The train driver in the courtyard

"Sign the transcript."

After completing a simple interrogation in the ward.

Li Aiguo took Xu Liangcai to the interrogation room of Shanhaiguan Police Station and went through the complete and standardized interrogation process again.

At this point, Xu Liangcai, whose psychological defenses had completely collapsed, told the entire cause and effect of the matter without reservation.

Finally, he signed his name on the transcript with trembling hands.

"How many years will I be sentenced to?"

Xu Liangcai put down his pen, raised his head with tears on his face and looked at Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo did not respond to him, but silently picked up the transcript and handed it to Ma Dele from the investigation team.

The losses caused by Xu Liangcai's actions this time were extremely heavy, and it is estimated that he will have to spend a long forty or fifty years in prison.

He is only in his twenties now, and he will probably be a white-haired old man when he is released from prison.

It was a moment of carelessness that will make you regret it for the rest of your life.

Afterwards, Su Tieshou handed Xu Liangcai over to the investigation team, and then, as usual, he called Xu Liangcai's father to inform the family that Xu Liangcai had committed a crime.

Hearing the sad voice coming from the other end of the phone, Li Aiguo felt sad.

He left the office on the pretext of going out for some fresh air, came to the guardrail and lit a cigarette.

Not long after, Su Tieshou also came out, his face also looking very solemn.

"Xu Liangcai deserves what he got for his crime, but it's a pity that his father, at such an old age, has to bear such a heavy blow.

The call was only halfway through when Father Xu fainted on the spot."

Su Tieshou is an experienced old comrade who has been responsible for notifying the families of prisoners many times over the years.

The grief of the families after hearing the news is often greater than that of the prisoners themselves.

However, it is not common for someone to faint on the spot like Old Man Xu did.

Li Aiguo still remembers that the data provided by the weather station showed...

Old Man Xu has been named an advanced worker in the workshop many times. He has also been praised by the neighborhood for helping residents in the neighborhood many times and has a high reputation in the neighborhood.

It can be imagined that because of what happened to Xu Liangcai, Old Man Xu will never be able to hold his head up in the workshop or in the neighborhood again.

But he is an old-fashioned person who values ​​reputation more than his life.

People living in the world are not isolated individuals.

If a person only cares about his own pleasure and ignores the feelings of his loved ones, what is the difference between him and a beast?
After the accident investigation was completed, in Li Aiguo's opinion, since the cause of the accident had been found out, the accident investigation had come to an end.

At noon, Su Tieshou hosted Li Aiguo and after they had a working lunch at the police station, he offered to take Li Aiguo to visit the scenic spots in Shanhaiguan.

Considering that the train back to the capital passes through Shanhaiguan at night, Li Aiguo readily agreed.

In those days, strong winds had not yet blown, and the ancient pass of Shanhaiguan still preserved many old buildings.

The Great Wall entering the Sea - Laolongtou Shanhaiguan Arrow Tower, Shanhaiguan Ying'en Gate, Arrow Tower, City Gate, Barbican, Luocheng and other buildings that are no longer visible in later generations still stand in this ancient pass.

The plaque "The No. 1 Pass in the World" hangs above Shanhaiguan.

This plaque was written by Xiao Xian, who practiced hard at home with a large tree sweeper for three months and finally completed writing the "Number One in the World".

Compared with the colorful Shanhaiguan in later generations.

This old, towering and majestic Shanhaiguan is the real "unparalleled key to the two capitals and the first pass of the Great Wall".

In the evening, Su Tieshou, the "local tyrant", took Li Aiguo to taste the snacks of Shanhaiguan.

The raw cake, mung bean cake, sesame sauce biscuit, and Meng Heshang rice rolls all taste very good.

Compared with the snacks in Beijing, they are less refined and more rugged, which is unique to the frontier.

What makes Li Aiguo most excited is that he can actually eat authentic Great Wall饽検饼.

According to legend, this thing was eaten by Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang when he led the Qi Family Army, which was mainly composed of people from Zhejiang, to guard Shanhaiguan.

The Bilan pancake is made of starch as the skin, with three fresh vegetables as the filling, and wrapped on the outside with a piece of Bilan leaf, which is common in Shanhaiguan.

When eating, eat both the cake and the leaves together. The taste of the three fresh ingredients and the fragrance of the leaves blend together, making it a pure folk green food.

Time passed quietly, and before I knew it, it was already past eleven o'clock in the evening.

Li Aiguo boarded a passing train, waved goodbye to Su Tieshou and other railway police from Shanhaiguan Police Station, and embarked on the return journey.

When we returned to the capital, it was already past ten o'clock the next morning.

As soon as he returned to the locomotive depot, Section Chief Xing sent someone to invite Li Aiguo to his office.

"Comrade Aiguo, this time it's all thanks to you." Director Xing shook hands with Li Aiguo solemnly, which was rare.

He had been a section chief for many years and was well-informed. He had long sensed that a storm was brewing from the abnormal behavior within the bureau.

"Even if I'm not here, Ma Dele and the others will investigate the matter thoroughly." Li Aiguo said with a smile.

He was not bragging. Although Ma Dele, the deputy head of the investigation team, did not often express his opinions during the investigation, every time he spoke he always hit the nail on the head.

This old man is not as simple as he seems. The bureau appointed Ma Dele as deputy team leader, which must be because they have noticed something.

"It turns out that Ma Dele also went with them. It seems that there are quite a few leaders in the bureau who are very observant."

Xing Duanchang muttered something under his breath, but did not continue the topic. Instead, he reminded, "I don't think Deputy Section Chief Zhang of the Bureau's Security Section will let this go.

But as long as the driver is not primarily responsible for the accident, then it won’t be a big problem.”

Li Aiguo understood what Director Xing meant.

Once an accident occurs, regardless of whether it is the driver team's fault or not, the responsibility for negligence cannot be avoided.

Especially the crew
But this time things were a little unusual, Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes slightly.

Xing Duanzhang noticed that Li Aiguo's expression was not right, and asked curiously: "What do you think?"

"It's hard to say for now. We have to wait for the decision from the bureau to be made before we can decide."

Li Aiguo decided to counter the opponent's moves. After chatting with Director Xing for a while, he returned to the studio.

At this time, Train No. 131 has already departed.

As a train driver, he temporarily had no more missions to drive trains, so he started to busy himself with other matters, such as designing a set of on-board lifting equipment.

Just as Li Aiguo was busy in the studio, the investigation team also returned to Beijing.

Deputy Section Chief Zhang seemed a little depressed as he failed to achieve his goal.

After handing over the written work to Ma Dele and several team members, he rode his bicycle to a pub near the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

He ordered a pot of wine, asked for two sets of wine glasses, and started drinking by himself.

Just after drinking two glasses of wine, Deputy Director Wang of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Labor Union came hurriedly.

Deputy Director Wang sat opposite Deputy Section Chief Zhang and asked impatiently, "Section Chief Zhang, why was Huang Jing released? Did you fail?"

"Wang Wuchi, you almost got me into trouble." Deputy Section Chief Zhang picked up the wine glass and drank a glass of wine, staring at Deputy Director Wang indifferently.

Deputy Director Wang was shocked: "Chief Zhang, we are comrades in arms. How could I harm you? What happened?"

Deputy Section Chief Zhang briefly recounted the investigation process and then focused on describing the phone call made by Li Aiguo.

"Fortunately, I was cautious this time and was not caught by Li Aiguo, otherwise I would be in trouble."

After understanding the whole story, Deputy Director Wang seemed a little depressed: "What a good opportunity! I'm ready. As long as the 38th driver group is arrested, I will organize people to criticize Section Chief Xing.

But now it has been ruined by that kid Li Aiguo. This kid is just a troublemaker. "

"Aren't you worried about Li Aiguo?"

Seeing that Deputy Director Wang didn't seem to understand what he meant, Deputy Section Chief Zhang reminded him again, "He may have connections with the senior police officers in the bureau."

"You only know how to scare yourself. I know the situation of Li Aiguo too well.

His father was a train driver in the locomotive depot, and Zhou Ke was the only one who had connections with the railway police.

That call might have been made to Zhou Ke.”

"Zhou Ke?"

"He is a captain in the police station of our Qianmen Locomotive Depot. It is inevitable that he gets to know some leaders in the bureau during his work," said Deputy Director Wang.

After listening to this, Deputy Section Chief Zhang thought about it carefully for a while and felt that Deputy Director Wang’s statement was a bit far-fetched, but he did not continue to remind him.

"Okay, you've made me suffer a great loss this time, remember to return this favor in the future. I have to go back and submit the investigation report now."

Deputy Section Chief Zhang said this just to let Deputy Director Wang know that he had done a lot for him. After achieving his goal, he stood up and prepared to leave.

"Just let it go like this?" Deputy Director Wang reached out and grabbed Deputy Section Chief Zhang's arm.

Deputy Section Chief Zhang frowned and said, "Wang Wuchi, have you been confused by your political work? The accident is very clear and the suspect has signed a confession.

Do you think that you can turn black into white by relying on a group of people and shouting a few slogans?

Don't forget that most of us on the railway are former railway soldiers.

They don’t mess around like normal people do.”

"Don't be impatient!"

Deputy Director Wang pushed Deputy Section Chief Zhang back into his chair.

I poured him a glass of wine, drank one myself, and said under the influence of alcohol: "On the surface, this accident has nothing to do with the driver team, but it does not mean that it has nothing to do with the crew!
Think about it, if the flight attendant had noticed Xu Liangcai's actions in time, could this accident have been avoided?"

Looking at Deputy Director Wang's sinister smile, Deputy Section Chief Zhang was stunned.

Could this also be involved?

However, after careful consideration, he found that what Deputy Director Wang said was indeed feasible.

You should know that the driving safety manual clearly stipulates that crew members must pay attention to unsafe factors and correct them in a timely manner.

The K16 crew failed to do this, which was a dereliction of duty.

Moreover, doing so would neither implicate Huang Jing from the driver team nor anger Li Aiguo, so Deputy Section Chief Zhang had fewer concerns.

"Okay, Lao Wang, your skills have improved." Deputy Section Chief Zhang picked up the wine glass, drank it all, then strode away.

He had to rush back to change the investigation report.

Deputy Director Wang took a bite of food, drank a few glasses of wine, and hummed a little song happily: "This woman is not ordinary. I admire your calmness, cleverness and courage. You dare to show off in front of the devils."

This ditty is an aria from the Shanghai opera "Lu Dang Huo Zhan", which is a legendary anti-Japanese story created by the Shanghai People's Opera Troupe in 1958 based on real people and events.

Deputy Director Wang particularly likes the lines of the villain Diao Deyi.

Of course, under normal circumstances he would just hum it in private.

Li Aiguo's plan to design the truck-mounted lifting equipment went smoothly.

The structure of this lifting equipment is not complicated. You only need to weld a gantry frame above the car body and then install several electric hoists.

In terms of power, a diesel generator can be used, or the train's own power can be used to generate electricity.

"Everything is ready, now we just need the electric hoist."

In the evening, Li Aiguo put down his pen, put the drawings into his canvas bag, and crawled into the warm bed.

Chen Xueru came closer gently. Her belly was already very big now, so she was extra careful when moving.

"How many days are left before the due date?" Li Aiguo put his palm on Miss Chen's belly.

Feeling the commotion inside, he felt like he was not being a good enough husband.

"It's only half a month." Chen Xueru rubbed against Li Aiguo and said gently. "Half a month, how about taking some time off?" Li Aiguo suggested.

“No, the work of the street office is too busy now.

Our superiors have just delivered a batch of dates, which will not be sold through the supply and marketing cooperatives this time.

Instead, we will directly distribute it to households that are short of food. We are busy compiling a list of households that are short of food.”

At this time, Chen Xueru was full of enthusiasm for her career and had a determined look on her face.

Li Aiguo smiled and didn't persuade him any further.

Having children is related to personal physical condition. In this era, women are mostly stronger than those in later generations.

"By the way, when you were not at home today, Captain Zhou came over and brought two kilograms of rice from the small station.

They said they were thanking you for helping them book a crew, so I accepted it."

Chen Xueru was about to fall asleep when she suddenly remembered something.

"Take it."

Li Aiguo is not a rigid person.

In normal interpersonal interactions, even if the higher-ups know about it, they will not stop it.

“Also, the food purchased from outside has already arrived in the capital.

The district asked each compound to report the list of households short of food. The managers of other compounds have already taken action, but why is there no movement in our compound?

You must be sleepy, go to sleep quickly."

Chen Xueru wanted to continue nagging, but when she saw that Li Aiguo had started yawning, she felt distressed and sat up and turned off the desk lamp.

As the night deepened, the courtyard fell into silence.

However, Yi Zhonghai's house was still brightly lit.

All the people in the Jia family gathered here, including Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, and Jia Dongxu, and even Banggeng was squatting on the ground playing.

Bang Geng accidentally released a stream of water, which happened to pour into Yi Zhonghai's shoes.

"This child is really capable of doing great things. Look how big the amount is!" Jia Zhang picked up the stick with a smile.

Yi Zhonghai looked at the yellow liquid in his shoes and his mouth twitched twice.

He smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.

"Sister-in-law, it's not that I don't want to help. There are many families in our compound who are poorer than yours."

Thinking of this, Yi Zhonghai felt depressed.

As the food shortage in the capital became increasingly serious, the authorities used foreign exchange to purchase large quantities of grain and dates from abroad.

However, the area suffering from food shortage is too large. The communes in the countryside are having a harder time than those in the cities, and they need to be taken care of first.

As a result, the amount of food distributed to the city was even less.
There are many families in the city who are short of food, so the streets have adopted a strategy of giving priority to supplying food to those families who are short of food.

The nature of the so-called food-deficient households is similar to that of the poor households, but the requirements are higher than those of the poor households. The requirements are for those families that truly cannot get enough food.

Each block was allocated a dozen quotas for food-deficient households.

Because they can get free food, these food-deficient households have become very popular.

After the Jia family learned about this, they found Yi Zhonghai, hoping that the Jia family could become the food-deficient household.

In the courtyard, although the poverty alleviation fund has solved the living problems of several families, there are still several families who are short of food.

All the residents in the compound were watching, and Yi Zhonghai didn't want to offend them.

"You are the eldest uncle in the compound. It is your family that has the final say on which family is short of food, right?"

"Sister-in-law, if it were in the past, maybe I would have done this for you, but now that kid Li Aiguo is watching us." Yi Zhonghai said helplessly.

When Jia Zhang saw that Yi Zhonghai didn't nod, she secretly winked at Qin Huairu.

At this time, an auntie was cleaning the house. Qin Huairu walked over enthusiastically and said with a smile, "Auntie, can I help you?"

"Oh, how can I say this?" The aunt was a little flattered.

"What's the big deal? In Dongxu and I's hearts, you are almost like our biological mother." Qin Huairu said this while getting busy.

She worked very hard, first sweeping the floor, then wiping the table and helping to make the bed.
Finally, he threw the dirty sheets into an enamel basin and took the basin to the sink to work.

This aunt has no children in her life and this is the first time she has enjoyed such treatment.

"What a wonderful child! I wish she were my daughter-in-law."

She muttered softly, walked out of the inner room and persuaded Yi Zhonghai: "Old Yi, the Jia family is indeed having a hard time. Jia Dongxu is the only one earning a salary, and there are four mouths to feed. Xiao Qin is pregnant, so it's not too much to give her a food-deficient household."

As she spoke, the old lady winked at Yi Zhonghai.

The meaning is very clear. If the Jia family is short of food, Jia Zhang will definitely borrow food from Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai also felt that Qin Huairu was a good daughter-in-law. He hesitated for a moment and nodded: "I still need to discuss it with Lao Liu and Lao Yan."

"Oh, they will definitely listen to you!" Jia Zhang was overjoyed when she heard that.

After getting a place as a food-deficient household, I can get 20 kilograms of corn flour for free every month.

Those corn flour can be taken to the pigeon market and exchanged for refined white flour.

White flour buns are so fragrant.

Early the next morning, Yi Zhonghai found Liu Haizhong and the third uncle with the list.

When Liu Haizhong saw the Jia family on the list, he just smiled and said nothing.

The third uncle frowned and said, "Old Yi, there are many families in our compound who are in a worse situation than the Jia family. Isn't it inappropriate for you to do this?

Just like the old cow family in the front yard, their life is really hard. "

Yi Zhonghai secretly blamed the third uncle for being ignorant, but he smiled and said, "It is difficult to have an absolute standard to judge whether a family is poor or not.

Although Lao Niu doesn't have a formal job, he carries heavy bags at the grain station. Who knows if he has secretly smuggled grain?
Even though they seem to be drinking watery soup all day long, they might even eat steamed buns behind closed doors at night.

As the managers of the Siheyuan, we must strictly supervise the neighborhood office!"

After hearing this, the third uncle was speechless.

After all, he couldn't guarantee with all his heart that Lao Niu definitely didn't smuggle any food.

"Okay, Lao Yan, we have been brothers for many years."

Liu Haizhong reminded the third uncle, who hesitated for a moment and could only nod.

"Since both of you have no objection, let's go through the process tonight and hold a short meeting to announce the list of poor households to the residents of the compound."

Yi Zhonghai put the list away and asked an old lady to go door to door to notify the residents of the compound.

At this time, Li Aiguo was pushing his bicycle out of his house and preparing to go to the locomotive depot.

An old lady was talking to the residents. When she saw Li Aiguo, she smiled and said hello: "Aiguo, remember to come back to attend the meeting in the evening."

"Another meeting? What's the matter?" Li Aiguo was surprised.

Xu Damao was holding a bowl of rice and helped to explain with a smile: "What else could it be? It must be the problem of the households that are short of food.

Last night I saw everyone from the Jia family running to Yi Zhonghai's house. Maybe the list of households short of food this time..."

Although Xu Damao didn't finish his words, the residents all understood what he meant.

"I understand, Auntie. I will definitely attend on time." Li Aiguo nodded at the auntie and pushed his bicycle out.

Just out of the courtyard.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him: "Aiguo, wait."

Turning around, I saw Uncle Niu in the front yard catching up with me.

"Uncle, do you have something to say?" Li Aiguo has always been very respectful to Uncle Niu.

At that time, my predecessor's father was injured and recuperating at home, and he often had to go to the hospital.

At that time, the family had spent all their money and couldn't even afford a flatbed cart, so Uncle Niu borrowed a donkey from next door and took my father to the hospital.

Later, my father went around looking for medical treatment and medicine, and Uncle Niu would take the initiative to help whenever he was free.

"I love my country. I... I..."

Uncle Niu ran to Li Aiguo, his face flushed red, and he opened his lips several times, but couldn't utter a word.

Li Aiguo knew that Uncle Niu was not a person who liked to ask for help from others.

He had heard from his father that Uncle Niu was from Northeast China and had fought against the Japanese in the mountains before liberation.

But he was just helping the team at that time, and the team later disbanded.

The situation at that time was not clear, so it was not included in the relevant list.

If it were someone else, they would definitely go to the relevant department and request an investigation into what happened that year to get themselves the treatment they deserve.

Even if you can't get a regular job, you will still receive a living allowance.

But Uncle Niu said that the whole country was fighting the Japanese at that time, and he was just doing what an ordinary person should do.

When he was fighting the Japanese, he never thought about what kind of treatment he would receive.

Moreover, there are many people like him. If everyone asks for subsidies, it will be a huge burden. How can we produce?

"Uncle is asking you to do something today, but I'm too embarrassed to say it."

Uncle Niu, a man who could carry a 200-pound sack, was now hesitating when he spoke.

Li Aiguo smiled and said, "Is it about the households that are short of food?"

"You know that too?" Uncle Niu was surprised.

Li Aiguo said, "Food-deficient households can get 20 kilograms of corn flour every month. Add to that the wages you earn at the grain station, and it should be enough for the whole family to live on."

“But my family is not on the list of households short of food.” Uncle Niu sighed helplessly.

"……What?!"

Li Aiguo widened his eyes.

Uncle Niu's wife has been ill for many years. He has four sons, all of whom are in school, and a blind mother.

At the beginning, Li Aiguo wanted to list Uncle Niu's family as a recipient of poverty alleviation fund assistance.

But Uncle Niu was a man who cared about his reputation, and at that time food was not in short supply in the capital. He thought that if he worked harder alone, he could still make ends meet, so he refused.

There is a food shortage in the capital now, and Uncle Niu's salary as a temporary worker has been reduced by more than half.

If a family like his is not considered a poor household, then whose families are considered poor?
"This morning, the Third Master secretly told me that the Jia family took my place."

Uncle Niu rubbed his hands and said with some embarrassment: "I don't have any wishes, I just want to make sure the kids don't go hungry. When Aiguo has a meeting tonight, can you say something for me?"

"Uncle, don't worry, this courtyard is not a place where some manager has the final say."

Li Aiguo was also a little angry at this time and agreed immediately.

It would be fine if Yi Zhonghai just took care of the Jia family on weekdays.

But now is the time when a bite of food can save your life.

(End of this chapter)