The train driver in the courtyard

When Li Aiguo arrived at Jiang'an Locomotive Depot in a truck with the 131 driver team, Liang Sicheng, as a representative of the Bridge Bureau, was already waiting at the station.

On this grand day, Liang Sicheng wore a navy blue Zhongshan suit, a big red flower on his chest, and his hair was meticulously groomed. He looked particularly energetic.

"Driver Li, today I finally realized my dream of going up to the driver's building. I hope I won't disturb you."

This guy wants to enter the driver's building?
Not sitting in the bus?
Li Aiguo was stunned for a moment and made sure that Liang Sicheng was serious.

He patted Liang Sicheng's shoulder heavily.

"Uncle Liang, welcome to experience the life of a frontline railway worker."

Liang Sicheng raised his chest proudly.

As a great intellectual, Liang Sicheng often reflected on himself.

He was keenly aware that his biggest shortcoming now was that he was separated from the working people.

Meeting such an interesting kid is a great opportunity for me to experience the life of a worker.

Because the first item of the celebration is the first time that a train passes through the Yangtze River Bridge, the departure time is set at 10 a.m.

Li Aiguo and his team of drivers inspected the train and drove it to Dazhimen Railway Station.

The train stopped at the platform and the station staff who had been prepared rushed up to hang a wreath on the locomotive and inserted a bright red flag on the top of the steam engine.

The bright red flag fluttering in this shabby train station attracted the attention of many passengers.

Those who were about to get on the bus stopped.

"What's going on with this train? Why is there a flag on it?"

At this time, a crisp sound came from the station broadcast.

"Dear passengers, please note that Train No. 3017 from Hankou Station to Wuchang Station will depart soon.

Comrades who have purchased tickets for Train No. 3017, please go to Platform to board the train. "

The passengers were even more confused.

"Have trains been opened from Hankou to Wuchang? Isn't it across the Yangtze River? In the past, trains from the capital to the south required boats."

The station staff excitedly explained to the passengers, "You may not know this yet, but the Yangtze River Bridge is open to traffic today! You can cross the bridge directly to Wuchang."

The passengers immediately became interested.

Before this, due to the obstruction of the Yangtze River, a person who wanted to go south from Beijing to Guangzhou had to first take the Beijing-Hankou Railway to the Dazhilu Railway Station in Hankou.

Carry your luggage to Yuehan Wharf to take the special ferry across the river to the station, and then wait to get on the bus again.

The rails of the train ferry are disassembled into the locomotive and carriages and transported onto the ferry.

The ferry sends the locomotive and carriages to the train ferry in Pukou on the other side of the river, where they are then assembled and driven into the train station, waiting for departure.

The two railway ferry terminals of Hankou Jiang'an Railway Station and Xujiapeng Railway Station connect the Beijing-Hankou Railway and the Yue-Hankou Railway, which are across the river, only through train ferries.

This process is very complicated. Sometimes, if the waves on the Yangtze River are too big, the passengers will need to stay for several days.

For a time, passengers who knew the news of the opening of the Yangtze River Bridge wanted to buy tickets for Train No. 3017.

But I was told that all the tickets were sold out.

What the passengers didn't realize was that tickets for Train No. 3017 had never been sold to the public at the train station.

"Where are the standing tickets?" asked a passenger who was unwilling to give up.

"This train does not sell standing tickets for the time being." The station staff explained patiently.

It's 9:30 in the morning and it's time to depart.

The dispatcher quickly ran to the front of the car, handed the dispatch order to Li Aiguo, and saluted him.

"Comrade driver, have a safe trip!"

"Bon Voyage!"

Li Aiguo straightened his chest and blew the whistle.

With the sound of a clear whistle, the train drove out of the station under the eager gaze of countless passengers and platform staff.

The train passes through 16 level crossings including Huangpu Road, Sanyang Road, Xunlimen and others in the central city, rushing towards the Yangtze River Bridge in the golden sunshine.

At first, Liang Sicheng felt that everything in the driver's building was very new.

Inside the front of the train, there was a huge furnace filled with smoke and making a rumbling sound.

The tall chimney discharges smoke into the sky, and there are many pipes and instruments inside the locomotive, which looks very complicated.

The entire interior of the locomotive is filled with high-temperature and high-pressure steam, which is very shocking.

Liang Sicheng felt a culture he had never experienced before.

But as the train stopped, flames rose in the furnace and the temperature in the carriage rose rapidly.

Beads of sweat soon broke out on Liang Sicheng's forehead. He knew that the celebration was about to begin and it was impossible for him to leave the locomotive.

Fortunately, Huang Jing handed me some hot water in time, and I was able to hold on after drinking a few sips of it.

Liang Sicheng looked at Li Aiguo with a serious expression, Liu Qingquan who was always on the lookout, and then at Old Zheng holding a shovel, and he finally understood what the greatness of a worker was.

[A hymn to the train driver
On the back of a galloping dragon,
Train driver, you are the guardian of time.
Under the wheels are the dreams of thousands of people returning home.

You carry and protect.

Train driver, you are the bridge of home,
Between the noise and silence, you walk silently.

】

Inside the hot carriage.

Liang Sicheng couldn't help but recite a poem on the spot.

The temperature in the driver's building dropped several degrees in an instant.

Li Aiguo and Liu Qingquan couldn't help but shudder.

Liang Sicheng was puzzled: "Driver Li, is there anything wrong with my poem?"

"It's fake. It's so fake."

Li Aiguo laughed and said, "Our driver team is not as great as you think.

What dragon, what guardian, it has nothing to do with us.

Our only wish is to deliver passengers to their destinations safely and to deliver necessary materials for national construction in a timely manner.

That's it.

"

boom!
These words sounded like a bolt of thunder in Liang Sicheng's ears.

"Driver Li, it turns out that you are so great that you have fully fulfilled your glorious duties in your daily work."

Li Aiguo: "."

He had a bit of admiration for literati like Liang Sicheng.

Anything can always be elevated to a higher level after their analysis.

Just when Li Aiguo wanted to continue explaining, Huang Jing reported: "Master, there are still five minutes until ten o'clock."

"According to the planned schedule, speed up!"

Along the way, Li Aiguo planned the speed of each section in advance in order to ensure that the train passed the Yangtze River Bridge on time at ten o'clock.

Hearing the report from announcer Huang Jing, Li Aiguo perked up and yelled at Lao Zheng.

"Light the fire!"

As shovelfuls of clean coal were poured into the furnace, the gas pressure gradually rose.

When Li Aiguo saw the pointer jump, he pulled the whistle twice and pushed down the joystick.

Wuuuu! The train was emitting black smoke and rumbling as it rushed towards the Yangtze River Bridge.

The train was very powerful, its huge wheels devouring the rails like a giant beast, making a rumbling sound and rushing towards the bridge it longed for like a ferocious beast.

Li Aiguo's timing was very accurate. When the clock on Wu Hanguan struck ten, the front of the car just rushed onto the bridge.

When the wheels touched the first rail of the railway bridge, Li Aiguo blew the whistle.

The loud sound of the whistle echoed across both sides of the Yangtze River.

The sound of the whistle was like an order.

The ships passing by on the Yangtze River blew their whistles, and the 5 spectators on the bridge and on both sides of the bridge cheered.

At the bridgehead, Minister Teng held the microphone and said passionately: "The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is officially open to traffic today.

This is another glorious victory of our people in carrying out construction! "

After the railway bridge was opened to traffic, the Wu Han Yangtze River Bridge and highway bridge were opened to traffic at 12:5.

Flocks of peace doves and colorful balloons fly into the sky.

Various trucks and cars passed the bridge in neat rows.

On this day, the Wu Han Yangtze River Bridge turned into a sea of ​​joy.

The bridge was crowded with people and thousands of ships were competing to cross the Yangtze River. If the enemy's third group launched an attack at this moment, the consequences would be serious.

So Lao Mao changed his usual low-key style.

On this day, in the name of "farmers", he mobilized all the meteorological station staff from Wuhansan Town and, together with the local garrison troops, carried out a three-dimensional defense of the bridge from the inside out.

The weather station staff in plain clothes merged into the crowd.

Guards armed with machine guns occupied the commanding heights.

The crowd on the bridge knew nothing about this and their hearts were filled with joy.

Woo hoo hoo, eat like crazy, eat like crazy, eat like crazy
After the train crossed the bridge,

Li Aiguo drove the train to the destination and successfully completed the mission.

Keeping the condition of the bridge in mind, I returned to the Yangtze River Bridge.

Along the way, Li Aiguo kept nodding his head, paying attention to the security measures.

If the enemy dares to show up today, they will definitely be caught in one fell swoop.

Enter the bridgehead.

This place has been transformed into a temporary command center. The phone is ringing constantly and people are reporting from time to time that they have discovered suspicious situations.

After investigation, it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

The old cat was not angry. Instead, it reminded the other party to be vigilant.

Seeing Li Aiguo coming in, Lao Mao put down the phone and walked over to him.

"Comrade Patriot, the situation is not good."

"What? Were we attacked by the enemy?" Li Aiguo's heart skipped a beat.

The old cat smiled bitterly: "On the contrary, now that the celebration is about to end, there is not even a trace of the enemy."

Li Aiguo understood Lao Mao’s worries.

The bridge opening ceremony is about to end, and the enemy has not appeared yet.

Or the attack was not carried out.

Either the attack was already underway but our personnel did not notice it.

The second possibility is very likely.

Li Aiguo's expression became serious.

"Now I suggest that all guards be alert. If they find any suspicious situation, they can arrest them on the spot!"

Lao Mao also knew that as the ceremony drew closer, the possibility of the enemy doing something desperate became greater and greater, so in extraordinary times, extraordinary systems should be implemented.

Orders were passed on one after another.

On the bridge filled with a joyful atmosphere, the guards were alert and scanned the crowd with sharp eyes. Once they found any suspicious points, they would rush up to check without hesitation.

“Eating white flour buns while attending a celebration”

"To celebrate the opening of the bridge, I bought some old wine and toasted with old friends on the bridge."

"I secretly nibbled on it with my partner under a bridge pillar."

As the news came back, Li Aiguo finally understood a saying: people are divided into different classes, meat is divided into different layers, and there are all kinds of birds in the forest. Although they knew that the rules on the bridge were strict, some people still wanted to make trouble. As a result, he was wronged and caused a lot of trouble for the guards.

But the good news is that no major accidents occurred until the end of the celebration.

The guests dispersed, the bridge celebration came to an end, and Lao Mao convened the second SHIELD team meeting at the Zhongnan Guesthouse.

at the conference.

Puff, puff, puff. The old cat smokes the cigar like a chimney.

"The enemy's third group has not taken any action yet. What is the reason? Let's discuss this together."

Zhou Wenzhong raised his hand first.

"It may be that our defense is too tight, and the enemy believes that there is no possibility of breaking through the defense, so they gave up the action."

The old cat shook his head: "Impossible, the enemy is being intimidated this time. Even if it means risking their lives, they will not give up easily."

"Team leader, does the enemy have a bigger target?" A local comrade raised his hand.

As soon as these words came out.

The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became tense.

The old cat frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Is there a bigger goal than the bridge celebration?"

"Well, I just proposed a possibility." The local comrade quickly changed his words.

"Don't mention things that are impossible." The old cat felt too tired.

Unexpectedly, the enemy did not take action at the celebration, putting the entire SHIELD team in a passive position.

Don’t they know what the enemy is going to do?
Comrades on the special front all know that the unknown is the most terrifying.

The meeting room fell into silence. The team members all frowned as they thought hard, but they didn't get any useful answers.

Seeing Li Aiguo sitting there without saying anything, Lao Mao asked, "Driver Li, what do you think?"

Li Aiguo said: "Maybe the enemy is unwilling to act?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly changed.

Zhou Wenzhong quickly said loudly: "Driver Li, stop joking.

Based on the experience of the first two groups.

The third team will certainly be threatened by the enemy, and in this case, it is not up to him whether to take action or not."

"Not necessarily."

Li Aiguo said slowly: "The first two groups acted alone, so the third group is likely to act alone as well.

A common method used by the enemy is to detain the family members of those who carry out the mission.

But what if the guy in Group 3 ignores this situation? "

Most of the enemies are cowards who only care about their lives.

The reason they fled to the other side was because they wanted to enjoy wealth and glory.

Now he was sent back to carry out a mission that meant certain death.

Some people with "smart brains" will definitely have other ideas.
The old cat understood the situation and nodded, and Zhou Wenzhong also shut his mouth.

Li Aiguo continued: "After realizing that the task was impossible to complete, the third team simply chose to play badly.

This resulted in an embarrassing situation where we had laid out a dragnet, but the enemy didn’t take the bait.”

Li Aiguo's words sounded ridiculous, but they perfectly explained why the enemy did not appear.

After discussing with Zhou Wenzhong and several local comrades, Lao Mao felt that Li Aiguo's idea made some sense.

"So what should we do now? Should we stop investigating?"

Zhou Wenzhong expressed his concerns.

"If the third team really gives up and never carries out any missions again, then we won't be able to catch him."

Everyone in the conference room responded to Zhou Wenzhong's question with silence.

"We are a group of brave warriors, but we are not omnipotent!"

Li Aiguo stood up and said, "If the third team can really be completely silent, then what's the difference between them and being arrested?"

Li Aiguo did not shirk his responsibility.

When the enemy retreated, they planted thousands of chess pieces in order to destroy the new world.

I hope that these pawns will one day become the backbone of the destruction of the new world.

But in the decades that followed, only a small number of pawns were actually causing trouble.

After the establishment of the new world, most of the chess pieces gradually realized that the new world was the hope of the Chinese people.

They took the initiative to cut off contact with the other side. Instead of causing trouble, they devoted themselves to contributing to the construction of the motherland.

Many pawns confessed their past events to the organization only before they died.

In fact, they had been captured by themselves decades ago, but even they themselves did not realize it.

Of course, Li Aiguo would not rely on the enemy's conscience, nor would he easily let his guard down.

He suggested that local meteorological station personnel mobilize the masses to continue screening the third group.

Lao Mao and Zhou Wenzhong planned to stay in Wu Han for another week, arrange the subsequent defense of the bridge, and then return to the Gobi Desert.

Night falls.

Because Li Aiguo still had work to do, he left the Zhongnan Guesthouse.

He rode his bike back to the railway guesthouse.

Then, together with Cao Wenzhi, Lao Zheng, Liu Qingquan and others, as the "First Pass" driver team, they accepted Minister Teng's congratulations at the celebration banquet held by the Bridge Bureau.

Minister Teng shook hands tightly with Li Aiguo and commended Li Aiguo and the 131 driver team for their contribution to the opening of the bridge.

“Minister, the opening of the Yangtze River Bridge should be thanked to technical talents like Commissioner Liang Sicheng.

And there are comrades from the Railway Corps.

We train drivers are just the icing on the cake.”

"He is neither arrogant nor impatient. He is a good candidate. Come, let me introduce you to the chief designer of our bridge."

Minister Teng looked at Li Aiguo and felt admiration for his talent.

He was brought to the chief designer, Mr. Mao, and the two were introduced to each other.

"He is a patriotic comrade! Commissioner Xiao Liang has mentioned patriotic comrades many times in his reports, calling him a true worker."

Mr. Mao is already sixty years old this year, but he is in good spirits.

He shook Li Aiguo's hand and said enthusiastically: "Director Guozhang has accepted a good student."

Director Guozhang Li Aiguo then remembered that Mr. Mao, a civil engineer and bridge expert, also served as the director of the Railway Research Institute.

This is the real powerful technical leader in the academic world.

In comparison, Liang Sicheng is considered a young idol.

"Teacher Liu taught me a lot." Li Aiguo replied modestly.

Afterwards, Minister Teng introduced several bigwigs including Professor Xilin to Li Aiguo.

Our Li Aiguo finally understands what it means to be star-studded.

The dinner lasted for more than two hours.

By the time it was over, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.

Because the venue of the dinner was not far from the guesthouse, Li Aiguo and his companions declined the jeep sent by the organizer and walked along the street towards the guesthouse.

As night falls, the air, which has been hot all day, gradually begins to cool down.

The surrounding residents left their steamy homes and walked along the streets in twos and threes. The air was filled with a strong sense of life.

Wu Han at night is the real Wu Han.

When Li Aiguo passed by Chen's Noodle Shop, he saw that the shop was still open and Chen Hongmei and Chen Laodi were tidying up the tables, chairs and benches in the shop.

Old Man Chen said to Chen Hongmei, "Hongmei, in a few years, you will be married and have your own family. Don't come to the noodle shop to help out all the time."

"Dad, Nakaura is not a stingy person. He won't care about it."

Chen Hongmei said as she cleaned up the dishes skillfully.

After they cleaned the shop and closed the door, they prepared to leave.

Seeing Li Aiguo passing by outside, Old Man Chen called out.

At this time, the young man I saw that morning came over from a distance pushing his bicycle.

When Chen Hongmei saw the young man, she seemed particularly excited. She ran over, looked up and asked, "Zhongpu, why are you here?"

"It's so late, I'm worried about you." The young man looked at Chen Hongmei with affectionate eyes.

The two of them are very well matched in terms of height and appearance, and anyone who sees them would have to praise them as a perfect match.

When Old Man Chen saw that Li Aiguo and the driver team were still standing there, he hurriedly called the young man over and introduced them to Li Aiguo and the others.

"Driver Li, this is Chen Zhongpu, Hongmei's distant cousin. They are getting married in two days."

"Zhongpu, this is Li Aiguo, the train driver from Beijing.

Those are all glorious drivers. They are driving trains across the Yangtze River Bridge today!
If I didn’t have to open a shop, I would go to the riverside to have a look.”

When Chen Zhongpu learned of Li Aiguo's identity, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

Although it was concealed well, Li Aiguo still noticed it.

"So you are the glorious train driver. Nice to meet you."

"Dad, Hongmei, I have to go to work tomorrow, so I'm going back first."

Chen Zhongpu seemed to dislike dealing with Li Aiguo and the others. After saying a few perfunctory words, he planned to leave.

Chen Hongmei remembered something and told him, "I changed some cloth coupons today. Let's go to the cloth shop tomorrow morning to buy some flowered cloth to make me a new dress."

"It hits the road."

Chen Zhongpu blurted out, turned around and left in a hurry.

Under the cover of night, his back looked a little disheveled in the dim light, like a mouse trying to sneak away from a cat.

Li Aiguo looked at his back and frowned slightly.

Huang Jing came over and asked, "Master, what's wrong? Is there any problem with Hongmei's family?"

Li Aiguo ignored her and turned to look at Old Man Chen: "Dad, isn't your son-in-law Hongmei's distant cousin? Why does his accent sound like he's from the south?"

"Well, during the chaos of war a few years ago, Zhongpu was kidnapped and taken to the south. He only returned to Wu Han last month and got to know us again."

Old Man Chen seemed to like Chen Zhongpu very much. Looking at his back, he sighed and said, "This child is also a miserable child."

Li Aiguo, who was drafted into the army and returned to Wu Han last month, frowned slightly.

He continued to ask: "What about Chen Zhongpu's family? Are they still in Wu Han?"

"My poor old sister died in the Japanese bombing, and Nakaura was the only one left in the family.

After they get married, I plan to let them move in with us." said Father Chen.

He doesn't even have any family left, which means no one can verify his identity.

Li Aiguo was thinking, Huang Jing asked: "Master, what happened?"

"Ah, no, come on, let's go back to the guesthouse."

Because there was no actual evidence, Li Aiguo did not show any abnormality.

After returning to the guesthouse, I went into the room, picked up the phone and contacted Lao Mao.

Lao Mao is arranging local personnel to carry out the final major search.

After receiving the call, the search plan was immediately suspended.

"Aiguo, I'm waiting for you at the Central South Institute."

(End of this chapter)