The train driver in the courtyard

"I'm sweating again."

After resting for a while, Chen Xueru recovered and let out a long breath.

There was a light blush on her little face, and her eyes were watery, clear and bright, making her look particularly pretty.

Li Aiguo smiled, rubbed her face gently, and said softly:
"Is everything going well at the tailor shop during this period?"

Chen Xueru nodded and said, "It's okay. Since my second brother came back, my father has been in much better spirits."

"I remember my second brother didn't seem to have a radio. Take one of the two radio tickets I just got and give it to him."

Li Aiguo slowly stepped out, let out a light breath, turned around and lit a cigarette.

Chen Xueru grabbed the towel and bent down to clean up.
"My second brother has a different personality from my eldest sister-in-law. The radio ticket is too expensive. I don't think he will accept it."

"Last time I gave him two pounds of flour, but he took it all."

"I'll try it tomorrow."

"Almost done, we can take the pillow out."

As she spoke, Chen Xueru lifted her buttocks. Li Aiguo reached out, pulled out the pillow, and placed it on the box next to her.

This pillow is now for special use and can no longer be used as a real pillow.

The two chatted for a while.

Li Aiguo talked about the research institute, while Chen Xueru talked about the work of eliminating the four evils.

After chatting for nearly twenty minutes, they took a shower and fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Chen Xueru got up early to make breakfast.

Li Aiguo went to the central courtyard to wash up with an enamel basin as usual.

As soon as you enter the crescent gate.

Then I saw Jia Zhangshi like a sunflower, holding a wooden board in one hand and raising the other hand high, spinning around towards the sun.

The old ladies and young wives nearby all looked like they couldn't hold back their laughter.

The third aunt was a straightforward person. She walked up and asked, "Sister-in-law of the Jia family, are you performing a shaman dance?"

"Who performed the ritual? Your whole family performed the ritual?"

Of course, Jia Zhang couldn't bring up the topic of catching mice on the board. The children in the compound had already given her a nickname, "Big White Mouse."

She rolled her eyes and said, "I am welcoming the light of the sun!"

"??"

The three aunts had a lot of question marks on their heads.

Jia Zhang straightened her chest and said as she turned around: "The motherland is the sun, and I am a little flower. Of course I must accept the sun's care."

"."

The third aunt looked at Jia Zhang's bucket-like waist and fell completely silent.

Xu Damao said sarcastically, "You are Xiaohua? I think it is a pitcher plant. Do you know the pitcher plant? It is a plant that catches pests."

"Yes, yes, yes, I am a pitcher plant, specializing in getting rid of four kinds of insects!" Jia Zhang felt that she was being praised and nodded hurriedly.

Xu Damao: "."

The three aunts: “.”

The old ladies and young wives who were watching could hardly hold back their laughter.

Li Aiguo smiled and shook his head. After washing up, he returned to the house and picked up the chopsticks.

The third uncle came.

He called Li Aiguo to the door mysteriously, rubbed his hands, and blinked his eyes: "Aiguo, I heard that you got two radio tickets.

You have a TV and a radio at home, so you don't need this thing. How about I help you sell it? Each radio ticket is worth thirty dollars on the black market now."

"Uncle, have you forgotten that you were arrested last time?" Li Aiguo glanced at the uncle.

The third uncle smiled awkwardly: "How can I be so unlucky every time?"

Well, this old comrade still hasn’t learned his lesson!
Li Aiguo said bluntly: "Both of these radio tickets are useful, so I really can't give them both to you."

"Really? Then just pretend I've never been here." The third uncle walked away very depressed.

Li Aiguo did not fool the third uncle. He asked Chen Xueru to give one radio ticket to Chen Xingyi, and prepared the other one for Aunt Liu.

A while ago, Liu Tianquan sent a letter from the Gobi Desert.

He said that he heard that radios were popular in Beijing, so he transferred some money and asked Li Aiguo to buy one for Aunt Liu.

Liu Tianquan was a very particular person. The original price of the radio was 160 yuan, and the price of a radio on the black market was 40 yuan. He sent 200 yuan.

Li Aiguo had been busy with work and had no time to go to the black market. Now that he had the radio ticket, he could save just forty dollars.

Had breakfast.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle to Beijing Department Store, found the tall white man, and took out the money and radio ticket.

"It just so happens that I haven't used my employee discount this year, so you can take back the twenty dollars."

The tall white man took the money, counted it, and counted out twenty yuan and returned it to Li Aiguo.

"Then I'll lie to you this time."

Li Aiguo was not polite either.

"We are friends, and besides, every year when my wife goes to visit relatives in the Northeast, she asks you to buy the tickets for the camping trip."

As the tall white man spoke, he turned and walked into the department store.

Train tickets are in short supply at the end of the year and are often hard to come by. Camping cars are sleeper berths and are sold at a higher price by the train attendants.

Sometimes you can add two dollars to a ticket.

Every time Bai Gaoge asked Li Aiguo to buy tickets, the price was much cheaper than others.

Li Aiguo was a very particular person and never mentioned this to Bai Gaoge.

Bai Gaoge learned about this from his wife and was thinking about how to repay the past. This time he happened to have the opportunity.

The radio was a big brand - The East is Red.

Aunt Liu and He Yushui looked at the radio on the table as if it were a rare toy.

"Patriotism, where does this come from?" Aunt Liu said with a frown.

Li Aiguo smiled and said, "Auntie, Brother Tianquan sent me the money and asked me to buy this. Look, this is the letter Brother Tianquan sent me."

Li Aiguo handed the letter to He Yushui. He Yushui looked at the letter and nodded repeatedly.

"It was indeed my eldest brother who sent the money."

Aunt Liu's face looked a little better.

"This kid works in the wind and rain all day long. It's so hard for him to make money. I'm an old woman, why would I need a radio? Isn't this a waste of money?"

Although she complained, the wrinkles on Aunt Liu's face were smoothed out.

"There is still extra money. Look, here is fifty yuan." Li Aiguo handed the remaining money to Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu waved her hand and said, "This is the money for your errands."

Li Aiguo said, "You can earn fifty yuan for running errands once? I have a golden leg. Take it first, and when Brother Tianquan comes back, you can give it to him."

Only then did Aunt Liu take the money.

Li Aiguo was in a hurry to go to work, so he taught the two men how to use the radio and then rode his bicycle towards the Railway Research Institute.

Aunt Liu and He Yushui turned on the radio as if they had got a new toy.

The melodious singing voice came from the radio and soon attracted many old ladies and young wives.

The third uncle was collecting waste from house to house. He came over and asked, "Sister Liu, you bought a radio?"

"Yes, my eldest son sent me some money, and Aiguo bought it for me. What do you think of this radio?"

The third uncle took the radio and examined it for a moment, his eyes flickering. "This is the Dongfanghong radio, the most expensive radio. It costs 160 yuan in department stores, plus a radio ticket, so it must be at least 200 yuan."

Aunt Liu frowned when she heard this.

"This Aiguo kid is fooling me again!"

Jia Zhang held up the wooden board and ran over excitedly and said, "Did Li Aiguo steal your money? Don't worry, I will help you get it back!"

Finally, she got the chance. How could Jia Zhang let it go?

Aunt Liu glanced at her and said, "It's not cheating, it's undercharging. It's undercharging by 50 yuan!"

Jia Zhang's face turned red instantly.

"Li Aiguo, this thief is really a fool. He gave you too much money, didn't you know to hide it?"

Xu Damao: "."

Uncle Three: “.”

Aunt Liu: “.”

They all stared at Jia Zhang with surprise.

That look was like a sharp sword.

Jia Zhang felt uncomfortable being stared at, so she rolled her eyes, walked to the center of the courtyard, and started spinning around facing the sun.

The clumsy movement was like a fat pig trying to fly but being restrained by its weight.

The theme song of the movie "Flowers of the Motherland" came from the radio.

We are the flowers of our motherland, singing to our heart's content under the sunshine
Look at our happy life like the colorful flowers
We are the flowers of our motherland, please take good care of us.

Aunt Liu: “.”

He Yushui: “.”

Uncle Three: “.”

Residents: “.”

******
Just as Jia Zhang was dancing happily, Li Aiguo also arrived at the laboratory gate of the Railway Research Institute.

As soon as he turned the corner, Li Aiguo saw Zong Xianfeng talking to a girl in a blouse.

When I got closer, I found that the girl was the international student Dasha.

The first person to see Li Aiguo was Zong Xianfeng. He looked at him awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Dasha also saw Li Aiguo at this time, and her fair little face turned red instantly.

"Brother Aiguo, you are here."

After all, Dasha was an old Russian with a rough personality. She quickly calmed down and greeted everyone openly.

"I came here today because I have some study matters and I want to ask Zong Xianfeng for help."

Li Aiguo said, "Xianfeng, do you want me to give you a day off?"

Zong Xianfeng's performance was worse than Dasha's. His face flushed and he couldn't say a word. Finally, he scratched his head and forced a smile: "No, that's not necessary. Dasha is just asking about the credits. You may also know that the credits here are different from those in the Russians."

At this time, Dasha continued, "Brother Aiguo, I still have to go to class, so I'll go back first."

After saying that, she turned around and ran towards the bus stop.

Li Aiguo pushed his bicycle towards the research institute.

Zong Xianfeng looked at Dasha's back, then turned around and chased after Li Aiguo.

When he caught up, he explained awkwardly: "Brother Aiguo, Dasha is really asking about the credits."

Damn youth!
Li Aiguo did not doubt this.

After all, these days when male and female students can discuss things together, it can be considered as breaking through the gender barriers.

He didn't object to Zong Xianfeng and Dasha being together, but he still had to remind them.

"Pioneer, Dasha is a foreign student, and her identity is quite sensitive. If you have any ideas, you need to be mentally prepared in advance."

"I, I really have no idea," Zong Xianfeng said stubbornly.

Li Aiguo did not continue talking and brought the subject back to the main topic.

"Have you seen the drawings I gave you?"

"I've seen it. It's much better than the electric fly killer I designed myself, especially since you've thought about safety issues and how to deal with dead flies."

"How about we make it today?"

"That's great!"

Zong Xianfeng is also a straight man. When he heard that they were going to produce electric fly devices, he instantly forgot everything.

The Beijing Railway Research Institute is currently the largest railway research department in the country, and is backed by the Ministry of Railways.

All kinds of materials are available. Even if there are a few controlled substances that are in short supply, Li Aiguo can mobilize them directly from major factories across the country through the railway department in the name of the project team and the Four-Point Extermination Unit.

Liu Guozhang was a little stunned after receiving Li Aiguo's material dispatch application.

"What does the project team have to do with the Fourth Order?"

However, he signed his name on the application without hesitation, stamped it with a red stamp, and handed it to the correspondent. "Submit the items used by the project team to the department, and ask the department to arrange them as soon as possible."

When the leader in the department saw that it was an application from the project team, he stamped it without asking any questions. After all, Minister Teng was still urging the project to be processed at the last meeting.

Whether the automated signal can be achieved depends on Li Aiguo's project team.

The specialist in charge of preparing supplies in the department received the material dispatch order and immediately took action.

At this time, the railway department's material channels showed their power.

There is a long queue in front of the Material Dispatch Department of Xintian Optical Instrument Factory every day.

There is no way. There are only a few factories in the country that produce ultraviolet lamps, and Xintian Optical Instrument Factory is the largest one.

Section Chief Zhou, who was in charge of adjusting the ultraviolet lamps, rejected seven or eight applications in the morning.

"What do you think ultraviolet running lights are? They are important controlled materials. Your hospital currently cannot meet the requirements. Please apply for them again when the production is high."

A hospital leader shook his head helplessly and turned away.

They are the ones holding scalpels and have always been the boss wherever they go, but that doesn’t work for them here.

At this moment.

Snapped.

A dispatch application was placed on the table.

The people queuing behind were immediately unhappy when they saw the railway materials specialist cutting in line.

"Hey, man, what are you doing? Do you think you are shopping in the market? Do you know the first-come, first-served rule?"

"I'm sorry, brothers. I'm from the Ministry of Railways, and the materials I need to mobilize now are related to the Fourth Army."

"Dividing by four is great! We divide by four every day!"

The material specialist smiled kindly and explained, "The one who needs materials now is Comrade Li Aiguo, the train driver of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

"Li Aiguo, this name seems familiar."

"Yes, it's the train driver who invented the rat-catching board."

As soon as these words were spoken, the resentment in the hearts of the comrades in the queue immediately disappeared.

"So you're here to buy a UV lamp for Driver Li. Please go first, please go first."

An old comrade in a Mao suit asked the material specialist to stand in front of him and shouted to Section Chief Zhou, "Old Zhou, this person is buying light bulbs for driver Li. Please approve it quickly, so as not to affect the overall situation of our elimination of the four scoundrels!"

Section Chief Zhou took the application form.

When he saw the stamp of the Ministry of Railways and the name of the Four-Point Elimination Certificate on it, the corners of his mouth twitched twice.

He can't afford to offend anyone.

"One hundred ultraviolet lamps will be delivered to you at the Railway Research Institute this afternoon."

The same scene happened in seven or eight factories, including the Harbin Electric Wire Factory and the Chengdu State-owned Hongguang Electron Tube Factory.

The materials were transported by jeeps in the capital and by trains in remote areas. It took less than two days to prepare all the materials.

After Liu Guozhang learned that Li Aiguo was tinkering with tools to remove the four evils, he rushed to the laboratory with several deputy directors.

Under the guidance of Li Aiguo, Zong Xianfeng assembled together the full-band ultraviolet lamp tube, high-voltage power grid, voltage-doubling rectifier circuit and plastic casing.

"Pioneer, turn on the power."

When the fly trap is powered on, it is as if a silent hunter wakes up instantly.

The blue light quietly lit up.

After a while, a curious fly was attracted by the light.

It buzzed and flapped its wings, circling the fly trap.

The fly was bewitched by the mysterious light and moved closer step by step.

Suddenly, the fly seemed to have touched an invisible barrier, and the power grid released a powerful electric current in an instant.

There was a faint electric spark, and the dead fly floated onto the tray below.

The leaders were stunned and swallowed their saliva repeatedly: "Oh my god, this is electric shock."

Liu Guozhang looked at the electric fly trap, and a strange look flashed in his eyes: "Aiguo, this thing is not cheap, right?"

"Indeed, it's mainly because the light tubes are difficult to handle. But it looks much better than a fly trap," said Li Aiguo.

The outer shell of the fly trap is made of red plastic with hand-painted star patterns on it, which looks solemn and dignified.

"Beautiful. You want to use it in important places!" Liu Guozhang suddenly realized.

Several other deputy directors also nodded repeatedly.

"Indeed, when we hold a meeting in our department, we should put up a fly board, as it smells. We should use a fly swatter, as the staff keep coming and going, which greatly delays the meeting."

"Yeah, with the electric fly remover, it's much more upscale."

“I think it should be put in more important occasions, not just within our department.”

After these words were spoken, the usually calm Liu Guozhang also became excited.

"Aiguo, you must immediately organize people to start production. The more the better. I will report this to my superiors."

Liu Guozhang left the laboratory in a hurry.

Zong Xianfeng turned off the electric fly stunner, moved closer to Li Aiguo and whispered, "Brother Aiguo, what could be the more important occasion?"

Li Aiguo said: "Don't ask, we are just workers, that is not our concern. Let's organize people to make electric fly repellents first."

This time, only one hundred sets of materials for electric fly devices were prepared.

Because the electric fly arrester is simple to assemble, the Railway Research Institute dispatched a group of qualified workers, and by five o'clock in the afternoon, one hundred sets of electric fly arresters were produced.

If it were in the past, Li Aiguo would definitely find a way to sell this thing.

Others may not be able to afford it, but Zheng Gang and the teacher must be rich.

But there is still no news from Liu Guozhang, so he can't make any decision on his own.

"Let's go, let's get off work first and shift our focus to researching automatic signals tomorrow."

Time to get off.

Li Aiguo asked Zong Xianfeng and the group of researchers to go back and rest first, and he rode his bicycle back to the courtyard.

At this time, Chen Xueru was helping to change the channel at Aunt Liu's house.

Seeing Li Aiguo coming back, she came out with a smile.

"Brother Aiguo, wait a minute."

Chen Xueru took out fifty yuan from her pocket and handed it to Li Aiguo.

"Is this Aunt Liu's?" Li Aiguo frowned.

"No, it was given to you by my second brother. He found out that a radio ticket could be sold for fifty dollars on the black market, so he insisted on giving me the money. I didn't want it, so he refused to take the radio ticket."

"."Li Aiguo was not the kind of person who was shy, so he took the money.

Chen Xueru took out another fifty yuan and handed it over.

"This is what Aunt Liu belongs to."

Li Aiguo: "."

Seeing that Li Aiguo looked unhappy, Chen Xueru asked in a low voice, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, since Auntie gave it to me, I'll keep it." Li Aiguo knew Auntie Liu's personality well.

She has always been strong-willed and never likes to owe others anything. If she doesn't collect, she probably won't be able to eat.

Seeing Li Aiguo accept the money, Jia Zhang, who was standing by the pool and walking in circles, curled her lips and said, "Old Liu is really stupid. He just gave away fifty yuan to others for nothing. Burp."

At this time, two young men in gray uniforms walked in from outside in neat steps.

The rest of Jia Zhang's words were choked in her throat.

These two young people are so strange.

Their short, neat, black and tidy hair, their postures are as straight as pine trees, and every step they take is firm and powerful.

More importantly, the amplitude of their arm swings and steps are exactly the same.

Jia Zhang had only seen this kind of person when the flag was raised in the square.

Why did they come to the compound? !

How did they get to Li Aiguo? !
Why did they salute Li Aiguo?!
Jia Zhang couldn't close her mouth.

Li Aiguo was also confused when he saw the two comrades saluting him.

He quickly returned the greeting: "Comrade, what are you doing?"

"Comrade Patriot, our leader asks you to come over. The car is waiting outside."

Seeing Li Aiguo's alert expression, a young comrade revealed a little more.

"It's about the fly-swatter."

Li Aiguo remembered Liu Guozhang's mysterious look and immediately understood that this was probably a comrade from above.

He looked at Chen Xueru and said, "Wife, I still have some work to do, so I'm going back to the Railway Research Institute. You go back first."

"When will you be back?"

Li Aiguo looked at the two young men, then at Chen Xueru: "It's hard to say. Don't wait for me to eat."

Chen Xueru understood that Li Aiguo must be going on a mission, so she bit her lip and nodded heavily.

Li Aiguo followed the two young men to the gate, where an ordinary car was parked on the side of the street.

Got into the car.

Sitting in the co-pilot seat was a comrade in his thirties, also wearing a Zhongshan suit. Li Aiguo understood that this person might be the leader.

"Comrade leader, which unit are you from?"

The man in the Zhongshan suit turned his head and smiled warmly: "You can call me Director Zhang. As for which unit you are from, I need the electric fly remover to pass the acceptance before I can make a decision."

"What if it doesn't pass?" Li Aiguo asked curiously.

The man in the Zhongshan suit said, "Then there is no need for you to know."

Li Aiguo asked: "What if it passes?"

The man in the Zhongshan suit said, "There is even less need for you to know."

Li Aiguo: “???”

An hour later, instead of getting an answer, Li Aiguo became even more confused.

After Li Aiguo demonstrated the electric fly device, the man in the Zhongshan suit asked some detailed questions and nodded with satisfaction.

Just when Li Aiguo thought that it had passed the acceptance, the man in the Zhongshan suit suddenly stretched out his finger and inserted it into the electric fly stunner.

Li Aiguo installed a leakage protection device at the designed time, and the electric fly detector was turned off the moment the finger was inserted.

Even so, the man in the Zhongshan suit's fingers were still blackened by the electric shock.

He seemed not to feel any pain, but nodded with satisfaction: "This electric fly repellent has passed the inspection."

"We have produced one hundred units. Do you want to take them away? We will sell each one at cost price." Li Aiguo said.

"These 100 units cannot be used."

After saying this, the man in the Zhongshan suit turned around, walked into Liu Guozhang's office, picked up the red phone and made a call.

Only after he came back did Li Aiguo have the chance to ask the reason.

The Zhongshan suit's answer was a little unbelievable: "Unreliable!"

Li Aiguo's eyes widened: "We have inspected every machine to ensure there are no quality problems. How can it be unreliable?"

"Because you can't rely on people! We didn't personally monitor the production." The man in the Zhongshan suit gave a strange explanation.

At this time, a truck loaded with supplies drove in, escorted by a fully armed GAZ jeep in front and behind.

The man in the Zhongshan suit pointed at the truck and said, "Driver Li, these are the materials needed to make two hundred electric fly devices. You must produce them in front of us before five o'clock tomorrow morning!"

The other party was able to coordinate all the spare parts in a short period of time, and their level was obviously higher than that of the Ministry of Railways.

The other party personally provided the accessories and supervised the production with his own eyes. The defense level was so high. What unit did he belong to?

Li Aiguo glanced at Liu Guozhang.

Liu Guozhang should have known the origin of the Zhongshan suit, otherwise he would not have cooperated so well.

This time, Liu Guozhang told Li Aiguo: "Aiguo, don't be nosy. Just focus on production and don't ask about other things."

Good fellow, even Liu Guozhang cannot be revealed.

Li Aiguo became even more interested.

But first we have to quickly produce those 200 electric fly repellent devices.

(End of this chapter)