The train driver in the courtyard

In these days, heavyweight children often use nicknames such as "ten catties, nine catties, eight catties", which is quite a bit of a show off.

Five pounds is too light, six pounds is too common, and parents are embarrassed to use it as a nickname.

My sister-in-law's baby has not yet been named, but her baby name has already been decided.

Chen Fangxuan settled the matter, "This kid is fat. He is a lucky one. Let's call him Jiujin first!"

Although Chen Xueru felt that the name was too rustic and too feudal.

It's just that this kind of thing is an internal matter of the Chen family, and it's not easy for her, a married girl, to interfere.

She could only tell herself secretly that when she got pregnant, she wouldn't be as showy as her sister-in-law.

After his sister-in-law was sent to the ward, Li Aiguo took the time to return to the studio and took out a can of milk powder from the cabinet, and then went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy five kilograms of apples.

When I returned to the ward again, my sister-in-law's brother and sister-in-law were already here, and they also brought Zhao Yanhong, the girl who used to live in the Chen family.

Li Aiguo once heard Chen Xueru mention that his sister-in-law's brother was called Zhao Jun and his sister-in-law was called Bai Cui.

Zhao Jun works as a temporary worker in a match factory on the outskirts of the city.

Bai Cui has no job and occasionally pastes matchboxes to supplement her family income.

After Li Aiguo greeted the two of them and exchanged a few words, he placed the net bag on the cabinet of the hospital bed.

Zhao Yanhong's eyes suddenly lit up when she saw the apples in her net pocket. She wanted to grab the apples, but was stopped by Bai Cui.

Bai Cui said angrily: "This child has been spoiled by us."

As she said this, she took out a big apple from her net bag and handed it to Zhao Hongyan.

"Children, it's normal to be a little greedy." The eldest brother was afraid of Bai Cui's embarrassment, so he took the initiative to say with a smile.

He turned to look at Li Aiguo: "Now that Qingfang has settled down, Aiguo, you still have to drive tomorrow, and Xueru also has to go to work. Otherwise, you should go back first. It's really troublesome for you today."

"They're all family members, so you're welcome."

Li Aiguo raised his wrist to check the time. It was almost dinner time, so he left the ward with Chen Xueru.

The two figures disappeared at the door. Bai Cuili pulled the arm of sister-in-law Zhao Qingfang and pursed her lips toward the door.

"Sister, that man is Xueru's man? He looks quite rich."

Zhao Qingfang himself is a talkative person, but if anyone gets stabbed, he will lose his energy.

She braced herself and said, "Aiguo is a train driver. He is very capable. The second son's job is arranged by Aiguo."

"Arrangements? Where are the arrangements?"

Seeing Bai Cui like this, how could Zhao Qingfang not understand what she was thinking.

He didn't answer, and turned his head to look at Chen Xingjia, who was holding the child happily.

"Master, the child is hungry, please bring him over."

"Your incision hasn't grown yet, and the doctor told you not to breastfeed.

Ai Guo sent milk powder. I heard that this stuff is more nutritious than milk. Our little Jiu Jin definitely loves to drink it. "

Chen Xingjia placed the child on the hospital bed, opened the mesh bag and took out an iron can.

The words "Red Star Milk Powder" are printed on the iron can, and the words "Hei*jiang Farm Reclamation" are written below.

Milk powder was extremely rare these days and could hardly be found in supply and marketing cooperatives, and residents had no way to obtain milk powder coupons.

Bai Cui stared at the milk powder can with greedy expression and said: "This is the first time I have seen such iron box milk powder."

The sister-in-law became proud again at this moment: "That's impossible! Director Zhang's son of our lumber factory is the leader of the team. I have met him before.

I was about to give birth at that time and wanted to buy milk powder, so I asked Director Zhang to find out where the milk powder came from.

Guess what, this kind of Red Star milk powder is military supply milk powder and cannot be bought on the market at all. "

"military milk powder"

Bai Cui was immediately greedy when she saw the golden milk powder inside the can.

"Mom, I want to eat too." Zhao Yanhong had just eaten a big apple, and now she was getting greedy again.

"You kid, this is for your little brother to eat. What a waste for you, a little girl, to eat.

Besides, this milk powder is so expensive that our family can’t afford it. "

While Bai Cui scolded Zhao Hongyan, she secretly glanced at her sister-in-law.

Although the sister-in-law knew Bai Cui's thoughts, she was reluctant to give the milk powder to others. At this time, she could only pretend that she didn't see it.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" Zhao Hongyan was scolded and began to cry.

Not long after Chen Jiujin fell asleep, he was woken up by the sound of crying and began to cry loudly.

The crying didn't matter, the children in the ward also followed suit, and for a while the ward was filled with crying.

The family members in the delivery room just now disliked the fuss made by a few people, but they were too shy to say anything out of sympathy, so they couldn't help it now.

Chen Xingjia felt those angry looks and quickly smiled and comforted Zhao Hongyan: "It's okay. There is a lot of milk powder in this jar. I will boil a cup for you later."

After hearing this, Zhao Hongyan stopped crying and showed a successful smile on her face.

My sister-in-law felt a little sorry for the milk powder, and now she regretted it, but it was hard to say anything.

At this time, Bai Cui suddenly said: "That Li Aiguo is so capable, Qingfang, your brother doesn't have a job now, so let him help arrange it.

We don’t want a good job. We don’t need to be a repairman in a motorcycle factory. All we need is to work as a salesperson in a supply and marketing cooperative. "

Chen Qingfang: "."

Ten minutes later, Zhao Jun and Bai Cui were kicked out of the ward.

Bai Cui said angrily: "Zhao Jun, your sister has gone too far. We are all a family. When her life is better, she has forgotten us?"

Zhao Jun was most afraid that Bai Cui would be angry, so he quickly took her arm and said, "Daughter-in-law, the eldest sister is the most obedient to mother. Come on, let's go home and discuss this matter with mother."

Li Aiguo took Chen Xueru out of the hospital.

Along the way, Chen Xueru emphasized that she should not eat too much after becoming pregnant.

"Okay, okay, I'll supervise you when the time comes."

Riding a bicycle, Li Aiguo left the hospital, turned around the vibrant fence, passed the old front door, and headed east again. At this moment, the capital city of 1957 seemed like frames of old film leisurely passing by.

The sky is blue, and pedestrians and bicycles are intertwined on the streets, which reminds people of migrating fish.

The buildings on both sides of the road are low and cramped, and the sky is covered with dense wires.

On the big trees on both sides of the road, red banners appeared from time to time: The Third National Congress of Women was held.

At this conference, "building the country diligently and thriftily, running the family diligently and thriftily, and striving to build socialism" was defined as the policy for women's work, and the Women's Federation was also formally established.

From then on, female comrades stood up.

Turning around the Xinqiao Sanbaole Western Restaurant, Chen Xueru suddenly tugged at the corner of Li Aiguo's clothes.

“Brother Patriot, the croissants here are delicious.”

"Didn't I just say not to eat too much?"

"You're not pregnant yet."

"."

Li Aiguo looked up at the red banner, was silent for a moment, and then turned to Sanbaola Western Restaurant on his bicycle.

Sanbaole is also considered a brand in Beijing. Xinqiao Sanbaole Western Restaurant is a window to the outside world.

When you enter the store, you can see a variety of exquisite handicrafts. There are a dazzling array of items ranging from large wooden carved screens from the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties to ancient and modern Chinese paintings and oil paintings, as well as small tooth carvings and window grilles.

There is a saying in Beijing that "there are new overseas Chinese in the south and old Mo in the north."

The pastries are expensive, and the cheapest ones are the croissants.

Li Aiguo bought two croissants and called the waiter to pick up the cakes placed in the cabinet.

"This cake costs two yuan, which is too expensive. I just want a croissant." Chen Xueru nervously pulled Li Aiguo's arm.

"We don't eat all the time. We can afford to eat once in a while."

Li Aiguo took out two yuan and fifty cents and handed it to the waiter.

The pastries here are expensive, but one good thing is that they don’t require food stamps.

Even though she ate cake once in a while, Chen Xueru still felt heartbroken and bleeds. She kept mumbling along the way that she would never come here again next time.

Back in the compound, it was dinner time.

Xu Damao and Liu Lan walked outside with their two children. When they saw Chen Xueru carrying pastries, Liu Lan touched Xu Damao's arm: "Did you see it? There is the logo of Sanbaole on it. This thing must be at least several Yuan, you can buy it for me anytime.”

Xu Damao smiled bitterly: "I am just a projectionist, and Li Aiguo is a train driver. How can I compare with others?"

"I asked you to find Deputy Director Li to help me build relationships, but you still won't go."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Lan angrily stretched out his hand and pinched Xu Damao's waist hard.

Xu Damao grinned in pain.

"Brother Damao, what's wrong? Are you angry?"

Li Aiguo greeted with a smile.

"No, if it's okay, let's go for a walk. I'll see you later." Xu Damao took Liu Lan's hand and ran away with the two children.

He was afraid that if he waited a little longer, Liu Lan would cause trouble again.

A piece of cake was only the size of a steamed bun, but Chen Xueru still couldn't bear to eat it by herself. After returning home, she divided the cake into four parts, one for Li Aiguo, one for He Yuyu, one for Aunt Liu, and she kept one for herself.

Aunt Liu was eating the cake and praised Li Aiguo for finding a good wife.

Qin Huairu saw this scene by the pool, her eyes dimmed, and she turned around and returned home with the water basin in hand.

Jia Dongxu has become much more honest since Qin Huairu ran away from home last time, and stays at home after work.

When he saw her coming back, he frowned and said, "Didn't you go wash the clothes? What's wrong, you came back without finishing the clothes?"

Qin Huairu looked at Jia Dongxu who was eating sweet potatoes, lost interest in talking to him for a moment, turned around and entered the back room.

Mrs. Jia Zhang said angrily: "What a god! Whose daughter-in-law dares to do this to her husband?"

Jia Zhang stood up and wanted to teach Qin Huairu the rules, but Jia Dongxu stopped her.

"Mom, stop making trouble. If Master Yi finds out, he will have to deal with me again."

Although Mrs. Jia and Zhang were angry at Yi Zhonghai for meddling in the Jia family's affairs, the Jia family had to rely on others these days, so they had no choice but to give up.

She whispered in a low voice: "Yi Zhonghai is really evil. He doesn't help anyone on weekdays, so why does he like to help Qin Huairu!"

The next day.

Li Aiguo went driving early in the morning.

Chen Xueru went to the street office to take a half-day off, then rode her bicycle to visit her sister-in-law in Lao Xiehe.

After holding the child and playing with it for a while, Chen Xueru was ready to go back to the street office.

Taking the child from her hand, the sister-in-law said a little embarrassedly: "Xueru, sister-in-law, please do me a favor."

"What's the matter? Sister-in-law, just tell me."

"Well, you know my sister-in-law, she doesn't make any money at all by pasting matchboxes, think about it"

Just as the sister-in-law was about to continue, Chen Xingjia appeared at the door of the ward and stopped her.

"Daughter-in-law, Xueru still has to go to work, so don't waste her time."

Chen Xueru couldn't figure out the situation. Seeing that Chen Xingjia's face was a little ugly, she vaguely guessed something.

"Sister-in-law, I'm going to work. Let's talk next time." Chen Xueru put on her canvas bag and left the ward.

Chen Xingjia sent Chen Xueru out of the building and told her: "Your sister-in-law is difficult to carry. You must not listen to her."

"I understand, brother, please go back quickly." Chen Xueru knew what Chen Xingjia meant, so she got on her bicycle and left.

When the sister-in-law saw Chen Xingjia come back, she said angrily: "My brother's family is really in trouble. If Bai Cui can become a salesperson in the supply and marketing cooperative, their life will be better. As a brother-in-law, why don't you want to help?"

Chen Xingtai said with a face: "Bai Cui is the salesperson of the supply and marketing cooperative. I really think that the supply and marketing cooperative is opened by patriots!

She never went to school and didn't even graduate from literacy classes. How can she settle the score? "

The sister-in-law also knew that Bai Cui's demands were a bit high, but she was unwilling to bow her head and whispered: "Bai Cui also wants the salesperson's salary to be higher."

Chen Xingjia looked at the chubby Xiao Jiujin and couldn't really be angry with his sister-in-law.

“The second child can enter the motorcycle factory and become the mechanic.

That's because the second child himself is a national employee and has excellent skills. Patriotism can do the work.

What does Bai Cui have? Don’t you want Patriot to make a mistake? "

The sister-in-law said depressingly: "Okay, okay, since you don't want to trouble Xueru, I won't mention it again, so that's fine."

"You."

Chen Xingjia wanted to say a few more words, but Xiao Jiujin burst into tears.

He hurriedly helped the child change his diaper.

On the other side, Li Aiguo had already arrived at the locomotive depot on his bicycle.

As soon as he entered the passenger transport workshop, he received a notice from Duan Lili, asking him to go to the train research institute.

"Director Liu Guozhang wants to see me? Is that correct?"

Li Aiguo looked at his apprentice Huang Jing and asked.

Huang Jing nodded: "Yes, it was the correspondent Yan Jiecheng who came to inform."

Li Aiguo had no choice but to ask for leave after driving for a few days.

It's just that Liu Guozhang seems to be busy with big things recently. Li Aiguo came to visit twice but didn't see him.

Even the red star umbrella was given to me by my wife.

Li Aiguo really misses his mentor.

Li Aiguo did not leave immediately, but took Huang Jing to find the substitute driver who was preparing to drive.

"Old Bai, will you drive for me today?"

The substitute driver looked at Li Aiguo and then at Huang Jing standing behind him. He understood immediately and said with a smile: "Li Dache, don't worry, who of your apprentices dares to bully you?"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, brother." Li Aiguo patted the substitute driver on the shoulder, then rode his bicycle to the Railway Research Institute.

The substitute driver looked at Huang Jing and said, "Little comrade, you have found a good master."

Huang Jing pursed her lips and smiled.

Her father is a train driver. She grew up in a railway compound and knows very well what goes on in the locomotive depot.

Where there are people there are fights, even between masters and disciples.

There are many train masters who do not try their best when taking care of their apprentices, and only treat them as free handymen.

"What? Mayor Wu Han, Jiang Daqiao?"

I haven't seen him for a while. Liu Guozhang seems to be several years older. Most of his hair is gray and his forehead is covered with dense wrinkles.

During this meeting, he kept correcting Li Aiguo's words.

"It's not the Yangtze River Bridge, it's the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. Specifically, it should be the Yangtze River Railway Bridge."

"Teacher, what's going on?"

Hearing that he was going to get involved in the Yangtze River Bridge matter, Li Aiguo suddenly became interested.

"I can't explain this to you in just a few words. Just tell me whether you have the confidence to help Sifang Factory improve its forward-looking locomotives, right?"

Liu Guozhang patted the table and said, "Also, in subsequent work, we may have to drive a train to verify the solidity of the Yangtze River Bridge."

This student of his is getting more and more over the top.

As soon as he entered the door, he used the automatic umbrella as an excuse to blackmail him into two pieces of Chinese cigarettes.

Now I still want him to be the commentator. I really have no temper to treat him as a teacher!

"Driving a train across the Yangtze River? Interested, so interested."

Li Aiguo coughed twice, straightened his collar, and said seriously: "Teacher, as a train driver, when I joined the organization, I swore an oath to fight for the construction of the motherland, no matter where the organization puts me. In my position, I will not be afraid of hardships and strive to be an activist! ”

Liu Guozhang: "."

He was silent for a moment, and his expression became serious.

"Comrade Li Aiguo, this mission is related to whether the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge can be opened to traffic smoothly. Even if you sacrifice your own life, you must ensure that the mission is completed!"

"understand!"

Passion burned in his chest, and Li Aiguo clenched his fists tightly.

In later generations, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was known as the first Yangtze River Bridge in the New World.

The famous line in "Shui Tiao Ge Tou·Swimming": "One bridge flies to the north and south, and the natural chasm becomes a thoroughfare." It refers to the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.

Only in this era did Li Aiguo realize the importance of this bridge.

The idea of ​​building the first Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan was first proposed by Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Huguang, to connect the north-south railway.

Starting from the first plan organized by Zhan Tianyou in 1913, it went through five plans. It was not until 5 that New China formally determined the specific plan for the Yangtze River Bridge and officially put it into construction.

In order to support the construction of the bridge, various neighborhoods in the capital have organized fund-raising activities. Li Aiguo once donated 50 cents.

At that time, fifty cents was equivalent to half a year's pocket money.

The progress of the bridge project is often published in Renren Daily.

At study and life meetings organized by the locomotive depot, railway employees are often called upon to learn from the bridge construction personnel.

Now that we are able to participate in the construction of the bridge, can we, Li Aiguo, not be excited?

Later, Liu Guozhang called Dong Gong and pointed at Li Aiguo: "Xiao Dong, you are the team leader of this mission. Please explain the mission to Aiguo."

Dong Gong took Li Aiguo to the office next door, poured him a cup of tea, and then spoke slowly.

"Actually, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was built under the leadership of our railway department."

"what?"

Li Aiguo's eyes widened suddenly.

In the news, only the importance of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was mentioned, but the role of the railway department in it was not mentioned.

"This matter has to start with the establishment of the bridge project."

It was rare for Mr. Dong to act like a master in front of Li Aiguo, and while drinking tea, he told the whole story. (End of chapter)