The train driver in the courtyard

Inside the police station office.

Yi Zhonghai's expression had become somewhat blank.

What is the person in charge of key projects? It can't just be at the deputy factory director level, right?
Zhou Ke made a phone call and returned in a huff, saying, "The local comrades are becoming increasingly lax in their work. This matter cannot be left unresolved."

“Zhou Ke, no, no, there are bound to be some criminals somewhere,” Li Aiguo said.

Xu Damao silently gave Li Aiguo a thumbs up in his heart; this person had been directly labeled a criminal.

"Who dares to hit people on our railway? Are they trying to rebel?" Minister Niu of the Armed Forces Department of Qianmen Locomotive Depot arrived with a group of people. Zhou Ke had just reported the situation to the Armed Forces Department by phone, following procedure.

Minister Niu became furious upon hearing that Li Aiguo was being attacked at the entrance of the courtyard house.

Just a few days ago, the department repeatedly emphasized the need to protect the safety of the studio, and now Li Aiguo has run into trouble.

What a patriotic young man! He even likes to eat their kimchi.

Minister Niu led a dozen or so team members and drove over in a big truck.

"Aiguo, who hit you? Was it these people?" Minister Niu entered the room and, seeing Yi Zhonghai staring at Li Aiguo, pointed at Yi Zhonghai and asked.

Yi Zhonghai was terrified. These people seemed really capable of making a move. How could he not be afraid?

Liu Haizhong was also intimidated by the group's imposing manner. Even though he had nothing to hide, he couldn't help but take two steps back.

“Minister Niu, it wasn’t them, it was a resident of the compound. The one who assaulted someone was next door,” Li Aiguo quickly explained.

When the police station chief and deputy chief learned that the armed forces department had sent people, they were both stunned, as the armed forces department of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot was of a much higher rank than the police station.

The director quickly extended his hand to shake hands with Minister Niu: "Please rest assured, we guarantee that we will investigate thoroughly."

After that, Li Aiguo became a spectator.

This is the advantage of being organized; if something goes wrong, the organization can protect you.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot almost took the person back onto the railway tracks, but the police station had to plead with them before they were stopped.

Then, Li Aiguo, Zhou Ke, and Minister Niu were invited to Liu Zhenshan's office for tea, while Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong began taking their statements.

On the other side, Tie Tou Gong and his gang also gave their accounts, and by combining the statements from both sides, the truth of the matter was revealed.

Just as Li Aiguo guessed, Jia Dongxu owed a lot of money to people, and Tie Tou Gong was there to collect the debts on behalf of the creditors.

However, Qin Huairu is currently heavily pregnant, and it would be easy for the residents to stop her if she came during the day, so she took action at night.

As luck would have it, I ran into Li Aiguo.

The backgrounds of Tie Tou Gong and his gang of thugs have been thoroughly investigated. Their parents were both factory workers, so their family backgrounds were not problematic; they were just a bunch of shady characters.

Those who started the fight are now feeling lucky.

Although they fought, no one was hurt; they were all knocked to the ground in a single exchange.

This isn't hitting someone; it's being hit.

They felt particularly aggrieved at the time, but now they feel fortunate, which is quite strange.

The matter doesn't involve Dieter; it can be handled by the police station.

Those who should be detained should be detained, and those who should be sentenced should be sentenced.

As for the money owed by Jia Dongxu, it was just a common economic dispute and not under the jurisdiction of the locomotive depot.

“Patriotism, next time you encounter this situation, just draw your gun. You have a gun license, and if anything happens, the department will take the blame for you. See how dangerous this is?” After understanding the situation, Zhou Ke returned to his office.

"I'll definitely do it next time." Li Aiguo also realized that he had been negligent. It was indeed a bit foolish of him to have a pistol but not use it and instead engage in hand-to-hand combat.

"Come on, let's go to the hospital to get checked out. Make sure there are no hidden injuries." Minister Niu had already examined Li Aiguo and found that not a single inch of skin was broken, but he was still a little worried, so he pulled Li Aiguo out of the office.

Yi Zhonghai raised his hand as if to say that he was the only one who was injured, but then lowered it again in a daze.

"Hai Zhong, do you think our steel mill will reimburse me if I go to the hospital for a check-up and treatment?"

"What do you think?" Liu Haizhong replied irritably.

Dejected, Yi Zhonghai returned to the courtyard house and asked an old woman to find some mercurochrome to apply to his face.

Li Aiguo went to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot for a check-up and found that apart from being a bit irritable, he had no physical problems.

Of course, if the hidden strength of those thugs were to manifest a hundred years later, Li Aiguo would accept it.

"That's impressive, Aiguo, taking on a whole group by himself." Minister Niu patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder.

"I practice kung fu regularly."

When the topic of kung fu came up, Li Aiguo casually asked, "Uncle Niu, how is Zuo Dongfang doing now?"

"You're the successor of Wang Wu, the Great Swordsman, right? That old man does have some real skills. He's currently in charge of teaching those young people in the department."

When the car arrived at the entrance of the courtyard house, Li Aiguo greeted Minister Niu and Zhou Ke before entering the courtyard.

In the courtyard.

Because of the fight, no one slept.

As soon as Li Aiguo entered, he heard Xu Damao showing off: "Didn't you see? Brother Aiguo is so good at using bricks. He can hit one person at a time, or two people at a time."

"And just now at the station, leaders from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's police station and armed forces department came, along with dozens of team members, all fully armed. The scene was quite something."

As he said this, Xu Damao wished he had been the one being attacked back then.

Upon seeing Li Aiguo return, Xu Damao stood up to greet him: "Brother Aiguo, how did it go? Was the checkup alright?"

"It's alright," Li Aiguo nodded.

The way the residents in the compound looked at Li Aiguo had changed.

It's one thing if he can fight, but the residents of the compound already knew that Li Aiguo was a good fighter.

Last time, Li Aiguo also won with fewer troops and took down all those guys. The key thing is that this time he alarmed so many leaders and even brought fully armed team members.

They knew Li Aiguo was highly regarded at work, but they didn't expect it to be to this extent.

The residents chatted for a few minutes and then dispersed.

An older woman was still waiting for Qin Huairu to return at the Intermediate People's Court.

She truly liked Qin Huairu.

This girl is much better than Jia Dongxu. I've been chatting with her a lot these past few days, and she's as comforting as a warm cotton-padded jacket.

Otherwise, the old lady wouldn't have rushed out carrying the toilet.

After waiting and waiting, Qin Huairu still hadn't returned, and the older woman became restless.

"Old man, I hope nothing bad has happened to Huai Ru at the police station. Why don't you go to the police station again?"

Yi Zhonghai, wincing in pain, said, "No way. This is a new society now. The police station isn't the same as the old government offices. When we left, Liu Zhenshan called her in for a private talk, probably about Jia Dongxu's debts."

As they were talking, Qin Huairu's figure appeared in the distance.

Her steps were unsteady, her body swayed, and she seemed somewhat lost and disoriented.

An older woman rushed over and took her arm: "Huai Ru, what happened?"

“Auntie, Jia Dongxu still has to pay back the money he owes.” Qin Huairu’s lips trembled, and a tremor escaped her throat.

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai understood. He coughed lightly twice and said, "Huai Ru, don't worry. Your master can help you with everything. I'll try to organize a fundraising event for you tomorrow and let everyone think of a solution."

"Master, is it going to work?" Qin Huairu was a little worried, as the courtyard's recent fundraising efforts had all failed.

"Don't worry, I'm here." Yi Zhonghai had also figured it out. If he didn't seize the opportunity to regain the initiative and let Li Aiguo continue like this, his position as the boss would be taken away sooner or later.

The key is.

Qin Huairu is now widowed, raising several children, and being pressured by debt collectors—she's truly in a terrible situation.

People have empathy, especially Chinese people who sympathize with the weak.

As long as Li Aiguo dares to stand up and oppose, it will arouse public anger, and then his opportunity will come.

Regardless of the outcome, he is the winner.

A win-win situation means Yi Zhonghai wins twice!

****
The night was quiet.

The courtyard, which had been bustling for half the night, quieted down.

Li Aiguo lay sprawled on the bed, letting Miss Chen examine him.

"Are you really not injured?"

"No, the doctor has already checked it."

"I'm not reassured, I need to check again. Lie down properly and don't move around."

Miss Chen squatted in front of the cabinet, fumbled around for a while, and took out a piece of clothing.

Nurse uniform.

That's really professional!
What can Li Aiguo do?
As a patient, of course I had to listen to the nurse.

The atmosphere inside the room instantly became ambiguous.

Early the next morning.

Li Aiguo was preoccupied with the mass production of the "Four-Unlikes" (a type of mythical creature), so he got out of bed early.

The young nurse has transformed back into a dutiful wife, having prepared breakfast.

"Dad, I heard last night that Mom was going to give you an injection. Are you sick?" Xiao Hongsheng rubbed his eyes as he came out of the house.

The young woman, Chen, blushed and glanced at Li Aiguo, then shoved a toothbrush into Xiao Hongsheng's mouth: "Hurry up and brush your teeth."

Li Aiguo rubbed his temples. The soundproofing in this house was indeed terrible. Now that his three children were all grown up, perhaps he should buy another house.

As usual, Li Aiguo carried a washbasin and had a towel around his neck as he went to the pool to wash his face.

As soon as I arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, I realized that something was wrong.

Yi Zhonghai, an older woman, and Qin Huairu were standing by the pool.

Xu Damao, Nan Yi, Liang Ladi, Uncle San, Liu Haizhong and others stood by carrying basins of water.

It seems that this group of people has been caught red-handed by Yi Zhonghai.

When Yi Zhonghai saw Li Aiguo approaching, a glint of light flashed in his eyes: "Aiguo, you're here. Perfect timing, we're in a meeting."

"Yi Zhonghai, how can you wash your face like this?" Li Aiguo laughed.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned red from the retort.

The third uncle noticed it too, blinking his small eyes: "Old Yi, yeah, with your face like this, you can't wash it. You came to the pool for a meeting today, was that on purpose?"

Yi Zhonghai had no way to explain. He couldn't just tell everyone that he was worried they wouldn't respect him if he announced a meeting that evening, so he took the opportunity to hold a morning meeting instead.
The onlookers noticed something amiss, exchanged glances, and became wary. Yi Zhonghai holding a meeting—it couldn't be anything good!

Liu Haizhong was in a hurry to get to work and urged, "Old Yi, what exactly happened? Tell me quickly."

Yi Zhonghai gave the older woman a wink, and she asked, "How will Huai Ru live from now on?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao asked, "Auntie, what do you mean? Isn't that a gambling debt? Now that they've assaulted someone, do they still have to pay it back?!"

“You don’t understand. When you borrow money at the card table, it’s definitely not written as a gambling debt. Those thugs have all sorts of ways. It’s probably something like Jia Dongxu crashed someone’s bicycle. Anyway, apart from the interest, the IOU is legal.” Yi Zhonghai said with his swollen face and squinted eyes.

"Also, Captain Liu from the police station has spoken with Huai Ru. Jia Dongxu's creditors aren't just the one from last night; there are more than a dozen. They've recently come to the neighborhood office demanding that Huai Ru repay the money."

Li Aiguo also stopped in his tracks.

Isn't this just like what the junket operators did in the past?
Don't think you don't have to pay your gambling debts. They've already made all the preparations and set a trap for you.

Therefore, the author of the dog story once again advises that you should never touch that thing.

"What a tragedy! Even after Jia Dongxu is dead, he still harms people."

"Yes, it's a good five or six hundred yuan, and Qin Huairu still has to have a baby."

"Like begets like, how good can Jia Zhangshi's son be?"

Although the residents in the compound didn't have a good impression of the Jia family, they all felt bad seeing Qin Huairu like this.

The residents around them chimed in, feeling sorry for Qin Huairu.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai glanced at Li Aiguo and said, "So, fighting won't solve anything. We need to find a way to raise money to help Qin Huairu get through this difficult time."

The residents were unhappy when they heard about raising money.

This is several hundred yuan, and if it's divided among the residents, each household would have to pay tens of yuan, so nobody wants to pay.

“Uncle, I have three children to raise now, I have no money, not a single penny.” Xu Damao stood up first and said sarcastically, “You have no children and a high salary, you should pay this money.”

Yi Zhonghai was almost furious with Xu Damao, but considering his own status, he still put on a stern face and said, "Damao, when one family in our compound is in trouble, everyone helps each other, and only then can we all live a good life."

"I'm willing to help, but there's no way I'll lend you money," Xu Damao insisted.

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai was about to label her, Liu Lan stood up and said with a wronged expression, "Everyone's life is not easy. Why should we have to clean up the mess that Jia Dongxu made?"

Besides, to solve the problem, everyone has to chip in, and you, an old man, aren't capable of that.

The residents nodded in agreement.

"Yes, if we had the money, we could just pay it back directly. There would be no need for Yi Zhonghai to come forward."

"He just got the short end of the stick, and now he's trying to show off."

"If we pay, he'll lose his good reputation. Doesn't that make him think we're fools?"

Yi Zhonghai was already seething with anger because of the beating, and now he was furious: "Fine, fine, if you won't lend me money, let's see how Qin Huairu handles being harassed by debt collectors in a few days!"

As soon as these words came out.

The residents' faces all turned grim.

They all knew perfectly well that those thugs were capable of anything.

The residents were unwilling to donate money, and they couldn't bear to see Qin Huairu being humiliated, leading to a stalemate at the scene.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai knew he had the residents under his control, and he secretly gave Qin Huairu a wink, signaling her to show off.

If Qin Huairu could burst into tears and then thank the residents, they would surely hand over the money willingly.

That's when.

"Who says you can't solve a problem if you don't have money?" a voice rang out.

The residents turned around and saw that the person speaking was Li Aiguo.

Yi Zhonghai narrowed his eyes: "Li Aiguo, don't just talk nonsense. If you don't have money, how will Qin Huairu pay off her debts?"

"Why does Qin Huairu need to pay off her debts?" Li Aiguo asked rhetorically.

"Are you trying to make Qin Huairu not pay her debts?" Yi Zhonghai said coldly. "Don't forget, a husband's debts are paid by his wife. Jia Dongxu is dead, but there's still Qin Huairu."

Li Aiguo walked to the middle of the crowd with his hands behind his back, looked at Yi Zhonghai and said: "It's obvious that you old comrade don't understand the law. It's true that the wife should pay the husband's debts."

However, there's a prerequisite: Qin Huairu must inherit Jia Dongxu's property before it can be used to pay off debts. Things are different now than before liberation; we can't do what Yang Bailao did—selling his daughter.

Yi Zhonghai was initially startled, but then he laughed upon hearing this.

"A young man with no experience is unreliable; he's still too green."

He straightened his collar and said slowly, "Didn't Qin Huairu take Jia Dongxu's compensation? Isn't that money?"

The residents now all supported Yi Zhonghai, after all, it was a large sum of money.

“I’m asking you, I’m asking you, what does ‘compensation’ mean?” Li Aiguo walked up to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai felt uneasy under his gaze, as if he had returned to the classroom and become a primary school student: "The worker died unexpectedly, and the factory gave the worker's family money to support his wife and children."

"Then let me ask you, does this money belong to Jia Dongxu or Qin Huairu?" Li Aiguo asked again.

“Of course it’s Jia Dongxu,” Yi Zhonghai answered instinctively.

Xu Damao chimed in from the side, "Jia Dongxu is already dead, what's the use of giving him this money!"

The residents, who were initially confused, suddenly realized what was going on after hearing this.

“Since this money is for supporting his wife and children, it should belong to Qin Huairu.”

"Yes, this cannot be considered Jia Dongxu's estate."

Qin Huairu remained silent, watching as Yi Zhonghai stood up for her. However, Yi Zhonghai was boycotted by the residents, and all hope seemed lost.

She had been hesitant about whether to give a performance, but her eyes lit up immediately when she heard this.

She raised her head and stared straight at Li Aiguo.

"Since Jia Dongxu didn't leave any money behind, let whoever wants the debt go to court. This is a new society now, let's see who dares to act like Huang Shiren."

Li Aiguo walked past the stunned crowd, filled a basin with water, washed his face with huffs and puffs, uttered a few words, and turned to go inside.

After Li Aiguo left, Qin Huairu huddled in the crowd and whispered to Yi Zhonghai, "Master, will Li Aiguo's method work?"

"Ahem, it should work, it seems to make sense." Yi Zhonghai was seething with anger, having originally planned for a win-win situation.

result.

Li Aiguo resolved the problem in just a few words.

Xu Damao said cheerfully, "Who just said that problems can't be solved without money? Brother Aiguo solved it, didn't he?"

Yi Zhonghai felt a buzzing in his ears, and every word Xu Damao spoke felt like a needle piercing his heart.

He clenched his fists instinctively, his nails digging deep into his palms, a surge of bloodlust mixed with shame and rage rushing to his head.

Li Aiguo! It's you again! This isn't over!

But you still have to keep a straight face.

After all, he was Qin Huairu's teacher, so he had to "thank" Li Aiguo on behalf of his apprentice this time.

He forced a smile: "Ahem... Aiguo has indeed done a great job this time."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned around and almost stumbled as he pushed through the crowd.

Before anyone could react, Yi Zhonghai had already vanished behind the hanging flower gate.

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Aiguo carried his canvas bag and rode his bicycle to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Before I even entered the office, Section Chief Xing invited me over.

"Aiguo, I've heard about the attack on you. These people are incredibly audacious." Section Chief Xing was quite angry. Even he was reluctant to use Li Aiguo, yet these people dared to gang up on him. They were simply lawless.

"Section Chief, thank you." Li Aiguo took the cigarette and said, "The local police station has already dealt with those people."

Section Chief Xing nodded in satisfaction at Li Aiguo; this young man didn't like to cause trouble for the organization and its leaders.

He knew it was just a misunderstanding and there was no need to delve into it, so he changed the subject to work.

"The strange hybrid you created has caught the eye of the First Ministry of Machine Building, which wants to mass-produce it as soon as possible. What are your thoughts?"

Mentioning this matter, Section Chief Xing became somewhat frustrated. The Qianmen Locomotive Depot now has several workshops under its jurisdiction, and there are still so many orders, so there is simply not enough manpower.

In particular, the technical difficulty of making the four-legged creature is relatively low. Thinking of this, Section Chief Xing felt that he had really gotten carried away.

Li Aiguo was aware of the situation and took a puff of his cigarette before saying, "Section Chief, if we want to start mass production as soon as possible, setting up a temporary workshop will definitely take a long time. Manufacturing this hybrid is too time-consuming. How about we do what we did last time and outsource it?"

"Is it feasible to outsource parts for a complete vehicle?" Section Chief Xing asked with some concern.

"If they already have the foundation to manufacture tractors, sending some technicians over should be about right." Li Aiguo wouldn't make such a guarantee, after all, the quality of local factories varies greatly these days.

"I think that's a good idea. Let me discuss it with the Ministry of Machinery Industry and choose a suitable factory." Section Chief Xing began to consider which tractor factory to outsource to.

However, he worked on the railway and wasn't really familiar with tractor factories in China.

Section Chief Xing contacted the Ministry of Machine Building, while Li Aiguo returned to his workshop, planning to standardize the parts of the four-legged machine to ensure quality during future production.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, the wild car expert and Zong Xianfeng came to greet them upon hearing the noise.

"Patriotism, are you hurt?"

"How many people are beating you up?"

Well, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast.

"It's alright, get back to work, the Qilin will be in mass production soon."

The two were relieved to see that Li Aiguo was alright.

The studio seems to be full of talented people, but the one who really carries the weight is Li Aiguo. If something happens to him, the whole place will definitely fall apart.

Li Aiguo went into the office, took out the blueprints for each component, and handed them to Zong Xianfeng, instructing him to optimize and modify them one by one according to the previously established standards.

"Pioneer, the technical standards must be clearly marked to prevent some people from making arbitrary changes."

"Don't worry." Zong Xianfeng nodded excitedly.

In the afternoon, the maintenance workshop produced the second all-terrain vehicle.

Since these vehicles were pieced together from scrap materials and lacked proper documentation, Section Chief Xing decided to donate the four-wheeled vehicle to Weizhuang Commune.

"Aiguo, you initiated this matter, so you should make the trip."

"I'll pack my things and head over right away."

Li Aiguo also agreed with the approach taken by the section. Now that Weizhuang Commune is the counterpart commune of Qianmen Locomotive Depot, and Qianmen Locomotive Depot is living a good life, we should not forget the commune members.

(End of this chapter)