Chapter 17: So Much Less Cocoa Powder—What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?

Xie Jianxun sat in the chair, waiting for the second interviewee to arrive.

The second person arrived fashionably late, clutching an iced drink. His messy dyed hair was all squished under a hat pressed down on his head.

He barely greeted anyone before rushing into the back room. He flopped into the chair like he’d come alive, letting out a heavy breath of hot air as he complained, “It’s way too hot today!”

He turned around and saw Desmond and Xie Jianxun staring at him.

“…Heh heh.”

The shop owner took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm. “Delin, you’re late. Minus three points.”

“What?! Old Man Desmond, you can’t do that—the starting line has to be fair!” The young man sat up in shock. “I was only… half a minute late?”

The shop owner said ominously, “Send me your family’s clock. I’ll buy it for half price.”

Xie Jianxun glanced at the young man, then at the shop owner, and hesitated. “Who is this?”

He realized the two knew each other.

Desmond knocked on the table. “He’s the son of a neighbor. Good-for-nothing, but he’s got a knack for tinkering with parts. Don’t worry, I won’t play favorites. Whoever fails, get out.”

The young man begged and flattered for a moment before turning to Xie Jianxun. “This little kid is my colleague-to-be?”

He rubbed his chin, a bit hesitant. “He looks kinda young.”

Xie Jianxun stayed calm. “But my skills with parts aren’t bad.”

The young man praised him. “That’s university-level stuff—genius!”

Desmond didn’t like the fake flattery between the young ones. He snorted and shoved a tin box piled high with parts in front of them both.

“I’ll teach you how to repair individual parts later. But first, you need to know the basics of parts and structures. You can’t put a gear on a cow’s nose—these parts can assemble into a single-shot gun, but there are plenty of extras. No time limit. If you can put it together, you’re qualified.”

The shop owner rolled his eyes upward and muttered, “Why’s the AC so strong today?”

Delin laughed. “A single-shot gun is basic firearm stuff, Old Man Desmond. Your standards are a bit low.”

Desmond’s eyes widened. “What else? Golden City’s schools don’t even offer precision parts repair courses. At best, those kids go to the library for books. If they can assemble a single-shot gun on their own, I’d thank the heavens—but none have passed.”

Delin grinned. “Don’t say that. I’m practically a top graduate from the library’s ‘mechanics department.'”

The old man scoffed. “You?”

As he listened to them talk, Xie Jianxun reached out and slowly stroked the smooth, cool parts.

They were jumbled in the tin box, each with different shapes, along with separately placed trigger and sight.

A single-shot gun was the first complete machine Xie Jianxun had ever assembled. It had almost no high-tech content—modern laser weapons would call it their ancestor.

Yet its structure was simple but not simplistic, the perfect choice for beginners learning parts.

He still remembered when he was young, someone had personally taught him to assemble this weapon.

It was his butler.

Back then, little Xie Jianxun sprawled on the carpet, curiously fiddling with parts scattered on the floor. The butler sat nearby, watching to make sure the young master didn’t suddenly decide to eat one.

The hall’s fireplace crackled with flames, giving off heat and the pop of sparks.

A maid came in, brewed tea for the butler, and gave the young master… a glass of plain water.

Little Xie Jianxun scrambled up in disbelief.

“Julius—”

He looked at the clear water in his glass, knowing the butler must have signaled it for the maid to do this.

“I want hot cocoa…”

The young master felt quite aggrieved, staring at the water and pouting sadly.

The man sitting nearby sighed lightly, as if fretting over the child’s health.

After a moment, he decided to let facts speak. “The amount of cocoa powder you drank last week already exceeded 120 percent—just in the two days I was out. Do you have any thoughts on that?”

Xie Jianxun: “…”

Wah.

Seeing that pretty little face droop lower, the sadness almost tangible, about to spill from those big eyes.

The butler stood, sat on the carpet too, crossed his legs, pulled the young master into his lap, and distracted him hand-over-hand.

“You already learned to assemble the mechanical pony last week, so I think you can start on basic parts structures. And these parts can just make a single-shot gun.”

Xie Jianxun’s attention was successfully diverted.

The fireplace burned warmly, and Julius’s embrace was toasty too.

He squinted comfortably.

“What’s a single-shot gun?”

“…And then I lent the book to those two kids, encouraging them to learn from big bro, master the basics early, and assemble their first single-shot gun… Huh?!”

The voice in his ear cut off abruptly. Xie Jianxun snapped back to reality and realized he’d already assembled a complete single-shot gun.

He looked up to see Desmond and Delin like two geese grabbed by the neck, staring at him in shock.

Xie Jianxun: “…Uh, I’m done?”

The shop owner said dazedly, “Oh, you’re done…”

Delin: “Y-you’re done?!”

What followed was Xie Jianxun sitting beside Desmond, watching Delin rack his brain, sweat profusely, and fumble awkwardly with the parts.

But with no time limit, he eventually succeeded.

As he pulled the trigger, the aluminum can on the table toppled. All three sighed in relief.

Desmond clapped his hands, drawing their attention.

“Alright, you’ve all seen the results. Now I’ll announce the final interview outcome.”

“Without a doubt… Delin! You’ll be my shop’s repair apprentice!”

The young man responded listlessly, as if he’d expected it and felt no joy after the thrashing by his fellow candidate.

“And you,” Desmond turned to Xie Jianxun solemnly, “apprentice isn’t right for you anymore. I sincerely invite you to become my shop’s formal repairman, with base pay and per-job commission.”

Xie Jianxun shook his head vigorously like a rattle. “No, no, no! You misunderstood!”

“Oh?”

“I’ve only learned assembly and repair for weapon machines, so I’m especially good at that. But for other types of machines, I’m just a beginner… Let me be an apprentice. There’s so much more to learn. Pretty please, Old Man Desmond?”

Desmond: “Uh, but my shop has the most weapons… Fine.”

The interview succeeded, and Xie Jianxun was in high spirits.

He bid Desmond farewell and left the Mechanical Repair Shop with Delin. At the street corner, the other stopped, clasped his hands together, and bowed solemnly to him.

“Bye, boss! Bless me to take solo jobs smoothly…” he muttered.

Xie Jianxun laughed, amused. “We’re colleagues now. I’ll have to ask you stuff too. See you tomorrow.”

“Awesome! See you tomorrow, boss!!!”

Xie Jianxun headed back to the inn in great mood. On the way, he passed a bakery, hooked by the rich scents of wheat and cheese, and stopped.

He stared straight at the display in the glass window, biting his lip.

Wait, Xie Jianxun, hold back. These sweets aren’t cheap. You’d spend a big chunk—twenty or thirty?—for a palm-sized lemon cake.

Not worth it. The cost-performance is too low… Half a day’s wages for one bite?

Hurry back. One’s waiting, and there’s Alex’s special desert fried rice, just as fragrant.

Back home, you weren’t this greedy…

“Kid?” From inside the bakery, a smiling plump lady greeted him. “Our fresh sea buckthorn jam cakes are on special today—66% off!”

Xie Jianxun: “…” Wah.

He couldn’t help himself and walked right through the bakery’s glass door.

In the evening, Alex sprawled bored at the front desk. A projection screen from his light brain hovered before him, visible only to the holder, so others just saw the young boss’s fingers swiping rapidly.

The chef prepared dinner, so the kitchen behind crackled with chopping meat sounds.

Meanwhile, Xie Jianxun hugged a paper bag through the inn’s door.

Alex spotted it and raised a brow. “What’d you buy? That’s a lot.”

Xie Jianxun heaved the bag onto the counter, tore it open, and showed off the contents. “Just a little something from Mrs. Liyada’s Bakery. The sea buckthorn jam cakes were 66% off, so I figured I’d grab some…”

The young boss said wryly, “That doesn’t look like ‘a little.'”

The little waiter said guiltily, “Once I went in, I saw so many goodies, so I grabbed as few as possible… Where’s One?”

Alex nodded toward the room. “In his room.”

Xie Jianxun: “Dig in! And you guys, don’t just watch—I bought plenty to thank everyone for taking care of me lately… I’ll go call One!”

With that, he hurried to the storage room door and knocked lightly.

He called, “One, I’m coming in, okay?”

Then he pushed the door open.

The staff behind glanced at the boss’s face. Alex lifted his chin. “It’s Little Xie’s gift. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

By the time the two emerged, the other colleagues had picked over most of the sweets.

Xie Jianxun glanced and picked out a big piece of sea buckthorn jam cake. “Mrs. Liyada said this one uses the freshest sea buckthorn bits, and the jam’s mixed with roasted sea buckthorn peel for extra flavor. Eating it feels like swimming in the desert.”

He carried the tray carefully and offered the cake to One. “Try a bite?”

One hesitated. The mechanical puppet’s clear eyes gazed at the caramel-colored top, its pale blue inorganic eyes flickering.

“I… might not think it’s good,” it said softly.

That was normal. After all, a mechanical puppet’s taste buds were mostly simulated by the mechanical core, without hormones to stimulate the brain chip.

So even delicious food wouldn’t stir emotions.

Xie Jianxun thought for a moment. “You haven’t tried this flavor yet, right?”

One nodded.

Xie Jianxun smiled. “That’s enough. Your chip will remember it. From now on, you’ll know what sea buckthorn jam cake tastes like—that’s plenty.”

The mechanical puppet gazed at him silently, then lowered its head and took a bite.

“Delicious,” it said softly.