The train driver in the courtyard

When Li Aiguo arrived at the meeting, the leaders were already there.

Li Aiguo had met with the leader of the section a few times, and quickly walked over to shake hands.

"Comrade Patriot, we meet again. Every time I see young people like you, I feel envious. You are so full of energy."

"Boss, young people are inexperienced and need your guidance as a veteran."

The section leader chuckled and nodded at Li Aiguo: "You, your sweet talk makes you seem less like a researcher."

"It's all thanks to the relaxed environment created by our leaders that everyone can speak freely," Li Aiguo said, looking at Professor Qi and the researchers. "Don't you all agree?"

"Yes, our leader is like our patriarch." Everyone burst into laughter.

The previously serious atmosphere eased slightly.

The leaders of several ministries exchanged glances, each understanding the other's thoughts from their eyes.

Li Aiguo's ability to thrive in various departments despite being a train driver suggests that it's not solely due to the attention he receives from his superiors.

After a few casual words, the seminar officially began.

At the seminar, after listening to Professor Qi's report, the smile on the leader's face gradually faded.

"This thing might be too advanced for its time. Could we lower the parameters a bit more?"

"That's impossible. What we're manufacturing is an advanced turboshaft engine, far surpassing the technology and complexity of a piston engine," Professor Qi said, raising his hand to object to his leader's opinion.

Leader Duan knew Professor Qi's meticulous nature and knew that it was impossible to simplify; it was just that they couldn't manufacture it right now.

Seeing Li Aiguo sitting silently to the side, the section leader had an idea and asked, "Comrade Aiguo, you are the designer of the Thunderbolt engine, what are your thoughts?"

"This is my first time participating in the development of an aero engine, and there are many things I don't understand."

Seeing Li Aiguo begin to layer his armor, the leader waved his hand and said, "Aiguo, our military industrial unit is different from ordinary factories. We don't have so many things to escalate. If you have any opinions, just say them."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo sat up straight and said slowly, "When we were manufacturing tunnel boring machines before, we encountered similar difficulties. Many parts could not be manufactured, so we adopted the method of subcontracting."

"OEM?" A leader frowned.

"It means handing over the blueprints for the parts to local factories for production, leveraging their strengths and advantages, and utilizing the collective power to ultimately produce the parts," Li Aiguo explained the OEM process simply.

The venue was completely silent.

This was the first time anyone had ever heard of this method.

Upon careful consideration, it does indeed have some merit.

But it seems a bit inappropriate.

A leader raised his hand: "Comrade Aiguo, this engine has a very high level of secrecy. How can we resolve the secrecy issue?"

“I’ve heard Professor Qi talk about domestic military factories.” Li Aiguo glanced at Professor Qi, who nodded in agreement: “Comrade Aiguo is the deputy director of Workshop 116. According to regulations, he is allowed to access these classified materials.”

The leader nodded and said, "Go ahead and say what you love about it."

Li Aiguo then continued, "Those military factories have a very high level of secrecy. If it were strengthened further, secrecy wouldn't be a problem. Besides, they only process individual parts. Even if the blueprints are stolen, the enemy wouldn't be able to build the engine."

"That's true." Leader Duan nodded, looked around, and asked, "I think Comrade Aiguo's plan is feasible. Does anyone have any further opinions?"

A leader with gray hair raised his hand: "I don't oppose the OEM model, but the technical difficulty of these parts is too high. Even if the military factory gives full play to its advantages, it will probably be difficult to manufacture them."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the leaders and researchers present changed slightly.

Everyone knew that this concern was not unfounded.

Take the single-crystal blades needed as an example. Currently, only the Beijing Institute of Metal Research in China has conducted relevant research, but no real results have been achieved.

"This is where this research and development plan differs from the contract manufacturing model."

Faced with a series of questioning looks, Li Aiguo spoke up: "Those military factories and military research institutes are not just doing contract manufacturing; they also concentrate their scientific research efforts to tackle technical challenges and conduct research on related components."

Wow!
As soon as these words came out, the scene was in an uproar.

The research directions and projects of each unit are planned in advance, and it is obviously unrealistic to ask them to put aside their own work to assist in the research and development of engine parts.

Professor Qi was also hearing about "scientific research outsourcing" for the first time.

Unlike other researchers, he did not immediately object, feeling that Li Aiguo's proposal was by no means rash.

In fact, Li Aiguo had planned this for a long time.

In common perception, technology always adapts to the times and emerges at the right time.

In reality, it is not so: technological research and development is like researchers exploring in the dark, with countless forks in the road.

Once you go astray, even if you invest a lot of manpower and resources, you will either achieve nothing or the results will be useless.

The US and Japan invested over $50 billion in research and development of cold fusion power generation equipment, hoping to create "clean, cheap, and unlimited energy," but ultimately the $50 billion went down the drain due to a fundamental theoretical flaw.

In the later stages of the Cold War, in an effort to surpass Russia, the United States invested over $20 billion in developing the Boeing 2707, the world's largest supersonic passenger aircraft, but it failed to enter commercial use.

We've also suffered great losses.

They once spent a great deal of effort developing a super anti-missile cannon, with the aim of using a 420mm caliber cannon to fire nuclear warheads to intercept incoming missiles.

As a result, the initial velocity of the shells could not meet the requirements, and the cost of a single shell exceeded 1 million US dollars, while the cost of the "Counterattack-1" missile interception at the same time was only 1/5 of that.

The No. 5 air defense missile still uses radio command guidance, and its anti-jamming capability cannot meet the standards, so it was eventually canceled.

Not to mention the new light tanks that caused significant damage and almost delayed the defense of the southeast region.

Countless similar tragedies have occurred.

A wrong research direction is more dangerous than substandard technology.

Li Aiguo's greatest advantage as a time traveler is that he can clearly see the direction of his research.

Li Aiguo lacked the power to cut those unrealistic projects, nor did he intend to.

We simply divert some of the invested funds and manpower to develop truly useful technologies.

"If we want to manufacture our own armed helicopters, we will not only encounter obstacles in the engine, but also in the subsequent fuselage, gearbox, and other components. Only by concentrating our efforts can we overcome these difficulties," Li Aiguo emphasized.

The researchers were also aware of the current level of technology, and after exchanging glances, they nodded.

"That's true. With our aircraft factory and Workshop 116, it would be difficult to manufacture engines, let alone attack helicopters."

"I think Comrade Patriot's plan is feasible."

"It's just a matter of having a group of people transferred from those research institutes; it won't significantly affect their original research progress."

Even the leader of the department did not expect that Li Aiguo would propose such a massive plan.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Such a large-scale plan requires the approval of higher-level leaders. Comrade Aiguo, could you please draft a report? I'll go see the leaders."

"Yes!"

Li Aiguo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If this project is successfully completed, we might be able to build our first armed helicopter. At that time, when monkeys come looking for trouble, we won't have to worry about them sneaking into the woods.

It can also be used as an opportunity to postpone some projects that are destined to fail.

Due to the tight schedule, Li Aiguo and Professor Qi wrote the report in the afternoon and submitted it to the Industry Bureau the next morning.

The Industrial Bureau also needs to review the report before it can be submitted to Haizi.

By the time I finished all that, it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon.

There was no other work at the studio for the time being, and Li Aiguo didn't go home all day yesterday, so he took the Cuban candy back to the courtyard house.

Just as I reached the gate, two people walked out of the yard.

The woman was Jia Zhangshi, and the man was a big, burly man with a face full of fat; he didn't look like a good person.

"Excuse me, are you Comrade Li Aiguo?"

Li Aiguo looked up and saw Jia Zhangshi obediently following behind him.

This must be Jia Dongxu's stepfather, Jia Ba.

It definitely is, otherwise it would be a different story.

"I am."

As soon as Li Aiguo finished speaking, Jia Zhangshi walked up and kept shouting.

"Li Aiguo, tell me, shouldn't I get half of the Jia family's assets? Shouldn't I? Tell me, tell me!"

Seeing this, Li Aiguo reacted as if a mad dog was about to pounce and bite, and dodged it in a flash.

"You're crazy!"

Just as Jia Zhangshi was about to rush over again, Jia Ba quickly walked over, grabbed her, and advised, "Wife, what are you doing? This isn't this young comrade's fault, how can we blame him?"

"How can I not blame him? Why didn't he remind me when I got married recently? He was the one who caused all this trouble. If he doesn't help me return the family property, I'll never forgive him!"

As she spoke, Jia Zhangshi tried to break free from Jia Ba's grasp, appearing determined to fight Li Aiguo to the death.

"Why are you being so unreasonable? Talk things out properly, and this young comrade will definitely help you."

Hearing Jia Ba say that, Jia Zhangshi was furious. She sat down on the ground and started wailing, "Fine, Jia Ba, I thought I had finally found a backer after marrying you, but you actually speak up for outsiders! Are you even human?!"

“I’ve worked hard for most of my life in the Jia family, but now I’m being kicked out. How am I supposed to live as an old woman?”

After looking at it for a long time, Li Aiguo finally understood it.

Madam Jia Zhang brought Jia Ba back to fight for the Jia family's property. Now that Jia Dongxu has inherited all the property, they can only turn their attention to the residents and have come to him.

One plays the good cop, the other the bad cop; someone unaware of the situation could easily fall for it.

"I'm telling you, are you two putting on a comedy routine for me?"

"Get out! Get out of here!"

Li Aiguo knew Jia Zhangshi's personality well; once she got on his good side, she was like a leech, and you couldn't be soft-hearted with her.

Jia Ba was stunned when he saw Li Aiguo's fierce and menacing appearance.

He had asked the residents before, and they all said that the man named Li Aiguo in the courtyard was a kind-hearted person.
What's going on here?
"You're not going out, huh?"

"Neither of you are residents of the compound now, so you are not entitled to stay here."

Li Aiguo didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight behind Jia Zhangshi, grabbed her by the collar, and dragged her out the door.

In those days, the ground in the compound was paved with bricks, and since it hadn't been washed for a long time, it was very dusty when you stepped on it.

When Jia Zhangshi was dragged out, she left a mark on the ground.

Li Aiguo felt it was necessary to organize people to clean the yard.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let go of my wife right now!"

At this point, Jia Ba got anxious. He had originally planned to use moral blackmail, but this kid didn't play by the rules, so he couldn't pretend to be a good person anymore.

However, Jia Ba saw that Li Aiguo was strong and had a pistol hanging from his waist, so he didn't dare to make a move and could only watch helplessly as Jia Zhangshi was thrown out the door.

"Aiguo, I know we had some misunderstandings before. Don't worry, as long as I get some of the family property, I will never bother you again."

Seeing Li Aiguo's furious outburst, Jia Zhangshi panicked. Just as Li Aiguo was about to close the door, she grabbed his leg. "Let go! If you don't let go, don't blame me for being impolite. I'll kick you to death and I won't pay for it."

The way Jia Zhangshi looked at Li Aiguo didn't seem to be joking with her. Although she didn't want to let go, she still let go.

The wicked need another wicked to teach them a lesson. Jia Zhangshi knew how to deal with ordinary people, and with her tantrums and shrewish antics, others would actually have to give in to her. But when she encountered Li Aiguo, it was a different story.

Seeing Li Aiguo's aggressive demeanor, Jia Ba grabbed Jia Zhangshi and said, "Wife, let's go, let's go."

By this time, a large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the compound. The residents had clearly been harassed by Jia Zhangshi, and none of them spoke up for her.

Yi Zhonghai saw Li Aiguo entangled with two people from a distance. The crowd blocked his view, so he came over with his hands behind his back.

Finally, the right opportunity to deal with Li Aiguo has arrived.

Li Aiguo also saw Yi Zhonghai coming over.

"Yi Zhonghai, you're one of the oldest men in the compound. You've come at the right time. I'll leave this matter to you."

Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai arrive, Li Aiguo immediately dumped the mess on him.

Yi Zhonghai was completely bewildered. When did Li Aiguo become so respectful of him?
As soon as he arrived, he saw an old woman covered in dirt sitting on the ground, crying and cursing, while a man next to her was also cursing.

Hmm, these two look so familiar?
Upon closer inspection, I was astonished to see that these were Mr. and Mrs. Jia Zhang.

Yi Zhonghai had been avoiding them for several days. He went to work at five o'clock in the morning under the pretense of working overtime, and avoided strangers. Unexpectedly, Li Aiguo brought the two of them to him.

It happened in front of all the residents; there was no way to hide it.

"Ahem, it's Brother Jia Ba."

"Yi Zhonghai?"

Jia Ba recognized Yi Zhonghai and quickly stood up to warmly shake Yi Zhonghai's hand: "Brother, when we were in our village, I slapped you twice. Does it still hurt?"

Yi Zhonghai: "."

Xu Damao, who had watched the whole thing, leaned over to Li Aiguo and whispered, "Brother Aiguo, this Jia Ba is a brainless idiot. How can he expose someone's shortcomings in front of others?"

Li Aiguo handed Xu Damao a cigarette and lit one for himself: "Not entirely. I think Jia Ba is much smarter than Jia Zhangshi. He's secretly warning Yi Zhonghai that if Yi Zhonghai doesn't help, he can still deal with him."

Xu Damao had initially regarded Jia Ba as a scoundrel, but upon hearing this and recalling the ordeal Jia Family Village had suffered, his heart skipped a beat.

"This guy is quite skilled."

But this is just fine; since he's causing trouble for Jia Dongxu anyway, he's happy to watch the show.

In that short time, Jia Ba and Jia Zhangshi had explained their purpose and said a few nice things, which were nothing more than Yi Zhonghai being a big shot in the compound and needing him to uphold justice in this matter. Then they listed several major crimes committed by Jia Dongxu.

"Brother Yi, tell me, what do you think we should do about this?" Jia Ba grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm and shook it up and down a few times. Yi Zhonghai felt like his arm was about to break.

Madam Jia Zhang also began to wipe away her tears: "Jia Dongxu has embezzled the family property, leaving me with nowhere to turn! Yi Zhonghai, you are the most upright person in our compound, a moral exemplar, you can't ignore this matter."

Yi Zhonghai was extremely frustrated and dared not express his opinion at all; he was feeling particularly depressed.

Why did you come here to join the fun? You ended up falling into a trap yourself.

When Yi Zhonghai saw Li Aiguo watching the commotion from the side, he turned his head away.

"Patriotism, what do you think we should do about this? Why don't you try to persuade Jia Dongxu?"

Li Aiguo was speechless, and gave him a cold glance: "What's it to me!"

"Hey, how can you talk like that?"

“You’re the oldest man in the compound, if you don’t take care of this, who will? Why don’t you give up your position as the oldest man in the compound to Xu Damao and let Xu Damao take care of it?!” Li Aiguo nodded at Xu Damao.

"That's right, that's right, Yi Zhonghai, if you step down, I'll definitely take care of this for you." Xu Damao excitedly raised his hand. Even if it caused a huge uproar, it would be worth it as long as he could become a big shot.

Yi Zhonghai cursed Li Aiguo inwardly for being cunning, and was thinking about how to resolve the situation.

Just then, Li Aiguo saw Zhou Ke drive in from outside in a large SUV. Seeing that Zhou Ke was covered in sweat, Li Aiguo's heart skipped a beat. Had something happened again?

"Patriotic Brother".

Seeing that there were too many people around, Zhou Ke didn't say anything directly, but instead gave Li Aiguo a wink, signaling him to come over.

"Yi Zhonghai, I'm leaving this to you. I'm confident you can handle it. Good luck!" Li Aiguo gave Yi Zhonghai a thumbs up.

Before Yi Zhonghai could react, Li Aiguo walked towards Zhou Ke outside.

Zhou Ke is looking for him; it's possible something's happened in the section.

It was either the section chief or Professor Qi from the studio who contacted him.

"Li Aiguo, you, you're gone! What am I going to do?!" Yi Zhonghai only realized what was happening after Li Aiguo left the crowd. He wanted to rush out and chase after Li Aiguo, hoping to slip away with him.

As a result, Jia Ba and Jia Zhangshi did not tolerate him.

The two men pinned him down, one on each side.

"Old Yi, you're the boss, you have to resolve this matter for me today."

Yi Zhonghai: "."

*****
Li Aiguo led Zhou Ke into the car, which headed towards the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. Just as he was about to ask a question, he heard Zhou Ke say something.

"Yan Jiecheng's father was beaten."

"Huh? Which one?"

Li Aiguo was caught off guard and didn't react immediately.

“Of course it’s Yan Jiecheng’s biological father, Yan Bugui,” Zhou Ke said quietly.

Li Aiguo: "."

You can't blame him for that; who would have thought an old teacher would be beaten up?

"is it serious?"

"There's one thing I can't say, you'll see for yourself in a bit."

Where could it be?

"In the maintenance workshop," Zhou Ke explained the situation briefly.

After being beaten, the third uncle went all the way to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to find his son. Yan Jiecheng had no choice but to ask Zhou Ke to come and find Li Aiguo.

The large off-road vehicle sped all the way to the maintenance workshop of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

"What about people?"

Inside the workshop, workers were repairing a steam locomotive. Li Aiguo offered one of them a cigarette.

"It's inside."

Yan Jiecheng was hiding at the warehouse entrance at the back, peeking his head in this direction. When he saw Li Aiguo arrive, the worry that had been hanging over him finally subsided. In the compound, Li Aiguo was the only person he could rely on.

Yan Jiecheng led Li Aiguo back into the small warehouse, and Zhou Ke followed them in.

Li Aiguo was startled as soon as he entered the door.

The old man was beaten so badly.

His left and right eyes were both swollen from being punched, making him look like a panda, and several strands of his hair were also pulled out.

The glasses, which already had one broken leg, now had its other leg broken as well, so it could only be held up with both hands.

"Uncle, what happened to you?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it, it's all because of that guy!"

The old man recounted his miserable experience of the day with great frustration.

He originally planned to return Mr. Horn, but then went to the owner of the black market scrap shop again.

Following Li Aiguo's instructions, he explained the law to the other party.

As a result, it would have been better if he hadn't mentioned the law, because as soon as he did, the boss called a few people and beat him up.

Mr. Horn and his bicycle were stolen.

Those people even threatened him, saying they would kill his whole family if he dared to tell anyone.

If the bicycle hadn't been stolen, the old man might not have dared to say anything, but it was a bicycle worth over a hundred yuan.

The third uncle walked over, looking for Yan Jiecheng and Li Aiguo.

"A shady junk shop in the suburbs?"

"What's the boss's name?"

"This group of people just arrived recently, and I don't know them, but I heard someone call him Brother Xiao Wu."

Li Aiguo asked a few more questions and, seeing that this was all the Third Uncle knew, asked Yan Jiecheng to go to the infirmary to get iodine and apply it to the Third Uncle first.

As soon as Yan Jiecheng left, Zhou Ke said, "Aiguo, how about I take a few men and take down that group?"

“It’s not appropriate. This is a local matter, and you’re not suitable to get involved.” Li Aiguo shook his head. “There’s a patrol team in the neighborhood that can be put to good use.”

Zhou Ke was still busy with security work in Workshop 116, so he told them to speak up if they needed help, and then left.

Yan Jiecheng brought iodine and applied it to the third uncle.

"Let's go back and call for reinforcements!"

Li Aiguo drove his SUV back to the courtyard house. By then, the crowd at the gate had dispersed, and Xu Damao was chatting idly with a few young wives.

"Aiguo, you're back? Oh dear, you missed the most exciting part."

"how?"

"Jia Zhangshi and Jia Ba tied up Yi Zhonghai and took him to the street office."

"What?"

Xu Damao excitedly recounted the situation.

Yi Zhonghai was a seasoned veteran; he kept rambling on and on, but he was unwilling to step forward and help Jia Zhangshi claim her family property.

Enraged, Jia Ba and Jia Zhangshi tried to take Yi Zhonghai to the street office. When Yi Zhonghai resisted, Jia Zhangshi pulled out her belt and tied his hands together. Fearing he would shout, she stuffed a sock into his mouth.

"I must say, Jia Zhangshi's woolen socks are quite worn out." Xu Damao clicked his tongue twice, snapping out of his excitement, and only then did he notice the Third Uncle.

"Hey, Uncle San, you got caught cheating?"

"."

Li Aiguo then remembered that he still had important business to attend to.

"Xu Damao, go and inform Zhang Gangzhu to take a few patrolmen and come with me to flatten that illegal scrap metal shop."

"Can I go?" Xu Damao asked excitedly.

(End of this chapter)