The train driver in the courtyard

noon.

The sky, which had been cloudy for several days, finally cleared up.

The warm winter sun shines on the earth, and the air is filled with gentle warmth.

There were many old men and women squatting at the entrance of the alley and on the roadside to bask in the sun.

The old men were puffing on their pipes.

The aunt flipped up the little girl's hair to catch fleas.

Catching fleas is also a technical job. You have to hold down the flea and rub your fingers back and forth on your skin through the cloth like twisting a rope.

Even if you are sure that the flea's arms and legs have been broken or even killed, don't let go.

Instead, reach in with your other hand and use your thumb and index finger to pinch out the motionless fleas.

Once they catch a flea, the aunties will always pinch it off with their fingernails.

The sound of "pa'er" continued to be heard among the crowd.

It really relieved me, and the itchiness on my body was gone instantly.

The first and second aunts are the workers' family members and rarely appear in this group of people.

But today the two of them stood aside, looking into the distance.

Today Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong went to the countryside to buy chickens and ducks. For some reason, they were always nervous and felt something was wrong.

At this time, a melodious bell sound came from a distance, and an old ox cart swayed towards this side.

The appearance of the ox cart immediately attracted the attention of those people.

After all, these days ox carts are an important means of transportation just like buses.

"Whose family is this that has returned from the country?"

"I haven't heard that anyone in our compound has returned to his hometown recently."

An old lady had been looking for the trace of the man riding the donkey upside down. When she looked at the ox cart, she suddenly rubbed her eyes.

"Haizhong, look, is it your Haizhong and my Lao Yi on the ox cart?"

The second aunt stood up and looked, and saw Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong sitting on both sides of the ox cart.

But for some reason, both of them changed into the attire of the members of the society, wearing coarse cloth clothes and a rag tied around their waists.

"What happened to them?"

The second aunt was very smart and lowered her voice and said, "You are being silly. They went to the countryside to collect chickens and ducks. In order to avoid being noticed, they must disguise themselves.

Look, my camouflage in the sea is very similar, but the clothes are a little small, and my belly has torn the clothes."

While the two were talking, the ox cart had already arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

Wang Jieba served as the driver. He pulled the reins and the ox cart slowly stopped.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong got off the ox cart, stretched out their hands and shook hands with Wang Jieba enthusiastically.

"Comrade member, thank you so much for sending us back."

"You're welcome. We, the members of the cooperative, are one family with you workers."

Wang Jiebala pulled the reins, and the old ox raised its four hooves. He shouted goodbye, and then the ox cart sped away.

"Goodbye." Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong raised their hands at the same time.

The two men waited until the ox cart was out of sight before they let go of each other's hands.

The smiles on their faces suddenly disappeared without a trace, replaced by bitterness.

The second aunt came up and said, "This member is really nice. He walked dozens of miles to bring you back."

An old lady also said: "Yes, look at that young man just now, how simple he is."

"Yes, they are really nice. It would be even better if they didn't detain us from riding our donkeys and take off our work clothes." Yi Zhonghai said gritting his teeth.

Liu Haizhong added: "And my copper-buckle belt."

Second aunt: "."

Aunt: "."

Liu Guangfu: “^_^!”

The first and second aunts realized that something might have gone wrong with Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's trip to the countryside.

Considering that there were many people watching nearby and it was inconvenient to explain, he immediately took the two people into the courtyard.

The third uncle was still squatting at the door sorting out cardboards. When he saw how dirty the two men looked, he almost laughed out loud.

"Uncle No. 1, Uncle No. 2, you must have collected a lot of chickens and ducks, and even sold clothes!"

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong almost vomited blood.

But there is no way to explain it.

So shameful.

Yi Zhonghai: "Ahem, this is a long story."

"Don't worry, I don't have any classes today, so I have time to listen to you."

Yi Zhonghai: "."

When the aunt saw Yi Zhonghai's face flushed, she rolled her eyes and took Yi Zhonghai away on the pretext that he had not taken his medicine yet.

Liu Haizhong claimed that he wanted to eat and staggered away.

Looking at the two people's backs, the third uncle laughed so hard that he fell forward and backward.

At the beginning, Yan Jiecheng suffered a great loss because he went to the countryside to collect chickens and ducks, and this became a thorn in the side of the third uncle.

When has the Yan family ever suffered a loss?
Now, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are also in trouble.

Nothing would make Uncle San Ye happier than seeing others suffering the same misfortune.

Liu Haizhong did not go home directly, but went to Yi Zhonghai's house.

An old lady poured tea for the two of them.

He asked anxiously, "Old man, what happened? Did you hook up with a young country girl and get caught? Even your clothes were taken away."

"What nonsense!"

Yi Zhonghai drank the tea in one breath, and finally he calmed down.

Without wiping off the tea on his beard, he sighed deeply and said, "We met Li Aiguo!"

This inexplicable sentence made the first and second aunts stop asking questions.

It's become obvious.

The two of them must have been dealt with by Li Aiguo.

"Old Yi, it's not shameful that we lost to Li Aiguo. He is now an excellent train driver in the country."

The second aunt also said: "Lao Liu, although you are a level 6 worker, your salary is not as high as Li Aiguo's."

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand to interrupt the auntie: "Old lady, you misunderstood. This time we should thank Li Aiguo."

Liu Haizhong nodded: "We should thank Li Aiguo indeed."

Aunt: "."

Second aunt: "."

Everyone knows that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong don't get along with Li Aiguo.

How could the two of them thank Li Aiguo now?
If animals in the new world were not allowed to become spirits, they would have suspected that they had been bewitched by a fox spirit.

"Old man, what's going on?" An old lady also became interested.

Yi Zhonghai took another sip of tea, then slowly recounted the whole story.

Originally, after the two were caught, they were sent to the police station in the town by the commune on charges of robbery.

The rope has been tied.

Wang Jieba also pulled the ox cart over.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were thrown onto a ox cart by the militia.

Seeing that they were about to be imprisoned and fired from the steel mill, the two men almost cried.

At this time, Li Aiguo came forward and pleaded for the two.

Village chief Wei said that as long as the two apologized and were willing to compensate the commune, the commune would not care about the matter.

Others are the butchers and I am the meat.

The two of them agreed hurriedly.

However, Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai originally planned to negotiate the price and then take the members to the steel rolling mill to trade.

He was doing a business of making money out of nothing, and he had no money or food coupons on him at all.

At Li Aiguo's suggestion, the two men pawned the donkey and the clothes in the commune.

Li Aiguo was kind enough to help them find a bullock cart and sent them back for free.

"Old woman, do you think I should thank Li Aiguo this time?" Yi Zhonghai said, slapping the table.

The first and second aunts both looked strange.

However, seeing that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong both looked grateful, he nodded repeatedly.

After Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong agreed on the time to go to the commune to pay the fine, Liu Haizhong took the second aunt and left Yi Zhonghai's house.

The door is closed.

Blocked out the sunlight outside.

The lady quickly grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm and said in a low voice, "Old man, you've been fooled. Li Aiguo is obviously on the side of the commune and is deliberately exploiting you. Are you still grateful to him?"

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Yi Zhonghai said proudly, "There's something I didn't tell you just now. We were fined 70 yuan this time, and Li Aiguo secretly told me that we only need to pay 50 yuan to the commune.

In other words, if I kept it a secret from Liu Haizhong, I would only have to pay fifteen dollars."

"I know Li Aiguo has bad intentions, but if I had scolded Li Aiguo just now, wouldn't Liu Haizhong be suspicious?"

The old lady's head was buzzing, and it took her a while to figure out what was going on.

She muttered quietly, "This is really weird. You were clearly beaten by Li Aiguo, and now you have to praise Li Aiguo."

The smug smile on his face froze, and Yi Zhonghai sat in his chair in a daze.

After being bullied, Yi Zhonghai still had to say good things about others. He felt like he was being played.

However, he was like a young wife, unable to resist at all when facing a strong man.

Even after being beaten up, one still has to praise the man’s physical strength!

What is this?

Yi Zhonghai felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

the other side.

After Second Aunt and Liu Haizhong returned home, they immediately closed the door and expressed their doubts.

"Old man, you have been deceived by Li Aiguo. I think he is in league with Weicun Commune."

"How could I not know?" Liu Haizhong said proudly, "There's something I didn't tell you just now. We were fined 70 yuan this time, and Li Aiguo secretly told me that we only need to pay 50 yuan to the commune.

In other words, if I hide it from Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai needs to pay thirty-five yuan, and I only need to pay fifteen yuan.

I'm willing to be a fool if I can save fifteen dollars."

Second Aunt’s head was buzzing.

I thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

But since Liu Haizhong thinks it is worthwhile, he will definitely not suffer any loss.

"Hainzhong, you are so calculating."

"That's right. Don't think that Uncle San is the only one who knows how to scheme in our compound. I'm actually pretty good at it, too!"

Liu Haizhong saved twenty dollars and was in a good mood, so he even drank two glasses of wine.

At this time, the door opened.

Liu Guangfu stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and then jumped in with his feet together.

"Good boy, you actually dared to enter the house with both feet at the same time. I'm going to teach you a lesson today." Liu Haizhong wanted to pull out the copper-buckled belt, but found that the belt was also buckled, so he could only pull out a strip of cloth.

Liu Guangfu: “^_^!”

Liu Haizhong picked up the fire tongs.

Liu Guangfu: “(灬灬)!”

Yi Zhonghai felt that he had saved twenty yuan, and Liu Haizhong also felt that he had saved twenty yuan. In order to avoid being discovered by the other party, the two rested at home for a while, and then rushed to Wei Zhuang with the money.

At this time, Li Aiguo was chatting with the village chief Lao Wei, the militia captain and Zhang Jieba in the commune.

Although the commune had a big pot meal this year, the work point system of the superiors was strictly implemented, so the enthusiasm of the members was not affected.

Zhou Ke asked curiously, "Village head, I heard that after the establishment of the commune, everyone can eat from the same pot, and it doesn't matter whether you work or not. Who will work hard?"

Li Aiguo was also curious: "Uncle Wei, what is this work point system?" Village Chief Wei puffed on his pipe and pointed at Accountant Zhang and said, "Uncle Zhang, explain it to them."

Accountant Zhang was calculating work points for a member at this time.

On the table were a blackened glass kerosene lamp, an old abacus with broken beads, a pile of account books and a fountain pen.

He was an experienced accountant. He was looking at the account book and moving the abacus columns loudly while talking.

“What’s this about eating from a big pot? That’s all misunderstanding by outsiders.

In accordance with the policies of our superiors, we implement the work point system.

Each work point is equal to money or food.

The basic food ration for the big pot meal is distributed equally according to people's gender and age.

However, basic rations cannot be given for free.

The difference between the basic food given to your family and your work points must be calculated based on the benchmark price.

If you have too few work points at the end of the year, you will owe money to the commune.

So, there is a saying in the commune: [Big pot rice, not big pot, work points, work points, the lifeblood of the members]"

Accountant Zhang gave a long and tedious explanation, and Li Aiguo understood it.

Members who eat from the same pot will owe the commune food rations.

Only by working in the commune and earning work points could one pay back the food rations.

The work in the commune was divided into different levels of importance, and the work points for each job were also different.

Heavy work like digging and plowing the land pays high work points.

Light work like picking firewood and herding sheep earns low work points.

In order to be frugal, in addition to personal labor points books, each household in the commune also had a fertilizer points book.

A basket of grass ash is counted as one work point, and one hundred kilograms of manure is counted as ten work points.

Picking up manure has become a hot topic.

But there are only so many large animals in the village, and if you get up too late, you won’t even be able to pick up the manure.

Zhou Ke raised a question: "Since work points are so important, what should we do if someone uses favoritism and records a few extra work points?"

The member who had just calculated his work points burst out laughing when he heard this: "Comrade worker, do you really think that we members are fools?

Everyone is working together, and everyone knows who is working hard and who likes to be lazy. How can the scorekeeper make a mistake in the account?

At the end of the year, these accounts will be announced at the general meeting. If the members find out, they will pull his pants off and hang him on a tree outside. "

Zhou Ke said: "Has anyone really been hanged?"

The member said, "Accountant Chen from the neighboring commune gave his brother-in-law several dozen extra points. He was caught two days ago and hung on a tree. He hasn't been taken down yet."

Hiss. Li Aiguo took a breath of cold air.

These members are very brave.

But thinking about it, I felt relieved. It was not long after the liberation, and the members had finally stood up and become the masters of their own destiny. How could they be oppressed by those evil spirits again?

As we were chatting, we heard shouting outside.

"Village head, driver Li, the two workers from Beijing are here to redeem their clothes and ride on their donkeys."

I heard that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong obediently handed over the money to the commune.

Zhou Ke couldn't help but give Li Aiguo a thumbs up in his heart.

He knew very well how difficult workers like Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong who worked in Beijing were.

In order to prevent the two men from going to the town or even to the capital to file a complaint, Zhou Ke suggested at the time that they should be released.

As a result, he was stopped by Li Aiguo.

Then Li Aiguo came up with a little idea.

Zhou Ke still found it a little unconvincing. Just because they could save twenty yuan, the two were willing to pay the fine?

Looking at Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's sneaky yet eager looks, Zhou Ke felt that he had underestimated the ugliness of human nature.

In order to take advantage of each other, these two people would rather sacrifice their own interests.
Sure enough, as long as I am not the most unlucky one, I can accept it.

"Old Yi, I think we should give the money to the village chief privately. Maybe he will want to make some money from it!"

"Oh, uncle, you are very thoughtful."

Yi Zhonghai was originally thinking about how to hand over the money without Liu Haizhong knowing that Liu Haizhong had the same idea.

Both of them felt that they had cheated the other, and when they paid the money, they didn't even feel any pain.

The two men handed the money to the village chief, Lao Wei, and said that they would definitely reform themselves and never "rob" members again.

"You are a good comrade if you correct your mistakes. You are welcome to visit our commune again in the future."

After receiving the money, the village chief, Lao Wei, called Wang Jieba and returned the donkeys and clothes that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were riding on.

"Comrade member, thank you so much. When you visit Beijing in the future, please remember to visit my home."

The two sides were very harmonious, and anyone who saw it would feel that it was a model of cooperation between workers and members.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong changed their clothes and rode their donkeys upside down to leave the commune.

Wang Jieba offered to escort the two men out of the village, but the two men were so scared that their faces turned pale and they quickly refused.

The sun was shining brightly. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong walked out of the village and said something at the same time.

"Oh, I lost a lot this time. I lost thirty-five dollars!"

Seeing the other looking sad, both of them felt happy.

In the commune, Village Chief Wei was very happy when he received the money.

With this money, the commune can pay salaries to substitute teachers.

Those kids will be able to learn to read and write, so they won’t be blind in the future.

Li Aiguo was also in a good mood.

When everyone is happy, that’s real happiness!
At this time, the members of Wei Zhuang Commune had already learned that Li Aiguo had come in person to purchase supplies, so they brought out all the chickens and ducks they had secretly raised.

The members lined up in a long queue in the threshing yard, and Village Chief Wei asked the accountant to help with the accounting.

The buyer Li Aiguo was suddenly idle for a while.

He saw Dabao and several other children playing nearby and waved at them: "Dabao, come here!"

"It's the driver uncle." Dabao, Zhaodi and Niandi ran over with a dozen children.

Li Aiguo took out a few tomatoes from his pocket and handed them over.

"Uncle driver, there are tomatoes in winter?" Dabao's eyes widened in surprise.

Li Aiguo squatted down, rubbed his head and said, "This was grown in a greenhouse."

"Uncle Greenhouse, when I grow up, study hard, and become a scientist, I will also build a lot of greenhouses." Dabao took the tomato, sipped it carefully, and then handed it to Zhaodi.

It was the first time for those children to eat tomatoes in winter, and they were so excited that they almost jumped up.

"Aiguo, you've spoiled them too much." Village chief Wei saw this scene and walked over and said.

Although he had never seen winter tomatoes, he knew that this thing must be worth a lot of money.

"Uncle, you farm and repair canals. We train drivers drive trains for these children.

Maybe when they get older, they’ll be able to have winter tomatoes anytime.”

"This is too much of a sin. I can't even think about it." Village chief Wei denied it verbally, but his eyes were full of hope.

Every time the driver from the city came to the commune, the two of them would always chat for a while.

The train driver was a nice guy, but he was a daydreamer.

Later, people liked to eat lean meat and threw away the fat.

Is this possible? What a sin.

People can go out in cars or on trains.
It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.

Village chief Wei's lifelong dream is just to eat white flour buns every day.

Because the members were very active, Li Aiguo completed the acquisition task in less than an hour.

Zhou Ke’s GAZ jeep was transformed into a small truck, with all the chickens and ducks loaded in the back.

Based on the quantity, Li Aiguo handed over the money and food coupons prepared in advance to the village chief Lao Wei.

"Uncle Wei, the money this time is relatively small, but the food coupons are relatively more. Please bear with me."

"We are a family, why are you saying this!" Village chief Old Wei put the money and food coupons into his pocket.

Li Aiguo took out another bag of "confiscated candy" and handed it to Village Chief Lao Wei.

Seeing the four or five kilograms of candy, Village Chief Wei's face changed and he wanted to wave his hand to refuse.

"Uncle Wei, this candy was confiscated from our railway. It doesn't cost me any of my own money, it's considered as activity funds. The New Year is coming soon, let's make the children happy."

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wei accepted it.

"Aiguo, don't worry, if you need anything in the future, just ask."

Those members all looked at Li Aiguo with gratitude.

If it were someone else, they would have definitely hidden the "activity funds" away for themselves. This bag of candy is worth several dollars.

It was almost evening at this time, and Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke left Weicun Commune in a jeep under the gaze of the members.

After returning to the commune, Village Chief Lao Wei called a few trusted leaders and placed the food coupons on the table.

Zhang Jieba looked at the food coupons and asked in surprise, "Village head, are these food coupons fake?"

"Pa!" As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped by the militia captain. "How could Driver Li give us fake food coupons!"

"What's going on? Uncle called us all here, there must be something wrong." Zhang Jieba covered his head with his hands in grievance. He was just about to send half a tomato home to his wife.

Village chief Lao Wei put down his pipe, pointed at the food coupons and said, "All the food coupons this time are local food coupons."

The accountant took the food coupons and examined them for a moment, then said, "Local food coupons have a time limit. Once they expire, they will become invalid. Could it be that Driver Li wants us to exchange these food coupons for food right away?"

Wei Village has had good weather this year, and the warehouse is full of grain. According to the commune's plan, they are preparing to exchange the grain coupons for money to buy some industrial products.

Zhang Jieba frowned and said, "Village, village chief, you are overthinking it. Maybe they just happened to have local food coupons and sent it to us."

The accountant said: "No, in the past, our patriotic comrades knew that we were short of money, so they always gave us more money for each transaction.

Even if we give out food coupons, we will give out national food coupons, which contain oil, so we can take advantage of it."

The leaders of the commune couldn't understand why Li Aiguo asked them to buy grain, as the commune clearly had grain and judging from the situation this year, there might even be a good harvest next year.

Village Chief Old Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Never mind, let's just do as our patriotic comrades think.

Zhang Jieba, tomorrow you go to the city with the militia captain and exchange all your food coupons for food.

I asked the production team to vacate the shack in the east and use it as a granary."

The commune leaders nodded one after another.

They all lived through the period before liberation and knew that as long as they had food in their hands, they would not be worried.

News always has a lag.

There will be no natural disasters next year.

But food has become scarce, and it is no longer possible for city dwellers to stockpile food.

Wei Village purchased a batch of grain in advance and stored it in the warehouse. Maybe that grain can save many people in time.

Although Li Aiguo has no way to stop the trend, he still has to protect his relatives and friends and do what he can.

The locomotive depot has a special status and will not be seriously affected, but it will not be easy at that time.

Maybe we should prepare earlier.

Should we dig a cellar?

Li Aiguo thought about these things and returned to the locomotive depot.

The purchased chickens and ducks were handed over to the Logistics Department, and then the task was completed by Chief Xing.

"Okay, it'll be done in one day, Aiguo. If our locomotive depot had a few more capable train drivers like you, I wouldn't have to worry."

Director Xing Duan stretched out his hand and shook hands with Li Aiguo firmly.

"This is what I should do."

It was already time to get off work, and Li Aiguo was about to leave when Director Xing suddenly called him.

"Aiguo, there is a meeting tomorrow, you have to attend it."

"Meeting?"

"The apprentices in our maintenance workshop have developed a device that can prevent drivers from falling asleep. As you know, the section attaches great importance to the problem of driver slackness.

So we thought of bringing it to the seminar for discussion. If the device is useful and the comrades have no objections, we will promote it throughout the section as soon as possible.”

Li Aiguo's eyes widened suddenly.

Zhu Deqing developed the equipment so quickly?
What on earth did this guy develop?

(End of this chapter)