ryethenovel Chapter 39 The Sound of the Wind
Chapter 39 The Sound of the Wind
When Director Sun arrived at the service station, Jiang Haiping was squatting at the workshop entrance, dismantling an old water pump that had been brought from the aquatic products company.
The water pump casing was rusted beyond recognition, and the impeller was stuck. I tried to tighten it with a wrench for a long time, but it wouldn't budge.
Ah Hai soaked it in diesel fuel for half an hour, then gently tapped it with a copper rod until the impeller loosened.
Old Fang squatted down and took a look, saying that the water pump had been soaking in the sea for too long, and the bearings had rusted and needed to be replaced.
"Station Chief Jiang." Director Sun's voice came from the courtyard gate.
Jiang Haiping looked up and saw Director Sun standing at the gate of the courtyard, wearing a gray cloth Zhongshan suit and carrying a black imitation leather bag.
There was another person standing next to him, in his early forties, wearing a blue work uniform and holding a notebook.
Jiang Haiping wiped his hands with cotton yarn and stood up.
Director Sun said this is Engineer Zhao from the Provincial Fisheries Department, who came to the grassroots to investigate the training of fishermen. He mentioned him to you on the phone last time.
Jiang Haiping invited them into the workshop for a look.
Zhao Gong walked around the workshop, looking at the wrenches on the tool wall, which were neatly arranged by model number, and at the old parts warehouse, where every old part had a numbered label. He also noticed that the diesel engine troubleshooting steps written by Ahai yesterday were still on the blackboard in the training room.
He walked to the entrance of the old parts warehouse, picked up Ah Guang's register, flipped through a few pages, and asked how long the register had been kept.
Jiang Haiping said he started keeping records the day the service station opened, and this is his sixth book.
Engineer Zhao closed the register and said that this was a good method. The premise of recycling old parts is that the ledger is clear and the whereabouts of each item are clear.
After leaving the workshop, Engineer Zhao went up to the training classroom on the second floor.
Ah Hai's handwriting on the blackboard hadn't been erased yet, and the diesel engine cross-section drawing was neatly arranged, with the name of each component and common faults noted next to it.
On the windowsill were several old training parts: fuel injectors, fuel return lines, and thermostats, each with a label on it.
Engineer Zhao looked at the words on the label and asked who prepared these teaching aids.
Jiang Haiping said that the training instructors prepared the materials themselves. Lao Fang explained the principles of diesel engines, A Hai explained troubleshooting, and Lin Xiu'e explained the basics of grouting. The teaching aids used by each person were old parts that were usually dismantled from ship repairs.
Engineer Zhao sat down in a chair in the training room and jotted down a few notes in his notebook.
He said that the province will promote a number of grassroots training demonstration sites this year, and the Moon Island Service Station is one of the first batch of pilot sites. The training records, teaching aids preparation and trainee feedback are all done solidly.
After returning, I will include the situation here in my research report and suggest that the training model of Moon Island be promoted to other coastal counties.
Director Sun stood by the second-floor window, glanced into the courtyard, and said that another boat was coming.
Jiang Haiping glanced out the window and saw a fishing boat indeed moored at the dock, with a person standing on the bow waving towards the service station.
He said that was Old Chen's brother-in-law, the one whose boat stalled at sea last time, but it was later repaired and he comes to every training session.
Engineer Zhao closed his notebook, stood up, and asked if he could go take a look.
The group went downstairs, and Old Chen's brother-in-law had already jumped off the boat and was squatting on the dock talking to Ah Hai.
He said the machine was shaking a bit, especially when it was running at 1,500 RPM.
Ah Hai boarded the boat carrying his tool bag, followed by Jiang Haiping and Engineer Zhao.
Ah Hai squatted in the cabin and touched each of the high-pressure oil pipes one by one. He then shone a flashlight on the fuel injector connectors and finally removed the return oil pipe filter to take a look.
There were some tiny impurities stuck to the filter screen, not many, but it clogged about a third of it.
He used cleaning agent to clean the filter screen and put it back. He then checked the high-pressure oil pipe joints again to make sure they were not loose. Then he asked Old Chen's brother-in-law to start the main unit.
The diesel engine roared to life, rising from idle to 1,500 rpm, its body clanging steadily.
Zhao watched the whole process from the engine room door and asked Ahai if this fault had been covered in the training course.
Ahai once said that blockage of the return oil line is one of the common faults of diesel engines. If the filter is blocked, the return oil will not flow smoothly, the low-pressure oil line will be blocked, and the machine will not run steadily.
Old Chen's brother-in-law chimed in, saying that Teacher Ahai explained things in great detail in class, and he only realized after listening to three classes that the machine's vibrations were all due to the fuel injectors and the return fuel line.
Engineer Zhao nodded and made a few more notes in his notebook.
In the afternoon, Director Sun and Engineer Zhao left.
Before leaving, Engineer Zhao told Jiang Haiping that there would be a field meeting in the province next month to promote fishery maintenance technology, and that a group of people might be organized to visit Moon Island. He asked the service station to make preparations in advance.
Jiang Haiping wrote down what Zhao Gong said in his notebook and saw them to the gate of the courtyard.
After finishing work in the evening, Jiang Haiping sat on the rocks at the entrance of the courtyard wall and went through the day's events in his mind.
Zhao Gong's research, the provincial on-site meeting, and the promotion of training courses all demonstrate that the service station is progressing steadily.
But he knew in his heart that as the business expanded and the workload increased, the service station was still short-staffed.
Old Fang is getting old, and although his back is better than Qiu Changhai's, he can't squat in the cabin every day.
Ah Hai can lead a team independently now, Ah Guang is still a welder who hasn't graduated yet, Hong Xiaobing has just learned how to disassemble and assemble gearboxes, and Zhou Haisheng is still learning to recognize old parts.
Training, ship repair, and refurbishment—three jobs piled up at once, and none of them could be neglected.
Lin Xiu'e brought over a bowl of fish ball soup and sat down next to him.
She placed the bowl on the rocks and said that this afternoon, Master Qiu stood at the entrance of the training classroom for a long time, watching Ah Hai teach new students how to troubleshoot problems. After watching, he said, "This kid could be a master."
Old Fang, who was nearby, overheard this and said that he should have become a master craftsman long ago; an intermediate-level worker's certificate isn't something you get for nothing.
Jiang Haiping picked up the fish ball soup and took a sip. The waves gently lapped against the stone trough, and in the distance, the whistles of fishing boats returning to port could be heard.
He said that in the next training course, he would let A-Guang try to stand on the podium. He had practiced welding basics for so long that he could train students. He couldn't let Ding Haisheng always be the one to carry the load.
Lin Xiu'e said that A-Guang was writing a welding teaching outline in the registration book yesterday. He wrote a whole page, and his handwriting was neater than before.
The sea breeze blows from the rocky beach, carrying the salty smell and the aroma of cooking smoke rising from the kitchen.
The lights in the service station yard were still on. Ahai was practicing the bolt tightening sequence with Hong Xiaobing in the workshop. The torque wrench made a soft click on the cylinder head.
Several ships are still waiting for maintenance tomorrow, and preparations for the provincial on-site meeting also need to begin.
Jiang Haiping handed the bowl to Lin Xiue, stood up, and walked towards the workshop.