Chapter 8: The Radio Has Been Repaired

In less than ten minutes, Qin Hongfei had already replaced the internal parts and began reassembling each component one by one.

The woman watched, a flicker of hope in her heart, but she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Why are you putting it back together? You didn't break it, did you?" Her voice was laced with anxiousness.

Qin Hongfei saw right through her but didn't expose her intentions. The corners of her lips curled slightly as she replied, "No, I don't think so. I believe I've fixed it."

The woman didn't believe it—how could it possibly be fixed? The shopkeeper next door didn't believe it either, dismissing her words as bluffing. He thought she would panic soon enough when it wouldn't play.

But when Qin Hongfei finished reassembling it, inserted the cassette, and pressed the button, the radio lit up, and music began to play. With a gentle tone, she said, "It’s fixed, ma’am. Why don’t you give it a try?"

"N-no, that's impossible..." The woman stared wide-eyed in disbelief. How could it be repaired? She had taken it to others before, and they’d all said it couldn't be fixed.

"Why is it impossible?" Qin Hongfei asked. "Is it that you don’t trust my skills? Oh no, if you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t have let me fix such a valuable radio, would you? You must just be too surprised. Come, check it for yourself. If there’s no problem, you can pay and take it home."

At the mention of payment, the woman’s face turned green. She hurried over to try to find a fault with the radio, pressing every button she could. But no matter what she did, the radio worked perfectly—better even than the new one at home! It really had been fixed! “This... this…”

Qin Hongfei picked up the five hundred yuan from the table. The woman shrieked and tried to snatch the money back, but Qin Hongfei was prepared and dodged her easily. "Ma’am, what are you doing? You’re not thinking of going back on your word, are you? We have a written agreement, in black and white. The radio is fixed."

"But... but..." the woman stammered. "How do I know it won’t break again once I take it home?"

"Then make sure right here. Confirm it’s fine before you leave. If you take it out of the shop and it breaks again, it’s no longer my responsibility," Qin Hongfei said serenely. "You can’t expect me to provide after-sales service for repairs, can you? That’s not reasonable anywhere."

She had completely cut off the woman’s escape route.

The woman was truly anxious now—she really had planned to take the radio home, break it again, and come back to demand compensation. If only Qin Hongfei had promised a warranty, she could have taken advantage. But Qin Hongfei wouldn’t fall for it! The woman was so flustered that her throat felt scorched. "But... but nowhere else charges five hundred for a repair!"

Qin Hongfei tapped the notice on the door. "Nowhere else will promise you ten times compensation if it’s not fixed! Isn’t that right, ma’am?"

"We agreed before the repair. If you go back on it now and call the police, I have the agreement in hand. Even in court, I’d be in the right."

What could the woman say? If the police really came, her attempt to take advantage would be exposed, and she’d lose face completely.

And she’d paid the money willingly!

In the end, it was her own greed that had cost her so much. The woman’s heart ached fiercely, but there was nothing she could do. How could she have known that after so many failed repairs, this time the radio would be miraculously fixed by sheer luck?

Yes, she convinced herself it must have been luck, not Qin Hongfei’s skill. After all, if Qin Hongfei was really so talented, how could her repair shop be struggling?