The train driver in the courtyard

Since the investigation team took over the security department, Liu Feng's treatment has improved, and he now has an extra bed in his detention room.

When Li Aiguo led Zhou Ke through the door, Liu Feng was staring blankly at the ceiling with his hands on his head.

"How is it? Have you found out?" Hearing the noise and seeing that it was Li Aiguo, Liu Feng immediately jumped out of bed.

Li Aiguo handed the paperwork to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng took it and looked at it, and instantly became excited.

"Thank you so much, Patriot." He felt as if the sky had suddenly brightened.

"The organization will not wrong an innocent person, nor will it let a bad person go unpunished. Director Liu, it is estimated that the comrades from the ministry will officially move into the machinery factory tomorrow, and a major meeting will be held. You need to be prepared."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng's joy froze, and he looked at Li Aiguo with some doubt: "Hasn't the matter been investigated and clarified?"

Li Aiguo did not answer him, but turned to look at Zhou Ke. Zhou Ke nodded knowingly, closed the door, left the detention room, and stood guard outside.

Li Aiguo patted Liu Feng on the shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down, handed Liu Feng a cigarette, and lit one for himself as well.

Liu Feng quickly picked up a torch and helped Li Aiguo light it.

After taking a drag of his cigarette, Li Aiguo continued, "We arrested more than a dozen people this time, all of whom are important figures from various departments and factory offices. Do you know what that means?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng's face paled slightly.

Having served as a leader for many years, he naturally understood that this meant turning the machinery factory upside down.

These people represent more than just themselves; who stands behind them?

Can they just stand by and watch these people get arrested?

Now that Commander Wang has been captured, will they send over Commander Zhou or Commander Chen?

The arrest was just the prelude; the real battle had only just begun.

Li Aiguo flicked his cigarette ash and said, "Director Liu, have you ever heard the saying, 'Either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind'?"

Liu Feng nodded slowly: "I know what to do."

Liu Feng stood up, and Li Aiguo turned around, intending to go back to rest.

He has done what he was supposed to do. If Liu Feng still can't control the situation, then it can only mean that this is the inevitable trend.

As Li Aiguo walked to the door, he remembered something, paused, and said, "I forgot to tell you something. According to Commander Wang's confession, he once sent someone to work on Jiao Min."

Liu Feng quickly shook his head: "Jiao Min? She would never betray me."

Li Aiguo gave him a deep look and smiled: "Is that so?"

Before Liu Feng could react, Li Aiguo had already pushed open the door and left.

Under the dim light, Liu Feng froze on the spot as he listened to the fading footsteps.

In his mind, Li Aiguo was capable of swiftly and decisively resolving a problem that had plagued him for years after his intervention; he couldn't possibly be acting without a clear purpose.

But Jiao Min is his wife, how could she possibly betray him?

Liu Feng's mind was in a mess, so much so that he didn't even hear Liu Duoduo greet him when he got home.

"Dad, where have you been these past two days? You're not home, and Mom isn't home either. I'm all alone now."

Liu Feng suddenly came to his senses and looked at Liu Duoduo, asking, "Duoduo, what has your mother been doing these past two days?"

Liu Duoduo pouted and shook her head: "I don't know either, but people often come to our house. My mother tells me to go out and play, and then she closes the door and whispers with that person."

"Really?" Liu Feng ruffled Liu Duoduo's hair, took out a few cents from the drawer and handed them to her: "Go to the supply and marketing cooperative at the entrance and buy some candy."

After receiving the money, Liu Duoduo cheered and left with cheerful steps.

Once her figure disappeared through the doorway, Liu Feng immediately closed the door and went into the room.

He walked to the wardrobe, rummaged through a pile of clothes, and saw that the wooden box was still there, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

“I knew it, Jiao Min would never betray me.” Liu Feng took the key and turned the lock, the rest of his voice stuck in his throat.

The diary inside the wooden box was facing up!

His habit was to keep his diary face down in the box.

Liu Feng felt a chill run through his body, and he couldn't help but tremble. A wave of nausea surged through him.

Back then, Jiao Min was just a junior employee in the factory office, while he was a college student. It was Jiao Min who took the initiative to pursue him.

I thought we could grow old together, but...
Those loving moments from the past have now become a joke.

In the evening, Jiao Min returned home as usual, carrying a canvas bag. As soon as she entered the house, she frowned and called out, "Old Liu, I heard from Ladi that you were released. What's wrong? Now you're putting on airs like a big factory director again, not even cooking?"

Liu Feng dragged his tired body off the bed: "You're here. What do you want to eat tonight?"

Jiao Min noticed Liu Feng's impatience and her heart skipped a beat. She softened her tone and said, "Never mind, you've been suffering these past few days. I'll cook."

Jiao Min was cooking in the kitchen, and every now and then she would ask Liu Feng about what had happened in the past few days. Although she asked the questions very subtly, Liu Feng could tell that she was trying to find out information.

"Old Liu, I heard that the ministry's investigation team is going to officially take over our factory tomorrow. What will happen to your case?"

"I don't know either, but I didn't do anything wrong, the organization will investigate."

"Whether you make a mistake or not is not up to you; it depends on the leader's opinion." Jiao Min came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of vegetables.

Liu Feng mustered his courage and looked up at Jiao Min: "Do you wish I would make a mistake?"

A hint of panic flashed in Jiao Min's eyes: "What are you saying? You are my husband, how could I think like that?"

She threw the plate of food on the table and turned to go into the kitchen.

Liu Feng watched Jiao Min's retreating figure and let out a long sigh.

As a couple married for decades, Liu Feng knew all too well the expression on Jiao Min's face when she felt guilty.

It seems Li Aiguo guessed correctly again.
*****
Just before the end of the workday, the two teams that went to arrest Yang Xiaodong also returned empty-handed.

Yang Xiaodong was nowhere to be found, neither at his home nor at the Red Star Commune. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

Zhou Ke was somewhat depressed.

"Beijing is so big, finding Yang Xiaodong is harder than climbing to heaven."

Li Aiguo also agreed with his view.

"Everyone, let's go back and rest today, we'll talk again tomorrow."

To prevent anyone from tampering with the property, Zhou Ke and several comrades from the railway police station stayed behind to keep watch, while Li Aiguo rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house.

Xu Damao had already returned and was squatting at the entrance of the courtyard, chatting with the old women.

Upon seeing Li Aiguo, they quickly approached.

"I heard the locomotive depot has taken over the machine factory?"

Goodness, this news spread way too fast!
Could it have been leaked by Liang Ladi?
"It wasn't Nan Yi's family who said it. I have a relative who works in a machinery factory. I heard about it. Brother Aiguo, you're so impressive." Xu Damao's eyes almost popped out of their sockets with envy.

The factory leaders arrested him without warning.

They arrested more than a dozen people. Xu Damao wished he had done it himself; how impressive that would have been.

"I'm just helping the machinery factory with some things." Li Aiguo handed Xu Damao a cigarette.

After chatting for a while, Xiao Xuhua came over and pulled Xu Damao to feed the old hen, and Xu Damao reluctantly left.

The two old hens that Xu Damao raised have now become the treasures of the children in the compound. Xiao Hehua, Xiao Hongsheng, and Xiao Mingwei, among other children, often tease and play with the old hens.

Li Aiguo greeted the older women and then went home.

Chen Xueru was cooking at home when she saw him return. She quickly came out, took the canvas bag, and said with a beaming smile, "Tonight we're having stir-fried pork with dried bamboo shoots."

"Where did the dried bamboo shoots come from?" Li Aiguo asked curiously.

"Liang Ladi brought it over just now. She said it was a gift from her hometown. I thought it wasn't worth much, so I accepted it."

Li Aiguo nodded, then went into his study and began working on the materials.

I've been busy with the machinery factory these past few days. The oil tanks at the steel rolling mill should be finished in another two days, and we need to design the oil tank trucks as soon as possible.

In those days, all oil tankers were manually operated, requiring manual labor to unload the oil. This was not only unsafe, but also difficult to completely empty the oil from the tanks, resulting in waste.

Based on the principle of "If you're going to build something, build the best."

Li Aiguo plans to install an oil pump inside the oil tanker to enable automatic oil loading and unloading.

The main oil pipe is equipped with a manual valve, and the level gauge adopts a simple float-type structure for easy operator observation.

A steam heating jacket is installed on the lower half of the tank to prevent the sticky oil from solidifying by supplying steam from an external boiler.

These technologies are relatively simple. The only challenge is the steam heating device, which needs to be designed to prevent the temperature from getting too high and igniting the tanker truck.

Before she knew it, Chen Xueru had been busy until after eight o'clock, and she had finished cooking.

The stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork tasted quite good. It was a simple dish, and Li Aiguo ate a large bowl of porridge with it.

After dinner.

Chen Xueru took her two children to visit Aunt Liu.

He Yushui now works part-time as a tutor for two children, where she can teach them some knowledge.

Chen was a great mathematician who taught He Yushui, who in turn taught two children, thus forming a closed loop for cultivating great mathematicians.

This is why great mathematicians are cultivated from childhood.

That's so damn clever.

Li Aiguo entrusted the important task of cultivating great mathematicians to He Yushui, and then returned to his study.

As the old saying goes, drinking too much thin porridge can make you urinate uncontrollably.

Li Aiguo felt it.

I've been busy for about half an hour, and my stomach is starting to feel uncomfortable.

Li Aiguo closed the book, grabbed a flashlight, and ran towards the toilet outside.

I felt refreshed after taking a relaxing bath.

It was quiet outside. Li Aiguo turned and walked into the courtyard, but after taking only two steps, he realized something was wrong.

Suddenly he turned around and shone his flashlight into the distance.

A young man dressed in coarse cloth was walking towards them.

The young man was also startled by Li Aiguo and was a little dazzled by the beam of the flashlight, so he quickly raised his hand to block the beam.

"What are you doing? I'm a commune member, don't misunderstand."

"Who the hell misunderstood?" Li Aiguo fastened his belt, thinking of going back to continue looking at the documents, but suddenly stopped after taking two steps.

Isn't that Yang Xiaodong?

Although Li Aiguo never met Yang Xiaodong in this timeline, he could never forget that face from the original novel. The guy's features looked normal, with a nose and eyes, but when put together, they looked rather sleazy.

Good lad, I was just looking for you and you delivered yourself right to my door.

Li Aiguo turned back.

Yang Xiaodong was just about to sneak away when he saw the burly man return, so he quickly stood still obediently.

Li Aiguo walked up to Yang Xiaodong and asked, "What are you doing in the compound so late at night?"

Yang Xiaodong quickly pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, held it out with both hands, and said, "I'm a relative from Nan Yi's hometown. There's something going on in the village, and I need to talk to Nan Yi. Comrade, have one, have one."

Offering cigarettes to everyone he meets—typical purchasing agent behavior. And he even knows Nan Yi. This guy must be Yang Xiaodong.

Li Aiguo took the cigarette, put on a high-pitched voice, and adopted the airs of a city dweller, continuing to ask, "Isn't Nan Yi from Beijing?" Yang Xiaodong quickly replied, "You don't know, Nan Yi's hometown is in the suburbs of Beijing, near Shiliqiao."

Li Aiguo looked him up and down, grunted twice, and said, "You've met a kind person today. Come on, I'll take you there."

Yang Xiaodong was overjoyed to hear this, as he had been worried about not being able to find Nan Yi's house and had run into a fool.

Reflecting on his experience today, Yang Xiaodong felt that this was the luckiest moment of his life.

I hadn't planned to go to the countryside to buy supplies this morning, but Commander Wang wanted to eat an old hen, and there weren't any left in the canteen.

Yang Xiaodong also wanted to get together with his old lover in the countryside, so he rode his bicycle out of the machinery factory. He had only gone a few steps when he saw jeeps and trucks rushing toward the machinery factory.

Yang Xiaodong sensed that something was wrong at the machinery factory, so he secretly followed them. Later, he learned from a worker that the security department had been taken over and that Yang Xiaodong was wanted by the security department.

Yang Xiaodong realized something was wrong and wanted to run away, but he had no money and dared not go home or back to the village. So he thought of his master, Nan Yi.

As long as we can get money from Nan Yi, we can avoid the limelight for now, and if the opportunity arises, we can rebuild our strength.

Yang Xiaodong quickly thanked the kind-hearted man: "Oh, thank you so much. There are so many kind people in the city."

The kind man led Yang Xiaodong into the courtyard, turned right, and came to a door.

"Bang, bang!" The good man knocked heavily on the door twice.

The door opened, and Yang Xiaodong was overjoyed, only to find that the person who came out was not Nan Yi, but a burly man of equal stature.

Zhang Gangzhu was also confused: "Brother Aiguo, what are you doing so late at night?"

Upon hearing the word "patriotism," Yang Xiaodong realized something was wrong.

This is what it means to take care of all those factory leaders, the God of Slaughter. He wanted to run away right then and there.

It's a pity it's too late.

Li Aiguo pointed at Yang Xiaodong: "Gangzhu, I've brought you credit. This guy is a fugitive from the machinery factory!"

Zhang Gangzhu's eyes lit up. Before Yang Xiaodong could turn around, he grabbed his collar and yanked him, sending him sprawling on his back.

Just as Yang Xiaodong was about to get up, Zhang Gangzhu mistook him for a fat pig, pounced on him, and pressed a butcher knife against his neck.

"Fugitive? That's great!"

Even if Yang Xiaodong were completely clueless, he would understand at this point that he was essentially delivering food to Yang Xiaodong's doorstep.

His eyes darted around, and he began to wail loudly: "Patriotic leader, I was forced into it! If I hadn't done those things, Commander Wang would have punished me."

Tears streamed down his cheeks, his voice trembled, and coupled with his seemingly honest appearance, anyone who didn't know the truth would really think he was a bullied factory worker.

Li Aiguo knew him too well. He gestured for Zhang Gangzhu to pull Yang Xiaodong up, grabbed him by the collar, and sneered, "In Commander Wang's confession, you found him four or five women. What, you were forced into all of them?"

"I...I..." Yang Xiaodong cursed inwardly, wondering why Commander Wang had to reveal this matter.

Li Aiguo continued, "Among them, three female workers disobeyed Wang's orders. You deliberately got them drunk and sent them to the canteen's small storeroom. Were you forced into this?"

At this point, Yang Xiaodong was completely speechless. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

Yang Xiaodong is just a smaller version of Cui Dake; in his pursuit of advancement, he has done all sorts of bad things.

At this moment, the residents in the compound heard the commotion and all came over.

Xu Damao curled his lip upon hearing this: "How come this guy is even worse than me?"

Liu Lan grabbed his ear and twisted it.

Xu Damao: "."

Nan Yi arrived late because he had to coax several children. When he saw that it was Yang Xiaodong, his heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously stepped forward.

"Yang Xiaodong, is that you?"

When Yang Xiaodong saw Nan Yi, it was like seeing a savior.

"Master, Master, please save me!" Yang Xiaodong didn't care about the dirt on the ground. He put his hands on the ground and struggled to crawl over to this side.

Zhang Gangzhu grabbed him and pulled him back. Nan Yi realized something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to ask Li Aiguo what had happened.

Li Aiguo recounted what had happened at the machinery factory.

Upon hearing this, Nan Yi's expression also turned grim. He squatted down in front of Yang Xiaodong: "Xiaodong, when you became my apprentice, I told you to focus on learning culinary skills and not get involved in those messy things. But you wouldn't listen, and now...sigh."

Nan Yi felt disappointed and frustrated with Yang Xiaodong.

Yang Xiaodong had been hoping Nan Yi would help him, but instead he was scolded instead, so he stopped pretending.

Yang Xiaodong sat up, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said coldly, "Nan Yi, if you hadn't been so stubborn and offended the factory leaders, I would have been a full-time employee long ago. I didn't get any advantage from you, my mentor, and instead, you dragged me down. You've wronged me, and you still have the nerve to say that!"

Nan Yi was surprised that Yang Xiaodong was still so stubborn. He sighed, stood up and looked at Li Aiguo: "Aiguo, take him away. Take care of him if you can."

Yang Xiaodong immediately burst into laughter: "Nan Yi, the master harms the disciple, haha, Nan Yi, the biggest mistake I ever made in my life was accepting you as my master."

"Snapped"

Li Aiguo wasn't going to tolerate him and slapped him hard across the face.

The slap was so powerful that Yang Xiaodong was thrown over and crashed into the wall before finally coming to a stop.

"Steel Pillar, take the men and go exchange for the letter of commendation!"

Li Aiguo waved to Zhang Gangzhu, who then went inside and retrieved the thick hemp rope used for tying up pigs.

The rope was very strong, and Yang Xiaodong's hands and feet were tied tightly, like a little piglet, as Zhang Gangzhu dragged him outside the courtyard.

The floor is much cleaner now that it's been mopped, and the residents have to thank Yang Xiaodong, the human mop.

When Li Aiguo and Zhang Gangzhu tied Yang Xiaodong to the motorcycle, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong heard the commotion and came out as well.

Upon learning that Yang Xiaodong was a fugitive, Yi Zhonghai turned around and walked away cursing, while Liu Haizhong gave him a thumbs up.

Yang Xiaodong was taken to the security department of the machinery factory; it was nearly midnight.

Zhou Ke was resting, but when he heard the duty officer shouting, he got up again.

Li Aiguo had Zhang De summoned to identify Yang Xiaodong. After confirming that there was no problem, Zhou Ke presided over the interrogation overnight.

"Aiguo, you're incredibly lucky." Fang Xian came out after hearing the commotion, and after figuring out what had happened, he was both amused and exasperated.

"That's what everyone's saying." Li Aiguo pointed at Zhang Gangzhu: "This is a joint effort, remember to issue a letter of commendation."

Zhang Gangzhu was due for a promotion, and a letter of commendation, like a lucky gem, could increase his chances of promotion.

“That’s only natural,” Fang Xian nodded.

"Going back to sleep."

Li Aiguo was also feeling sleepy, so he rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard with Zhang Gangzhu in tow.

Nan Yi was still standing at the door when he saw Li Aiguo return. He wanted to ask him a few questions, but in the end he didn't ask anything. He just gave Li Aiguo a very slight nod.

He stumbled as he turned around, only managing to steady himself by grabbing the door frame.

****
The sun rose at almost the same time today as it did yesterday.

It seemed to be brighter.

Early the next morning.

Li Aiguo arrived at the machinery factory on his motorcycle.

As expected, the machine factory was in an uproar. When the workers saw the notice posted at the door, they were stunned at first, and then they burst into applause.

"These bloodsucking bastards have finally been caught."

"Yes, our machinery factory was a perfectly good factory, and they smashed it up like this. It's a tragedy."

Most people welcomed the arrest of those people who raised their hands.

However, some are not so optimistic.

"It's hard to say. Right now, someone like Commander Wang is riding high. How could he be taken down so easily?"

"Yes, I've heard that other factories are doing the same thing."

"Let's not get too excited yet."

Staff Officer Zhou also noticed this and came over to Li Aiguo, saying, "Comrade Aiguo, the First Ministry of Machine Building is going to hold a meeting at the machine factory this morning to discuss Liu Feng and the factory leaders. I think we should make preparations in advance."

"Yes." Li Aiguo has always looked down on his opponents strategically, but took them seriously tactically.

After entering the security department, Zhou Ke and Zhang De checked everyone's statements again.

Yang Xiaodong's confession was also released, and Li Aiguo took it from Zhou Ke and glanced at it.

As expected, Yang Xiaodong shifted all the blame onto Commander Wang.

He confessed that he used his position as a purchasing agent to embezzle canteen property in various ways, such as reporting two pounds of vegetables when buying one pound of greens, and selling rotten vegetables as good ones.

What excited the investigation team even more was that, in order to shirk responsibility, Yang Xiaodong also revealed details of how Commander Wang had instructed him to coerce the female workers.

Once it's confirmed that Commander Wang coerced the female workers, he's finished.

“We’ll find those female workers right away to verify.” Fang Xian was about to go and bring those female workers over.

Li Aiguo stopped him: "Let Comrade Liang Ladi go."

Fang Xian was taken aback for a moment, but after understanding Li Aiguo's intention, he sighed inwardly, thinking that Comrade Aiguo was indeed very thoughtful.

Li Aiguo invited Liang Ladi to the security department and handed her the names.

"Don't make a big fuss. All we need are statements. Don't disrupt the lives of those female workers."

“Patriotic brother, these female workers trust me the most!” Liang Ladi nodded emphatically.

That's true. Liang Ladi was famous in the machine factory for her groin-striking leg technique, and many female workers went to Liang Ladi specifically to learn from her.

Just as the investigation team was actively searching for evidence, Jiao Min was looking around in a small grove outside the machinery factory's residential compound, seemingly waiting for someone.

Upon seeing a middle-aged man approaching, Jiao Min quickly stepped forward and asked, "Deputy Director Liu, didn't you tell me that Liu Feng had failed this time? How come he's back? Are you trying to fool me?"

"Of course I'm just fooling you, you silly woman." Thinking this to himself, Deputy Director Liu said aloud, "You know the current political climate. Even if Commander Wang falls, do you think Liu Feng can get his job back?"

Upon hearing this, Jiao Min's face darkened: "Liu Feng didn't actually make any major mistakes; he was just trying to do what was best for the factory."

"Ha, so now you're pleading for Liu Feng? Who contacted us first after learning that Liu Feng was going to get into trouble?!" Deputy Director Liu smirked disdainfully: "Comrade Jiao Min, you're a fence-sitter, a two-faced person, you can't be trusted."

Seeing that Jiao Min was still hesitant, Deputy Director Liu emphasized, "What do you think Liu Feng will do if he knows you betrayed him?"

Jiao Min knew she was in a bind, so she could only grit her teeth and ask, "What benefits will I get?"

"How about the position of deputy factory director?" Deputy Director Liu said, "But you have to give me something that can bring down Liu Feng."

“It’s a deal!” Jiao Min nodded emphatically and lowered her voice: “In the closet in the room at home, there is a box containing Liu Feng’s diary, which contains many inappropriate remarks.”

"Good, good, good!" Deputy Leader Chen patted Jiao Min on the shoulder and turned to leave.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Jiao Min couldn't help but shiver.

She felt a lump in her throat, wanting to cry but unable to.

"Liu Feng, don't blame me. Didn't you say you'd be good to me for the rest of your life? Now it's time for you to keep your promise."

noon.

A clear sound rang out from the loudspeaker at the machine factory.

"Fellow workers, the ministry will be holding a factory-wide meeting in the auditorium. Please be at the meeting promptly at 3:00 PM. I'll repeat that again."

The mechanical yet passionate sounds echoed over this first batch of factories in the country, startling flocks of birds into flight.

(End of this chapter)