My mother has been suffering from a herniated disc and leg pain for nine months. Thankfully, my electric scooter carries me three miles every morning around six o'clock to take her for cupping, far-infrared therapy, and massage, saving me a lot of effort. But recently, with the weather getting colder, the scooter has become like an unpredictable little lover, always throwing tantrums.
Sometimes it stalls halfway there; other times it stops and starts, grumbling and complaining; sometimes it ignores me before I even start it, only moving when I've humbled myself and tried everything to get it to move. This often makes me lose face and feel incredibly embarrassed in front of others. Even worse, once I tried everything to coax it, but nothing worked, and I finally had to push it all the way home. Another time, I happened to be crossing an intersection when the light turned red. I stopped my electric scooter, and when the light turned green, it was like a new bride getting into her sedan chair—hesitant and reluctant to move, no matter how much I urged it. The cars behind me kept honking, and eventually a traffic cop came over. I had to joke, "Sorry, this scooter is from the mountains, it's never seen the world before, let alone a policeman. Seeing you scared it so much it wouldn't move."
The cop laughed at my joke and said, "Stop joking, hurry up and go. This scooter is just like your wife; you must have done something wrong. Seeing the police, it wants to complain..." He then helped me push the scooter to the side of the road.
People often say, "Frequent arguments will inevitably lead to a breakup," and that's absolutely true. Just two days before the snow, it gave up halfway through the journey. I spent a long time fiddling with it, but it was as stubborn as a turtle trying to eat a weight—it just wouldn't budge. I had to carry it home like Pigsy carrying his wife…
For the next few days, I had to get up half an hour earlier every morning and walk to my mother's house. I thought about buying a new electric scooter, but like a first love I couldn't bear to part with, I just couldn't bring myself to send it to the junkyard.
"Since you can't bear to part with it, why not get it repaired?" my wife's words reminded me. So I went to a reputable repair shop. The mechanic, a man in his thirties, examined it thoroughly like a doctor diagnosing a patient. Then he confidently said, "Your scooter is at least seven or eight years old, isn't it?"
I was incredibly impressed with the mechanic. He was more accurate than a fortune teller, so I had to answer truthfully.
"The motor got water in it! It's rusted inside, the circuit is faulty, sometimes it works, sometimes it won't start. The motor has to be replaced." The mechanic's words convinced me completely. I could only ask, "Sir, how much would it cost to replace the motor?"
"Well, it depends on the brand. Brand-name ones cost eight or nine hundred, even a thousand, while generic ones would cost five or six hundred!" the mechanic said after looking at the bike.
"Do you have the original motor for my electric bike?" I asked, somewhat disheartened.
"The factory that makes your bike went bankrupt a long time ago. Where am I supposed to find one for you?" Helpless, I had no choice but to push the bike to another shop.
The shop owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, looked at my electric bike and said directly, "Your kind of bike is outdated. Even parts are hard to find these days. You might as well buy a new one. Look, I have many new models here..." He then introduced me to over a dozen electric bikes, but I still felt my old bike was better. I didn't like any of his new bikes. As I was leaving, I heard a repairman behind me say, "Stubborn..."
Many people advised me, "Out with the old, in with the new," "Old antiques are better, new things are better," and so on. Everyone unanimously opposed me going to repair my bike, saying that electric bikes are like cell phones these days—once they break, you throw them away. Maintaining them through repairs isn't worthwhile; it's better to buy a new one. Just as I was wavering and considering abandoning my electric bike that had been with me for several years, I suddenly remembered the repairman, Mr. Liu, who changed my tires on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. It seemed he repaired bikes in addition to batteries.
After work that evening, I went to his shop on my way home. After explaining the situation, Mr. Liu immediately said, "Based on what you've said, it's probably the controller that's broken. Bring the bike over, and I'll fix it for you. If you're busy, I can come pick it up."
If it's just the controller, it's only about 200 yuan. I had it replaced elsewhere before, so I told him the bike was in Xiangjiang. Mr. Liu gave me his business card and said, "I pass by Xiangjiang every day when I'm picking up my kids. Give me a call when it's convenient, and I'll come pick it up."
The next day at noon, I called Mr. Liu, and shortly after, he came and took the electric bike away. He even called me back that evening to say the bike was fixed and I could come pick it up. I was overjoyed and casually asked, "What exactly happened?"
Mr. Liu said, "It was a problem with the circuit; three wires burned out. Luckily, the controller is fine." He then took a picture of the repaired burnt wires and sent it to me via WeChat, which warmed my heart.
The next day I went to pick up my bike, and to my surprise, it only cost sixty yuan! My electric scooter was happily running again...
Thinking about the repair process over the past few days, I felt a mix of emotions; something just didn't feel right. Sigh, in today's society, there aren't many businessmen with a conscience like Mr. Liu.
It seems that life with a car is like marriage: a little roughhousing is a sign of affection, a little scolding is a sign of love, and if you don't care anymore, you'd better say goodbye. Everything requires arguments and repairs to last. Don't use reasons like "it's old," "it's aesthetically pleasing," or "repairing it isn't cost-effective" to give up on the "old" and embrace the "new."
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