The train driver in the courtyard

The next morning, Li Aiguo arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and found something was wrong; everyone was sweeping the floor.

Director She from the Education Office and comrades from the Railway Police Station were all dispatched, each carrying a broom and working up a sweat.

Upon entering the workshop, wow, the excavator was adorned with a big red flower.

"Aiguo, is the excavator alright?" Section Chief Xing asked as he entered the workshop, clutching a steamed bun.

"It's nothing, just a minor scratch on the outer shell." Li Aiguo wasn't sure what Section Chief Xing was up to. Did he have a mission?
Section Chief Xing was a little stunned. This excavator was really durable. So, while munching on a steamed bun, he said, "Perfect, we're going to take it out for a demonstration today."

What to showcase?

"You don't know that higher-level leaders will be coming to inspect later, do you?" Section Chief Xing asked with some doubt.

Li Aiguo immediately understood: "Is it about taking a photo with the Russians?"

Before the photo of him with the Russian was published in the newspaper, there were concerns that the excavator might leak information, so the relevant departments reviewed it and also consulted with the studio.

Since excavators are civilian equipment and will be mass-produced in the future, there's no need to keep them secret, so they agreed.

"The specifics are still unclear. You should prepare immediately."

Section Chief Xing looked at the excavator and frowned: "Aiguo, quickly find someone to put some paint on it; this thing looks a bit dirty. Forget about the road repairs in front of the hydraulic press workshop for now."

"Section Chief, I think this is a good idea. Excavators are meant to get things done," Li Aiguo quickly said.

“That’s true.” Section Chief Xing wanted to leave, but then turned back.

"This excavator tour is an honor for our Qianmen Locomotive Depot, shouldn't it be put at the end?"

"The second to last excavator, I guess. We just finished building a big one in the workshop, so we'll use it as the grand finale."

Section Chief Xing breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that the "big guy" Li Aiguo was referring to was a trench excavator.

With this thing, the visit is already half successful.

"Your studio needs to take this very seriously. By the way, the leaders are coming to inspect, and they might visit the dormitories. Those technicians like to look at all sorts of messy handwritten copies; put them all away."

Section Chief Xing gave a few instructions, then hurriedly left while munching on his steamed bun, as he still had other tasks to assign.

Li Aiguo also perked up, convened a meeting with the technicians in the studio, and issued the order: "Hand over the handwritten copies right now, I will keep them safe! Immediately!"

Zong Xianfeng: "."

Technicians: "."

They always felt that Li Aiguo wanted to take the opportunity to steal their handwritten copies.

Ahem, is Li Aiguo that kind of person?

He simply found a box, threw the manuscript inside, and locked it from the outside, so no one else could get it—perfect!
Li Aiguo put the key in his pocket, boarded the excavator, and led Lan Xiang and Zong Xianfeng to the door of the hydraulic press workshop.

There's a wall separating this area from the locomotive depot. Originally, there was a small door in the middle, but now the wall needs to be demolished to build a cement road to facilitate the transportation of supplies.

This mission will not only allow us to further validate the excavator, but also provide an opportunity to train a few excavator trainees.

"Lan Xiang, start recording." Li Aiguo first conducted a pre-operation check on the excavator and asked Lan Xiang to record each step.

While Li Aiguo was busy with his work, Section Chief Xing received a notification that his superiors had arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Section Chief Xing led the section leaders to the gate to greet them. The gate had already been taken over, and then several cars drove in. The one in the middle was a special car sent up by the front locomotive depot.

The convoy stopped in the yard, and all the leaders from higher-level departments, several ministries, and the Ministry of Railways got out of the cars.

Section Chief Xing gasped in astonishment; he realized he had underestimated the level of this visit.

The tour itinerary has been submitted in advance.

The higher-level leaders first met with the railway workers at the station, and then visited several main workshops, including the maintenance workshop and the passenger transport workshop.

When the higher-ups praised the Qianmen Locomotive Depot for its excellent work, Section Chief Xing stood by, his face flushed with excitement. The leaders from the Ministry of Railways also secretly gave him a thumbs up.

Next up is the motorcycle workshop, where engines are mainly produced and motorcycles are assembled.

"Great, great." The higher-ups saw the bustling workshop, then looked at the rows of motorcycles, and inquired about the sales of the motorcycles.

"Ninety percent of these are framed and shipped overseas, and one ten percent are sold domestically," Section Chief Xing replied from the side.

"Domestic equipment should indeed be exported." The superior nodded, and the assistant next to him quickly wrote down these words.

When the leaders of the mountain bike workshop and the scooter workshop saw the four-cylinder racing motorcycle, they inquired about its speed.

Upon learning that the top speed could reach 300 kilometers per hour, the superior nodded and said, "It's a bit unsafe to have this kind of motorcycle on the road."

"Yes, these are special racing motorcycles. They are produced in very small quantities and are only used by the Red Star team for training. They are preparing for this year's Isle of Man TT."

The higher-ups had also heard about the race between the Red Star Racing Team and the Bentian Racing Team, and nodded, saying, "These comrades are bringing glory to us, and we should give them our full support."

The railway department leaders were delighted to hear this.

To participate in competitions abroad, one needs to go through layers of review, but now that there are leaders involved, things will be much easier.

In the hydraulic press workshop, two hydraulic presses customized by the factory in the south are under construction.

Huge kits and heavy-duty hydraulic shafts filled the entire workshop. As the superiors walked by, they shook hands with the workers and inquired about their work.

"Not bad, not bad." The superiors praised him all the way, and the railway department leaders finally felt relieved.

The higher-ups had just stepped out of the workshop when they heard a rumbling sound coming from behind them.

"What is this sound?"

"It's an excavator repairing the road." Section Chief Xing raised his hand. There were security personnel nearby. After they made way for him, he went over and explained the road repair situation.

"Is it the kind you see in the newspaper? Come on, everyone, let's go take a look." Visiting the excavator was also one of the purposes of the superiors' trip.

The superior stepped outside, and the security personnel, seeing the construction work in front of them, quickly formed a human wall, only to be stopped by the superior.

“This is the front line of work, there’s no need for so many formalities.” The superior stepped forward.

The first thing they saw was a newly paved road in the distance, with dew still clinging to the grass, clearly indicating that it had just been cleared. As they looked further back, the superiors couldn't help but widen their eyes.

A huge robotic arm was raised high, and the bucket dug a hole in the ground, uprooting a half-grown miscellaneous tree and tossing it aside.

The commotion was so great that several security personnel instinctively rushed forward, but were stopped by their superiors.

"This must be an excavator. I didn't expect it to be even bigger than the pictures in the newspaper."

The photos in the newspaper were already blurry, and their impact was far greater than what you could get from seeing them in person.

"The new engineering machinery we're researching here can be used for road construction and mining," Section Chief Xing, who had been granted permission to get closer, reported in a low voice to his supervisor.

Heavy engineering machinery is the foundation of industrial development, and this has been a major concern for us since liberation.

Back then, with limited foreign exchange reserves, we even had to ship our precious grains out to try and buy them from other countries, but they simply refused to sell to us.

Now we have excavators that we can be proud of.

"Wow, this is a good thing." The superior immediately became interested and strode over.

The security personnel rushed ahead to tell the guy operating the excavator to stop immediately.

"No need, let's see how this excavator works." His superior stopped him.

The excavator drove up to the wall. Li Aiguo was unaware that people had come from the other side, but for safety's sake, he still asked Zong Xianfeng to go around to the other side of the wall to check if there were any pedestrians.

Zong Xianfeng crawled out of the doorway and saw his superiors and a group of leaders, along with security personnel and Section Chief Xing. Seeing that scene, his legs went weak.

Zong Xianfeng wanted to shout, but his superior stopped him: "Don't interfere with the work of the frontline comrades."

Section Chief Xing understood the superior's intention, so he jogged over and whispered a few words in Zong Xianfeng's ear.

At this point, Zong Xianfeng dared not report the truth and obediently ran back to indicate that there was no one by the wall.

That's perfectly fine; the higher-ups are standing in the safe zone.

"Keep an eye on him." Li Aiguo sensed something was wrong with his expression, but without thinking much of it, he started the excavator.

With a slow push of the control lever, the excavator's boom extended and rammed twice, causing the seemingly sturdy wall to collapse, leaving a gap.

This scene was quite frightening, and even the superiors looked somewhat surprised.

"That's quite powerful."

In an instant, smoke and dust rose up all around.

Li Aiguo operated the excavator to clear away the brick debris on the ground, then looked up and was dumbfounded.

"Superior leaders!" Li Aiguo reacted quickly, turning off the engine and getting out of the car before Section Chief Xing could even greet him.

Once the smoke cleared, the higher-ups couldn't wait to come over, circled the excavator, looked at the bucket, and gestured with their hands.

This excavator is smaller than a tunnel boring machine (TBM), but it's a civilian machine and not the same type as a TBM.

"Comrade Aiguo, we meet again." The superior looked at Li Aiguo. Compared with the last time he visited the tunnel boring machine, the young man had matured a lot. He was still wearing that faded oil-paper shirt.

"Hello, leader!" Li Aiguo said excitedly in a loud voice.

"Young comrade, don't be nervous. Introduce this excavator to me, and let Lao Zhao and the others hear about it too." The superior leader was very amiable. After shaking hands with Li Aiguo, he beckoned several leaders from various ministries to come forward.

Li Aiguo briefly explained the parameters of the excavator.

"You drove this excavator on the last rescue train, right? Tell me what happened." The superior reached into his pocket, seemingly to reach for a cigarette, but found nothing.

The assistant next to him quickly handed a package to the superior, opened it, and handed it to Li Aiguo and Zong Xianfeng.

Li Aiguo had read in the newspaper that higher-level leaders would offer cigarettes to local staff, and he initially thought it was a joke, but now he was convinced.

Seeing that his superior had unusually taken out a cigarette, Li Aiguo quickly lit it for him with a match, and a reporter nearby promptly snapped a photo.

This photo, along with one of a woman helping someone light a cigarette, became one of the two famous photos of lighting a cigarette in later generations.

The superior took a puff of his cigarette and asked, "Did your Qianmen Locomotive Depot build this excavator yourself?"

"The engine was manufactured by the locomotive depot, the boom was forged by the steel rolling mill, and we even received help from the Beijing Machinery Factory during the welding process."

"Who designed the tipping bucket to rotate back and forth? Foreign excavators don't seem to be able to do a similar movement."

"Boss, I came up with it. It contains a slewing platform and a slewing mechanism, which can enable the excavator's upper structure to rotate 360°."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Where did you get it from?"

“Boss, I’ve worked with loggers in the forest farms of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Logging is very dangerous; you can easily get hit by falling trees. I was thinking back then, if there were a big hand that could grab the tree, we wouldn’t have to be in so much danger.”

After listening to Li Aiguo's explanation, the superior laughed and said, "You come from labor and go back to labor. Young comrade, you've done a great job!"

The superior patted the excavator again and asked, "So, this excavator can do more than just dig soil?"

Li Aiguo looked at Section Chief Xing, who understood his good intentions and quickly stepped forward: "The workshop is developing a hydraulic breaker that can be used to quarry rocks. Currently, the excavator has seven or eight functions, including road construction, mining, logging, and rescue."

"Good, good, good." The superior said "good" three times, then looked at the other leaders beside him: "What do you think?"

"I suggest that we start mass production of excavators immediately; these things are very suitable for agricultural and water conservancy construction."

"The mining area desperately needs excavators." "If we had these things, the speed of building railways in mountainous areas would be greatly increased."

The superior nodded and looked at Section Chief Xing: "Excavators are a good thing; we should mass-produce them."

"Yes!" Section Chief Xing straightened his chest and made his promise.

With the support of so many departments, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot can now open another workshop specifically for the production of construction machinery.

We will also produce forklifts and other equipment in the future.

After visiting the excavators, the superior leader also visited Project 116, but this time he only brought one assistant.

The leaders of several ministries found this strange.

"What's over there that needs to be kept secret from us?"

"I don't know, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is really full of hidden talents." A leader from the First Ministry of Machine Building sighed, "The products produced by these few workshops each year already exceed those of several large factories."

If possible, the Ministry of Machine Building really wanted to get its hands on it, but unfortunately the Ministry of Railways would never let go.

The higher-level leaders met with Professor Qi and other researchers from Project 116, and then visited a warehouse where a trench excavator was being assembled.

"When Lao Xu came to Beijing for a meeting a while ago, he praised this machine many times. Now that I've finally seen it, it really is a good machine."

"How is Old Master Xu's health?" Li Aiguo then realized that he hadn't been in contact with Jinling for a while.

"Oh, he just likes to drink. Oh, and you're Old Xu's apprentice." The superior remembered this and nodded, saying, "You've passed on all of Old Xu's skills to you, haven't you?"

"My master's kung fu is profound and spiritual; I have only learned a little bit of it."

"Well, Old Xu also said that his apprentice is a little sly."

"."

The assistant, watching from the side, was somewhat shocked. This was hardly a visit; it was clearly an elder chatting idly with a younger person.

Around noon, the higher-level leaders ate lunch with the workers in the canteen. They had to receive local comrades in the afternoon, so they left.

Subsequently, leaders from several ministries held a meeting on the railway side to discuss the mass production of excavators, and Section Chief Xing represented the Qianmen Locomotive Depot in the meeting.

"Aiguo, the hydraulic breaker needs to be developed as soon as possible." After returning from the meeting, Section Chief Xing called Li Aiguo into his office.

"What, is there news about mass production?"

"Yes, the ministry has decided that our railway department will take the lead in establishing a heavy engineering machinery plant in conjunction with the First Ministry of Machine Building, the Coal Engineering Department, the Construction Engineering Department, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo was puzzled. Why would the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications need an excavator?

"The postal and telecommunications authorities have already started a massive telephone network construction project in rural areas. They've taken a liking to the ability of excavators to dig holes and plant utility poles."

This was a use that Li Aiguo hadn't anticipated.

"Alright then." What could Li Aiguo say?

Li Aiguo returned to his studio and convened a meeting with Zong Xianfeng and several other automotive experts.

"These are the blueprints for the excavator. Our next task is to find a way to achieve mass production. If we succeed, we'll give you all double the bonus at the end of the year. If we have the chance, we'll take you on a trip to Moscow."

A leader who can't make grand promises isn't a good leader, and Li Aiguo has learned that lesson too.

"Patriotism, where's my handwritten copy?" The wild car expert ignored them and raised his hand to say.

"It's pointless to bring this up; it's all bourgeois poison."

Li Aiguo stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said earnestly, "There's no benefit in looking at that kind of stuff. Confiscating it is for your own good, to promote your intellectual progress. It's like pulling you up from the edge of a cliff and saving your soul. Why can't you understand that?"

"Then how did you manage to peek? I saw it through the crack in the window at noon," the uninformed car expert retorted.

Li Aiguo remained calm and composed: "I tested the poison on myself to understand the enemy's ideological dynamics. This was a work requirement, for the purpose of better criticism!"

“Yes, just like Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs.” Zong Xianfeng’s eyes lit up.

"That's right, that's exactly it. Comrade Zong Xianfeng understands me the best. Everyone should learn from Comrade Zong Xianfeng in the future."

"Wild car expert."

Li Aiguo assigned the tasks, then returned to his office with his hands behind his back, and took out a book from his drawer.

"Yes, it definitely needs criticism."

Actually, handwritten copies from that era weren't very interesting; they didn't even have handshakes, let alone sticky stickers.

After grinding up a few skill points, Li Aiguo locked the manuscript in a box to prevent those kids from taking it out.

Studios today are different from before; they're under scrutiny from all sides, so you have to be careful in everything you do.

In the afternoon, the section selected the location of the heavy engineering machinery plant, behind the passenger transport workshop. The Qianmen Locomotive Depot also obtained a piece of land from the planning bureau.

The factory was built by the First Ministry of Machine Building and several other departments, and construction was scheduled to begin soon.

Li Aiguo did not participate in the project, but instead focused his energy on the design of the hydraulic breaker.

On Saturday afternoon, the prototype of the hydraulic breaker was manufactured, and Li Aiguo reported it to Section Chief Xing with the blueprints.

"You actually managed to do it! Good, good, patriotic. What are you planning to do next?" Section Chief Xing asked, then suddenly laughed.

Project 116 is still underway, and Section Chief Xing is unaware of the details.

However, seeing that the higher-level leaders met with several professors from Project 116 separately, one knows that this project is extraordinary.

"Hmm, still Project 116. Boss, it's time to go home."

"Wait a minute, after the higher-ups inspected the place last time, they sent over a large batch of seafood. That stuff is good for the brain, so why don't we take some back with us?"

"Thank you, leader, thank you," Li Aiguo quickly said.

Before leaving get off work, the materials department sent someone to deliver the sea fish to the studio, and all the researchers in the studio received a copy.

It mainly consists of yellow croaker, with a small amount of ribbonfish.

These days, yellow croaker isn't considered a rare commodity; in coastal cities, it only sells for 15 cents a pound.

However, ribbonfish are relatively scarce and expensive.

Li Aiguo received three yellow croakers and two ribbonfish, which he hung on the handlebars of his motorcycle and returned to the courtyard.

"Aiguo is back." Hearing the noise, the third aunt opened the door to see what was happening. When she saw Li Aiguo return, she asked.

"Auntie, you're back. You've been working overtime these past two days and haven't been home." Li Aiguo's explanation wasn't superfluous. In this day and age, if you're not on a business trip and don't come home at night, the neighbors will definitely gossip.

"Don't forget the neighborhood committee's big meeting this weekend," the old woman reminded Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo had completely forgotten about the Jia family's division of assets. Once he remembered, he readily agreed.

In the evening, Li Aiguo invited Nan Yi to help him prepare the yellow croaker and ribbonfish, and to marinate the rest with salt.

Nan Yi's cooking skills are indeed excellent. The steamed fish comes out of the pot with a fresh and fragrant aroma, and the fish meat is as tender as silk.

The ribbonfish was deep-fried, which the children liked because it was crunchy.

Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao's families also came over to eat together, chatting as they ate.

"Aiguo, you're so impressive! I've only ever seen such a big yellow croaker when showing movies to the leaders," Xu Damao said, picking up a piece of his chopsticks.

Uncle Er nodded: "Da Mao, you haven't heard yet, have you? The excavator that Aiguo built saved the railway and the Russian representatives."

"Really? That's quite famous!" Xu Damao said enviously. If he had that kind of achievement, he would definitely be a leader now.

"This is all thanks to everyone, it can't all be attributed to me," Li Aiguo reminded.

"Yes, yes, everyone deserves credit." Liu Haizhong nodded, then asked, "I heard your section is planning to build a heavy machinery plant? Our steel rolling mill has also received new orders."

Because the locomotive depot and the steel rolling mill are close in relationship and distance, when new parts are available, the first thing that comes to mind is the steel rolling mill.

"We plan to produce excavators, and we estimate that mass production will begin in a few months," Li Aiguo nodded.

"Your locomotive depot is famous again." Xu Damao said with some envy. Now the Qianmen locomotive depot is growing bigger and bigger, and the steel rolling mill has almost become a downstream factory.

After dinner, Liu Lan and Liang Ladi helped Chen Xueru clear the table. Li Aiguo chatted for a while before returning to his study.

The excavators are done; we should take advantage of this momentum to also manufacture mining excavators and loaders.

The next day was the weekend, and Li Aiguo slept until after nine o'clock before getting up when he heard the noise outside.

After washing my mouth and eating two steamed buns, I strolled over to the central courtyard.

A large crowd had already gathered there, including residents of the courtyard house and neighbors from several other large courtyards.

When Li Aiguo saw that Zhang, the street office official, and the old man had hung up a banner, he felt something was wrong.

"Reasoning Conference"

"What's going on?" Li Aiguo patted Xu Damao on the shoulder.

Xu Damao turned around and saw that it was Li Aiguo. He quickly stepped aside and said, "Aiguo, you're here."

"Isn't this reasoning meeting something we used to do?" Li Aiguo asked, puzzled.

The reasoning meetings were meetings held against those bad people. They were held frequently after liberation, and Li Aiguo also participated in several of them.

"I heard that the district attaches great importance to the Jia family's matter." Xu Damao knew a little about the inside story, but not much. Li Aiguo understood it as well.

After liberation, divorces occurred frequently, making the distribution of family property a major issue.

Because of the lack of corresponding legal basis, and because the methods used before liberation were unreasonable, people often ended up fighting bloody battles over such matters.

So the neighborhood committee decided to use the Jia family's situation as an opportunity to hold a large meeting to "present the facts and reason things out".

"Judging from this situation, Jia Dongxu is going to be in trouble," Xu Damao thought to himself with glee.

Li Aiguo didn't care; he just treated it as watching the show.

Director Wang from the subdistrict office and several leaders from the district committee arrived.

"Where is Jia Zhangshi?"

At this moment, the police officers brought in Jia Zhangshi and Jia Ba.

After a few days apart, both Jia Zhangshi and Jia Ba had lost weight, clearly indicating that they were having a hard time inside.

Director Wang of the subdistrict office nodded to Yi Zhonghai, indicating that they could begin.

Yi Zhonghai rarely gets to show his face, so he cleared his throat, mimicking the manner of the district committee leaders.

"Today's reasoning conference has only one topic."

"Now that Jia Zhangshi has married into the Jia family, shouldn't she receive a share of the family property? Perhaps she should, perhaps she shouldn't, right?"

(End of this chapter)