The train driver in the courtyard

Leaning against the big tree is good for the coolness.

With the equipment department as a backer, it is easy to manufacture special equipment.

The gun barrels and accessories were quite unusual, but they were nothing special to the seasoned workers who had seen it all.

The next day, all the accessories, including the fishing nets and gun barrels, were finished.

Li Aiguo assembled the parts, and soon a strangely shaped gun appeared on the table.

The gun barrel was only slightly thinner than a mortar barrel, with a cowhide rope tied to it. The trigger was also very simple, just a stick. Overall, it looked like a hand-crafted weapon from a post-apocalyptic movie.

Uh, this was originally handmade?

That's okay.

"Train driver, would you like to give it a try?" Old Cat circled the net gun, showing particular interest in it.

There's an old saying at weather stations: "Killing someone is easy, arresting someone is hard."

If this net gun works, then in the future, we can just use the net gun to deal with those Dieters that need to be captured, and we won't have to fight them hand-to-hand anymore.

"Of course we'll give it a try."

To test weapons, you always need a target.

Li Aiguo turned his head and saw someone practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard.

This guy was wearing a white training uniform, focusing his energy in his dantian, and looked quite professional.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Wu Jingzhong.

After the An Yang sank, Wu Jingzhong was brought back to the weather station. Knowing he had no other choice, he cooperated exceptionally well and made many contributions by relying on the data he had.

Because of his exceptional performance, Wu Jingzhong has now been granted the right to move freely within the designated area of ​​the weather station.

"Old Wu, come over here and lend a hand."

Wu Jingzhong was practicing his martial arts when he heard the shout. He turned around and saw that it was Li Aiguo. He immediately agreed.

"It's patriotism. If there's anything you need, just say so. If it's within my power, I'll definitely help you."

Li Aiguo picked up the net gun: "Brother, let's play Dieter for once."

Wu Jingzhong: "."

As it turns out, Li Aiguo's choice was very wise.

Wu Jingzhong's portrayal of Dieter was essentially a natural fit; despite his advanced age, the old man was still incredibly skilled.

After the drill began, Wu Jingzhong first ran backwards, then cleverly zigzagged around, making it impossible for the net gun to aim.

"How was it? Did it hit the target?" Old Cat thought Wu Jingzhong was too dedicated and started to worry.

"Don't worry, this is a net gun used to catch tigers."

As Li Aiguo spoke, he took a deep breath, raised his gun, pointed it at Wu Jingzhong's direction, and fired without aiming.

Wu Jingzhong was puzzled by the noise. The shot was fired too hastily. This time, he was finally able to win a drink from Li Aiguo.

Before his thoughts could settle, Wu Jingzhong heard a gust of wind. When he looked up, he was so shocked that his mouth hung open.

A huge net swept in from the sky, covering everything.

Wu Jingzhong tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The moment the net touched his body, the anchor on the net, propelled by inertia, continued to fly forward, causing the net to tightly entangle him.

Wu Jingzhong tried to break free, but although the net looked flimsy, he couldn't budge it no matter how hard he tried.

"This thing is terrifying." Wu Jingzhong knew that in a real operation, he would be at the mercy of others.

Old Cat knew the net gun was definitely effective, but he was still amazed by its results.

"Patriotism, quickly make a few more and equip each group with one."

Just as Li Aiguo was busy catching Black Tiger, the first batch of oil tanker trains arrived at Sartu Railway Station under the escort of Section Chief Xu.

Several leaders of the Sartu State Farm were somewhat surprised when they saw this strange oil tanker train.

"This thing is way too big."

"The volume is secondary; the key is whether the crude oil can be unloaded after it's loaded."

"Hasn't the Qianmen Locomotive Depot already tested it?"

Wearing a black Zhongshan suit and with his hair meticulously styled, Leader Zhang frowned and said, "It's not that I don't trust the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, but the key issue is that some units like to tamper with experiments in order to pass off inferior goods as superior ones."

Section Chief Xu knew that Director Zhang was dissatisfied with his work.

I didn't care in the past, since everyone was just trying to make a living, but I couldn't help it when I heard this.

"Leader Zhang, please don't insult our comrades on the railway!"

The staff and technicians at Sarto train station also glared at them angrily.

Although they were under the management of the Sartu State Farm, they were also railway workers, and they couldn't stand hearing this.

Seeing that he had angered everyone, Leader Zhang quickly defended himself, saying, "Old Zhou, Old Wang, look at me, I was just offering some suggestions, and they can't stand it. Is this how you do your job?"

Those two leaders knew Zhang's personality; this guy only had eyes for one kind of good equipment, and that was the equipment from Big Brother's company.

The two leaders also felt that Leader Zhang had gone too far, so they made a suggestion.

"Ahem, there happens to be a batch of crude oil to be delivered to the Jinzhou Chemical Plant today. I think we should use this new type of oil tanker train to transport it."

"Very well, I want to see what this thing is actually used for!" Leader Zhang originally planned to return to the State Farm after the inspection, but upon hearing this, he immediately changed his plans.

The staff at Sartu Railway Station removed the old-fashioned oil tankers from the patriotic locomotives and replaced them with new oil tanker trains.

Each train has 24 carriages, and the two trains together have 48 carriages.

Section Chief Xu personally supervised the operation and explained the operation procedures of the oil tanker train to the employees.

Because Li Aiguo had already simplified it in advance, the employees easily mastered it.

"set off!"

After contacting the dispatch center, an oil tanker train set off first, speeding all the way to the oil storage base of the State Farm, where it loaded crude oil and headed straight for the Jinzhou Chemical Plant.

The distance from Daqing to Jinzhou is over 700 kilometers, and a typical passenger train journey takes at least a day.

The crude oil transport line is a dedicated line and does not need to avoid other vehicles. The first oil tanker train arrived at the Jinzhou Chemical Plant in less than five hours.

"Jingle Bell"

The telephone rang in the duty room of Sartu Railway Station.

Everyone looked at Section Chief Xu, who picked up the phone and said hello.

"What? The oil tanker train has already arrived? So fast!"

"How's the uninstallation going? Is it going very smoothly?"

"Ahem, this is the latest model of oil tanker train. Old Liu, you need to keep it a secret. Goodbye."

Seeing Section Chief Xu hang up the phone, one of the leaders couldn't help but ask, "How did it go?"

Section Chief Xu excitedly said, "The total time was four hours and fifty minutes, and the residue in the tanker was less than 1%, so there was no need to clean the tank!"

Upon hearing these two numbers, cheers erupted immediately in the duty room.

In the past, a single transport mission would take at least seven hours, and cleaning the oil tanker was even more difficult. The waste of crude oil was secondary; the biggest problem was the excessive time commitment.

"It seems that the Qianmen Locomotive Depot has really built something amazing."

"Yes, with this new type of oil tanker train, we have essentially opened up a major artery for oil transportation."

While the leaders were still excited, Section Chief Xu walked up to Leader Zhang.

Ever since he heard the results, Leader Zhang's face has darkened, and he's currently smoking one cigarette after another at the door.

Upon seeing Section Chief Xu approach, Director Zhang said awkwardly, "Old Xu, I misunderstood this time, but I didn't mean any harm; it was all for the sake of work."

This is what shamelessness is.

If it were anything else that made him angry, Section Chief Xu wouldn't have cared about it now.

But he personally witnessed how the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and Li Aiguo painstakingly built the oil tanker train.

"Leader Zhang, please apologize for your remarks just now."

"Why should I?! I'm doing this for work!" Director Zhang's eyes widened, feeling that Section Chief Xu's request was a bit excessive.

He is a leader in the State Farm General Farm, and besides, he was only doing it for work-related reasons. Why should he apologize?

"You're accusing the comrades at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot of falsifying documents without any concrete evidence, and you're doing this for the sake of your work?" Section Chief Xu said coldly.

"This," Zhang, the leader, did not expect Section Chief Xu to be so serious, but how embarrassing it would be to apologize.

The other leaders also realized that Section Chief Xu was still angry about the double-headed donkey oil pump incident, and this time he was slandered again, which is why he reacted so strongly.

Moreover, what Leader Zhang did this time was truly outrageous.
No matter what, the older brother is an outsider, while the comrades on the railway are our own people. How can we turn our backs on outsiders?

"Old Zhang, you were definitely in the wrong this time."

"Apologize."

Seeing that Director Zhang remained silent, Section Chief Xu's stubbornness flared up, and he raised his voice: "If you don't apologize, I'll go to the top leadership at headquarters right now and demand an explanation."

"You," Leader Zhang looked around and, seeing no one on his side, gritted his teeth and could only manage to squeeze out a single sentence: "I made a mistake of relying on past experience. I forgot that one has no right to speak without investigation. I will learn from this experience in the future."

This hardly qualifies as an apology. Just as Section Chief Xu was about to speak, Leader Zhang strode out of the duty room and got into a jeep.

As the jeep sped away, the leaders offered their advice.

"Old Xu, Leader Zhang is a leader at headquarters, he doesn't actually have any ill intentions."

"Yes, it's all for work, there's no need to make such a big fuss."

"Please rest assured, leaders, I will not delay the work." Section Chief Xu knew that it was already difficult to get Leader Zhang to say those words.

He wasn't concerned about saving face; he just wanted to get justice.

Section Chief Xu nodded to the leaders, then eagerly picked up the phone and called Li Aiguo, explaining the driving situation.

Of course, he concealed his conflict with Leader Zhang, which was a family matter and should not affect unity.

Li Aiguo was about to leave work when he received the call and was very happy: "Old Xu, this is good news. I think you should purchase more oil tanker trains."

The production line at Changxindian Locomotive Factory has been built, and now the more orders the better.

"I'll contact the top leaders of the State Farm immediately." After hanging up the phone, Section Chief Xu, without even taking a break, wrote a report and submitted it to the top leaders of the State Farm.

After reviewing the report, the head of the headquarters stared intently at Section Chief Xu: "Is there anything wrong with the data in this report?" "Absolutely nothing wrong. Several leaders are watching," Section Chief Xu assured him, patting his chest.

"Good, good, good." The head of the main plant said several times, excitedly, "With this new type of oil tanker, we will no longer have to worry about transporting crude oil. I will arrange for another twenty to be purchased right now."

"The development of the oil pumping unit is not yet complete." Section Chief Xu was in a hurry to return to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and was about to leave when he was stopped by the head of the general farm.

The senior leader offered a cigarette, and after Section Chief Xu lit it, he said, "I've heard about your conflict with Leader Zhang."

"Boss, Boss Zhang is really too..."

Section Chief Xu was about to explain when the senior leader waved his hand and said, "You did nothing wrong, but you need to pay attention to your methods. Only by working together can we get the job done, understand?"

Section Chief Xu was silent for a moment before nodding: "I will write a self-criticism."

"No need for a self-criticism. Just be more careful in the future. You're still young, so you should study more and not be impulsive." The senior leader stood up and saw Section Chief Xu off, shaking his head with a wry smile as he watched him leave.

Section Chief Xu is capable, has sound principles, and is a promising talent, but he is prone to making the mistakes of technicians, such as being too meticulous.

The world is not black and white; people like Section Chief Xu are prone to getting hurt.

The top leader also values ​​talent and doesn't want to see this outcome.

The senior leader returned to his office and called Leader Zhang, intending to talk to him and clear up the misunderstanding, but was told that Leader Zhang was not there.

"It's working hours now, where did Lao Zhang go?"

"Professor Selev, it's infuriating! These young people these days don't respect us old comrades at all." Inside the experts' building, Leader Zhang poured himself a glass of Moutai and drank it all in one gulp.

His face was flushed red, and anyone could tell that he had suffered a great injustice.

The Russian professor sitting opposite him was probably in his fifties, with gray hair and sharp eyes. Looking at Director Zhang, he smiled and asked, "Dear Zhang, what's wrong?"

"You don't know, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot has built a new type of oil tanker, and they treat it like a treasure. To be honest, it's really good, but I think in terms of sturdiness and durability, we still have to import it from you," said Director Zhang angrily.

Professor Selyov hadn't paid any attention to it at first.

Hearing this, his expression shifted slightly, and he asked casually, "A new type of tanker truck? What's its speed? What about the residual oil rate?"

Leader Zhang briefly explained the situation.

Professor Selyov's eyes narrowed, but he pretended to be indifferent, laughed, stood up and said, "Old Zhang, it's just an oil tanker, there's nothing technical about it. That Section Chief Xu is making a mountain out of a molehill."

"That's right, that's right!" Leader Zhang felt much better. The older brother had said that thing wasn't important, but these people were treating it like a treasure.

Professor Selyov chatted with Director Zhang for a while longer before warmly seeing him off.

Leader Zhang felt that Professor Selyov's attitude was very good and that he was being taken seriously. He muttered to himself, "It has to be the older brother here. He has a high standard and doesn't take this thing seriously at all."

Unbeknownst to him, after closing the door, Professor Selyov took a box from under the bed.

The bamboo box, when opened, contained a radio.

He plugged in the power, turned on the switch, and a radio wave silently transmitted through the air.

Everything was calm outside.

Over the weekend, Li Aiguo finished making three net guns and planned to head to Qingshan Town, firstly to check out the area to the east, and secondly to go up the mountain to deal with the wild boars and black tigers.

Just as I was about to return to the courtyard house, I received a call from a ministry.

"Patriot, there's an urgent matter at the ministry, come over immediately."

Upon arriving at the ministry's conference room, Li Aiguo immediately sensed something was amiss; the leaders all had gloomy faces and worried expressions.

"What happened?"

Upon seeing Li Aiguo enter, Leader Teng pointed to a seat and asked him to sit down before saying with a slight headache, "The older brother just called; they've taken a liking to our oil tanker train."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo knew that his elder brother knew about the oil tanker train, and nodded: "Buy it then, as long as they are willing to pay, or exchange it for oil."

Although we have had many frictions with Big Brother throughout history, trade has continued. Even during the years when we completely broke off relations, we still imported a large number of transport planes from Big Brother, more than a dozen each year, worth several million.

Now, we actually do some business with Big Brother, in addition to things like ride-hailing services, instant noodles, diapers, and hand warmers.

The older brother mainly imports light industrial products and agricultural products, while its exports to us are mainly timber and other items.

Anyway, that's how the relationship is.

“If they were just buying oil tanker trains, that would be much easier,” Leader Teng sighed. “Our big brother wants to buy the blueprints and production technology directly.”

Hearing this, Li Aiguo finally understood why the leaders were so distressed.

Ministries have now begun contacting Eastern and Western Europe in hopes of selling tanker trains. If all goes well, tanker trains will become the next flagship export product.

With the older brother doing this, he'll definitely be selling oil tankers and trains himself, leaving us out of the picture.

The leaders then discussed the matter, but their opinions differed, for obvious reasons.

Li Aiguo didn't interrupt, but listened quietly from the side. However, he began to have doubts in his heart. The oil tanker train was not a classified project, nor was it intended to be kept secret.

But the news spread way too fast. Section Chief Xu hasn't even returned yet, and it's already reached the elder brother's house. What exactly happened?
The meeting room quieted down, and seeing Li Aiguo's expression, Teng smiled and asked, "Aiguo, what are your thoughts?"

Li Aiguo straightened up: "Boss, I'm just a technician, I don't know that much."

"This is our internal meeting. Feel free to share your thoughts," Leader Teng said, waving his hand as he saw Li Aiguo putting on his armor again.

This kid is good in every way, except he's too cautious. He's not like a young man; he's more like a seventy or eighty-year-old man.

“Then I’ll just share my personal opinion,” Li Aiguo said frankly. “I think we should only sell oil tanker trains and not sell the production technology to others. That way, we can maximize our profits.”

After listening, Leader Teng's eyes narrowed, but he did not express his opinion. He simply stood up and said, "This transaction has a significant impact. I think we should consult with the higher-ups."

After the meeting, Leader Teng went to report to his superiors.

Li Aiguo didn't think much of it; this kind of thing wasn't something one person could decide, and thinking about it too much wouldn't help.

Li Aiguo is currently focusing on two projects: a twin-head oil pump and an armed helicopter. The rest are trivial matters, such as pest control in Qingshan Town.

After returning from the ministry, Li Aiguo first went home, wrapped the net gun in canvas, and planned to take the team members to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Just as they reached the front yard, Yan Jiecheng jumped out of the house.

"Brother Aiguo, I heard you're planning to go hunting in the mountains. Can I join you?"

Li Aiguo saw the Third Uncle's figure flash by through the window and knew that it was the Third Uncle's idea.

Yan Jiecheng has some courage, but not much; two years ago, he was almost scared to death by a wild wolf.

"Jiecheng, the mountain is quite dangerous. Although we brought a lot of people this time, everyone has a mission. You'd better think it through." Li Aiguo didn't beat around the bush.

The people went up the mountain to hunt, not to bring children.

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng's expression turned grim. Seeing that something was amiss, the Third Uncle rushed out from inside the house.

"Oh, Aiguo, what are you saying? Jiecheng has seen the world and experienced battles, so he'll definitely be fine."

The third uncle nudged Yan Jiecheng with his elbow: "Jiecheng, what do you think?"

Yan Jiecheng took a deep breath and nodded: "Brother Aiguo, I'm fine."

"Alright, you can come along too." Li Aiguo had said all he could, and since the other person was willing, he couldn't stop him.

After the two left, the third woman came out of the house, looking somewhat worried.

“Old man, is our Jie Cheng okay? He’s never hunted before.”

"What's there to be afraid of? Li Aiguo will definitely bring a lot of people. They'll surely help Jie Cheng." The third uncle blinked his small eyes: "As long as we participate in the hunt, we'll definitely get a share of the prey. Jie Cheng is getting married soon, so we need to prepare in advance."

Hearing this, the three women had no choice but to give up.

Li Aiguo led Yan Jiecheng to the armed forces department of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Zhou Ke and a dozen or so young men were ready.

Each person was equipped with a rifle, a pistol, and a grenade, forming an orderly ranks.

Li Aiguo distributed the net guns, taking one for himself and giving one to each of the two team members who had previously hunted in the mountains.

"Comrade Patriot, would you like to say a few words?" With the departure imminent, Zhou Ke felt something was missing and suggested.

Li Aiguo didn't stand on ceremony and stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the team members.

"Everyone, the wild boars and tigers in Chenjiayu are a menace to the area, seriously affecting the production and lives of the villagers. We are going to Chenjiayu today to rid the people of this scourge."

"If we encounter wild boars, we can fire at will, until they are killed. We'll capture tigers alive and put them in the Beijing Zoo for the whole country to see. What do you all think?"

"Okay!" the team members shouted in unison.

This operation, which can hunt wild boars and capture tigers, is comparable to the operation to capture Dieter.

"set off!"

A large SUV and a large truck sped all the way to Chenjiayu Hospital.

Zuo Dongfang's injuries weren't serious to begin with, and after a few days of treatment, he's almost fully recovered.

After learning from Nurse Zhou that the daily hospital stay would cost a lot of money, Zuo Dongfang started clamoring to be discharged.

“Brother Zuo, you just got stitches. If the wound reopens, we’ll have to trouble Nurse Zhou again, won’t we?” Li Aiguo pressed him down onto the hospital bed.

"I just feel so useless," Zuo Dongfang said, somewhat frustrated.

"How could that be? If you hadn't come up the mountain, we wouldn't have known there were more than a dozen wild boars and a black tiger here. We came here today specifically to go up the mountain."

"Really?"

Zuo Dongfang initially thought Li Aiguo was just joking, but upon hearing this, he perked up.

"Count me in for patriotism too."

Seeing that his injuries weren't too serious, and considering that Zuo Dongfang had also been up the mountain, Li Aiguo agreed.

Now that we have Zuo Dongfang, we still need Nurse Zhou's father.

Nurse Xiao Zhou took some instant noodles and led the group directly to a small courtyard at the end of the town.

The conditions here are better than those for ordinary commune members; there are many furs hanging in the courtyard, and the windows are made of glass.

The old hunter, named Zhou Dan, was probably in his fifties. He was smoking a pipe and wearing a fur apron around his waist. He was sharpening a wood-chopping knife.

Upon learning that the group was going up the mountain, Zhou Dan frowned deeply: "You think the wild boars on the mountain are running out of food and are planning to send them some meat to improve their lives?"

Wow, this old hunter is too good at talking.

Li Aiguo turned to the side and pointed to the truck outside.

"Old comrade, what kind of wild boar do you think could have such a big appetite?"

When Zhou Dan saw the team members, he couldn't help but stand up, his mouth agape: "A regular army!"

(End of this chapter)