Among the streets and alleys of the small town and the winding rural paths around it, Old Liu’s electric four-wheeled vehicle was a common sight. This four-wheeled vehicle held great significance for him. The back seat had carried his grandchildren who would chatter away, sharing interesting stories from school when they came home; the carriage had been loaded with various agricultural products harvested from his own fields and then rushed to the market just to earn some real living expenses for the family; in his leisure time, it had also carried his old friends shuttling among different gathering places, maintaining their deep friendship over the years. And the set of Tianneng Classic series 12V batteries in the vehicle was like a hidden energy heart, pumping quietly and providing the power for the vehicle to move forward. However, there was a thrilling story behind it.

Old Liu was over sixty years old, but he was still in fairly good health. On weekdays, relying on this electric four-wheeled vehicle, he took on some odd jobs like picking up and dropping off children and transporting goods over short distances, and he lived a fulfilling life. He knew very well that the key to the vehicle’s performance lay in the batteries, so he took extremely good care of this set of Tianneng Classic 12V batteries. Every time he came back from a trip, the first thing Old Liu would do was to check the battery status. He would gently wipe the outer shell of the batteries with a clean rag and check whether there were any signs of leakage or bulging. When charging, he would concentrate even more and strictly control the charging time and voltage, for fear that any slight mistake would affect the battery life and endurance. In his eyes, these batteries were the “lifeblood” of the four-wheeled vehicle, which was related to the smoothness of travel and the stability of his livelihood.

It was a freezing cold winter morning. The sky was overcast and gloomy, and the thick dark clouds seemed to be about to crush the whole small town. The biting northwest wind blew across people’s faces like knives. Old Liu had just received an urgent job to deliver several large boxes of wedding candies, cigarettes and wine to a family holding a wedding in the neighboring village. Time was tight, and the host family repeatedly urged him not to miss the auspicious time. Old Liu didn’t dare to delay at all. He wrapped his cotton-padded coat tightly around him, put on his gloves, loaded the goods steadily onto the four-wheeled vehicle, and then set off in a hurry.

At first, the vehicle ran quite briskly on the flat road on the outskirts of the town. Old Liu huddled in the driver’s seat, calculating that he could earn a good income if this business was completed smoothly, and he felt warm in his heart. However, unexpectedly, as soon as he turned into the dirt road leading to the neighboring village, all kinds of problems emerged. Due to the frost that had formed the night before, the road surface became bumpy. The vehicle bumped violently all the way, and the body shook severely. Suddenly, the power indicator light on the dashboard started flashing wildly without any warning. Then the vehicle’s speed dropped sharply, and the vehicle seemed to be dragged by an invisible force and slowly came to a stop. Old Liu’s heart tightened, and he quickly got off the vehicle to check. After a test, he found that the power of one of the 12V batteries had dropped sharply and was almost zero, and the power supply of the whole vehicle became weak instantly.

Looking at the vast and unknown road ahead, there were still several miles to the neighboring village. The surrounding wilderness was desolate, and the cold wind was howling. Old Liu was extremely worried. Fine beads of sweat oozed out on his forehead. In this cold winter, his back clothes were soaked with sweat. If he couldn’t deliver the goods and missed the wedding of that family, not only would this business be ruined, but he would also ruin his always reliable reputation. He wouldn’t be able to get any jobs in this area in the future. In his anxiety, Old Liu decided to go home first to replace the battery with a spare one and then rush to deliver the goods.

Old Liu rushed back home in a hurry and went straight to the warehouse where the spare batteries were placed. However, the scene in front of him made his heart sink. There were several cracks on the outer shell of the spare Tianneng Classic 12V battery, and when he took a closer look, there was also a slight leakage phenomenon. Old Liu panicked and picked up the battery in a flurry, trying to install it on the vehicle, but the vehicle didn’t respond at all, and the power indicator light remained dim.

Watching the time passing by minute by minute, calls from the neighboring village came one after another, asking about the progress. Old Liu was so anxious that he stamped his feet, pacing around like an ant on a hot pan. Trembling, he took out a simple repair tool kit from the cabinet, planning to take apart the battery shell to see if he could repair it in an emergency. However, the screwdriver just wouldn’t listen to his trembling hands. It took him a lot of effort to unscrew a few screws. The circuits inside were as complicated as a tangled mess. Some wire ends also had traces of being burnt and oxidized. Old Liu was instantly at a loss and didn’t know where to start at all.

Just when Old Liu was full of despair and felt helpless, the sound of a car horn rang out at the door. It turned out to be Old Zhang who ran an auto repair shop next door. He usually had a good relationship with Old Liu. Seeing that Old Liu went out early in the morning and then rushed back in a hurry, he guessed that Old Liu must have encountered a thorny problem. Old Zhang stuck his head out and asked with concern, “Old Liu, what’s going on? You look so red in the face with anxiety.” Old Liu, as if grasping a life-saving straw, pointed at the broken Tianneng Classic 12V battery and told him all about his encounter. Without saying a word, Old Zhang turned around and went back to his shop. He brought a brand-new Tianneng Classic 12V battery and also brought professional detection tools, insulating tape, an electric soldering iron and other repair items.

It turned out that as an auto repair mechanic, Old Zhang was used to all kinds of vehicle battery failures. His shop always kept commonly used batteries and repair accessories in stock for emergencies. He skillfully used the detection tools to check the faulty battery on Old Liu’s vehicle. After a careful inspection, he found that a short circuit had occurred in one of the internal plates, which triggered a series of chain reactions and caused the battery to fail. While comforting Old Liu not to worry, Old Zhang neatly removed the faulty battery and replaced it with a new one. He carefully connected the circuits, cleaned up the oxidized and burnt wire ends, and wrapped them with insulating tape. In less than half an hour, the dashboard of the vehicle lit up again, the power indicator light lit up steadily, and the motor ran smoothly.

Old Liu’s eyes were red, and his voice choked with emotion. He grasped Old Zhang’s hand tightly and thanked him repeatedly, saying, “Old Zhang, thank you so much! If it weren’t for your timely appearance, I would have been completely ruined. I’ll remember this kindness!” Old Zhang smiled and waved his hand, saying, “Old Liu, don’t mention it. We’re all old neighbors. Who doesn’t have difficulties? It’s just a piece of cake. You should pay more attention to battery maintenance in the future. Try not to take bad roads when it’s cold.”

Old Liu restarted the vehicle and drove steadily towards the neighboring village. After this incident, Old Liu took meticulous care of the Tianneng Classic series 12V batteries. Before each trip, he would conduct a comprehensive inspection without fail; he would regularly send the batteries to professional shops for maintenance; and when encountering bad weather, he would be even more cautious in choosing the driving route. Since then, that set of batteries had never had any problems again and steadily accompanied Old Liu as he shuttled between urban and rural roads, helping him complete transportation tasks successfully time after time and firmly safeguarding the stable life of his family.