The Mender Who Mended the Sky

Chen Xiu was an appliance repairman. They called him “One-Touch Wonder,” because anything he laid his hands on would work again. But most of the appliances he fixed were old and worn-out, and his wife often complained about it.

One day, an elderly woman came to him to have something repaired. Chen Xiu fixed it right away.

That night, his wife asked him, “Would you take a repair job that makes you famous through all history?”

Chen Xiu was confused, but he nodded doubtfully. “Sure,” he said.

In an instant, he was sent back to ancient times.

Nü Wa was melting stones to repair the sky.

She turned to him and said, “I’ve long heard you’re a master of mending. I’ve specially invited you to fix the sky.”

Chen Xiu thought he was dreaming. He pinched his thigh hard—it was icy cold, and it hurt.

This was not a dream.

And he would never be able to go back.

Chen Xiu had loved taking things apart since he was a child. At age five, he took apart his very first toy: a red tin fire truck.

“Mom, why won’t it make noise anymore?” Little Chen Xiu held the silent fire truck, his eyes full of confusion.

“Maybe the batteries died, sweetie,” his mother called from the kitchen, busy with dinner.

When she carried out the pork rib soup, she almost dropped the bowl. Screws, gears, and tiny springs were scattered all over the living room floor. Little Chen Xiu was holding a tiny circuit board up to the sun, studying it carefully with chubby fingers.

“Oh my god, Chen Xiu!” she exclaimed. “You took apart the birthday gift your dad got you?”

Little Chen Xiu looked up, no guilt on his face, only excitement. “Mom, I found the problem! This metal wire broke. That’s why it won’t make sound.”

Three days later, when his father returned from a business trip, the fire truck not only made noise again—it had a new function Chen Xiu added on his own: the ladder on top could automatically rise and fall. His father watched his son’s proud demonstration, amazed and puzzled, and finally patted his head. “Boy, you’ll either be an inventor or a repairman.”

By fifth grade, Chen Xiu was already the “fix-it whiz” of his class. His head teacher’s office chair had squeaked for half a month. All the other teachers suggested buying a new one. During one break, Chen Xiu fixed it completely. He even made a shock pad out of an old bike inner tube, making the old chair more comfortable than a brand-new one.

“Chen Xiu, what do you want to be when you grow up?” the teacher asked, sitting on the renewed chair.

“I want to know how everything works,” Chen Xiu answered simply and firmly.

After high school, Chen Xiu did not go to college like most classmates. His father, a well-known accountant in the county, had already planned his path: study finance at the provincial university, then work in a bank. But on his application form, Chen Xiu wrote only one school: the Provincial Vocational and Technical College, majoring in electronic repair.

“Are you crazy?” His father slammed the form on the dinner table. “I worked so hard to send you to school, not for you to become a repairman!”

“Dad, I’m not just becoming a repairman,” Chen Xiu said calmly, his fingers brushing a broken radio on the table. “I want to understand how things work, then bring broken things back to life. It’s much more interesting than numbers.”

In his second year of vocational college, he worked part-time at a nearby repair shop. The boss, Old Zhang, told everyone he’d found a treasure. “This kid knows the problem with one glance. He fixes things in a blink—truly a One-Touch Wonder!”

The nickname spread among students, but Chen Xiu barely noticed. He lost himself in circuit diagrams and mechanical structures. His happiest moments were taking apart, inspecting, and repairing broken appliances. To him, it was not work. It was an adventure full of surprises.

After graduation, Chen Xiu rented a small storefront near the flea market on the city’s edge, with a sign that read: Master Chen’s Appliance Repair. The shop was small but bright. On sunny days, dust danced in the light, and Chen Xiu sat in that glow, surrounded by broken appliances and boxes of parts.

It was the summer of 2003. Air conditioners were still rare. His only fan was old and creaky. He was bent over fixing an old CRT TV, sweat forming on his forehead, completely focused.

“Excuse me… can you fix this?” A soft female voice pulled him out of his concentration.

Three days later, Lin Xiao arrived at the shop on time. Chen Xiu had fixed her radio completely. He replaced worn parts, cleaned the inside, and polished the old wooden case until it shone like new.

“Is… is this really mine?” Lin Xiao ran her fingers over the radio, trembling slightly.

Chen Xiu nodded, plugged it in, and turned the knob. Clear opera music poured out, better than ever before.

“Thank you, Chen Xiu.” Lin Xiao placed an extra twenty yuan on the counter. Before he could return it, she hurried out.

The next noon, Lin Xiao came again, carrying an insulated lunch box.

“I made lunch. I brought an extra portion,” she said, setting it on his workbench firmly. “Consider it an extra repair fee.” Inside were pepper pork, tomato eggs, and rice.

Chen Xiu did not talk much, but Lin Xiao didn’t mind. She loved watching him fix broken things. He was like a different kind of doctor.

Two years later, Chen Xiu and Lin Xiao married. The wedding was simple, with only close friends and family. Their new home was a rented two-bedroom apartment. Most furniture was secondhand, picked up and restored by Chen Xiu. Lin Xiao didn’t mind. She admired his skill and thrift.

“You know what?” she said, leaning on his shoulder on their wedding night. “I love the way you turn trash into treasure. It’s almost sacred, like you’re giving waste a new life.”

Things changed after their daughter was born. As the girl grew older, Lin Xiao wanted a better life. She wanted their daughter to go to a nicer kindergarten, wear prettier clothes, and play with newer toys. But Chen Xiu still believed in “if it works, it’s good enough.” He spent hours fixing things others had thrown away.

“All her toys are secondhand ones you fixed,” Lin Xiao complained one dinner. “She came home from kindergarten today, saying the kids laughed at her doll, saying it was picked from the trash.”

Chen Xiu frowned. “The doll I fixed is sturdier than new ones, and all functions work.”

“It’s not about being sturdy!” Lin Xiao raised her voice. “It’s about the child’s pride! Can you stop picking junk from the waste station? Can we just buy new things like a normal family?”

“New things become old in a few months anyway,” Chen Xiu insisted. “And the things I fix usually work better than the original.” Arguments like this became more and more frequent.

One afternoon, after his last customer left with a repaired microwave, Chen Xiu stretched and prepared to close. Just then, an elderly woman with a cane slowly pushed open the glass door.

“Young man, are you still open?” Her voice was hoarse but gentle.

Chen Xiu checked his watch, then looked at the old triangular rice cooker in her hands. “Sure. Sit down. Let me take a look.”

The problem was simple: the temperature sensor was broken. Chen Xiu took a matching used sensor from his parts box and fixed it in ten minutes.

“How much do I owe you, young man?” The old woman slowly pulled money from an embroidered purse.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chen Xiu waved his hand. “The sensor was picked from the waste station. It cost nothing.”

The old woman narrowed her eyes and studied him, her gaze suddenly sharp and clear. “You don’t fix things for money, do you?”

Chen Xiu paused, then smiled shyly. “I just like fixing things. It makes me happy to see them work again.”

“What if…” the old woman lowered her voice. “There was a much bigger repair job. One that could make you famous forever. Would you take it?”

“What job?” he heard himself ask.

Instead of answering, she pulled out a colorful stone and placed it on his workbench. It glowed strangely in the sunset, as if liquid flowed inside.

“Touch it,” she said.

Chen Xiu reached out almost without thinking. The moment his finger touched the stone, a jolt like electricity shot up his arm. His vision went black.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a strange wilderness.

Above him… the sky was broken.

A huge crack ran across the heavens, like shattered glass. Beyond it, chaos swirled. Golden liquid dripped from the crack, turning into fire when it hit the ground. In the distance, a giant black dragon slammed into the weakened sky. Each blow widened the crack.

“Wh… where am I?” Chen Xiu’s legs went weak.

“The ancient world. Three days after Gong Gong crashed into Mount Buzhou.” The old woman’s voice came from behind.

Chen Xiu turned. To his shock, her form was changing. Wrinkles faded, white hair turned black, rough cloth turned into colorful robes. Standing before him was a goddess of otherworldly beauty.

“I am Nü Wa,” she said. “The pillars of heaven broke. The sky tilts to the northwest, the earth sinks to the southeast. I melt five-colored stones to repair the sky, but progress is too slow.” She pointed into the distance. Chen Xiu saw figures melting stones, slow and laborious.

“I need help. Someone who truly understands mending.” Nü Wa’s eyes fell on him. “Your focus and skill in repairing things have reached even the heavenly court.”

Chen Xiu’s mind went blank.

Nü Wa mending the sky? That was just a myth.

He pinched his thigh hard.

The pain told him this was real.

And he would never be able to go home again.