Chapter 39: Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 39: Are You Kidding Me?

"Brother Chen, are you there?"

Hearing this voice, Chen Jianghai raised his eyebrows and walked out.

"Boss Jin, what can I do for you?"

"Sigh, it’s that new color TV. When I turned it on, the colors were all wrong. I don't know what's going on. Could you come take a look?" Boss Jin said, looking quite unhappy.

Chen Jianghai could understand his frustration. He had intended to show off his new purchase, and with this happening, anyone who didn't know better might think he’d bought a broken TV. It was certainly a blow to his pride.

"Oh, let me take a look then," Chen Jianghai said calmly.

Boss Jin nodded. "Alright, alright. I’m sorry to bother you again, Brother Chen."

The Lin family’s house was a single-story structure with two rooms on either side of the main hall. Xue Chunli heard their conversation from the next room and stood up immediately.

"What are you doing?" Lin Jianguo couldn't help but ask.

Xue Chunli rolled her eyes at him. "I want to see just what kind of amazing skills this Chen Jianghai actually has."

Lin Jianguo was stunned at first, then became pleased. Now he finally had a legitimate excuse to go and see the color TV.

By the time they arrived at Lin Jihua’s house, the living room was already full of people. In the center sat the star of the show: a 24-inch Panda brand tube color TV. Lin Jihua stood beside it with a sour expression. A young man was currently standing in front of the TV, seemingly in the middle of an inspection.

After entering the room, Chen Jianghai glanced at the television and noticed the colors were indeed distorted; it was clearly a case of magnetization. There were many reasons for this, but one was particularly simple to resolve. Chen Jianghai scanned the area around the TV and immediately identified the culprit.

Boss Jin urged, "Brother Chen, please, help me take a look. What on earth is going on? This is a brand new TV!"

Hearing this, the young man by the TV looked displeased and cast a glance at Chen Jianghai, his eyes conveying a clear sense of professional rivalry.

The Lin family arrived at this moment.

"It’s not a problem with the TV itself; it’s a minor issue," Chen Jianghai said, smiling at Boss Jin while ignoring the young man's hostile glare.

Boss Jin was skeptical. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "You can tell what the problem is just by looking at it?"

"Exactly," Chen Jianghai nodded confidently.

Before Boss Jin could respond, the young man finally snapped. "Who are you? Do you even think before you speak? This is a color TV; why are you stirring up trouble?"

Chen Jianghai asked, pretending not to know, "And who is this?"

Boss Jin quickly replied, "He’s a technician my father-in-law hired."

Chen Jianghai couldn't help but chuckle. "Boss Jin, that’s not very kind. If you’ve already hired someone to fix it, why call me?"

"He’s been at it for ages and still hasn't fixed it. I obviously need someone else!" Boss Jin said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The young man’s face flushed red at the remark.

Chen Jianghai said calmly, "One thing at a time. Let him continue trying."

"No, no! You claim you can fix it just by looking—I don't believe it. Go ahead, show us!" The young man, clearly provoked, glared at him.

Lin Jihua couldn't help but interject, "Little Dai has been checking this for a long time. You dare claim you can fix it immediately?"

It was obvious that Lin Jihua didn't trust Chen Jianghai at all. Perhaps there was another reason: Chen Jianghai was Lin Jianguo’s son-in-law, and Lin Jihua didn't want him showing off in his home.

The onlookers began to gossip.

"Is this young man from our village?"

"Yes, he’s the husband of Lin Jianguo’s second daughter."

"Oh, I see. The one who wanders around idle all day?"

"That’s him! Xue Chunli complains about him all the time."

"I think he’s just bragging. Fixing it just by looking? I bet he’s never even seen a color TV before."

"Exactly. If even Little Dai can't fix it, what makes him so special?"

Facing the skepticism, Chen Jianghai remained indifferent. However, Boss Jin was annoyed by the blatant disrespect toward his guest.

"You’re young and don't know how high the sky is. My air conditioner was fixed by Master Chen in just ten minutes. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean others can't."

Little Dai, unwilling to give up, retorted, "Fine. If he can fix this TV in ten minutes, I’ll bow and call him 'Master, I apologize.' But if he can't, he has to admit to everyone that he was just bragging. How about that?"

Chen Jianghai hadn't expected such a spectacle over a simple favor.

Boss Jin wanted to accept immediately, but since it involved Chen Jianghai, he looked toward him. Having been pushed this far, Chen Jianghai agreed without hesitation. *These young people really don't know their place,* he thought.

Seeing this, Xue Chunli’s eyes lit up. This was the perfect chance to see if Chen Jianghai was as skilled as he claimed. Lin Wanqiu, however, was worried, her hands tightly clenched. The other technician had spent ages searching for the cause; could Jianghai really fix it in ten minutes?

Chen Jianghai, however, was full of confidence. He had seen Little Dai’s inspection. There was nothing wrong with the TV’s internal components; the problem was external.

Chen Jianghai walked up to the TV, unplugged it, and then turned to the table nearby, picking up a large magnet. Such magnets were usually parts from heavy machinery. Nearby, there used to be a military factory that produced these, and after it closed down, many parts had circulated into local households. It was this large magnet that had caused the magnetization of Lin Jihua’s TV.

Little Dai watched intently, waiting to see how Chen Jianghai would "repair" it. But after removing the magnet, Chen Jianghai did nothing else, simply standing there and waiting.

At first, the crowd waited patiently, but after a while, they realized Chen Jianghai had no intention of doing anything else.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Little Dai asked.

Chen Jianghai smiled but said nothing.

The crowd began to whisper, convinced that Chen Jianghai was a fraud who was all talk and no action.

Boss Jin asked with surprise, "Brother Chen, is it too difficult to fix? Why aren't you doing anything?"

"Boss Jin, I’ve already fixed it," Chen Jianghai said, pointing at the television with a smile.

Boss Jin stared at him, stunned.

*Brother, are you kidding me?*