Locksmith

1

At 2 in the morning, my phone rang, waking me up.

It was from an unfamiliar number.

"Is this the locksmith? My door won't open. Could you help me unlock it?" A woman's anxious voice came through the phone.

I asked her not to worry and then inquired about her address and the type of lock.

The woman told me she lived in Building 4, Apartment 1404 of the Chrysanthemum Garden community.

She had a standard mechanical key lock.

The situation was that the key could insert into the keyhole, but it couldn't turn.

I told her it was likely the lock cylinder was damaged and might need replacing.

She asked about the price, and my quote satisfied her.

I told her I could be there within ten minutes.

After hanging up, I quickly got up and put on my work clothes.

It was a uniform I had specially tailored to maintain a good image.

On the front and back of the uniform were four large characters: Lao Wang Locksmith.

With everything ready, I grabbed my toolkit and headed out.

My name is Wang Bo, and I'm a locksmith.

This was already my 47th job today.

The lock on Apartment 1404 of Building 4 in the Chrysanthemum Garden community was tampered with by me at noon today.

To be honest, it's quite simple.

I just inserted a toothpick into the keyhole.

Then I broke off the toothpick, leaving only a very small piece at the tip in the keyhole.

This way, the key couldn't fully insert into the bottom of the keyhole.

But with just this tiny difference, the key couldn't turn.

In such a situation, homeowners either dared not force the key to turn or, if they exerted too much force, the key would break directly in the keyhole.

In any case, the door couldn't be opened.

At this point, it was my turn to step in as the locksmith.

Not only do I unlock doors for people, but I also persuade customers to replace the lock cylinder.

Call-out fee, unlocking fee, lock replacement fee.

If this entire fee chain doesn't flow smoothly, then I wouldn't be a qualified locksmith.

You might wonder why I do this?

That's because business isn't going well nowadays.

Especially in a profession like locksmithing, finding customers has always been a headache.

Our usual practice is:

To put up small ads for "locksmith services" in conspicuous places like elevators and hallways in residential areas.

Usually, customers who need locksmith assistance either forgot their keys when going out or accidentally lost them.

But these are all low-probability events.

And now, the situation is that there are just too many of these locksmith ads in elevators and hallways.

With customers already scarce, the probability of getting my own job is even smaller.

To make the business easier, I had to create my own customers.

Tampering with the door locks of residents is currently the simplest and most effective method.

For regular mechanical locks, a toothpick is enough.

For electronic locks, tin foil combined with a magnet can also do the trick, but I won't go into the specifics.

Of course, choosing targets requires skill.

I usually target every other floor, selecting only one target per floor.

Because I can't let the customers be too close to each other, or else they might get suspicious.

Additionally, I remove all other locksmith ads from the targeted floor, leaving only mine.

This way, customers can find me precisely.

Since using this method, I've had a steady stream of customers.

It's common for me to receive late-night orders like today's.

Because there are always customers who have the habit of coming and going early.

And I, always keep my phone lines open for my customers.

The building 4 in Juyuan community is nearby, and it only took me 5 minutes to get downstairs.

I entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 14th floor directly.

When I arrived upstairs, I saw a woman squatting in front of the door of room 1404.

Seeing someone approaching, the woman quickly stood up and asked me:

"Are... are you the locksmith?"

I couldn't help but feel that the woman's voice was trembling slightly.

I nodded in response:

"Yes, you just called me, right?"

"Yes, I don't know what happened. My door won't open, the key won't turn, and I applied too much force just now, so the key broke inside."

After the woman finished speaking, she pointed to the key stuck in the lock.

Indeed, half of the key was stuck in the keyhole.

"It seems that the lock cylinder is worn out and needs to be replaced."

As I spoke, I showed the woman my business license and the public security registration certificate.

Then, according to regulations, I verified some information with the woman.

Such as the customer's identification and their relationship with the house, etc.

I looked at the woman's ID, her name was Zheng Lan.

It could be confirmed that she was the homeowner of this house.

Strictly speaking, there should be a third-party witness on the scene, such as property management or neighbors.

But because it was too late and inconvenient, some rules could usually be skipped in reality.

After completing the lock opening registration.

I took out my tools from my bag and officially started my work.

Just as I was busy, the woman suddenly asked me:

"Master, how long will it take to open the door?"

As I worked, I replied to her:

"About ten minutes."

"Can... can you do it faster?"

I glanced at the woman and noticed that her eyes seemed a bit erratic.

She seemed to be looking at something behind me intentionally or unintentionally.

I immediately turned my head to glance in that direction.

But all I saw was a dim and empty corridor.

I frowned and said to the woman:

"Your lock is quite difficult to open, but I'll try to speed up."

In fact, a lock like this could be opened in the blink of an eye.

But I needed to drag the time as much as possible.

Otherwise, the customer would feel that I earned the money too easily.

They would be very reluctant to pay.

I remember being at a loss before.

I once opened a cross lock for someone.

I used a piece of thread and a piece of wire, and I opened the door for them in just a few moves.

The homeowner was dumbfounded when they saw it.

When it came time to pay, they even haggled with me.

I told them that this was skilled work, not priced by the length of time.

But they didn't care, and in the end, they threw me ten bucks and drove me away.

Since then, I've learned my lesson.

No matter how easy the lock is to open, no matter how anxious the customer is.

I have to drag it out for at least ten minutes before opening it for them.

I've figured it out. Locksmithing not only requires skills but also acting skills.

Customers are happy to see you working hard.

Ten minutes later, I finally opened the door.

Then I replaced the lock cylinder for the customer.

As for the old lock cylinder, it was actually perfectly fine.

When I take it back, I can use it again for another customer next time.

That's what you call making the most of it.

I charged the customer a total of 100 yuan.

To be honest, this was a conscience price within the industry.

If it were another locksmith, they would charge overtime for coming to open the lock at night.

Maybe seeing that I had been working hard for a while.

The woman didn't say anything and directly handed me a hundred yuan bill.

Just as I took the money, the woman walked into the house and closed the door.

But just as the door was about to close, it suddenly stopped.

The woman stood inside, lowered her voice, and asked me a question through the c***k of the door.

"Master, when you came out of the elevator and went upstairs, did you see anything?"

The woman pointed with her finger to the corridor behind me.

I was taken aback and immediately turned to look at the dim corridor.

The woman continued, "I mean, in the stairwell directly opposite the elevator door."

I looked over.

In the middle of the corridor, on the left, there was indeed a fire escape staircase leading upstairs and downstairs.

And the staircase was directly opposite the elevator door.

From where I stood, I could barely see the doorway leading into the staircase.

It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen.

I didn't understand what the woman was trying to say, so I said:

"I was in a hurry to open the lock for you. When I came out of the elevator, I turned left and met you. I didn't pay much attention to what was in the stairwell. What's in there?"

"Did you see... a... figure, all in white? Standing in the stairwell!"

I instantly felt chills running down my spine and shook my head.

"A white figure? In the stairwell?"

The woman nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's a woman wearing a white dress, with her hair down covering her face completely. She's just standing there facing the elevator door, not moving at all."

Seeing my incredulous expression, she continued, "Master, could you please go over and take a look for me? See if that figure is still there. Otherwise, I won't dare to sleep tonight!"

Her words sent shivers down my spine.

Although I hadn't paid attention to the stairwell opposite the elevator door when I came out.

But I was sure that I absolutely didn't see anyone there.

Given the current situation, I had to go over and check.

Because I was about to leave and had to pass by there.

I deliberately coughed loudly, and the motion sensor light in the stairwell lit up.

With courage, I slowly walked over.

The woman continued to hide inside the house, watching the situation in the corridor through the c***k in the door.

Halfway through, I turned back to glance at the woman through the c***k in the door.

Because the c***k was narrow, I could only see half of the woman's face.

Her long hair hanging down covered half of her eye again.

To be honest, this scene gave me an inexplicable sense of fear.