Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 163 Installation and Drilling

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the men whose faces had darkened, their lips moving as if they wanted to say something but dared not act rashly. He slowly added, "Of course! Rules are rules, but people are flexible. I, Old Li, am not an unsympathetic person. If any of the bosses waiting in line are willing to offer something 'other' as a token of 'sincerity,' like this young lady has done... then we can analyze the specific situation. Cutting in line and moving forward isn't entirely out of the question!"

Upon hearing this, the group of people who had been arguing, pulling at each other, and almost coming to blows instantly fell silent, as if gripped by an invisible hand. A chilling silence descended. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with resentment and anger, but even more so with a sense of helplessness and clarity after being brutally confronted by reality. Yes, what time is it now? Tomorrow night at ten o'clock, the temperature will drop to minus fifteen degrees Celsius! And the consequences are still unknown! This is truly an extraordinary time!

You can't afford to offend this renovation worker who possesses crucial skills in installing stoves and building safe heating systems! If you offend him too much today, forget about cutting in line; no matter how many points you spend, he'll probably just say "I'm too busy" or "My skills aren't good enough to install it properly" and send you on your way. Besides, the worker has already laid out his rules, which are "transparent"—want priority? Sure, but you'll have to offer something even more substantial than points! Food, fuel, or other scarce and practical supplies.

No one dared to step forward to pull or argue anymore. A stifling silence filled the air. Some people started looking down and rapidly operating their phones, the blue light of the screen reflecting their anxious faces, probably urging their families to quickly find another driver willing to take the job. Others reluctantly took out their phones, noted down the order of appointments promised by Mr. Li, sighed helplessly, and turned to squeeze into the crowd, probably to gather that possible "extra sincerity."

Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyan felt relieved, knowing that her risky move had paid off. She immediately said, "Master Li, shall we leave now? My home isn't too far from here, and I have the stove and chimney pipe. I only have one requirement: safety! Absolutely no smoke leakage! Is that alright?"

The renovation worker nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, young lady. I, Old Li, have been in this business for over ten years. I've installed at least eighty or a hundred stoves. Safety is absolutely no problem!" The two said no more and quickly left the still bustling and chaotic Taiping Street Market, heading briskly towards Xu Xiaoyan's house.

Before long, the two arrived at their own courtyard gate. Xu Xiaoyan took out her key, but did not open the gate immediately. She turned around and said to Master Li, who was carrying a toolbox, "Master, please wait at the door for two minutes. I will go in and tidy up a bit, clear out the space, and move the stove out so that you can start working right away."

Master Li nodded knowingly, a look of understanding on his face. It's normal for many customers to have messy homes or valuables that they don't want outsiders to see. He stood respectfully outside the door, took out a cigarette and lit it. By the dim light, he looked at the house where a second-floor shed was being added, and had a more intuitive understanding of the work.

Xu Xiaoyan quickly opened the door and entered the room. Her mind raced. The smokeless coal stove, the cast iron wood stove, and the matching exhaust pipes, elbows, windproof caps, sealing putty, fireproof and heat-insulating pads, etc., were neatly placed on the floor of the room.

She quickly scanned the stove to make sure it was intact, all parts were complete, and nothing was missing. Then she went back to the front door and invited Mr. Li, who was stamping his feet to warm himself after finishing his cigarette, inside.

"Master, thank you for your help. Both of these stoves need to have independent exhaust pipes installed to connect to the outside," Xu Xiaoyan said calmly, pointing to the two brand-new stoves on the ground.

When Mr. Li saw that there were two boilers, and both were standard heating boilers requiring meticulous installation of exhaust systems and high sealing standards, he raised an eyebrow slightly. This was no small task. He rubbed his hands together, a look of slight difficulty mixed with shrewdness on his face, and said, "Young lady, one boiler costs one price. Installing two means drilling two holes in the wall and connecting two sets of flue pipes. The labor and materials will more than double. As for the points system..."

"No problem, double points." Xu Xiaoyan nodded decisively before he could finish speaking, without the slightest hesitation or bargaining. In her opinion, time was far more precious than points at this moment.

"Great!" The hesitation on Mr. Li's face vanished instantly; he loved dealing with such straightforward customers. "Then I'll get started!"

Without saying another word, he immediately got to work. He first quickly walked around the house, examining the structure, wall materials, and window positions. Then he peered into the backyard and looked at the distance between the neighboring houses on both sides. Soon, he determined the best installation locations for the two stoves.

He took out chalk and precisely marked the center points of the two smoke vents on the wall. Then he took out the old-looking but well-maintained impact drill from the toolbox, checked the drill bit, and connected the temporary power cord from inside the house.

"Little girl, stand back a bit and put this on, it's dusty." Master Li handed over a simple dust mask, while he put on goggles and gloves himself. He gestured for Xu Xiaoyan to move to another corner of the room.

Then, he steadily picked up the heavy impact drill, placed the drill bit on the first marked point on the wall, leaned forward slightly, and turned on the switch.

"Buzz—!!!" The sound of the starting motor rang out, followed by a huge, muffled, and continuous impact sound as the drill bit hit the wall:

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!!!" The enormous noise instantly shattered the tranquility of the night, echoing and amplifying wildly in the small room, making one's eardrums tingle. Even the ground seemed to tremble slightly. The drill bit rubbed fiercely against the bricks and cement, and fine stone powder and dust sprayed out from the drill hole, forming a small cloud of hazy smoke under the light.

Xu Xiaoyan's heart leaped into her throat. She instinctively covered her ears with her hands, her eyes darting nervously to the walls on either side. Her biggest worry wasn't the noise itself, but that the loud commotion in the middle of the night would disturb the neighbors! If that difficult, plump woman next door or any other neighbor were woken up and stormed over to cause trouble, question, or even obstruct the installation, it would severely delay the process!

However, the expected knocking and shouting did not occur. The impact drill roared for more than ten minutes until the first hole in the wall was successfully drilled, but there was still no movement from next door.