novelonline Chapter 1288 I Don't Want to Be Backstabbed by an Ungrateful Thief
Chapter 1288 I Don't Want to Be Backstabbed by an Ungrateful Thief
Chapter 1288 I Don't Want to Be Backstabbed by an Ungrateful Thief
The sunlight lazily shone on the lonely little brick house behind the pig farm, and the air was filled with the lingering smell of pig manure and fermenting hay.
Song Yunhui had just poured the last bucket of feed into the trough and returned to the door of the hut, wiping away his sweat.
A tricycle was slowly making its way up the mountain. One worker was riding it in front, and another was pushing it from behind. The load on the tricycle looked quite heavy.
Upon closer inspection, Qin Hao was also helping to push the cart.
Song Yunhui was about to go forward to help, but when he got closer, he was dumbfounded. The whole truck was full of broken electronic components, some of which still vaguely resembled the frames of television sets.
"Brother Hao, you're not planning to fix the TV, are you?" Song Yunhui swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly. This was much more advanced than a radio; in all his life, he had only ever seen one black-and-white television in the commune compound.
Qin Hao grinned at him as he pushed the cart, "What? Afraid my skills aren't up to par?"
Song Yunhui scratched his head and said honestly, "But I've heard that television technology is very complex, and many parts can't be produced domestically."
"It's not that we can't produce them, but rather that the output is low, the price is high, and the quality is not as good as that of foreign brands. Therefore, most television sets use foreign brands for their core components."
Song Yunhui suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
He crouched down and curiously touched the rusty parts: "But repairing a TV must be much harder than repairing a radio, right? Where did you learn your skills, Hao-ge?"
Qin Hao smiled and said, "Technology is just a thin veil. A television is a bit more complex than a radio, with image processing, but ultimately it's nothing special. I'm not building one from scratch; we're 'repairing and reusing old parts.' Once you understand the core principles, you can find and replace whichever board is burnt out or which component is short-circuited. It's like treating a patient; you don't necessarily need to know how all the internal organs work, the key is to find the malfunctioning part and fix it. If you're interested, I can teach you."
Song Yunhui was tempted. Although he didn't know how much money Qin Hao earned repairing radios, judging from the fact that the other man often came to his house for meals and brought nice things, it must have been a considerable sum. Now that his sister was going to university, the family was one less breadwinner. He raised pigs in the Shanbei brigade, earning only a few work points a month, which wasn't enough to make ends meet. Moreover, he would be going to university next year, which would put even more pressure on the family.
"Brother Hao, is this difficult? I... I'm afraid I'm too stupid to learn it and will take up too much of your time," Song Yunhui asked cautiously.
Qin Hao chuckled: "You're not so smart! You got first place in the county through self-study. Repairing appliances, frankly speaking, is just a matter of practice makes perfect once you understand the basic circuit principles!"
Song Yunhui was a little embarrassed: "Won't this take up too much of your time, Brother Hao?"
Qin Hao patted him on the shoulder: "Silly boy, if I teach you, you can help me with the work too, right?"
The two of them worked together to move a pile of scrap metal into the small hut that smelled of a pig farm.
Over the next few days, the cabin transformed into a peculiar workshop.
Qin Hao began "treasure hunting" in the ruins, skillfully dismantling the "corpses" of broken television sets like a master butcher dissecting an ox, his movements swift and precise.
He directed Song Yunhui to carefully clean up every part that might still be usable: the horizontal output transformer, the tuner, the integrated circuit, the resistors and capacitors...
Some burnt and charred boards were picked out and thrown aside. These seemingly unusable items could actually still be used, but they were time-consuming and laborious to deal with, so Qin Hao was too lazy to use them unless he had absolutely no other choice.
The parts that still looked salvageable were sorted and arranged.
Song Yunhui watched with dazzled eyes, but he also learned very seriously, taking on the responsibilities of helping to tighten screws, clean the dust off the boards, and collect and categorize the "good products" that Qin Hao had picked out.
As Qin Hao worked, he explained, "Look, this is the power board, which mainly supplies power to the entire machine; this pile is the high-frequency head and intermediate frequency channel, responsible for receiving and demodulating signals; this is the vertical and horizontal scanning board, which controls how the image is displayed vertically and horizontally. The most troublesome part is this pile at the back of the picture tube, which is the tube tail plate and high-voltage transformer. The voltage is extremely high, so be careful not to touch it when it's powered on."
Song Yunhui nodded frantically, trying his best to match each noun with the corresponding object.
Just as the pile of parts in the cabin was almost overflowing the edge of the bed, Station Master Wu arrived again. This time, he carefully took out a large cardboard box from his arms, inside which was a brand-new picture tube and a fashionable television casing!
Song Yunhui stared at the mirror-like picture tube, holding his breath. This thing was too precious!
"Comrade Xiao Lei, I've gone to great lengths to get this." Station Chief Wu lowered his voice, sweat beading on his forehead with nervousness. "Please, my son's marriage depends on your decision! Three days, it's a deal!"
He repeatedly reminded them before leaving, turning back every few steps.
Qin Hao's expression also became unusually serious. The new picture tube was carefully embedded into the new casing.
Qin Hao began to reassemble the components using "good parts" salvaged from discarded circuit boards and some new parts delivered by Station Master Wu. The soldering iron continuously emitted a soft "sizzling" sound and the burnt smell of rosin, giving off a unique odor under the blazing light bulb.
His fingers flew among the dense components, soldering, connecting, and debugging circuit boards.
Sometimes a solder joint needs to be soldered several times to achieve perfection, and sometimes a certain test voltage is incorrect, requiring repeated checks of the circuit. Song Yunhui became the most focused apprentice and the most capable assistant, handing over tools, helping to fix the board, and using a multimeter to measure some basic voltages, his eyes aching from staring sorely but unwilling to miss a single step.
In the cramped space, there was only the sound of soldering irons, the occasional brief exchanges between the two, and the low hum of the machine.
Finally, a completely renovated television "shell" was born. All components were perfectly integrated into the new shell, and the back cover was also installed seamlessly.
Three days later, Station Chief Wu rushed into the pig farm almost at the last minute. Looking at the brand-new television set, his wrinkles blossomed into a wide smile.
"Oh my! It worked! It really worked! Master Lei, you really are amazing!" He excitedly gave a thumbs up and eagerly gestured for Qin Haotong to try it on.
The plug was inserted into the makeshift extension cord, and the switch was pressed. After a slight hum, the television screen… lit up! However, the expected picture did not appear; instead, the screen was filled with dense, flickering, and dazzling white static, accompanied by a constant hissing noise.
"Huh? What... what's going on?" Station Master Wu's smile froze instantly, his heart leaping into his throat.
Qin Hao had anticipated this and calmly explained, "Station Chief Wu, don't worry. The signal source is good, and the internal channels of the machine should also be open. The snow-like dots are high-frequency noise. This means that the signal reception is not a problem."
"An antenna! We don't have an antenna, so we can't receive the signal from the TV station, which is why we don't have a picture."
Station Chief Wu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, slapping his forehead: "Right! Right, right, right! Look at my brain! I haven't even installed the antenna yet."
Then, rubbing his hands together, he said with a smile, "Master Lei, you see... I won't bother two people with one thing. You've already done such a good job, so please go all the way and come to my house again to install this antenna for me."
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao frowned almost imperceptibly, his face showing just the right amount of embarrassment: "Station Chief Wu, look at me... I still have so much work piling up here, I can't afford to delay..."
Station Chief Wu, being a shrewd and worldly man, immediately understood. He quickly pulled out a few grain coupons from his inside pocket and stuffed them into Qin Hao's hand without a word: "Little Master Lei, I understand! Technical work shouldn't be done for nothing! Take these grain coupons as compensation for taking up your time! I'll definitely help you out!"
When Song Yunhui took a look, good heavens! Three national grain coupons, each worth ten jin! That's thirty jin of rice! If the family of three were careful with their food, it would be enough for a month's worth of meals.
Qin Hao repeatedly said politely, "Oh, I'm so sorry... Station Chief Wu, you're too kind..."
With a deft flick of his fingers, those precious grain coupons slid effortlessly into the depths of his trouser pocket. The entire process was so smooth and fluid that it was nothing short of magic.
"Alright, since Station Master Wu is so sincere, I'll make time for you no matter how busy I am, right?"
"Great! That's wonderful!"
That night, just as Song Yunhui was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, Qin Hao pushed open the door and entered the room, carrying a bottle of high-grade malted milk powder and a hind leg meat weighing at least two pounds, tied with a straw rope! The thick fat glistened temptingly in the dim light.
Qin Hao waved the heavy piece of meat in front of Song Yunhui, making a solid "thud" sound: "Perfect timing, I'm going to your house for a free meal tomorrow. These two pounds of pork are enough for the two of us brothers to have a good feast! Your mom's braised pork is absolutely amazing!"
A strong aroma of meat seemed to have already entered Song Yunhui's nasal cavity, stimulating his mouth to produce saliva like crazy.
His stomach growled involuntarily, and his face flushed bright red. Good heavens! Two pounds of pork! They hadn't even had such a lavish meal during the New Year.
At this moment, Song Yunhui had only one thought in his mind: learn, he must desperately learn this skill.
……
Qin Hao's life naturally became more and more comfortable. Refined grains and white flour had become his staple food, and the occasional aroma of meat would stubbornly waft out from the cracks in his dilapidated mud walls, drifting over Xiao Lei's house.
Lei Sibao was often so envious that he couldn't sleep at night. The fire of jealousy in his heart burned ever brighter, as if he were being roasted on a fire. Why? Why was everyone else so poor they could barely afford to lick a salt jar, while this kid lived like a wealthy landlord?
However, according to his observation, he never saw the boy go to the fields to catch loaches and eels. Where did he get the money to buy so much good food? And where did all those grain coupons and meat coupons come from?
Unwilling! Lei Sibao was a million times unwilling! He tried to follow Qin Hao several times to see what this kid was up to. But Qin Hao seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, as slippery as an eel, and every time he could shake him off at some corner or fork in the road.
He wanted to report it again, but he had no real evidence. If he went to the commune to make a fuss again and failed to get anything out of them, even the old Party Secretary might not be able to protect him.
He was so frustrated that he couldn't get over it, and he was scratching his head all day. He was so worried that he was practically growing mushrooms in the corner when he looked up and saw the old Party Secretary walking along the path with his hands behind his back, his back hunched, and his face full of worry.
A wicked idea instantly slithered into Lei Sibao's mind like a venomous snake. His eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a lifeline. He jumped up, put on a bitter and aggrieved expression, rushed to the old Party Secretary, grabbed his arm, and began his performance, tears streaming down his face:
"Uncle! You have to stand up for the men of our Xiao Lei family! Look! Look up! Every family in our Xiao Lei family is dirt poor! The men can't even find wives! But look at that kid Lei Hao... He eats and drinks well every day, has plenty of fine grains and white flour, and eats meat every now and then. Where does he get the money and ration coupons? There must be something fishy going on here! Uncle! We can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch! Or... should I go to the commune and report this?"
The old Party Secretary was a shrewd old man; he knew perfectly well that Lei Sibao wanted to use him as a pawn. But then he thought about how the kid had indeed been living a life of luxury lately.
If he can lead everyone to prosperity, then as the Party Secretary, he can give an account to the villagers.
Thinking of this, the old Party Secretary suppressed his contempt for Lei Sibao and warned in a deep voice, "Sibao, don't you dare get any crooked ideas! You're full of bad intentions! If you go and make false accusations against me again and cause trouble, I'll skin you alive!"
Lei Sibao was indignant: "Old Party Secretary, you're biased. We're all from the same village, so why does he get to eat fine rice, white flour, and stewed meat, while we can only eat sweet potato porridge and pickled vegetables?"
The old Party Secretary said irritably, "Fool, if you sue him, at most he'll eat sweet potatoes and pickled vegetables with us. What good will that do you? If he can lead everyone to get rich, then you can eat stewed meat too!"
"I'm afraid they won't agree."
"Alright, you don't need to worry about this anymore. I'll go talk to him."
"What if we can't reach an agreement?"
The old Party Secretary glared at Lei Sibao: "Do you think everyone is like you, only good at tattling? Haozi is someone I've watched grow up since he was a child. He wouldn't abandon the villagers to their fate."
That afternoon, the old Party Secretary came to Qin Hao's house. After exchanging a few simple pleasantries, he spoke earnestly.
"Haozi, look how poor our Xiaolei family is now. As the Party Secretary, I really feel ashamed of everyone..."
Qin Hao watched the old Party Secretary's performance quietly, without saying a word.
Seeing that Qin Hao remained unmoved, the old Party Secretary pretended to wipe away his tears.
"Haozi, you're also part of our Xiaolei family. Look how well you're doing now. As the saying goes, it's not enough for just one person to be successful. Why don't you lead the villagers to prosperity together?"
Qin Hao sneered, "Old Party Secretary, do you remember how Lei Sibao and his gang betrayed me last time? I don't want to be stabbed in the back by these ingrates again."
"Yes, what happened last time was Sibao and the others' fault. I've already given them a stern talking-to. If you're still not satisfied, you can beat them up again. I definitely won't stop you this time," the old Party Secretary said, exasperated.
Qin Hao pondered for a moment: "Old Secretary, if you really want to lead the villagers out of poverty and into prosperity, it's very simple. Just distribute the land to individual households. The current system of eating from the same pot makes the whole village lazy. Even if you give them a mountain of gold, they won't bother to dig it up."
"Distributing land to individual households? This...this is not allowed by policy, and it can lead to imprisonment."
"Since you're so hesitant and afraid of everything, I'm at a loss. Anyway, I've already told you the solution."
The old Party Secretary was speechless for a moment, and could only sigh as he left, his departing figure appearing particularly forlorn.