The train driver in the courtyard

The entrance of the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai had clearly been disciplined, and now he was getting angry when the Third Uncle brought up the very thing he didn't want to talk about.

"Old Yan, where did you get this injury? Did someone beat you up?" Yi Zhonghai asked in return.

Hey, I'm just going to expose your embarrassing moments and make you lose your sense of propriety.

"He was beaten up," the old man said chuckled.

"Then how can you still be happy?"

"I made money! A full five yuan!"

"."

Yi Zhonghai felt that he had worked for nothing.

The old man added insult to injury: "Aiguo also led us to destroy a tomb-robbing gang. The neighborhood committee will definitely hold a big meeting to commend them soon."

Yi Zhonghai felt that the conversation was over.

Yi Zhonghai turned to leave, but the Third Uncle wouldn't have it and grabbed his arm, asking what had happened.

"It's alright, it's alright." Yi Zhonghai broke free from the third uncle's grasp and staggered into the courtyard.

Everyone was puzzled. Even if Jia Ba and Jia Zhangshi were demanding the family property from the Jia family, it had nothing to do with Yi Zhonghai. What was wrong with him?
When it was time for dinner, Officer Wang from the neighborhood office announced a meeting for the weekend evening, and everyone finally understood the reason behind it.

This story begins when Yi Zhonghai was escorted to the street office by Jia Ba and Jia Zhangshi.

After learning the details of the Jia family's property case, Director Wang of the neighborhood office summoned Jia Dongxu and then asked Yi Zhonghai how to handle the matter.

In front of Jia Dongxu, Jia Zhangshi, and Jia Ba, Yi Zhonghai was in a difficult position.

He wanted to take care of Jia Dongxu, but Jia Zhangshi had been with Old Jia for many years, and it wouldn't be appropriate to kick her out without giving her a penny.

Yi Zhonghai slyly suggested holding a general meeting in the courtyard to discuss the matter.

This was a perfectly normal decision, but in Jia Dongxu's view, Yi Zhonghai was betraying him.

With both old and new grudges combined, Jia Dongxu angrily berated Yi Zhonghai.

Because Yi Zhonghai didn't help her, Jia Zhangshi pointed at Yi Zhonghai's nose and scolded him.

If you don't want to offend either side, you'll end up offending both.

Yi Zhonghai almost fainted from anger.

"This old bastard brought this on himself," Xu Damao commented.

“Let’s not talk about Yi Zhonghai.” Yan Jiecheng looked at Li Aiguo and asked, “Brother Aiguo, why do I feel like the neighborhood committee is also on Jia Zhangshi’s side?”

Anyone with eyesight can see it.

If the neighborhood committee felt that the Jia family should not share the family property with Jia Zhangshi, they could simply send someone to drive Jia Ba and Jia Zhangshi out of the capital without holding a meeting.

Li Aiguo pondered for a moment and said, "The neighborhood committee does not like Jia Zhangshi, but this matter concerns the remarriage of women comrades. If they are all directly kicked out, wouldn't the most beautiful sunset years become empty talk?"

As an official institution, the subdistrict office has to ensure fairness on one hand, and implement the policies from above on the other. This is what is meant by adhering to both principles and policies.

Many people fail to see this point, make inappropriate decisions, and ultimately suffer setbacks.

In addition, according to the rules after liberation, Jia Zhangshi should indeed have received the Jia family's property.

"Brother Patriot's statement makes some sense." Xu Damao originally thought it was just a farce, but upon closer examination, he discovered that there was actually a profound truth to it.

"This has nothing to do with us, let's go home." Yan Jiecheng thought Li Aiguo was overthinking it, yawned, and strolled back home.

Li Aiguo didn't really care about these things; he just treated it as gossip. He chatted with Xu Damao and the others for a bit before heading back.

After dinner, Li Aiguo sat in his study and compiled the data he had obtained from the weather station.

If his superiors approve the "scientific research outsourcing" plan, he needs to find out as soon as possible those research institutes and military industrial institutes that are doing projects with no future.

***
The “scientific research outsourcing” plan involves numerous domestic research institutes and military industrial institutes, and may also involve some projects under research. The Aviation Industry Administration is being particularly cautious.

In this era, talent and funds are limited. If they are allocated to turboshaft engines, other projects have to be postponed.

After receiving the report, the section leader did not immediately submit it. Instead, he organized personnel to study the report's contents while contacting leaders in the military industry in hopes of gaining some support.

Li Aiguo was not in a hurry.

While continuing to refine the OEM plan, he also spent his spare time tinkering with excavators with wild car experts and Zong Xianfeng.

With the help of lathes, the excavator has now entered the stage of parts manufacturing, and it is estimated that it will be completed in another month.

At the end of May 1961, a major historical event occurred as scheduled.

Xiao Mei's family launched a special operations operation codenamed "34A" at the monkey's house.

The plan was small-scale; the American family only dispatched a group of advisors and a few armed helicopters.

Many people thought this was Xiaomei's family's routine operation, and no one expected that this was the beginning of a war that would last for more than a decade.

There were no reports of these situations in China. Li Aiguo received a call from the weather station while he was at work, which prompted him to rush over.

We also pay close attention to our neighbors.

The weather station had already received the news as soon as Xiao Mei's armed helicopter appeared at Nan Houzi's house.

Higher-level leaders need the weather station to collect information and assess potential conflicts.

"The news has been confirmed; Xiaomei's 34A plan has been fully launched."

Inside the meeting room, the farmer stood in front of a map, his expression somewhat serious.

Right now, we're focusing our energy on the Indian family's house and preventing our neighbors' houses from catching fire.

This is also the real reason why higher-level leaders are paying attention to this matter.

Inside the room, besides Li Aiguo, Lao Mao, and two comrades in charge of the monkey's family situation, there were several middle-aged people whom Li Aiguo did not recognize. They seemed to be from the General Staff Department and were of high rank.

"What are your thoughts?" The farmer, unusually, took out a pack of cigarettes from his drawer, opened it, and distributed them to everyone in the room.

Li Aiguo also got one, took out a match and lit it.

The smoke inside was a bit pungent, but the pungent smell helped me stay focused.

After studying the materials, several middle-aged people were the first to speak.

"Judging from its current scale, this is a special war."

"Xiao Mei's family does not want to escalate the war."

The final conclusion was: "We should keep a close eye on this."

These comrades' analysis was not wrong. In this era, who could have imagined that Xiao Mei's family would not learn from their mistakes and dare to start another war after suffering a loss on the northern battlefield?

Moreover, at the end of the war in the north, the US promised not to cause trouble there, and made this a basic principle of its foreign policy.

(Note: Ann Cases, Martin and Tim Ross, Australians since 1939, Fairfax, Simon and Wildor, 1987, p. 47.)
When the extended family saw that Xiaomei's family had even shouted out their own slogans, they all believed them. No one expected that Xiaomei's family would go back on their word.

The farmer neither agreed with their opinions nor disagreed, nodding and looking at Li Aiguo: "Comrade Aiguo, what do you think?"

"I agree with the conclusions of these leaders, but I have some minor concerns about the details." Li Aiguo took a drag of his cigarette and stood up from his chair.

"What do you mean?" The farmer clearly had other sources of information, but he was not comfortable revealing them.

Through these channels, they also realized that Xiaomei's family's actions this time were unusual.

"Whether a fight breaks out depends not only on the willingness of both sides to fight, but also on the attitude of the onlookers. Xiao Mei's family may have just wanted to roll up their sleeves and scare the other side, but they couldn't resist the jeers from the sidelines."

These words immediately made the atmosphere in the conference room serious.

Those attending the meeting were all high-ranking officials who knew inside information that many others were unaware of.

The monkeys' homeland was originally the territory of the Gallic rooster.

When Xiao Mei's family first went to the monkey's house to cause trouble, they were just doing their bidding for the Gallic Rooster's work; they were simply tricked by the Gallic Rooster.

After World War II, Xiao Mei's family wanted to establish a covenant organization, do big things, and become the leader.

However, several companies, including John Bull, Bullfighter, and Sunshine Grape, were unwilling to comply.

They are all from wealthy families, and they were all good brothers who fought together against Dezi. Why should you, Xiao Mei, be the leader?

Just like in a gang, if you want to be a leader, you either have to give your underlings benefits or help them take care of their enemies.

So Xiao Mei's husband, Lao Du, started spending money lavishly (according to the Military Aid Act).

Other families are easy to deal with; once they take the money, they obediently comply.

The only exception is the French rooster, who wants both. In particular, the rooster has a very high reputation, so the American family can't afford to be disrespectful.

The Gallic Rooster claimed that if they helped them deal with the monkeys, he would help them establish the agreement organization.

Xiao Mei believed the rooster's lies and sent people to follow the Gallic Rooster's procession into the monkey's house.

result.

By 54, the French, seeing that they couldn't gain any advantage here and that the Russians had also come, realized they couldn't win and ran away.

Xiao Mei's family was completely dumbfounded.

He started as a junior member, but gradually became the senior member.

If he were to back down now, it would be a huge loss of face for him.

Most importantly, the Russians have already arrived, and the American family cannot afford to lose to the Russians, no matter who else they lose to.

This means that this fight won't end until everyone is bloodied and battered.

At this point, the farmer added, "We have received reliable information that the Corn Emperor leaked our plans to grow giant mushrooms at Camp David in 59."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo slapped his forehead and couldn't help but say:

"This guy is such a big mouth. Doesn't he know how much damage this has done to the Russians themselves?"

"Huh? That's not right, the Corn Emperor leaked information about our family!" Old Cat didn't understand.

The farmer glanced at him, sighed, and said, "How many times have I told you to read more books? You're not a member of the action team anymore; you need to learn to use your brain."

"Yes, yes, yes." The old cat scratched his head awkwardly.

“Aiguo, explain this to him.” The farmer looked at Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo said slowly, "The US may have some doubts about our ability to develop giant mushrooms, and after suffering a great loss when sending a U2 to explore, they stopped paying attention. But they have realized one thing: we are not on the same side as the Russians."

Old Cat's eyes widened in disbelief; he hadn't expected information to be used in this way. Li Aiguo continued, "If the younger brother doesn't want to be the younger brother anymore, the older brother has to find another one. Similarly, if the older brother loses a younger brother, he'll be weaker and easier to deal with. This is one of the reasons why Xiao Mei's family will definitely continue this fight."

Upon hearing this, a middle-aged man nodded: "I also agree with Comrade Aiguo's opinion. We should pay attention to Xiaomei's family's actions and prepare for them in advance."

"I'll report it immediately." The farmer did not organize a discussion on countermeasures.

As a weather station, when faced with such a major event, it only needs to provide accurate and sufficient information, and should avoid mixing in personal feelings so as not to affect the judgment of superiors.

The following day, many members of the extended family expressed their opinions on Xiaomei's family's actions.

There are supporters and opponents.

After we determined that this was going to be a long fight, we drew a line: "You can fight, as long as you don't cross the 17-degree line."

The reason why Xiaomei's family was frustrated later was not because they couldn't cross the line we drew. If you have enough confidence, you can try to cross it, just like the northern battlefield before.

Of course, once they get over it, Xiao Mei's family might not feel so frustrated anymore, but they'll probably have a very fierce fight.

Li Aiguo didn't pay attention to the fight between Xiaomei's family and Monkey's family; instead, he focused on our attitude towards Monkey's family.

Our focus is currently on South Asia. The Monkey Kingdom and the Russian Kingdom have become even closer, and the fighting in the Monkey Kingdom doesn't concern us for the time being.

"As long as they don't raise ungrateful wretches, that's fine." Li Aiguo knew the monkeys' nature all too well.

Considering that Chen Xueru hadn't had a good appetite recently, Li Aiguo went back to the studio before leaving get off work and picked some tomatoes from the greenhouse.

The high-yield corn is now ripe for harvest, and several professors are leading students from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences in the harvest, which will then be processed into corn seeds.

After greeting a few professors, Li Aiguo rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard house.

Just as I was about to make tomato and egg noodles, Liu Zhenshan appeared at the door, which was quite unusual for him.

"Uncle Liu, come in quickly." Li Aiguo asked Liu Zhenshan to sit down and poured him some brown sugar tea.

"What brings you here today? Did you find out more about those tomb raiders?"

“You actually guessed right.” Liu Zhenshan took a sip of brown sugar tea and clicked his tongue twice. “They’re actually just a bunch of thugs who were tricked into going to rob tombs by a guy from Earth.”

"Blue Star?" Li Aiguo was stunned.

“We’ve caught him. This guy is mentally ill.” Liu Zhenshan then explained the young man’s condition.

They claim to be from Earth, have a QQ Farm, and can support millions of people.

There's also space where they steal pigs from the villagers and stuff them into their space.

"That guy bragged endlessly. The biggest thing he ever did was seduce the young widow next door with two steamed buns," Liu Zhenshan said, finding it amusing.

"What about people?"

“A madman like this can only be thrown into a mental hospital,” Liu Zhenshan waved his hand.

Li Aiguo, however, showed no sympathy for the young man from Blue Star's plight.

In this day and age, claiming to support the entire capital is tantamount to courting death.

"The cultural relics bureau sent people to appraise that batch of antiques. Most of them are from before the Ming Dynasty. The wine vessel is estimated to be from the Shang Dynasty. Because it may be a national treasure, the cultural relics bureau has to be more cautious. It will probably take a while before we have the results."

After Liu Zhenshan finished drinking a whole enamel mug of brown sugar tea, he had to go back to work. Li Aiguo didn't try to stop him and saw him out the door.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw He Yushui and the police officer walking in, chatting and laughing.

When the young policeman saw his father, he ran away like a cat seeing a mouse.

He Yushui, on the other hand, generously addressed Liu Zhenshan as "Uncle" and then turned to go inside.

Liu Zhenshan muttered to himself, "This brat isn't as steady as Yushui."

Many girls He Yushui's age already have children, and everyone sees that He Yushui is close to the young police officer, so they have already accepted that the two are dating.

He Yushui just wants to go to high school, and then to university.

Liu Zhenshan plans to attend a vocational school and then work at the police station like his father.

That's why the two families stopped discussing marriage.

Liu Zhenshan also liked He Yushui and often took care of the Liu family.

"Patriotism, I'm leaving now."

Goodbye, Uncle Liu.

After seeing Liu Zhenshan off, Li Aiguo went back inside to cook dinner, and Chen Xueru also returned with her two children.

Tomato and egg noodles are very simple, consisting only of tomatoes, eggs, and noodles, but they have a unique flavor.

To Li Aiguo's surprise, Xiao Mei's family's actions, to some extent, accelerated the progress of the "scientific research outsourcing" plan.

After several missions, details about Xiao Mei's family's helicopter have finally emerged.

The US military first equipped a Bell UH-1 "Huey" transport helicopter with weapons for attack missions.

The hastily modified fire support helicopter with added machine guns is not only slow and weak in firepower, but also lacks armor protection, making its survivability significantly insufficient.

However, due to its high mobility and ability to attack ground targets at any time, it has achieved remarkable results.

This was the first mission in history to be successfully completed entirely by helicopter, and it quickly attracted worldwide attention.

Many military experts have realized the importance of armed helicopters, and both the United States and Russia have launched armed helicopter projects.

Domestic military industry workers have also begun to pay attention to armed helicopters.

After listening to the reports from relevant experts, the section leader of the Aviation Industry Bureau realized that the time was ripe and instructed his assistant to prepare the car so that he could go to Haizili.

Just as Li Aiguo was enjoying his delicious homemade noodles, under the same night sky, in a study in Beijing...

The superiors received a report from the section chief.

"It's a report written by Comrade Aiguo." The superior put on his glasses and spread the report out on the table.

The report was short, only a few pages long, but the superiors spent more than ten minutes reading it.

The superior put the report down and said, "Old Duan, you're in charge of aviation and military industry. Just how important is this turboshaft engine? Tell me about it."

"It's just a plan at the moment. The specific parameters will depend on the actual manufactured parts and their assembly," the section leader said cautiously.

The superior waved his hand: "Just say it."

Knowing his superiors' temperament, the leader stopped hiding his thoughts and, after a moment's thought, said, "Based on Comrade Aiguo's design, if we can manufacture it completely, this engine will have reached the world's top level."

Worried that the higher-ups might not understand, the leader added: "Its performance surpasses the Soloviev D-25V turboshaft engine of the Mi-6 from our big brother, and the Honeywell T55 series turboshaft engine that our little American is developing for the Chinook."

"Be more specific."

"With this turboshaft engine, we will be able to develop our own armed helicopter," said the leader, handing over the second report.

The superiors of the "armed helicopter" were somewhat moved.

The weather station has already reported the situation of the fight at Xiaomei's house, and the relevant leaders are paying close attention to the armed helicopter.

The superior glanced at the report, nodded, and then asked, "What are your thoughts on armed helicopters?"

"Currently, joint operations between the air force and ground forces are the main mode of modern warfare. Armed helicopters are like 'sharp knives' on the battlefield, capable of rapid raids and precise strikes, and are the best tools to cooperate with ground forces."

"Times are changing, and we can't cling to our rifles." The superior leader stood up and said, "We must build armed helicopters, no matter how difficult it is."

"I think we should adopt Comrade Patriot's second plan."

Li Aiguo formulated two plans: one was to first study turboshaft engines, and then to find a way to develop armed helicopters.

The second is to directly concentrate resources on manufacturing armed helicopters.

The second plan was very difficult, which is why the section leader hesitated before submitting it.

"Old Duan, I'll leave this matter to your Aviation Industry Bureau. Have those research institutes cooperate fully and make sure the quality is guaranteed."

"Yes!" As Leader Duan had said before, Li Aiguo had already gained the deep trust of his superiors.

I initially thought it was just a rumor, but now that I see the attitude of my superiors, I finally believe it.

"How did you plan this project?" The superior was very interested in the armed helicopters. He picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of tea, and asked about some details.

The section leader gave a detailed report on the draft plan.

"Concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks—I think that's a viable approach." The superior asked, "What's the name of your plan?"

"We haven't chosen a name yet." Leader Duan was somewhat taken aback, not expecting his superiors to pay attention to this.

"Since the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is using Workshop 116 to manufacture engines, I think we should call it Project 116."

"Yes!"

After chatting for a few minutes, the section leader, seeing that his superiors still had work to do, took the instructions and left.

After he left, his superior was in high spirits and asked his assistant to bring him a brush, ink, paper and inkstone. He wrote a few large characters: "Ambition Soars to the Sky".

The ink-stained Xuan paper lay on the desk, the brushstrokes vigorous and powerful, exuding a sense of breaking through the air.

The superior looked at the assistant: "Xiao Chen, what do you think of this handwriting?"

"Boss, even though I don't know how to read, I think it's great," the assistant replied with a smile.

"Could you please make a trip and deliver this to Comrade Aiguo?" The superior put the brush back.

The assistant was slightly surprised, as this was the second piece of calligraphy that his superiors had given to Li Aiguo, but after realizing what was happening, he immediately nodded.

The inscription "Aspiring to Soar to the Sky" was delivered to Workshop 116 of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. Li Aiguo received the large calligraphy from his assistant, feeling somewhat excited.

After seeing off the assistant, Zong Xianfeng, the Wild Car Expert, and Chief Engineer Tan and several others gathered around, looking at the large characters with awe.

“Patriotism. This is… this is…” Chief Engineer Tan couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Yes.” Li Aiguo nodded.

Upon hearing this, the researchers were so moved that they almost shed tears. Their fatigue from the past few days vanished instantly.

"This is an honor, and more importantly, it reflects the expectations our superiors have for us." Leader Duan was also surprised that his superiors would give the calligraphy to Li Aiguo. He was a little envious, but he quickly composed himself.

"You should keep that word 'patriotism' safe for now."

Li Aiguo originally thought of hanging the calligraphy inside Workshop 116, but after thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate. If it got damaged, it would be a problem.

Li Aiguo put the large characters away for now, planning to have someone copy them later and make them into a plaque to hang up.

(End of this chapter)