novelraw Chapter 151: I Have a Pretty Strong Grip
Chapter 151: I Have a Pretty Strong Grip
Around one or two in the afternoon, all the chatty old folks were out for their strolls. Riley Perry steered her electric tricycle specifically toward them, and when she saw a likely prospect, she’d call out, "Out for a walk, sir?"
"Hello, ma’am."
Wouldn’t you know it, the third person she asked turned into a customer.
"Miss, I heard you shouting about appliance repair. I’ve got an MP4 player here that won’t play songs anymore. Think you can fix it?"
The repairman was just about to say no.
After all, he only knew how to fix appliances. An MP4 player used electricity, sure, but it was an electronic device, and he genuinely didn’t know how to handle it.
Riley Perry said, "Of course. Do you have it with you? I can take a look for you, sir."
"I don’t. Wait here a moment, I’ll go home and get it."
The old man ran off as soon as he finished speaking. Riley Perry parked the electric tricycle under the shade of a tree and waited patiently.
The repairman said, "Miss, I really don’t know how to fix electronics."
"It’s fine. If we can’t fix it, we’ll just put it back together as it was. But if we do fix it, we’ll make that gentleman happy for the rest of the day. That’d be worth it."
As soon as she said that, a passing old woman exclaimed, "Well, what do you know! You’re a kind-hearted young lady. I have a rice cooker at home that my son brought back from a business trip abroad. We’ve used it for years, and it worked so well. But the other day, my granddaughter used it to cook, and it broke. Could you take a look at it for me?"
The repairman really wanted to refuse outright. A rice cooker, especially one from overseas, was trouble. Not only would he probably not recognize the writing on it, but even if he found the problem, finding replacement parts would be nearly impossible. Looking at it would be a waste of time.
Besides, it was just a rice cooker. You could buy a decent one for a thousand yuan or so, and a cheaper one for just one or two hundred. Who would be willing to spend two or three hundred on repairs when they could just buy a new one?
But Riley Perry just smiled and agreed again. "Go get it, ma’am. We’ll take a look for you."
The old woman left as well.
A short while later, the old man who had gone home for his MP4 player hurried back. "Young lady, could you take a look at this for me? It just stopped making sound while I was using it. I usually listen to opera on it, and I feel quite lost without it."
Riley Perry took the MP4 player and glanced at it. The battery was full. "Sir, are your children usually not at home?"
"That’s right. The kids are all busy. It’s just the two of us old folks at home."
Riley Perry asked, "Then do you have a computer at home?"
The old man’s eyes immediately filled with suspicion. "What do you need a computer for?"
Riley Perry quickly explained, "Sir, there’s nothing wrong with your MP4 player. You just accidentally deleted all the songs on it. All you need to do is download the songs you want again on a computer."
The old man was speechless.
Riley Perry and the repairman went home with the old man and used his computer to download plenty of songs he liked. The old man kept asking her how much he owed her.
Riley Perry refused payment. "Sir, there’s no need. I didn’t replace any parts or even open the casing. I just used my hands to help you download some songs. How could I possibly take your money for that?"
The old man didn’t insist on paying. Instead, he took a turn around his kitchen and found a new job for Riley Perry. "Miss, see if you can fix my gas stove. The left burner is fine, but two of the holes on the right one won’t light up. The flame is also too big and licks the sides of the pot. Every time I use it, the bottom of the pot gets covered in a ring of black soot."
The repairman quickly raised his hand. "I can do that one!"
Riley Perry smiled and stepped aside, letting the master work his magic.
However.
Seeing the master’s forehead beaded with sweat, Riley Perry quietly suggested, "Master, I’m actually pretty strong."
’I’m a grown man and I can’t even twist this rusted burner cap. Can this young lady really do it?’ the repairman thought.
Riley Perry had already taken a pair of pliers from the toolbox and gotten to work. With one twist, it came off.
Then, with another twist, she’d removed both problematic caps. After that, she began cleaning them bit by bit.
Next, she adjusted the valve on the old man’s stove. Small, steady blue flames appeared. The job was done.
Riley Perry took out the ignition battery and showed it to the old man. It felt soft to the touch. "Sir, this battery should be replaced too. It’s about to die. Why don’t I just go ahead and change it for you?" She had noticed earlier that the master’s toolbox had D-cell batteries.
The old man said, "Yes, yes, please do. Thank you for the trouble."
After the battery was replaced, the gas stove repair was officially complete. The old man hurriedly asked how much it cost.
Riley Perry looked at Master Quenton.
Master Quenton said, "Let’s say forty. To be honest, if it weren’t for you, no one could have done this job today, not even for a hundred." The burner caps were completely stuck.
How could the old man accept that? The technical skill might have been worth forty, but the service from this master-and-apprentice pair was worth much more! The young lady had cleaned his gas stove until it looked brand new. He insisted on shoving 100 yuan into Master Quenton’s hand, and on top of that, he pulled two cold drinks from the fridge, one for Riley Perry and one for the master, before he considered the matter settled.
As soon as the two of them left, the old man immediately sent a message to his neighborhood’s residents’ group chat and his group chat with old friends: "There’s an amazing repair master in the neighborhood who can fix any appliance. If you need anything repaired, hurry over to the little garden and find them!"
Once they were outside, Master Quenton gave the money to Riley Perry. "We couldn’t have earned this without you. This money is yours."
Riley Perry refused it, but an idea flashed in Master Quenton’s mind. He took a fifty-yuan bill from his own pocket and gave it to her. "Let’s split it fifty-fifty. I’m still getting the better end of the deal. Otherwise, I would’ve only earned forty at most."
Seeing that he was serious, Riley Perry finally accepted it.
[Seriously, this woman is dead set on taking the road less traveled, isn’t she?]
[Damn, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a female celebrity who can fix a gas stove. She’s the real deal!]
[Hah, Riley Perry’s fans are disgusting. She only made 50 yuan and you’re all losing your minds?]
[Whoever said Riley Perry’s fans are disgusting must be a Holly Summers fan.]
[Their own idol hasn’t even earned a single cent yet. I don’t know where they get the nerve to mock someone who at least managed to earn 50 yuan.]
That was right, Holly Summers hadn’t earned a single cent. This was mainly because she was afraid of people taking advantage of her, and she also wanted to draw a comparison with Riley Perry to screw her over.
At first, she had followed Riley Perry out, but Riley had sped off on her electric tricycle. There was no way Holly could catch up in high heels, so she eventually gave up.
Unable to set Riley Perry up, she had no choice but to hurry up and earn some money. After searching for a while, she actually found a good spot.
The place they were in was a provincial capital, with many high-end restaurants and cafes lining the streets. She had once played a role as a coffee shop employee and had specifically learned how to do latte art. She felt that with this skill, she could also earn some money.
So, she went to a cafe and started negotiating her pay with the manager. They offered her 150 yuan. For a temp job, that price really wasn’t low. But Holly Summers demanded 1,200 yuan.
Honestly, if it weren’t for the cameraman following her, the manager would have just sent her packing.
It was only then that Holly Summers remembered—oh, right. She wasn’t Holly Summers right now. She was just an ordinary person who, after makeup, looked as plain as could be. No one would be willing to pay an ordinary person a salary of 1,200 yuan for half a day’s work.