The train driver in the courtyard

The weather station took Sadam's sudden visit very seriously.

After Li Aiguo reported the situation, the organization sent a comrade wearing a gray Zhongshan suit to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

He is Chen Xingwang, who is in charge of Xiao Yi's family's work.

Chen Xingwang worked at Xiao Yi's house in his early years. After liberation, he joined the organization because of his progressive thinking. Because he was familiar with Xiao Yi's house, he was transferred to the meteorological station after training.

After entering the office and closing the door, Chen Xingwang replied directly, "Aiguo, I can tell you for sure that the weather station also doesn't know the reason for Saddam's sudden visit."

"You've stopped all the work over there?" Li Aiguo asked, sounding puzzled.

To avoid attracting the attention of Sadam and Bek, we did indeed order the meteorologist stationed at Xiao Yi's house not to inquire about any information.

Not inquiring doesn't mean going into a state of silence; the information that needs to be known will still be relayed back.

You should know that we currently have a very close partnership with Xiao Yi's family.

It's perfectly reasonable for the workers and engineers who helped build the railway, as well as the workers responsible for transporting the dates, to bring back some news.

“You’ve misunderstood. The meteorologist has already sent back the message. We just don’t understand why Sadam came here at such a critical moment.” As he spoke, Chen Xingwang handed over a document.

The material consists of multiple messages from Xiao Yi's family, with sources ranging from professional meteorologists to ordinary workers.

The materials comprehensively documented the situation of Xiao Yi's family. After returning, Sadam immediately persuaded Bek to take action against Arif and eliminate this scourge.

However, Beck hesitated to take action, and Sadam was instead stripped of several positions, though these were all unimportant, which also demonstrated Beck's attitude.

According to the weather station's analysis, Sadam should have stayed home to stabilize the situation and shouldn't have been here.

"We've already reported the situation to the farmer, and he should be back the day after tomorrow." Chen Xingwang rubbed his temples. They now have considerable interests in Xiao Yi's family, and if Arif regains power and completely sides with Xiao Mei's family, it will be extremely disadvantageous for them.

"The farmer has instructed you to be cautious and careful on your side," Chen Xingwang relayed the farmer's advice.

"I understand what to do."

Li Aiguo flipped through the documents and had a vague guess in his mind.

In the original timeline, Beck did not heed Saddam's advice to take action against Arif, and was ultimately overthrown by Arif, forcing Saddam to flee again.

Could it be that my own butterfly flapping its wings changed the course of history and influenced Saddam's decision?

The more Li Aiguo thought about it, the more likely this possibility seemed, and he couldn't help but become interested.

If Saddam Hussein had taken control of Iraq in this era, given his personality, he would definitely have broken ties with the Russians and Americans beforehand, at which point we would have had one more ally in the Middle East.

However, this matter still needs to be carefully planned.

As he was pondering this, Li Aiguo received a call from the gatekeeper, informing him that Sadam's convoy had entered the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Because of his special status, Chen Xingwang temporarily went to the studio to hide.

Li Aiguo straightened his collar and strode out of the office.

At that moment, two cars drove up from a distance and stopped in front of the studio.

"Brother Patriot, we meet again."

The car door opened, and a burly man with a large beard stepped out. It was Saddam Hussein, who had already begun to make a name for himself in the Middle East.

Compared to last time, Sadam's face looked more weathered, and his eyes held a more somber expression.

"Comrade Sadam, welcome, welcome." Li Aiguo stepped forward and shook hands with Sadam.

"Your custom-made bulletproof off-road vehicle is ready."

"Really? That's great. Brother Aiguo, could you take me to see it?" Sadam smiled and took Li Aiguo's arm.

“Of course, you are our most valued customer, and it is only right that I accompany you,” Li Aiguo said with a smile.

Just kidding, but this bulletproof SUV alone earned the Qianmen Locomotive Depot a whole trainload of gifts – it's definitely a VIP vehicle.

Li Aiguo led Sadam to the garage of the workshop, where the wild car expert and Zong Xianfeng had already completed the maintenance.

The bulletproof off-road vehicle was plated with gold, which glittered under the lights, and the two headlights at the front flashed brightly.

The interior is entirely upholstered in luxurious calfskin, and all the interior trim is gold-plated, making it dazzlingly bright.

Sadam was stunned for a moment, then rubbed his eyes and exclaimed, "Holy crap, this is a branding iron! This vehicle is so awesome!"

Even the expert on the wild car was stunned by what he saw.

He was initially opposed to Li Aiguo's decision to use full gold plating to build the large off-road vehicle.

This thing is way too flashy.

As it turns out, the bearded Middle Eastern man really does have a taste for this.

Sadamu boarded the large off-road vehicle with great enthusiasm, started the engine, and felt the surging power of the engine, which made him even more satisfied.

Sadam wanted to test drive his large SUV on the roads of Beijing, but Li Aiguo stopped him.

"Let's try it in this section, the quality will definitely be fine."

Sadam knew that driving this kind of vehicle around here would have a bad influence, so he drove his big SUV around the driving school's training ground a few times and became more and more satisfied with it.

The steering wheel is precise, the seats are very responsive, and most importantly, being in this large off-road vehicle feels like being in a golden palace.

And he is the only king in the Middle East.

Get out of the car.

Sadam patted the front of the car and praised it highly: "Patriotic brother, what a great car, what a great car!"

Li Aiguo pointed to the car door and said, "This vehicle is fully bulletproof and can withstand the fire of a submachine gun, but you still have to be careful and avoid rocket-propelled grenades."

Upon hearing this, Sadam became even more excited, grasped Li Aiguo's hand, and repeatedly said "good" to him.

“Sayed!” Sadam waved to a man in a white robe: “Drive this car away immediately and return it as soon as possible. You should know the consequences if there is any damage.”

"Yes!" The man in white robes responded and boarded the large off-road vehicle.

Li Aiguo then had a thick layer of tarpaulin tarpaulin placed over the vehicle, and only looked away after watching the large off-road vehicle drive out of the locomotive depot.

The large off-road vehicle had been delivered, but Sadamu showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he chatted idly with Li Aiguo in the studio.

"I recently acquired a few old books, Old Sa, would you like to take a look?" Li Aiguo pretended not to know his purpose and changed the subject with a smile.

"Really? That's wonderful! I've always been fascinated by your culture." Sadam laughed twice and followed Li Aiguo toward the office.

As they approached the door, seeing the guards behind him about to follow, Sadam raised his hand and waved them away: "You all stay outside, and no one is allowed to come in and disturb us."

Li Aiguo had noticed these guards early on. Although they were not carrying guns, they all had full temples and upright postures, clearly indicating that they were martial arts practitioners who had practiced for many years.

Even more coincidentally, they all looked somewhat similar to Saddam, and most of them were trusted members of the same tribe.

At a time like this, he still brought his close confidants, which suggests that the situation in Xiao Yi's family has deteriorated to the point where Saddam has no choice but to proceed with extreme caution.

The door was closed, shutting out all the noise from the outside.

Sadam's smile vanished instantly, and he slammed his hand on the table.

“Brother Patriot, Baker disagrees with my plan. He believes that Arif has no intention of targeting him, and that if he takes action, it could easily arouse the suspicion of Xiao Mei’s family.”

Sadam was somewhat agitated at this point, and his speech became incoherent.

However, Li Aiguo still managed to figure out what had happened to Xiao Yi's family over the past six months.

After returning to Xiao Yi's home, Sadam immediately found his uncle Baker and exposed Arif's conspiracy, hoping that Baker could remove Arif from his position.

The rest was the same as the message sent back by the weather station. Instead of taking action against Arif, Baker instructed Saddam to focus his energy on building up the army and not to interfere in political affairs.

Fortunately, Sadam still controlled the intelligence department of the Yi family, so he was not excluded from the core level.

Sadam had intended to make some further efforts, but not long ago he learned of Arif's plan to launch an attack.

Sadam now faces two paths.

One option is to surrender without resistance.

Wait for Baker to be ousted by Arif, then escape like last time, and look for an opportunity to return.

The second rule is to strike first and take down all of Arif's men.

Saddam was a ruthless and ambitious man, inherently inclined towards the second path, but on his own, he simply couldn't defeat Arif. He was caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
He felt like he was standing in a fog, unable to see the road ahead.

At this critical moment, Sadam thought of his custom-built off-road vehicle and his brothers from the East.

For some reason, Sadam always felt that this brother had a vision beyond ordinary people, and could always point out the key points of the problem at crucial moments.

The same thing happened last time. This brother reminded him not to take any drastic actions after he returned, which allowed him to maintain a firm grip on a team and the intelligence department even though he was at a disadvantage.

This led to Saddam's sudden visit.

After understanding Sadam's purpose, Li Aiguo did not respond.

She simply stood up, picked up the thermos, poured more than half a thermos of boiling water into the enamel mug, grabbed a handful of tea leaves, threw them in, and handed it to him: "Have a sip of tea first, to calm your nerves."

Sadam was extremely anxious and had no time for tea.
But when he met Li Aiguo's calm gaze, the anger in his heart was inexplicably suppressed by most of it, and he reached out and took the enamel mug.

Li Aiguo handed him another cigarette, lit one for himself, and then walked to the bookshelf.

In order to accumulate points, he has collected a lot of ancient books over the years, and his bookshelves are full, many of which are unique copies.

He pulled out a copy of the Records of the Grand Historian, not the version commonly used in later generations, but a Tang Dynasty manuscript scroll from Dunhuang.

When the Dunhuang artifacts were looted, most of them went overseas. He went to great lengths to obtain this fragment, intending to keep it for a while and donate it to a museum more than ten years later.

He turned to a page, sat down opposite Sadam, and said with a smile, "In our history, there was a man called Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu."

"Overlord? Interesting, what's this guy all about?" Old Sa believed that if the Yi family could become the little overlord of the Middle East, then he was also an overlord, so he was naturally very interested in the Overlord of Western Chu.

Li Aiguo calmly and briefly recounted the story of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang's struggle for power.

When Saddam heard that Xiang Yu, whose strength could uproot mountains and whose spirit could cover the world, was ultimately defeated by Liu Bang, who was described as a "rogue and scoundrel," an angry look appeared on his face: "How dare such a petty person defeat the overlord? There is no justice in the world!"

"Yes, that's why historians in later generations have always wondered whether Xiang Yu had a chance to turn defeat into victory."

"Have it?"

"You know what, we actually found it."

Li Aiguo turned to another page, stroked his beard, and said, "Back then, the strategist Fan Zeng suggested that Xiang Yu set up a trap at the Feast at Hongmen, ambushing axemen at the banquet, inviting Liu Bang under the guise of hospitality, and then using the raising of a cup as a signal to kill Liu Bang. Unfortunately, this news was learned by Xiang Yu's uncle, Xiang Bo, who leaked the information to Liu Bang and persuaded Xiang Yu not to harm him. In the end, Xiang Yu spared Liu Bang."

After listening, Sadam couldn't help but say, "The Feast at Hongmen was a brilliant strategy. It's such a pity. If Xiang Yu had been able to defeat Liu Bang at the Feast at Hongmen, he wouldn't have ended up like the Hegemon-King who was killed in battle."

“That’s Farewell My Concubine.” Li Aiguo thought Old Sa’s Chinese was inadequate.

"Yes, yes, yes, the story of Xiang Yu's farewell to his concubine. The thought of this unparalleled overlord finally falling makes me feel regretful. If I were Xiang Yu, I would smash the cup as a signal." Sadam was still feeling sorry for Xiang Yu, but after saying it once, his expression suddenly changed.

Sadam suddenly stood up and muttered to himself, "A trap! If I could use my youngest daughter's birthday party to invite Uncle Hak to the banquet..."

Li Aiguo was also somewhat surprised; Old Sa's reaction speed was too fast.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. In the original timeline, Old Saddam Hussein used the birthday party as an excuse to launch the coup and seize power.

Old Sa continued muttering, "But I need to deal with Uncle Hark. He's my uncle. Do I really have to..."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo realized that most of the stories about Xiao Yi's family in later generations were based on hearsay.

Saddam had risked his life for Bek twice, and even carried out an assassination attempt for him; it's impossible to say he had no feelings for him.

In the original timeline, even though he held great power, he endured until Baker suffered a heart attack before setting up that "trap".

Li Aiguo actually had a good impression of Baker, after all, Baker had stood firmly on the side of Tokyo University's Ironman team at the Ironman Tournament back then, which was already quite rare.

If I can lend a hand, I certainly will.

He stood up, took out a small red-covered notebook from the drawer, and handed it to Sadam: "Old Sadam, I've been thinking about some principles lately. There's a saying in it that goes something like this: 'Unite all forces that can be united, make as many friends as possible, and make as few enemies as possible. Only then can we achieve great things.'"

Old Sa was initially a bit confused, but upon hearing this, his eyes lit up, and he stared intently at the small red booklet.

Baker represents not just himself, but a vast force, and even disregarding family ties, he is unwilling to confront them head-on.

Just when I was wondering what to do, this little notebook actually provided the answer.

"Patriotic brother, I know what to do!"

Li Aiguo nodded slightly. "Hack, I've repaid the favor I owed you back then."

Once he understood, Old Sa was in a hurry to leave, but after taking only two steps, he turned back to look at the red booklet.

Where can I buy the book "Patriotism"?

"Here you go." Li Aiguo handed over the red booklet.

"Good brother!" Old Sa took the red booklet, put it in his pocket, nodded emphatically to Li Aiguo, and strode away.

His figure quickly disappeared through the doorway, vanishing in a gust of wind.

"Sadamu has left?" A voice came from the side; it was Chen Xingwang.

"Hmm, it seems the Yi family is about to make some big moves." Li Aiguo didn't turn around, his gaze still fixed on the distance. "Has the teacher returned?"

Chen Xingwang was unaware of the content of their conversation and knew he shouldn't ask too many questions, so he immediately contacted the weather station.

Upon learning that the transport plane carrying the farmer had arrived at Nanyuan Airport, Li Aiguo asked the maintenance department for half a day off and rode his motorcycle straight to the weather station.

When he arrived, the farmer had just gotten out of his car.

Upon seeing Li Aiguo, the farmer's tired face broke into a smile, and he nodded: "Come with me to the study."

In the study, Li Aiguo recounted his conversation with Saddam in detail, even describing Saddam's tone and expression.

“You’re much more mature than before.” The farmer nodded with satisfaction after hearing this. “I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to handle it, which is why I rushed back.”

Although the weather station had already received instructions from above on how to deal with the changes in Xiao Yi's family.

However, there isn't a good way to perfectly persuade Saddam.

In particular, Saddam Hussein was a true tyrant who would never let others lead him by the nose, as this could easily backfire.

Now Li Aiguo has not only succeeded, but he also has a good chance of saving Haq.

As long as Haq is still alive, Sadam will never be able to return to the route near Xiaomei's house.

With Arif dealt with, Saddam and his Big Brother were now completely at odds.

The only path left for Saddam in the future is to become our partner in the Middle East.

The crackdown was extremely brutal; even brothers might turn on each other. Personal feelings are the most unreliable thing.

The most stable relationship is one where each person gets what they need.

"Teacher, this is all I should do. By the way, this is the medicinal wine I just brewed." After finishing his business, Li Aiguo took out a jar of wine from his canvas bag.

Ever since the farmer took the medicinal wine, he has been in much better spirits than before, and now he drinks a cup every day.

"Very good." The farmer looked at the medicinal wine and was even more satisfied with his student.

After the conversation, the farmer immediately notified the team in charge of Xiao Yi's family affairs, asking them to contact local personnel to enter a state of silence.

At the same time, he decided to send a specialist to Xiao Yi's home to coordinate the follow-up work.

"Patriotism, who do you think is more suitable?"

“Comrade Chen Xingwang is a very steady person, and he is also very knowledgeable about Xiao Yi’s family situation,” Li Aiguo replied.

Li Aiguo had dealt with Chen Xingwang several times. Chen Xingwang might not be as capable as Lao Mao, but he was more composed.

Now that Xiao Yi's house layout is complete, what's needed is a dedicated specialist who can remain calm and focused.

"Yes, I also think Chen Xingwang is good." The farmer picked up the phone and called Chen Xingwang to his office.

Upon hearing that he was to be assigned to Xiao Yi's house as a special envoy, Chen Xingwang's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded emphatically: "I'll set off immediately."

“If you encounter any emergencies in the future, you can contact Comrade Aiguo directly,” the farmer called out to him.

A hint of surprise flashed across Chen Xingwang's face.

In the past, such important matters had to be decided by the farmers themselves.

But he quickly realized that some emergencies only give them a few tens of minutes, or even a few minutes, to react. If they report to higher levels and wait for approval, it will only cause problems.

"understand!"

That evening, Chen Xingwang first took a train to Tanggu Port, and then transferred to a ship to go to Xiao Yi's house.

This way, we can avoid the Russians' sphere of influence and avoid many unnecessary setbacks.

After seeing Chen Xingwang off, Li Aiguo also rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard house.

As soon as I entered the yard, I heard the sound of a belt being whipped and children crying for their parents. Without asking, I knew that Liu Haizhong was using the discipline stick.

"What's wrong with Bang Geng?" Li Aiguo asked curiously.

"Sigh, I've never seen such a naughty kid. Banggeng actually peed in your Uncle Liu's wine bottle." Liu Haizhong was also a little tired. After Banggeng was sent to the Liu family for education, he thought that it would only take a few days to correct Banggeng's bad habits, but it turned out to be more difficult than he imagined.

If this continues, wouldn't it damage Liu Haizhong's reputation as a great educator?

That's right, Liu Haizhong now has a dream: to show the residents of the compound his ability to educate children, and to have the Third Uncle call him a great educator.

The third uncle was also watching the commotion from the sidelines.

She knew what Liu Hai was thinking, but she didn't care.

If Liu Haizhong can truly educate Bang Geng well, then it wouldn't be unreasonable to bestow upon him the title of educator.

Qin Huairu felt sorry for Banggeng when she heard him crying and wanted to stop him, but Liu Lan held her back.

"Huai Ru, although our relationship is just so-so, I still have to advise you that you can't let things continue like this."

"Sigh," Qin Huairu sighed and could only return to the house.

What parent doesn't want their child to succeed?

In the original novel, Qin Huairu, a vampire with a white lotus flower-like appearance, caused a lot of harm to people, but she was indeed very good to her three children.

As night fell, the courtyard, which had been bustling all day, gradually quieted down.

The lights inside the Li family's house were dim.

After Li Aiguo finished eating, he drove the tractor twice. He originally wanted to rest for a while, but Chen Xueru insisted on dragging him out, saying that they should water the vegetable garden together.

Li Aiguo was both amused and exasperated.

There's a greenhouse at the studio, but Chen Xueru still insists on cultivating a small vegetable garden, just like the other young wives in the compound.

Perhaps this is the awakening of the Chinese people's passion for growing vegetables?
"I was supposed to water it this afternoon, but you messed things up and I forgot," Chen Xueru said resentfully.

Li Aiguo chuckled and said, "I'll fetch the water, you just need to water it. It'll be done in no time."

"I'll fetch the water. You can rest a bit and just focus on watering the plants," Chen Xueru said, pursing her lips.

"Let's stop passing the buck."

The two walked hand in hand to the vegetable garden. Li Aiguo carried two buckets of water on a shoulder pole, and the two of them watered the vegetables together with ladles.

Men and women are matched, so work is not tiring.

Li Aiguo and Chen Xueru took turns scooping water, working together seamlessly, and soon both buckets were empty.

Li Aiguo was thinking of watering Aunt Liu's vegetable garden too. Just as he was about to stand up and pick up the carrying pole, he heard Chen Xueru whisper, "Brother Aiguo, look who's that?"

Li Aiguo followed her finger and frowned immediately.

The moonlight was partially obscured by clouds, and in the dim light, a hunched figure moved along the wall of the courtyard.

That figure looked exactly like Yi Zhonghai.

He would stop abruptly every few steps, looking back warily.

Their direction of travel was even stranger—they bypassed the lit windows of the Li family's house and stealthily made their way towards the Jia family's house.

"What could Yi Zhonghai possibly want with Qin Huairu in the middle of the night?"

Chen Xueru was also baffled: "It's the middle of the night, and the Jia family is now left with only Qin Huairu, a widow, raising a child. Yi Zhonghai's behavior is creepy!"

(End of this chapter)