Fixing a Vegetable Cart, Six Wheels Lined Up Outside

The day after the vegetable cart accident, six wheels stood neatly arranged outside the shop.

The first was a wooden wheel from a wheelbarrow, and it squeaked when it turned. The second was an old wheel removed from a handcart, missing a spoke. The third and fourth came from the same freight cart; their owner said it always veered left whenever it crossed cobblestones.

The fifth was a small front wheel taken off a wheeled wooden horse.

The sixth was the most elaborate. Its rim had been painted gold and wrapped in a circle of clean, soft cloth.

After opening the door, Xia Che stared at them for quite a while. "Selling wheels today?"

"Waiting for you to fix them," said the wheelbarrow's owner.

"Who said this place repaired carts?"

"The vegetable cart yesterday was fixed here."

The others nodded one after another.

Over a single night, news that a cart had been saved in front of the Pokémon shop had turned into a rumor that the shop could fix any vehicle. Some even claimed that Metagross only needed to take one look for a broken wooden axle to grow back on its own.

Metagross rose from beneath the eaves, its red eyes sweeping over the six wheels on the ground.

None of the six had fixed themselves.

Xia Che turned to close the door.

Pancham hugged the door panel, refusing to let him shut today's customers and business outside together.

"Just one look." Xia Che stepped aside.

Indeedee brought out three small wooden signs. The first showed that the cart could still be pushed, the second showed that it needed to be taken to a cart repair shop, and the third showed that it was completely outside their responsibility.

"What's on the third sign?" Yue Guan asked.

Zorua jumped onto the table and used an illusion to conjure a huge X on the sign.

"That one," Xia Che said.

Master Shi arrived earlier than usual today. Timburr sat on his small cart, with its wooden beam still pressing down on the third-day trial card.

Seeing the row of wheels outside the door, Master Shi paused as well. "I'm a repairer for the Martial Arena, not a cartwright."

"But you clearly knew how to fix one yesterday," said the wheelbarrow's owner.

"The wooden axle wasn't broken yesterday. I only replaced an iron pin."

"Mine only squeaks too."

Master Shi crouched down and spun the first wooden wheel. The axle was dry, but its surface had no cracks. He fetched a little axle oil and gestured for the owner to drip it into the seam himself.

When the wooden wheel spun again, the piercing squeak immediately softened.

"That fixed it?"

"It's fixed for today. If it squeaks again later, have a cartwright check the axle sleeve."

The first wheel was placed beside the sign indicating that it could still be pushed.

The second wheel was missing a spoke, and its rim had already warped. Timburr gently tapped the rim with its wooden beam, and the wheel immediately wobbled from side to side.

The owner asked, "Would adding one piece of wood work?"

Master Shi shook his head. "It still won't be round after that."

That wheel was pushed over to the side marked for the cart repair shop.

There was nothing wrong with the two freight-cart wheels that always veered left. Master Shi had the owner push over the entire cart, and only then did everyone see that the left side of the carriage was piled full of stone bricks, while the right side held only a few bundles of empty burlap sacks.

Xie Yue took one look. "Spread the cargo out first."

The owner moved half the bricks to the other side. When he pushed it again, the cart truly stopped veering.

"The wheels aren't broken?"

"I don't see anything wrong with them for now," Master Shi said. "If you're still worried, you can take it to a cart repair shop anyway."

The two wheels were also placed beside the first sign, with another line added beside them: redistribute the cargo.

The fifth small round wheel came from a wheeled wooden horse. The old grandmother who carried the horse over said that her grandson always pitched forward when he sat on it.

Timburr did not inspect the wheel first. It laid the wooden horse flat and found that a wooden peg where the front legs connected had come loose. The small wheel spun perfectly well; what was wobbling was the entire front leg.

It circled the peg with a charcoal pencil.

Master Shi shaved a slightly thicker peg and hammered it into the hole. Timburr held the wooden horse steady and only let go once the joint had settled.

The old grandmother supported the wooden horse and pushed it forward three steps. All four little wheels stayed against the ground, and the horse no longer pitched forward.

"How much is this?"

"One wooden peg," Master Shi said.

Timburr drew a short section of wooden beam beside it.

"And its help."

After thinking for a moment, the old grandmother took two softened steamed Berries from her basket. One went to Master Shi, while the other was placed before Timburr.

Timburr sniffed it, but did not eat it right away. Instead, it put the Berry into its rest box.

"It knows to wait until break time to eat," Hu Liena said.

Yan looked at the Magby beside him.

Having already finished its allowed two laps for the day, Magby sat on a cushion eating its own portion, with absolutely no intention of getting distracted.

At last, it was the golden wheel's turn.

Two Papal Hall attendants carried it forward, saying it was a spare wheel for a ceremonial carriage. There was a shallow scratch on the rim. They had heard that the Pokémon shop could restore wood to its original condition, so they brought it over to give it a try.

Master Shi ran his fingers over the scratch. "Only the paint is damaged."

"Can it be fixed?"

"Touch up the gold paint."

"The Pokémon don't need to do anything?"

Timburr had already pushed over the third sign, the one that said it was not their responsibility.

The two attendants stared at the enormous X and, for a moment, did not dare carry the wheel away.

Bibi Dong happened to arrive at the shop then. As Absol passed the golden wheel, it caught the scent of fresh paint and immediately detoured half a step.

"Why are you blocking the doorway?" she asked.

The attendants quietly explained their purpose.

"The Papal Hall has a carriage house and painters," Bibi Dong said.

"We only heard that the repairs here were better."

"The cart was saved yesterday because it was already rolling downhill."

The two attendants immediately lifted the golden wheel and left. Only after the paint smell had faded did Absol return to Bibi Dong's side.

Yue Guan looked at the third wooden sign. "Looks like that X was drawn very accurately."

Zorua proudly made the X another circle larger.

Of the six wheels outside the door, only one dry axle had been repaired. The only part actually replaced was a small wooden peg on the wooden horse.

Though the onlookers had not seen Metagross make wood grow back, they had learned to first check how the cargo was loaded when a cart veered to one side, and not to force a wooden wheel missing a spoke back onto the road.

The midday break bell rang, and Master Shi put away his tools.

Timburr also returned the charcoal pencil to its box. It ate the soft Berry given by the old grandmother, then pushed the third-day trial card in front of Master Shi.

The records from all three days were spread out together on the table.

On the first day, it repaired a weapon rack and took breaks on time. On the second day, it had only been scheduled to sort old lumber, but it helped brace the out-of-control vegetable cart along the way and did not make up the missed work after returning to the Martial Arena. On the third day, it examined six wheels, but only touched the axle and the wooden horse.

The two hours per day Master Shi had originally written down had not increased, and the Repair Shed continued to hold only wooden practice equipment. Xie Yue had visited the small courtyard behind the alley where Master Shi lived. There was an empty storeroom there, with all saws and knives hung from a high wall rack, while the floor left enough room for Timburr to turn around even while carrying its wooden beam.

"That room still needs a bed," Master Shi said. "I measured its wooden beam. There'll be an entire space left beside the bed, and no one will take it to burn as firewood."

Hearing the last sentence, Timburr drew its wooden beam a little closer to its chest.

"What about water bowls?" Hu Liena asked.

"I prepared two. One in the Repair Shed and one at home."

"What if the Martial Arena suddenly gives you extra work in the afternoon?"

"I'll do it myself. Its trial hours won't change."

Timburr looked at Master Shi.

Master Shi touched his apron, which was covered in wood shavings. "I keep my word."

It reached out and lightly touched his open palm with its hand.

"Today's work is done," Master Shi said.

Timburr nodded.

"Are you still willing to go to the Martial Arena tomorrow?"

It hoisted its wooden beam and first walked to Master Shi's small cart, then turned back toward the counter.

Indeedee had already prepared two Poké Balls. One was a standard red-and-white Poké Ball, while the other was a black-and-gold Luxury Ball. Master Shi did not choose according to his own preference. He simply placed both of them low down.

Timburr tapped the Luxury Ball with its wooden beam. Its smooth shell reflected Timburr and its old piece of wood. It watched for a while, then turned away.

It came before the Standard Poké Ball and pressed the round button with one fingertip.

Red light gathered inward, and the Poké Ball lay quietly on the ground for a moment. Just as Master Shi bent down, it opened by itself, and Timburr reappeared beside its wooden beam.

"Don't want to stay inside?"

Timburr shook its head and put the wooden beam back on the cart.

"Then ride in the cart."

It jumped on, leaving Master Shi space to push it.

Bibi Dong sat beside the backyard gate and watched the entire process. Absol lay at her side, keeping its nose away from the axle oil in the tool bag.

"How much did you collect in repair fees today?" she asked.

Indeedee wrote down axle oil, a wooden peg, and a new iron pin in the ledger. The wheel inspections had not been charged, and the gold-painted wheel had not been left behind.

"You were busy all morning and only sold that much?" Yue Guan asked.

Xia Che lifted his rice bowl. "We also avoided fixing four wheels that weren't broken."

Bibi Dong looked at the large X by the door. "This sign is more useful than repairing wheels."

Zorua immediately raised the X a little higher.

Indeedee put the trial card into the completed slot. The large X sign outside the door should have been put away too, but Zorua hugged it and refused to let go.

Xia Che looked at it. "What are you keeping it for?"

The little fox shrank the X and hung it beside the shop door.

If someone carried over a locked cashbox tomorrow and asked them to repair it, they could at least look at the sign first.

The sign had barely been hung straight when someone really did come from the street corner carrying a bronze lockbox.

He read the small words beneath the X—no lock repairs—paused, then headed back the way he came toward the locksmith's shop.

Xia Che put down his bowl. "Saved us a sentence."