Chapter Forty-One: Business Opportunity

"Time was tight, so I didn’t have a chance to refine it; you’ll have to make do for now. I already spoke to their workshop supervisor. They’ll make another set, more carefully crafted—polished where it needs polishing, blued where it needs bluing. It’ll take about ten more days to finish." My uncle spoke as if arranging tasks at his own workplace. It seemed he was on very good terms with the factory at Shougang, to the point of having the workshop supervisor in his pocket. Clearly, he’d had quite a few water jackets made, and the factory was benefiting too—at least the supervisor was.

"Alright. I need another favor from you. Please go to the Qianmen Bicycle Shop and buy me some parts. I’m out of money, so you’ll have to front it for me. Get both genuine and second-rate parts if you can—I’ll try them out and see. If you can get one set, get one; if you can get two, get two. Don’t go by yourself—bring a few colleagues, spread it out. However you arrange it is fine, just make sure you bring back all the receipts. Not a single receipt can be missing, otherwise I can’t get it registered." The reason Hong Tao was so familiar with the process was because, in his previous life, he’d heard an old cycling friend recount his youthful experiences. At every gathering and over drinks, the man would recall this story, and Hong Tao had heard it so often he could nearly recite it by heart.

"What if you can’t put together a full set?" His uncle raised a very practical question.

"There’s more than one Qianmen Bicycle Shop in Beijing. I only know about that one, but there must be others, right?" Hong Tao was momentarily stumped by his uncle’s question. He truly didn’t know how many bicycle shops there were at the time; he’d only heard about the one at Qianmen.

"Ah, I was being silly. There’s one at Xizhimen too. Got it, I understand now. Xiao Tao, you’re sure you can assemble a bike?" His uncle slapped his forehead, realizing his question had been a bit foolish.

"Would I mess around with my own family? Do I look that idle? How about you come to our house this Sunday? I’m planning to take apart my dad’s bike and put it back together—otherwise he won’t believe me." Hong Tao felt it was best to show his uncle his skills; otherwise, the man would always be nervous and doubtful.

"Didn’t you say your dad can’t know?" his uncle quickly reminded him.

"I said he can’t know I’m building bikes to sell to you, not that he can’t know I have the skills. I’m also going to build one for my mom. But you don’t need to help me buy the parts for that—I’ll have my dad do it. He usually only teaches half-days, so he’s got plenty of free time," Hong Tao clarified.

"Alright, I’ll come over on Sunday. Today I sneaked out, didn’t dare go to your place. On Sunday, I’ll bring you something good—you’ve definitely never had it before." His uncle finally understood everything.

On Sunday morning, Grandpa’s little room became Hong Tao’s temporary workshop. His father’s heavy-duty 28-inch bicycle was placed upside down on an old bamboo mat. Grandpa sat on the bed, Dad on the only chair, and Uncle, holding an adjustable wrench, was dismantling the rear axle as Hong Tao squatted nearby watching. Only these four were allowed inside—no one else could enter.

Dad’s bike had seen heavy use and poor maintenance; many parts were rusted. Fortunately, Uncle was there to help, or Grandpa would have had to do it himself—Hong Tao’s skinny arms were no match for the stubborn bolts. Even so, Uncle spent two hours taking the bike apart, reducing it to a pile of components. Some parts wouldn’t budge and needed to be soaked in kerosene for a while; Grandpa was an expert in such matters.

"I’ll do it myself. If I really can’t manage, then you can help me!" After cleaning every part with kerosene, Uncle offered to help Hong Tao assemble the bike, but Hong Tao refused. It wasn’t that he was being stingy and afraid Uncle would learn his craft—spoke-lacing wasn’t something you could pick up just by watching. Sometimes, unless you pierced that thin veil yourself, you’d be fooled forever. The real reason he declined Uncle’s help was to see if he could assemble a bike entirely on his own, since he couldn’t always rely on an adult hovering over him in the future.

"Alright... There! How’s that? Should be fine!" Assembly took about as long as dismantling. By the time the bicycle was reassembled, it was noon. Grandma had already poked her head in twice to ask if lunch was ready but had been shooed out by Grandpa each time. Now the old man was no longer sitting on the bed but had squatted beside Hong Tao, watching him methodically put the bike back together.

"Where did you learn this?" Dad got up from his chair. When Hong Tao skillfully laced the spokes and transformed a pile of junk into a complete wheel, he had come over to watch, joining Grandpa in observing every one of the boy’s movements.

"I watched. I’ve been to the Beixin Bridge Bicycle Shop a few times and saw the uncles there do it this way," Hong Tao offered a reason no one could verify.

"We’ve all wasted our lives, haven’t we? Oh, Dad, I don’t mean you," Uncle said, pulling the newly assembled wheel—it spun smoothly, silent except for the clicking of the freewheel.

"You can say that about me, it’s true. If Xiao Tao apprenticed with me now, I might raise him to be an eighth-level worker. The two apprentices I trained were smart enough, but compared to Xiao Tao, they look like fools. Bingrui, your family’s ancestors must really be smiling on you," Grandpa said, glancing at Hong Tao and the bike, unsure how to praise his grandson. This had already exceeded his imagination.

"This bike can’t be ridden for long distances yet. I didn’t tighten all the bolts or install the brakes—I don’t have the strength. Uncle, you’ll have to do that for me." Hong Tao soaked his hands in kerosene to wash off the grease, then stood up and stretched his back—squatting for two hours was exhausting.

"That’s no problem... no problem at all. Anyone can do these little tasks. Tomorrow, I’ll... I’ll take apart my own bike and give it a try!" Uncle, slow on the uptake, almost mentioned buying parts before remembering Dad was present and quickly changed his words.

"All done, go wash your hands. Wife! Lunch is ready!" Grandpa, always unflappable, quickly shook off his amazement, slapped his thigh, and shouted toward the door.

"Dad, Big Brother, after lunch, I’ll go to Qianmen to buy parts. Xiao Tao says he wants to build a bike for his mom. I didn’t believe it before, but now I have no choice. Do you two want to build one as well? Let’s all go together!" At lunch, Dad finally recovered his composure. He didn’t see this as a money-making opportunity—just a way to solve the issue of bicycle permits.

"Bingrui, it’s best not to let outsiders know about this. Think about it—who doesn’t need a bike? If people find out, they’ll all come to Xiao Tao. Then he’ll have no time for anything else, and if you help some but not others, you’ll offend people. In the end, all you’ll get is complaints. Let’s keep this between us four. Xiao Tao won’t say anything, I won’t either, and even if Guangxing talks, he lives far away. You and Xiao Tao’s mother must be careful too," Grandpa whispered to Dad, not the least bit excited.

"That’s right, Bingrui, Dad is correct. This should be kept secret, even from family, in case word gets out," Uncle concurred wholeheartedly.

"I honestly hadn’t thought about that—it’s a big issue. We can’t let it affect Xiao Tao’s studies. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to his mother. We’ll say it was a workplace bicycle permit," Dad agreed.

After lunch, Dad and Uncle headed off to Qianmen for parts. Dad rode the very bike his son had just reassembled, praising how much smoother it felt.

"Grandpa, are you on good terms with Grandpa Liu at the alley entrance? The one at the scrap yard?" After Dad and Uncle left, Hong Tao slipped back into Grandpa’s room to begin his next plan.

"Of course—we bought our radiator from him. Are you eyeing his pile of junk again?" Grandpa no longer treated Hong Tao like a child.

"Yeah, a few days ago I saw a broken bike frame in his junk pile. I think if we buy it and piece it together, we might end up with a whole bike. The parts look old, but not many are truly broken. Maybe you could ask him if his family needs a bike—I could build one for them. Just don’t tell him I did it; say it was a colleague from your workplace, and sell it to him without a permit. What do you think?" Hong Tao had his eye on the scrap heap for a while. It was full of treasures, but as a kid, he couldn’t just wander in whenever he pleased.

"Sell him a bike? Ha! You’re after that pile of scrap in his yard, aren’t you? Honestly, before the radiator, I never noticed how many good things could be found in that pile. Alright, I’ll ask him. He’d be crazy not to want it—his second son’s getting married next year, and a bike without a permit would solve a big problem for them. Once I’ve spoken to him, you can talk to him yourself—just pay the same price as he paid for scrap, not a cent more. We won’t take advantage, but we won’t get shortchanged either!" Grandpa knew exactly what Hong Tao was after without needing it spelled out. Unlike Dad, who always wondered why, Grandpa never objected as long as he felt something wasn’t a problem, especially when it came to Hong Tao.

"Heh heh... It’s called mutual benefit. He’s just going to melt that stuff down anyway—making use of waste is saving resources," Hong Tao replied, grinning, not forgetting to pat himself on the back.