The train driver in the courtyard

Because the geological exploration drilling rig needed to travel on a freight train to the Northwest, Li Aiguo got out of bed at two o'clock in the morning.

The young woman, Ms. Chen, was fast asleep, her breathing even, her cheeks flushed from being warmed by the blankets.

Li Aiguo tiptoed to change his clothes, picked up his luggage, and left the house.

It's already deep winter.

The wind outside was biting cold, and the ground was frozen solid, making a crunching sound when you stepped on it.

Just as he turned into the Intermediate People's Court, Li Aiguo suddenly stopped.

By the dim moonlight on the horizon, he spotted a dark shadow crouching under Xu Damao's window, huddled up and peering through the crack in the window.

Is there a thief?
With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, every household has prepared some New Year's goods.

The patrol team just caught two people climbing over walls and picking locks a while ago. I didn't expect this thief to be so bold as to sneak into the courtyard.

He glanced at the corner of the wall, picked up a wooden stick as thick as his arm, and moved even more quietly, crouching low as he slowly approached.

The dark figure seemed oblivious, continuing to shift around until its head was almost touching the glass.

Li Aiguo held his breath, aimed at the back of the dark figure, and with a flick of his wrist, swung the stick with a whooshing sound.

The hand rises, the stick falls.

Before the stick even touched anyone, the dark figure suddenly turned around. The moonlight shone directly on his face, revealing his wide, beady eyes and his mouth agape, big enough to fit two eggs.

"Hey! Aiguo! It's me!"

Li Aiguo recognized the voice and his wrist jerked violently.

The stick abruptly changed direction, whistling past the figure's hair before landing heavily on the ground with a dull thud.

"Aiguo, Second Uncle, please don't lay a hand on me." The figure was also taken aback by Li Aiguo's strength.

If that blow had landed properly, his old bones would have been shattered.

Li Aiguo took out a flashlight from his pocket, turned it on with a "snap," and the beam of light shone directly onto Liu Haizhong's face.

His hair looked like a bird's nest, his cotton-padded jacket was covered in dirt, and his eyes were bloodshot. Who else could it be but Liu Haizhong?

"Second Uncle?"

Li Aiguo tossed the stick aside and lowered his voice in annoyance, "At your age, you're squatting under people's windows in the middle of the night eavesdropping? Is that all the ambition you have?"

"Misunderstanding! This is absolutely a misunderstanding!"

Liu Haizhong frantically shielded his eyes from the flashlight beam, waving his hands anxiously, "I was standing right under the wall, I didn't hear you! I really didn't hear you! Besides, Xu Damao and his wife didn't do anything..."

The lights inside the room were turned on at that moment.

Xu Damao and Liu Lan were both alarmed. They came out wearing their clothes, Xu Damao carrying a kitchen knife and Liu Lan carrying a rolling pin.

"Damn it! Which bastard dares to lie down against my wall?!"

When he saw that the person squatting on the ground was Liu Haizhong, his brows furrowed into a knot: "Second Uncle? You weren't satisfied with watching me all afternoon yesterday, you didn't even leave me alone while I was sleeping?"

Li Aiguo sensed something was wrong and interjected, "Da Mao, what's going on?"

Xu Damao blushed slightly and was too embarrassed to say anything.

Liu Lan yawned, rubbed her eyes, and said, "It's all because Second Uncle was bitten by Da Mao and was worried about getting rabies. Since yesterday afternoon, he hasn't left Da Mao's side for more than three steps, and he even sleeps by the window."

Li Aiguo was both amused and exasperated.

Well, Liu Haizhong is actively implementing the ten-day observation method.

Xu Damao threw the kitchen knife aside and bowed to Liu Haizhong: "Second Uncle, please, stop staring at me. I really wasn't bitten by a dog. I just bit you in a fit of anger. It has absolutely nothing to do with rabies!"

"If you don't bite me, why would I need to get a vaccination? Why would I need to stay up all night in the cold to watch over you?" Liu Haizhong said, sounding aggrieved. "What if you get sick in the middle of the night and I don't have time to get your shot?"

"This..." Xu Damao was speechless, after all, he had spoken first.

It's not a good idea to let Liu Haizhong follow Xu Damao around all day.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Li Aiguo quickly tried to smooth things over: "Liu Lan, if Xu Damao really had rabies, what would you do first?"

"Of course we should send him to the hospital, what else can we do?" Liu Lan blinked, not understanding what Li Aiguo meant.

Xu Damao's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh: "Second Uncle! Did you hear that? If something really happens to me, Liu Lan will definitely take me to the hospital immediately, and then she'll notify you to get an injection. It'll be in time!"

The matter is actually quite simple, and Liu Haizhong is not so confused as to not understand it; he is just preoccupied with worrying about rabies.

"Patriotism, that's a good idea."

"Please remember to take Xu Damao to the hospital and let me know while you're at it."

As they were talking, many of the residents in the courtyard were woken up.

Nan Yi, carrying a carrying pole, and Zhang Gangzhu, carrying a butcher's knife, rushed over: "Where's the thief? How dare he cause trouble in our yard! I'll take him down!"

"Alright, alright, it's because Second Uncle was worried about getting rabies that he leaned against the wall." Li Aiguo explained the situation to the residents, and Nan Yi and Zhang Gangzhu were both somewhat disappointed.

If they really catch the thief, they'll have something to talk about before the New Year.

"Brother Aiguo, are you going on a business trip? Are you coming back for the New Year?" Zhang Gangzhu asked as he walked up to Li Aiguo, who was carrying his luggage.

"It's hard to say, you still need to take care of things at home," Li Aiguo replied.

“That’s easy. We’re family. Even if you don’t confess, I’ll still help.” Zhang Gangzhu had always remembered how Li Aiguo had helped him avenge his father’s death, so he readily agreed.

"It's just a pity, I was planning to save you a few strings of pig intestines."

"Ahem, you can enjoy it yourself."

Li Aiguo felt nauseous just thinking about that lumpy, sticky thing, so he picked up his luggage and left the courtyard.

A large SUV was parked outside the yard.

Old Cat leaned against the car door, smoking and checking the time. When he saw Li Aiguo coming over, he took the luggage from him.

"If you don't come out soon, I'll have to knock on the door."

"Something went wrong in the yard, which caused a delay."

The two got into the car. Li Aiguo sat in the passenger seat, and Lao Mao stepped on the gas. The SUV roared towards the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

"Team Leader Cat, the station sent you along this time, it can't just be for security work, right?"

Li Aiguo found it strange that the old cat was in charge of the transportation task.

You have to understand that Old Cat is now a leader at the weather station, and there's absolutely no need to involve him in a simple transportation task.

Old Cat gripped the steering wheel, a slight smile playing on his lips, without turning around: "You'll know when we get there."

Well, it seems the exploration base we're heading to this time is quite important.

Li Aiguo was well aware of the weather station's rules, and since Lao Mao didn't seem inclined to explain further, he didn't ask any further questions.

When the SUV arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, the automotive experts, along with colleagues from the neighboring fire brigade, had already helped load all the drilling rig parts onto a freight train.

The destination for this trip is the northeastern part of the Ordos Basin.

Since there is no direct train, passengers need to first take a freight train, which will transport goods in sections via the Jinpu Railway and the Luhan Railway. They will then need to transfer to a ferry in Wuhan to cross the river, and finally take the Yuehan Railway to a small station in the suburbs of Lanzhou.

Afterwards, they will transfer to trucks to travel to the exploration base.

"The local exploration bureau staff will be waiting for us in Lanzhou." After Lao Mao and his team checked the loading of the parts, he discussed with Li Aiguo how to arrange safety on the road.

The weather station sent seven people this time. In addition to Lao Mao and Li Aiguo, there was also a deputy captain, Lao Qin, who led five team members.

Li Aiguo's gaze fell on Lao Qin.

This man looked to be over fifty, older than Old Cat. He was as thin as a stick, with frighteningly high cheekbones and a shrewd glint in his eyes. He was clearly no ordinary person.

From the moment we met until now, Lao Qin hasn't said a word. He just stands there, like a stone.

At this moment, Lao Qin stepped forward and said, "I will lead the team to guard the goods on the way."

"No need for rotation?" Li Aiguo was surprised. The goods were loaded onto railcars, which were different from the carriages and had no place to rest.

"No need." Old Qin said, gesturing with his chin towards the five team members.

Without saying a word, the five men nimbly climbed onto the truck bed, grabbed the railings, and jumped over, their movements so synchronized they looked as if they were cut from the same mold.

When Li Aiguo saw Lao Qin grab the railing and jump onto the train car, his eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed that these five team members were Lao Qin's direct subordinates and had nothing to do with Lao Mao.

It seems that Old Cat's position as "security chief" is just a figurehead.

Li Aiguo muttered to himself, glancing at the old cat.

Old Cat's face was expressionless as he looked down at the shipping document in his hand, seemingly oblivious to everything.

This trip to Northwest China seems to be getting more and more interesting.

"Patriotism, I'm back." The wild car expert ran over from a distance, carrying a large package.

Li Aiguo specifically brought him along this time because he valued his exceptional skill in repairing machinery.

In places like the Great Northwest, if the equipment malfunctions, he's the one who has to step in and fix it.

"What's in it?" Li Aiguo helped lift the package; it was extremely heavy, weighing several dozen kilograms.

"Hey, these are just everyday essentials." The wild car expert wiped his sweat and grinned. "Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and dozens of packs of instant noodles that I specially bought from the food factory yesterday. I heard that life in the Northwest is very tough, so bringing more dry goods makes me feel more at ease."

"You've thought this through quite thoroughly, kid." Li Aiguo gave the wild car expert a thumbs up.

Look, this thing has already come in handy before we even set off.

Freight trains do not have fixed departure times. When the train driver saw that everything was ready, he submitted an application to the dispatcher.

The dispatcher contacted the dispatch office, returned a moment later, and waved a flag at the train.

"set off!"

Waaaaaah, I'm eating like crazy!
In the early morning, the train sped along the tracks, billowing black smoke, and the sparks from its chimneys shone brightly in the dark night.

This is a train transporting steel, traveling at a speed of less than forty kilometers per hour.

Li Aiguo wasn't in a hurry. During the day, he would go to the back of the train car to help Lao Qin and the team members with their duties, and at night he would play cards with the wild car expert and Lao Mao.

When it's mealtime, the co-driver in the front carriage will come over with a few iron-waisted lunch boxes.

The lunchbox was heated in the train's stove; steam billowed out as soon as the lid was opened. Atop the fluffy white rice were piled stir-fried vegetables and fatty pork, glistening with oil. One bite filled the mouth with fragrance; it was a rare delicacy on this bumpy train.

Li Aiguo was living a happy life, his only regret being that he spent five or six days trying to figure out the background of Lao Qin and his group.

The team members had become familiar with Li Aiguo, but they would change their minds whenever work was mentioned.

Old Qin, however, remained as still as a dead man, chain-smoking. He looked so utterly mushy that if they simply threw him out of the car, the archaeological team could mistake him for a rice dumpling.

After swaying for who knows how many days, the train suddenly slowed down, and the co-driver's shout came from the front.

Li Aiguo peered out the train window and saw only desolation on both sides of the railway, with rolling yellow earthen slopes. This small station looked like it was still some distance from Lanzhou.

When the train came to a complete stop, Li Aiguo realized that the small station was larger than he had expected, with five railway tracks and several rows of dusty brick buildings standing on the side.

A middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed tortoiseshell glasses stood on the platform, followed by a group of young people.

Some wore gray overalls, while others wore faded old military uniforms. Their faces bore the marks of time, making them look older than their actual age. They were clearly exploration team members who spent years in the field.

At the end of the platform, there were more than a dozen trucks parked, and several men wrapped in sheepskin coats were standing next to them, presumably the drivers.

"Patriotic comrades, we've been waiting for you!"

A middle-aged man wearing glasses quickly came forward, gripped Li Aiguo's hands tightly with great force, and said, "I am Tang Guangwu from Team 519, and I also serve as the team leader."

"Captain Tang, you're too kind. I'm sorry to have troubled you this time." Li Aiguo shook hands with him in return.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tang Guangwu introduced Li Aiguo to the other people accompanying him, including Wang Jie, the head of the secretariat in charge of logistics.

The technical staff included engineers Zhu Guoke, Zhang Xingan, and Wang Jiamo, all of whom were veteran surveyors from before the liberation. They were responsible for assisting Li Aiguo and others in their work.

Most of the convoy drivers came from the northern battlefields.

The captain, a seasoned driver known as "Sixth Brother," raised his wine jug at Li Aiguo from afar as a greeting when he was introduced.

There was also a guard platoon, all demobilized soldiers, each carrying a rifle. The platoon leader was named Shu Dingyi, and he was missing a piece of his right ear.

Tang Guangwu jokingly called him "Squad Leader with One Ear".

Li Aiguo, nicknamed "Squad Leader Shu," felt that the nickname was a bit derogatory.

Just call me One-Ear!

Shu Ding grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. The smile, combined with his missing ear, looked a little creepy.

"Back then, I was fighting hand-to-hand with the Japanese in the north. That son of a bitch bit off one of my ears, but I didn't lose out. I bit his throat off in one bite!"

Li Aiguo had seen many tough guys who had emerged from hard battles, but he had never seen one as fierce as this before. He couldn't help but swallow hard and reached out to shake hands with him: "Squad Leader One-Ear, I admire you."

Finally, we introduce Huo Lizhi, the captain of the first squad, who is the most senior officer in the squad.

"Captain Zhao Yichang of the second squad has led his men out to explore, and they should be back in the next couple of days," Tang Guangwu added.

Li Aiguo shook hands with each of them, which was considered a formality. Captain Tang Guangwu's eyes were already fixed impatiently on the train cars.

"Comrade Patriot, those railcars are loaded with geological exploration drilling rigs, right?"

"Open it." With Li Aiguo's command, the wild car expert led Lao Qin and the others to open the tarpaulin.

"This thing is really big."

"It's large and very heavy, so be careful during transportation," Li Aiguo instructed.

"Don't worry, Sixth Brother and the drivers are all veterans. They've been transporting large items a lot and have a lot of experience." Tang Guangwu waved to Sixth Brother.

Sixth Brother, the driver's team leader, took a sip of wine, tucked the wine jug into the pocket of his sheepskin coat, and led the drivers over to discuss how to transport the goods.

Li Aiguo initially thought that the so-called "experience" was just bragging.

After watching the drivers murmur for a while, he devised a plan, explaining everything from the angle of the pry bar used when unloading the truck to the balance of the center of gravity when loading it, and the way it was secured on the road.

He then realized that he might have underestimated the exploration team.

Judging from the guards, motorcade, and professional loading and unloading experience they have, what they are looking for is definitely not ordinary.

But Li Aiguo had no time to ask questions at this point, because the dismantling work had already begun.

The drivers, with their experience, placed cotton quilts under the trucks, and several guards worked together to load the drill bits onto the truck bed.

Meanwhile, the technicians and exploration team workers also began to get busy.

The only people on site who weren't involved in the loading and unloading were Lao Mao and Lao Qin's group; they still had their hands on their hips, watching their surroundings warily.

It took a full three hours to complete the loading and unloading work.

Li Aiguo wiped his face, his hands covered in grease.

Tang Guangwu shouted into the duty room, "Old Liu, hurry up and get some water so the comrade from Beijing can take a shower!"

"You guys just happened to be lucky. The bureau's drilling team just drilled a well here a couple of days ago."

The duty officer was a thin old man who was obviously very familiar with Tang Guangwu. He muttered, "You old Tang, you always cause trouble," while taking out several enamel basins.

"Comrade, do you know how to use this machine to pump wells?" The old man handed the basin to Li Aiguo.

"I've used it twice."

Li Aiguo took the basin, walked to the well, and pressed the lever twice, but no water came out.

He glanced at the water in the earthenware pot next to him, scooped half a pot into the well, and when he pressed it again, clear water gushed out with a "splashing" sound, carrying an earthy smell.

"Great, he's a clever one!"

The old man pulled a flour sack out of the warehouse. Seeing this scene, he chuckled and said, "These guys in the exploration team are all taciturn. Take Old Tang for example, he pressed water here for half an hour last time and still couldn't get any out."

"Old Liu, can we not bring this up?"

Tang Guangwu glared at him, then smiled at Li Aiguo and said, "This machine-operated well was developed by Comrade Aiguo and his team."

The duty officer paused for a moment, confirmed the message, turned around and went back into the room to pull out an egg. "Comrade Patriot, let's splurge a little today, I'll give you an extra egg!"

Lunch consisted of cornbread, which was as hard as a brick, with just a sprinkle of salt. Each person received two pancakes and a porcelain jar of boiled water.

The flatbread was rough on the throat, almost like chewing tree bark, but the comrades of Team 519 ate it with great relish, smacking their lips.

The wild car expert took a bite and frowned, then struggled to swallow it, secretly stuffing the rest of the biscuit into his pocket.

"Eat quickly, and drink it down with hot water!"

Seeing his expression, Tang Guangwu reminded him, "We're going to travel hundreds of kilometers in a bit, and there won't be a soul in sight along the way. It'll be hard to even find a drink of water."

The wild car expert's face turned green. He had expected things to be tough before he came, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

These days everyone eats flatbread, so it's embarrassing to bring out instant noodles; those are probably only used as nutritional supplements now.

"Here, eat it like this." Li Aiguo, being experienced, gave half an egg to the wild car expert and broke the pancake into pieces, soaking them in an enamel mug.

He tilted his head back and poured the thick and thin liquid into his stomach all at once.

“That’s a good idea.” The wild car expert followed suit and drank two biscuits.

After the meal, the duty officer baked dozens of pancakes as dry food, while the drivers carried more than a dozen gasoline cans filled with water, firstly to add water to their water tanks since there were no water sources along the way, and secondly to use as drinking water.

As Tang Guangwu was being escorted to the vehicle, the duty officer waved and shouted, "Old Tang, if you come back alive next time, don't let me see your corpse!"

"You old geezer, you're just hoping something bad will happen to me, aren't you?" Tang Guangwu said with a laugh, then shouted to the driver, "Drive!"

One truck after another started up, kicking up clouds of dust, and headed toward the barren Gobi Desert.

Old Cat's men and the guards rode in two trucks, one in front and one behind, protecting the convoy in the middle.

Once we left the small station, there wasn't even a trace of the road left.

The Gobi Desert, like an old map forgotten by time, unfolds under the winter sun, its monotony unsettling.

As the wheels rolled over the last patch of gravel, Li Aiguo discovered that even the drought-resistant tamarisk trees were gone, and occasionally he could see half a weathered sheep bone lying forlornly in the wind.

"Captain Tang, can you tell me now what kind of mine we're looking for?" Li Aiguo turned his gaze to Tang Guangwu, who was still flipping through documents.

Before setting off, he asked the leaders of the geological department, who only said it was confidential and that he would know when he arrived at the destination.

Tang Guangwu arranged for him to ride in his own car, clearly to facilitate communication.

He closed the document, did not answer directly, but instead told a story: "Three years ago, a commune member found a greenish-blue luminous pearl in the Gobi Desert and excitedly handed it over to the commune."

The commune leaders presented it to higher authorities like a treasure, but when an antique expert from the county examined it, they discovered it wasn't a luminous pearl at all.

Captain Tang looked up at Li Aiguo: "Do you know what it is?"

"A certain type of ore containing calcium fluoride?"

Li Aiguo knew this stuff all too well; the so-called luminous pearl was actually calcium fluoride.

When I was a kid, those bouncy, glowing balls sold at the supply and marketing cooperative cost five cents each. They contained calcium fluoride and were inedible (don't ask why Li Aiguo knows this).

"Yes."

Tang Guangwu was a little surprised that he knew, and nodded, "But if it's just calcium fluoride, there's no need to make such a fuss, right?"

Li Aiguo's heart skipped a beat: "Calcium fluoride often exists as a by-product mineral, such as... uranium sulfide, uranium silicate, etc."

"What we're looking for is uranium ore!" Tang Guangwu lowered his voice, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light.

Li Aiguo understood instantly.

The various doubts before departure, the geological department's reticence, the mysteriousness of Lao Mao and Lao Qin, the heavily guarded small station in the Gobi Desert... all of these things came together.

“That’s right!” Tang Guangwu lit a cigarette, looked at the dust kicked up behind the car, and sighed. “The ‘luminous pearl’ that the commune member found was actually silicon-calcium-uranium ore.”

As you know, we haven't found any large uranium mines since the discovery of uranium mine 712.

The higher-ups specially formed Team 519. Initially, the Russians even sent experts, but after a while without results, they withdrew.

He took a deep drag on his cigarette, the smoke rings spreading through the carriage: "Because we haven't made any breakthroughs, and experts both at home and abroad believe that there's no way there could be uranium deposits in this Gobi Desert, Team 519 was actually preparing to withdraw. This large-scale exploration is our last chance."

The truck fell silent, with only the roar of the engine and the sound of wheels crushing gravel.

Li Aiguo gazed out the window at the vast Gobi Desert.

(End of this chapter)