twice before putting him down. Chang Xiaoba dashed behind Xilin and made faces at Has.

"Oh, so you've got a powerful backer now, huh?!" Has said, both amused and exasperated.

Hass then walked up to Sirin and asked, "Are you the new assistant?"

"No, no, Brother Xilin is Dad's friend's child!" the three little ones answered eagerly.

This was Old Man Chang's idea. To the outside world, Xilin was said to be the child of his son's friend, who was temporarily staying here to help out due to some family troubles.

"Hello, do you need your flying car repaired?" Without even opening the cover to check, Xilin could tell what was wrong just by hearing the sound of the flying car speeding by.

"There is a problem."

After receiving confirmation from Haas, Xilin helped Haas push the car in. Haas took out a box of parts from the trunk, which were replacement parts for the broken parts.

Haas buys parts and always replaces the parts directly when his own car has a problem, believing that only by replacing the parts can the problem be completely solved.

After a brief conversation, Xilin understood that Has did not trust his repair skills and insisted that Old Man Chang contact him again after he returned, at which time he would explain in detail to Old Man Chang.

Xilin wasn't upset about this. After all, he was a stranger, and a young one at that. No one would entrust their car to him for repairs without his knowledge. They came here specifically to see Old Man Chang, and no one would feel comfortable having someone else do the repairs.

After Xilin wrote a prescription for Has, Has chatted and laughed with the triplets for a while before leaving.

After Has left, the three little ones explained why they were scared: "Brother Xilin, let me tell you, Uncle Has once threw a child while drinking and missed catching him, causing the child to break his leg! We saw it with our own eyes."

Seeing the three little ones' serious expressions, Xilin chuckled. He guessed that Has had made a rare slip-up, perhaps because he was drunk and his vision blurred, and he didn't catch it. The three little ones happened to see it, and it left a deep impression on their young minds.

The gray cat lay dozing next to the parts rack, glanced at the flying car, and yawned dismissively. "That piece of junk, what's the point of treasuring it?" it thought. It curled up and went back to sleep.

When Old Man Chang carried Chang Xiaowu back, Xilin finally saw this frail and sickly child with his own eyes. He looked pitifully thin, pale, and weighed far less than the triplets who were two years younger. His eyes were still so gloomy, though they brightened a little when he looked at the triplets, but returned to their gloomy state when he saw Xilin, a stranger.