191: Chapter 191 The Happiness Manual

After the phone's battery dropped to thirteen percent, Lin Feng stopped looking at the happiness map. He squatted under the Old Locust Tree, a straw in his mouth, staring at the cat sitting on the phone. The cat remained motionless, its tail covering the screen like a gray stone. Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him. "How long have you been watching it?" Lin Feng said. "All afternoon." Margaret placed the plate on the ground. "Has it moved?" Lin Feng said. "It has. The tip of its tail flicked three times." Margaret smiled. "You even counted how many times it flicked." Lin Feng said. "I had nothing to do while squatting, so I counted."

When Old Zhou came to deliver the mail, he pulled a stack of notes from his bag, all sent from various towns. Some wrote 'the clock no longer rings,' some wrote 'the speaker is broken,' some wrote 'the battery is dead,' and some wrote 'don't know how to fix it.' Lin Feng looked through them one by one. After finishing, he folded the notes into a stack and put them in his pocket. He stood up and patted his pants. "Let's go, take a walk around the towns." The cat jumped off the phone and followed behind him. Old Zhou looked at his retreating figure. "You don't want your phone?" Lin Feng didn't even turn his head. "The cat is watching it."

Lin Feng first went to Baishi Town. Xiao Ma was standing under the Cup Clock, looking up. The clock was hanging at the entrance of the bar; the hands were still moving, but it no longer made a 'gudong' sound on the hour. Xiao Ma saw Lin Feng and walked out. "You're here. The clock isn't ringing anymore." Lin Feng squatted under the clock and looked up. The cat also squatted beside him and looked up. Lin Feng brought a ladder, climbed up, and opened the back cover of the clock. The internal structure was very simple: a battery, a speaker, and a timer. He checked it and found that a contact point on the timer had oxidized, causing a poor connection. He lightly polished the contact with sandpaper, installed the battery, and closed the back cover. The hour struck, and the Cup Clock began to ring with a 'gudong gudong' sound, like wine being poured. Xiao Ma smiled. "It's alive." Lin Feng climbed down from the ladder and squatted under the clock, listening to the 'gudong gudong' sound.

Xiao Ma asked him, "How did you know it was a problem with the contact point?" Lin Feng said, "I listened. The 'gudong' sound was intermittent; it wasn't a broken speaker, but a signal interruption. If the signal is interrupted, it's a matter of the contact point." Xiao Ma looked at him. "How many clocks have you fixed?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Quite a few. The Star Clock in Starry Sky Town, the Mushroom Clock in Millfield, the Guitar Clock in Greenfield. And this one, the Cup Clock in Baishi Town." Xiao Ma asked, "You can fix them all?" Lin Feng nodded. "Yes. They're all minor issues. Dead batteries, broken speaker wires, oxidized contacts. Change the battery, solder the wires, polish the contacts." He pulled a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and squatted on the ground to draw a maintenance diagram for the Cup Clock. He drew how to open the back cover, the position of the contact point, and the direction for polishing with sandpaper. After finishing, he pasted the diagram on the wall next to the clock. "Next time it breaks, fix it according to the diagram." Xiao Ma looked at that diagram for a long time. "You drew this?" Lin Feng nodded. Xiao Ma smiled. "You draw more clearly than I do." Lin Feng said, "You create art, I draw diagrams. It's different." He stood up and patted his pants. "I'm going back." Xiao Ma looked at his retreating figure. "If it breaks next time, will you still come?" Lin Feng turned back. "I won't. You know how now." Xiao Ma stood under the clock and nodded.

Lin Feng then went to Greenfield. Martha was standing under the Guitar Clock, looking up. The clock was hanging at the church entrance; the hands were still moving, but it no longer made a 'shua shua' sound on the hour. Martha saw Lin Feng and walked over holding a guitar. "You're here. The clock isn't ringing anymore." Lin Feng squatted under the clock and looked up. The cat also squatted beside him and looked up. Lin Feng climbed up, opened the back cover, and checked it over. The battery had power, the speaker wasn't broken, and the contacts were clean. He pressed his Ear to the clock and listened for a while, finding that the timer was stuck. A small piece of dust was caught between the gears, jamming the teeth. He used tweezers to pluck the dust out, cleaned the gears with a brush, installed the battery, and closed the back cover. The hour struck, and the Guitar Clock began to ring with a 'shua shua shua' sound, like a guitar being tuned. Martha smiled. "It's alive." Lin Feng climbed down from the ladder and squatted under the clock, listening to the 'shua shua shua' sound.

Martha asked him, "How did you know it was dust?" Lin Feng said, "I listened. The 'shua shua' sound wasn't gone; it was just stuck. If it's stuck, it's a matter of the gears. If the gears are jammed, it's dust." He squatted on the ground and drew a maintenance diagram for the Guitar Clock, drawing the positions of the gears, the method for cleaning the dust, and the angle for using the tweezers. After finishing, he pasted the diagram on the wall next to the clock. Martha looked at the diagram and smiled. "You draw more clearly than the songs I play." Lin Feng said, "Songs are for listening, diagrams are for looking. It's different." He stood up and patted his pants. "I'm going back." Martha looked at his retreating figure. "If it breaks next time, will you still come?" Lin Feng turned back. "I won't. You know how now." Martha stood under the clock and nodded.

Returning to Xinfeng Town, Lin Feng squatted under the Old Locust Tree, pulled the stack of notes from his pocket, and looked through them one by one. The note from Starry Sky Town, the note from Millfield, the note from Greenfield, and the note from Baishi Town. After finishing, he stacked the notes and placed them by the roots of the tree. The cat jumped off the phone, squatted next to the notes, and gave them a nudge with its paw, scattering them. It nudged again, and the notes scattered even more. It seemed to be trying to help organize them, but the more it tried, the messier they became. Lin Feng looked at the cat. "Don't make a mess." The cat retracted its paw and squatted nearby, the tip of its tail flicking gently.

Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him. "How many towns did you run to?" Lin Feng said, "Three. Baishi Town, Greenfield, and I still have Millfield and Starry Sky Town left." Margaret placed the plate on the ground. "Do you plan to fix every single clock?" Lin Feng said, "Mhm. Fix them once and draw a diagram. If they break in the future, they can fix them themselves." Margaret looked at him. "Can you finish drawing them all?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I might not finish. But every one I draw is one less left to do." He stood up and patted his pants. "Tomorrow, I'll go to Millfield."

The next day, Lin Feng went to Millfield. Eric was standing under the Mushroom Clock, looking up. The clock was no longer making its 'gudu' sound. Lin Feng climbed up and checked; it was a broken speaker wire. He soldered it, drew a diagram, and pasted it next to the clock. Eric looked at the diagram and smiled. "You draw more clearly than my mushrooms." Lin Feng said, "Mushrooms grow, circuits are drawn. It's different." He stood up and patted his pants. "I'm going back." Eric looked at his retreating figure. "If it breaks next time, will you still come?" Lin Feng turned back. "I won't. You know how now."

In the evening, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant. Not squatting, but sitting. Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him. The two sat there, looking at the sky. The stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat walked over from under the Old Locust Tree, came to their feet, squatted down, and looked up at the stars. It watched for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to purr. Margaret looked at the cat. "It didn't follow you today?" Lin Feng said, "It did. It squatted under the ladder and watched me solder the speaker. When the solder smoked, it sneezed." Margaret smiled. "It's afraid of smoke." Lin Feng said, "It's not afraid. It just doesn't like the smell of rosin." The wind blew over, carrying the smell of rosin from the solder, the smell of dust from the sandpaper polishing, the aroma of coffee, and the light sweetness of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff. He opened his eyes, stood up, and patted his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret also stood up. "Will you still draw diagrams tomorrow?" Lin Feng nodded. "Yes. The clock in Starry Sky Town hasn't been drawn yet. Once it's done, it'll be complete." He turned and walked into the Restaurant, with Margaret following behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out. The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back to the tree roots, squatted on the phone, and covered the screen with its tail. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the phone's shadow on the ground—small and square, like a sleeping box. The wind blew, and the shadow swayed, but it did not scatter. Lin Feng stood in the Restaurant and looked out the window. He saw the shadow of the phone, the shadow of the cat, and the shadow of the diagrams. He watched for a long time, then pulled the curtains and went to sleep.

[Chapter 191 End]