Chapter 9: Repairing Water Pumps

Initially, a few educated youth with some knowledge volunteered to repair the water pump

Happy times are always fleeting

The reassembly of the water pump was completed, and Fang Xiaoyue entrusted the authority to start the water pump to Zhang Daniu

For those who have just begun to engage in agricultural work, fetching water every day is undoubtedly the most terrifying task

Pork intestines and pig tails are placed together in a small pot for braising, and after being cooked, they emerge golden and translucent. The aroma of the braise is so enticing that it causes half of the dogs in the village to gather around the brigade headquarters, barking incessantly.

If quenched with cold water, this bearing steel will become relatively brittle, making it completely unsuitable for withstanding the high-speed rotation of a water pump

The iron bars were continuously struck, filed, and shaped by Fang Xiaoyue using tools, gradually transforming into two bearings that began to take shape.

For most villagers, it is impossible to consume the few kilograms of pork they receive all at once

Thus, he held his breath and did not continue speaking, but instead stood by, thinking about how he should respond when Fang Xiaoyue failed to repair the water pump. In any case, he could not let this little brat have it easy

Can repairing a hoe and sickle be the same as repairing a water pump

Add some slightly better scrap iron to the furnace, pull the bellows, and fiercely smelt it with a roaring fire

As a result, several educated youth collapsed from heat exhaustion.

It is not surprising that the treatment of ten work points a day, like that of Fang Xiaoyue, has long caused dissatisfaction among some villagers

Well, in fact, he does not expect this

At the thought of this, the villagers' gazes became fervent

They will be meticulous in their budgeting, cutting a portion into small cubes, stir-frying it with salt, and adding a little each time they eat; the flavor is simply unparalleled

As the water pump began to operate, the villagers also became excited.

Every day, upon returning to the thatched cottage, he lost the motivation to wash his face, feet, or take a bath, collapsing onto the bed to sleep. As a result, within just a few days, a strong odor began to emanate from his entire body

At least that group of educated youth was the happiest

A few villagers, who fancied themselves as having seen the world after visiting the city, began to whisper among themselves, clearly mocking Fang Xiaoyue.

After all, when they were at home, they also dismantled some radios and such, and the damage mostly occurred in these areas

In a spirit of humility and caution, Fang Xiaoyue did not speak too assertively.

Let Fang Xiaoyue go for repairs, isn't that just a joke

Under the effect of his expertise in manufacturing items, he is able to probe into the internal conditions of metal objects to a certain depth, approximately only three to four centimeters

However, the quality of this water pump does not seem to be very good; on the second day, after only 10 hours of operation, it broke down

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the good news arrived

Of course, even if he knows, it does not matter to him

The pig intestines are thoroughly cleaned, filled with salted pig's blood, cooked until done, sliced, and then garnished with chopped green onions, resulting in a delicious dish

In the absence of spare parts, he is able to demonstrate his technical prowess instead

When they finally went through the trouble of disassembling the two water pumps, they were all left dumbfounded.

All the scraps were piled onto the anvil, and after a vigorous pounding with the hammer, Fang Xiaoyue threw them back into the furnace for further smelting

Fang Xiaoyue arrived in front of a water pump

Furthermore, this clamp can be reused, so what about in the future

This water pump does not have any spare parts at all

This remark left Li Hong momentarily at a loss for words

At this moment, Fang Xiaoyue experienced for the first time the hardships of farming as depicted in the illustrations of the book

Relying solely on manual water fetching can only alleviate the drought situation to a limited extent. If such conditions persist until the summer harvest, the rice yield will be reduced by at least one third or more

This is quite normal, after all, these several educated youth were high school students when they were in the city

He is aware of the seriousness of the matter

Some mischievous children were still jumping around in the ditch, joyfully playing with water, but before long, they were called back by their mothers, who scolded and hit them.

Upon hearing Fang Xiaoyue's words, one of the male educated youths named Li Honggang sneered: "Should it be repairable? Do you know what a magnetic field is? Do you understand the principle of this water pump? How boastful."

More meat is preserved by salting, reserved for leisurely enjoyment

For Lianqiao Village, such a loss is substantial

Accountant Zhao Xiangdong once served as an apprentice in a high-end restaurant in a big city. Although he did not learn much of the essence, he is quite skilled at stir-frying pig's offal dishes

The ground clamp made by Fang Xiaoyue has not only been effective this time.

Fang Xiaoyue inquired with Zhang Daniu and received a rather disappointing answer

Neither of the two water pumps has a so-called circuit issue; both have faulty bearings connected to the impeller.

Fang Xiaoyue has been eating at the brigade headquarters these past few days

High school students are considered to fall within the realm of intellectuals in the eyes of most people

It should be repairable

The benefits of having a pump are numerous

In their view, this pump may have simply been used for too long, resulting in the burning out of the internal wiring connections.

Of course, the next process is tempering

Fang Xiaoyue placed the bearing, after quenching, back into the furnace for heating

Now, when meeting Zhang Daniu, ask Fang Xiaoyue, is it permissible to mock the * picture * book without restraint

This is not surprising; the quenching of this item used a bit of vegetable oil that Zhang Daniu gritted his teeth and brought from home

After a vigorous pounding, the iron block was transformed into two iron strips

What he did not expect was that his words immediately caused dissatisfaction among those young intellectuals

Then it is quenched by being thrown into a small bucket

Back in the thatched cottage, Fang Xiaoyue lay on the bed, touching her protruding belly, feeling that Zhang Fugui's obsession was probably satisfied to a large extent

With the bearing being thrown in, a sudden burst of flames erupted from the small barrel

Moreover, after they arrived in Lianqiao Village, they consistently looked down upon the villagers of Lianqiao, feeling that they lacked knowledge and culture, and considered them to be unsophisticated.

Fang Xiaoyue did not expect that she had inadvertently offended Li Honggang

Finally, after Fang Xiaoyue meticulously polished them with fine sand, two silver bearings that appeared somewhat shiny were hot off the press

Although Zhang Daniu has a slight headache, he is not overly concerned

In just a few days, one of the water pumps broke down

It is likely due to the prolonged use of the water pump that cracks have appeared inside the bearings, and the other two bearings have also broken a small section.

The water pump has already been disassembled by those young intellectuals, which has saved him quite a bit of trouble

Standing by and watching the excitement, Fang Xiaoyue couldn't help but smile; this was precisely her ideal hitting zone

The entire village distributed pork, and soon the aroma of pork wafted through the air above Lianqiao Village

A range of 3 to 4 centimeters is completely sufficient for the bearing of a water pump shaft

This season is precisely the time when the rice blossoms, and if the water supply is insufficient, a reduction in rice yield will become a certainty

Humility leads to progress, while pride results in regression

After dozens of repetitions, the tattered remnants transformed into two fiery red iron blocks labeled hetushu.com .com

In other words, it is no longer possible to directly replace the bearings according to his original design.

Often, happiness does not come from having more or better things, but rather from being able to enjoy a moment during times of scarcity

He wiped away the beads of sweat that had emerged due to nervousness and the heat, grasped the rope, and then pulled it with force. After several back-and-forth motions, the water pump roared to life, and the rapidly spinning blades created a vacuum negative pressure, continuously drawing water from the river and delivering it into the parched fields.

In the following two months, the traps set at the foot of the mountain gradually captured a considerable number of wild boars that had come in search of food

The bearing is broken, it's simple, just make one yourself

Although he had reached the peak of his physical strength with the integration of body and soul, effortlessly carrying a water bucket filled with over 60 pounds of water, he soon found his entire body scorched to a deep black, with even his shoulders marked by deep blood streaks

The standard practice is to heat to 400 degrees and then allow to cool naturally

There is no doubt that this is a fortunate event akin to a drought meeting with sweet dew

The failure of two consecutive pumps has left Zhang Daniu extremely anxious

In the eyes of the public, the captain is merely resorting to desperate measures in a time of crisis

This water pump is regarded as a high-tech product in the eyes of the villagers

The meat has been divided, but the internal organs, intestines, and other offal remain at the headquarters.

However, as time passed and summer approached, signs of drought began to appear in the vicinity of Lianqiao Village. The entire village had no choice but to enter the busy farming season under the leadership of Zhang Daniu. Every morning, a large group of people would carry water buckets to the nearby Qingshui River, transporting precious river water back to pour into the fields.

After all, if a water pump operates for 12 hours, it can barely supply enough for the library.

In no time, the bearing turned red and softened

As for the small amount of pork bones received, they are used to make soup along with some wild vegetables, and the aroma alone is enough to make passersby stop in their tracks

This allowed the villagers of Lianqiao Village to experience the taste of happiness for a considerable period of time

Picking up a leaf fan bearing, Fang Xiaoyue slid her finger over it and began to examine it one by one

This thing is broken, and several educated youth have no idea how to repair it, as it is completely beyond their scope of knowledge

In fact, before Fang Xiaoyue could step forward to recommend himself, Zhang Daniu, in a state of desperation, spotted him at a glance and reached out to pull him out of the crowd: "Fugui, can you fix this thing?"

Although Zhang Daniu is the team leader, he has become somewhat nervous under the watchful eyes of the villagers at this moment

As soon as Fang Xiaoyue said this, any further attempts by Li Hong to entangle the matter would be perceived by everyone as a disruption to the overall drought relief efforts

Carrying two broken bearings, Fang Xiaoyue returned to the thatched cottage

With the arrival of two pumping machines, the river water is continuously drawn into the ditches, flowing into the farmland and nourishing the thirsty rice seedlings

Before Zhang Daniu could maintain it, Fang Xiaoyue laughed: "I don't understand, but I can fix the pump, that's enough. Just wait and see, don't waste time."

As for the pig heart, pig stomach, and so on, they are cut into thin strips, stir-fried with ginger, garlic, and pickled chili, and the flavor is simply beyond description

In order to support the drought relief efforts in Bencao Town, the higher authorities specifically allocated a batch of water pumps and fuel, and Team 8 received two units

However, he currently does not have a specialized thermometer at hand and can only rely on the effects brought by his alertness expertise to visually observe the color changes of the bearings in order to determine the temperature