Chapter Forty-Eight: Returning Good for Evil

Four days had passed, and everyone in the factory was utterly stunned!

As Kang Ning started the engine inside the car, the Santana, now restored to its original form yet still covered in mottled primer, finally moved. After circling the courtyard twice, Kang Ning stopped in front of a beaming Yu Sheng. "Yu Sheng, hop in! Let's take it out for a test drive!"

Yu Sheng asked excitedly, "Really... can I, big brother? I can go too?"

"Why not? We fixed this car together. I couldn't have done it alone. Enough talk, get in!" Kang Ning feigned annoyance.

Yu Sheng eagerly opened the passenger door, dove into the car, and gazed at Kang Ning, grinning foolishly.

Yu Sheng was filled with pride. For four days, he and Kang Ning had lived and worked side by side, putting in overtime day and night. When correcting the chassis, Yu Sheng wielded the hammer while Kang Ning handled the crowbar or jack, assisting as needed. Yu Sheng cut and welded, with Kang Ning fixing and finishing the work. When repairing the body, Yu Sheng guided Kang Ning, patiently teaching him the proper way to rivet different materials. In mechanical repairs, Kang Ning tirelessly explained the function of each component, imparting knowledge of circuits and wiring. At night, after a hurried dinner in Uncle Wang’s room, still dressed in greasy, sweat-soaked coveralls, they continued to work under bright lights, studying schematics and solving problems. To save costs, they frequented the used car market together in search of parts. Their teamwork became seamless, efficiency soared, and their bond deepened amid sweat and laughter.

Over these days, Yu Sheng could not forget the envy in his fellow apprentices’ eyes, nor the teasing jokes tinged with jealousy. He had never hoped for praise or admiration from others but counted himself lucky to have found a good partner and mentor. From childhood, Yu Sheng had never received a single word of praise from teachers or colleagues. Hearing Kang Ning's warm encouragement and heartfelt commendations, he had nearly been moved to tears several times. Thus, the simple and earnest Yu Sheng, full of energy, always worked tirelessly alongside Kang Ning. Watching the severely damaged, misshapen Santana gradually regain its form under his own hands filled Yu Sheng, once plagued by self-doubt, with pride and joy.

"Why are you staring at me? Listen closely to the engine—see if the chassis still makes any odd noises, silly." Kang Ning, noticing Yu Sheng’s foolish grin, couldn’t help but chide him with a smile.

Yu Sheng immediately sat up straight, listening attentively to the mechanical sounds as the car moved. After a while, he said, "There's a strange noise on the left—could be a rivet inside the left fender that's come loose."

Kang Ning listened carefully and found Yu Sheng was right. So, a kilometer from the entrance to Sichuan-Chongqing Expressway, he turned the car around and drove back. "See? Yu Sheng, you’re actually really smart—just not very talkative. If you put in the effort, getting a technician’s certificate should be no problem at all."

Yu Sheng’s eyes widened and his mouth moved, but it took him a while before he timidly asked, "Me... do I really have what it takes? That’s serious stuff. Only Master Li and Master Huang at the factory have technician’s certificates. Many have been fixing cars for seven or eight years and still haven’t gotten a basic one. I’m even less likely."

"Who says you can't? Didn’t you fix this car? Didn’t you install the engine? Didn’t you handle the motor and carburetor?" Kang Ning encouraged him loudly. "I’ve watched you closely—your cold work skills rival Master Li’s. No one else here, not even me, can match you. If you have time, spend three evenings a week at my place—I’ll help you with the theory. As long as you try hard, you’ll definitely get that certificate. With it, you could open your own workshop, let alone earn an extra thousand or two a month. Remember, there’s no such thing as not being able to learn—only not trying."

Yu Sheng was deeply moved. "Big brother, I’ll do as you say!"

Kang Ning drove the car back to the repair bay. After checking the remaining issues with Yu Sheng, he said, "Fix those two minor problems and hand it over to the paint team. Our job is pretty much done—should be ready to deliver by tomorrow morning."

"Alright!" Yu Sheng replied, immediately wedging the wheels with a block, bending down to get to work.

Kang Ning took off his gloves and turned around, nearly bumping into Lu Jing, who hurried over. Lu Jing stumbled, barely steadying herself, and complained with a laugh, "You scared me! You clumsy oaf—if you bump into me, I’ll dock your pay!"

Kang Ning replied helplessly, "Boss, isn’t that a bit harsh?"

"Pfft—" Lu Jing couldn’t help but laugh at Kang Ning’s pitiful, grease-smeared face. Noticing others nearby, she quickly composed herself, "Seriously, thank you. If not for you, I’d have been frantic!"

"It wasn’t just me. Yu Sheng did most of the work. If anyone deserves praise, it’s him. Just look at that impressive cold work." Kang Ning walked over to the sink, took off his heavy, stifling jacket, hung it on the wire, squatted down, and washed his face under the tap.

From behind a nearby sedan, Huang Yuanqing slowly stood up, glancing at Lu Jing as she praised Yu Sheng, then casting a hateful glare at Kang Ning by the sink. Throwing down his wrench, he spat fiercely toward Kang Ning’s direction. "Hmph! Let’s see how long you stay smug!"

Old Li, observing from nearby, frowned as he watched Huang Yuanqing, then glanced at Kang Ning in the distance wiping his face. Reflecting on Huang Yuanqing’s character, Old Li sighed softly.

Huang Yuanqing, hearing Old Li’s sigh, looked over and gave him a disdainful glare before bending to pick up his wrench.

Just then, a farm flatbed truck carrying a mangled Changan van pulled into the factory. The farm truck stopped in the middle of the yard, and a businessman in his forties quickly jumped out from the passenger seat, rushing over to Lu Jing and pleading loudly, "Miss, please fix this car as soon as possible! If you can get it done in two days, name your price—otherwise, my truck worth over a hundred thousand will be taken from me!"

Kang Ning, by the sink, heard this and sauntered over, but Huang Yuanqing was already hurrying to the farm truck. He called for his apprentices to bring the ramp, impatiently untied the ropes securing the damaged van, and moved a large block from under the rear wheels, barking orders at his slow-moving apprentices.

With the van unsecured, it slid off the tilted flatbed. Seeing the danger, everyone shouted in alarm, but Huang Yuanqing, standing right at the rear, remained oblivious. Just as everyone expected him to be crushed, a figure sprang forward, leaping high, and kicked Huang Yuanqing four meters aside. The same figure planted a foot against the falling van, using the force to perform a deft backflip, landing and rolling away just as the van crashed down with a thunderous bang, kicking up a cloud of dust four meters wide. The van bounced over a foot high, then rolled toward the figure, crashing down again with another loud boom. The deformed vehicle bounced twice more before finally coming to rest.

Huang Yuanqing, having narrowly escaped, sat weakly on the ground four or five meters away, his face covered in dust and reflecting his terror. His vacant eyes stared fixedly at the Changan van lying amid the dust.

Kang Ning, quick-witted but disheveled, had barely dodged the danger. Standing up, he felt a burning pain in his right arm. Seeing blood streaming from a large abrasion, he tore a strip from his dusty T-shirt and bandaged himself.

Lu Jing, pale with shock, rushed to Kang Ning, forcibly shoved him into her sedan, and sped off to the nearest hospital.