The train driver in the courtyard

Boom, boom, clang!
bang bang bang!
On both sides of the streets of Nantongluo Lane.

Colorful flags are waving and gongs and drums are deafening.

To welcome the arriving guests.

The subdistrict office pulled out all the propaganda officers and organized advanced literary and artistic elements in the neighborhood.

The streets were lined with residents, waving flags in their hands and looking extremely excited.

The atmosphere was very lively, just waiting for the guest convoy to pass by.

Today is Yi Zhonghai’s most glorious day.

He held a flag and kept adjusting the encirclement of the residents of the courtyard.

"Lao Zhang, you go stand in the last row."

"Why? I got a red ticket for the ideological vote last month."

"You are dark-skinned. Look at you. You are as dark as coal ash. When you open your mouth, you can only see your front white teeth. When the guests come later, they will be frightened."

"."

"Xu Damao, you should also stand in the back row."

"No." Xu Damao stiffened his neck, stood up with a big horse and golden sword, and firmly occupied the C position in the second row.

Yi Zhonghai: "."

Today is a good day, and Yi Zhonghai decided not to argue with Xu Damao.

He came to the front row and gave instructions to Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu.

“When the motorcade comes over later, you must cheer loudly and wave the flags in your hands high.

That way the journalists with cameras will take your picture.”

"Understood, Master!"

Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu were both very happy.

How glorious it would be if they could be in the newspapers.

After arranging everything, Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief. This team is really difficult to lead.

Yi Zhonghai squeezed into the crowd, waiting attentively for the arrival of the convoy.

Just this wait lasted two hours.

Although it is almost October, the weather is still very hot.

As the sun rose, the concrete pavement began to steam and the air deformed slightly.

The streets were still crowded with people, and Yi Zhonghai soon felt a little out of breath.

He touched his arm in his bangs.

"Lao Liu, go ask them when the convoy will arrive. I can't hold on any longer."

"Do you think the people in the street office know?" Liu Haizhong asked back.

Only then did Yi Zhonghai realize that he had made a mistake.

The guests came by plane.

That thing flies in the sky with no fixed time.

Yi Zhonghai's clothes were soon soaked. He unbuttoned his collar, fanned himself with his hands, and breathed heavily.

Jia Dongxu saw Yi Zhonghai's face turn pale, and said with concern: "Master, go to the shade of the tree to rest for a while, and I will call you when the convoy arrives."

"My good disciple, remember not to make any mistakes."

"Don't worry, master."

After getting Jia Dongxu's assurance, Yi Zhonghai left the crowd and squatted under the shade of a tree.

He was busy most of the night and didn't sleep well to begin with.

It was so hot that I leaned against a tree trunk and fell asleep in a daze.

I don’t know how long it took, but I heard a burst of cheers.

Yi Zhonghai was awakened and saw that the convoy was coming towards him. He hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and stood on the side of the street.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Jia Dongxu who was waving a flag and cheering and asked, "Why didn't you call me just now?"

"Master, I saw the reporters." Jia Dongxu said calmly, "You told me to be more enthusiastic."

Yi Zhonghai: "."

He felt that this disciple seemed not to be so filial.

But now is not the time to worry about it.

Because a convoy consisting of several jeeps and trucks was already driving towards the entrance of the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai immediately cheered loudly and waved the flag in his hand.

The blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigner in the jeep in front should be the guest.

There are quite a few guests on the truck behind. Hey, why does that person look like Li Aiguo?
Yi Zhonghai rubbed his eyes and looked carefully, and found that the person standing on the truck and talking to the guests was Li Aiguo.

There was a storm in his heart.

How did this kid Li Aiguo get in?

Nagy Sandor is a very passionate person.

Because of his father's relationship as a train driver, I am particularly interested in Li Aiguo's life as a train driver.

After getting on the truck, Naji Sandor kept talking to Li Aiguo in broken Chinese all the way.

Li Aiguo is a social savvy person, and in just a moment, the two became friends.

I learned that Naji Sandor has three sons and a little daughter. All the sons work on the railway, and the little daughter is still in school.

I have a sheepdog at home, and recently it seems to have a poor appetite.

"I suggest you take it to the pasture. They are sheepherders. How can it be happy if you lock it up in a bunk house?"

"That makes sense." Naji Sandor thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case.

"Comrade Patriot, are you married?"

"Of course I am married. My wife works in the street office, and my home is right there."

Amid the roar of gongs and drums, Li Aiguo slapped his thigh and said, "I'm home. Look, I live in that big yard. Yes, it's the yard behind the old man with glasses who looks like a monkey."

The third uncle is such a cunning person. He has long understood the rules of reporters taking pictures. At this moment, he is standing on the street and jumping up and down!
He was thin to begin with, and today he wore an oversized Zhongshan suit, which made him look like a monkey in a circus wearing clothes.

Wow, he’s an acrobat.

Naji Sandor looked past the third uncle and towards the courtyard house on the street.

"Look at me, look, the guests are staring at me." The third uncle jumped even harder, stretched out his hand and grabbed the branch and hung on it.

Nagy Sandor: “.”

Li Aiguo: "."

Tree branch: “.”

At this time, Aunt Liu and He Yushui in the crowd also saw Li Aiguo.

"Mom, look, it's Brother Aiguo, he's also on the truck."

He Yushui stood in the back seat, tiptoeing to show her head, but this did not stop her from shouting toward the truck, "Brother Aiguo."

Brother Aiguo? The third uncle, who was still hanging on the tree branch, finally noticed Li Aiguo standing next to the guest.

He looked at the guests, then at He Yushui, and quickly let go of his hand and fell to the ground, stopping jumping.

Li Aiguo heard He Yushui's shout and waved at her.

"rainwater."

"This is my sister, He Yushui."

"The little girl is very cute. She reminds me of my daughter who is far away in my hometown."

Hearing this, Naji Sandor also waved at He Yushui.

At this time, residents on both sides of the street also noticed Li Aiguo.

"Oh my god, Li Aiguo is standing with the guests."

"Looking at where he's standing, he should be in charge of receiving guests."

"Isn't Li Aiguo just a train driver?"

Xu Damao looked at Li Aiguo, a smile appeared on his lips, and he squeezed through the crowd to stand in front of Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai.

"Hey, who was it last night who thought that Li Aiguo was not ideologically conscious enough and was not worthy of standing in the front row?

What about now? I was chosen by my superiors to receive guests!"

When Xu Damao said this, he felt particularly relieved.

The only flaw was that it wasn't him who was standing on the truck at that moment.

Looking at Li Aiguo on the truck, Yi Zhonghai's face turned red but he was speechless.

He originally planned to take this opportunity to undermine Li Aiguo's prestige in the courtyard.

Who would have thought that they would not even bother standing on the street.

All he wanted now was to crawl under the car.

Jia Dongxu didn't expect this result and lowered his head in embarrassment.

The residents in the compound still remembered what he said in the compound last night, and they all burst into laughter.

Qin Huairu didn't notice Xu Damao at all and kept her eyes on the truck.

Li Aiguo has now been selected to welcome guests. What level is this?

And Jia Dongxu was just a first-level worker.

How great it would have been if she hadn't changed her mind.

I really regret it.
The convoy moved slowly along the wide street and arrived at the lobby.

There, guests will discuss matters with the leaders.

Li Aiguo's task as a receptionist has come to an end.

He had handed over the task and was preparing to return to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

There is a new notice from the department.

Comrades from the Hungarian People's Railway Department hope to visit the patriotic steam locomotive as soon as possible.

Come to think of it, Hungarian Railways is in urgent need of a batch of steam locomotives to replace those damaged ones.

In addition, both sides are willing to achieve cooperation results before the formal talks.

That way, a more harmonious atmosphere can be added to the talks.

The ministry received a team of experts headed by Nagy Sandor that day and showed them some drawings of the Liberation steam engine.

After an afternoon of research, the expert group unanimously agreed that the Patriotic steam engine had reached the international advanced level and expressed their intention to purchase it.

However, Naji Sandor was a pragmatic consultant and wanted to personally inspect the operation of the Patriot steam engine before starting to negotiate the details.

It was a reasonable request for the buyer to inspect the goods without involving any confidential information, and the department agreed to it.

However, the prototype of the Patriotic Train was only modified a few days ago and has not yet been officially put into operation.

The ministry is worried that the train drivers will not be able to operate the trains.

Minister Teng said: "The train was modified by driver Li, so let him take care of it."

In this way, this important task fell on Li Aiguo again.

As the person who improved the Aiguo-type steam engine and an experienced train driver, Li Aiguo naturally could not refuse.

That afternoon, he gave up his plan to go home and rest, and rode his bicycle back to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to prepare for tomorrow's driving mission.

Qianmen Locomotive Depot has received the notice from the ministry.

As soon as Li Aiguo entered the maintenance depot, he was invited to the office of Section Chief Xing.

"Good job, kid. You launched another satellite without saying a word." Duanchang Xing patted Li Aiguo's shoulder excitedly.

The old comrade was so excited that his face turned red.

Because the improvement project had not been announced to the public, even the celebration party was only held in a small circle, so when Director Xing received the call, he was still confused. The leader on the other end of the phone repeated it several times before he finally understood.

"Captain Duan, this is all because of your good education." Li Aiguo said with a smile.

"You are good at everything, but you are too modest."

Xing Duanchang poured a cup of tea for Li Aiguo, sat on a chair and said, "Tell me, how do you want us to cooperate with your work this time?"

When Director Xing Duan said this, he felt a sigh in his heart.

When Li Aiguo first entered the locomotive depot, he was still a rookie train driver.

It's only been a short time, and the entire Qianmen Locomotive Depot has to cooperate with his work.

Li Aiguo said: "It's not about cooperation, we are working together to get this done."

After taking a sip of tea, he continued, “Although I have great confidence in the Patriotic Steam Locomotive, I always have to be prepared for the worst.

After all, the locomotive has not undergone long-term test operation, and no one can guarantee that it will not fail.

So I hope to use the Patriotic Steam Locomotive on the route from Beijing to Tianjin tomorrow."

Section Chief Xing nodded in agreement: "The Beijing-Tianjin line is the best section of the line environment in China.

And you drive on this route all year round and are very familiar with it.

Okay, I'll arrange it now.

Do you have any other ideas?
Do you want me to assign Zhou Huoyan and Zhao Chanzi to you?"

Zhou Huoyan is the deputy driver in the department.

Since he became the co-driver, he has been regarded as a sharp-eyed person because of his excellent lookout ability and the fact that he has never made any mistakes.

Zhao Chanzi is the boiler operator of crew group 2165.

He is as strong as Tarzan and can shovel dozens of tons of coal by himself. He is nicknamed the human coal shoveler.

These two are the top figures in the section.

With their cooperation, tomorrow's driving mission will be more certain.

Li Aiguo said: "The driver team will still use the original team members, so it will be more convenient for them to work together."

"Since you have confidence, let's do this." Section Chief Xing was a worker and knew the importance of cooperation to the driver team.

Because this experimental driving operation involved guests, and Director Xing had never carried out such a mission before, he asked if some tricks were necessary.

"Smoke one?"

Li Aiguo did not answer him. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, but the pack was shrunken and there was not even a cigarette left.

"You did it on purpose, kid."

Xing Duanchang laughed twice, stood up, took out a pack of Great China cigarettes from the drawer and handed it over.

"This is the cigarette I just received as a treat. You've worked hard these days. Take it and smoke it."

"Uncle Xing, you are really my uncle."

Li Aiguo leaned forward, opened a pack of cigarettes, took out a cigarette, handed one to Xing Duanchang, and put the rest into his arms.

After lighting a cigarette, he smiled and said, "I don't think we need to do anything."

"Do nothing? What if something goes wrong?" Director Xing frowned.

Li Aiguo understood that the so-called chaos was caused by the guests seeing something bad.

"Section Chief, our guests this time are comrades from the expert group. Their purpose is to inspect the train and they are not interested in anything else."

"What if you're interested?"

"That doesn't matter!"

Li Aiguo said calmly: "Being poor is not a problem, but being rich is.

If we replace all the passengers with people in uniform, dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, will people think that we are rich?
In future cooperation, we will inevitably be at a disadvantage.”

Compared with appearance, Li Aiguo pays more attention to the substance.

Moreover, these days, our camps are quite easy to each other for a common ideal.

When helping, it is out of sincerity.

Section Chief Xing also knew his temper. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "Okay, let's do it. If anything goes wrong, our Qianmen Locomotive Section will take responsibility."

Li Aiguo looked at Director Xing with gratitude.

Although this old section chief sometimes behaves in a somewhat rough manner, he has a very upright heart.

Of course, Li Aiguo is not acting recklessly.

When he was in the ministry, he had already consulted Minister Teng on the matter.

The experimental driving mission is a heavy one.

Even though no superficial work was required, the entire Qianmen Locomotive Depot was mobilized.

A passionate and generous voice rang out from the loudspeaker: "Good news, good news, fellow workers, our Qianmen Locomotive Depot will welcome a delegation of experts from the Hungarian People's Railway Department tomorrow.

I hope everyone can show our fearless spirit to our guests.”

Huang Shuxian from the Education Office brought several propaganda officers to post slogans in the section.

Li Aiguo went to the Changxindian Locomotive Factory and drove the Aiguo steam locomotive parked there back to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

A brand new patriotic steam locomotive was parked on the battlefield.

The fiery red spray emitted a little light under the sunlight, which immediately attracted a lot of onlookers.

"This locomotive is really majestic."

"Of course, otherwise foreigners wouldn't be interested in it."

"I heard that the foreign experts will take the train tomorrow."

Huang Jing had been waiting at the station, anxious to see the master, but was blocked by the train drivers behind her.

She finally squeezed through the crowd.

Li Aiguo just opened the side door and walked down from the locomotive with Liu Qingquan and Lao Zheng.

"Master, you're back. I have been studying very hard recently, and sometimes Master Zhang even lets me drive the train!" Huang Jing's eyes were full of anticipation.

She also wanted to take the train to Tianjin tomorrow, but was too embarrassed to bring it up.

"Go up and wipe the inside of the train clean." Li Aiguo gave her a towel.

Huang Jing immediately became happy after taking the towel full of sweat smell.

"Don't worry, Master. I will definitely clean the train thoroughly."

Huang Jing was afraid that Li Aiguo would go back on his word, so she climbed up onto the locomotive, clenched her fists and cheered.

Tomorrow she will be able to follow, so happy.

This girl is really a little girl. Li Aiguo smiled and shook his head, and called Director Zhang of the maintenance workshop aside.

Before Li Aiguo could speak, Director Zhang said, "Driver Li, don't worry, I will definitely arrange for the best mechanic to check the train."

"No need to check. This train has been checked several times by several seventh- and eighth-level masters at the Changxindian Locomotive Factory. I want you to arrange a few mechanics to stay here at night and keep anyone away from the locomotive. Do you understand?"

"Why don't you hand this matter over to the Armed Forces?"

As soon as Director Zhang finished speaking, he realized that he had made a stupid mistake.

Once the armed forces send people to intervene, they will definitely send several fully armed soldiers to guard the locomotive.

What would the passing train drivers think if they saw this?
Who are these fighters defending against?
It is easy to have a bad influence among train drivers.

Driver Li is becoming more and more mature.

"Don't worry, I will arrange three shifts of mechanics to take turns on duty to ensure that no one gets close to the Aiguo." Director Zhang agreed immediately.

Li Aiguo thought about it carefully, reminded the child of a few small matters, and then rode his bicycle back to the courtyard.

It was already dusk.

Because of the task of welcoming guests, the factory had a day off.

The residents in the compound had a rare day off, so they gathered under the old camphor tree in the middle courtyard to chat.

"I found out that Li Aiguo was chosen to welcome the guests because he participated in some kind of train renovation."

Jia Dongxu curled his lips and said disdainfully: "I told you, with his position, how can he be qualified? It seems that he was just forced to do hard labor."

The residents all looked at Jia Dongxu in surprise.

This is called forced labor? They wish they could be forced labor every day.

At this time, Li Aiguo walked in, and the residents gathered around him and asked him questions.

There are very few foreigners in China these days, and Chinese people are very interested in these foreigners who look completely different.

Li Aiguo answered the questions one by one until the third uncle asked a question about human anatomy.

"Aiguo, I heard that foreigners have a strong body odor. Do you smell it?"

Li Aiguo was silent for a moment, then said, "Uncle, do you think I should have smelled it? Or not?"

What a joke, She Guest House is not a bathhouse, who would get close to smell someone else's body?

The third uncle's thoughts are becoming more and more deviant.

Xu Damao raised a good question.

"How much benefit did those guests bring to our house this time?"

****
As night fell, the capital city fell into silence.

However, a room on the second floor of the Friendship Hotel at No. 1 Zhongguancun South Street, HD District was brightly lit.

Professor Chekov sat at his desk, smoking his cigar one puff after another. The ashtray on the table was already full of ashes.

His eyes stared at the telephone through the thick smoke, as if waiting for something.

Translator Shekov stood aside, looking at the worried Professor Chekov. Thinking of what had happened in the past two days, he felt depressed.

After learning that the modification of the Patriotic forward steam engine had been completed and passed the loop test.

Professor Chekov reported the situation to the Voroshilovgrad Steam Locomotive Factory, hoping to stop the work there and return to the factory.

The leaders of the manufacturing plant said that a group of experts from the Hungarian People's Railway Ministry will go to Beijing in the near future to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the Patriotic steam engine.

A purchase agreement may be signed after this inspection. We hope that Professor Chekov will stay in the capital and prevent the signing of the agreement.

According to Professor Chekov's idea, after the expert group arrives in Beijing, he will find a way to contact the expert group and find a way to change their ideas.

What was unexpected was that the expert group acted very quickly. As soon as they arrived in the capital, they decided to conduct driving experiments on the Patriotic steam engine.

The chief consultant of this expert group, Naji Sandor, has a tough personality and is not someone who is easily influenced.

There was no other way, Professor Chekov could only ask his superiors to do some work, hoping to be able to join the driving experiment.

But it is already past midnight and there is still no reply from my superior.

Xie Kefu felt the atmosphere was dull and said with a smile: "Professor, since you have already planned to return to the factory and take special action.
Why do we care so much about the export of this patriotic steam locomotive? "

Professor Chekov frowned. Shekov thought he had not explained it clearly, and continued, "If the factory loses the order this time, it will be a serious blow to those high-ranking factory leaders.
By then, your actions will certainly be more likely to gain the support of the workers.”

Upon hearing this, Professor Chekov's face gradually darkened, and there was a hint of fierceness in his eyes when he looked at Shekov.

"Shekfu, the dispute between us and the top management of the factory is a dispute over the direction, an internal dispute.

No matter how much hostility we harbor towards those senior executives, we cannot watch such a large order fly away and let the manufacturer's interests suffer losses.

I hope you understand this.”

"Yes, yes, professor. I deeply admire your ideological awareness." Shekov felt that Professor Chekov was a little too old-fashioned.

We should use all means to deal with the enemy.

His thoughts were not hidden from Professor Chekov's eyes. He sighed in his heart, this child is nothing like his father. Maybe he shouldn't be involved in this matter.

Just then, ding-ling-ling, a crisp bell sounded.

Professor Chekov picked up the phone and the news coming from the receiver made him clench his fist excitedly.

When Shekov saw his appearance, he realized that he should be able to participate in the driving plan tomorrow.

He felt sorry for the Patriotic Steam Engine and the engine driver.

It is impossible for a large and complex machine like a steam locomotive to be without any defects.

(End of this chapter)