In the end, waiter Little Xie chose to push Mr. One out as a shield for the impending disaster.
He still couldn’t avoid the calamity. Lowering his head, he repeated three times, “The boss’s fried rice is delicious. The boss’s fried rice is delicious. Bo… uh, Asa’s fried rice is delicious.”
Mm.
It was the boss’s inscrutable competitive spirit that the employee couldn’t quite fathom.
That evening, Xie Jianxun lay on the bed, stretching lazily as he prepared to sleep, when he heard noises from outside.
It sounded like a crowd had gathered, shouting loudly about something.
He didn’t want to move, but curiosity got the better of him. He pressed his forehead against One’s back, mumbling and nuzzling to get the mechanical puppet to check it out for him.
The mechanical puppet dutifully got up, pinching Xie Jianxun’s soft fingertips, which earned a hum from the young human.
“Go on, hurry.”
Moments later, One returned. “They say a bunch of Insect Clan died at the city gates. Lots of people are going to ‘dig bug corpses’—that is, harvesting usable parts from the bugs to make protective gear and weapons.”
Xie Jianxun pondered this. “That means tomorrow, a ton of people will be doing that.”
He thought of the Desmond Repair Shop and realized he hadn’t even said hello since returning.
His mind turned, and he immediately hatched a plan.
Early the next morning, waiter Little Xie slipped out of the inn stealthily, switching identities to repairman Little Xie. He hopped on the single-track train he hadn’t seen in ages and headed to the familiar Mechanical Repair Shop for a visit.
The Patrol Army Captain had contacted him; the next transport ship would launch in four days, with two empty spots reserved for them in the cabin. They could just head straight there when the time came.
However, if the Insect Clan outbreak issue wasn’t resolved, takeoff might get delayed.
If that happened, Xie Jianxun thought to himself, he’d probably curse the bugs to all be infertile!
At the Mechanical Repair Shop’s entrance, the glass door was tightly shut.
The wooden signboard still sat out front. The apprentice recruitment notice had long been torn down, replaced by contact info for the shop’s new repairman, Delin.
A gust of wind made the paper flutter.
Xie Jianxun smiled, hopped up the steps, and lightly knocked on the glass door.
Inside, the glass door area was packed with people, each holding items, apparently queuing to place orders.
The familiar young man stood inside, toolbox slung over his shoulder, looking as frazzled as ever. “No, no, patching it this way and applying mineral paste might cost more, but it’ll definitely hold better than it does now…”
At the knock, a few idle customers turned, shifting to make space. Xie Jianxun smoothly pushed the door open and entered.
“Welcome… Oh, no empty spots right now. You can wait over there. Orders are by number; steps are posted on the wall.”
Delin said it offhand without looking up. Hearing the familiar soft voice, he laughed. “Business is booming now—thanks to you, great repairman.”
The young man froze, then looked up in delight, eyes nearly welling with tears.
“Holy shit! Boss, you’re back!!! I heard the Joint Group returned to the city, but I’ve been swamped and couldn’t go pick you up!!!”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
He’d thought a bit of time apart might have matured the guy a little.
He cleared his throat and smiled. “Just got back. Here to say hi to Old Man Desmond. Is he in the shop?”
Before Delin could reply, a booming roar erupted from the back yard. “Yeah! Busy as hell!”
The customers in the shop let out knowing chuckles.
Delin: “Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, gentlemen. Allow me to proudly introduce—this is our shop’s famous one! The young and handsome! Great Repairman Xie!”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
He had a bad premonition.
Someone immediately recognized him. “Oh oh, no wonder he looks so familiar! Haven’t seen you around lately; thought you’d quit the trade.”
Xie Jianxun nearly buckled. “Uh, no no, I mean…”
“So he’s this shop’s repairman!”
“Awesome! I’ve been waiting till my ass is numb! Can you take a look and fix it?”
Hands thrust items into his grasp. Before he could react, he was shoved in front of the workbench.
Xie Jianxun: “Uh, no, I really just came to…”
Someone shouted, “I can’t wait! I’ll pay extra!”
“Extra pay!”
Desmond strode in from the back. Seeing Xie Jianxun already looking dizzy, he boomed with laughter. “Come on, let’s see if your skills improved during your absence. Don’t tell me you forgot everything Old Dad taught you.”
The poor little repairman was drowned in the crowd. “How, how is there so much—”
During a brief lull, Delin vented to him.
“Yesterday’s Insect Clan disaster—folks rushed out to scavenge, but some bugs weren’t fully dead and nearly gutted people. Weapons got damaged too, and in the end, the city defense forces had to clean up.”
His face was drawn, bags under his eyes—he clearly hadn’t slept. “So repair orders for weapons exploded. I’ve been working overtime since yesterday…”
Before his head hit the table, someone shoved in a new one. “Mr. Delin, help me out!”
Delin: “Ah!!!”
Xie Jianxun, disassembling parts, saw the scene and took pity. “Alright, I’ll stick around today and help knock out some orders.”
Delin snapped his head up, eyes gleaming, and bowed to him three times in a row.
Xie Jianxun felt a bit embarrassed, coughed fakely, and shifted his workbench. “Then I’ll call the inn and say I won’t be back for dinner.”
He dialed the inn. One picked up.
“Sliebierlich, good afternoon.” It was the mechanical puppet’s strong but flat voice.
Xie Jianxun cupped his mouth and whispered, “It’s me. Tell Asa I won’t be back for dinner—no need to fry my share.”
His mind turned, and he added, “Just helping with overtime, not because I’m tired of Asa’s fried rice.”
One’s voice softened. “Got it. I’ll pick you up tonight… but that gentleman is right beside me. He probably heard.”
Xie Jianxun: “…Just say it wasn’t me!”
He snapped shut the light brain. The little repairman patted his chest, thinking luckily maybe he hadn’t heard.
That evening, after sending off the last wave of customers, the shop was a wreck—half-done parts and unfinished products everywhere, plus some maintenance items drying.
Old Man Desmond ordered takeout, and dinner arrived soon. The three sat around the table, chowing down noisily.
Xie Jianxun ate until he burped, stuffed full by Old Man Desmond.
“They not feeding you or something?”
Xie Jianxun thought the words sounded familiar.
“You’ve lost at least three or four pounds!”
At that, the little repairman protested. “No way! I’ve always been this slim…”
As Delin ate, his light brain pinged with a message.
He set down his plate and opened it. It was from a dancing buddy-of-a-friend.
Delin squinted and said casually, “A friend of a friend of a friend says the City Lord’s Mansion is launching a citywide manhunt tonight. Told me to keep an eye out.”
He was baffled. “Manhunt? For criminals, probably! What’s it got to do with me? I don’t steal chickens or hurt folks.”
Old Man Desmond quipped sharply, “That dance you did yesterday was enough to blind me.”
Delin: “…Hey! Old Man Desmond, you just can’t keep up with the trends.”
The message was cryptic and out of nowhere, so the three brushed it off.
Until dinner was nearly done and the door bell actually rang—then they sensed trouble.
The City Lord’s Mansion had indeed sent people, looking like bad news was imminent.
They were forcibly conscripting two mechanical repairmen.
“…To provide mechanical repairs for the City Lord’s Mansion. Duration: three to four days.”
The steward from the City Lord’s Mansion stood inside, carefully avoiding the omnipresent gray-black iron shavings on the floor, but still got some on his shoe tip. He frowned deeply.
“Every repair shop has to provide two people. You sort out who goes.”
He waved impatiently, flanked by silent, helmeted patrol soldiers.
Delin was stunned and about to speak when the shop owner stepped forward first.
Desmond’s face darkened. He sneered, “Last time you said the same thing and dragged this old man off to fix your weapons. Now what, big trouble? Need a full two people?!”
The other side stayed silent, unwilling to give reasons.
Delin exclaimed, “Didn’t you say you were going to care for your ailing mother?”
The old shopkeeper irritably stroked his beard and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. “How old do you think I am? At my age, could my mother still be alive?”
Delin: “…”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
Xie Jianxun recalled handling patrol army weapons before and spotting familiar marks—fleeting then, but now he realized Old Man Desmond had fixed them!
So the City Lord’s Mansion was in the habit of freeloading labor and wanted another round!
But with no major sand bandit extermination going on, why the big fanfare, scouring the city for repairmen?
Delin slammed his fork into his plate, splattering soup.
He strode forward, crunching over the iron shavings. “I’ll go! A real man ain’t afraid of a couple days’ hard labor.”
Desmond added, “Looks like this old man’s gotta keep doing your free work. Quit yapping and let’s go…”
The steward sidestepped, gesturing politely. “Gentlemen, please.”
“…Old Man Desmond, your hands are shaking.”
From behind, the young repairman’s voice rang out, calm and gentle as he looked at him.
The old shopkeeper froze.
“Broad daylight, slaved away all day—you’re tired already. You said yourself you’re not as tough as when you were young.”
Desmond jumped up, brows shooting high. “Huh? Who said I’m old!”
Xie Jianxun chuckled.
He stepped up, gently pressed Desmond’s shoulder, and shook it playfully. “It’s late. You should head back and rest—get some good sleep.”
“I’m a Desmond Repair Shop repairman too, right? Haven’t quit yet. By rotation, it should be my turn.”
…
At the City Lord’s Mansion gates, masses of patrol troops and city defense soldiers moved about in a tense, war-ready atmosphere.
Several other repairmen were brought in from afar, eyes wide with panic.
Delin shivered. “Something big’s going down, huh? Boss, I’m scared.”
Xie Jianxun: “Thanks, me too…”
Delin jumped. “You were just sweet-talking Old Man Desmond so smoothly!”
Xie Jianxun weakly replied, “Well, a guy’s gotta say the right words sometimes, keep up appearances…”
