The train driver in the courtyard

Accompanied by Captain Zhou's order.

The four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine inside passenger and cargo ship No. 10 started suddenly, white smoke came out from the top of the ship, and it slowly sailed away from the material factory dock.

As the ship sailed, waves gradually appeared on the sea.

At first there were only slight ups and downs, but once we left the dock, the wind and waves gradually grew stronger.

Despite the bumpy ride, Li Aiguo and Zhou Qigong went to the container storage area for inspection several times.

The two steel wire locks still tightly secure the container under the impact of wind and waves, and the grooves and foot locks at the bottom of the container also play a key role, allowing it to remain relatively stable despite severe shaking.

After the passenger and cargo ship No. 10 had been sailing for more than ten minutes, the sea gradually calmed down.

Under the command of Captain Zhou, passenger and cargo ship No. 10 sailed into Tianjin Port.

The passenger ship's whistle sounded over the sea. When you heard this deep and rich sound, you knew the ship had docked.

The passengers who were waiting for the boat at the dock had already become impatient. When they heard the whistle, they all rushed to the side of the dock, pushing and shoving each other and shouting.

Everyone was carrying big and small bags, and some were carrying things on shoulder poles, making the wharf packed.

The boat hadn't even stopped yet, and several passengers were almost pushed from the dock into the sea. The scene was extremely chaotic.

"Everybody, don't push! Line up and don't crowd!" Upon seeing this situation, the staff at Jincheng Port quickly called on security officers to maintain order.

When the passengers saw that the security officers were armed, they became more obedient.

After the ship docked, Captain Zhou opened the large iron door of the cabin and sent two crew members to guard the door and cooperate with the staff to check tickets.

The passengers boarded the ship one by one, carrying their belongings. It seemed to be going smoothly without any problems.

Li Aiguo took advantage of this opportunity to take Zhou Qigong to check the steel wire ropes that tied the container. He had sharp eyes and saw that one of the steel wire ropes was a little loose, so he squatted down and began to tighten it.

As I was working on it, I heard a crisp voice behind me shouting, "Uncle, what is this big box for?"

Turning my head, I saw two children who looked like elementary school students standing not far away.

A boy and a girl, probably brother and sister. They were wearing clothes made from old work clothes, like little adults.

Their big eyes twinkled, revealing a cleverness and their faces were full of curiosity.

"We always go on ships, but we've never seen boxes this big."

"This box is bigger than a truck."

Li Aiguo tightened the wire rope, stood up and said to them with a smile: "This is called a container, and it is specially used to transport goods."

"Then how was this container moved onto the ship? Did you carry it up there, uncle?" the little girl said, shaking her ponytail.

"Uncle doesn't have that much strength. This was lifted up by a crane on the dock."

"Oh, a crane, that's so interesting. It's a pity that we didn't see how the ship was loaded. Otherwise, we could tell Xiaozhuang and the others about it after we go back." The boy looked regretful.

When the little girl heard this, she puffed out her chest and said to Li Aiguo eagerly, "Uncle, can you hang it again?"

Li Aiguo: "."

At this time, a female comrade in work clothes came running over in a hurry. She was relieved when she saw the two children.

"Xiao Qi, Xiao Si, where have you two gone? I was so worried..."

"Mom, look, uncle got such a big box, and he lifted it up with a crane."

When the female comrade saw Li Aiguo holding the pliers, she said a little embarrassedly: "Comrade, I'm so sorry that these two kids disturbed your work."

"It's okay."

The passengers were still boarding the ship, and it was a mess.

The female comrade was afraid that the two naughty children would run away again, and since they were quite interested in the container, she simply stayed on the deck.

Li Aiguo continued to check the wire rope while chatting with the female comrade.

Only then did I know that the female comrade was called Liu Fang and was a worker at the Hankou Textile Factory.

This time I brought my two children to Tianjin because their father works in the Tianjin Locomotive Depot.

"We were originally planning to take the train, but Da Chen said that neither I nor the kids had ever been on a ship, so we bought tickets."

When Liu Fang said this, her face was filled with visible happiness.

It’s no wonder. The family is separated and if their relationship was not good, they would have broken up long ago.

"So you are a family member of the railway. I am a train driver, and my name is Li Aiguo." After Li Aiguo finished his work, he stood up and shook hands with Liu Fang.

"Oh, you are on the railway?!" Liu Fang was a little bit unbelieving, but later she believed it when she saw the railway logo on the container.

Railway workers all over the world are one family, and the relationship between the two men suddenly became much closer.

When Xiao Qi and Xiao Si heard that Li Aiguo was a train driver, they became excited and pulled his arm to ask him to talk about driving a train.

"It's so cool for a train driver to be able to drive a big train."

"Yeah, my dad's job is so boring, just waving a little flag."

When Li Aiguo heard this, he guessed that the child’s father might be a dispatcher at the station or bus station.

He squatted down, smiled and said to the two children: "Your father can wave the flag to direct the train, he is better than me, a train driver!"

"Really?" The two second-generation iron-clad men who had just disdained their father's work suddenly widened their eyes.

After receiving Li Aiguo's affirmative answer, the second generation of iron workers jumped up excitedly.

Looking at the happy children, Liu Fang said to Li Aiguo gratefully, "Driver Li, thank you. This time when we came to Tianjin, Dachen had already agreed to take us to visit Jingcheng Square, but the old dispatcher fell ill and he had to take over. The two children were very unhappy."

"Oh, we are all family, sister-in-law, it's too formal for you to say that." Li Aiguo said.

While we were chatting here, the passengers had already completed boarding. The crew untied the bow and stern cables, the ship sounded the horn, and slowly left the dock.

After the ship sailed out, the cabin became lively.

Xiao Qi and Xiao Si saw a few children playing hide-and-seek in the cabin and felt itchy in their hearts. They didn't care about playing with Li Aiguo and ran over to join them.

"Hey, Xiaoqi, Xiaosi, slow down." Liu Fang was worried about the two children, so she said goodbye to Li Aiguo and hurriedly chased after them.

At this time, Zhou Qigong and his colleagues had already checked all the containers, and Captain Zhou took Li Aiguo and his colleagues to the first-class cabin.

These days passenger ship cabins are divided into five levels. The fifth level is the general cabin, which is similar to a minibus, only with seats.

The first-class cabins have the best conditions, with soft beds and a desk.

Li Aiguo often drives a train, but since he came to this era, he has never taken a ship.

After placing the luggage on the bed, he followed Zhou Qigong around the boat.

This Cross passenger and cargo ship is quite comprehensive. It has an infirmary where patients can be treated, a water room where hot water can be obtained, a restaurant where meals can be eaten, and even a library!

When he saw the library, Li Aiguo's eyes lit up.

You can gain a lot of skill points along the way.

In the following two days, Li Aiguo worked hard to gain skill points in the library. When he felt tired, he would go to the deck to relax. His life was quite happy.

In the evening, the sun set and the sea surface was painted blood red. Li Aiguo enjoyed the sea breeze on the deck for a while. Seeing that it was getting later, he called Zhou Qigong who had finished checking the containers and prepared to return to the first-class cabin.

As soon as I walked to the cabin door, I saw Captain Zhou coming over with three young men.

"Driver Li, are you ready to take a break?" Captain Zhou greeted Li Aiguo warmly when he saw him.
Then he pointed at the three young men and introduced them, "They are passengers in the general cabin. They thought it was too noisy downstairs, so they moved to the first-class cabin."

This passenger ship, like a train, can change cabins, but Li Aiguo still felt a little strange.

You know, the price of a first-class cabin is ten times that of a standard cabin, and most people are reluctant to spend this money to stay in a first-class cabin.

Li Aiguo can stay in the first class cabin because his expenses can be reimbursed.

Look at these three young men again. Although they are dressed neatly and cleanly, their clothes are ordinary. They don’t look like leaders or rich people at all.

The three young men seemed to have noticed Li Aiguo's strange gaze, and they couldn't help but quicken their pace and followed Captain Zhou into the next cabin.

Seeing that Li Aiguo had been staring at the backs of the three men, Zhou Qigong asked in surprise, "Driver Li, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, let's go back." Li Aiguo withdrew his gaze and took Zhou Qigong into the cabin.

At this time, in the cabin next door.

Captain Zhou closed the hatch and left.

Meng Tukun put his ear against the cabin door. After the other party's footsteps disappeared, he opened the cabin door and looked around. Seeing that no one was outside, he closed the cabin door, leaned against it and let out a long sigh of relief.

"I was scared to death. The look in that man's eyes just now was so powerful, almost like a knife."

"Mengtukun, you are such a coward, and you still want to go out to sea with us! Let me tell you, this matter is very dangerous. Your head is like a belt tied to your pants. You must be mentally prepared."

Gao Dian completely forgot that Gao Ma had pointed a dagger at his throat before and it was Meng Tukun who saved him. He yelled at Meng Tukun with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Second brother, I'm just worried that something might happen." Meng Tukun's face looked a little ugly.

Gaodian wanted to teach Mengtukun a lesson, but Gaoma stopped him: "Okay, now that we are all on the boat, we are all in the same group. Stop arguing and let's discuss our next move."

After hearing this, Gao Diancai sat back angrily.

Meng Tukun came over and whispered to Gao Ma: "Brother Ma, I'm wondering, why don't we stay in the commuter cabin? There are many people there and we can provide cover. This first-class cabin is so conspicuous."

“There were too many people in the steerage area, and I was trying to share the firecrackers, but they were almost seen by a child.

Fortunately, I always remembered the webmaster's instructions and used snack boxes to pack the firecrackers.

More importantly, we need to use the first-class cabin to do something."

As he spoke, Gao Ma took out a piece of paper from his pocket, on which were some crooked lines drawn with a pencil.

He pointed to the blueprint and said, "I have been looking around for the past two days and have figured out the internal structure of the cross."

"Oh, I thought you were just wandering around with nothing to do, but it turns out you were looking for information. Brother Ma, you are really capable and you are capable of doing great things."

After what happened just now, Mengtukun also knew his current situation.

Gao Ma and Gao Dian are brothers, and he is an outsider. If these two brothers harm him in this sea, it will be terrible.

So he quickly flattered Gao Ma lightly.

Gao Ma ignored him and continued, "I've been trained before and know how to control the ship. If we take action, the first thing we have to do is to destroy the connection between the ship and the outside world.

There is a narrow-band direct-printing telegraph on board, and the equipment is just above the first-class cabin, so we can..."

As he spoke, Gao Ma lowered his voice. Gao Dian and Meng Tukun hurried over, nodding their heads as they listened.

The light bulb hanging above the cabin was crackling, making the faces of the three people flicker.

The wind and waves on the sea were getting stronger and stronger, and the ship was tossing up and down in the wind and waves.

"Xiao Qi, slow down."

In the next cabin, Liu Fang grabbed Xiao Qi who was climbing between the upper and lower bunks, and pretended to slap him twice on the buttocks.

Xiao Si was disdainful of climbing up and down like her brother, so she approached Li Aiguo, looked up and asked, "Uncle driver, can you tell us another story about catching Dieter?"

"Xiao Si, your patriotic uncle still has to work, so let's go back." Liu Fang hurriedly hugged Xiao Qi and then stopped Xiao Si.

In the past two days, Li Aiguo has become very familiar with Xiao Qi and Xiao Si. The two children often come to the first-class cabin to listen to this uncle telling stories.

In these stories, the amazing train driver is capable of doing anything, such as throwing Dieter off the train in the Gobi Desert.

What's on a submarine on the sea floor, tracking enemy submarines.

The two children were fascinated by what they heard.

This is much better than the comic strip.

After hearing what Liu Fang said, Xiao Qi and Xiao Si did not cry like other children. Instead, they prepared to leave obediently.

"Sister-in-law, it's okay. I have finished my work." Li Aiguo had a very good impression of these two iron-blooded second-generations and reached out to stop Liu Fang.

Xiao Qi and Xiao Si immediately became excited and clapped their hands, saying, "Uncle Driver, yesterday you mentioned that someone put big firecrackers in a package and brought it on the train. What happened next?"

"Later, of course, it was the brave train driver who saw through the bad guys' conspiracy..." Li Aiguo changed what happened at the Jincheng Railway Station and made it into a legendary story. He told it vividly, and the two children listened with great interest. Even Liu Fang pricked up her ears to listen.

Time passed by unknowingly, and when it was almost ten o'clock, Li Aiguo clapped his hands and said, "Okay, let's stop here today. If you guys are obedient tomorrow, uncle will continue to tell you, okay?"

"Then let's make a pinky promise!" Both children stretched out their little fingers.

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Li Aiguo had no choice but to stretch out his hands and make pinky promises to them.

"Pull the hook, hang yourself, don't change for a hundred years!"

After the crisp sound, the two children stood up and prepared to leave.

Xiao Qi suddenly stopped and said, "Uncle driver, what does the big firecracker you just mentioned look like? If I find it, wouldn't I be able to be a hero like the uncle in the story?!"

"Kid, you just need to study hard." When Liu Fang saw Xiao Qi starting to talk nonsense, she immediately stood up and stopped him.

"Sister-in-law, we need to rely on the power of the masses to guard against Dieter. It's not wrong for Xiao Qi to learn more."

Li Aiguo stopped Liu Fang, frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Big firecrackers don't have a fixed shape, sometimes they are round, like seven or eight rolling pins tied together, and sometimes they are like square snack boxes.

But if you find a big firecracker, don't touch it, you should notify an adult to deal with it."

"I understand, uncle! The teacher taught us." Xiao Qi agreed crisply.

Xiao Si hesitated: "Snack box. I think I've seen it on the boat."

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this: "Where have you seen this before?"

"It was an uncle sitting next to us. I asked him what the snacks tasted like, and he chased me away."

After Xiao Si finished speaking, she added shyly, "Really? I'm just asking."

Her little thoughts were obvious, causing laughter in the cabin.

Zhou Qigong, Secretary Chen and others all praised the girl as a clever girl.

No one paid attention to the snack box.

After all, many passengers on the cruise ship would bring some gifts for their relatives and friends, and Tianjin’s Mahua is famous all over the country.

Even Liu Fang brought back two kilograms of fried dough twist this time.

After Liu Fang took Xiao Qi and Xiao Si back, Zhou Qigong was ready to rest, but saw Li Aiguo putting on his clothes.

"Aiguo, it's so late, what are you doing?"

"It's too stuffy in the cabin. I'm going to take a walk on the deck."

Li Aiguo left a word, pushed open the cabin door and went out.

It was pitch black outside. Only the lights in the corridor emitted a dim light, which was reflected on the cabin wall, revealing a bleak, waxy color.

Li Aiguo walked slowly along the corridor to the cockpit on the top deck.

Captain Zhou and the first mate were holding a sextant, a nautical chart and a compass, writing and drawing on the chart to determine the route.

Seeing Li Aiguo coming in, Captain Zhou handed the recorded data to the first mate: "Now you change the route according to this direction."

"Yes, Captain!" The first mate took the data and quickly returned to the control panel to turn the rudder.

"Driver Li, it's so late, why haven't you rested yet?" Captain Zhou asked the crew to pour two cups of hot tea and bring them over.

Li Aiguo took the teacup and said with a smile, "I am a train driver, and I would like to ask you, a ship driver, how to drive a ship."

"Hahaha, Driver Li, you're too polite.

As the saying goes, among the 360 ​​professions in the world, three are the hardest and most tiring: blacksmithing, boat pulling, and tofu making.

This boat is being driven.

Although it used to rely on manual towing, it has now been replaced by large motor boats, but the nature is similar, as long as you are willing to endure the hardship, you will be fine. "

Captain Zhou has the unique humility of the Chinese, but Li Aiguo knows in his heart that the convenience of ship driving these days cannot be compared with that in later times.

Without the Beidou navigation and positioning system and no reference points on the sea, if the ship wants to stay on the correct route, it all depends on the captain's ability.

Someone like Captain Zhou who is in charge of a large passenger and cargo ship must be at least a college graduate, which is one level higher than the academic qualifications of Li Aiguo, a top student.

The two chatted for a while. Seeing that the crew members were not paying attention to this side, Li Aiguo suddenly asked: "Comrade Captain, I want to know the identity of the passenger in seat 31 in the steerage cabin. Can you help me?"

Li Aiguo's request was obviously excessive.

Captain Zhou was slightly stunned, but after hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "I may need to ask the crew for other seats, but there is no need for seat 31.

The three passengers I brought to the first-class cabin just now are passengers No. 31, No. 32, and No. 33. "

"What!" Li Aiguo's face changed drastically.

He didn't take Xiao Si's words seriously at first, after all, it was common for passengers to bring snacks.

But now this passenger who brought the snacks was suddenly moved to the first class cabin, which was a bit strange.

"What's wrong? Driver Li, is there something wrong with these passengers?" Captain Zhou seemed to realize something.

"It's hard to say for now. It would be great if we could get the identity information of these three people." Li Aiguo said.

"This is easy. We have a police officer on board. Every time we board the ship, the terminal will give the police officer the passenger list.

Please wait a moment, I will inform them."

Although Captain Zhou was the boat driver, he was also from the railway system and was very vigilant. He stood up immediately.

But strangely, Captain Zhou did not leave the cabin, nor did he ask the crew to call the police. Instead, he walked to a row of copper pipes next to the bridge.

One end of the copper tube was a bell-shaped tube with seven or eight covers on it.

Captain Zhou unscrewed the cap of the second copper pipe and shouted into the horn: "Captain Bai, this is the driving room. Come here immediately with the passenger list."

Li Aiguo also understood at this time that this thing was a megaphone specially used on old-style ships.

There were no mobile phones or walkie-talkies in those days.

A large ship is almost the same size as a building. In order to better convey messages, megaphones are installed on ships when they are first built.

One end of the microphone opens in the cab, and the other end opens in the target cabin (such as the crew cabin).

At the target cabin end, there will be a dedicated person guarding the message tube, ready to listen to orders and convey them at any time.

When it is necessary to give orders, open the cover of the corresponding pipe on the bridge and shout the order loudly into the pipe opening.

The megaphone has a simple structure and can still be used to transmit messages even if the entire ship is powered off as long as the pipe itself is not blocked.

It also has the ability to resist electromagnetic interference.

So even in the 20th century, radio was standard equipment on ships and was installed on ships as a backup means of communication.

Captain Zhou finished his words through the trumpet and put the lid back on.

Within a few minutes, Captain Bai, who was in charge of the security of the Cross ship, arrived with the passenger list.

"Driver Li found a suspicious person on the boat," Captain Zhou briefly explained the situation.

"Suspicious persons? There are not so many suspicious persons."

Captain Bai felt that Li Aiguo was a little too sensitive.

It's not his fault. As the captain of the ship's police team, Captain Bai has dealt with many suspicious situations reported by enthusiastic citizens.

It often causes a lot of chaos, but in the end it turns out to be just a misunderstanding.

However, at Captain Zhou's insistence, Captain Bai handed the list to Li Aiguo.

The dock staff are very meticulous in their work. Although there is no real-name system for buying boat tickets these days, a letter of introduction is required.

The letter of introduction includes your name, unit, and reason for the trip.

All this information was recorded on a list by the dock staff.

Li Aiguo found seats 31, 32 and 33 according to the seats.

The names registered here are Chen Xingmao, Chen Xingtian, and Chen Xingsheng.

They all came from a supply and marketing cooperative in Tianjin. Their destination this time was Hankou to visit relatives.

Because letters of introduction can be forged, there is no clue from the list.

Li Aiguo handed the list back to Captain Bai: "Captain Bai, I suspect there may be something wrong with these three people. Can you send more people to keep an eye on them?"

Hearing this, Captain Bai seemed a little embarrassed.

“Driver Li, we didn’t plan to carry any passengers on this voyage, and there are only five crew members on board.

You know, a ship is different from a train.

Thieves on the train don’t dare to jump off the train, but on the ship, those thieves who have stolen things dare to jump into the sea.

We need to maintain order among so many passengers and protect their property.

We also need to protect the safety of your containers. We really can't spare the manpower.
Also, this matter doesn’t seem to be related to the road test.”

Captain Bai was almost about to tell them directly that Li Aiguo was just a train driver and had no authority to mobilize their police team.

"Old Bai, Driver Li was also concerned about the safety of the road test. Driver Li is also a comrade on the railway, one of our own."

Captain Zhou pulled Captain Bai aside and explained in a low voice for a while.

But because there was really no evidence, Captain Bai just took a small step back.

"I can send someone to inquire, but if they can't find any clues, there's nothing I can do."

"If we ask directly, it is likely to alarm the other party." Li Aiguo rejected this suggestion.

Captain Bai spread his hands and said, "Driver Li, it's not that I don't want to help, but your request is too much."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Captain Zhou quickly tried to smooth things over: "Driver Li, you know that the passenger police team is under the unified management of the material factory security department.

If there is no evidence, it seems against the rules for them to investigate the passengers."

Li Aiguo smiled and said, "Captain Zhou, can I borrow your radio?"

(End of this chapter)