The train driver in the courtyard

After contacting the Beijing Meteorological Observatory, Li Aiguo reported the online weather forecast to his department.

The railway provides a large amount of manpower and resources for weather forecasting, and now that there are results, it's natural to share the good news.

"The product is good, but promoting it nationwide? That's difficult!" Leader Teng looked at the document, initially pleased, then frowned and stubbed out his cigarette.

"Where is it stuck?" Li Aiguo asked in surprise.

Leader Teng handed Li Aiguo a cigarette, lit one for himself, and asked, "The report said it would be heavy rain, but it cleared up. Is someone using this as an excuse? These days, even the weather can turn into a knife!"

Inaccurate weather forecasts are a common occurrence.

Even if we have weather satellites in the future, there might be situations where heavy rain is reported but it's actually sunny, and no one seems to bother the meteorological department.

Everyone knows that a forecast is just a forecast unless someone is deliberately trying to cause trouble.

You predicted heavy rain, but the local area waited all day and it didn't rain. If someone deliberately stirs up trouble and tries to frame you, you'll be in serious trouble.

Never underestimate the cruelty of some things!
A name popped into Li Aiguo's mind, and he nodded, saying, "Leader, it was my oversight."

“You’ve actually thought this through very thoroughly. This project was proposed by Old Xu from Jinling, right? You even brought in the General Staff, just to get them to endorse you, right?”

Li Aiguo's little scheme was exposed, and his face flushed slightly.

Leader Teng did not blame Li Aiguo; on the contrary, he appreciated him.

A good comrade is one who can overcome all difficulties and find ways to get things done.

"But you still underestimated those people, especially now that the winds in Beijing are getting stronger," Leader Teng said, taking a drag on his cigarette before continuing.

Li Aiguo did not disclose that the Farmers Weather Bureau was involved in the project.

If this card is played, even those people probably won't dare to come forward.

To get things done, protecting oneself is the first priority, which has always been Li Aiguo's guiding principle.

This requires taking all aspects of the problem into account, so that some people cannot find an opportunity to take action.

"Uncle Teng, we need your help with this."

The phrase "Uncle Teng" instantly brought the two closer.

Minister Teng looked at Li Aiguo as if he were his own nephew: "Well, didn't you mention before that you wanted to establish an early warning system within our railway system? You can get this thing working first, and once you have some results, I will personally report to the higher-ups."

Li Aiguo knew where "above" was and was somewhat moved: "Thank you for your trouble."

"You young people, just go for it. Let us old guys protect you." Leader Teng patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder heavily.

The railway department is considered a semi-disciplinary department and also has a certain degree of autonomy.

Afterwards, Leader Teng convened a meeting, and when the leaders heard that Li Aiguo wanted to build a railway geological disaster early warning system, they all raised their hands to express their approval.

"If we could know in time where the rainstorm is going to happen, we could prepare in advance."

"Especially some railway bridges, the bridge deck is very low, which makes them prone to flooding accidents. There have been quite a few accidents in recent years."

"Let's do it. As the eldest brother, the railway should be the first to take a bite of the crab."

After the meeting, the ministry issued an order to establish a brand new department called the Railway Geological Disaster Early Warning Center.

Railway early warning systems are crucial for the safety of passengers and trains, making them an extremely important task.

Initially, the early warning center could only issue warnings based on weather forecasts.

The equipment is readily available; the Red Star Computing Institute can provide several computers at any time.

Professor Huang and those meteorological experts can serve as mentors; Li Aiguo doesn't need to bother with that.

The staff of the early warning center were drawn from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Li Aiguo plans to use methods such as tensile monitoring and bending monitoring in areas prone to geological disasters, based on the experience of later generations, to monitor the situation of falling rocks.

At the same time, the advantages of the track inspectors should be brought into play, and markers should be set up on both sides of the line to monitor the subgrade settlement.

This requires that the selected employees must have strong work abilities.

Li Aiguo would definitely not transfer personnel himself; he would definitely have to go through the personnel department of the locomotive depot to transfer personnel.

For things like this, you have to go through the proper procedures to avoid trouble.

Upon receiving the notification from above, Section Chief Xing immediately began the screening process within the locomotive depot.

"Aiguo, you haven't been home for several days, have you? Take a good rest for a couple of days."

These matters are handled by the section.

After getting off work, Li Aiguo rode his bicycle to the tailor shop and picked up Chen Xueru and their two children, taking them home with him.

Chen Xueru had just returned and was about to cook when she said to Li Aiguo, "Brother Aiguo, go to the cellar and get some potatoes. We'll make hot and sour shredded potatoes for dinner."

Li Aiguo responded and went into the cellar, taking four or five potatoes from his own pile of potatoes.

As soon as I stepped out of the cellar, I was blocked by the Third Uncle.

"Aiguo, I heard from Jiecheng that your Ministry of Railways is planning to establish a new department? Can my son Jiecheng apply?"

"Sure, but the requirements are quite high this time, and we need to consider many factors." Li Aiguo knew that his third uncle was prone to overthinking, so he spoke up directly.

"I know, but this is indeed a good opportunity," the third uncle said anxiously, tugging at Li Aiguo's sleeve. "Even last-minute preparations need a gun! Do you have any information?"

Although the news that Cheng Du averted a disaster thanks to timely weather forecasts was not officially announced, rumors were flying everywhere, and the residents of the courtyard all knew that Li Aiguo was studying the weather.

"There are indeed a few at home. I'll ask Jie Cheng to come and take them later. I have to go back now."

Li Aiguo took the potatoes home, and Chen Xueru washed them with warm water and then cut them into shreds.

The key to making shredded potatoes is to stir-fry them quickly. Li Aiguo filled the stove with firewood and brought in a fan to blow them.

The large pot in front is used to stir-fry vegetables, while the small pot in the back is used to cook cornmeal porridge and heat up some white flour steamed buns.

Chen Xueru had already chopped the scallions and garlic, and scooped out a large piece of oil and threw it into the pot. Soon, the room was filled with an enticing aroma.

Put shredded potatoes and chili peppers into the pot, sprinkle with salt, add the side dishes, then pour in soy sauce and aged vinegar. It will be ready to serve in just a few minutes.

Chen Xueru is now quite skilled at cooking home-style dishes; in just over ten minutes, the cornmeal porridge and steamed buns will be ready.

Cornmeal porridge with hot and sour shredded potatoes was considered a top-notch meal in those days.

Li Aiguo has been staying at the headquarters for the past few days and has been craving this kind of home-style cooking.

After dinner, Chen Xueru washed the pots and dishes, while Li Aiguo played with the two children's toys.

"Brother Aiguo, I'm busy." In the evening, Yan Jiecheng knocked on the door and came in.

"Wait here." Li Aiguo went into the room, took out a few books on meteorology, and handed them over: "Time is tight, hurry up."

"I understand," Yan Jiecheng replied listlessly before leaving.

"What's wrong with Jie Cheng?" Li Aiguo asked, looking at his retreating figure with some confusion.

"It's all because of Yu Li. Recently, Yan Jiecheng has been insisting on marrying Yu Li again, but Third Uncle doesn't agree." Chen Xueru wiped her hands, came out, and seeing that the two children were sleepy, she put them all to bed in the next room.

After washing up, the two lay down on the bed. Chen Xueru saw that Li Aiguo was still reading, so she turned over and took the book away.

"Brother Aiguo, I heard from the master that I can hug another one this year."

"What gentleman?" Li Aiguo frowned.

"It's a fortune teller, the one my second sister-in-law found. He's incredibly accurate," Chen Xueru said in a low voice.

"Is this fortune teller someone Second Sister-in-law familiar with?" Li Aiguo immediately became alert.

"I don't know the specifics, but I heard from my second sister-in-law that before Liberation, that person was a fortune teller, especially good at predicting whether a woman could get pregnant." Chen Xueru shook her head and said, "You know, my second sister-in-law and second brother have been married for seven or eight years and have always wanted a child."

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes and made a mental note of it.

In the current situation, there are all kinds of people, and Li Aiguo is not sure if this person has any problems. He will try to investigate when he has time.

"Did I make a mistake? Patriot, I won't go next time." Chen Xueru realized that something was wrong and couldn't help but feel guilty.

Actually, she didn't really believe in that stuff; she just needed a belief.

In some places, when a patient suffers from hysteria, the patient's family members can go to burn incense and pray to Buddha while taking the patient to the hospital for treatment, without delaying either process.

"That's all a lie, don't believe it. Whether you have a boy or a girl depends on probability." Li Aiguo said as he began to touch her all over.

"Keep it down, the neighbors can hear us."

"It's just that some people have loud voices."

"Isn't it just that some people are stronger?!"

The three women had already reached the Li family's door and were about to knock when they heard the noise inside. They withdrew their hands and turned back home.

When the third uncle saw her return alone, his eyes widened: "Didn't I tell you to invite Aiguo? Where is he?"

“They have other things to do, and besides, it’s not appropriate to ask Aiguo about this.” The third aunt looked at the third uncle with a frustrated expression.

"This child..." The third uncle sighed deeply.

The third uncle was in a bad mood.

He finally had a chance to be selected by the Ministry of Railways. If Yan Jiecheng could be selected, he would become a cadre.

The old man swallowed his pride and went to Li Aiguo to borrow some materials, hoping that Yan Jiecheng would sharpen his skills at the last minute, even if it was not ideal.

As a result, Yan Jiecheng did something quite different; in order to go on a date with Yu Li, he actually climbed out of the window and ran away.

The old man took a sip of water, and the icy tea went down his throat and into his heart, making him feel like half of his heart had turned cold.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have preferred to let Yan Jiecheng marry the commune secretary's daughter; he could have gotten a better price for the grain.

What does this mean? Was it due to poor planning? Was it a lack of shrewd calculation? Or was it just bad luck?
"If you ask me, Yu Li is a pretty good girl, much better than Liu Guangqi's wife," the third aunt advised.

"What good is being a good person? Without a proper job, what will you do after you get married, living off your salary as a single person? You'll be starving." The third uncle said irritably.

If he didn't pay living expenses to his family, Yan Jiecheng's salary would be enough to support two people.

Besides, Yu Li is just a temporary worker. The third aunt muttered a few words to herself, but knowing what the third uncle was thinking, she didn't say anything more.

The next day was Monday, and Li Aiguo arrived at the education office of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot around 10 a.m.

The exam had already ended, and the personnel department leaders had compiled the list of selected personnel.

"There are 35 people in total, and they are all top-notch in terms of both character and work ability."

Li Aiguo took the list and glanced at it. Yan Jiecheng's name was not on it. He nodded and said, "Notify these comrades to attend the training course."

"clear."

In the following days, Li Aiguo had a relatively leisurely time, helping the ministry prepare for the establishment of the Railway Geological Disaster Early Warning Center while also having a baby with Chen Xueru.

A few days later, the television station also sent a female reporter to the headquarters.

"Commander-in-Chief Li, thank you for your trouble." The female reporter was feeling somewhat uneasy. According to the program schedule, the weather forecast was 3 minutes and 30 seconds long, which was considered an important segment.

She had only been working at the TV station for a short time, and the opportunity she received had already made many of her seniors envious.

Liu** was initially puzzled as to why the white steamed bun had fallen on his head, but he understood the reason when he saw Li Aiguo.

"I'm afraid I won't do a good job."

"Don't worry, the purpose of weather forecasts is only one thing: to let the audience know clearly what the weather will be like in the future."

Li Aiguo wasn't trying to comfort the female reporter; in this day and age, being able to appear on a television station was already enough to prove her abilities.

Considering the professional nature of weather forecasting, Li Aiguo asked experts from the Hydrology Bureau to train the female reporter.

In addition to operating the meteorological instruments by hand, it is also necessary to mark the data on the map.

They can even point to an area with their finger with their eyes closed and say the specific city name and location.

At the same time, it is also necessary to understand meteorological knowledge and be clear about the theoretical basis of weather changes.

"Good evening, viewers. Welcome to today's weather forecast program. I am your host, Liu**."

Today is Wednesday, September 28, 1960, just after the Autumn Equinox. The drought in the Beijing area continues.
Below is the weather forecast for major cities. Beijing: Sunny, low of 25 degrees Celsius, high of 35 degrees Celsius. Wuhan: Gale-force winds (level 8).

The female reporter was very bright; after only four or five days of training, she could stand in front of a map and act quite professionally.

Thanks for watching today's weather forecast, see you tomorrow.

After broadcasting the weather forecasts for major cities across the country in three minutes, the female reporter looked at Li Aiguo and asked, "Commander-in-Chief, how is it?"

Li Aiguo stroked his chin: "His Mandarin is standard, but his expression is too technical."

The hydrological bureau leader frowned: "Commander-in-chief, isn't being too technical inappropriate?"

Given that weather forecasts will be rolled out nationwide, local television stations will also be required to broadcast weather information in the future.

The Hydrology Bureau is also preparing to select outstanding young people from the meteorological cadre training team for intensive training.

The leaders of the Hydrology Bureau have been keeping a close eye on this area for the past few days, recording all of Li Aiguo's training content. The more they recorded, the more they felt that Li Aiguo had considered everything thoroughly.

Now, however, the leaders of the Hydrology Bureau are puzzled to hear that the female reporter is being criticized for being too professional.

Li Aiguo picked up the enamel mug, which was empty, and was about to put it down when the female reporter quickly walked over and poured him some tea.

Li Aiguo took a sip and said, "Who are we broadcasting this to? The farmers rushing to harvest in the fields! The workers hurrying on their way!"
Currently, the illiteracy rate in China is as high as 70%, and overly technical terms cannot effectively convey weather information.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the hydrological bureau leaders and the female reporter changed slightly.

The hydrological bureau leader nodded: "If the public can't understand it, our weather forecasts will be meaningless."

"I've become detached from the masses." After a moment of contemplation, the female reporter looked at Li Aiguo and asked, "But how should I change that?"

"We can use the people's life experiences to describe it. For example, if the wind is level eight, after the broadcast, it can be described as the wind is so strong that it can overturn grain sacks!"

This was not Li Aiguo's original idea, but a term commonly used in weather forecasts in the 1970s and 80s.

At the time, Li Aiguo thought this expression was too old-fashioned, but after coming to this era, he understood the good intentions of the older generation.

In contrast, using fancy words and piling up technical terms and numbers does seem very sophisticated.

In essence, it is a blatant act of contempt and ostentation that exploits the "knowledge gap".

"Good idea." The leader of the Hydrology Bureau's eyes lit up, and he quickly wrote it down.

With a clear plan in mind, the rest is much easier.

In response to the special weather conditions, they came up with a few words that were easy for people to understand at a glance.

The female reporter's eyes lit up; this train driver was actually a weather forecasting expert!
****
Time passes day by day.

The first batch of geological disaster forecasters have been trained and have officially started their jobs.

The weather forecasting equipment has also been debugged.

A sign for the Railway Geological Disaster Early Warning Center was also hung on the gate of a small courtyard inside the Ministry of Railways.

"Commander-in-Chief, after debugging, the early warning center is ready to go into operation." Professor Huang, along with several experts, conducted a final check of the equipment and said as they walked over.

Li Aiguo looked at Leader Teng and said, "Leader, please do it."

The Railway Geological Disaster Early Warning Center is a department directly under the Ministry of Railways. Leader Teng didn't stand on ceremony and waved his hand, saying, "Start it."

With a command given, data from various locations were transmitted to the early warning center via telephone and telegram. Based on future weather conditions, computers used models to predict the probability of geological disasters.

"According to the weather forecast, there will be continuous rainfall in Handan recently, which needs to be closely monitored."

"Commander-in-chief, rest assured, we have already established observation points along the route."

Seeing that everything was going smoothly, Li Aiguo rode his bicycle home.

As soon as I entered, I saw Yan Jiecheng squatting at the door.

"Brother Aiguo, you're back."

"What? Did your dad kick you out?" Li Aiguo could tell from Yan Jiecheng's appearance that he had just had a fight with his third uncle.

In the past few days, there have been frequent arguments coming from Uncle San's house.

The Third Uncle complained that Yan Jiecheng had missed a good opportunity, while Yan Jiecheng complained that the Third Uncle had broken up the couple.

This is their family matter; the residents in the compound can only watch the show.

"Don't even mention it," Yan Jiecheng was about to speak when the Third Uncle rushed out of the house, grabbed his arm, and said to Li Aiguo, "Aiguo, it's getting late, hurry back."

This is because they're afraid of airing their dirty laundry in public.

Li Aiguo pretended not to know anything: "Third Uncle, what about the book I borrowed from you a few days ago?"

"Oh, I almost forgot." The third uncle went into the house and brought out the book.

Li Aiguo took the book and strolled towards the Central Court.

Qin Huairu had just sliced ​​all the dried sweet potatoes and spread them all over the ground in the middle courtyard.

Several children in the compound would run over every now and then, grab a handful of dried sweet potatoes, and run away.

It's always the Jia family that takes other people's things; who would dare to take anything from the Jia family?
Jia Dongxu was furious and went to Yi Zhonghai, asking him to take charge for him.

"Make them pay up, make them pay up, five cents per family."

Looking at the furious Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai sighed and said, "It's just a few dried sweet potatoes. If we argue with the residents over this, it will have a terrible impact."

"What can we do? We can't just watch them steal my dried sweet potatoes, can we?" Jia Dongxu felt that Yi Zhonghai wasn't thinking about him.

Yi Zhonghai was also in a difficult position.

Ever since he was removed from his position as group leader, he has been reported.

They said he abused his power for personal gain, protected his apprentices, engaged in factionalism, and disobeyed the orders and arrangements of the workshop leaders.

It was also said that Yi Zhonghai protected Jia Dongxu's gambling, provided him with gambling funds, and wanted Jia Dongxu to incur huge debts, which was the style of Huang Shiren.

Yi Zhonghai was called in for an investigation by the security department and has just returned from there.

In particular, Yi Zhonghai figured out that the people who knew about these things must be residents of the compound, and the person who reported him was either Liu Haizhong or Xu Damao.

At this point, if supporting Jia Dongxu angers the residents, there will definitely be more trouble.

"Master, what should we do?" Jia Dongxu became anxious when he saw that Yi Zhonghai didn't want to help.

"Use your brain, stop acting like that silly Zhu all the time. You know what happened to him." Yi Zhonghai reprimanded him sternly.

Jia Dongxu was indignant. "If Sha Zhu hadn't been sold out by you, would he still be squatting by the fence hitting stones?"

Yi Zhonghai couldn't just stand by and do nothing, so he came up with an idea: "Why don't you borrow a ladder from the neighboring compound and hang all the dried sweet potatoes on the roof? That way, the kids won't be able to reach them."

"Hey, that's a good idea," Jia Dongxu's eyes lit up, but then he suddenly remembered something: "But what if it rains?"

"Rain? It hasn't rained in our capital for so many days, how can it suddenly start raining?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu quickly stood up and said, "Master, thank you so much."

Before leaving, he didn't forget to bow to Yi Zhonghai, and then bowed again when he got outside the door.

He felt that Yi Zhonghai was becoming increasingly distant, so he needed to behave better.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Banggeng asked in surprise when he saw Jia Dongxu bring over a ladder.

"Son, do you like climbing mountains? Come on, Dad will teach you how to climb." Jia Dongxu was worried that he might collapse the roof if he climbed up, but after seeing the stick, he had a good idea.

Stick stalk: "."

The night is getting darker.

Qin Huairu was worried about rain outside, so she got up in the middle of the night and looked up at the sky. Seeing the stars shining brightly, she felt relieved and went back inside.

"If Li Aiguo's weather forecast is successful, then we won't have to worry," Qin Huairu said softly as she lay in bed.

"Weather forecast? Humph, it's just a bunch of nonsense. I don't believe that thing can tell you when it will rain." Jia Dongxu was jolted awake and unleashed a torrent of abuse on Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu looked up at the dark ceiling and felt a pang of sadness.

According to the three aunties, Li Aiguo was already helping the Ministry of Railways establish new departments, while Jia Dongxu could only order around dried sweet potatoes.

Qin Huairu lay in bed, too regretful to sleep. In the middle of the night, she even heard someone outside calling Li Aiguo's name.

"It might be a hallucination," Qin Huairu chuckled self-deprecatingly, and drifted off to sleep.

Li Aiguo was fast asleep when he heard someone calling him from outside, but he thought he was dreaming.

It wasn't until Chen Xueru sat up and Li Aiguo regained consciousness that he could clearly hear the sounds outside.

"Aiguo, something's happened. I just received a call from the early warning center. They detected a possible landslide near the Handan section of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway. The ministry wants you to come over."

"Honey, something's come up at the office, I have to go." Li Aiguo immediately jumped out of bed.

Knowing that something urgent had happened, Chen Xueru quickly helped him get dressed and saw him out the door.

"Slow down."

Li Aiguo got into the jeep and sped off towards the ministry.

Under the same night sky, train No. 352, fully loaded with passengers, sped towards Handan.

The driver, Zhang Dahua, was eight months pregnant. This trip was her last before giving birth, and she was staring intently at the dashboard.

"We'll be arriving in Handan in two hours. Driver Zhang, why don't you take a break? I'll keep an eye on things." The co-driver was worried that Zhang Dahua, who had been working for seven or eight hours straight, might have harmed her baby.

"No need, I can't rest without worrying. Once we get to Handan, I'll consider my driving mission complete." Zhang Dahua waved her hand.

(End of this chapter)