The train driver in the courtyard

The second day of the new year.

It is a "standard practice" in Beijing for a married daughter to return to her parents' home.

Early in the morning.

Li Aiguo and Chen Xueru got out of bed with difficulty, ate a bowl of dumplings, finished two taels of rice dumplings, and prepared to go to Chen Fangxuan's house.

The gifts are ready early.

A pack of white cigarettes, two elbows, five pounds of bacon, two bottles of Maotai, a large bag of cakes, and hawthorns given by Village Chief Wei.

My sister-in-law is very happy right now and she keeps craving for something sour.

The young couple tried their best to put the gifts on the bicycle.

"This gift is too much." Chen Xueru sighed as usual.

"It's Chinese New Year."

Li Aiguo pushed his bicycle outside. When passing by the middle courtyard, he saw Mrs. Jia Zhang running back home.

What bad thing did this old woman do again?
The answer to this question soon came. As soon as Li Aiguo walked to the front yard, he saw Yan Bugui riding a bicycle to generate human power.

"Hey, Third Master, you are personally involved in the work today, and are you among the masses?"

"Don't mention it, it's too irritating. Those unlucky kids in my family went to their uncle's house to visit relatives early in the morning."

The third uncle was so tired that he jumped off the bicycle.

The third aunt shouted from inside the house: "Hey, hey, old man, keep pedaling, the dishes haven't been finished yet!"

"." Yan Bugui ignored her and looked at the five kilograms of bacon hanging on the bicycle with bright eyes.

This bacon is really rare.

"Are you visiting relatives?"

"Visiting my father-in-law. If you go late, you might be kicked out. Let's talk later." As Li Aiguo spoke, he pushed his bicycle and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute, patriot." The third uncle stopped him.

"Is something wrong?"

The third uncle turned his head and looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, "Yesterday, your aunt was chatting in the middle courtyard. I heard from Mrs. Jia Zhang that the oil and white flour you use to fry the steamed buns are from the locomotive maintenance department." It was stolen, and she also said that the locomotive depot was bribed by you."

Li Aiguo: "Do you believe it?"

"Of course I can't believe that. Who in our compound doesn't know that Patriot is the most upright person, so how could he do those nasty things." The third uncle straightened his chest.

Just kidding, he has been hanging out in Li Ai's country a lot in the past two days, and his mouth is full of oil.

Being short-tongued, the third uncle naturally wanted to side with Li Aiguo. The only thing he was dissatisfied with was that Li Aiguo wouldn't let him put the dumplings back in his pocket.

"Not only do I not believe it, but the residents in the compound don't believe it either. Zhang Gangzhu's wife even got into a quarrel with her!"

"That's okay."

The eyes of the masses were indeed sharp.

Li Aiguo raised his wrist to look at the time and saw that it was getting late.

"Third uncle, thank you! Let's talk later."

"Okay, you go quickly and take your time on the road." The third uncle said with a smile.

As soon as they finished speaking, the two children carried gifts and went to the third uncle's house to visit relatives.

The two children were about four or five years old. They were wearing patched blue coats, their little faces were as cold as red apples, and they both had runny noses.

"Cousin, Happy Chinese New Year." The older boy turned the basket and handed two boxes of snacks to the third uncle.

"It's Xiao Shuanzi and Duo'er. Please come in quickly and let your aunt give you red envelopes."

The third uncle was very enthusiastic at first. After taking the snack box, he picked it up and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Little Shuanzi, isn't this right? Why is it so heavy?"

Xiao Shuanzi raised his sleeve to wipe his nose, and explained with a naive smile: "Cousin, these are the snacks my mother bought in Daoxiang Village. It is said to be a new variety, and the price is two cents more! Aren't they a little heavier?"

"Yes, yes, here's the new year's money. My cousin, we have to visit other relatives." Duo'er looked a little flustered.

The third uncle had no intention of arguing with these two children.

But a while ago, I heard his cousin say that these two children are now lawless, and they belong to the type of people who cannot go to the house without being beaten for three days.

"New variety? Then my cousin must try it."

Generally speaking, visiting relatives would not open gifts from others in person. Yan Bugui wanted to be more serious at this time, so he picked up the snack box and opened it.

"Ah, cousin, please don't"

When Xiao Shuanzi heard this, a trace of panic appeared on his red face, and he quickly stepped forward to stop him.

But the third uncle took a quick step forward and gently pulled on the dung paper rope with his fingers.

pat.

The box opened in response.

There was indeed some snacks in the box, but not many, only two or three pieces, one of which was half-bitten.

All that's left are lumps of stone.

The scene was a little awkward for a while.

Seeing that the secret was revealed, Duo'er complained to Xiao Shuanzi: "Brother, I told you that our cousin is a shrewd man and asked you not to lie to him, but you didn't listen. Now it's better and he was caught. "

"There's no reason to open it face to face. Can you blame me for this?"

Little Shuanzi didn't expect that the third uncle would not follow the rules and could only stand there with his head hanging down.

"Oh, you two kids!" The third uncle was also very angry and wanted to scold the two of them.

Finally, looking at the pitiful little looks of the two of them, I could only sigh and shouted into the room: "Old lady, give the children lucky money."

Li Aiguo watched the whole process and laughed so much that his stomach hurt.

He could understand what the two siblings were doing.

Materials are scarce these days, and children can’t eat many snacks all year round, so they are greedy.

Many children would walk halfway down the aisle, unwrap gift bags and eat some of the snacks.

As long as you are not so greedy, only eat a few pieces, add a few stones into it, and the host will not be able to tell after the rope is tied.

As for these snack boxes, after the owners receive them at home, they will not open them, but hang them from the rafters. When visiting relatives later, give it to other people's homes.

In this way, after going around and around, no one knows who the snack box belongs to.

It was just that these two boys were too greedy and Yan Bugui was too shrewd, so they were discovered.

After watching a good show, the young couple left the courtyard and rode their bicycles towards the Chen family.

In the second year of junior high school, the streets were filled with people visiting relatives, on foot and on bicycles, and their faces were all filled with joy.

When they arrived at the Chen family, the eldest brother Chen Xingjia and his sister-in-law had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing so many gifts, the sister-in-law came out with a big belly and shouted at the top of her voice: "Patriot, Xueru, oh, why did you bring so many gifts? The color of this bacon is real. You can tell it is from Sichuan Province at a glance. Brought back from there.

And this elbow is full of meat, ordinary people can’t buy such good elbows.”

Her voice was so loud that it made the dry leaves of the tree rustle.

Chen Xingjia was a little embarrassed, so he took her arm and whispered, "Okay, Lao Wang, Lao Zhou, Lao Liu and Lao Ma's family next door have heard it."

"Our family is patriotic and is a big driver. If we have the ability, what's wrong with letting others know about it?"

After shouting, the sister-in-law seemed to be particularly excited. She ran all the way, carrying seven or eight kilograms of gifts in one hand and Chen Xueru in the other, and affectionately helped her into the house.

"Patriot, your sister-in-law has such a personality, don't mind." Chen Xingjia handed out a cigarette and said with a smile.

"How can it be!"

Ever since my sister-in-law got into trouble, she is far less public than before.

When several people entered the room, Chen Fangxuan had already placed melon seeds and peanuts on the table.

When Chen Xingyi and his second sister-in-law saw Li Aiguo come in, they both stood up and said hello.

The faces of both of them were not very good-looking, especially Chen Xingyi's face, which had a fresh bloody cut.

I think the two of them had a fight.

"Patriot, sit down quickly."

Although the second sister-in-law Zhou Jiayue was in a bad mood, she didn't show it. She poured a cup of tea for Li Aiguo and brought it over with both hands.

A group of gentlemen were chatting in the main room, while the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law went into the kitchen to work, and Chen Xueru also went to help.

Hearing laughter coming from the kitchen, Chen Xingyi sighed and said, "Aiguo, do you want to be transferred back from other places? You are knowledgeable and can help me make some suggestions."

Chen Xingjia nodded: "Yes, yes, you are a seasoned patriotic person."

Li Aiguo knew that Chen Xingyi was worried about being transferred back.

After thinking for a moment, he said: "In the long run, Baoding will definitely not be as good as the capital."

In fact, Li Aiguo didn't say a word. Since ancient times, there have been no hungry residents in the capital.

"Yes, I also want to transfer back, but there are two problems now. One is that the transfer is too troublesome and there is no suitable position." Chen Xingyi looked at Li Aiguo with expectant eyes.

Li Aiguo said: "Second brother is a mechanic. He is considered a skilled worker. He can go to a machine repair shop or other units. If you need my help, just say it."

Chen Xingyi is Chen Xueru's second brother. As a family member, if Li Aiguo can help, he will definitely help.

"Then thank you, Patriot." Chen Xingyi nodded gratefully.

"The other is that Zhou Jiayue doesn't agree and is unwilling to come to the capital."

Li Aiguo raised his eyebrows: "The second sister-in-law is an only child?"

"What does it mean to be an only child?"

Thinking that there was no such title in these days, Li Aiguo changed his explanation: "She is the only child in her family?"

"That's not true. Second sister-in-law has two older brothers and two younger brothers in her family."

"Second brother, you are also a junior high school graduate. You should have studied history. Before Wu Zetian abdicated, why did she pass the throne to Li Xian instead of giving it to her nephews?"

Hearing this, Chen Xingyi's expression stiffened for a moment, then quickly relaxed, and he smiled and said, "I understand what to do."

Chen Fangxuan couldn't help feeling a little proud when he saw that Li Aiguo had solved Chen Xingyi's big problem in just a few words.

While we were chatting here, there were many young girls and wives who came to visit. It seemed that they were all Chen Xueru's former neighbors and sisters.

During the Chinese New Year, guests were always coming to the door. Chen Fangxuan quickly called Chen Xueru out and asked her to greet the girls.

"Xiaohong, Xiaoyue, let's go inside and chat. We don't want to sit with these gentlemen."

"Oh, Xueru, you are really afraid that we will take away your big driver."

When the girls and wives saw Li Aiguo, their eyes lit up, and then they forced themselves to the table and started chatting eagerly.

Chen Fangxuan and the others felt like light bulbs and could only evacuate temporarily.

At the beginning, the chat content was normal.

These little girls and wives were very interested in driving trains, and they all asked about work matters.

For example, is the big train powerful?

Is it comfortable to drive a big train?
How does it feel as a driver when a train enters a dark tunnel?
But when there are more girls, the level of chatting increases significantly, and eventually even gangsters will blush after hearing it.

The question becomes, do Li Aiguo and Chen Xueru sleep hugging each other at night, or do they sleep back to back?

How many times a month do they live together as a couple, how long do they last each time, and how do they sleep?

Do you like to play stack of Arhats or fly a plane?

Listen, what are these?

If there were policemen here, they would arrest them all and no one would be wronged.

What?
The little daughter-in-law with the loudest voice, her husband is the policeman at Daqianmen, so forget it!
It is said that conservative people in this era are extremely conservative, and open people are extremely open-minded. Li Aiguo completely believes it.

Li Aiguo was helpless in the face of these problems, and Chen Xueru's face turned red.

Fortunately, the elder sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law quickly prepared the meal.

The dishes were put on the table, and the women all said goodbye and left. In the blink of an eye, only the old Chen family was left, and the world finally became peaceful.

"Come on, come on, patriot. This is the first year for you to come back. Here is the red envelope. Take it." Before the meal, Chen Fangxuan took out the red envelope that he had prepared and handed it over.

"Thank you dad!"

Li Aiguo took it and touched it. It was quite thick. This father-in-law is really nice.

Although Li Aiguo was a new uncle, he was not formal at all. He brought a bottle of wine and filled it up for Chen Fangxuan, his eldest brother, and his second brother.

"Brother, how is your work lately?"

"It's good. I've been officially transferred to the laboratory now. I'm considered a technical worker. I've received a monthly salary increase of ten yuan."

Chen Xingjia took the filled wine glass and said, "It's just that my academic qualifications are too low. I guess I can't go any further."

"I heard that the university is now recruiting correspondence students. If you have a chance, you can give it a try."

Li Aiguo thought of the middle-aged college students he met at Beijing University a while ago.

Unlike later generations, correspondence students in this era still need to study in school.

Of course, the students recruited are all outstanding workers in the factory or leaders with progressive ideas.

"I'm not qualified to go to college." Chen Xingjia winced.

The elder sister-in-law looked down on his lack of courage and said, "What are you afraid of? Let's give it a try. When you get to work, you can go to the factory to inquire."

Under the intimidation of his sister-in-law, Chen Xingjia nodded.

The man is weak and the woman is strong, this couple is a perfect match.

Others have to walk their own way. Li Aiguo just made a suggestion, then dropped the topic and chatted about what happened on the train.

The Chen family listened with great interest, and the family banquet did not break up until six o'clock in the afternoon.

When Chen Xueru left, she took two pairs of cotton slippers with her and left her parents' home with the rough man.

Well, she is indeed a good wife.

Night falls.

Lying on the warm kang, Li Aiguo pulled away as usual, wanting to take a sip.

But she was pushed away by Chen Xueru.

"Brother Patriot, you have to participate in a long-distance running competition tomorrow, so you need to rest."

"This is called relaxing before the game, do you understand? The motherland has not yet risen, and foreign enemies are around. As a diligent young man, can I rest?" Li Aiguo stood on the bed and spoke sternly.

Chen Xueru: "."

She always felt that Li Aiguo had too many fallacies.

but.

These fallacies sound reasonable.

What is going on here?
Chen Xueru tilted her little head and couldn't figure it out.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, it snowed heavily.

In the morning, open the door.

Li Aiguo was stunned by the heavy snow that covered the sky.

Snowflakes were flying, rendering this peaceful yard into a white world.

Chen Xueru stuck her head out from behind him and rubbed her eyes.

"Brother Patriot, it's snowing so heavily. Should today's game be canceled?"

"What do you say?"

"." Chen Xueru.

Just kidding, the Beijing City Race is one of the rare long-distance races in China these days.

(Another event was the Beijing Workers’ New Year’s Day Race Around the City, which was held in 1955, but this event was limited to employees.)
Not to mention it's snowing, even if there's a knife falling from the sky, it still has to be held normally.

"Patriot, you should also compete." Xu Damao came out of the house.

Behind him were Liu Lan, Hai Long and Haitao, who could be regarded as the whole family.

The two little guys also held a banner made of red cloth with Yan Bugui's calligraphy on it.

"Warm congratulations to Comrade Xu Damao for winning the championship."

Xu Damao pointed at the banner, "Have you seen it, patriotic brothers, when I cross the finish line, let the two of them pull up the banner. That scene, tsk tsk, is so beautiful."

What a bastard, how can you win the championship with your hollowed-out body?
Li Aiguo ignored him and was about to go out with Chen Xueru.

But Xu Damao came up, pulled Li Aiguo aside, winked and said, "Brother Patriot, do you still have the Spirit Turtle Wine?"

"how?"

"That thing gives you great strength after drinking it. If you drink a full cup, you will definitely be able to walk like flying."

As expected of Xu Damao, he has so many evil ideas. He uses medicinal wine as a stimulant?
Of course, Li Aiguo couldn't spoil him.

It would be a huge disgrace if the world's first doping scandal happened.

No, the number one in the world belongs to someone from the United States.

At the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, marathon runner Tom Hicks drank half a bottle of special brandy before the race. After finishing first, he fell to the ground and passed out.

Known as the world's first doping athlete.

Seeing that Li Aiguo was not selling alcohol, Xu Damao sniffed Li Aiguo's body and found that he could not smell the alcohol, so he patted his thigh with some regret.

"Patriot, you should save some medicinal wine, otherwise we will take first and second place."

"Stop talking nonsense, the race starts at 8:30, we should get going."

Li Aiguo deeply despised Xu Damao's idea of ​​having no sportsmanship. He turned around and took Chen Xueru out of the courtyard in a big stride against the wind and snow.

At this time Jia Dongxu also got up.

He poked his head out of the house and saw it was snowing outside. He rubbed his hands and said, "Mom, it's raining so hard and it's too cold. I'd better not go."

"Yeah, it's such a cold day and the road is slippery. If you fall down, it will be so painful." Ms. Jia Zhang felt sorry for her child.

Yi Zhonghai waited around at home, but didn't see Jia Dongxu leaving, so he had to find the door.

"Dongxu, you are stupid, you should go just because it is snowing."

Jia Dongxu felt that the master no longer loved him, "Master."

"Think about it, the heavier the snow falls, the more contestants from far away will be unable to make it. Your chances of winning first place will be much higher."

"that's true"

"As long as you get first place, you can become a leader."

"yes."

"I saw just now that Li Aiguo has gone to compete."

"Master, help me up!"

In the end, under Yi Zhonghai's persuasion, Jia Dongxu also bravely expressed his participation.

Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and Aunt Ma all went out to cheer for Jia Dongxu in the wind and snow.

When Li Aiguo took Chen Xueru to Tianan, the starting point of the city tour, tens of thousands of people had already gathered at the scene.

Snowflakes were flying in the sky.

There were loud gongs and drums on the ground, firecrackers blasting, and loud singing from the loudspeakers. The whole square was packed with people.
The white mist breathed by people breaks through the confinement of winter and breaks the boundaries of nature.

Li Aiguo came to the queue in the locomotive depot.

Someone was talking above, the voice was sonorous and powerful, but it was too far away to see clearly.

Li Aiguo was also a little excited. This was an opportunity to witness history. It would be great if he brought a telescope.

Although it is snowing, not a single necessary link is missing.

The more difficult the environment for leadership speeches, art performances, and theme reports, the better the performance.

The crowd in the square burst into loud cheers from time to time.

Although most of them wore patches of "new clothes" and were thin, their energy and energy were incomparable to those of the young people of later generations. Their eyes were full of hope for the future, rather than numbness.

After the prelude, Li Aiguo and two other contestants from the maintenance section came to a temporary tent under the leadership of the organizer's staff.

'You need to verify your identity before the competition', and then the organizer gathered the participants.

This competition is different from the first competition. There are three more organizers of the city ring competition.

The competition expenses are still raised by the news unit, and the staff are also volunteers from the newspaper.

Li Aiguo also met an old acquaintance among the staff, Zhao Ning, who had interviewed him a while ago.

Zhao Ning is wearing a fitted gray tunic suit today.

With her ponytail hanging down her back, a badge on her chest, and her long straight legs stretching her gray trousers tightly, she looked like a heroic and strong woman.

Seeing Li Aiguo, Zhao Ning was stunned for a moment, and then returned to normal.

At this time, when the athletes received their number plates, they all helped each other and couldn't wait to sew them on their bodies.

The two old enemies, Xu Damao and Jia Dongxu, now gave up their old grudges and became friendly and helped each other.

"Comrade Li Aiguo, this is your number plate. I will sew it on my clothes with needle and thread later." Zhao Ning handed over a piece of white cloth.

'No. 16' was written in large bold letters on the white cloth.

"If it's inconvenient for you, I can sew it for you." After saying that, Zhao Ning smiled self-deprecatingly: "I can also be a female celebrity."

Athletes do not pay attention to common etiquette, and Li Aiguo did not refuse.

He took off his cotton-padded jacket and pants, revealing the bright red "sweatshirt" and "sweatpants" underneath.

Looking at the strange set of clothes, a trace of doubt appeared on Zhao Ning's fair face.

"Driver Li, what kind of clothes are you wearing? Why do you look so strange?"

The fabric is softer than ordinary clothes and extra breathable, but stiffer than pajamas. It looks suitable for running.

"This is a sportswear made by my wife."

"Ah, you're married?" Zhao Ning was stunned.

When Deputy Director Liu introduced Li Aiguo to her before, she didn't pay attention.

It's not that she dislikes Li Aiguo, but Zhao Ning feels that she should focus on her career. She doesn't want to be trapped in the family like her mother.

When she first interviewed Li Aiguo, she was just out of anger.

I thought the two of them were just passers-by, but who would have thought that after Zhao Ning returned, he couldn't help but pay attention to Li Aiguo's situation.

This young train driver's charter group has become one of the most advanced charter groups in the country.

He is quite motivated, and Zhao Ning has always admired those motivated young people.

Just after meeting Li Aiguo again, Zhao Ning had some expectations in her heart that she didn't even notice.

Now, those expectations were like soap bubbles that suddenly burst, turned into crystal fragments, and disappeared without a trace.

"My wife used to be a tailor. I would like to introduce you to her if I have the opportunity."

With the help of Zhao Ning, Li Aiguo sewed the number plate on his clothes.

Seeing that the athletes were all ready, Director Zhou, who was in charge of this event, walked in.

He asked Zhao Ning to hang a map of the capital on the wall and introduced the competition route.

"When it comes to the competition, you should go west along the Tiananmen Gate, along the circular tramway, pass through Xidan, Xisi, and Ping'an Lane, go east through Beihai Back Gate, Tieshizi Hutong, and then go south through Dongsi and Dongdan. Return to the original starting point of Tiananmen.

The total length is 13 kilometers.

Here I would like to remind you that long-distance running is a strenuous exercise. If you can’t hold on, you can quit the race at any time. "

(End of this chapter)