The train driver in the courtyard

early morning.
The soft sunlight quietly shines into the ward.

Those beams of golden light, like messengers of hope, gently fell on the white sheets.

Chen Xueru slowly opened her sleepy eyes, and at first sight she saw that handsome face that she could never get tired of looking at.

She immediately looked gentle and stretched out her little hand to gently touch her husband's cheek.

Oh my, at this moment, it was like a movie playing in her head, and she couldn't help but think of the "crazy farce" last night.

"You just know how to bully people!"

Chen Xueru's face flushed with shame, and she reached her hand into the quilt and gently twisted the rough man's waist.

"Don't make trouble, I'm a patient, let me sleep a little longer."

Li Aiguo turned over in a daze and fell into sleep again.

Did you look like a sick person last night? Miss Chen pouted, but finally covered him with a quilt gently, put on her clothes and got out of bed.

She left the ward, greeted the comrade from the armed forces guarding the door, and went to the cafeteria to receive a patient meal and a staff meal.

In those days, meals in the Railway Hospital were divided into two types, namely, patient meals and employee meals.

The staff meals eaten by doctors, nurses and patients' families are only slightly better than those of ordinary families. Breakfast consists of white flour buns and pickles.

The meals for sick patients are excellent.

The aluminum lunch box is filled with rice mixed with pork fat. Pour a little soy sauce and a spoonful of pork fat into the rice, and the rice will become tasty and fragrant.

In addition, you can also get two boiled eggs and a glass of thick milk.

When Chen Xueru returned to the ward with the meal, Li Aiguo had already woken up.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he had dinner with Miss Chen.

If you are sick, you should look sick. Li Aiguo ate his fill but couldn't go out for a stroll.

Fortunately, Miss Chen brought the books from home, so she could take advantage of the time of "recuperation" to read more books.

In the morning, Liu Guozhang from the Railway Research Institute, Section Chief Xing from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, Cao Wenzhi, and Huang Jing came to visit Li Aiguo one after another.

Every time Li Aiguo had to lie on the bed and pretend to be weak.

Chen Xueru looked at him, almost out of breath. If he hadn't sworn an oath, she would have laughed out loud.

After seeing the guests off, Li Aiguo picked up his book again.

As a family member of the patient, Chen Xueru also took a few days off to accompany the patient.

Li Aiguo lived a happy life, working on his studies during the day and tilling the fields at night.

In the courtyard at this time.

The third uncle was about to take the two little cat fishes to the hospital to visit Li Aiguo when he was stopped by the first uncle.

"Old Yan, our compound is a collective. You are acting alone. Are you trying to be individualistic?"

"You're the eldest uncle, what do you think?" The third uncle frowned.

"My family, Xu Damao's family, Jia Dongxu's family, and four or five other families all want to see Li Aiguo. Let's go together."

Yi Zhonghai expressed his thoughts again.

The third uncle felt a little strange. It was normal for Xu Damao's family, Aunt Liu, and Aunt Chen's family to visit Li Aiguo.

What are Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu doing together?
It’s just that they are all neighbors in the compound, so the uncle couldn’t refuse.

But when he saw what the old lady and Jia Dongxu were carrying, he started cursing in his heart.

The net bag in the hand of an old lady contained a can of malted milk and two boxes of Daoxiangcun snacks.

The gifts Jia Dongxu brought were not as good, but they also included about ten kilograms of bananas, two kilograms of White Rabbit milk candies and a bag of fried dough sticks.

Looking at the little cat fish in his hand, the uncle felt that these two guys were here to slap him in the face.

"Old Yi, we are just visiting a patient. There is no need to make it like a dowry, right?" The third uncle adjusted the frame of his glasses and blinked his little eyes.

Yi Zhonghai straightened his chest and said righteously: "Old Yan, your ideological awareness is a little lacking. Aiguo is a resident of our compound and our neighbor. Now that he is sick, we should be generous and let Aiguo feel the warmth of the collective so that he can recover sooner."

Jia Zhang also squinted her triangular eyes and said proudly: "That's right, what Old Yi said is right."

You guys are not visiting your neighbors...you are clearly visiting your own father, right?!
The third uncle was a little confused.

He couldn't understand why the two families who were at odds with Li Aiguo would be so generous this time.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu looked at each other and saw each other's thoughts in each other's eyes.

This story begins yesterday afternoon.

Aunt Liu and He Yushui returned home from the hospital. Aunt Yi and Jia Zhang came to the Liu family to inquire about Li Aiguo's condition.

Aunt Liu told them that because Li Aiguo's condition was serious, he declined visits from relatives and friends, so she was unable to meet Li Aiguo.

The aunt came home and sighed: "Aiguo was a good kid, how could he get seriously ill out of nowhere? What a sin."

Yi Zhonghai looked at the half pound of rotten apples he was going to take to visit the patient and suddenly changed his mind.

He wants to be extravagant and domineering for once.

When an old lady saw Yi Zhonghai taking out the chrysanthemum crystals and snacks that he was going to give as gifts to his leaders, she was terrified.

"Old man, you're not going to cross the river?"

"What do you know? It's so impressive to carry these things with me. When the residents in the compound see me being so generous, I'll have a good reputation."

Yi Zhonghai raised a sly smile, "Anyway, we can't go in to visit the patient, so we can definitely bring the things back. Then we can save face and not lose anything. Who can be as smart as me, Yi Zhonghai!"

The aunt didn't expect that Yi Zhonghai would still plot against others at this time.

The situation of the Jia family is similar to that of Yi Zhonghai's family.

After Jia Zhang figured out the situation, she asked Jia Dongxu to use the remaining salary of this month to buy a gift.

About ten pounds of bananas, two pounds of White Rabbit milk candy, and Jia Zhang's favorite fried dough sticks.

Qin Huairu saw these gifts and asked in surprise: "Mom, do you want to marry Li Aiguo back to our family?"

"The neighbors in the compound all praise you for being smart, do you really think you are smart?"

Jia Zhang narrowed her eyes and said, "Anyway, we are not sending it in. We are just pretending. When the neighbors in the compound see how kind we are to Li Aiguo, they will be more proactive when we borrow food in the future."

Qin Huairu thought about it carefully and found that this was indeed the case.

In this day and age, neighbors help each other.

The Jia family has been borrowing things from their neighbors and never returning them, which has caused dissatisfaction among the residents.

"But even if we bring these things back, they can't be used as food."

Qin Huairu felt that Jia Zhang had other ideas and was about to speak them out when she was glared back at by Jia Zhang.

She could only shrink her neck and remain silent.

Jia Zhang had already figured it out: if these things couldn't be sent out, they would definitely end up in her mouth.

As smart as I, Jia Zhang.

Chinese people have a problem: they like to compare everything.

Now Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi brought valuable gifts.

The third uncle looked at his three little cat fish and felt that he could not take them out, so he had to go back home and take two bottles of Lao Fenjiu.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Lao Fenjiu and fell silent. Can this thing be given to patients?
But he knew the Third Uncle's temper, so he didn't say much.

Xu Damao originally planned to give a bag of pecans, but now he can only add an old hen.

The group of people were carrying large and small bags, walking on the street looking particularly majestic. People passing by looked at them in surprise: Huh, which rich family is getting married?

The group arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Hospital, and Xu Damao called a young nurse to inquire about Li Aiguo's ward.

"Driver Li, he lives on the third floor of the inpatient department at the back. However, there are comrades from the armed forces guarding there, so you may not be able to get in." Nurse Xiaoyun reminded them.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed.

He said with a heavy expression, "Girl, we are all patriotic neighbors. We are very worried about him and want to meet him no matter what. Please do me a favor."

Xiaoyun was also moved by Yi Zhonghai's words and nodded heavily: "Then come with me, I will help you talk, but it may not work."

"Thank you, young lady. You are such a kind person." Jia Zhang also rarely said something nice.

Xiaoyun brought a few people to the third floor of the inpatient department, found Zhou Ke who was on duty, and told him about the situation of Yi Zhonghai and others.

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and took the initiative to say: "Comrade Zhou, we know Aiguo is seriously ill and cannot be disturbed, but we are sincere and hope you can be flexible."

"Go in." Zhou Ke said.

"what?!"

Yi Zhonghai was so frightened that his mouth opened so wide that it seemed as if he could swallow an egg and he could never close it again.

Didn’t you say you can’t get in?
He rubbed his ears and asked timidly, "Isn't Aiguo seriously ill? I can't visit him, right?"

"Driver Li fainted due to overwork, but he has recovered now and will not be in trouble for meeting guests. You can go in." Zhou Ke said, and considerately asked the security officer to open the door of the corridor.

Looking at the corridor, Yi Zhonghai's face turned extremely ugly.

If I go in now, I will definitely have to leave the gift behind. But if I leave, it will be too embarrassing with so many people watching.

Yi Zhonghai felt that he was in a difficult situation.

Jia Zhang was also shocked. After realizing that something was wrong, she immediately laughed and covered her stomach. "I, I suddenly feel a little pain in my stomach. I want to go to the toilet. You go in first, I'll come later."

Zhou Ke pointed to the end of the corridor and said, "Auntie, there is a toilet over there. Go ahead."

Jia Zhangshi: "."

Her face turned from red to white and finally to blue.

Xu Damao also understood what was going on, and suddenly burst into laughter: "Uncle, Jia Zhang, didn't you two just say that you would care about your neighbors? Why are you backing out now that we are almost there? I think you are trying to play a trick."

Xu Damao's words blocked Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhang's retreat route.

There was no other choice, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi could only bite the bullet and go into the ward.

Li Aiguo was reading a book. He looked up and saw Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi. His eyes fell on the net bags in their hands and he seemed to understand something.

He pretended to be weak and asked Chen Xueru to put a pillow under his back. He leaned against the head of the bed and looked at the two of them with a smile.

"Since you are here, why do you need to bring any gifts? The government is advocating thrift and diligence, you guys want me to make a mistake.

But considering your kindness, I can't kick you out, right?

This is just the first time, and it won’t happen again. "

The lazy tone and condescending attitude made Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi's eyes go dark.

Yi Zhonghai: "."

He just felt a bloody taste in his throat and almost vomited blood.

He took advantage of others but still makes sarcastic remarks. What a cruel person he is.

Jia Zhang's face was so dark that it seemed like ink could drip from it, but she still had to force herself to maintain a smile at this moment, which was really helpless. Li Aiguo looked at Chen Xueru and said, "Wife, hurry up, the net bag is so heavy, don't tire Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhang out."

Chen Xueru was also shocked by the actions of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi just now. She finally reacted and walked forward to take the net bag from Yi Zhonghai.

"Aiguo, we are here to visit you." Yi Zhonghai's heart was bleeding, but he still had to pretend to be concerned on his face.

When Chen Xueru put the net bag on the bedside table and went to take Jia Zhang's net bag, Jia Zhang held on to the net bag tightly like a wild dog guarding its food and refused to let go.

"Aiguo, are you feeling sick in the stomach? Can't you eat fruit and doughnuts?"

Li Aiguo waved his hands at Jia Zhang: "You misunderstood. The doctor said that I was ill from overwork and should replenish my body, so I can eat anything that is nutritious."

Jia Zhangshi: "."

Jia Zhang was suddenly speechless, her face full of reluctance, but she had no choice but to let go of her hand and watch Chen Xueru take away her things and put them on the cabinet.

These two old guys, they failed to steal the chicken and ended up losing the rice!
Although Xu Damao gave an extra hen, he felt extremely happy in his heart, as if he had drunk honey.

"This is an old hen. Ask your sister-in-law to make you some old hen soup. It's very nutritious!"

Xu Damao generously handed over the old hen.

The third uncle's eyes turned and he handed over two bottles of Lao Fen Liquor: "It's patriotism. When you drink chicken soup, take a sip of Lao Fen Liquor to get rid of the greasiness."

Li Aiguo: "."

Happy days are always short.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi both looked as ugly as if they were seriously ill.

Xu Damao had to go back to send Hailong and Haitao to school, and the third uncle also had to go to Hongxing Primary School, so they left the hospital without staying for long.

Out of the hospital.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale, his body suddenly swayed, and he almost fainted on the ground. The third uncle quickly grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm.

"Lao Yi, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

"It's okay. Maybe I was tired from catching sparrows." Yi Zhonghai smiled awkwardly.

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" asked the third uncle kindly.

"No need. The four weeds haven't been eliminated yet, and there are still so many sparrows outside. As an activist, how can I stay in the hospital with peace of mind!" Yi Zhonghai puffed out his chest and said righteously.

A bitterness rose in his heart.

It cost four or five dollars to buy a gift for Li Aiguo. If he has to be hospitalized again, it would be a big loss.

The key point is that I spent money and suffered injustice, but I can't speak out. It's really frustrating.

The third uncle also noticed Yi Zhonghai's embarrassment and almost laughed out loud.

You old man, you have evil intentions to harm others, but in the end, you fail to harm others and end up harming yourself!
Yi Zhonghai pushed away the third uncle's arm and staggered towards the courtyard.

When the aunt saw Yi Zhonghai like this, she knew that he was shooting himself in the foot again, and didn't say much.

Yi Zhonghai returned home and drank two enamel pots of tea before he calmed down his anger.

"No, old lady, I have to earn the money back."

"How do you earn it?"

"Catch sparrows! As long as you catch a lot, the neighborhood office will definitely give you a reward."

Yi Zhonghai changed into a "black cloth fishing net" suit, picked up a hand-scooped net, and asked an old lady to prepare some steamed buns and a pot of cold water.

Prepare to enter the mountains again!

When Jia Zhang returned home, Jia Dongxu saw that she came back empty-handed. He widened his eyes and asked, "Mom, where are the bananas? Where are the fried dough sticks?"

Jia Zhang's triangular eyes squinted and said, "It was snatched away by that little bastard Li Aiguo."

"What? He's not lying unconscious on the bed!" Jia Dongxu was furious when he heard this: "I'm at a disadvantage now. That's the banana I couldn't bear to eat!"

Qin Huairu saw the two of them crying there and shook her head helplessly.

Life at home was already difficult, and after these two women's tricks, they spent another five dollars. How are we going to live in the future?

"Hehe, this kid Li Aiguo is really trying to push me to death!" Jia Dongxu stood up suddenly and rushed into the inner room.

When he came out again, he had changed into a "hole suit" and was holding a hand net.

"God won't let the blind sparrow starve to death, I'm going to catch sparrows!"

The setting sun shines on the streets of the capital, and the ancient buildings are dotted with golden light.

Jia Dongxu went out the door and suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

He turned his head and saw Yi Zhonghai walking out.

The two men looked at each other and saw clues from each other's clothes and equipment.

The two walked back to back.

in the hospital.

There are so many gifts.

Too much.

In the following few days, Chen Fangxuan, Chen Xingjia, Chen Xingyi's family, Zhang Yazhi, Zhao Miaomiao, and Zhou Ke's father and mother all came to visit Li Aiguo.

The bedside table is so full that there is no room for books.

Except for keeping a small portion, Li Aiguo distributed the gifts given by relatives and friends to Zhou Ke and the doctors and nurses on duty.

Zhou Ke saw the two bottles of old Fenjiu placed under the bed and reached out to take them out.

"Aiguo, you are sick now and cannot drink alcohol, so why don't you let me have these two bottles of wine?"

Li Aiguo asked with a smile: "Do you know who sent this wine?"

"It seems to be the old teacher in your compound?" Zhou Ke was puzzled. Aren't all the wines sent by others old Fenjiu?

Li Aiguo asked, "Do you think Yan Bugui would be willing to give away the old Fenjiu?"

"That's right. This old Fenjiu costs at least 1.5 yuan a bottle. I heard that Yan Bugui is a stingy guy. He can't be so generous." Zhou Ke looked up and down at the bottle, frowned and said, "Is there something wrong with this wine?"

Li Aiguo waved at Zhou Ke, and when he leaned closer to listen, he whispered a few words.

"Fuck, this guy is capable of doing such a filthy thing."

Zhou Ke looked at the two bottles of wine with disgust in his eyes.

******
Friendship Hotel.

Deputy Minister Derov knocked on the door of the suite.

Seeing Popov sitting at the desk, he closed the door and walked over slowly.

Popov put down his newspaper and looked up at him.

"How's the situation?"

"Driver Li is indeed ill. I have inquired about it, and the ministry has even sent a health doctor." Deputy Minister Derov whispered, "The medical conditions over there are better than here. How about we suggest sending Driver Li to our home?"

"When the time comes, let's try to keep him there."

A fierce look flashed in Deputy Minister Derov's eyes, and he swung his hand horizontally.

"Dear Comrade Drov, don't you understand yet? The Chinese side has put so much effort into acting just to tell us that they value this train driver very much and want us not to have any bad ideas." Popov sighed.

He stood up and patted Derov on the shoulder: "This is actually a step given to us by others. If we follow the steps, we can get respectability.

If we don’t go down, they can just kick us down.”

Derov didn't believe that people in the Ministry of Railways would dare to do that.

He wanted to explain, but Popov stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"Arrange the itinerary immediately, we have to go back.

The single-track DC track circuit technology project still needs further improvement.

We will try to get it to the International Union of Railways in Paris by the end of the year and promote it to the whole world!
By then, even if they develop a polarity frequency pulse track, they will not pose a threat to us."

Popov made the final decision.

Derov's eyes lit up. He knew very well that as a basic railway technology, single-track DC track circuit technology would gain more say in railways once it was promoted throughout the world.

When the Ministry of Railways learned that Popov and his team had left, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

A phone call came into the hospital.

"Is Driver Li fully recovered? It's time for him to be discharged from the hospital."

The food here is good, the sleep is warm, and he can study hard every day. Li Aiguo really wanted to stay here a little longer.

One spring morning, Li Aiguo was playing sticky games with Chen Xueru when Zhou Ke opened the door, walked in and said, "Aiguo, you are well again."

Li Aiguo: "Yes, I am cured!"

******
early morning.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle and arrived at the Railway Research Institute in the golden sunshine.

As soon as I entered the office, I received a notice from Factory 738.

Professor Xia Zhongsu said on the phone that he had something important to tell him.

"Could it be that the 103 vacuum tube computer has been successfully developed?"

Li Aiguo was so excited.

The bicycle was pedaled like a hot wheel, running wildly along the streets of the capital and heading straight to Factory 738.

When I entered Professor Xia Zhongsu's office, I was stunned by what he said.

"I'm sorry, Deputy Team Leader Li, the planned completion date of our computer will be delayed by half a year."

After Li Aiguo rubbed his ears, he felt his head buzzing.

Now the first phase of the work has been completed. Engineer Dong and the electrical engineers, in collaboration with scientists like Chen Zilan, have begun compiling the underlying code for the machine.

All the preparations have been done, only the computer-controlled pulse signal of the electron tube is needed.

This is like taking off most of your pants, and the girl opposite you tells you that this is a regular bathing center.

Professor Xia Zhongsu also sensed Li Aiguo's anger and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, there was an accident during the development process."

"What exactly went wrong?" Li Aiguo took a deep breath and calmed down.

Professor Xia Zhongsu said: "When our technicians were manufacturing the magnetic drum, an accident occurred, causing the coating on the magnetic drum to be damaged. It will take at least six months to manufacture a new magnetic drum."

The technology of making a magnetic drum is not difficult, but the process is very complicated, as it requires applying layer after layer of magnetic powder on the aluminum column.

Each layer of magnetic powder needs to solidify before the next layer can be applied, which is very time-consuming.

After understanding, Li Aiguo looked at Professor Xia Zhongsu and asked, "Professor Xia, have you heard of magnetic core memory?"

(End of this chapter)