After returning from the county town, Lin Jianguo threw himself into his books.
The copy of Common Electrical Safety Knowledge for Rural Areas that Old Zhou had given him he read over and over again. There were some characters he didn't recognize, so he guessed and guessed; there were some diagrams he couldn't understand, so he drew them out himself, then looked at the original, then redrew.
He also pulled out all the old textbooks at home—physics, chemistry, mathematics—flipping through each one to find content related to electricity. Some of it he had forgotten long ago; now, rereading it was like reading a celestial script. But he forced himself to chew through it, re-reading sections that he didn't understand at first, sometimes two or three times.
His mother watched him holding books all day, feeling both happy and worried. Happy because her son was studying diligently; worried because he might be unwell or overdoing it.
"Jianguo, why are you holding those books all the time lately?" she asked.
"Want to learn something."
"Learn what?"
"Electricity."
His mother was momentarily stunned but didn't ask further. She didn't understand those things—she only knew her son wanted to learn, and that was a good thing.
During the day, Lin read books; at night, he drew diagrams under the oil lamp. He drew one after another, tearing them up and redrawing if he wasn't satisfied. When he ran out of scrap paper, he used the edges of old newspapers, the leftover kraft paper from wrapping things—any paper that could hold ink.
In just a few days, he had a thick stack of drawings.
Circuit diagrams, wiring routes, the position of the electric meter box, the aging status of wires—he drew everything he could think of, inside and outside the forest station warehouse.
But he knew that wasn't enough.
He also needed someone to help him check if his drawings were correct and if he'd missed anything.
Early that morning, Lin Jianguo carried his stack of drawings and headed toward the county.
Halfway there, he suddenly remembered something, stopped, and reached into his pocket.
Besides the stack of papers, there were two boiled eggs. His mother had given them to him that morning, telling him to eat on the way. He hadn't eaten them yet, clutching them tightly.
Old Zhou had helped him so much last time; he wanted to thank him. But all he had to offer were these two eggs.
He gently pressed the eggs in his pocket, then continued walking forward.
The agricultural station was still that small red brick building, with the door slightly ajar. Lin Jianguo pushed the door open, and Old Zhou was still sitting behind that battered desk, holding a cigarette, looking down at something.
Hearing the noise, Old Zhou looked up, saw it was him, and froze for a moment before smiling.
"Back again?"
Lin Jianguo nodded, stepped forward, and placed his stack of drawings on the desk.
Old Zhou picked up the papers, flipping through them one by one. His eyes grew wider with each page, and when he finished, he looked up at Lin, eyes filled with surprise.
"Did you draw all of this?"
Lin Jianguo nodded.
"Not bad," Old Zhou said, flipping through the stack again. "Much better than last time. The circuit diagrams, the wiring routes—they're quite clear. How do you know what the forest station's wires look like?"
"I went to see," Lin replied.
Old Zhou glanced at him but didn't ask further. He then took out an old blueprint and spread it on the desk, pointing at the lines to explain to Lin Jianguo.
"See, this is the blueprint from when the forest station was built. Back then, materials were tight, so they cut corners. The wires inside those walls are the cheapest kind. After so many years, they should have been replaced."
Lin Jianguo leaned in, staring at the old blueprint. The lines on it were dense, some marked with numbers, some with symbols. He couldn't understand everything, but he remembered what Old Zhou pointed out.
After explaining, Old Zhou put away the blueprint and looked at Lin.
"You want me to check if your drawings are correct?"
Lin nodded again.
Old Zhou took the stack of papers and examined them more carefully this time, studying each one for a long while. Then he pointed out a few mistakes: "Here, the electric meter box should be outside the wall, not inside. This wire is drawn incorrectly; it should go like this..."
Lin took out his pencil and made the corrections step by step as Old Zhou instructed.
After making the changes, Old Zhou looked at the drawings again and nodded: "That's about right now."
Lin put away his pencil, took out the two eggs from his pocket, and placed them on the table.
Old Zhou looked surprised. "What's this?"
"For you to eat," Lin said. "To thank you for teaching me."
Old Zhou looked at the eggs, then at Lin, a complex expression on his face. He reached out, picked up one egg, weighed it in his hand, then suddenly smiled.
"Alright, I'll take them," he said.
But he didn't eat. Instead, he placed the egg back in Lin's hand.
"Save it for your dad to nourish himself," he said. "He's doing physical work; he needs to eat well."
Lin Jianguo held the two eggs, standing there, unsure of what to say.
Old Zhou waved his hand. "Alright, go back now. If you have questions, come ask again."
Lin nodded, carefully tucking the eggs back into his pocket, then turned to leave.
At the doorway, he looked back.
Old Zhou had already lowered his head, looking at what he was working on. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating his graying hair and hunched back.
Lin Jianguo stood for a moment, then gently closed the door and walked away.