American Farmers: Facing a Cutoff at the Start

However, he did not press the matter further.

Johnny's somewhat cloudy eyes swept over the brand-new black Chevrolet Equinox parked outside the door, then lingered on Fett.

Finally, his gaze fell on the old pickup truck with its hood open, and he asked, feigning concern:

"What's wrong with this car? Has it broken down again?"

"Yes! It has a problem starting."

"Come on! Let me take a look!"

Without waiting for Fett's reply, he pushed open the gate and swaggered into the yard with the skinny hunting dog on his leash.

As he approached, a strong, sour smell of fermented grains wafted over, carrying a warm, nauseating odor.

Fett frowned, but considering he was an elder and neighborly relations, he didn't directly say he didn't need Fett's help.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The skinny dog ​​suddenly started barking wildly at the porch.

The long-haired cat named Rosie appeared out of nowhere on the porch railing.

It looked down at the barking dog, its pale blue eyes filled with contempt.

When Rosie saw that the person who came wasn't Lyra, who would feed her canned food and groom her, she didn't even bother to call out.

It simply flicked its fluffy tail gracefully, curled it up at its feet, and continued squatting there licking its paws.

"Your dog is quite energetic."

Fett glanced at the skinny dog ​​that was barking hoarsely, and spoke in a nonchalant tone to old Johnny, who was pretending to be inside the hood of the car.

Old Johnny straightened up, glanced in the direction of the barking at Rosie crouching on the railing, and grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth.

"That's right! My dog ​​is a purebred foxhound."

"Don't let its thin frame fool you; it's designed to run fast. It's a master hunter; it could tear that cat to shreds in a few bites!"

Fett's brow twitched, and he cursed inwardly:

That old man, can't he tell right from wrong? He actually thinks I'm praising his dog?

Fett sighed.

You can't be too tactful when talking to these old Americans whose minds are filled with nothing but alcohol.

They have to go exactly straight without any detours; if you make even the slightest turn, they can't get around.

He put down the wrench, looked directly at old Johnny, and his tone turned colder:

"Uncle Johnny, I mean, your dog is too noisy."

"It's so early in the morning, it will disturb other people."

Johnny's smile froze for a moment.

He clearly hadn't expected this student, who had always studied in the city, to be so disrespectful.

But he's also a seasoned veteran, with a skin as thick as a wild boar's.

"hey-hey……"

He gave a forced, insincere smile, reached out and slapped the dog hard on the head, cursing:

"Did you hear me? Shut up! You ill-mannered brat, all you do is yell!"

The dog whimpered, tucked its tail between its legs, and hid behind his legs.

Old Johnny turned his head, as if nothing had happened, and pointed to the hood:

"Fett, I've found out why your car won't start."

"I just checked, the car's battery system is completely broken."

"Come and see!"

"Feel this wire, isn't it stiff? That's because the generator overcharged and burned out the wire."

"And this belt is old and it's starting to crumble."

"If we don't replace this whole system soon, this relatively new battery will also be ruined!"

Fett leaned closer to take a look.

At first glance, everything seems normal.

But he keenly noticed the anomaly.

On the dusty positive terminal of the battery, there appeared a fingerprint covered in oil that hadn't been there before.

More importantly, the copper clip that should have been tightly fastened to the electrode, although still on top, now has a gap of less than one millimeter between it and the base.

This is clearly because the battery terminals were loosened, causing the clips to come loose.

The power connection is faulty, and no matter how many times I turn the key, the car won't start.

You think you can bully me just because I'm a bookworm college student? You son of a bitch.

Fett sneered inwardly, but showed no emotion on his face.

He looked up, feigning a flustered and anxious expression:

"Then... how do we fix this? I don't know anything about this."

Old Johnny glanced at Fett's naive and unsophisticated expression and was secretly delighted.

"If we were tow this to a repair shop in town, the towing fee alone would be a hundred dollars. Add to that the generator assembly, and it would cost at least five or six hundred dollars to fix."

He patted his chest, feigning generosity:

"Perfect timing, I have a set of original parts in my warehouse."

"For the sake of being neighbors, I won't make money off you. It'll be $300, including labor and materials. I'll go get it right now and change it for you. How about that?"

Fett hesitated, rubbing his hands together.

"300 is still a bit expensive... How about we wait until my dad and Uncle Roy come back and take a look?"

Johnny's expression changed upon hearing Roy's name.

Roy is a well-known mechanical expert in the surrounding area, and this little trick can't be hidden from him at all.

"This is such a minor problem, why would it require expert consultation?"

Old Johnny quickly waved his hand, his tone becoming more urgent:

"I'm free anyway, so I can change it for you while I'm at it."

Fett looked at Johnny's clown-like reaction and sneered inwardly: What a face.

Seeing that Fett was still hesitant, he increased his stakes and even tried to appeal to Fett's emotions:

"Didn't you just say that a lot of people would be buying Christmas trees tomorrow?"

"The car will still be broken down in the yard, which will cause a lot of trouble."

"We've been neighbors for decades, and your dad has helped me a lot in the past."

"How about this, I'll take the loss and forgo my wages!"

"Just give me $250 for the cost of the parts! Is that alright?"

"No!"

A sharp, angry shout interrupted him.

Lyra ran from the farm gate towards them and blocked Fett's way:

"Uncle Johnny, that used water pump you sold my dad last time, you said it was 90% new, but it broke down in less than three days! Are you trying to rip off Fett again this time?"

"Fett, don't listen to him!"

Johnny chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, it's Lyra. Didn't I explain it to your dad last time and give you a refund? Why do you still think it's my fault...?"

"Fine, there's nothing I can do if you misunderstand me like this."

He chuckled twice, took the skinny dog ​​on a leash, and as he walked away, he didn't forget to turn back and call out:

"Fett, this car has a serious problem. If you've decided you need it fixed, just come find me next door anytime. Uncle Johnny's saved you the parts!"

After saying that, he turned and left, disappearing faster than a rabbit.

Only after watching his figure disappear beyond the fence did Lyra breathe a sigh of relief, then turned to Fett with a serious expression and gave him a serious instruction:

"Don't believe him! That old man is wicked; he only scams people he knows."

"If the car really breaks down, I'll have my dad fix it when he gets here, so we don't waste money on that."