The train driver in the courtyard

early morning.

The rising sun slowly rises from the distant fields.

A soft golden light shone down, shrouding the entire countryside in a warm and hazy light and shadow.

Li Aiguo was awakened by a clanking sound.

He rubbed his eyes and climbed up from the straw bed.

He raised his wrist and found that it was only half past six and it was still dark outside.

He opened the door and walked out without waking up Yan Jiecheng and Zhang Tieniu.

Next to the warehouse is a three-bay straw hut, which should be the large cooking pot in the commune.

The fire in the stove was burning brightly, and Chef Cao, Village Chief Wei and two female members were busy working in front of the stove.

"Hey, Lao Cao, you should put less millet. You need to save more food."

"Village chief, what are you afraid of? Our commune has enough food now."

"You have to live a life that is appropriate for your needs. Who knows what the situation will be like next year. Just listen to me."

"Okay, okay, Old Wei, if you continue like this, you will become the stingy village chief near us."

"Just be stingy, it's better than the members going hungry."

While the two were talking, Village Chief Wei saw Li Aiguo coming out and said hello: "Comrade driver, are you up so early?"

"Our train driver is sleepy."

Li Aiguo leaned over, took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to the two of them.

He lit a fire on the stove and secretly looked at the situation in the thatched shed.

The adobe walls were smoked black.

The slogan "Eat without spending money, work hard to produce" on the wall was newly posted, but it was already yellowing and rattling in the black smoke.

The large pot was bubbling with millet porridge.

Chef Cao, who was also an experienced chef, grabbed a few handfuls of dried sweet potatoes from the sack next to him and threw them into the pot.

Sweet potatoes will make the porridge thicker and give people a "chewy" feeling.

Li Aiguo smoked a cigarette and chatted with Village Chief Wei and Chef Cao.

The commune transformation has been completed here, and the mutual aid groups and junior cooperatives of Weizhuang and several surrounding villages have formed a commune.

Except for the beds, clothes, and quilts that the commune members sleep on, all other things are handed over to the commune.

The commune established a large canteen, and handed over the pots, bowls, and ladles from the family members to the large canteen, and then everyone ate in the commune canteen.

The commune had just been established in this year and there was plenty of food.

Other communes only serve white steamed buns, white noodles, and good meat and vegetables.

However, Village Chief Lao Wei felt that eating that way was too sinful and something would happen sooner or later.

So every meal consists of noodle soup and vegetable soup.

When you’re busy, add a few more steamed buns.

Being able to prepare for a rainy day, Li Aiguo couldn't help but look high at Village Chief Wei.

Although Village Chief Wei is uneducated, his rich life experience is unmatched by those young people.

While chatting, the sky gradually dawned.

After the big pot of rice is simmered, Chef Cao adds a drop or two of oil to it.

Village Chief Lao Wei knocked on the plowshare on the big tree at the entrance of the village.

Men, women, and children in the village came from all directions and crowded to the door of the hut with pots and jars in their hands.

Since there are not enough tables, most people just grab a bowl and eat while squatting.

The old ladies with little feet in the Huang family are quite clever.

They didn't finish a bowl at first, then finished it quickly and then went to get another bowl, so that they could eat two bowls.

Some club members filled a bowl at the beginning and then ate slowly. By the time they finished the first bowl, there was no rice left in the pot.

In these days, most of the villagers' bowls and basins were made of earthenware. There were also some but very few foreign porcelain bowls.

It is impossible for ordinary people to have foreign porcelain bowls.

Those who have foreign porcelain bowls must either have someone "working" in the city or the family is well-established. Even the supply and marketing cooperative at the entrance of the village does not sell foreign porcelain bowls.

Thinking of this, Li Aiguo also saw Old Man Liu and Aunt Liu from the supply and marketing cooperative in the crowd.

They all held porcelain bowls.

The ordinary members of the club gathered in a noisy heap like a swarm of bees.

Holding the big bowl in both hands and raising it high above their heads, they scrambled to get Chef Cao to serve them food.

The two people stood aside quietly, as if it was a routine matter.

The disgust they looked at the food in the cauldron couldn't fool Li Aiguo's eyes.

This kind of person must have been accustomed to eating large amounts of meat and drinking heavily in the past, so he would look down on the food of the members.

Looks like we have to find a way to check them out.

At this time, Yan Jiecheng and Zhang Tieniu also got up, and they came to the grass shed.

Seeing the millet porridge in the pot, even Yan Jiecheng's face turned green.

The Yan family lives a frugal life, but can still eat authentic stick noodle porridge.

"Stop looking at it and eat quickly. After eating, Yan Jiecheng has to go back to the capital and ask the locomotive depot to send someone to repair the truck."

"Tie Niu will check the truck again and see if we can fix it ourselves."

Li Aiguo filled the rice bowl and handed them two bowls.

Seeing that both of them had a hard time swallowing, Li Aiguo took out biscuits from his pocket and gave them a few pieces.

"Dip this thing into the porridge."

"Hey, patriotic brother, you'd better be nice to me." Yan Jiecheng was so happy that he couldn't even close his mouth.

I just bought two kilograms of biscuits last night.

After giving it to Yan Jiecheng and Zhang Tiezhu, Li Aiguo still had three pieces left in his hand.

Just ready to break it open and put it in a bowl.

"Uncle, what are you holding in your hand?" A little boy appeared in front of him with two little girls.

The boy's clothes were patched upon patches, stained with mud and unidentifiable stains.

The hair of the two girls was as messy as a pile of weeds. Their little faces are also dirty.

The little boy's big black eyes darted around: "Uncle, are you taking tree roots? My mother said that some tree roots are poisonous and will cause stomachache after eating them. How about I help you taste them?"

The little girl twisted the little boy's ears and gritted her teeth and said, "Dabao, mother also said that you can't ask for food from others."

"Recruiting younger brothers and sisters, I have good intentions."

Zhaodi felt sorry for his younger brother and didn't exert any force, but Dabao acted like he was in great pain and pouted.

What a weird kid.

"Dabao, recruit a younger brother"

Li Aiguo pointed to the younger girl and asked, "You should be my brother?"

"My name is Xiangdi." The little girl shook her head like a rattle.

Li Aiguo: "."

Come to brother, lead brother, miss brother, look forward to brother, miss brother, beg brother.

We don’t blame Li Aiguo for being uneducated. It’s because the masses’ thinking is so divergent that they created so many names.

Seeing the children staring at the cookies eagerly, wanting but afraid to ask, Li Aiguo felt a little soft, stood up and distributed the cookies to the three of them.

"Dabao is right to remind you that the roots of this tree may be poisonous. How about you help uncle give it a try?"

The three children hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it.

Brother Zhao held the biscuit in his hand, hesitated for a moment, with a flash of struggle in his eyes, and handed the biscuit back.

"Uncle, my brother lied to you. These are biscuits from the supply and marketing cooperative. They are not poisonous tree roots. They are delicious. Brother Zhao has never eaten them in his life."

"How old are you? It's just a lifetime."

Li Aiguo chuckled and nodded towards Zhaodi: "Take it, uncle likes to drink gruel."

Does anyone else like to drink porridge? Xiao Zhaodi was a little confused. Under the temptation of biscuits, he carefully put the biscuits into his pocket.

She took her younger siblings and said "thank you" to Li Aiguo and ran out of the commune compound.

"Father, mother, uncle gave us delicious food, you can try it."

A trace of doubt flashed across Li Aiguo's face. Didn't the father and mother of the younger brother eat in the commune canteen?

Zhang Tieniu looked at the cheerful children, then looked at the biscuits in the bowl, and felt that they suddenly no longer tasted good.

After dinner.

Village chief Lao Wei found a bullock cart and sent Zhang Tiehan and Yan Jiecheng back to the locomotive depot for help.

Before departure.

Li Aiguo pulled Yan Jiecheng aside and whispered: "Jiecheng, when you go back, find Minister Niu of the locomotive maintenance section and ask him to help investigate a person."

Li Aiguo wrote Old Man Liu's name and address on the letter of introduction on a piece of paper and handed it to Yan Jiecheng.

Although he felt that there was something wrong with the two people in the supply and marketing cooperative.

But this is Weizhuang.

Not the locomotive depot, let alone the capital.

Without sufficient evidence, it would be difficult to convince Village Chief Wei.

In addition, if you make a mistake, it will also have adverse effects.

Various relationships are intertwined in the village, which is far more complicated than in the city.

Therefore, Li Aiguo chose the most cautious approach.

Although Jie Cheng didn't know the reason, he took the note and nodded seriously.

"Brother Patriot, please leave this matter to me. Don't worry."

Yan Jiecheng got eggs this time and five pounds of wolf meat, and he was very excited.

Of course he agreed wholeheartedly.

Seeing Yan Jiecheng about to get on the bullock cart, Li Aiguo reminded again: "Only you know about this. Minister Niu knows, don't tell anyone else."

"understand!"

Yan Jiecheng agreed quickly and hurriedly climbed onto the bullock cart.

None of them noticed that a pair of sinister eyes flashed across the crowd.

Ox carts are a valuable transportation resource in rural areas. Even though Yan Jiecheng has ridden a bicycle, he has never ridden an ox cart.

The driver of the bullock cart was Wei Cun's handlebar style. He raised his whip high and cracked it in the air.

The old scalper kicked the ground with all four hooves, and the bullock cart moved forward slowly.

Yan Jiecheng was lying on the bullock cart, looking at the blue sky, feeling a little sad.

The bullock cart is similar to the jeep in the city. When we return to the maintenance depot, we have something to show off.

Sudden.

A figure emerged from the ravine and blocked the way of the bullock cart.

The handlebar pulled the reins, looked at the old woman and said, "Aunt Liu, I can't take you to buy goods today. I have to send someone to the capital."

The person blocking the road was Aunt Liu from the supply and marketing cooperative.

In the past, materials in supply and marketing cooperatives were transported by bullock carts.

She knows the handlebar style well.

"It's not a coincidence, isn't it? I also want to go to Beijing and want to pull out two feet of floral cloth to make new clothes."

As she spoke, Aunt Liu took out two candy bars from her pocket and stuffed them into her handlebar pocket.

"Old Ma, take it back and give it to the children to sweeten their mouths."

"Ouch, sister-in-law, you can't do this." Handlebar said he was humble, but had no intention of taking it out.

Save these two pieces of candy for the Chinese New Year, so there is no need to buy gifts for the children this year.

The handlebar helped Aunt Liu onto the bullock cart, shouted "Sit tight", and drove the bullock cart forward.

There is one more person on the bullock cart.

Yan Jiecheng could no longer stretch his legs and could only lean on the side of the car.

Aunt Liu looked around the oxcart, and her eyes suddenly froze when she saw Zhang Tiehan's bulging waist.

The train driver was so cautious that he sent a man with a gun to follow him.

She could only give up her original idea.

He rubbed his butt on the car and leaned next to Yan Jiecheng, smiling with narrowed eyes.

"Are you a gay from the capital?"

"Yes, aunt, I am a worker at the Beijing Locomotive Depot."

"Workers, hey, those are the ones who have a grain background and can eat public grain." Aunt Liu gave a thumbs up: "This young man has become a big worker at a young age. It's amazing."

"I see that your heaven is full and your earth's pavilion is round. You look like a noble person. You will definitely be a leader in the future."

Yan Jiecheng had never been so complimented by anyone in his life, and he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. “Madam, you are really good at judging people.”

Yan Jiecheng felt that this old lady was more sensible than ordinary rural old ladies.

After the relationship between the two became closer,

Aunt Liu took Yan Jiecheng's arm and asked affectionately: "Is the young man married?"

"That's not true." Yan Jiecheng regained his energy, sat up and asked, "Do you have a suitable partner?"

"Isn't this a coincidence?"

Aunt Liu patted her thigh and said, "My eldest sister's second aunt's third aunt's cousin's aunt is an official female worker in a textile factory in Beijing. She is as beautiful as a flower and is about the same age as you."

The eldest sister's second aunt, the third girl's cousin's aunt. Yan Jiecheng felt that his brain was not enough.

He shook his head and asked, "How much is her monthly salary?"

There seems to be something wrong with this young man's brain circuitry. It's just made up anyway, and it doesn't matter if it's made up a little bigger.

Aunt Liu said: "It seems to be more than fifty yuan."

"More than fifty yuan." Yan Jiecheng swallowed. It was higher than his salary, which fully met the Yan family's requirements for a wife.

He licked his face and smiled: "Mom, can you introduce your eldest sister's second aunt's second aunt's cousin's aunt to me?"

"She is the aunt of the eldest sister's second aunt's third girl's cousin!"

Aunt Liu corrected him.

He looked Yan Jiecheng up and down: "There are many people pursuing that girl, and ordinary people can't get into her eyes.

Your looks are okay, and your work is just so-so, but in total, there are a few things wrong with you. "

"."

Seeing Aunt Liu's disgusted look, Yan Jiecheng murmured in his heart.

Didn't you just go up the pole to introduce your partner? Why did it turn into so-so in the blink of an eye?

It's just that Yan Jiecheng has already fallen in love with that girl.

At this time, Yan Jiecheng was worried that he would become Xu Damao and Nan Yi, and would only be able to marry a young widow in the future, so he kept thinking about the right partner.

As a gold medal matchmaker, Yan Bugui couldn't do it himself, so he could only entrust the matchmaking work to his colleagues next door.

For nearly two months, the matchmaker introduced seven or eight people, but none of them was suitable.

Those girls are either ugly or have no formal jobs.

But Yan Jie was very anxious.

Yan Jiecheng has been in the locomotive maintenance section for so long, and he is considered an old man, so he is not discouraged.

"Auntie, don't worry, as long as the marriage is finalized, I will be indispensable with your matchmaking gift."

"Young man, judging from what you said, that girl is..."

She also felt that mentioning the girl's full name was a bit suspicious.

He paused for a moment, pursed his lips and said, "That's my closest relative, and I don't need any matchmaking gifts. I just want to find an honest husband for that girl. In the future, I can honor my sister."

Is this relationship between old sisters?

Damn, there are so many things to worry about at this time, as long as I can go on a blind date with the girl, maybe I can get married next month.

Yan Jiecheng suddenly felt that he was a bit over the top.

He quickly pretended to be honest and honest: "Auntie, I am the most honest. In the courtyard and in the locomotive depot, people call me Yan Da Laoshi."

When Handlebar Shi heard this, he burst into laughter.

He only met Yan Jiecheng once, but he felt that this guy was much more cunning than the two workers.

The two comrades only kicked the front door in their pockets.

This guy has a big front door in his jacket pocket and a big China in his pants pocket.

Can he be an honest person?

However, Aunt Liu didn't seem to notice. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Since you are very honest, I will ask you about your situation first so that I can check on that girl."

There was a hint of sinisterness in the corners of her chapped lips, but Yan Jiecheng was so excited that he didn't notice it at all.

"It should be." Yan Jiecheng smiled happily and nodded quickly.

"What's your name? Where do you live? How many people are there in your family?"

"My name is Yan Jiecheng. I live in a courtyard in South Tongluo Lane. There are five people in my family."

"What do you do and how much do you get paid?"

Yan Jiecheng hesitated for a moment and whispered: "I am the leader of the transportation team of the locomotive depot. I earn 43 yuan and 50 cents per month."

Aunt Liu saw that he was lying, her eyes narrowed, but she did not ask further questions, and then asked: "What are you going to do in the capital this time?"

"Go and ask the comrades in the maintenance workshop of the locomotive depot to help repair the truck."

"Is that all there is to it?"

"What else can there be?" Yan Jiecheng swallowed and winced.

Did this old woman hear what he and Li Aiguo said?

Impossible, there was no one else around at the time.

Yan Jiecheng promised Li Aiguo not to tell others about this.

Aunt Liu kept her eyes fixed on Yan Jiecheng, as if she noticed something, her face darkened, and her voice became colder.

"You are dishonest. Forget it, I think this marriage is over."

"Don't." Yan Jiecheng was anxious.

At this moment, the beautiful girl was like a piece of meat hanging on his lips.

How can you be content with eating it right away and running away?

Yan Jiecheng said in a hurry: "Driver Li also asked me to tell Minister Niu.

Ask him to investigate a man named Liu Desheng, whose original address in the capital was No. 15 Maoer Hutong.

This matter has nothing to do with me, so I didn't say it.

Madam, please don’t get me wrong. "

After saying those words, Yan Jiecheng felt a little regretful.

But I didn't care. This was just an old lady, not a bad person. So what if she knew? !

Li Aiguo, on the other hand, likes to do those silly things all day long. Isn't it just checking the address? There is no need to keep it secret!

Yan Jiecheng was only focused on explaining and didn't even notice that Aunt Liu's hands were clenched tightly.

She clenched her teeth subconsciously.

Damn it, why was it exposed?

The little driver’s eyes must be sharp too!

We hid in such a remote place and ate bran-thick vegetables.

Aren't you going to let us go? !

Yan Jiecheng saw Aunt Liu's angry face, and her expression was terrifyingly gloomy.

He was startled and asked in a low voice: "Auntie, auntie, what's wrong with you?"

Aunt Liu woke up with a start, and the anger on her face immediately disappeared without a trace.

The speed was so fast that Yan Jiecheng thought he was dazzled.

"That's it. As long as you are honest, I will help you introduce someone to you when you get to the capital."

"Really? That's great."

Yan Jiecheng was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear.

He felt that this mission was really lucky.

After getting five pounds of wolf meat, I have to go on a blind date with such a good girl.

Lucky as I am, Yan Jiecheng.

The sky is so blue, the clouds are so white, the water is so clear, Yan Jiecheng is so happy

Sudden.

"Hey!"

Aunt Liu covered her stomach and shouted.

Her face was livid, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Lao Ma, stop the car quickly, I have a stomachache."

The handlebars held the ox cart in check, and Mrs. Liu turned over and jumped out of the cart.

"Lao Ma, Lao Cao's rice is probably not cooked this morning. I'm going to have diarrhea now. I'll go back and take some medicine first, then I won't go to the capital."

"Good."

I didn't pay attention to the handlebar type, just pulled up the reins and started to leave.

Yan Jiecheng was unwilling.

"Auntie, you are going to introduce me to someone."

"Oh, young man, why are you so anxious? I remember your name. When I go to the capital next time, I will definitely bring my eldest sister's second aunt, the second girl's cousin's aunt, to meet you."

"This"

Yan Jiecheng felt something was wrong.

Aunt Liu had already run away, ducking down, and disappeared into the grass beside the road in the blink of an eye.

"Jie Cheng, what are you whispering to that aunt about?" Zhang Tieniu looked at Aunt Liu's back and felt something was wrong.

"Nothing, let's go back quickly."

Yan Jiecheng scratched his head.

He felt that he had been deceived, but he did not understand why he was deceived.

Scamming money? He didn't lose any money either.

Cheating? That's not the case.

Unable to figure it out, Yan Jiechengji suspended the task and urged:

"Uncle, let's get to the capital as soon as possible."

"Good Le!"

The bullock cart set off slowly.

Yan Jiecheng was able to lie down in the carriage again.

The sky is so blue, the clouds are so white, the water is so clear, Yan Jiecheng is so happy

the other side.

Today is the day to distribute hot water bottles and enamel jars to the villagers.

Li Aiguo saw off Yan Jiecheng and Zhang Tieniu, and came to the grinding yard.

From a distance, I saw a middle-aged man standing next to the truck.

His hair was white from the frost, and the work clothes on his body were also damp. It looked like he had been staying here all night.

When the middle-aged man heard the footsteps, he woke up suddenly, picked up the shotgun, and shouted loudly: "Don't, don't, don't come here. This is a gift from the locomotive depot to us. If anyone dares to touch it, I will fight you to the death."

The black barrel of the shotgun was swinging randomly in the air, making Zhang Tieniu turn blue with fear.

The reliability of this old shotgun is very poor, it is easy to misfire, and no one is afraid of being hit by the barrel.

Li Aiguo was about to rush forward and hand over his gun.

Village Chief Lao Wei strode over.

Snapped!

A big slap on the forehead.

Village Chief Wei said with a fierce face: "Captain Wang, look clearly, this is a comrade from the maintenance section."

The middle-aged man just woke up now.

He rubbed his eyes and saw Li Aiguo and Zhang Tieniu standing opposite him. He quickly put away his shotgun and stood at attention: "Yes, sorry, I was confused."

Village chief Lao Wei introduced Li Aiguo.

The middle-aged man is the village militia captain, named Wang Dahu, and is the village militia deputy captain.

He was a very energetic young man, but his only problem was that he was born with a stutter.

Haven't started a family yet.

At the beginning of five years ago, a woman in her thirties appeared from nowhere. She had fair skin, was tall and thin, and was quite beautiful.

But he was willing to live in Lao Wang's house, and the two formed a family.

Village chief Lao Wei came forward to help the woman settle down in Wei Village.

Looking at the frightened Wang Dahu, Li Aiguo saluted him.

"Comrade, thank you for your hard work."

This gift comes from the heart.

Winter is about to begin now, and the weather is very cold at night, plus there was a strong wind last night.

It was indeed hard work for Wang Dahu to be able to stay here all night.

"You're welcome, this is what I should do." Wang stuttered and said with a blushing face.

By this time, the sun had risen, and villagers in the village had come to collect the enamel jars and hot water bottles.

According to the regulations of the locomotive depot, only members who go to the rescue can receive gifts.

In these days, industrial products were scarce, so thermos bottles and enamel jars were considered valuable furniture.

The villagers who received the gift were so happy that they couldn't help but praise the worker in the locomotive depot for his generosity.

Those who didn't receive it could only look at it with envy. (End of chapter)