The train driver in the courtyard

Under the dim light.

Old Cat was sorting through the documents sent from the local area when he heard Li Aiguo's words and asked, "Who is it?"

Li Aiguo offered Old Cat a cigarette: "Anton Ivanovich Sidorov, probably in his thirties, from the Novokramatorsk Heavy Machinery Plant, his position is unknown, currently he is an attaché to the Russian delegation."

"That old Russian guy staying in room 301 of the Friendship Hotel?" Old Cat stood up, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and took out a stack of documents from the filing cabinet, finding one of them.

Li Aiguo was initially puzzled as to how Lao Mao had information about the Russians, but after thinking about it, he understood.

Someone of this status would definitely receive special attention from the weather station when they come here.

Unfortunately, apart from Anton's name, there wasn't much information in the document. The note at the end was circled, which meant that this person might have problems.

After reviewing the information, the old cat inquired about the reason for investigating this person.

"When I shook hands with Anton, I could feel that the area between his thumb and forefinger was covered with calluses, which meant he must handle guns frequently."

Old Cat's expression changed slightly: "Cheka?"

"It's hard to say whether it's the Cheka or someone from another department. Also, the Russian delegation is deliberately stalling for time, and I feel it's related to Anton."

"Why did he do this?"

“That’s the problem. Right now, we have absolutely no idea what this person’s purpose is.” Li Aiguo took a drag of his cigarette, the smoke obscuring his face.

Anything abnormal is suspicious; those who do special work understand this principle.

Old Cat put the documents away and said, "I will contact my comrades in Moscow and ask them to help investigate Anton's situation. At the same time, the weather station will also send people to keep an eye on him."

"Thank you." Li Aiguo knew that he only had suspicions and no concrete evidence.

In this situation, even for an old cat, it's not easy to make use of these resources.

Especially given Anton's unique status, monitoring such a person could easily cause trouble.

"We're all doing this for work."

After getting up and assigning tasks, Lao Mao returned to his office and told Li Aiguo some news.

"Patriotism, Zhang Erhei is planning to get married."

"Zhang Erhei?" Li Aiguo, who had been about to leave, stopped in his tracks. He couldn't remember who Zhang Erhei was.

"Old Black in the five-person group."

"I thought he was called 'Old Black' just because he was dark-skinned," Li Aiguo thought, a dark face flashing through his mind, making him both amused and exasperated.

Zhang Erhei, what a sloppy name.

However, that's how it was in those days. The older generation wasn't very educated, and there was a saying that having a humble name made it easier to survive. So, everyone especially liked to give their children names like "Dog Egg" or "Dog Leftovers."

Zhang Erhei is probably in his thirties, considered an older single man, and he also has a special mission. People like him usually find it difficult to get married.

Li Aiguo casually inquired about the woman's situation and then understood the whole story.

Zhang Erhei's fiancée was named Liu Qiu. The two were childhood sweethearts, but before liberation, she was sold to the opium addict son of a landlord as a child bride.

Before they could even get married, that heavy opium addict died of smoking in the opium den.

If this were in later generations, Liu Qiu would be a free person. But a child bride is a member of the landlord's family in life and in death. She would have to be buried in the landlord's ancestral grave and serve the landlord's family in the afterlife.

When Zhang Erhei saw Liu Qiu being subjected to inhumane treatment, he tried to escape with Liu Qiu, but they were discovered by the landlord's servants and beaten half to death. His house was also destroyed, so he had to join the army.

After liberation, Zhang Erhei returned to his hometown to look for Liu Qiu, only to find that the landlord's whole family had fled and Liu Qiu had also disappeared. It was then that he made up his mind to never get married.

Last year, Zhang Erhei was on a mission in the south when he unexpectedly met Liu Qiu.

It turns out that Liu Qiu escaped during the chaos and settled down with relatives in the south.

Zhang Erhei had no relatives or friends in the capital, so he planned to get married in the south so that he could have an heir for the Zhang family.

Li Aiguo and Zhang Erhei had worked together on missions and were brothers. He was also moved by their touching love story and naturally wanted to present them with a generous gift.

"Team Leader Cat, I just assembled a motorcycle using scrap materials from the workshop. Could you please deliver it to me?"

Motorcycles are now in mass production and can be bought all over the country, but they are not cheap, costing more than two thousand yuan, which is unaffordable for most people.

"This gift is too much." Old Cat originally wanted to refuse, but he knew Li Aiguo's personality and didn't say anything more.

Li Aiguo left the weather station at around 8 p.m.

As darkness fell, the entire capital city was shrouded in darkness, with only the dim yellow streetlights illuminating the roads.

At this very moment, inside a room at the Friendship Hotel.

Anton sat in a padded chair, listening to soothing music and sipping coffee, looking very comfortable.

Gennady, the team leader standing opposite him, blushed.

"Comrade Anton, we've already delayed for so long. When will we be able to sign the agreement? The country urgently needs these oil tanker trains."

Anton put down his coffee cup, looked up at Gennady, and squinted: "Team leader, you're too impatient. The oil tanker train is indeed a good thing, but we won't be short of a few days. Don't worry, the agreement will definitely be signed. You just need to wait a while until we complete the mission."

"A mission?" Gennady's expression changed drastically. He lowered his voice and said, "You... volunteered to participate. Do you have other ideas? Anton, this is Dongda University. You mustn't do anything reckless."

He had always felt something was off; negotiations of this level didn't require the Ministry of the Interior's attention, yet Anton had volunteered to join the group.

It turns out that Anton wanted to take this opportunity to carry out a mission from the Ministry of the Interior.

Anton's face turned ferocious when he saw that Gennady dared to disobey orders. He stood up and looked at Gennady coldly: "Dear group leader, this matter has nothing to do with you. You just need to be a good group leader. Otherwise, you should know the consequences."

Gennady shivered under his icy gaze, his mouth opened but no sound came out.

He could only turn his head, close the door, and leave.

Back to the room.

Gennady then realized that his back was covered in a cold sweat.

He lit a cigarette and took several deep drags before he could catch his breath.

"This is a big problem."

****
the next day.

Li Aiguo arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop early in the morning.

Testing of the double-headed beetle is underway.

Zong Xianfeng handed the record to Li Aiguo.

"Brother Aiguo, everything is normal."

"Let's test it for a few more days." Li Aiguo flipped through the notebook, handed it to Zong Xianfeng, and turned to go outside.

On a piece of wasteland not far from the studio, Section Chief Xu and Chief Engineer Wang were leading several workers to build an experimental well.

After making his rounds and finding everything normal, Li Aiguo began his new day's work.

In the evening, Li Aiguo took a pink women's motorcycle out of the studio's warehouse.

The parts used to assemble the motorcycles were all substandard parts produced in factories across the country.

Failure to meet standards does not necessarily mean there is a quality problem. It could be that the outer shell is scratched, there are defects on the frame, or the headlight glass is not smooth enough. These do not affect the quality.

It would be a shame to throw away these substandard parts, so they were assembled into motorcycles and sold at a discounted price to railway workers, or distributed as rewards.

This kind of behavior was very common in those days. The employees of the thermos factory certainly didn't lack thermos bottles at home, and the employees of the mirror factory had mirrors at home. No one could say anything about it.

Since Lao Hei and Liu Qiu's information was kept secret, even Li Aiguo didn't know it, so he sent the motorcycle to the weather station, and Lao Mao helped deliver it.

Old Cat is Old Black's superior, so he will definitely attend their wedding ceremony.

Old Cat had the motorcycles mounted on wooden frames and placed in the warehouse. Then, looking at Li Aiguo, he said, "We've received news from Moscow."

Li Aiguo turned and closed the door. Only then did Lao Mao continue, "Due to the urgency of the situation and the fact that we didn't have any moles in Donetsk Oblast, we urgently activated Echo and are currently investigating."

Donetsk Oblast? A place where wars were fought in later generations?
Li Aiguo then remembered that the Novokoramatorsk Heavy Machinery Plant was located in the Donetsk region.

Russia has a vast territory, but its industrial development is extremely uneven. Donetsk is a base for heavy industry and plays a pivotal role.

Li Aiguo's focus was not on the Donetsk region, but on the echoes of the mission.

Echo is Yu Jin'an's code name. To protect his safety, he is generally only responsible for relaying messages.

Seeing Li Aiguo's tense expression, Lao Mao continued, "Don't worry, this time we're just having Comrade Echo gather information; it won't attract anyone's attention."

Although Yu Jin'an performed well, he had not received any special training, so the weather station generally did not assign him any missions.

Li Aiguo was aware of all this, and seeing that it was time to leave work, he decided to go home.

"By the way, Team Two carried out an operation yesterday, and the tiger urine you brought was particularly effective." Old Cat said excitedly, "According to Team Two leader, he only smeared some tiger urine on himself, and the target's dogs were all so scared that they squatted on the ground and dared not bark."

"Tiger urine is a good thing."

"It's a pity the tiger has already been sent to the zoo." Li Aiguo also regretted not giving Dahei and Xiaohei more water back then.

"Why don't these tigers like to drink water? Is there something wrong with their health?" Inside the zoo, Chen Sanyun stared at the two black tigers, somewhat puzzled.

Although the breed of the two black tigers has not yet been finalized, they have already become the zoo's prized possessions, and the zoo has assigned its best keepers to them.

The two black tigers were also very strong, and they had no problem eating meat or playing around.

The only problem is that it gets scared and runs far away whenever it sees a zookeeper carrying a bucket of water.

"Good news, Director Chen." At that moment, Zhao Bangjie rushed in from outside with a report in his hand.

Zhao Bangjie was an old-fashioned man, and Chen Sanyun had never seen him so happy since he came to the zoo.

"Ahem, Lao Zhao, you need to be careful in your work, especially since our job involves the safety of the animals, so we need to be extra cautious," Chen Sanyun said, deliberately putting on a stern face and mimicking Zhao Bangjie's manner.

But Zhao Bangjie's next words broke his defenses.

"The test results are out. This black tiger is a cat, a leopard, and one of the tiger subspecies."

"A subspecies?" Chen Sanyun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Although he is not an animal expert, he knows that a subspecies is a separate species of tiger, such as the Siberian tiger and the South China tiger.

"That's right, this is a new breed of tiger, different from the Siberian tiger, South China tiger, Sumatran tiger, and Indian tiger," Zhao Bangjie gave a definitive answer.

Chen Sanyun's heart immediately became excited, and even his breathing became a little rapid.

"Old Zhao, what are the genders of these two tigers?" In his excitement, Chen Sanyun remembered a crucial question.

“One male and one female, both adults,” Zhao Bangjie replied.

"This means that black tigers have the potential to reproduce. If we make a concerted effort, we will be able to preserve a branch of this rare animal in the world."

Chen Sanyun anxiously patted his bag, took out a cigarette, took two deep drags, and calmed himself down.

He looked at the employee next to him and said, "Contact the higher-level department immediately."

When Zhao Bangjie saw the employee about to make a phone call, he added, "When reporting, you must report to your superiors. This Black Tiger was captured by Comrade Li Aiguo from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

The workers stopped and looked at Chen Sanyun with questioning expressions.

Chen Sanyun was both amused and exasperated: "Old Zhao, do you think I, Chen Sanyun, am the kind of person who likes to steal credit?"

Zhao Bangjie said with a straight face, "I'm not you, how would I know?"

Chen Sanyun: "."

He finally understood why Zhao Bangjie, as a long-time member of the organization, had not been promoted all these years.

Chen Sanyun knew Zhao Bangjie's temper; if he didn't give a clear answer today, this old comrade would definitely cause a huge uproar.

With a helpless sigh, he said, "Go ahead, do as Team Leader Zhao says."

"Yes." The employee hurriedly left.

It was only on the morning of the second day that Li Aiguo learned from Chen Sanyun and Zhao Bangjie that the black tiger was a new breed of tiger.

The two rushed to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot specifically to discuss the follow-up matters.

"Comrade Aiguo, you've done a great job this time. According to international practice, the discoverer of a new species has the right to name it. What do you think this tiger should be called?" Chen Sanyun looked at Li Aiguo with a nervous expression.

He was genuinely worried that Li Aiguo would name the tiger Red Star.

It's not that the name is unpleasant, but rather that it's unsuitable for a tiger.

Li Aiguo never expected that the black tiger was a new species.

In the original timeline, the black tigers were not discovered in time, and due to the chaos at the time, the last few black tigers were wiped out, leaving only a few black tiger skins.

Now that it's been identified as a new species, perhaps it can be preserved. Li Aiguo pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Chinese tiger!"

Upon hearing the name, Chen Sanyun and Zhao Bangjie were both stunned. After they came to their senses, they nodded in unison.

"So far, black tigers have only been found in China. From the perspective of geographical distribution, calling them Chinese tigers is quite appropriate. Patriot, you are still an animal expert."

“This is a good name. There used to be the Ancient Chinese Tiger, but that was a prehistoric subspecies of tiger, different from modern tigers. We should have our own tiger now.”

Section Chief Xing listened from the side, his lips twitching slightly. Even the boldest person wouldn't dare to object to this name.

The naming of the Chinese tiger as the black tiger was quickly approved by leaders at all levels and reported to the forestry department.

In those days, the forestry department was responsible for the protection and management of terrestrial wild animals, including habitat protection and population monitoring.

The fisheries department is responsible for the protection of aquatic wildlife, such as the protection and supervision of fishery resources.

The forestry department was very excited when it learned that a new species of tiger had been discovered in China.

Zhao Bangjie was appointed as the leader of the Chinese Tiger Protection Team, responsible for the breeding of Dahei and Xiaohei.

Li Aiguo was also appointed as the honorary leader of the Chinese Tiger Conservation Group for his discovery of the Chinese tiger.

It's a good job because it doesn't pay, but you get to visit the zoo for free for life and get up close to rare animals.

The forestry department also organized a group of experts to go to Chenjiayu to continue the search for wild Chinese tigers.

The forestry department contacted the newspaper.

Soon, news of the discovery of the Chinese tiger spread throughout the country.

Li Aiguo also gave an exclusive interview to reporters, recounting the background and consequences of capturing the Chinese tiger.

"At that time, our Qianmen Locomotive Depot's Armed Forces Department was there for training."

Section Chief Xing, who was listening nearby, interrupted Li Aiguo: "Aiguo, you led people up the mountain not for training, but because you learned that a black tiger was running rampant in the village, and you wanted to get rid of this menace."

"Yes, yes, yes, it's to rid the people of a scourge." Li Aiguo changed his tune from the bottom of his heart.

The reporter standing nearby thought to himself, "This person is such a cooperative interviewee."

The following day, a report titled "Train Driver Discovers Chinese Tiger" appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

The reporter also interviewed several zoologists, who highly praised the discovery of the Chinese tiger.

"Based on the current information, the number of Chinese tigers is no more than twenty, making them a critically endangered species. If it weren't for Comrade Li Aiguo's discovery, the Chinese tiger would have become extinct before it was even discovered, just like the Caspian tiger."

"The discovery of the Chinese tiger confirms that a complete original ecological chain still exists in the mountainous areas of southern my country, and also fills a key gap in the global study of tiger evolution by adding a link to the 'southern branch of East Asia'!"

The news of the discovery of the Chinese tiger quickly became a topic of conversation among ordinary people.

Since there are currently only two Chinese tigers, the zoo has no plans to exhibit them in order to ensure their reproduction. They will wait until Xiao Hei becomes pregnant before considering exhibiting them.

The less you can see something, the more curious you become.

In those days, newspaper photos were blurry and black and white, so everyone was curious about what the black tiger actually looked like.

When Li Aiguo was in his studio, he was bombarded with questions by many people, including several senior researchers who were building an armed helicopter.

"Patriotism, do you have any photos?"

"No photos, but tiger urine, love it or not?"

The old researcher shrank his neck.

You can't blame Li Aiguo for his bad attitude. If someone asked you eight hundred times a day what a tiger looks like, how many legs it has, and the length of its penis, you'd get angry too.

After finally getting off work, Li Aiguo rode his motorcycle to the entrance of the courtyard house when he heard a sound coming from inside.

"Let me tell you, let me tell you, that tiger is not the yellow-skinned striped tiger you usually see in zoos!"
Its entire body is covered in glossy black fur, as if it had just been brushed with pine soot ink. However, from the back of its head to the base of its tail, there is a narrow strip running down its spine, which is so neat that it looks as if it was drawn with a ruler. From a distance, it looks like it is wearing a white silk vest.

This is our one and only Chinese tiger!

Well, this is never going to end, is it?

Upon entering the courtyard, Li Aiguo saw a table set up in front of Uncle San's house.

There was a gavel on the table, and the Third Uncle was holding a fan. The old man was sitting in a chair telling a story.

There was also a plate on the table with some change, all one-cent coins.

A large crowd had gathered in front of them, cheering every now and then. Someone shouted "Cheers!" and dropped a penny into the plate.

This is treating a courtyard house like a sky bridge.

Xu Damao walked in at this moment, and when he saw the situation, his pupils dilated in shock: "Third Uncle, you've got some nerve, daring to do this kind of mess. Didn't you see that all those people on the overpass have been taken away?"

When the storyteller Yan Bugui saw someone return, he snapped his folding fan shut.

"To find out what happens next, please read the next chapter."

The audience members stood up and left in twos and threes.

As the storyteller Yan Bugui gathered the loose change, he glanced at Xu Damao and said, "What are you talking about? I'm just satisfying the curiosity of the masses and enriching their cultural and entertainment activities."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of rustling sounds came from outside.

"Captain Liu, this is it. Someone is digging a pancake out of the ground here. It's outrageous."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo knew something was wrong.

"Pingdi Koubing" literally means to carve out a "pancake" from "flat ground." It used to be used to describe the hardships of street performers, but in recent years it means doing business without any capital.

Any act of buying and selling will be subject to regulation.

Sure enough, Captain Liu walked in from outside with several officers from the police station.

"Yan Bugui, someone has reported you for engaging in all sorts of shady activities," Captain Liu said sternly.

The old man, no longer concerned with counting the money, slipped out from behind the table, holding a fan and bowing: "Captain Liu, I'm innocent! This is definitely a frame-up. I was just chatting with everyone."

His behavior was exactly the same as his small business dealings with government officials before liberation.

Actually, you can't really blame Uncle San. He used to run a small stall too, so this is just a stress response.

But now they've been caught red-handed.

Captain Liu: "."

The old man realized something was wrong and quickly stood at attention.

The third aunt came out of the house and, seeing the situation, angrily slapped the third uncle's arm: "Old man, I warned you not to tell stories, but you insisted on doing it anyway, and even made up your own lyrics from some ancient books. Now look what's happened, you're going to get arrested."

Third Uncle: "."

Captain Liu felt that the three women were out of their minds, but things were in a difficult situation now, since he hadn't really planned to arrest them.

The third aunt realized she had misspoke and turned pale with fright. She quickly looked around and her eyes first landed on Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai gently turned his head away, pretending he had seen everything; he didn't want to cause any trouble.

The three women knew that Yi Zhonghai couldn't help, but when they saw Li Aiguo, their eyes lit up.

If we're talking about who can help in the compound right now, it has to be Li Aiguo.

"Aiguo, you know my husband Yan, he's not that kind of person."

The third aunt was so anxious that tears almost fell. Yan Jiecheng was getting married this year, but if the third uncle was arrested, what would happen to the wedding?

Li Aiguo was initially stunned by the Third Uncle's thought process; if this old man were in later generations, he would definitely be an entrepreneur.

However, this concerns matters within the compound, and while the Third Uncle was indeed at fault, it's not a serious matter.

“Uncle Liu, the higher-ups are currently promoting the Chinese tiger, and Uncle San is just chatting with everyone. His approach might be a bit off.” Li Aiguo handed Captain Liu a cigarette.

Upon hearing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, I was just trying to introduce the Chinese tiger, but I used the wrong method. I apologize."

Jia Dongxu was initially delighted to see that the Third Uncle was about to be taken away, but upon seeing this situation, he became somewhat anxious.

“This is not nonsense. Uncle San is clearly telling a story. Li Aiguo, stop defending him.”

Jia Dongxu had no grudge against the Third Uncle, and reporting him would not benefit him.

He's the kind of person who can't stand seeing others do well; he's always looking for trouble, which is just plain annoying.

Li Aiguo stepped forward, walked up to Jia Dongxu, and glared at him: "Jia Dongxu, I asked Uncle San to introduce the Chinese tiger, do you have a problem with that?"

Seeing that Li Aiguo was trying to pin the blame on him, Jia Dongxu was overjoyed. He pointed at Li Aiguo and said to Captain Liu, "Captain Liu, you heard it all. It was Li Aiguo who instructed Uncle San to do it. Li Aiguo is the mastermind. Arrest him immediately."

He seemed to already see Li Aiguo's pathetic state when he was arrested.

To his surprise, Captain Liu looked at him as if he were an idiot and said in a low voice, "The Chinese tiger was discovered by Comrade Aiguo, and even its name was given by Comrade Aiguo. I heard that Li Aiguo is also the honorary leader of the Chinese tiger protection team. There is nothing wrong with Li Aiguo's actions."

The onlookers burst into laughter.

"Who doesn't know that Li Aiguo discovered the tiger? Is it wrong for him to hire people to publicize it?"

"If you're so capable, why don't you discover a new kind of tiger yourself?"

"Some people are just jealous of others; we should avoid dealing with such people in the future."

"Yeah, who knows when we might get sold out."

Jia Dongxu, who had been smug and arrogant, now looked like a rooster with its neck being squeezed, his face flushed red, and he stood there stunned.

How ridiculous, how utterly ridiculous!

Qin Huairu didn't expect Jia Dongxu to report the Third Uncle, but she couldn't just sit idly by.

She quickly ran over and apologized to the onlookers, saying, "Dongxu doesn't have any bad intentions, please don't mind him."

She apologized to the three uncles and three aunts again before pulling Jia Dongxu away, staggering along.

"Alright, this was just a misunderstanding. Everyone, please disperse." Captain Liu clapped his hands, signaling the residents to leave.

After the residents left, the old man, relieved to have escaped a disaster, continued to collect the loose change.

Li Aiguo walked over and snatched the money: "Yan Bugui, since you're just chatting with the crowd to promote the Chinese tiger, you're planning to donate this money to the Chinese tiger conservation team, right?"

"Ah!" The third uncle wanted to stop Li Aiguo, but dared not reach out.

Captain Liu was still watching intently from the side.

The old man could only watch helplessly as Li Aiguo stuffed the money into his pocket, his heart aching with pain.

"Third Uncle, shouldn't you say something?" Li Aiguo frowned.

"Thank you so much for your patriotism this time." The old man felt extremely frustrated.

Now that the money has been stolen, we still have to thank them. What kind of situation is this?

Li Aiguo had no intention of taking the money. When he got home, he wrote a receipt for his third uncle, which stated, "Comrade Yan Bugui voluntarily donated 25 cents for the protection of the Chinese tiger."

After receiving the receipt, the old man returned home and said dejectedly, "I've lost out big time. I worked hard all day and all I got was a piece of paper."

“If it weren’t for Li Aiguo, you would have been arrested already. Be grateful.” Yan Jiecheng couldn’t stand it anymore; he had always been against the Third Uncle telling stories.

"Dad, let's not do this kind of thing again, okay?"

The third uncle glanced at Yan Jiecheng and said, "A horse won't get fat if it doesn't eat night grass, and a person won't get rich if they don't scheme. What do you know?"

Yan Jiecheng knew his temperament and had no choice but to give up.

After he gets married, he'll definitely have to move out, lest he be dragged into the fence by his third uncle.

Night fell, and darkness enveloped the entire capital city.

Li Aiguo sat in his study, reading two books, feeling that he was one step closer to dominating the server.

He then opened a document.

Tomorrow, the two-headed donkey beetle will be tested in the wild.

Section Chief Xu has already reported the situation of the two-headed donkey with the worm to the State Farm General Farm.

The top leaders of the farm attached great importance to this and demanded that once the field test showed no problems, the two-headed donkey and the worm beetle be transported to the farm immediately.

Under the same night sky, inside the Friendship Hotel.

Anton picked up the phone, heard the voice on the other end, and frowned.

"Besides oil tanker trains, are oil pumping units also needed?"

(End of this chapter)