Chapter 47: No Choice but to Yield

Liu Xing paid no heed to the expressions of Li Dawei, Old Yu, and Director Zhang. Instead, he crouched before the control switch, using a voltage tester to examine the wiring with meticulous care.

Once he had figured out the situation, he stood up and spoke earnestly. “The wiring for this bottling equipment was done incorrectly, and the motor’s capacitor is also shot—it needs replacing. Also, the ground stakes anchoring the machine are loose and must be secured. I can’t do this all by myself; we’ll need several more people to get it done.”

“How many do you need? I’ll go call them right away!” Li Dawei, clearly impressed by Liu Xing’s expertise, immediately offered his assistance.

“Around ten or so. They should have some basic knowledge of electrical work. By the way, who wired up this bottling equipment? It’s an absolute mess.” Liu Xing turned to Li Dawei as he spoke.

“Well…” Li Dawei was too embarrassed to answer.

Director Zhang also looked awkward. After scratching his head, he said, “It was Old Yu. He’s handled almost all the repairs on the bottling equipment here at Hengshui Distillery, usually training apprentices while he worked.”

“Really?” Liu Xing looked at Old Yu in surprise.

Old Yu was mortified but could only admit, “I’m getting on in years. Mixing up a wire here and there is bound to happen. You really do know your stuff, kid. I can’t deny it.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself; everyone makes mistakes,” Liu Xing replied with a gentle smile. “Actually, I’ve always had a question. I wonder if you could answer it for me?”

“Go ahead.” Old Yu, forcing a smile, took off his gloves.

Since this young man was clearly more capable than him, perhaps it was time to take a break.

Liu Xing glanced around at the environment. “If I’m not mistaken, these bottling machines at Hengshui Distillery are all H-156 models purchased from Zhaoqing Machinery. Didn’t they send anyone to supervise the installation back then?”

“Well…” Old Yu hesitated before replying, “No. Hengshui Distillery wanted to save on installation fees, so they had us install everything ourselves. I was one of the workers.”

“No wonder,” Liu Xing said gravely. “I was wondering why all the filters on the bottling lines were installed backwards. So it was a bunch of amateurs who put it together. Do you realize? If the filters are just for show, they’ll easily let alcohol leak, and if the ground stakes aren’t secure, the machine’s vibration during operation will cause even more evaporation.”

“Which part is the filter?” Old Yu asked, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Li Dawei and Director Zhang exchanged glances. Only now did they realize that the leaking issue with the bottling equipment had been there from the very beginning, not simply a result of aging over time.

“It’s this little thing.” Liu Xing shut off the bottling machine, pulled a pipe aside, and revealed an oval-shaped device underneath.

That was the filter—unassuming in appearance, yet crucial.

“I seem to recall this part always being on the pipe, though?” Old Yu scratched his head, confused.

“Yes, it’s on the pipe, but it’s facing the wrong way, so it doesn’t work at all.” Liu Xing shook his head. To make it clearer for Old Yu, he picked up a wrench, took the pipe apart, and reinstalled the filter in the proper orientation.

“See this red arrow on the filter? If it’s pointing upward, that means it’s installed correctly,” Liu Xing explained, pointing at the symbol.

“Well, I have nothing more to say,” Old Yu mumbled, thoroughly deflated.

Li Dawei and Director Zhang both looked at Liu Xing with newfound respect.

Liu Xing let out a sigh. “It’s a pity this was only discovered now. Over time, the seals in the pipes have already degraded. Even if you replace them, it won’t help—the alcohol is just too volatile. The only real solution is to use a membrane sealing method.”

“But there’s a drawback—the membrane’s effective seal only lasts three months. After that, it must be replaced, or you’ll soon have leaking again. If you want a permanent fix, you’d have to replace all the bottling equipment.” Liu Xing paused, then added, “That’s the reality.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Give me a list of materials needed for the membrane method, and I’ll have someone buy them right away. I’ll also gather all the repairmen and have them follow your instructions,” Director Zhang said hurriedly.

His urgency was easy to understand. Replacing all the equipment was out of the question—simply unaffordable. It would be an astronomical expense.

Li Dawei was also quite pleased at this point. Liu Xing truly was his lucky star! The way he explained things made it sound like this membrane sealing method just might solve the persistent alcohol evaporation problem that had plagued him for so long.

Liu Xing shook his head at Li Dawei and Director Zhang’s hopeful faces. “The membrane sealing method isn’t as simple as it sounds. Except for me, no one else here could really do it. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll write up a list of materials for you, and once you’ve got everything, we can talk about repairing the bottling equipment.”

“But let’s be clear: I want the remaining two thousand yuan before I start,” Liu Xing reminded them.

“Write up the list first,” Director Zhang replied, his eyes darting.

“Very well.” Liu Xing picked up paper and pen from the workbench and began to write.

Director Zhang pulled Li Dawei and Old Yu aside to a corner near the gate. “Lao Li, Old Yu, did you both catch everything that kid Liu Xing just said?”

“Yes,” Li Dawei nodded slowly. Liu Xing’s explanation was so clear that even someone with no repair experience like him could follow it.

Old Yu frowned in hesitation. “I understood most of it, but this membrane sealing method at the end—I’m still not sure what that is. Can I ask him about it later?”

“Of course you can, but…” Director Zhang glanced over at Liu Xing and a sly smile flickered in his eyes. “I don’t think we need to waste any more money. Liu Xing already told us what’s causing the leaks. We can get someone to reinstall the filters properly, and once we’ve gotten the details of the membrane method out of him, we won’t need him anymore.”

Old Yu looked at Li Dawei, a little uneasy. He disliked Director Zhang’s approach, but truth be told, he was tempted. After all, he was supposed to be the top repairman at Hengshui Distillery. If a young upstart stole his thunder, he’d never live it down. He didn’t want to see Liu Xing lording it over him, nor did he want to have to pretend to be so grateful for his lessons.

“Don’t look at me—just say whether Director Zhang’s plan could work. Once you know how the membrane method works, can you really solve the evaporation problem?” Li Dawei clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Liu Xing. After a moment’s hesitation, he voiced his thoughts.

It wasn’t that he wanted to collude with Director Zhang, but rather that he wanted to teach Liu Xing a hard lesson about the harshness of the world. The kid had been too bold with him—risking his own pride just for money. No one had dared to do that before.

So, hearing Director Zhang’s plan, he found himself in agreement.

There was another reason too. People as talented as Liu Xing, he felt, needed to be suppressed and made to follow orders. If they weren’t useful to him, it was best to ruin them—especially since several other distilleries in HY City faced the same problems as Hengshui.

All of this, of course, depended on whether Old Yu could actually pull it off.

“I can.”

To everyone’s surprise, Old Yu nodded firmly. He’d been maintaining the bottling equipment at Hengshui Distillery for over twenty years; he knew it better than his own wife. The only reason he hadn’t been able to fix it before was that he hadn’t found the underlying problem. Now that Liu Xing had pointed it out, if he still couldn’t fix it, he might as well go bash his head in with a block of tofu.

“Then, Director Zhang, you carry out the plan. Keep Liu Xing happy for now, get the membrane sealing method out of him, then send him home. As for the money… just tell him the distillery’s short on funds and he’ll have to wait.” Li Dawei patted Director Zhang on the shoulder.

That “wait” might as well mean waiting forever.

“Shouldn’t you do this yourself?” Director Zhang frowned.

“Sigh, I’m afraid my daughter will find out and scold me. This isn’t exactly an honorable thing to do. Besides, you know how fond my daughter is of Liu Xing’s sister, Gua Zi. Honestly, I’m only making you do this so we have a fallback plan.”

If Old Yu couldn’t fix the equipment, they could always shamelessly go back to Liu Xing. After all, under Director Zhang’s plan, they wouldn’t have completely burned their bridges.

“You!” Director Zhang jabbed a finger at Li Dawei, too frustrated to speak.

Li Dawei just smiled. “Don’t hate me for it. At Hengshui Distillery, we’ve always played good cop, bad cop. That’s how we’ve lasted this long.”

“That’s true,” Director Zhang had to admit.

Seeing that Liu Xing was nearly finished with the materials list, Director Zhang quickly cleared his throat and strode over with a smile. Li Dawei and Old Yu followed, chatting and laughing.

In truth, Liu Xing had already noticed something off about the three of them, but he said nothing. When he began writing the materials list, he hadn’t intended to hold anything back—but in the end, he left out the five most crucial items.

Director Zhang peered at the list, and Liu Xing smiled as he handed it over. “Buy everything on the list. I doubt you’ll be able to get it all today, so I’ll head home for now. But before I go, you need to give me the remaining two thousand yuan.”

“No problem, but the finance office is already closed for the day,” Director Zhang said, glancing at his watch. “How about I personally bring you the money tomorrow?”

“What do you mean by that?” Liu Xing’s temper flared.

Li Dawei stepped in, patting Liu Xing’s shoulder. “Our finance office really does close at three on Mondays. How about this: you and Director Zhang go wait in the VIP lounge in the cafeteria, and I’ll drive over and get the money for you myself. Will that do?”

In the 1980s, two thousand yuan was no small sum, so Liu Xing took Li Dawei at his word and didn’t suspect a thing. “Alright, I’ll wait in the VIP lounge.”

“Good, good!” Li Dawei shot Director Zhang a look, then turned and left.

Old Yu didn’t linger, either—he smiled and went off to busy himself.

“Come, let’s have a drink in the VIP lounge,” Director Zhang said, pulling Liu Xing along toward the cafeteria.

“I don’t drink,” Liu Xing replied at once.

“It’s just wine—won’t get you drunk. If you don’t like that, there’s rice wine, too,” Director Zhang cajoled.

“Well, alright.” Noticing the sly glint at the corner of Director Zhang’s eye, Liu Xing knew something was amiss. He kept his guard up as they walked to the lounge, observing everything around him.

He noticed several burly new security guards near the cafeteria, which made his heart skip a beat.

But when he saw that Gua Zi was safe in the lounge, being well looked after by Li Weiwei, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As Director Zhang went to fetch the drinks, Liu Xing quietly asked Li Weiwei, “Is it true that the finance office at your distillery closes at three every day?”

“Of course not. There’s always someone on duty, 24 hours a day. My mother works there, so I know for sure,” Li Weiwei replied honestly, not sensing his underlying concern.

Hearing this, Liu Xing’s expression shifted. He instantly realized he’d been played by Li Dawei and Director Zhang.

He let out a cold laugh, already formulating his response. If they were going to be ruthless, he would repay them in kind.

Before his rebirth, he’d have been outfoxed by the likes of Li Dawei and Director Zhang. But now, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—no one could yet say who would have the last laugh.

…