Chapter 16

Xin Guoping forced Xin Shan to admit her mistake, and finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as one person gave in, this farce could come to an end, and he wouldn’t have to embarrass himself along with them.

He said a few perfunctory words, brushing it off as just a squabble between sisters and a family matter, then politely sent off the nosy neighbors.

Once the door was closed, his face turned dark. He pointed at Li Huilan and snapped, “Look at the two good daughters you raised—disgraceful.”

With that, he stormed back into his room and slammed the door shut, as usual, washing his hands of the whole thing.

Li Huilan, exhausted, looked at Xin Shan, then at Xin Qi. She opened her mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say.

Xin Shan bit her lip, forcing her tears back. She stood up, head high, ready to leave.

Behind her, Xin Qi said, “You haven’t paid me back yet.”

Xin Shan turned and glared at her. “Don’t push it.”

Xin Qi replied blandly, “Right back at you.”

Xin Shan stared into her eyes, but Xin Qi’s calm and unflinching gaze made her uneasy and she quickly looked away.

In the end, Xin Shan threw down the 500 yuan she had originally planned to use to buy a wool coat and left without looking back.

Xin Qi picked up the money, then went out and bought a lock to secure her room.

In front of the Xin family, she said, “I’ve got a bit of money on me. I’m locking it up in my room so I don’t lose it.”

“Of course, I’m not guarding against anyone. We’re all family, and I trust you.”

“But just in case, if I lose the money, and suspicions arise, it wouldn’t be fair to anyone. I’d have no choice but to involve the police.”

“Of course, since Mom is home every day doing handicrafts, I’m not worried anything will go missing.”

The implication was clear—if anything did go missing, Li Huilan would be the prime suspect.

Li Huilan realized she no longer had control over Xin Qi and quietly fretted about it.

Unaware of her mother’s troubles, Xin Qi showed up at the Chunfeng repair shop on time the next day.

Jin Zhicheng said nothing when he saw her, simply asked her to start by cleaning.

Given the nature of the work, the repair shop was never particularly clean, and with only two men working there previously, they weren’t very diligent about hygiene.

So years of grime had built up. It was Xin Qi’s first day, and she was unprepared. She remembered to wear old clothes that wouldn’t show dirt but forgot gloves—or rather, she didn’t have any.

Labor gloves were a hot commodity, rationed with coupons. Even if Xin Qi had money, she couldn’t buy them.

Her hands quickly became filthy. The pretty young girl looked completely out of place, standing dusty and disheveled in the grimy repair shop.

Jin Zhicheng shook his head silently.

But Xin Qi felt a little thrill—touching the familiar tools made her feel grounded.

Maybe because of what had happened the day before, no customers showed up that morning.

After finishing her cleaning, Jin Zhicheng sat with his eyes closed, ignoring her. Bored, Xin Qi leaned on her hand, staring blankly out the door.

Could the shop actually make money like this? Would she be paid?

Her thoughts wandered aimlessly until a young man pushing a bicycle stopped in front of the repair shop.

“Hello… can I get my bike fixed here?”

Xin Qi looked up. The young man, blushing, avoided her gaze and didn’t dare look at her directly.

“There’s something wrong with my bike. Can you fix it here?”

She glanced behind her—Jin Zhicheng seemed to be asleep.

“What’s wrong with the bike? Let me take a look.”

The young man hesitated. “You… you’re the mechanic here?”

Xin Qi smiled. “Yep, I’m the new apprentice. Don’t worry, I’ve got decent skills. If I can’t fix it, I’ll call my teacher to help.”

“It’s not that… I just didn’t expect a girl to be fixing bikes.”

There was no need to argue with a customer. Xin Qi just smiled.

She picked up the toolbox and crouched down to examine the bike.

“So, what’s the issue?”

In truth, there wasn’t anything wrong. It was a brand-new bicycle. The young man had simply caught a glimpse of her sitting in the doorway earlier and had come in under the pretense of needing a repair.

He assumed she was a relative of the shop owner and had only used the repair as an excuse to start a conversation.

He didn’t expect such a beautiful girl to actually be an apprentice mechanic. He suddenly felt sorry for her.

“Uh… I think the handlebars are a bit loose,” he said, grasping for some minor issue.

A loose handlebar usually meant the stem bolt was misaligned—an easy fix.

Xin Qi grabbed a wrench, quickly removed the handlebar, adjusted the stem nut into place, and tightened it.

Before putting the handlebars back, she observed the young man’s height and arm length, asked about his riding posture, and adjusted the handlebar to the optimal position.

The young man had been worried when she started dismantling his bike without warning, afraid she’d break it.

But then she smoothly reassembled everything in a few swift moves.

She smiled and asked him to give it a try.

Swayed by her beauty, he climbed onto the bike in a daze and pedaled a few times. It really did feel better—handlebars steadier, height just right, and easier on the hands.

Only then did he realize he had judged her by appearance. This girl had real skills.

A bit embarrassed, he asked if she could check if there were any other issues.

Xin Qi smiled and shook her head. “I already checked. This is a new bike, right? Everything’s fine. It’s a good one.”

The young man beamed. “Yeah, I just bought it last week. It’s the latest model from Eagle brand.”

Xin Qi couldn’t help but chuckle. His reaction wasn’t unusual—Eagle bikes were hugely popular in the ’70s.

Owning the latest model meant you were among the coolest people on the street.

Bikes weren’t cheap, and repair costs weren’t either. The price list hanging on the wall showed that patching a tire alone cost 50 cents.

Xin Qi charged him 50 cents according to the list, and he paid happily before riding off.

Holding the 50-cent bill, Xin Qi felt more excited than when she made her first million. This was the first money she had earned with her own hands in this era.

Beaming, she turned around and saw Jin Zhicheng watching her thoughtfully.

Startled, she began to hand him the money—then paused, switched to a different bill, and handed that to him instead.

“Master Jin, this is the first money I earned fixing bikes. I’d like to keep it as a souvenir.”

Jin Zhicheng didn’t respond, just silently accepted the bill.

“They taught you how to adjust handlebars based on riding posture at the mechanical factory?”

Xin Qi wasn’t fazed. “Heh, maybe I’m just a natural. I pick things up fast.”

“So? Didn’t I tell you I was pretty good? Can I pass the trial period now?”

Jin Zhicheng snorted. “With your skills, staying at a repair shop is overkill.”

Xin Qi grinned. “Hey, young people need to learn the basics. How else will I handle more important roles in the future?”

Jin Zhicheng laughed despite himself—what kind of big role could a bike mechanic possibly aspire to?

Soon, the three-day trial period ended. Jin Zhicheng was very satisfied with Xin Qi’s skills. His only concern was that she was a young, pretty girl—this job might not suit her.

But she worked hard and was responsible. He couldn’t deny that.

So, he submitted her application as a temporary worker to the Chunfeng Factory.

At the moment, the factory didn’t have any “special” people waiting to be placed, and it was just a bike repair apprentice job.

As a long-time veteran with many former apprentices in the factory, Jin Zhicheng’s request carried weight.

The HR chief approved the application without fuss and told Xin Qi to come to the factory next Monday to complete the paperwork.

With that, Xin Qi officially became an apprentice bike mechanic.