Shu An knew this was a test for her. She instinctively clenched her hand. If she repaired it successfully, it would mean that Master Gou had taken a liking to her skills.
So she stepped forward on her own and said to the man beside her, “Master, could you give me an apron? It wouldn’t be very convenient to go home with my clothes covered in dirt.”
Before Liu Tiezhu could react to the young woman’s words, Gou Deshun had already swiftly pulled off the jacket he was wearing and tossed it to Shu An.
Shu An caught it, put it on, then put on her gloves and carefully examined the vehicle in front of her.
It was an old military truck. She had seen this model before—the CA10B, a Jiefang truck. In her previous life, it had been an antique that could only be seen in museums.
But at this time, it was still one of the main types of transport vehicles. In her previous life, she had never had the chance to repair such an old relic, but now there was a living, breathing old veteran right in front of her.
Since she had already inspected the upper part, she decided to take a look underneath first. Her hands were already itching to get to work, so she turned to Gou Deshun and asked, “Master Gou, can I crawl underneath and take a look?”
A hint of surprise flashed through Gou Deshun’s eyes. He nodded. “Old Liu, get her a mat.”
Liu Tiezhu froze for a moment. He had already found the whole situation unbelievable, but Gou Deshun had spoken. He was the master mechanic here, so whatever he said went. Liu Tiezhu didn’t dare ask any questions and quickly handed over a piece of cardboard.
Shu An took it, laid it on the ground, and without another word crawled underneath the truck.
Using a flashlight, she swept the beam across the underside of the vehicle, examining the engine oil pan, transmission casing, driveshaft, universal joints, rear axle, and every other component one by one.
Suddenly, she let out a soft, “Huh?”
The flashlight stopped moving, its beam fixed on the lower side of the intake manifold.
It was a cast-iron component, its surface covered in a thick layer of oil and grime. But when the beam passed over it, she noticed something unusual. A small section on the bottom of the manifold was blackened, as though it had been exposed to fumes for a long time.
She rubbed away the grime with her finger, revealing the original color of the cast iron. A tiny crack was clearly visible on the bottom of the manifold.
“Found it.”
Shu An curled the corners of her lips into a smile. She immediately slid out from underneath the truck, patted the dust off herself, and walked over to Gou Deshun.
“Master Gou, there’s nothing wrong with the engine. The carburetor is fine, and the ignition system is fine too.”
“Isn’t that obvious? We already repaired all those things and replaced everything that needed replacing. If there were still problems with them, wouldn’t all our work have been for nothing?”
Liu Tiezhu was already anxious and frustrated. The leader had given him so many days to fix the vehicle, yet he still hadn’t been able to solve the problem. He had finally managed to bring Gou Deshun in to take a look, only for him to let some young girl get involved as well. His tone was therefore somewhat displeased.
Gou Deshun raised an eyebrow. “Then where’s the problem?”
Shu An raised the finger stained with black grease. “There’s a casting crack on the bottom of the intake manifold, near the intake port of the third cylinder. The position is blocked by the manifold itself, so you can’t see it from above.”
She paused and gestured as she explained, “When the engine is drawing in air, there’s negative pressure inside the intake manifold. Outside air gets sucked in through this crack, causing the air-fuel mixture to become too lean.”
“When the mixture becomes too lean, the combustion temperature rises, the engine loses power, and fuel consumption increases. More importantly, when the engine is hot, the metal expands and the crack opens wider, making the mixture so lean that the engine simply stalls.”
“Once the vehicle cools down, the crack contracts again, allowing the engine to start. That’s why you’ve been struggling with it for five days without finding the problem. It comes and goes.”
After she finished speaking, the two mechanics standing nearby were stunned. What Shu An had said was a little too technical for Liu Tiezhu to fully understand, but she sounded so confident and logical that it seemed to make sense.
Gou Deshun gave no reaction. He merely glanced at Liu Tiezhu.
“Take it apart.”
Liu Tiezhu hesitated when he heard that, but he still turned around to get the tools and began working with Xiao Zhou. After more than half an hour, they had removed the intake manifold.
They flipped it over, and sure enough, there was a tiny crack on the bottom, extending from the third-cylinder intake port all the way to the outside of the manifold.
They poured kerosene over it, and it immediately seeped through from the other side of the crack, leaving a small wet mark on the cast-iron surface.
Liu Tiezhu’s eyes widened.
“Master… Master Gou, there really is a crack! It’s hidden underneath. There was no way to see it without taking the whole thing apart.”
Gou Deshun showed no surprise at all, as though he had already known.
“How do we fix it?”
He asked only three words.
Shu An thought for a moment. “This manifold can’t be used anymore. The crack was formed during the casting process, so it’s a material defect. The best solution is to replace it with a new one.”
“Replace it?” Liu Tiezhu grimaced. “Comrade, the factory doesn’t have this kind of manifold in stock. We’d have to place a new order and have the casting workshop make one. Back and forth, it would take at least half a month. This truck is used by the transport team to haul supplies.”
“Then use the second method,” Shu An said with a smile. “Drill crack-stop holes at both ends of the crack first, then build it up with cast-iron welding rods. Preheat it to six hundred degrees Celsius before welding. After welding, bury it in lime so it cools slowly, then grind it smooth. We can have it fixed in two days.”
“Ah…” Liu Tiezhu was stunned. He turned to look at Gou Deshun.
The corners of Gou Deshun’s mouth twitched slightly, forming a barely noticeable smile. Shu An had sharp eyes and saw it clearly.
“Did you hear her? Do it exactly as she said. There are scrapped parts in the warehouse. Go find one yourself.”
“Yes! Yes, Master Gou!”
Liu Tiezhu immediately left with Xiao Zhou.
Xiao Zhou had already walked several steps away, yet he couldn’t help turning back to look at Shu An.
Was she one of the new college graduates sent here?
From the blueprints earlier to this hands-on inspection, Gou Deshun could now clearly tell that this young woman actually had real skills. She wasn’t just all talk.
So he looked at her and asked, “Little girl, do you want to come work here?”
Shu An’s eyes instantly widened with delight. She immediately nodded.
“Mm-hmm, yes, yes, yes! I do! Master Gou, I want to!”
Although she seemed a little too eager, jobs were incredibly hard to come by at this time. What was the point of being reserved? You couldn’t eat reservation for dinner.
Gou Deshun was amused by her excitement and said, “All right, all right, don’t get so excited. It hasn’t been settled yet.”