Fang Bai vaguely heard a rooster crow, saw that it was still dark, and went back to sleep.
After an unknown period, the sky gradually brightened, and morning light spilled over the peaceful village.
As soon as dawn broke, Fang Bai's eyes naturally opened, and he got up and stretched lazily.
He unhurriedly brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth; the icy well water instantly invigorated him.
Opening the pressure cooker, he found white rice porridge, still warm, which paired perfectly with pickled vegetables. Fang Bai felt quite good about it, not having to rush breakfast, which was rare.
The warm porridge went down, making him feel warm.
Checking the time, it was already past eight in the morning. His parents were no longer home, most likely having already left. His father probably went to do odd jobs, and his mother rode her bike to take his younger sister back to school, thinking it was good to save some transportation costs.
Fang Bai recited English short sentences for a while, then tied the luggage he had packed last night to his bicycle rack before riding away from home.
He was now racing against time to study. If he couldn't get into his ideal key university next year, he would have to repeat a year, which he was certainly unwilling to do.
Therefore, before the college entrance examination, studying was the priority, and earning money was secondary.
After the college entrance examination, earning money would become the priority.
Of course, he couldn't miss opportunities to make money. He had to earn enough startup capital before the end of next year, otherwise, he would miss the chance to make big money.
Half an hour later, Fang Bai arrived at his rented room and placed his package on the second floor.
Riding a bicycle had its downsides; the roads weren't great, and a slight wind would kick up dust, leaving him covered in it.
After driving cars for so long in his later life, he wasn't used to not having a car.
He hadn't ridden a bicycle in a long time. Yesterday, when he first rode, it felt fresh, but today, riding again felt painful, his tailbone area chafed and sore.
Fang Bai brushed off the dust from his body, then went to the bank to queue for a withdrawal, and then returned to Hengli Company.
Fang Bai handed three thousand yuan to Wang Hengli and signed the transaction contract.
"Boss Wang, I'll also have to trouble you to arrange a forklift to help me deliver the equipment to my place. It's nearby, your company's five-ton forklift will do." Fang Bai had a plan early on; the equipment weighed 3.5 tons net and hadn't been disassembled into parts, as he wouldn't be able to reassemble it easily if it were.
His rented room didn't have a 5-ton overhead crane. If he transported it by truck without a forklift to unload, it would be extremely troublesome; he'd have to rent one temporarily, which would be another expense.
If he didn't move the equipment and repaired it directly there, Wang Hengli and the workshop workers would definitely know how he repaired it, and Fang Bai wasn't willing for them to see.
After the equipment was moved, if it couldn't be sold at the desired price at Wang Hengli's place, Fang Bai could still sell it to others.
Of course, moving the equipment was indeed too much hassle.
"No problem, I'll explain to the factory director. Aren't you planning to come over to help here? Sales are quite profitable." Wang Hengli still valued young people like Fang Bai who were flexible in their work.
"Thank you for your kindness, Boss Wang, but I have other plans recently." Fang Bai had considered the path of earning commissions through sales. Perhaps it was difficult for others, but for him, with his Golden Finger, it wasn't difficult; it was just a matter of earning more or less.
However, he wasn't willing to work for others.
Besides, small orders didn't offer much commission.
And super-large orders wouldn't be given to Fang Bai, so this path wasn't suitable for Fang Bai.
"Alright, you're welcome anytime you make up your mind."
"Boss Wang, have you finalized the new equipment?"
"Not yet. New equipment is hard to buy now, and the waiting time is quite long. It's really a headache."
The two walked and talked, arriving at the workshop office on the first floor. Wang Hengli explained to the factory director, Ma Jingsen, to arrange a vehicle to deliver the equipment, then left after giving instructions.
Ten-odd minutes later, the 5-ton forklift arrived next to the drilling machine. Fang Bai personally adjusted the forklift's opening distance before letting the forklift operator lift the equipment. After it was lifted, he used a sling to secure the upper part of the equipment to prevent it from tipping over.
Normally, a forklift's lift has a certain tilt angle. Experienced drivers drive in reverse when going downhill. Fang Bai was just afraid the forklift driver lacked experience, and the road wasn't short; if the equipment tipped over midway, it would be damaged.
People around saw Fang Bai tying the equipment and thought it was unnecessary, but Fang Bai felt that what needed to be done should be done. The equipment was his, and if it really broke, his three thousand yuan capital would be wasted.
After checking the transportation safety, Fang Bai noticed the drill bits and tools like adjustable wrenches, pliers, and hex keys next to the drilling machine's workstation, and he immediately set his sights on them, hoping to take them along.
If he didn't have tools, he would have to spend dozens of yuan to buy a set, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to disassemble or assemble the equipment.
"Boss Ma, there's also a set of drill bits and maintenance tools. These are complementary, please help me load them."
Ma Jingsen's eyes widened: "Buying equipment also comes with drill bits and tools?"
"Why don't you ask Boss Wang? Some of these tools were originally included with the purchase of this machine; I'm not asking you to provide anything else."
Ma Jingsen hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. They really weren't worth much money.
Fang Bai personally picked out a set of the newest drill bits and tools and threw them onto the forklift, then told the forklift operator to drive, while he rode his bicycle ahead to lead the way.
After exiting the factory gate, Fang Bai handed the forklift operator a pack of Qingliangtai cigarettes, telling him to drive carefully as some roads were difficult to navigate.
Fang Bai told Wang Hengli the distance wasn't far, but it was actually two or three kilometers. For a forklift that doesn't travel fast and is carrying equipment, the distance was quite significant. If Wang Hengli knew, he'd probably grumble a bit.
The forklift operator, having received a pack of cigarettes, drove happily. He heard the destination was a bit far, but he didn't mind for the sake of the cigarettes. Anyway, this was what the boss had instructed, and it wasn't his own fuel money being burned.
Moreover, it was Sunday today, and the morning was relatively free, with the afternoon off.
About ten minutes later, the forklift finally arrived at the house Fang Bai had rented.
Fang Bai opened the door and had the operator place the equipment in the designated spot, making it convenient for power connection and maintenance.
"Boss Fang, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
"Yes, there's nothing else."
"Alright, goodbye."
"Hmm, we might see each other again very soon, haha."
The forklift operator didn't understand what Fang Bai meant, waved at him, started the forklift, and drove back to the company, smoking with one hand and gripping the steering wheel with the other.
Next, Fang Bai connected the wires, powered it on to confirm the equipment was fine, then powered it off.
By the time he finished this, the entire morning had passed.
He ate lunch, rested for a while, then went to buy the necessary maintenance parts and tools.
In Wen City, it was still possible to find equipment parts.
If it were in a city in the central or western regions, in this era, finding suitable bearings would be quite difficult.
In this era, mechanical manufacturing technology was relatively backward, and even standard bearings were not cheap.
Fang Bai wasn't afraid of the cost, but most afraid of not being able to find them.
He finally found a suitable 6008 deep groove ball bearing at a shop called "Duoduo Hardware Store" and, after some haggling with the owner, bought a set for 45 yuan.
At another store, he bought a 5-liter barrel of 46# anti-wear hydraulic oil for 14.5 yuan.
Riding back to his rented room, he changed clothes, put on plastic gloves, and first changed the hydraulic oil.
Ten-odd minutes later, the hydraulic oil was changed, and then he began to disassemble the problematic components.
Fang Bai's right hand was a bit weak, and he was already covered in sweat before he even finished disassembling, his hands and clothes stained with oil.
It wasn't until four in the afternoon that he managed to remove the bearing and shaft from the equipment.
"Damn, this money is really hard to earn, I'm exhausted!"
Fang Bai looked at his hands, covered in black oil, especially in his fingernails, which were hard to wash, and sighed.
He squatted on the cement floor to rest, his eyes fixed on the results on the ground.
The bearing and shaft had an interference fit (no clearance), so removing the bearing from the shaft was quite troublesome. Fang Bai didn't have a bearing puller, and the tools he had were wrenches and a hammer. If a mechanical layman were to smash it forcefully, it would scratch the surface of the main shaft, rendering the shaft unusable and scrapped.
After resting for a while, Fang Bai stood the shaft upright on a wooden box, used an iron block to clamp the inner ring of the bearing, applied oil to the shaft, and tried tapping it twice, finding that the bearing hadn't loosened.
At this point, he didn't dare to hit it again.
"It seems I can't do this without special tools. Tomorrow, I'll have to pay a professional to disassemble and assemble it." Fang Bai had only seen others disassemble it, but had never actually done it himself, and he didn't expect the actual operation to be a bit harder than he imagined.
His brain understood, but his hands couldn't do it, how embarrassing.
He couldn't finish today, so he had to wash his oily hands, then buy some daily necessities and pots and pans at a nearby general store.
There was no water heater in the rented room, not even a gas stove. If he wanted hot water, he'd have to burn wood to boil water. He definitely couldn't boil hot water tonight, so he could only wash with cold water. Luckily, the weather was only slightly cool now.
After eating dinner outside, he returned and, while still a bit warm, took a cold shower.
After showering, he started writing his study plan under the lamp, then entered study mode.
School had been in session for a month already, so Fang Bai had a month less of classes than those repeating students. He also had to hustle to make money during the day. If he didn't make good use of his evenings, even with his Golden Finger, it would be too difficult to get into a good university next year. His grades were still over a hundred points short of the lowest-tier 985 universities in his later life.
According to his score range, it would be difficult to improve by over a hundred points after repeating a year; an improvement of 40-80 points was normal.
If he didn't have the Golden Finger, wanting to improve by over a hundred points was wishful thinking.
He studied hard until almost midnight, only sleeping when he felt a bit sleepy.
Before sleeping, he recalled the knowledge points he had memorized today and found he could still remember them, which gave Fang Bai a bit more confidence for the college entrance examination.