Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 321 Li Jianbing

This man is named Li Jianbing. He is a retired electrician who repaired some equipment that cannot be discussed in the army. He was discharged due to injury and was assigned to a car repair shop after returning to his hometown. In recent years, the car repair shop has not been doing well, and he was laid off. Currently, he takes on private jobs and also collaborates with some decoration companies.

It was hard work, but I also earned a lot more money.

Li Jianbing traveled from the city to Pingxi Town, still puzzled. He couldn't understand why this customer would go to such lengths, choosing a plumber from the city instead of a local one. Was it because the local plumbers were incompetent?
He shook his head and went to Xu Kang's house according to the address.

Because of Xu Jian's wedding, which was held in the city, and the Tang family was staying at a hotel, they hadn't returned yet, so Xu Kang was the only one at home.

Li Jianbing introduced himself, and after sitting down and taking a couple of sips of tea, he was shocked by what Xu Kang took out.

"Is this... a listening device? And a surveillance device? And a state-of-the-art foreign product? What are you trying to do?"

Li Jianbing scrutinized Xu Kang with a stern face and immediately stated, "I won't do anything illegal or disorderly! I advise you not to either, or I will proactively report you to the police!"

Xu Kang was reprimanded without saying a word, and was a little confused. "Wait, wait...you must have misunderstood something! I'm a university teacher, how could I do anything illegal or disorderly!"

Li Jianbing's expression finally softened considerably, but he still persistently pressed Xu Kang to tell him what he was going to do.

Left with no other option, Xu Kang contacted Xu Jiahui and asked her to come over.

Xu Jiahui knew that installing surveillance cameras shouldn't be done in a big way, so she could only tell her cousin about her experience. She started wiping away tears with a sorrowful expression. "My cousin has a hard life. She married the wrong person. The main problem is that my uncle and aunt are too proud to believe her. Now my cousin is all alone. The man's family sees her as a thorn in their side. She installed surveillance and recording equipment at home because she was worried that she would be harmed for no reason."

Believe it or not, there are more than one or two cases of wives being murdered in our town. You can go out and ask around and you'll find out. As for this house, I can swear to God that it belongs to my cousin's husband's family. You can also ask the neighbors nearby. I absolutely did not tell a single lie!
"Otherwise, I'll record this for you. If we use this device to do something illegal, you can report me. I work for the government; if you report me, I'll lose my job and end up in the police station."

Seeing her firm gaze and lack of any hint of guilt, Li Jianbing knew that what she said was most likely true. He also knew that Chen Wenjun had invited him, and he trusted Chen Wenjun's character.

Both of them had respectable jobs and were unlikely to do anything reckless. After considering all factors, he had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"Okay, I can help you with this. I don't need you to record it. Just give me a written guarantee explaining the purpose of installing this device, and that I will not be responsible for any problems that arise afterward."

He didn't want to get involved in all this trouble.

Xu Kang quickly lowered his tone and said with a smile, "That's a must. After all, we're paying for this service. As long as you help install the equipment, we'll settle the payment and the goods."

"Alright then, take me there."

Xu Kang quickly wrote down an address for Li Jianbing, "Brother, here's the address. It's not far from our house. We can't show up, so you can go there yourself, but you'll have to wait two hours."

Li Jianbing didn't understand what he meant, but he didn't ask any further questions.

Upon receiving the message, Xu Fangfang immediately removed the light bulb from her house, replaced it with a broken one, and then contacted her neighbor to ask if the neighbor's husband was home so she could come and help fix the light.

At this time, everyone except the teachers who are on holiday is working outside, so it's definitely impossible to find anyone. An elderly neighbor came over and took a look, suggesting that Xu Fangfang find a repairman to come and fix it faster.

Xu Fangfang was waiting for this sentence, so she called Li Jianbing in front of the old lady and gave him the address.

The wait was tedious, and with Xu Fangfang pretending to grade papers, the old lady left. Li Jianbing arrived quickly.

Xu Fangfang glanced outside, quickly invited him in, and gently closed the door. She lowered her voice and said, "Mr. Li, the old lady across the hall is my neighbor. She knows you're here to fix the lights. Could you take a look at my wiring and tell me where would be a good place to install the parts?"

After asking a few questions, Li Jianbing quickly found a hidden socket under the TV table in the living room. However, instead of installing the device there directly, he modified the TV cable, running a branch from the cable and installing the pinhole camera inside a stone bonsai on the TV cabinet.

The recording equipment was installed in the corner of the sofa armrest.

The other two sets were installed in Xu Jie's study and the master bedroom, one set and the other set.

The installation of the three sets of equipment took less than an hour.

Li Jianbing then took the opportunity to change Xu Fangfang's light bulb, completing the charade.

As he walked out of Xu Fangfang's house, he ran into an old lady returning from her walk in the hallway and made a point of greeting her.

The old lady asked with a smile, "Young man, you look unfamiliar? Whose son are you?"

"Oh, I'm here to fix the light bulb."

The old lady suddenly realized, "We're going to Teacher Xu's house! Sigh! This couple is always arguing, and there's also a doting mother-in-law. It's never peaceful. When the light bulb broke, Teacher Xu would rather ask my son for help than ask her husband to fix it. It's heartbreaking to see them living like this."

Li Jianbing smiled politely, his slight unease dissipating, and he left with remarkable speed.

After leaving, he didn't go back to look for Xu Kang, but instead took a bus back to the city.

I called Xu Kang after I got in the car to explain the situation.

When Xu Kang learned that he had left without taking the money, he immediately contacted Chen Wenjun.

When Li Jianbing arrived in the city, he got off the bus and found Chen Wenjun waiting for him by the roadside. He couldn't help but smile wryly, "You're amazing, how did you know I was getting off at this stop?"

Chen Wenjun said matter-of-factly, "This station is the closest to your home and workplace. Where else would you get off if not here? Tell me, what's going on? We're asking you to do work and not charging you! When did you become so stupid?"

Li Jianbing shook his head listlessly. "I believe in your character, and I believe they are not bad people. It's just that it's hard not to feel at ease doing this kind of thing, and it's even harder to accept this money. If you really feel bad, just treat me to a drink. Don't mention the money."

Chen Wenjun understood what he meant and immediately turned around, "Let's go! Let's go eat and drink!"

On a freezing cold day, nothing is more enjoyable than eating hot pot and drinking alcohol.

After Chen Wenjun finished dealing with the situation, he called Xu Kang.

Xu Kang was completely relieved.

As Lunar New Year's Eve approached, every household was busy cleaning and preparing for the New Year. At this time, Xu Fangfang packed her bags and secretly went to the city to stay with Xu Jiahui.