The train driver in the courtyard

Time unknowingly came to January 1959, 1.

This day is the Little New Year in the north, and the capital city is already filled with a strong festive atmosphere. New Year pictures are being sold in the supply and marketing cooperatives on the streets, and children's nursery rhymes can be heard on the streets.

"Children, don't be greedy. After Laba, it's Chinese New Year. Paste window decorations, light firecrackers, and every family will be happy during the Chinese New Year..."

At this time of year in the past, people who had been busy all year would start preparing supplies for the New Year.

I took out the money I had saved for several months and bought four or five kilograms of flour, a few kilograms of meat, a fish, a chicken, as well as tofu and vegetables to prepare for entertaining guests during the New Year.

Families with more employees have more money and can buy some mixed food.

This is a mixture of dried fruits such as peanuts, dates, hazelnuts, chestnuts and candied fruits. Children like to eat these odds and ends.

It’s just that this year there was a problem with the supply of materials.

The grain supply at the grain station is already insufficient, and we are thankful to be able to buy white flour. There is no mixed food available.

It’s just that the children are still in a daze and don’t understand what material shortages mean.

Just look, in the courtyard, Yan Jiedi stood at the door of the third uncle's house early in the morning with her hands on her waist.

"Dad, we agreed that if I pedal the electric wheel for 100 days, you would buy me half a pound of mixed food during the New Year. Why don't you keep your promise?"

"Hey, kid, Jie Di, it's not that daddy doesn't want to buy it for you, it's just that there's no place selling mixed food now."

The third uncle looked depressed when he said this, but he was very happy in his heart.

Half a pound of mixed vegetables costs fifty cents.

Isn't this a saving?!
"Dad, you are an old teacher, how can you lie to me? I don't believe it." Yan Jiedi thought of the hard work of the past hundred days, and her mouth pouted so much that it could have tied a cow.

She got up early and worked late to pedal the electric wheel just to eat the delicious mixed food, but now it's gone.

"Hey, why would I lie to you? Let me take you to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if there is any mixed food for sale."

The third uncle was halfway through his words when his eyes turned and he said, "If I'm not lying to you, all the work of grinding the electric wheel during the New Year this year will be yours."

"Okay, let's pinky promise!"

The naive Yan Jiedi was tempted by Zabaner and cheated by the network fraudster Sanda.

When the third aunt saw that the third uncle tricked Yan Jiedi into using a pedal-type electric wheel to generate electricity, she felt that the third uncle was defrauding electricity and should be called an electricity fraudster.

She couldn't stand it anymore, so she came over to stop him and said, "Old Yan, you are old, and you are not ashamed of fooling children."

The third uncle said confidently: "Look at what you said, I am doing this for Jie Di's own good. She suffered a loss this time, and she will not be fooled by others in the future. I am educating Jie Di."

The three aunts were speechless for a moment.

Yan Jiedi was not a fool. She seemed to have sensed something and added, "Dad, if there is mixed food in the supply and marketing cooperative, you have to buy me one pound. No, you have to buy me two pounds."

People are deceived because of greed. The fraudster, Uncle San, muttered to himself, put his hands behind his back and nodded heavily: "It's a deal."

Yan Jiedi, who had not yet realized that she had been deceived, was still looking forward to the mixed dish. She gulped down the cornmeal porridge and dragged the third uncle to the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Why are you in such a hurry, kid? The weather is good today, I have to hang the salted fish out to dry, otherwise it will get moldy."

The third uncle was drying salted fish under the eaves, and Yan Jiedi was following him like a follower, circling around him and urging him to go out from time to time.

Liu Haizhong was humming a little tune while taking a walk, and was surprised to see the father and daughter.

"Old Yan, what are you doing?"

The third uncle hung up the salted fish, wiped his hands, came over, and told her about the bet he had made with Yan Jiedi.

"Okay, Old Yan, people say you are the smartest person in our courtyard. You even scheme against your own family members. Your reputation is well-deserved." Liu Haizhong gave a thumbs up.

"I'm doing this for Jie Di's own good." The third uncle brought out his weird arguments again.

Liu Haizhong didn't care about it at first, but now he has evil thoughts.

Liu Guangfu has been asking him to buy mixed food recently. If he can take advantage of the opportunity.
"Old Yan, I'm going home first. We'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative together later."

Liu Haizhong ran home and called Liu Guangfu out of the house.

"Guangfu, Dad is going to fulfill one of your wishes today."

Liu Guangfu looked up at Liu Haizhong who was smiling and was startled.

"Dad, if you want to hit me, just hit me. I'm even more scared when you're like this."

"What are you talking about, kid! I am your father, not a jackal, tiger or leopard."

Liu Haizhong felt that Liu Guangfu was being ungrateful, so he said directly, "Didn't you want to buy mixed vegetables a few days ago? Now I'll take you to the supply and marketing cooperative, but if there is no mixed vegetables in the supply and marketing cooperative, you are not allowed to mention this matter again in the future."

"How can there be no mixed vegetables in the supply and marketing cooperative? Dad, I promise you."

Cyber ​​fraudster Liu Haizhong is online.

The ignorant Liu Guangfu was also fooled.

Liu Haizhong's eyes flashed with pride, and then he said: "You have to promise me that within a month, I will beat you up, and you have to come here obediently."

"Anyway, you wanted to beat me and never asked for my opinion, Dad. I agreed." Liu Guangfu nodded.

Liu Haizhong felt a sense of pride.

In the past, beating children would always be criticized by the residents, but now Liu Guangfu has agreed. Let’s see how you monsters can still complain.

Afterwards, the third uncle and Liu Haizhong took Yan Jiedi and Liu Guangfu towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

As they walked, the two men told the residents of the compound about the agreement they had reached with the children.

"My Jie Di promised to pedal the electric wheel during the New Year."

"My Guangfu agreed to be beaten for a month."

The residents in the compound all looked at Yan Jiedi and Liu Guangfu with sympathy.

These two poor children!
He Yushui wanted to stop the third uncle and Liu Haizhong, but was stopped by Aunt Liu.

"Yushui, Lao Yan and Lao Liu are just like that. Even if you stop them, what can you do?"

He Yushui thought about it carefully and realized that it was true. After all, he couldn't send Yan Jiedi and Liu Guangfu to someone else's home to raise.

Aunt Liu looked at the time and said, "Aren't you going to help Xueru clean the house? Go quickly."

"I'll go right away." He Yushui walked quickly towards the Li family.

Aunt Liu looked up at the door and muttered softly, "I don't know where Tianquan and Diquan are, and Aiguo has also run away. These three children are a cause for concern."

At this time, the third uncle and Liu Haizhong had already brought Yan Jiedi and Liu Guangfu to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The two children lifted the cotton curtain and slipped in.

The third uncle and Liu Haizhong smiled at each other and said, "You ignorant children, you will soon realize how dangerous the world is."

Sudden.

Liu Guangfu ran out again, shouting excitedly: "Dad, Dad, there are mixed vegetables for sale inside, go buy some for me."

"Ah!" Liu Haizhong was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.

The third uncle was also startled, but he was an old fraudster after all, so he quickly calmed down.

"Don't worry, Lao Liu. What do the kids know? They might mistake White Rabbit candy for mixed food."

"That's right. The street has already issued a notice that there will be no mixed vegetables for sale this year due to poor production. How can the supply and marketing cooperative have any?"

Liu Haizhong, a new fraudster, quickly calmed down after being comforted by the veteran fraudster, Uncle San.

"You naughty child, you actually dared to lie to me. You will be beaten for five more days."

"Dad, there really is something mixed up. If you don't believe me, come with me and take a look."

"You still dare to be stubborn, I will let you know how powerful I am later!"

The third uncle and Liu Haizhong followed Liu Guangfu into the supply and marketing cooperative and strode towards the counter.

As soon as they walked to the counter, they were stunned.

I saw a basket on the counter, filled with crystal clear dates. There was red paper pasted on the basket, with the words "Zabanr" written on it.

"What's going on? Didn't we agree that there will be no supply today?" Liu Haizhong was confused.

Although the veteran fraudster Uncle San was a little panicked, he quickly calmed down because of his experience.

He looked at the saleswoman Aunt Wang and asked, "Sister-in-law, are these candied dates? Why are they in the mixed basket?"

"It's Old Yan. It's rare to see you come to the supply and marketing cooperative." Aunt Wang put down the half-knitted sweater, stood up, pointed at the candied dates in the basket and said, "Old Yan, these are not candied dates, but foreign dates."

“No matter what kind of dates they are, they shouldn’t be pretended to be mixed with other foods.” The third uncle felt that he had found a flaw and launched an attack.

Aunt Wang thought the Third Uncle’s attitude was a little strange, so she smiled and explained, “These dates were just shipped from the Middle East for chili sauce.”

"Wait a minute. There is a place in the Middle East that grows a lot of dates. It's called Iraq, not chili sauce." The third uncle corrected.

"Yes, it is Iraq. You are indeed an old teacher. You are well-informed."

Aunt Wang wanted to keep talking, but Liu Haizhong couldn't bear it anymore and asked her what was going on with the dates.

"I don't know the details, but I heard from my superiors that the comrades sent by our railway to attend the international conference reached a deal with Iraq, selling some signal in exchange for a lot of dates on the train cars.

As we are currently short of supply, our superiors decided to sell dates to the general public so that everyone can have a happy Spring Festival."

At this time, Yan Jiedi and Liu Guangfu had already started clamoring to buy dates.

The crystal clear candied dates are covered with icing sugar and look particularly delicious.

After hearing this, Liu Haizhong's face turned pale.

The third uncle's head was buzzing, but he barely managed to hold on and continued to ask, "You haven't answered my question yet. This thing is not mixed."

Aunt Wang's good temper was completely worn out, and she decided to give Uncle Three a lesson.

"Old Yan, why are you so picky? What is a mixed dish? It's just a bunch of miscellaneous things. Of course, these dates can be considered mixed dishes!"

The third uncle was speechless for a moment.

"Dad, you promised me that you would buy me two kilograms of mixed vegetables. You won't go back on your word, will you?" Yan Jiedi added at the right time.

Liu Guangfu grabbed Liu Haizhong's trouser leg and said, "You promised me too. If you don't buy it, I will yell in the courtyard when you hit me next time."

Third uncle: “.” Liu Haizhong: “.”

A moment later, Yan Jiedi and Liu Guangfu came out of the supply and marketing cooperative holding dates. They took happy little steps and ran towards the courtyard.

"Tiezhu, Damao, Ermao. The supply and marketing cooperative has dates for sale. They are delicious."

The two fraudsters, Uncle San and Liu Haizhong, looked at each other helplessly and sighed deeply.

"Why do I feel like we've been taught a lesson by these two kids?"

"The responsibility does not lie with us, but with Li Aiguo." Liu Haizhong nodded.

"what happened?"

Liu Haizhong said, "I remember Aiguo was a railway worker. He even went abroad. Just now, someone from the supply and marketing cooperative said that these dates were bought by a railway comrade. Maybe it was Aiguo who did this."

When saying this, Liu Haizhong felt very depressed.

Li Aiguo often bullied him when he was in the compound.

Li Aiguo is no longer in the compound, how can you still bully him?

Didn’t Li Aiguo leave in vain?

Tired of ah.

What people need most in times of hardship is hope. In the fog of difficulties, hope is the sunshine that penetrates the haze and gives people warmth and strength.

Now that dates can be shipped from abroad, we are not far from escaping from the difficult days.

The batch of dates shipped from abroad on the day of the Little New Year caused a sensation in the capital, adding a bit of brightness to this somewhat bleak Spring Festival.

The Spring Festival is a festival for children. Plus, since the cost of dates is very low, the price is also set very low, only two cents per pound, so most people can afford it.

Residents in the compound lined up at the supply and marketing cooperative to buy goods, and the air was filled with a sense of happiness.

When Aunt Liu learned that there were dates, she asked Chen Xueru to take He Yushui to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two kilograms of dates.

The three of them sat at home and tasted this delicious food from a foreign country.

"I wonder if Brother Aiguo also tasted these delicious dates." Chen Xueru ate the sweet dates and looked at the sunshine in the yard.

"Patriotic comrade, Iraq has sent the first batch of dates to Beijing. The superiors are very happy and sent us a letter of commendation."

At this time, at the Iron and Steel Group headquarters, Li Aiguo was invited to Minister Teng's room, and Minister Teng handed a letter to Li Aiguo.

The letter was sent by the supply and marketing department in Beijing.

In the letter, the leaders of the supply and marketing system thanked the Ministry of Railways and the delegation for their contributions to easing domestic supply pressures.

"This is due to the good leadership of the Minister, the dedication of Director Liu, and the..."

"Old Liu is right. You just like to share the credit with others."

Minister Teng was in a good mood. He patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder and said, "At this time, you should have been allowed to celebrate for a while, but now we have an important task."

Li Aiguo understood what Minister Teng meant. He put his feet together, straightened his chest and said loudly: "Minister, please rest assured that we will carry forward the fine style of the railway soldiers who cut roads through mountains and build bridges across rivers. We will uphold the spirit of not fearing hardship and not fearing death and achieve the final victory."

"They cut roads through mountains and built bridges over rivers; they showed strong execution and adaptability, were not afraid of hardship or death; they never flinched in the face of difficulties and dangers, and were willing to sacrifice!"

Minister Teng nodded in admiration when he heard the familiar slogan: "Well, well, well, patriotic comrade, I think you have become a real railway soldier."

Liu Guozhang was listening to this and his expression was somewhat moved.

If Li Aiguo had made so many contributions in the past, it was only Minister Teng's appreciation of his achievements.

Now, the appreciation of his achievements has evolved into appreciation of him as a person.

"This kid has finally gotten on top of the world this time."

Desire is beautiful, reality is cruel.

Since the Russian delegation led by Popov came to the Iron Group, they started "lobbying" work.

The single-track DC rail system they developed is already a mature technology.

With the halo of the big brother, he won the support of seven or eight delegations in just a few days.

The slogans were shouted loudly, so naturally, Li Aiguo could not slack off.

In the following days, he and Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang began to frequently contact various delegations.

Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang was a little timid at first.

The Russians are the big brother, and the University of Tokyo does not have much say in the Iron Group.

Why would others care about these unknown people?

"It's a comrade from the Hellenic Railways delegation. Should we ask Slavchev to introduce him to us?"

Seeing a few Greeks coming over, Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang reminded Li Aiguo.

"No need, just follow me."

Li Aiguo straightened his collar, put on a charming smile, and walked forward to greet him: "Dear Constantine, I benefited a lot from your speech at the first meeting. I am very interested in your method of dispatching vehicles. If there is a chance, we should find a place to discuss it."

"Really? If there's a chance, by all means, gentlemen. Sorry, we have to attend meetings of other groups."

When Constantine, the head of the Greek Railway delegation, saw a strange Oriental man greeting him, and the other party had listened to his speech, he smiled and said a few perfunctory words and prepared to leave.

Seeing the other party's indifferent attitude, Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang was ready to step aside.

Li Aiguo stood in front of Constantine with a smile: "The weather has been very cold recently. I wonder if you have brought heating pads with you. If not, we are friends, so we can give you some."

"Heat pads? Of course I brought them, sir. They are a must-have item for us in winter. Thank you Orientals for developing such a magical thing."

When Constantine heard about the heating pad, he stopped walking, patted his waist and said, "I was also a railway worker. I worked on Mount Olympus and got a backache. I have constant pain in my waist every winter. I feel better after using the heating pad."

"So what do you think about the heating pad? Do you think it needs to be improved?"

As Li Aiguo spoke, he took out a notebook and pen from his canvas bag and pretended to prepare to take notes.

"The heat patch is too small. It should be made bigger. Then, only one piece is needed for the injured area. It's a waste to use two pieces now. One piece is not enough." Constantine said.

The size of the warm patch was designed by Li Aiguo for the Chinese people.

The Greeks are tall and strong, and their arms are thicker than Li Aiguo's calves, so naturally they are not enough.

It seems that the heating pads should be divided into different sizes like sanitary napkins, and the price of larger sizes can be set higher.

Li Aiguo wrote it down, raised his head and asked, "Anything else?"

"And." Constantine was about to continue, but suddenly felt something was wrong, and asked with a frown, "Dear comrade, are you an employee of the Warm Patch Factory?"

Deputy Chief Engineer Wang didn't understand what Li Aiguo was going to do at first, but now he has figured it out. He hurried forward and pointed at Li Aiguo and introduced him in Russian.

"This is Comrade Li Aiguo, a train driver from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot in Beijing. He is the inventor of the heating pad and instant noodles. By the way, the furnace you are using was also improved by Li Aiguo."

He is a qualified supporting actor. Li Aiguo straightened his chest.

Constantine looked at Li Aiguo with a different expression and took the initiative to extend his hand: "So you are the boy from the Oriental train?"

The name "Train Boy" is not very nice.

Li Aiguo stretched out his hand and shook his hand. "We are all railway people. No need to be so polite. I have some ideas about railway automatic signaling and would like to discuss it with you. Do you have time?"

"Yes, yes, of course there is time!" Constantine nodded repeatedly.

His assistant whispered, "Head, we have already promised Professor Popov that we will attend their group discussion."

"Do you want to stop me from discussing technical issues with the Oriental Train Boy?" Constantine glared at his assistant.

The several things developed by Li Aiguo are all very useful.

In addition, in order to promote the heating pads, the second-generation oligarch Andre published a number of advertisements in newspapers in several Eastern European countries to sell the heating pads.

The inventor of the heat pad was praised to great heights and given a resounding name, "Oriental Train Boy".

Since getting this title, Li Aiguo has been promoted from an ordinary train worker to an "idol".

Constantine now has the opportunity to discuss technology with his "idol", how could he miss it.

The assistant was also aware of this and could only sigh helplessly.

"Come on, Lao Kang, let's go to the small garden and chat. The scenery there is beautiful." Li Aiguo took Constantine's arm and walked towards the garden.

Deputy Chief Engineer Wang was stunned. Driver Li had deceived the person?
Of course Li Aiguo would not lie to anyone, ahem, he would not lie to just one person.

In the following few days, Li Aiguo relied on his identity as the Oriental Train Boy to win over seven or eight more delegations.

The original research group consisted of only two from the University of Tokyo and Iraq, but now it has grown.

Fedorov had been keeping an eye on the University of Tokyo. Upon learning of the situation, he immediately reported it to Popov.

"Dean, Li Aiguo has deceived many people with his identity. What should we do?"

"Don't be nervous. Those people only joined the research group because of Li Aiguo. Railway signaling is of great importance. The choice of which method must be weighed repeatedly. There is no possibility of interference from any individual!"

"That's right. Now they are jumping up and down, but it's just a waste of effort." Fedorov also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we don't need to keep an eye on Dongda anymore. We need to focus on the research group and get those people to accept our single-track DC track as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Popov walked towards the special meeting room with his hands behind his back.

At this time in the small garden, Li Aiguo had already distributed the written technical details to each delegation.

"You may have heard of our Dongda Railway Automatic Signal. The specific principles and operation methods are all in the materials, so I won't go into details."

"Now I want to talk to you all about what benefits will it bring to you once automatic railway signaling becomes the standard system for each of your companies, in addition to bringing 100% safety."

After these words were spoken, the leaders and members of the delegations were a little confused.

If they accept automatic railway signals, they will need to transform the domestic railway lines.

Purchasing equipment, buying technology, and hiring professionals all require paying a large sum of money to Dongda.

How could they possibly get extra benefits?!

(End of this chapter)