Mecha Chapter 7: Young Man

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

The next day, Luo XiaoLou purposely arrived at the factory early in the morning. He swiped at the door with the communicator on his wrist. A red light flashed on the transparent alloy door, and then opened to both sides to let Luo XiaoLou pass.

Because it was still early, there were only a few managers and Yang Yi at this time. The workers wouldn’t arrive too early, and it was time for their department managers to distribute parts. Most of the factory was mechanically intelligent, but some mecha parts involved manual work.

When they saw that it was Luo XiaoLou, several managers showed a knowing expression and smiled, most of them knew that Yang Yi had changed the parts for Luo XiaoLou.

Luo XiaoLou greeted everyone with a smile. He was a sweet-talker, and most of the people here liked the youngest young man in the factory who was not afraid of hardship.

Luo XiaoLou watched the few people get busy, went inside and made tea for everyone. He said, “Uncle Yang, the top management is even busier than us.”

“We are also busy at this time. But to produce results and efficiency, it’s still up to you, since we are specially relying on our XiaoLou.” Yang Yi said with a smile, “Now look, the three vice presidents of this factory were all hiring, but I’m the only one who recruited such a talent as you. Those two guys are envious.”

Luo XiaoLou grinned, revealing his shallow dimples, and said, “Uncle Yang, don’t make fun of me. If you hadn’t taken me in, I wouldn’t have been able to find a place to work.”

Luo XiaoLou was speaking from his own personal experience, but everyone else thought he was being polite.

The other two vice presidents were also secretly gnashing their teeth, muttering in their hearts about how Luo XiaoLou had chosen Yang Yi’s job advertisement that was inundated with messages. It was obvious that the advertisements the two of them had sent out were more eye catching, and even the various welfare matters had been more specific.

The company had been in the process of developing the new product for the past few years. Under such circumstances, Luo XiaoLou couldn’t wait.

So, that simple advertisement Yang Yi posted brought a surprise to the both of them.

“Uncle Yang, I’m currently idle. Is there anything I can help with?” Luo XiaoLou leaned over and asked.

Yang Yi looked around at the few people who were busy, waved his hand and said, “You’re not needed here, XiaoLou. Since there’s nothing to do, go learn the steps first and get a set of parts to start with.”

Yang Yi could not afford to delay Luo XiaoLou as his speed alone could top several people.

The other two vice presidents stretched their ears to listen to what parts Yang Yi had arranged for Luo XiaoLou. Yang Yi gave a slight smile and personally took Luo XiaoLou to the office of Teacher Fu, who was in charge of teaching machining.

Teacher Fu glanced at Luo XiaoLou. He was old, but he could make out that this teenager’s face was fresh. This teenager shouldn’t have been here for long, so he couldn’t help but look at Yang Yi strangely, “Vice President Yang, wouldn’t it be too risky for you to give this part to this kid?”

Yang Yi laughed and insisted, “Don’t worry, I have a sense of propriety.” He said, patting Luo XiaoLou’s shoulder and telling him to learn.

Luo XiaoLou himself of course would not say anything more. No matter how much he said, he would have no right to choose. He carefully learned the steps of machining Part 17 with Teacher Fu first, and then looked for Yang Yi to collect the parts.

Yang Yi was busy. He only pointed to a pile of silver parts to his right and said, “This is it, Luo XiaoLou. Take it yourself.”

Luo XiaoLou put a set in there. Then, after thinking about it, counted forty out so that he wouldn’t have to bother Yang Yi and make another trip in the afternoon.

Luo XiaoLou pushed his cart towards the workroom, which was still half an hour away from officially opening. When he turned a corner, a man walked towards Luo XiaoLou as he pushed the cart in his hand.

It was Old Yang, an old worker here, who was in his fifties. He was one of the earliest workers in the factory. He was not too old, but his hair was already white. Old Yang came in earlier and left later than everyone else almost every day. So although his speed was average, the number of pieces he worked on was quite large.

Luo XiaoLou had heard from other workers that Old Yang’s family was not well off. He had a large family to support, and even had two children who were students. Although Old Yang was usually very quiet, whenever he talked about his children, his face would beam with relief and pride.

Luo XiaoLou had a lot of respect for this old worker. In his eyes, people who lived by their own efforts deserved respect.

After greeting Old Yang, Luo XiaoLou hurriedly went into his own workroom. He still had plenty of time, but he didn’t dare to take it lightly. Luo XiaoLou didn’t even know how other people could complete a set with steps that were at such a high difficulty.

Even if he was confident in his current speed, he felt that it was barely enough to complete two sets a day. Yang Yi had said that if he completed just enough for four hundred federal coins per day, the factory would still make up to him with two hundred federal coins more. However, Luo XiaoLou just didn’t want to take advantage of such a situation no matter how much he lacked money and how much he liked money.

So Luo XiaoLou took a deep breath and began to work with great concentration.

First, he had to become familiar with the steps, then he could increase his speed.

“Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen —” Luo XiaoLou frowned. Each time he reached the eighteenth step, his movements would start to become inconsistent. The beat would be disrupted and the subsequent steps ended up being somewhat confusing.

As a result, he machined almost each of the first five parts twice, and the first one was even reworked three times. Luo XiaoLou took a look at the remaining pile of parts in the work cart, forced himself to calm down, closed his eyes and began to consider the reasons for this phenomenon.

In the quiet darkness, a part appeared in Luo XiaoLou’s mind, and then he quickly started machining it step-by-step, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…

Twenty-two, twenty-three!

Luo XiaoLou fiercely opened his eyes. It had finished with no stagnation at all.

He carefully recalled the movements of how he processed the eighteenth step. It was clear that there were no mistakes, it was the same as in reality —

“No, no, there must be something different…” Luo XiaoLou mumbled, then picked up the part again to operate it.

Luo XiaoLou tried to make his actions exactly the same as he had done it in his mind. When he reached the eighteenth step, the fingers of his left hand moved down to the bottom of the part, and seeing his fingers, Luo XiaoLou’s mind flashed with a bright light.

Yes, the rear. Within this step, the part had three pressure points to be stressed upon at the same time, but he had only taken care of two. As a result, when he completed these two points and then installed the third one, although it was also possible for it to go over, the steps would end up being disrupted.

Luo XiaoLou was relieved and smiled. No wonder Teacher Fu didn’t trust him. This part was really difficult.

Machining the sixth part, Luo XiaoLou began to pay attention. At the completion of the seventeenth step, the fingers on Luo XiaoLou’s left hand parted, and his thumb and ring finger gave two quick taps below and behind, barely taking care of both pressure points at the same time.

Twenty-three steps! Finally, success without a pause!

After Luo XiaoLou’s bout of happiness, he abruptly and desperately began to speed up.

He said that he didn’t want to take advantage of others for no reason. But more importantly, Luo XiaoLou also wanted to make more money by improving his efficiency, just like he did with Part 05.

Four hundred federal coins was not his goal, even if it was difficult. Since Part 05 could get eight hundred federal coins per day, Part 17 should make even more!

After working overtime for an hour, Luo XiaoLou dizzily got up. He had barely completed thirty pieces since early morning. He was more tired than he had ever been, compared to when he had completed three or four sets of Part 05.

Luo XiaoLou wasn’t going to succeed. His body couldn’t take it and if he went back too late, Yuan Xi would lose his temper again.

Never mind, he had done his best. Even if the company subsidized some of it, it was only right. Tonight he’d go back to Teacher Song to learn more about Part 17, and see if this complicated part could be improved.

At this moment, Luo XiaoLou’s door was knocked on twice, and before he could answer, Yang Yi hurriedly came in.

“XiaoLou, today is your first time processing this part, don’t push yourself too much. It’s really difficult, so even if you can finish only ten or less, it is also —” Yang Yi stopped and looked at Luo XiaoLou’s desktop, stunned. 

He opened his mouth, looked at Luo XiaoLou, and then at the desktop.

Luo XiaoLou was moving his fingers as he packed up his things. When he noticed Yang Yi had stopped, he went over to confess, “Uncle Yang, I still haven’t reached forty. This can’t be blamed on me, I’ve done my best. See, I’m tired for today. You’d better send me money for two sets, I still have to support my family!” Wasn’t that Yuan Xi at home still counting on him to feed him?

Yang Yi opened his mouth and said with difficulty, “XiaoLou, didn’t Teacher Fu tell you that this Part 17 is in groups of ten? So you didn’t miss out on it, you overshot the quota.”

Luo XiaoLou blinked his eyes as he excitedly rushed over and held Yang Yi’s hand, “Uncle Yang, you mean it? I told you I wasn’t that useless. This is too good to be true, yay!” To Luo XiaoLou, who had been depressed for a day, this was a pleasant surprise.

Yang Yi shook Luo XiaoLou’s hand with all his might and laughed out loud as well, “Good boy! Uncle Yang also wants to tell you another piece of good news. I guarantee that your little wealthy fan is overjoyed.”

Seeing Luo XiaoLou eagerly staring at him as if he was covered in federal currency, Yang Yi coughed and said, “Mecha parts also have grades, and the ones you made at the beginning belong to the Grade 1. The material is simple, and there are only ten steps or less; and the part you made today, which requires twenty-three steps, already belongs to the Grade 2. The higher this grade is, the higher the price will be. So, XiaoLou, the Part 17 you made is three hundred federal coins per set.”

Luo XiaoLou squeezed his thigh hard and immediately cried out in pain, muttering, “Motherfucker, it’s not a dream, so aren’t I rich?”

Yang Yi smiled and collected the machined parts on Luo XiaoLou’s desktop, and then put a thousand federal coins into Luo XiaoLou’s account.

Luo XiaoLou’s eyes were wide open, and Yang Yi patted him with emotion and said, “XiaoLou, since Uncle Yang begged you, he chose the most difficult one for you. It’s rare that you actually did it so fast. Moreover, you have made thirty parts without any damage, the company is going to reward you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Yang.” Luo XiaoLou gave a small smile, genuinely thanking him.

“Okay, it’s time for you to go home. Hurry up, I just heard you say that you need to support your family? Don’t tell Uncle Yang that even though you’re so young, your family has found a child bride for you?!” Yang Yi casually made fun of Luo XiaoLou.

Luo XiaoLou stumbled as he walked out, Child bride? Yuan Xi? Oh no, he doesn’t want him! Even a black widow is so much cuter than him!

Since it was a fruitful day and he was also a little late, Luo XiaoLou bit the bullet and got off the bus near a cake shop. Every time he passed by before, Luo XiaoLou couldn’t turn his eyes away from the attractive shapes and fragrance of the cakes.

He was not particularly fond of sweets, but the shop’s desserts seemed to be under a magic spell, attracting him to look at it several times, every time he passed by. And, as he could tell from the delivery people coming and leaving through the door, the shop’s desserts should be very good.

Walking through the exquisite shop door, Luo XiaoLou awkwardly asked under the shopkeeper’s surprised gaze, “How much is this?”

God knows he had already picked the smallest one! But two hundred federal coins for a box of cakes — not twenty! Heh. Future World is great, Future World will be able to grab money with impunity!

Luo XiaoLou roared in place and cursed the clerk out — this is, of course, in his mind.

Luo XiaoLou dejectedly held out his hand for the clerk to scratch away the cake money from the communicator. It was dirty enough to buy it in person, but asking for the price and then saying you couldn’t afford it would be even more dirty, wouldn’t it? 

And let’s just bring a piece for Yuan Xi. Men don’t really like sweets, so in case he doesn’t eat them, I’ll have a reason to eat them myself.

……

Luo XiaoLou was becoming more and more convinced that God had allowed him to be reborn to test him.

What’s the point of having no money? What’s the point of having a strange owner — the owner who gets along with him anytime, anywhere and has a strange and perverted personality — that’s what’s most unbearable!

Luo XiaoLou looked tearfully at the person at the table who was happily eating the cake. The black and white cake was picked up by a small, white fork and sent into a mouth with beautifully shaped lips, only to have a faint white cream running down the corner of his mouth.

Aiii! Why, why would a man with such a perverted personality — he was really a man, because Luo XiaoLou had seen Yuan Xi walking around the apartment one time after taking a shower, not wearing anything and, oh, don’t ask him what he saw — love cake!

If all kinds of dogs were given a test after being reborn, then Yuan Xi must have been the biggest one!

As Yuan Xi ate, he elegantly took the coffee that came with the cake from the shop and enjoyed it. Only after finishing the small but expensive cake did Yuan Xi slowly wipe his mouth and say, “Well, are you a man or not? You actually like this kind of stuff? But count it as you having vision. This type of cake is actually imported.”

Luo XiaoLou, who was in the kitchen eyeing him as he finished the last bite, exerted force through his hands and the wrist-thick radish snapped in half.

A man who likes cake doesn’t count as a man? Luo XiaoLou’s hands and feet were trembling with rage. Doesn’t this damned bastard ever look at himself when stabbing others?

Yuan Xi stood in front of the kitchen again, where he was used to staying while waiting for his food, since there was no one else in the apartment to talk to but Luo XiaoLou. After a while, Yuan Xi again felt that Luo XiaoLou should really be praised for taking the initiative to bring back snacks today — having a slave made him feel happier and more motivated.

“But you’ve been praiseworthy lately, you’re becoming such a good slave.”

Crack — Luo XiaoLou had snapped another vegetable in his hand, and then he glanced up at Yuan Xi, whose eyes were shining brightly as he waited for his grateful answer, before grimly replying after a few seconds, “It’s really not worthy of your — compliments.”

Still, no matter how badly Luo XiaoLou had been hurt internally tonight, his dinner time with Yuan Xi had been remarkably quiet, which was rare.

After dinner, Luo XiaoLou cleared the table, and Yuan Xi swaggered off to his bedroom. He was probably rushing back to the internet, Luo XiaoLou had last seen him lying on his bed wearing a micro-computer device.

It wasn’t too late by the time he was done. Nowadays, technology was unbelievably convenient, and Luo XiaoLou never took more than twenty-minutes to prepare dinner. Luo XiaoLou stretched, went back inside, and in no time at all, came out with his bathrobe and towel.

There was a bathroom in the master bedroom, but it wasn’t as convenient now that he was in the guest room. The other bathroom was at the end of the apartment, between his guest room and the master bedroom.

Luo XiaoLou went into the bathroom and filled the tub with hot water. He was tired after today and needed to take a comfortable bath. Luo XiaoLou sat back, soaking in the hot water, and after pressing the yellow button, a massager began to stretch out against his skin, slowly rotating and massaging it. After a long day, Luo XiaoLou was almost moaning from the pleasure.

 

At this very moment, the bathroom door was suddenly opened with unceremonious force.