The train driver in the courtyard

"Is this the Red Star Double R?" Section Chief Xing looked at the motorcycle, which was completely different from what he usually saw.

Compared to a mountain bike, this thing is about the same as a car or a large off-road vehicle.

"Tsk tsk, this thing looks pretty powerful." Several section leaders were also stunned and did not dare to handle it immediately, but circled around it twice.

"With tires that thick, how fast must it go?"

"It's said to be over two hundred."

"More than two hundred"

Section Chief Xing took a deep breath and asked, "How do we test this? Or should I ride it around the section first?"

"Section Chief, be careful, this thing has a lot of horsepower and goes fast." Li Aiguo pushed the motorcycle in front of Section Chief Xing.

Section Chief Xing got on his motorcycle, started it as usual, clutched the clutch and shifted into gear, and his expression changed slightly as soon as he stepped on the gas.

"This thing is incredibly powerful."

The power provided by a four-cylinder engine is far superior to that of a single-cylinder engine.

It was only because Section Chief Xing was careful enough, and Li Aiguo reminded him, that he would have definitely darted out just now.

Section Chief Xing rode his motorcycle around the office building, then around the steam train in the station yard. The deep rumble of the motorcycle startled many people.

As soon as Zhou Ke heard that the Red Star Double R had been developed, he immediately ran out of the police station.

Seeing that imposing and powerful motorcycle, he instantly felt that his newly acquired mountain bike was no longer appealing.

"Section Chief, let me try too." Zhou Ke walked over as soon as he saw the motorcycle stop.

"Xiao Zhou, this motorcycle is nice, but I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it," Section Chief Xing said, waving his hand.

Li Aiguo nodded: "Section Chief, this motorcycle has too much horsepower. It's easy to cause an accident if you operate it rashly. The driving school has a special training area. I think you can take it for a few laps there."

"Yes, yes, yes." Section Chief Xing nodded repeatedly.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot Driving School is destined to become the largest driving school in the country.

When Li Aiguo and Lan Xiang planned the project together, they took this into consideration, which is why it was so large in scale, with the driving practice area alone covering several thousand square meters.

Fortunately, this piece of land was specially approved by the transportation department, so it didn't cost any money.

The venue was also professionally designed, with different project areas set up.

When Li Aiguo rode his Red Star Double R into the driving school, Lan Xiang was instructing a group of students on how to ride motorcycles.

Upon seeing the Red Star Double R, the young people all gathered around.

"Get out of here, all of you! You guys don't even have a driver's license, do you think you can touch this?"

These days, there's no such thing as praise-based teaching, and coaches won't indulge their students.

Lan Xiang waved his stick a few times, making the trainees stand obediently at a distance.

At this moment, Section Chief Xing arrived with other section leaders. Seeing the situation inside the driving school, he nodded to Lan Xiang and said, "Principal Lan, the driving school is doing a great job. Thank you for your hard work."

"Boss, it's all I should do." Lan Xiang pointed to the Red Star 2R and asked, "Section Chief, is Comrade Aiguo going to test drive today?"

"Yes, a newly developed four-cylinder motorcycle."

"This is good stuff." As someone from a family of driving instructors, Lan Xiang has an extraordinary understanding of vehicles and immediately fell in love with the Red Star Double R.

"Brother Lan, how about you take charge of timing and I'll run the laps?" Li Aiguo had already put on his safety helmet and cycling gear.

Once ABS plastic is mass-produced, safety helmets will be able to be upgraded.

"I couldn't be happier." Lacking a professional timekeeping tool, Lan Xiang took out an alarm clock.

By this time, the comrades from the locomotive depot had also received the news and rushed over.

Yan Jiecheng stood in the crowd and shouted to Li Aiguo, "Go, Aiguo brother!"

Zhou Ke took on the role of starter, found a flag, and swung it down heavily.

Boom boom boom.
Li Aiguo slammed on the gear shift.

The car suddenly lurched, the rear tires screeching against the ground with a short, sharp "sizzling" sound, and the Red Star Double R shot off like an arrow.

A collective gasp arose from the crowd of onlookers, and the students who had been making a ruckus just moments before instinctively held their breath.

"Holy crap, that was way too fast."

Li Aiguo leaned slightly forward, his arms straight but not stiff, steadily controlling the handlebars.

He didn't immediately floor the accelerator; instead, he first tested the speed.

The speed increased from 50 kilometers per hour to 150 kilometers per hour in the blink of an eye, but the car remained as stable as if it were glued to the ground, without even the slightest unnecessary sway.

Two hundred meters ahead was the driving school's continuous curves, and Lan Xiang subconsciously gripped the alarm clock in his hand.

It's common sense to slow down when turning.

But now the motorcycle is going up to 150 km/h and there is no emergency braking. Won't it overturn?
Anyone can twist the accelerator to accelerate in a straight line, but being fast in corners is what truly matters.

Li Aiguo also wanted to test the stability of the Red Star Double R. He first lightly applied the brakes, and the moment the speed dropped slightly, he suddenly leaned his body to the left side, his left knee almost touching the ground.

The wide tires of the Red Star Double R gripped the ground firmly, and the blue smoke from the friction between the tire edges and the ground was faintly visible. Accompanied by a "sizzling" friction sound, it bypassed the first bend.

"My goodness! That motorcycle almost fell over, how could it still be running? Li Aiguo is so lucky, he didn't crash." A leader couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"This mainly involves mechanical equilibrium and center of gravity shift in physics." Wild car experts also came to cheer on Li Aiguo after learning the news, as he has been studying physics a lot lately.

"speak English."

"As Patriot once said, this is called bending."

"Bend it." The onlookers stared wide-eyed.

They initially thought the mistake was due to excessive speed, but now it seems that Li Aiguo deliberately caused it.

Motorcycles can run like this; it's beyond their imagination.

The sheer power of the cornering brought a moment of silence to the scene, with only the roar of motorcycles audible.

After rounding the bend, Li Aiguo suddenly accelerated.

True speed is achieved by going fast on a straight line; everyone knows how to bend in a curve.

The Red Star Double R raced across the track like an arrow, eventually returning to the starting point.

Li Aiguo gradually slowed down, and the motorcycle came to a steady stop in front of the crowd. He took off his helmet and said, "How about it? This Red Star Double R didn't embarrass our locomotive depot, did it?"

Lan Xiang pressed the alarm clock, his voice trembling slightly: "This round hasn't even taken three minutes!"

"Converted, the average speed reached 210 kilometers per hour."

Keep in mind that this track includes both straight sections and curves, so even when he was riding a mountain bike, his speed could only reach around 120 km/h.

Li Aiguo was fairly satisfied with the result.

After all, he wasn't one of those young men who had said goodbye to their families, and he certainly didn't want to risk his life.

"Lost face? This is a source of pride! With this thing, we can finally go toe-to-toe with the Japanese devils."

Section Chief Xing was the first to step forward and pat Li Aiguo on the shoulder.

The section leader in charge of safety was somewhat worried: "This thing is too fast; most people simply can't handle it."

If I had said this before the test drive, no one would have believed me. It's just a motorcycle, right? Anyone can ride one.

However, upon seeing the speed of the motorcycle, the section leaders and the onlookers all nodded in approval.

"This motorcycle is a racing motorcycle, and we don't have the conditions for large-scale production right now. Even if we could produce it on a large scale, we would mainly export it."

Li Aiguo had already thought it through: racing motorcycles were too expensive, so it was better to just give them away to earn foreign exchange.

As for the domestic market, it's not too late to sell them domestically once mountain bikes have become more popular, a motorcycle culture has formed, and people's awareness of motorcycle safety has improved.

Hearing this, the leader was finally relieved.

"You're going to compete against the Japanese this year, so hurry up and produce a batch so the motorcycle team members can start practicing." Section Chief Xing is now very confident in the Red Star Double R.

However, the technology in the motorcycle workshop is not enough to produce the Red Star Double R, so Li Aiguo and the technicians in his studio need to personally take charge.

Fortunately, the first batch of Red Star Double Rs is tentatively set at twenty vehicles, which should be able to be completed.

Subsequently, Section Chief Xing sent a congratulatory message to the Ministry in the name of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

They claimed it was a report on achievements, but in reality, they were asking for money and supplies.

The leaders in the department have also been paying close attention to Red Star Double R, and with a stroke of their pen, they specially approved a large batch of materials and supplies.

Several trucks loaded with materials from various factories arrived at the workshop.

The engineers and technicians in the studio transformed into ordinary workers, and the clanging and banging began.

These days, there isn't actually that much difference between technicians and workers in their jobs.

When encountering emergencies during railway construction, the leaders of the Railway Corps would also take the initiative to roll up their sleeves and get involved.

When important tasks arise in the workshop, the workshop leaders will shoulder the heavy responsibilities just like the workers.

The saying "labor is the most glorious" is not just an empty phrase.

In the evening, after making three frames, Li Aiguo took a shower in the bathroom, changed into clean clothes, slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, and rode his mountain bike back to the courtyard house.

Yan Jiecheng was squatting at the gate of the courtyard with a bowl of rice in his hand. When he saw Li Aiguo, he greeted him with a smile: "Brother Aiguo, why didn't you ride your big motorcycle back?"

Xu Damao was playing with little Xu Hua when he heard this and asked in surprise, "What big motorcycle?"

"You don't know yet, do you? Brother Aiguo has built another super big motorcycle. It's incredibly fast, over 200 kilometers per hour, and it can even corner at an angle." Yan Jiecheng said excitedly, putting down his chopsticks and gesturing wildly.

Xu Damao exclaimed in amazement, "Wow, this is incredible! I've never seen such a big motorcycle before. Patriot, when are you going to ride it back so I can see for myself?"

"Sure, let's go for a drive sometime." Li Aiguo agreed with a smile.

He called Yan Jiecheng to lift the motorcycle over the threshold, then rode it towards the backyard.

Before I even reached my doorstep, Aunt Liu called out to me.

"Aiguo, I made cotton clothes for Tianquan, Diquan, and Huang Ting. If you have time, please mail them to them."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo felt a little strange: "Auntie, it's already April, springtime, do you need cotton clothes?"

"Young people these days don't understand; the weather this year is strange."

"What?" Li Aiguo stopped in his tracks.

"Didn't you feel it? This winter isn't cold at all; there's bound to be a cold snap in the spring."

Aunt Liu counted on her fingers and said, "If the Lesser Cold isn't cold, the Greater Cold will be; if the Greater Cold isn't cold, there will be a late spring cold snap. This year, our capital city only had one snowfall. The rain was young and intense, so we didn't even have to wear cotton boots."

"Really?" Li Aiguo spent the Spring Festival in the Northwest and hadn't noticed this.

"I'll mail it to you this weekend."

Li Aiguo responded and returned home, still pondering the late spring cold snap.

He vaguely remembered that during one of the three years, there was a severe cold snap in early spring, but he couldn't recall the exact date.

Chen Xueru was cooking at home when she saw Li Aiguo return. She took the canvas bag and filled a basin with water.

Li Aiguo quickly washed his face, put the two children on his lap to play horsey, and asked about the late spring cold snap.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you, Dad said we should buy more grain and store it up, because we might suffer a disaster this year."

It seemed that Chen Fangxuan had also noticed something was wrong, and Li Aiguo couldn't help but take it seriously.

People like Aunt Liu and Chen Fangxuan, who have lived through the chaos of war and are now elderly, have a keen sense of things.

The Li family has enough grain stored in their cellar to last for several years, so there's no need to worry. But what about everyone else?
Especially now that Li Yunlong is still in South Asia, what if there is a large-scale disaster and there is a food shortage at the front?

In the past, Li Aiguo would have been just a small train driver, with limited abilities, only able to protect his own relatives and friends.

Now that he can do something, he naturally can't stand idly by.

"What are you thinking about?" That evening, Chen Xueru washed Li Aiguo's feet as usual. Seeing the rough man's serious expression, she was a little puzzled.

"It's nothing, go to sleep. Besides, I can do it myself next time." Li Aiguo emptied the water from the foot bath and snuggled into the warm quilt.

To persuade those above to take this seriously, it would be best to have concrete evidence.

The weather forecast system has been running for a while now, so we can test its effectiveness.

The next morning, Li Aiguo first rode his motorcycle to the studio. Seeing that the work was going smoothly, he then went to the weather forecast center located in the suburbs.

After the weather forecasting system went online, the General Staff and local authorities jointly established this center to coordinate weather forecasting work across the country.

The center had a mainframe room containing dozens of Red Star computers operating in a crowded environment, as well as a telegraph room, mainly used to communicate with weather stations across the country.

Meanwhile, the Yi family, the John Bull family, and the Jie and Big Bo families purchased complete weather forecast systems.

The center is also responsible for training weather forecasters, some of whom stayed in China, while most went to weather forecasting stations abroad.

The comrades sent abroad receive much higher salaries than those in China and can also earn foreign exchange, so many employees have signed up.

The center is headed by Professor Huang, who came from the former Jinling Observatory, who serves as the chief forecasting expert.

Compared to a year ago, Professor Huang looks much more energetic.

The observatory observes celestial bodies that are several light-years, or even hundreds of light-years away, which seem ethereal and distant.

Weather forecasting is different; it allows individuals to use their knowledge to contribute to the country and benefit the people.

"Aiguo, I was just about to call you." Upon seeing Li Aiguo, Professor Huang immediately led him into his office and closed the door.

Seeing this, Li Aiguo asked directly, "Is it because of the late spring cold snap?"

"You've heard about it too? Yes, this unusual weather has already attracted people's attention, but this time it's particularly serious." Professor Huang looked worried, took the cigarette from Li Aiguo, lit it, and took two deep drags.

Li Aiguo asked, "What exactly is the situation?"

"Based on data we have collected from all over the country, it is expected that a large-scale cold anticyclone will sweep across the country within half a month, with temperatures in the Beijing area dropping to minus ten degrees Celsius, and other parts of the country also experiencing a significant drop in temperature."

As Professor Huang spoke, he handed over a thick stack of documents.

Li Aiguo flipped through it; it was filled with densely packed data and curves.

How long will this cold snap last?

"Based on our forecasting capabilities, we can't be sure yet, but it will likely last for at least a week."

The scale, duration, and scope of this late spring cold snap are extremely rare in history.

April is the season when crops sprout, and this sudden cold snap could have dire consequences.

"Didn't you submit the forecast results?" Li Aiguo frowned.

Professor Huang sighed: "The accuracy of the forecast cannot be guaranteed. I was just about to discuss this with you when you came over."

Li Aiguo instantly understood Professor Huang and the forecasting center's concerns.

This matter is of great importance; if the forecast is wrong, it will have serious adverse consequences.

In particular, the weather forecasting center has made some forecasting errors since its establishment, and has been criticized by some people.

The prerequisite for doing anything is to protect yourself.

Acting recklessly will not only lead to failure, but will also result in getting into serious trouble.

This is Li Aiguo's principle in doing things.

Li Aiguo said, "Draft a report that only lists data and does not make any predictions."

Professor Huang was taken aback at first.

If the weather forecast center doesn't forecast the weather, what's it for?!

Upon closer reflection, he understood and admired Li Aiguo's prudence.

"I'll do it right away."

The weather forecast center has been paying close attention to the late spring cold snap, and the data has already been compiled.

By noon, Li Aiguo had received the report.

The report contains only data and no personal opinions.

To Li Aiguo's surprise, the report was covered with signatures.

These are all the names of forecasters from the weather forecasting center, with Professor Huang's name listed first.

Li Aiguo picked up a pen and wrote his name.

The report was submitted to the Ministry of Railways by Li Aiguo.

The stated reason is to prepare for the upcoming severe weather, which may affect railway transportation operations.

"How confident are you?" Leader Teng opened the report and, upon seeing the signature at the back, understood the report's true purpose.

"Fifty percent," Li Aiguo reported truthfully.

"Only 50%?" Leader Teng flipped through the report again. "I was overthinking it. For something this serious, even if there's only a 50% chance, we have to take precautions."

“Since the comrades on the front line have signed, it would be inappropriate for me, as a leader, not to sign.”

As he spoke, Leader Teng also signed his name on it.

Subsequently, Leader Teng left the ministry with the report.

Li Aiguo had no idea where Leader Teng went or which leaders he met.

All that is known is that after Teng returned, he announced the establishment of the Ministry of Railways Natural Disaster Prevention Group, with Teng himself serving as the group leader.

Although the group did not announce its purpose, it ordered all railway bureaus and sections to pay attention to the ice disaster.

Locomotive depots began stockpiling coal and heating supplies, and work sections strengthened their track inspections.

The railway hospital has set up an emergency medical team on standby.

Unified leadership, hierarchical responsibility, rapid response, and coordinated operations.

Responsibility must be assigned to individuals, and any mishaps will be thoroughly investigated.

Li Aiguo wasn't idle either. After returning to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, he went to the secure telephone room and connected with Yang Jizong.

"Brother Patriot, I have some good news for you. Red Star Pioneers has acquired two more gold mines in Mali's area, and the prince plans to send some black pearls over here. I can save some for you if you want."

"That's certainly good news, but forget about the Black Pearl." Li Aiguo was startled.

"If you don't want it, then I won't either." Yang Jizong was also quite aware of the seriousness of the problem.

After exchanging a few casual words, Li Aiguo inquired about how much cash Hextech had in its accounts.

"What use are you to me?"

"First, allocate some funds to buy a batch of grain from Kangaroo's and Maple Leaf's families and transport it back, and then buy a batch of warm clothing."

Hearing this, Yang Jizong felt a little strange.

Food is one thing, but Hextech has been able to buy large quantities of it from the international market using foreign exchange over the years.

This is the first time I've bought imported winter clothing.

"Has something happened?"

"It's hard to say, it's just being prepared. The style of those cotton-padded coats doesn't matter, the cheaper and thicker the better."

Yang Jizong agreed without asking any further questions.

Anyway, Hextech isn't short of money right now, so even if these clothes aren't used, they can still be stored for a while.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Jizong called the housekeeper into his office.

"Uncle Bai, please tell the old man that I have to go on a business trip and I can't go to this blind date."

"Yes," Butler Bai thought that Yang Jizong couldn't wait to leave Gangcheng.

After hanging up the phone, Li Aiguo left the secure telephone room, and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot also received a notification from the Ministry.

Section Chief Xing and the section leaders attached great importance to this matter. After holding a meeting, they immediately took action and contacted the coal mine to dispatch coal transport trucks.

Meanwhile, the locomotive depot's truck fleet was also dispatched to hoist grain from the freight yard.

Seeing those trucks, Li Aiguo remembered something: if the temperature dropped sharply, the trucks would break down, and how would supplies be transported to South Asia?
Last autumn, in order to prevent the upcoming cold winter from affecting the transportation of supplies, the logistics department launched a special operation called "100-Day Delivery" to transport a large amount of supplies across the mountain pass and stockpile them at the front line.

After the consumption this winter, that batch of supplies should be almost gone.

"With the Himalayas blocking the way, transportation is indeed inconvenient. We should find a way to carve through the mountains and build a railway to get there."

Of course, it's too late to build a railway now.

When Li Aiguo returned to the studio, he saw Zhang Qingdian busy wearing a protective mask.

"Antifreeze! That stuff is added to the fuel tank to prevent the fuel from freezing." Li Aiguo suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing he had forgotten about it.

Antifreeze is a mixture of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and diethylene glycol, and is divided into two types: gasoline antifreeze and diesel antifreeze.

Li Aiguo invited Zhang Qingdian to his office and explained his ideas.

"Diesel vehicles should use ethylene glycol, while gasoline vehicles are safer if they use isopropanol," Zhang Qingdian commented.

"Can we produce a batch right away?"

“That’s simple, but our lab’s equipment is a bit of a waste to make this thing. I suggest we give it to Beijing Chemical. Old Zhu still owes us a favor, we can’t let that old guy get away with it,” Zhang Qingdian said.

Well, they're calling in reinforcements again.

"Then I'll trouble you to make the contact." Li Aiguo understood that to mass-produce antifreeze in the shortest possible time, a large-scale chemical plant was indeed necessary.

Subsequently, Zhang Qingdian contacted Jingcheng Chemical in the name of the meteorological station's equipment department.

Although there was no formal plan, Jingcheng Chemical immediately began organizing production, taking into account the special nature of the Equipment Department.

After finishing these tasks, it was already evening. Li Aiguo rode his motorcycle to the subway construction site.

The construction site was also notified that concrete work was suspended to prevent sudden freezing from affecting the strength of the concrete.

"Aiguo, is it going to be a cold snap this spring?" Liu Guozhang poured Li Aiguo a glass of water.

Li Aiguo took a pack of cigarettes from the table, pulled one out and handed it over, lit one for himself, and casually put the cigarette in his pocket.

"There is a possibility."

"No wonder the ministry is so nervous." After figuring out the reason, Liu Guozhang was still a little worried, so he ordered the logistics department to send over another batch of grain and coal.

There are currently two divisions of railway soldiers and a large number of local personnel at the subway construction site. These people total about 70,000 to 80,000, and the daily consumption is astronomical.

"Teacher, it's getting late, I'll head back now." Li Aiguo chatted with Liu Guozhang for a few more minutes before leaving.

After his figure disappeared through the doorway, Liu Guozhang subconsciously reached for a cigarette, but found nothing.

"Hey, this kid always manages to take advantage of the teacher every time he comes, doesn't he?" Liu Guozhang said, both amused and exasperated.

The subway construction site delayed me, and I didn't get back to the courtyard house until 7:30 p.m.

As soon as Li Aiguo entered the compound, he heard the Third Uncle banging on a broken gong and shouting, "The higher-ups have issued the latest instructions. Everyone, come to the Intermediate Court for a meeting immediately."

(End of this chapter)