The train driver in the courtyard

An offensive is a form of combat that involves capturing an enemy stronghold with strong defenses, such as a city, pass, fortress or stronghold.

"Unite and forge ahead to win the battle!"

"Win the battle and move forward courageously!"

Two kilometers away from the Yesi Switch Station, red flags fluttered in the strong wind.

More than 131 members of the crew shouted slogans, stuck out their butts, and used sickles and hoes to deal with the weeds on both sides of the railway tracks.

At this time, the sun was scorching and the burning sun felt like needles pricking his body. Liu Qingquan's throat was already starting to burn. He reported to the conductor Bai and ran to the shade.

"Master Liu, would you like some water?"

Zhang Yazhi stood up with her hands on the ground and handed over a green kettle.

Liu Qingquan unscrewed the lid, took a few sips, and let out a long sigh.

"Comrade Xiao Zhang, are you feeling better?"

These days, everyone is vying for honor.

Since arriving at the Yexi switch station, crew 131 has been weeding like other crews.

Due to the tight time schedule and heavy workload, the crew members worked day and night.

There were no electric lights at night, so they used the headlights of the railway cars and worked overtime to race against time.

After several days and nights, several flight attendants were exhausted and fell asleep anywhere. Zhao Yazhi even fell ill.

She was slightly injured but refused to leave the front line, and was assigned by Captain Bai to be responsible for logistical support.

"It's almost done. I'll go to the switchman station to get a bucket of boiling water and then come back to work with you guys." Zhao Yazhi puffed out her chest, with a bit of the spirit of "Who says women are inferior to men?"

If it were in the past, Liu Qingquan would definitely have advised Zhang Yazhi to rest for a while.

But now the 131 crew is missing one person and its progress lags far behind other crews.

In this day and age, everyone has only one goal, which is to be the first.

"I don't know what Driver Li is doing. We are working so hard here, but he just stays away." Liu Qingquan had just returned to the railway tracks when he heard the new attendant Zhang Chenxing mumbling softly.

"Xiao Zhang, Duan has assigned Aiguo an important task!"

"Is it an important task to write and draw with a pencil in the studio? You are just trying to be lazy."

Zhang Chenxing is an old Beijing native. He has seven older sisters. His parents are both leaders, so he lives in good conditions and has never done any heavy work in his life.

At this moment, his palms were rubbed with several blisters, sweat was running down his face, and he was so angry that he couldn't help but retort to Liu Qingquan.

The driver team is a whole, they prosper together and suffer together. Before Liu Qingquan could react, Cao Wenzhi and Lao Zheng and others surrounded him with hoes and sickles.

When Cao Wenzhi heard that his apprentice was being slandered, he rushed over and pushed Zhang Chenxing. He used so much force that Zhang Chenxing staggered.

"What are you talking about, kid! Is Aiguo the kind of person who is sneaky and cunning?"

The flight attendants nearby saw the conflict and ran over to separate the two people.

Captain Bai was leading the work at the front door. When he heard the noise, he hurried over to ask the reason.

"This kid dared to insult my apprentice! I'll beat him to death today." Cao Wenzhi was furious.

Captain Bai's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

Normally, Cao Wenzhi treats this disciple very well. Anyone who dares to talk about Li Aiguo behind his back will be punished by him.

Not to mention it’s an insult.

Cao Wenzhi had a very bad temper to begin with, and now he was waving the hoe, looking very scary, and Zhang Chenxing was also scared.

"Captain, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Zhang Chenxing hurriedly explained with a smile: "I saw that everyone was working hard here, and Driver Li was hiding in the studio. I felt a little uncomfortable, so I complained a few words.

Driver Li is an advanced train driver in our country. I admire him very much and I have absolutely no intention of insulting him."

After figuring out the whole story, Captain Bai breathed a sigh of relief and asked the conductor Lao Zhang to quickly grab Cao Wenzhi.

She raised her sleeve to wipe the sweat off her face, looked at Zhang Chenxing and said, "Xiao Zhang, you just came to our locomotive section and don't understand the situation.

In addition to being a train driver, Driver Li is also responsible for renovating equipment for our locomotive depot.

The Patriotic locomotive and the new furnace are masterpieces of patriotic comrades.”

"Patriotic comrades writing and painting in the studio contribute more than we do!"

"Yes, yes, I was wrong." Although Zhang Chenxing said sorry, he felt a little unconvinced in his heart.

Not busy in the morning, not busy in the evening, this is obviously intentional.

Seeing his expression, Captain Bai knew that it was difficult to change a person's mind, so he clapped his hands and said, "Since it is a misunderstanding, Zhang Chen, you can apologize to Master Cao and let's continue working.

I heard from the track inspector at the switch station that the 1621 crew has completed kilometers of cleaning tasks, surpassing us. Come on, everyone! "

Zhang Chenxing apologized to Cao Wenzhi.

Although it may not be considered sincere, he did apologize after all, and Cao Wenzhi did not persist.

When the crew members of package 131 heard that they had been overtaken, they all perked up. The flight attendants, drivers, and police officers all picked up shovels and hoes and started working hard.

Even Zhang Yazhi endured the discomfort, picked up a hoe and joined the hard-working team.

After a whole morning of hard work, the 131 crew completed the weeding task of nearly three kilometers, which was considered to be over-fulfillment of the task, but the comrades in the crew still did not rest.

At this time, the roar of a train came from the distance.

The comrades in the crew were already accustomed to trains, so when they turned around and saw that it was a train carrying logs, they paid even less attention.

At this time, a voice suddenly came from the train: "Captain Bai, Master, you are busy here!"

Everyone looked up and saw a young man squatting on the car.

He was smoking and waving at us, looking as cocky as he could be.

"It's patriotism. Why are you here?" Cao Wenzhi was about to respond when the train roared away and he disappeared.

Liu Qingquan was carrying a hoe and wondering, "Why is Aiguo here? Is the car heading to Yequan Station?"

"We'll find out later."

The white conductor raised his hand to check his watch and muttered quietly, "Why hasn't the commuter train arrived yet?"

Just as he finished speaking, two clear whistles were heard in the distance, and a small train was coming from the distance at a mad speed.

This small train is smaller than ordinary trains. It lacks a coal and water tanker at the back, so the coal and water can only be stored in the driver's building. Therefore, the entire driver's building can only accommodate the train driver and the fireman.

The small train was left behind by the Japanese and was a coal transport car in the coal mine before liberation.

Later, the coal mine railway transportation was upgraded and replaced with a Patriotic locomotive, and the small train was sent to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

After some repairs in the maintenance workshop, four or five scrapped carriages were added to the back of the small train, turning it into a commuter train.

The railway soldiers who are responsible for transporting people to construction sites sometimes also help transport railway workers.

This time, a large-scale weed clearing operation was carried out along the railway line. Thousands of railway workers participated in the battle, and small trains were dispatched.

The speed of the train became slower and slower, and finally it stopped with a grunt.

Train driver Master Zhang stuck his coal-dust head out of the window and shouted to the conductor, "Comrades from the 131 crew, get on board. If you are any later, the food inside the station will get cold."

After hearing the shouts, the employees of crew 131 climbed onto the train under the leadership of conductor Bai.

When we entered the carriage, the seats were already full of people and there were also many people standing in the corridor. These people were from various crews and workshops of the locomotive depot who were participating in the tough battle.

The 1621 crew leader Chen was standing at the door. When he saw the 131 crew leader Bai coming up, he asked with a smile, "Xiao Bai, how much work did your crew complete this morning?"

Captain Bai is one of the few female train conductors in the locomotive depot.

Although gender equality is advocated nowadays and women hold up half the sky, there are still many male conductors who think that it is a joke for a lesbian to be a train conductor.

It was not until Captain Bai led the 131st crew group to become an outstanding national crew group that the gossip subsided a little.

However, people's old ideas are always difficult to change, and many male drivers still like to "tease" the white driver intentionally or unintentionally.

Zhang Chenxing followed Captain Bai into the car. When he heard his captain being called "Xiaobai", he couldn't help himself.

"Captain Chen, we 131 completed three kilometers in one morning!"

"It's only three kilometers!" Driver Chen laughed, lit a cigarette, and looked at the water dispenser behind him: "Seventh Brother, how much did we complete this morning?"

"Report to the driver, the total distance is five kilometers. I measured it myself, and it is not less at all!" The water drinker straightened his chest.

Five kilometers. Captain Bai's heart skipped a beat.

Most of the crew members of package 1621 are young men, and there are only two female comrades among the crew members, while there are only three male comrades among the crew members of package 131.

At the beginning, the amount of tasks completed by crew 131 and crew 1621 was almost the same, but there was a difference in physical strength between men and women.

As time goes by, the 131-pack crew will fall far behind the 1621-pack crew, and the gap will become larger and larger.

In the end, Captain Bai just sighed, congratulated the 1621 crew on their progress, and acknowledged that the 131 crew was at a disadvantage.

The flight attendants of package 1621 were all beaming with joy, while the flight attendants of package 131 had their heads hung.

Mmmm, eat, eat, eat, the little train arrived at Yexi Station with black smoke emitting.

When Captain Bai and his crew of package 131 got off the train, they saw a strange thing placed next to the tracks but didn't pay much attention to it.

Before they entered the station, they saw Li Aiguo walking out of the cafeteria carrying an aluminum lunch box.

"Driver Li, what do you want for lunch today?" she greeted with a smile.

Li Aiguo took a bite of rice and said, "It's a rice with sesame oil. There are radish strips in it and sesame oil. It tastes pretty good."

When they heard that the dish was rice mixed with oil, the starving flight attendants rushed into the cafeteria.

At this moment, Li Aiguo was squatting at the door of the cafeteria with an aluminum lunch box in his hand, eating with relish.

In his previous life, experts and scholars often explained the harmful effects of greasy food. Li Aiguo didn’t know whether it was harmful to the body, but this stuff smelled really good.

The rice grains are coated with lard and soy sauce, glistening with oil. There is no greasiness in the mouth. Instead, it is full of the aroma of rice, oil, and soy sauce, as well as the delicious taste formed by the fusion of all of them.

Being able to eat oily food these days is satisfying enough, what else is there to worry about?

Captain Bai and Cao Wenzhi packed their lunch boxes and came over.

"Aiguo, are you here to help this time?"

"Yeah, the studio's research is almost done."

The train captain Bai became excited and said, "That's great. Our crew is already lagging behind. With you, we may be able to regain the first place."

At this time, Captain Chen from the 1621 crew also came out with a lunch box. I don't know where he found a piece of garlic.

The rice with oil and garlic tastes better, so Li Aiguo stood up and grabbed half of it.

"Driver Li, if I didn't think you were an advanced train driver, I would have kicked you." Captain Chen grimaced in pain.

He couldn't do anything about Li Aiguo, so he took out his anger on Captain Bai.

"Xiao Bai, your 131 crew has much less workload than us now." "Although driver Li is capable, he is only one person, and two fists cannot beat four hands, not to mention that we have more than a dozen hands."

"Do you think you can win?"

Captain Bai was suddenly speechless, and even Zhang Chenxing, who always liked to argue, remained silent.

After Li Aiguo finished his meal, Zhao Yazhi brought him a bottle of hot water and poured the hot water into his lunch box. He swallowed all the food, even the thinnest and thickest ones, and didn't have to wash the lunch box.

He burped and said with a smile, "Captain Bai, you guys take a break first. I'll go find a cow. We'll have a big fight this afternoon."

"Looking for a cow? You want to plow the land. Driver Li, I remind you that digging along the railway is strictly prohibited. We have to be careful when we plow the land. Don't mess around."

Captain Bai was a little anxious.

"You're anxious, Driver Li, you're anxious."

Captain Chen laughed so hard that rice grains flew out of his mouth.

It's a rare opportunity to make fun of the country's advanced drivers, how can I miss it.

Li Aiguo looked at the driver Chen and said, "Old Chen, every grain of rice is hard-earned. Look at how much food you have wasted."

"Burp" Captain Chen's smile disappeared, and he quickly squatted down to pick up the rice grains that had fallen on the ground and put them back into his mouth.

This was not just for show, but even though he was the conductor, he hadn't eaten white rice for a long time.

Li Aiguo raised his wrist to check the time and said, "No time to explain. I'm going to go find the cow first."

Although Cao Wenzhi didn't know what Li Aiguo meant, he still suggested: "The staff in the station may know where it is. I just finished my meal, let's go ask."

The two men came to the station. When the dispatcher on duty learned that the two men were looking for cattle, he scratched his head and said, "This is really a troublesome matter."

"Isn't this a rural area? It shouldn't be so difficult to find a cow. Don't worry, we won't use our fellow villagers' cows in vain." Cao Wen stared.

The dispatcher explained: "Although Yexi Station is a rural area, it is in the mountains. The area is inhabited by mountain people and does not require large animals."

Li Aiguo really overlooked this point and handed the dispatcher a cigarette: "You have been working here for many years, you must know where the cows are, right?"

The dispatcher took the cigarette and said with a smile, "There are several communes around the switch station about ten miles away from here. There are more farmlands there, so there must be someone there."

"Thank you!"

Li Aiguo felt like a player of an RPG game, collecting props everywhere.

However, it is more than ten miles from here to the Yexi switch station, and the road is rugged. Even if you ride a bicycle, it will take more than half an hour, which is too time-consuming.

After borrowing the cow, it is also troublesome to pull it back.

Li Aiguo came out of the duty room and immediately saw the small train parked on the branch track.

This thing is pretty fast.

Cao Wenzhi also saw what Li Aiguo was thinking. He turned around and went into the duty room and contacted the dispatching room of Qianmen Locomotive Depot by phone.

"Patriotic, no trains will pass through this section until 5pm."

"If it doesn't affect driving safety, then let's borrow the train!"

At this time, the train driver Zhang was leaning back in his seat and sleeping with his eyes closed.

Li Aiguo had drunk heavily with driver Zhang during a meeting at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

He walked over with a smile and woke up driver Zhang.

"Lao Zhang, the train is idle right now, so lend it to me."

Can you just borrow a train? Who will be responsible if there is an accident? Driver Zhang was about to refuse, but when he opened his eyes and saw that it was Li Aiguo, he was immediately happy.

"Driver Li, when did you get here?"

"Our crew 131 is weeding here," Li Aiguo explained the reason.

"The train leaves at one o'clock in the afternoon, Driver Li, you have to be back before one o'clock."

Although he didn't know why an old ox was needed to weed, Driver Zhang agreed without hesitation.

The mini trains are not regular trains and do not have to follow strict regulations.

As long as nothing happens, no one will hold you accountable.

As a nationally advanced train driver, Li Aiguo would naturally not get into an accident.

"Thank you, bro." Li Aiguo bowed to driver Zhang and said, "When the meeting is held at the end of the year, I will prepare a few bottles of good wine and we will have a nice drink together."

The fireman had already come down and followed driver Zhang into the station to rest.

Cao Wenzhi served as the boiler operator, and Li Aiguo entered the driver's building.

This thing is much simpler than my own big train. The control console is tattered and the instrument cover is broken. Fortunately, the pointer can still move normally.

The only advantage is that the layout of the driver's building is similar to that of a truck, and the train driver can simply stick his head out of the window to observe the surrounding environment.

Li Aiguo blew the whistle twice and pushed the air brake. The little train emitted a puff of black smoke and rushed towards the Yexi switch station at a mad speed.

Although the wild stream is located in the deep mountains, the environment is very beautiful. It is a famous scenic spot in later generations. Li Aiguo also took the opportunity to visit the scenery.

The speed of the small train was not slow, at least about 50 or 60 yards. It only took Li Aiguo more than ten minutes to see the sign for the switch station ahead.

He blew the whistle at a great distance as required.

The railing was slowly lifted up, and the train passed through the railing and stopped next to the dilapidated shed of the switchyard.

Li Aiguo just opened the car door and saw Yan Jiecheng, he couldn't help but gasp.

All the hair on Yan Jiecheng's forehead was burnt, with several large pieces falling off, making it look like it had been chewed by a dog.

At this time, Yan Jiecheng was chewing a burnt corn cob. When he saw Li Aiguo coming down, he was stunned for a moment.

"Brother Aiguo, why are you here?"

After reacting, Yan Jiecheng turned around and ran into the house.

Cao Wenzhi scratched his head and whispered to Li Aiguo: "Is this guy Xiao Yan, the communication officer of our locomotive section? How come he has become bald?"

"It might be an accident," Li Aiguo said casually.

When Yan Jiecheng came out again, he had a tattered felt hat on his forehead.

The felt hat was dirty and had several big holes in it. I had no idea where it was bought from.

"Brother Aiguo, you're here." Wearing a tattered felt hat, Yan Jiecheng was obviously much more confident. He greeted Cao Wenzhi who was behind him.

Li Aiguo suppressed his smile and handed the box to Yan Jiecheng: "Your parents asked me to bring it to you. There is a woolen hat in it."

"Thank you, Brother Patriot."

When Yan Jiecheng heard about the hat, he became excited, but he soon realized that something was wrong.

"Brother Aiguo, have you ever opened a box?"

"Luckily I opened it. Uncle San put a bottle of dynamite and a bag of lead shot in it. Otherwise, the train would have been shattered by now."

"And the gunpowder?"

"Of course I threw it at your house."

Hearing this, Yan Jiecheng breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully, "Brother Aiguo, thank you so much."

Li Aiguo felt something was wrong and asked the reason as he walked towards the switch shed.

After figuring it out, he was suddenly in tears.

Yan Jiecheng always thought that he was a natural born hunter. As long as he had a shotgun, he would return with a full load as long as he went into the mountains.

As a result, when he went up the mountain, not only did he collapse, but he was also frightened by the wild beasts on the mountain and his legs became weak.

"Brother Aiguo, you don't know that the wild boars in the mountains are as big as small tanks and can knock down big trees."

"And the tigers, oh my god, they look scary even from a distance."

Most people in later generations have only seen ferocious wild animals on TV or in zoos. Compared with real wild beasts, the impact they bring to people is completely different.

If you really go into the mountains and encounter a tiger, I'm afraid many people wouldn't even dare to fire a gun, they would be scared to death.

Not to mention hunting wild animals.

Li Aiguo also told Yan Jiecheng about his borrowing of the cow.

As they were about to reach the shed, Yan Jiecheng intentionally or unintentionally blocked Li Aiguo and grabbed his arm.

"Brother Aiguo, you have found the right person. I am very familiar with the leaders of Zhangzhuang Commune. I will take you to borrow a cow now."

As he spoke, Yan Jiecheng couldn't wait to pull Li Aiguo towards the east.

Li Aiguo felt that Yan Jiecheng's behavior was a little strange. Before he could say anything, a crisp voice came from the shed.

"Brother Jie Cheng, is this your friend?"

A girl wearing a floral jacket and a ponytail came out of the shack.

She had a pretty face, and although she was not particularly beautiful, she could be considered the most beautiful girl in the commune.

Especially the girls are dressed much better than the ordinary members.

The only things on his body that had patches were on the knees of his pants, his hands had no calluses, and his face looked as if it had been smeared with cold cream, revealing his snow-white teeth in every frown and smile.

Seeing the girl appear, Yan Jiecheng seemed a little flustered, hesitating: "Xiaofang, didn't I tell you that if others knew you were here, I would violate discipline."

"Brother Jie Cheng, I forgot about it." The girl lowered her head aggrievedly, pulling at the corner of her clothes with her hands.

Li Aiguo noticed that there was burnt ash on her hands, and it seemed that Yan Jiecheng's corn cobs were made by this girl.

This girl keeps calling him brother, and her intimacy is enough to make one's teeth ache. The relationship between the two is obvious.

Good God, Yan Jiecheng was exiled here, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Li Aiguo asked with a smile: "Xie Cheng, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Yan Jiecheng could only point at the girl awkwardly and said, "This is Comrade Zhang Guifang, a female member of Zhangzhuang Commune. Zhang Guifang, this is Driver Li, the train driver of our Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

"Driver Li, hello. I just heard you say you want to borrow an old ox, right?" Zhang Guifang raised her head, tossed her hair, a sly look flashed in her eyes, "My father is the party secretary of Zhangzhuang Commune. Come on, I'll take you to borrow an ox."

The daughter of the party secretary. Well, this guy Yan Jiecheng has climbed up the social ladder.

At this time, Yan Jiecheng's face had turned red and he wanted to stop Zhang Guifang.

Li Aiguo, however, was a man who enjoyed watching the fun and said with a smile, "Comrade Zhang Guifang, I'll trouble you then."

Zhang Guifang walked in front with her hands behind her back, while Yan Jiecheng and Li Aiguo lagged far behind.

Yan Jiecheng glanced at Zhang Guifang and whispered to Li Aiguo, "It's not what you think. Comrade Zhang Guifang and I are just ordinary friends."

"Yes, you are just ordinary friends." Li Aiguo did not pursue the issue, he just wanted to borrow the old workhorse.

(End of this chapter)