Chapter 112: Trouble Arrives

TL: Etude

Chen Jianghai’s brows furrowed slightly as he asked, “What’s happened?”

“A customer came in with a faulty color TV. Rongxin couldn’t fix it, and the customer started making a fuss,” Fang Aiguo pointed outside as he spoke.

“I’ll take a look,” Chen Jianghai said without further questions, and stood up to head outside.

When they arrived outside, a crowd had already gathered.

“Hey, young man, can you fix it or not?” A man in his thirties with curly hair and wearing a plaid shirt was looking at Zhao Rongxin with a mocking expression.

Chen Jianghai felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing the man, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

“What’s going on?” he asked, walking over to Zhao Rongxin.

Zhao Rongxin, who was sweating profusely, sighed in relief seeing Chen Jianghai. Chen had opened up a new world of electronic repair for Zhao these past few days.

In the realm of repairing electronics, Zhao believed Chen Jianghai was unmatched.

“Master, I can’t fix this TV,” Zhao Rongxin said, his face red with embarrassment.

“What seems to be the problem?” Chen Jianghai asked calmly.

“The screen flickers intermittently, and the images at the bottom get compressed,” Zhao Rongxin quickly identified the issue with professional terminology.

These were all things that Chen Jianghai had taught him, and he remembered them well.

The curly-haired man sized up Chen Jianghai and asked with narrowed eyes, “Are you Chen Jianghai?”

“Yes,” Chen Jianghai nodded.

The man smirked, “People around here say you’re good at repairs, so you opened a repair shop. Can you fix this or not?”

Chen Jianghai glanced at him and replied indifferently, “Let me have a look.”

“If you can’t fix it, just say it. It’s okay if you’re not skilled enough, after all, you’re young,” the curly-haired man taunted.

Chen Jianghai frowned slightly but didn’t respond to the man. Instead, he asked Zhao Rongxin, “How did you handle it?”

“I thought the potentiometer was the issue at first, so I cleaned it with alcohol. The TV worked for a while, then the problem reoccurred,” Zhao Rongxin answered honestly.

This was also the first solution that came to Chen Jianghai’s mind.

“What did you do next?”

“I replaced it with a resistor of the same resistance.”

“And the result?” Chen Jianghai probed further.

“The same as before. It worked for a bit, and then the fault reappeared,” Zhao Rongxin said helplessly.

Chen Jianghai’s frown deepened; it seemed more complicated than he thought.

“So, Master Chen, can you fix it or not?” the curly-haired man scoffed.

Chen Jianghai glanced at him and asked Zhao Rongxin without any change in expression, “Did you think of any other solutions?”

“I couldn’t think of any,” Zhao Rongxin shook his head with a hint of frustration.

However, Chen Jianghai nodded approvingly and encouraged him, “Thinking of those two solutions is already very good.”

The curly-haired man’s face soured seeing Chen Jianghai ignore him.

“Hey, Master Chen, can you fix this color TV or not? Give me a straight answer. If you can’t, I’ll find someone else!”

Chen Jianghai looked at him and then said, “Did I say I can’t fix it?”

The onlookers immediately started murmuring among themselves.

“This TV seems quite difficult to fix!”

“I wonder if Master Chen can fix it.”

“Who is this guy? Doesn’t seem like we’ve seen him around here!”

“He looks flashy, not like a good person. Could he be here just to cause trouble?”

…

At this moment, Chen Jianghai had already approached the color TV, beginning a thorough inspection, paying no mind to the surrounding chatter.

After some thought, Chen Jianghai replaced a capacitor, but the fault persisted.

The curly-haired man smugly commented, “Looks like Master Chen’s skills aren’t that great. Haven’t you repaired a color TV before?”

Chen Jianghai completely ignored the man’s sarcasm.

However, Fang Aiguo couldn’t stand it anymore. Chen was his idol!

How could he turn a blind eye to such disparagement? He also agreed with the crowd’s speculation that this man seemed up to no good, his words as unpleasant as if he had eaten something foul, clearly here to cause trouble.

“Hey, buddy, how can you talk like that? Doesn’t fixing a TV take time? Do you think it’s magic, fixed with a wave of the hand?” Fang Aiguo immediately retorted.

The curly-haired man sneered, “Did I say something wrong? Hasn’t he been fixing it for a long time?”

“How is this long? It’s not even been ten minutes. Even fixing a bicycle would take longer!” Fang Aiguo argued back.

Other customers, also finding the curly-haired man distasteful, echoed Fang Aiguo’s sentiments.

“That’s right, fixing things always takes time! Constantly rushing from the side, how is one supposed to work?”

“Yeah! It was Master Chen’s apprentice who was fixing it initially, that doesn’t reflect on Master Chen’s skills!”

“Master Chen is skilled! I’ve never heard of anything he couldn’t fix.”

“Exactly. Master Chen can surely fix it.”

“Yes, not just color TVs, even refrigerators and air conditioners, Master Chen can repair!”

…

Hearing everyone defending Chen Jianghai, the curly-haired man’s face turned sour. He lit a cigarette and said roughly, “Fine, I’ll wait here and see how long you’ll take.”

Ignoring his words, Chen Jianghai inspected the TV again. There seemed to be no major issues around the capacitor.

Then, a sudden insight struck him. The capacitor itself might not be the problem; it could be interference from another component.

With this realization, Chen Jianghai began checking each component. Soon, he spotted another capacitor nearby leaking electrolyte!

Finding the source, the repair was straightforward.

“Little Zhao, replace this capacitor,” Chen Jianghai instructed, pointing it out to Zhao Rongxin.

Such a simple task didn’t require the intervention of a master like Chen Jianghai.

The curly-haired man’s expression subtly changed upon seeing where Chen pointed, a detail not missed by Chen Jianghai.

It seemed the crowd’s suspicions were correct; this man was indeed here to cause trouble.

Unfortunately, his acting skills were poor, easily seen through.

Zhao Rongxin quickly replaced the capacitor, and the TV’s fault was completely resolved.

“Truly deserving of being Master Chen, impressive!”

“Amazing! Fixed in just a moment!”

“A true expert is known by their action. I said it, such a minor problem is nothing for Master Chen.”

…

Chen Jianghai turned to look at the curly-haired man and calmly said, “Alright, it’s fixed. Please settle the repair fee: forty yuan, thank you.”

The curly-haired man’s face turned even uglier. He pulled out four ten-yuan notes and slammed them on the counter.

Fang Aiguo initially intended to help him lift the TV but seeing his behavior, decided to stand aside.

Finally, the curly-haired man left, grudgingly carrying the heavy color TV away.

…

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