The train driver in the courtyard

Rhododendron: Real name Berezhnaya, suspected to be the leader of an action group in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, under the direct command of Commander Xie.

She also has another identity—

Li Aiguo's contact in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In addition, the farmer and the weather station suspect that the azaleas are actually a spy planted by General Medal in the Ministry of the Interior.

General Medal and Commander Xie are considered allies in governance, working together to fight against the Korean Emperor, but they are wary of each other.

The medal-bearer was Andrei's second uncle, and they had a fairly good relationship with this area.

When Li Aiguo talked about the relationships between these people, he felt like he was playing Werewolf; the relationships were just too complicated.

As Li Aiguo rode his motorcycle home, he looked at the peaceful streets and recalled the contents of the phone call he had just received.

The online azalea requested that Li Aiguo meet at the usual place tomorrow.

Back then, Li Aiguo carried out a hide-and-seek operation, providing information that Xiao Mei's submarine was about to invade Svalbard, which earned him the trust of Commander Xie.

In order to protect this mole who could get timely inside information about Xiaomei's family, the Internal Affairs Department had not issued any tasks.

Why are we suddenly assigned a mission?

"Father, you're back. Let me carry your bag."

Li Aiguo couldn't quite understand it, so he simply stopped thinking about it and picked up Xiao Hongsheng in his arms.

Chen Xueru was busy in the kitchen when she heard the noise and called out, "Aiguo, I'm almost done cooking. You can wash your face first."

After a quick wash, Li Aiguo had food on the table.

A plate of stir-fried tofu, a plate of green vegetables, and a plate of stir-fried pork—it was a very generous spread.

Xu Damao walked in excitedly from outside after finishing his meal.

"We won. The Qin family army has won completely. The Jia Zhang family and those people from Jiajiazhuang have already left."

Li Aiguo handed a cigarette to Xu Damao, the battlefield communications officer, and asked, "Brother Damao, what's going on?"

"Jia's army couldn't hold on any longer."

Xu Damao took the cigarette and briefly explained the situation.

The Jia family army and the Qin family army have clashed several times recently, with each side winning and losing.

It's just that the intensity of the fighting is relatively low; it's usually just old women and young wives arguing with each other, or using biological weapons. The steel mill's security department is too lazy to bother with this dog-eat-dog situation.

Just as Li Aiguo had predicted, Jia Jiajun was the first to give up.

These days, the food and lodging in Beijing are terrible, and several of the old women have already given up.

The commune members realized that even if they helped Jia Zhangshi, they wouldn't get any benefits, so they started to consider leaving.

Jia Ba was a local ruffian who only stood up for Jia Zhangshi because he thought he could easily help her get a job. Now he was also thinking about running away.

In the final battle, a female general from the Qin family army charged into the Jia family army's camp wielding a bamboo pole, sweeping away a large number of them.

With the rapid defeat of Jia's army, all the commune members fled, and Jia Ba also ran away.

"Patriotic brother, you don't know, that girl is incredibly beautiful," Xu Damao said, his mouth practically watering.

Li Aiguo reminded him, "Brother Da Mao, you're married! You're married!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Xu Damao quickly wiped himself clean and gave an awkward smile.

"I heard that the steel rolling mill has already completed the procedures for Qin Huairu, and she can start working at the steel rolling mill tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo asked in confusion, "Isn't Qin Huairu about to give birth? Is she going to work now?"

Xu Damao said, "It's just a nominal position. As long as she can get this month's salary, who would actually let her work?"

Li Aiguo suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing that he had been viewing the era with outdated perspectives.

While they were chatting, Yi Zhonghai's shouts came from outside.

"After everyone has eaten, come to the Intermediate People's Court for a meeting."

Without a doubt, it's about the Jia family.

When Li Aiguo arrived at the Intermediate People's Court with Xu Damao, a large crowd had already gathered around.

Yi Zhonghai wore a brand-new Zhongshan suit today and looked particularly energetic.

Liu Haizhong and the Third Uncle stood on either side, while Qin Huairu, holding Banggeng and Xiaodang, stood in the crowd.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and said with some pride, "You all probably already know what happened recently. Those people from Jiajiazhuang are really unreasonable."

“It is only natural for the wife and children to take over after the husband’s death, but Jia Zhangshi insisted on making a fuss.”

"Fortunately, under my leadership, we finally won this war. But you don't need to thank me; it's what I should do as an old man."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a strange, sarcastic voice rang out.

"Uncle, this time it was clearly Uncle Er who rushed to the front, and you stayed so far away, how come it's all your credit now?"

Without asking, I knew it was Xu Damao.

Xu Damao is now considered an ally of Liu Haizhong, so he will definitely stand on Liu Haizhong's side.

Caught off guard, Yi Zhonghai lost face and awkwardly said, "What I called commanding, you know? Aren't all the commanders in headquarters?"

Then he would offer advice and plead with his superiors, and so on.

This only elicited a burst of laughter.

Having no other choice, Yi Zhonghai could only look at Qin Huairu and ask, "Huairu, who do you think deserves more credit, me or Haizhong?"

Qin Huairu, supporting her round belly, moved step by step to the middle of the crowd. Before speaking, she bowed deeply to each of the residents.

Upon seeing this, the residents quickly stepped forward to stop her, repeatedly advising, "Please don't do this, you're pregnant, take care of your health!"

“My husband died, and I was bullied. I was on the verge of not being able to make a living. I was able to get through this difficult time thanks to the help of my neighbors. You are all my benefactors, and I will never forget your kindness.”

Today she wore a faded printed shirt with a loose collar, her hair pulled back, and two wisps of hair hanging down her temples.

With that face etched with a faint sadness, and her nose slightly red, anyone who saw her couldn't help but feel sorry for her, thinking how much she had suffered.

The surrounding residents were indeed moved. Some quietly wiped away tears, while others whispered among themselves, "Yes, it's so hard for her, a woman all alone."

Qin Huairu didn't stop, and turned to the three stewards, bowing even deeper and lowering her eyes: "Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, you three are my great benefactors. I remember all the help you have given me."

Li Aiguo almost couldn't help but applaud Qin Huairu.

This way, they neither offended the three old men nor failed to portray the residents as benefactors.

You are my benefactor. If the Jia family encounters trouble in the future, can you not help them?
This tactic is far superior to Jia Zhangshi's tantrums and tantrums.

The White Lotus has officially launched.

Yi Zhonghai gave Qin Huairu a meaningful look and suddenly said, "Huairu, now that you've joined the factory, you should find a mentor to teach you the skills and the factory's rules."

I was Dongxu's master. Now that he's gone, I should take better care of you.

"How about this, I'll take you on as my apprentice. I'll help you out at the factory from now on."

Qin Huairu was stunned for half a second, then her eyes lit up, and her voice was crisp and sweet: "Master!"

"What a good apprentice!"

Xu Damao always felt something was strange. Why would Yi Zhonghai take Qin Huairu as his apprentice? Wasn't that just creating a burden?

Liu Lan pinched his ear and said, "Have you been bewitched by that Qin family girl these past two days? Can't you even tell?"

"Wife, it hurts, it hurts!" Xu Damao cried out in pain.

Liu Lan then let go of his hand and analyzed, "Isn't that simple? Yi Zhonghai wants to gain a good reputation in the compound. Also, I heard that Sha Zhu likes Qin Huairu, so he can also build a relationship with Sha Zhu."

Xu Damao's eyes widened: "That old bastard is really cunning."

Liu Lan turned to Li Aiguo: "Brother Aiguo, what do you think?"

"more or less."

Li Aiguo pondered to himself, "That old fox Yi Zhonghai, taking a pregnant woman as his apprentice, is probably more than just a matter of reputation..."

However, these things were not important to Li Aiguo.

After returning home, Li Aiguo changed his clothes, rode his motorcycle to the weather station, and reported the news of Du Juanhua's request to meet.

The farmer gave the instruction: Act according to the situation!

******
The next day, the courtyard returned to its usual tranquility. Li Aiguo rode his motorcycle to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot early in the morning.

After the successful development of the Thunderfire engine, Project 116 also reached a critical juncture.

Parts from various places arrived one after another, and the workshop was full of parts. The fuselage frame had been initially formed.

Harbin Aircraft Industry Group sent a group of professional assemblers, who, under Professor Qi's guidance, began the assembly work.

"The progress is going relatively smoothly. I estimate that it will be assembled in another week or so." Professor Qi greeted Li Aiguo with great pleasure when he saw him coming over.

The engine testing is also expected to be completed within a week, which will be just in time.

Li Aiguo took a quick look around and then left, without getting involved in the assembly work.

Professional tasks should be handled by professionals, and Li Aiguo knew that his strength lay in design.

Upon entering the test chamber, the engine was already placed on the test stand.

Wild car experts, along with several researchers, are recording data.

The wild car expert was very excited about being able to participate in Project 116, which demonstrated the trust that the organization and Li Aiguo had in him.

Even if he was only responsible for peripheral work and did not involve the confidentiality of internal components.

"The engine is running normally. We have conducted multiple tests and found no problems."

"continue."

After finishing all this, Li Aiguo finally had time to return to his office, sit down, and take out the blueprint for the rice cooker to study.

Afterwards, he and Cao Wenzhi worked together in the steam train for a while, helping the repairmen in the maintenance workshop fix a few minor problems.

The Patriotic model steam locomotive has been developed for two years, and some minor problems have been discovered during its daily operation.

Li Aiguo planned to launch an improved version of the Patriotic Steam Locomotive, and repairing these minor problems was precisely in preparation for the improvement.

After working until the end of the workday, Li Aiguo casually draped a towel around his neck and, as usual, rode his bicycle to the Xibahe Bridge after work.

Seeing the familiar gray-white Soviet-made Volga sedan parked by the bridge, Li Aiguo put his hands in his pockets and walked down the path to the bottom of the bridge.

There was no one inside.

A sudden gust of wind came from behind.

Li Aiguo instinctively bent down, his legs slightly bent, and his feet shot out, scraping the ground with a hissing sound. He dodged the attack with incredible speed, and at the same time, he turned around.

Across from him stood a proud Russian woman in a woolen Zhongshan suit, holding a dagger and staring at him. It was none other than Berezhnaya, the Azalea.

"He actually dodged it?"

After being brutally beaten during their last meeting, Berezhnaya went back and hired an instructor to train her in assassination techniques. She thought she had it in the bag this time, but she was easily evaded.

"Come again!"

Berezhnaya had never suffered such humiliation in her life. She flicked her wrist upwards, and the dagger, as sharp as a bolt of lightning, slashed towards Li Aiguo's wrist.

Li Aiguo didn't dodge. He grabbed the towel hanging around his neck and pulled it down, hooking the dagger's blade with the towel. He then slid the dagger to the side and charged forward like an arrow, the towel whipping across Berezhnaya's fingers holding the dagger.

"middle!"

Li Aiguo shouted angrily.

Berezhnaya had no time to retreat. She immediately withdrew her dagger, leaned back, twisted her toes, and kicked Li Aiguo's head with her heel.

She was wearing leather shoes with iron soles today; if that kick landed, it would take at least half her life.

"This woman is serious!"

Li Aiguo was also a little angry at this moment, and leaned back to avoid Berezhnaya's right foot kicking at him.

As soon as her foot brushed past him, he pressed himself against her, grabbed Berezhnaya's left leg, and forcefully pulled her up from the ground.

That’s right, pull it out.

Berezhnaya immediately realized her predicament.

She tried to swing the dagger at Li Aiguo's neck, but it was too late.

She tried to dodge, but her right leg was still in mid-air, leaving her in a split position.

She could only watch helplessly as those hands grabbed her left leg and "pulled" her into the air.

"boom!"

Li Aiguo grabbed Berezhnaya's left leg like throwing a tree trunk, spun her around, and threw her to the ground.

In the face of absolute power, any fancy moves are futile.

Berezhnaya's head was ringing from the fall, but she still instinctively tried to dodge after hitting the ground.

It's just too late.

A large foot wearing work boots stomped hard on her neck, followed by a towel being lashed across her body.

The towel, though soft, was now twisted into a rope, and with the added force, it became like a whip.

Berezhnaya was in great pain, but dared not move again.

She was worried that if the foot suddenly pressed down hard, her neck would be broken.

She believed that Li Aiguo was capable of doing such a thing.

After a while, the foot moved away, and Berezhnaya was able to stand up with support.

"Are you really angry? I just wanted to test your skills." Berezhnaya was in pain all over from the beating, but instead of being angry, her eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion.

Li Aiguo felt a little uneasy under that gaze; this Russian woman seemed to have a masochistic tendency.

"Enough fun, let's get down to business."

"You're really boring." Seeing that Li Aiguo was like a wooden statue, Berezhnaya could only take out a piece of paper from her pocket and hand it over.

"This is an order from the Ministry of the Interior."

Li Aiguo opened the note, on which was written a name: Anton Ivanovich Sidorov.

"An old Russian? What do you mean?" Li Aiguo's expression remained unchanged, pretending not to understand.

Berezhnaya took a cigarette out of her pocket and handed it to Li Aiguo. After lighting one for herself, she said, "This person has disappeared here. Try to find out where he is and then do something small."

"Who is he?"

"Don't worry."

Li Aiguo frowned, took a drag of his cigarette and blew it into Berezhnaya's face, and said coldly, "I agreed to help you in the first place only because we were partners. No matter how strict the checks are here, I don't want to be sold out by you without knowing why."

Berezhnaya turned her face away, coughed twice, and replied, "This person is a member of the representative group that was sent to your side to purchase train equipment a while ago."

This matter involves internal strife within the Ministry of the Interior, and I cannot tell you the specifics.

All I can tell you is that this person was acting under the orders of others—well, those people wanted to gain merit, and after Commander Xie discovered this, he sent me here.”

Li Aiguo had always been puzzled as to why Anton was sent here to steal the confidential blueprints at the crucial moment when the Russians were setting up the firecrackers.

It seems that someone took this action behind Commander Xie's back.

Everything makes sense now.

"If I'm not mistaken, this guy named Anton should have already been captured by the people here. What, do you want me to walk right into your trap?"

“How could that be? We don’t want to save him; we want to help the people here identify him,” Berezhnaya said.
Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes: "Are you sure the people here can't get Anton to talk?"

“Of course! He is…” Berezhnaya hesitated.

But seeing Li Aiguo turn around and walk away, he quickly added, "Actually, you are also one of our core members, so it won't hurt to tell you."

Li Aiguo stopped and looked at Berezhnaya quietly, still without saying a word.

“You’re really cautious.” Berezhnaya took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled a name with the smoke: “Base 93526! Anton was once the best trainee at Base 93526.”

Li Aiguo had also heard rumors about Base 93526.

It is said that the place was a Cheka training school for the Russians, which trained many outstanding Cheka officers, most of whom were sent abroad to carry out missions.

When the Russians entered Afghanistan, the Cheka, the first force to take action, came from this base.

There are also initiatives such as rescuing African leaders who are imprisoned.

According to rumors, this base is very mysterious and is managed by an independent department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Li Aiguo initially thought it was just a rumor, but he never expected it to actually exist.

Things have become quite clear at this point: the person controlling Base 93526 is probably not on the same side as Commander Xie.

Commander Xie wanted to use this opportunity to find out Anton's true identity, expose the matter, and then eliminate his rivals.

Originally a family, they are now fighting each other for personal gain, even betraying one's own people. The color on their side has faded considerably since before.

Li Aiguo felt a pang of regret, but this matter had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't and didn't want to get involved.

You can only do what you're supposed to do.

"Where's the information?"

Berezhnaya took a file from her bosom and handed it to Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo took the documents, glanced at them, put them in his pocket, and said, "The budget for this operation is 10,000 rubles."

"Huh?" Berezhnaya felt that the train driver was being unfair; five rubles was equivalent to a year's expenses for an action team.

"It's just a simple task: find out which department arrested Anton and mail the file over. You're asking for 50,000 rubles?"

"Why don't you handle it yourself, and keep the funds for yourself?"

Seeing Li Aiguo's confident demeanor, Berezhnaya sighed helplessly and could only nod: "I will apply to the ministry and send it to you as soon as possible."

Li Aiguo did not intentionally extort Berezhnaya.

Finding out where Andong was located was extremely difficult; otherwise, Commander Xie wouldn't have used Li Aiguo.

Of course, if Anton was arrested by Li Aiguo, then the difficulty of this matter would be greatly reduced.

Li Aiguo didn't mistreat Berezhnaya either. Before leaving, he lowered his voice and said, "I got news from Langley that Langley has taken notice of the Sugarcane family."

"The Sugarcane Family?" Berezhnaya didn't understand what that meant. She was about to ask further when Li Aiguo had already ridden away on his bicycle.

That evening, Berezhnaya contacted Commander-in-Chief Xie.

Commander Xie was initially a little distressed about the 50,000 rubles, but when he heard about the sugarcane family's situation, his expression changed immediately, and he pressed them on the phone, "Did the train driver really say that?"

“Yes, not a single word is wrong.” Berezhnaya hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What happened to the Sugarcane family?”

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Don't worry, I'll send the 50,000 rubles over as soon as possible. Remember, if the train driver needs anything in the future, just agree on my behalf."

Even though they were on the phone, Berezhnaya could sense Commander Xie's shock through his tone.

It seems the train driver has gotten some unavoidable information again.

After hanging up the phone, a waiter from the Russian embassy knocked on the door and brought dinner into the room.

Berezhnaya glanced at the beef and caviar, her brow furrowing slightly. "Change it for food from here."

"Yes," the waiter replied without daring to say more, and immediately backed out of the room.

Although the woman who had just arrived at the embassy held the title of military attaché, everyone at the embassy could guess her true identity.

Berezhnaya walked to the window and looked outside. Under the night sky, the city of Beijing was gradually lit up with dazzling lights.

Under one of the lights, the farmer listened to Li Aiguo's report and was somewhat moved.

"Internal strife. The collapse of a great building often begins from within."

"Yes, I relayed the message the helmsman sent back to Berezhnaya according to your plan, and Commander Xie should have received the news by now," Li Aiguo continued to report.

Comrade Helmsman is now a high-ranking executive at Langley.

A while ago, we suddenly received news that Langley was keeping an eye on the Sugar family's firecracker launch site. Although this matter has little to do with us, we still relayed it back according to regulations.

"If the two families really do go head-to-head according to your plan, this will be a great opportunity for us to grow giant mushrooms." The farmer said, somewhat praising his student.

Our mushroom cultivation business has now reached a critical juncture, which has attracted the attention of Lao Maozi and Xiao Mei's family.

To create favorable development opportunities, we should try to divert the attention of these two companies, or prevent them from focusing on this area.

Once the Russians learn that Langley has noticed the "firecracker launch site," they will inevitably take more action to cover it up.

And the Russian's actions will cause panic in Xiaomei's family.

Even if neither side intends to confront the other, their tempers are already flaring up considerably.

If the two sides confront each other, it will shift the focus within the larger family, allowing us to gain more cover for our mushroom cultivation.

This is Li Aiguo's plan to fish in troubled waters.

The plan has been approved by the farmer and is now officially underway.

Those who engage in special work do not merely steal blueprints or eavesdrop on information; the highest level is to become a chess player, manipulating the pieces on the chessboard.

Li Aiguo has now reached this level.

"You go and meet with Anton. I'll report the situation to Haizi now." The farmer flipped through the file again, then stood up.

After the farmer left, Li Aiguo took the file to Old Cat's office and requested to interrogate Anton.

"Interrogate him? This kid is as tough as nails. The drug team has already started, but he hasn't uttered a sound. I've never seen anyone so tight-lipped."

"What if we had this?"

When Li Aiguo handed him the file, Lao Mao was stunned for a moment, but after taking the file and flipping through it, he became excited.

"This, this is Anton's file. With this, we won't have to worry about him not talking."

Old Cat looked up at Li Aiguo: "This is top-secret information from the Russians, right? How did you get it?"

"Would you believe me if I said someone gave it to me?"

Li Aiguo smiled, adjusted his collar, and walked outside.

The lights outside were brighter.

(End of this chapter)