71-Year-Old Volunteer Fixes Over 10,000 Watches for Community Residents

"Mr. Kou, my two heirloom watches are repaired very well by you. They are now running very accurately. When I get back to Beijing, I will invite you to come and live with me for a few days to repair watches for my neighbors." One day, Beijing resident Mr. Yang called Mr. Kou, a resident of Tianjin Hedong District, Liulin Street, Jingyali, to thank him for repairing his two vintage Swiss watches, the Meihua Double Standing and the Inger Double Standing, from the 1940s.

Mr. Kou, who is now 71 years old, retired from Tianjin Seagull Watch Group Co., Ltd. as a worker technician. For 18 years, he has volunteered to repair over 10,000 watches and 300 clocks for residents in the surrounding communities, serving over 10,000 people. He only charges for the cost of replacing batteries and parts.

"A small clock is a timekeeping device, and it is convenient to carry with you. If you have any problems, don't worry, please find Mr. Kou, the expert." This well-known quatrain was written by the local residents for Mr. Kou.

Mr. Kou retired as a senior technician at Tianjin Watch Factory. He has extensive experience in watch and clock repair. When he entered the factory in 1960, Mr. Kou was only 16 years old. He was immediately attracted by the advanced automated lathes and neat production lines. "The sound of 'tick-tock' in the workshop made me very fascinated. From then on, I fell in love with this industry." In the course of his work, he studied hard under the guidance of his master, and devoted himself to the research and development of watchmaking and repair techniques. He has mastered the twelve basic operations of watch repair and the difficult technology of making watch parts. He was praised by his masters for his rapid progress.

The factory used to hold technical competitions frequently, and the workers competed to be technical champions. Mr. Kou called the three major components of a watch "balance wheel, clamp, and clamp wheel." His record was to assemble more than 300 clamps a day, and he was nicknamed "Little Tiger." Mr. Kou said, "The technical champion selection is very strict. You need to be able to assemble and repair, and you need to be familiar with the processes on the production line." As early as 1977, in a comprehensive employee technical competition, the organizer required the factory's employees to repair stopped watches. The watch that ran the longest without winding was the mechanical watch repaired by Mr. Kou. It ran for 53 hours in a row, exceeding the stipulated time, defeating several masters and winning the championship.

Due to his solid work and outstanding skills, he was awarded the title of worker technician in the factory, and he was considered to be the first generation of watch assemblers in Tianjin. In the 1980s, the factory sent him to Guangzhou and Shenzhen to work at maintenance points. With his superb skills, Mr. Kou contributed to the establishment of the image of Tianjin Seagull watches.

Later, Mr. Kou retired from the factory. However, he could not bear to give up his watchmaking skills for 40 years, and he always wanted to do something for the community residents.

One day, when he was taking a morning walk in the garden of the community, he overheard an aunt say, "My watch is broken, but I've gone to several places to repair it, and none of them have been able to fix it." "I'm a watch factory worker. Let me take a look at it!" Hearing that there were still watches that could not be repaired, Mr. Kou, who had been in the watch industry for a lifetime, felt a little itchy. With his many years of experience, he easily repaired the watch. Since then, the watches in the community have also been brought to him for repair.

His service objects are all the residents of the community, especially the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and the revolutionary martyrs and their families. As some residents said, "We are confident in letting Mr. Kou repair watches. The work is good and the quality is high. We don't charge any labor costs, and we still provide lifetime warranty." This is the recognition and praise of the people.