The train driver in the courtyard

Chapter 720: Minister's Appreciation, Date Trading (2 more chapters, monthly tickets requested)
"Good good!"

In the evening, Minister Teng returned to the manor after finishing a ministerial meeting.

Despite being tired, he came to the delegation's room.

When he saw the agreement handed over by Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang, he said "OK" three times.

"With these 50 locomotives exported, we have completed one-tenth of our foreign trade target this year."

"The other party was very generous and paid half of the purchase price in advance. With this money, we can buy a large amount of food and ship it back home to alleviate the current shortage of food supply in the country."

"Guozhang, you did a great job this time. When we return to the capital, I will personally recommend you for your achievements."

Liu Guozhang was also very happy at this time, pointing at Li Aiguo and others and saying, "Minister, this is all thanks to Aiguo, Lao Wang, and Chen Dong."

"I have another thing to report to you. Iraq seems to be particularly interested in our railway signals.

Mr. Becker, who participated in the negotiations, asked Comrade Aiguo about the price several times, but Comrade Aiguo evaded the question because we had not yet reached a unified price.

"They even need automatic railway signals? It seems these people are quite rich."

Minister Teng also perked up and said, "I will notify the country immediately and ask the comrades in the ministry to calculate the price. If we can sell a few sets of railway signal systems during this conference, even if we fail to obtain the right to formulate signal standards, it can be considered a complete success."

Railway automatic signaling has a higher technical level, so it has a higher premium, and the supporting "software", personnel training, and safety inspections all require additional fees.

Buying a system and being able to collect "software" usage fees for decades is simply a huge profit.

Minister Teng became happier the more he thought about it. He looked at Li Aiguo and said, "Comrade Aiguo, once the price is worked out in China, the matter of contacting Iraq will be handed over to you. Just do it with confidence and don't be scared by those people."

It was obvious that Minister Teng had listened to Chen Dong's report. Li Aiguo straightened his chest and said loudly: "Minister, please rest assured. We were in such a difficult time back then, but we were not afraid of others. We will not be afraid now!"

"Good good!"

Minister Teng said "good" three times again and patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder heavily.

Deputy Chief Engineer Wang was watching from the side and was almost envious.

If possible, he also wanted Minister Teng to pat him on the shoulder.

Just thinking about what happened today, Deputy Chief Engineer Wang still felt a little timid.

Night, quiet.

The manor was shrouded in darkness.

In the corner room, Popov put down the phone, his face turned blue, and then he started to curse in Russian such as "good-for-nothing" and "fool".

Although Fedorov did not hear the content of the call, he could imagine that the Cheka's mission had failed.

"Professor, the responsibility for this incident cannot be entirely attributed to the Cheka. After all, this is a foreign country, Bulgaria, and their actions should be viewed with caution."

"They were knocked unconscious in the alley, and it was only after Sofia received a call from the public that they were sent to the hospital. Aren't they good-for-nothings?"

Professor Popov said in a cold voice: "I have received news that Iraq has reached an agreement with the University of the East, a huge deal of fifty locomotives. This is all caused by their mistakes, and they should pay the price."

A gust of cold wind blew into the house, and Fedorov couldn't help shivering. He pretended to close the window and dared not say anything more.

When Fedorov came back, Popov's mood calmed down a little. Fedorov poured Popov a glass of vodka and handed it to him: "In fact, they have to pass through Moscow on their way back home. We can do that."

Fedorov held the wine glass in one hand, raised his right hand and made a knife-slashing gesture, his eyes flashed with viciousness. "Idiot! The two sides have reached an agreement. Even if something happens to the people of Dongda, it will be useless."

Popov took the wine glass and drank it all, then said gloomily, "You may not know our great commander. He has no extraordinary skills, and his level is not very good, but he has ridiculous and childish ideals."

"This time the other side is led by the minister. Even if we want the Cheka to take action, I'm afraid our commander-in-chief will reject it."

"Don't mention this matter again. If it is reported to the Cheka, both you and I will be in trouble."

Fedorov knew that Popov had a good relationship with the upper echelons, so he nodded quickly: "Yes!"

Popov continued, "It's just fifty trains, which is nothing. Our main goal is to promote the rail-type DC track as the signal standard. As long as we master the signal standard, we will master the lifeline of railways in all countries. We can't lose the big picture for the sake of the small, understand?"

"I have contacted several brothers and they have expressed their support for us. However, there are also a few, such as Hungary and Czech, which have a better relationship with the University of Tokyo and seem to be uninterested in our standards." Fedorov said.

"Don't worry. When we officially attend the meeting, I will explain to them the advanced features of the single-track DC rail, and they will definitely change their minds."

Popov stood up, picked up the phone, and reported to the Iron Group the news of the arrival of the Russian delegation.

In the following few days, Li Aiguo was extremely busy. On the one hand, he had to travel among railway representatives from various countries to promote the advanced nature and safety of railway automatic signaling to them, and on the other hand, he had to negotiate with Comrade Becker about selling the railway automatic signaling system.

A quotation has been sent from home. Considering that Ai's family has just bought fifty trains and does not have much foreign exchange, the higher-ups agreed this time to allow Ai's family to exchange local specialties and food for automatic railway signals.

"Local specialties? We do have a lot of oil, but we don't have any tankers. The Americans have blocked our way at sea, so we can't deliver it to you."

In the pavilion of the manor, Becker subconsciously handed over a spice cigarette, but was rejected by Li Aiguo.

"Let's go to Daqianmen."

Li Aiguo handed Becker a Daqianmen cigarette, then lit one for himself. He looked at Becker with a smile and said, "Old Bei, I heard that dates are abundant in your area?"

On both sides of the Euphrates and Detritus rivers in Iraq, date palm trees are lush and full of fruits. This kind of dates is extremely sweet, with a sugar content of up to 70%.

Date palm is completely different from the red dates we see everyday. It is the fruit of palm plants.

In the 1960s, dates were introduced to China and became a delicacy that many families rushed to taste. Children even regarded them as a delicacy.

"Dates?!" Becker's eyes lit up instantly: "Dates were originally our main foreign trade product. As you know, we have fallen out with the West now, and they don't allow us to sell dates abroad.

Now there are a lot of dates piled up at home, and I don’t know what to do with them. If you need them, I believe the President will agree.”

Hearing this, Li Aiguo breathed a sigh of relief.

Although dates are snacks, they are rich in nutrients and can help alleviate some of the food shortages if they are transported back home.

Becker reported Li Aiguo's idea to the commander-in-chief, who was sitting in a date palm grove and looking worriedly at the overwhelming dates.

"Why is there no one buying my dates? They are about to rot in the fields."

"What? Someone in the East wants to trade our railway signal system for our dates."

"Sell, sell, sell! Sell quickly."

"The other party's railway signal system hasn't been delivered yet?"

"What does it matter? Everyone knows that Dongda University is trustworthy. Hurry up and send a trainload of dates to Dongda University."

(End of this chapter)