Chapter 20: A Hint of Admiration Emerges

Chapter 20: A Hint of Admiration

“Hey, you all misunderstood Master Chen. He was the one who took this TV; I can vouch for that,” one of the middle-aged women stepped forward, waving her hand and shouting.

“Took it?”

“Took a TV? Why would he take a TV?”

The woman continued, “That’s right. This TV belongs to Sister Sun who lives on Qianjin Road. Yesterday, when I was chatting with Sister Sun, she told me that Master Chen took this broken TV for forty yuan!”

“What, don’t believe us? Go ask for yourselves!”

Well, now the truth was finally clear.

“I’ve said it before, Old Meng is no good. You can’t trust a word he says!”

“Old Meng just loafs around all day. Such a person is wasting air while alive and wasting land when dead.”

No one admitted to having misunderstood Chen Jianghai moments ago, instead they all shifted the blame onto Old Meng.

Hearing the crowd’s words, Old Meng was dumbfounded.

Since when did Chen have so much money? He actually spent forty yuan to take a broken TV?

Chen Jianghai looked coldly at Old Meng. “What’s wrong with that?”

Seeing Chen’s expression, Old Meng grew afraid, quickly let go, and slunk away in disgrace.

The onlookers, seeing the drama was over, dispersed one by one.

...

Back home, Chen Jianghai wasted no words and immediately dismantled the TV.

After a thorough inspection, aside from the aging picture tube, all other components were intact.

In other words, as long as the picture tube could be repaired, the TV would function normally.

Theoretically, this was simple enough, but in reality, repairing an aging picture tube was no easy task.

Yet for Chen Jianghai, it was merely a minor inconvenience.

When Lin Wanqiu came home from work and saw the TV on the table, she asked curiously, “Where did this come from?”

“Of course, I acquired it,” Chen Jianghai smiled.

He had anticipated his wife’s question.

Lin Wanqiu blinked in surprise and quickly asked, “How much did it cost?”

“Not much, forty yuan,” Chen replied.

Hearing the price, Lin Wanqiu hesitated, then asked again, “Can it actually show TV?”

Chen Jianghai chuckled, “Wanqiu, you’re thinking too much. If it could work, it wouldn’t have cost forty yuan.”

“Then why did you bring home a broken one?” Lin Wanqiu frowned in puzzlement.

Chen Jianghai patted his chest. “Don’t forget, I can fix appliances.”

“You can fix TVs too?” Lin Wanqiu’s eyes gleamed with a newfound admiration.

Chen Jianghai’s smile brightened even more. “Of course! I never said I only fix radios!”

“Can I watch you fix it?” Wanqiu’s eyes shone with curiosity.

Chen Jianghai nodded. “Sure, though I’m afraid you’ll find it boring.”

“No way! Definitely not boring!”

Finished speaking, Lin Wanqiu cleared the dishes and hurried out.

“Shall we start now?” she asked eagerly.

Chen Jianghai nodded. “This will be a bit tricky to fix. Aren’t you going to rest?”

“No problem, it’s still early!” Lin Wanqiu said quickly.

Seeing her enthusiasm, Chen Jianghai guessed her thoughts and said no more, focusing on the TV again.

There were three main methods to repair an aging picture tube.

However, only by trying each could one determine which was most effective.

The first method involved eliminating the negative grid voltage to increase brightness.

Chen Jianghai rummaged through his toolbox and found a relatively large resistor.

Lin Wanqiu, like a curious child, couldn’t help but ask, “What’s that?”

“This is a resistor,” Chen patiently explained.

Lin Wanqiu examined it skeptically. “Can this thing really fix a TV?”

Chen Jianghai rotated the dismantled TV, locating the positive terminal of the picture tube filament power supply, and said, “When the picture tube ages, the grid voltage becomes negative. Adding this component will absorb the negative charge, thus improving the tube’s brightness.”

“Just add something and it’ll be fixed?”

Lin Wanqiu was utterly baffled by the technical terms Chen spoke.

But none of that mattered; what concerned her most was whether the TV would work.

Chen Jianghai shook his head. “Not that simple. This is just the first step. Let’s see what happens.”

With that, he installed the resistor and observed the result.

He plugged in the power and pressed the TV’s switch. With a snap, the TV powered on.

Yet the result was unsatisfactory.

The screen was still dim and almost black, barely visible.

Lin Wanqiu said, a little disappointed, “Does this mean it can’t be fixed?”

Chen Jianghai wasn’t surprised. Calmly, he said, “Don’t be discouraged. There’s another method.”

He prepared to try the second approach: converting the focus electrode power supply into an accelerating electrode power supply.

Though delicate, this task posed no difficulty for an experienced craftsman like Chen Jianghai and was quickly accomplished.

Leaning close, Lin Wanqiu asked doubtfully, “Jianghai, will this work?”

Chen Jianghai pointed to the TV’s power switch. “You press it.”

Lin Wanqiu frowned, hesitating.

Chen encouraged her with a nod. “Don’t worry, you’re my lucky charm; you’ll do great!”

Hearing this, Lin Wanqiu felt a stirring in her heart. Why did his words move her so?

With a snap, the TV turned on, filling the screen with static snow.

Lin Wanqiu was dumbfounded. “What… what’s going on?”

“Ah, we don’t have cable signal yet,” Chen suddenly remembered.

Lin Wanqiu realized. “Oh, so you need to connect to cable before there’s anything to watch, right?”

“That’s right. For now, it’s just static,” Chen nodded.

He wanted to rig a temporary antenna but didn’t even have a bamboo pole.

Though the TV showed nothing, Lin Wanqiu was still excited.

Buying a TV for forty yuan and having it repaired meant she could watch from home. She had heard from colleagues that the show “Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain” was very good.

“I’ll connect the cable signal tomorrow. Then you can watch tonight,” Chen promised.

Lin Wanqiu hesitated, reluctant. “But the fee is quite high, dozens of yuan each month!”

“No matter how much it costs, as long as you’re happy!” Chen waved his hand decisively.

Excited, Lin Wanqiu instinctively threw herself into Chen’s arms, giving him a tender hug and whispering, “Jianghai, you’re so good!”

Gently stroking her hair, Chen spoke with deep affection, “Wanqiu, you’ve suffered before. Trust me, I’ll make sure things get better and better for you from now on!”

“Yes, I believe you!” Lin Wanqiu nodded obediently like a gentle cat.

At that moment, the old barriers between the couple seemed to melt away like early spring snow, filling their humble home with warmth and sweetness.

...

(The End of this Chapter)