The train driver in the courtyard

The wine at the victory celebration banquet didn't intoxicate people; it was the people who got drunk.

Today is a day of great joy. There's no limit to the amount of Moutai liquor we can drink. The old regimental commander, Li Yunlong, and his staff officers have all gotten quite drunk.

After discussing the battle, they began to talk about their families.

Despite being a tough general on the battlefield, Li Yunlong was also a man who cared deeply for his family.

Like many fathers, he gets furious and his face turns as bitter as a bitter gourd when he talks about his children's studies.

This was enough to remind Li Aiguo of the expression on Yuan Lao's face when he mentioned his students in later years.

“Xiao Tian is too protective of his children. I heard from some old friends in the compound that my two rascals have gotten involved with Zhao Gang’s kids and are always causing trouble in the compound. This can’t go on.”

"I'm fighting on the front lines, not letting them do all sorts of messy things in the back."

Li Yunlong, feeling the effects of the alcohol, grabbed Li Aiguo's arm and said, "Aiguo, when you go back this time, help me teach them a lesson."

Before Li Aiguo could answer, Li Yunlong shouted to the orderly standing behind him, "Xiao Zhou, bring me my brass buckle belt."

The orderly ran out and returned a moment later with a belt.

Li Yunlong personally handed the belt to Li Aiguo: "Take this belt and make sure those little brats don't cause any trouble. You'd better teach them a lesson."

"Uncle Li, don't worry, Li Jian and Zhao Gao are still young. They just like to play. With a good education, they will correct their ways in no time. I'll take the belt for now." Li Aiguo smiled and accepted the belt.

These little guys just like to play because their father isn't around.

You really can't use Liu Haizhong's educational methods to educate people.

"Come on, Aiguo, let me toast you." Another unfamiliar staff officer walked over with a wine glass in hand.

"One cup for you, one cup for me," the comrades were very enthusiastic, and in the end Li Aiguo almost couldn't hold on.

The banquet ended amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.

Li Aiguo left the meeting room and went outside. The night sky was filled with dazzling stars, making it look exceptionally beautiful.

"Patriot, the matter you asked me to investigate has been clarified. Zhang Erpao is staying in ward number three at the base hospital." Old Cat walked over from a distance.

Several people were wounded in the desert battle, and Zhang Erpao was one of them.

"Is his injury alright?" Li Aiguo lit a cigarette.

"It's alright, the doctor said these comrades all have minor injuries."

Old Cat paused for a moment and asked, "Is this kid related to you? Should we go check on him?"

"Never mind, they're probably leaving soon. Send someone to deliver some nutritional supplements, a lot, enough for all the wounded." Li Aiguo took a few puffs of his cigarette, stubbed it out, and threw it on the ground.

In the hospital at this time.

Zhang Erpao was leaning against the hospital bed receiving an IV drip. On the beds next to him were other members of the escort team who had been injured together.

"Second Artillery Corps, have you heard? They rescued our armed helicopter a couple of days ago; it's our latest equipment."

"The Second Artillery Corps? The Second Artillery Corps?"

Hearing his teammates shout, Zhang Erpao snapped out of his daze and mumbled a reply.

"What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about that little nurse from earlier? Second Artillery, you're a combat hero now, do you want me to help you with the cable?" the team members joked.

"No, it's nothing." Zhang Erpao squinted, recalling the battle scene at that time.

He felt that the person piloting the armed helicopter looked somewhat familiar, but the situation was chaotic at the time and the distance was too far to see clearly.

At that moment, the ward door was pushed open from the outside, and several comrades dressed in gray Zhongshan suits walked in, bringing many gifts.

"Comrades, this is from our superiors. We wish you a speedy recovery!"

The team members cheered.

Zhang Erpao picked up an orange, his eyes welling up slightly.

His favorite food is oranges.

"Could it really be Uncle Patriot?"

*****
Early the next morning.

Li Aiguo was still asleep when he was awakened by Commissioner Sui's knocking on the door.

"Patriotism, following orders from our superiors, we need to return to Harbin Aircraft Industry Group as soon as possible."

After asking a few questions, Li Aiguo figured out the reason.

The higher command has decided to establish an air assault division, and the finalization and mass production of the Thunderbolt attack helicopter must be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

Li Aiguo originally wanted to say goodbye to Li Yunlong, but Li Yunlong had already left the base for South Asia in the middle of the night last night.

"Back to Harbin Aircraft Industry Group." Li Aiguo put the brass-buckled belt into a canvas bag and threw it into the rear cabin of the helicopter.

It was more than ten days later when I returned to Harbin Aircraft Industry Group.

Various tests were conducted on the way, and the armed helicopter had no problems.

Experts from the Ministry of Aviation Industry had been waiting for this. They checked all the parameters and then conducted a comprehensive inspection of the helicopter.

Half a month later, the Third Ministry of Machine Building (i.e., the Ministry of Aviation Industry) approved the design scheme of the Thunderbolt attack helicopter by Harbin Aircraft Industry Group and the Qianmen Maintenance Depot.

Project No. 6 also trial-produced two Thunderfire attack helicopters.

These two Thunderbolt attack helicopters are improved models, equipped with three cannons by Li Aiguo and Professor Qi, making them even more powerful.

A month later, the Aviation Product Approval Committee approved the Thunderbolt attack helicopter, and mass production of the Thunderbolt attack helicopter began, with it being deployed to the armed forces.

The initial production run will consist of one hundred aircraft, with production expected to be completed within one year.

The finalization and mass production work was handled by Hafei, while Li Aiguo had already returned to Beijing.

Li Aiguo originally planned to develop the basic model, passenger model, agricultural and forestry model, life-saving model, and aerial survey model of helicopter at the same time, but he did not expect that his superiors had already made the arrangements.

The above means using the best steel for the most important tasks.

The front office should be responsible for the most critical tasks, such as the observation of the large mushroom explosion armed helicopter, which will be needed at the end of the year.

The explosion of the giant mushroom can reveal many cosmic mysteries and provide data support for future research on giant mushrooms.

Satellite technology was not mature at that time.

Although fixed-wing aircraft have a long range, they have poor low-altitude maneuverability and cannot conduct stable observations in the turbulence following a nuclear explosion.

The helicopter's hovering and low-speed performance can solve this problem.

In addition, the ground was heavily contaminated after the giant mushroom explosion, posing a high risk to ground observers.

Helicopters can hover and conduct reconnaissance from a distance, avoiding direct contact between personnel and contaminated areas.

Therefore, Li Aiguo's idea of ​​using helicopters to observe the giant mushroom explosion was quickly approved by his superiors.

The modification work was also handed over to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop.

In addition, the sports cars needed by European and American dealers should be produced as soon as possible.

We must focus on both weaponry and funding.

We must grasp both aspects firmly.

Li Aiguo is qualified to be a chief engineer.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot has now become a giant factory with more than a dozen workshops. It has many tasks, including export-oriented off-road vehicles, steam engines, computers, and so on.

Li Aiguo was actually the chief engineer in effect, mainly in charge of research. The workshops below him were in charge of their own tasks, with Section Chief Xing helping them out.

Li Aiguo has yet to begin the modification work on the "Big Mushroom" test attack helicopter.

It's not because they're not working hard, but because the required materials haven't been delivered.

Helicopters need to be radiation-proof, receive radiation data as much as possible, and withstand shock waves, so the materials required are all specially made.

Li Aiguo now goes to work every day, tinkering with helicopters and sports cars.

After get off work, I play sticky games and make dolls with Xiao Chen. Life couldn't be more wonderful.

The welfare benefits at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot have also improved considerably.

Sea fish, beef, and mutton are constantly being transported over, and especially as our relationship with Xiao Yi's family has grown better, they even send some camels from time to time.

After finishing his shift in the evening, Li Aiguo received several dozen kilograms of camel meat, which he took to the weather station and distributed to the meteorologists. He also brought a large bag of dried camel meat for Lao Mao.
"A comrade from the Russian side just sent a message saying that the Russians sold the Yak-24 helicopter to India," Old Cat said directly.

"Someone actually wants this helicopter?" Li Aiguo was genuinely astonished.

The Yak-24 helicopter is a heavy helicopter that served in the Soviet Union's 55-class helicopters and does not appear outdated.

However, it has an inherent flaw: it tends to "dance" after taking off, in the literal sense of the word.

The generals of the Soviet Union didn't like watching dances, so they returned the Yak-24 helicopters to the factory, accumulating about two or three hundred of them.

"Didn't the Indians get fooled? The development cost of the new armed helicopter has skyrocketed, and the Russians said they can sell it cheaply," Old Cat said, taking a bite of a piece of camel jerky.

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo observed a moment of silence for India, then sighed and said, "The Russian bear is really something now."

"Yeah, he used to be a good older brother, but now he's getting worse and worse," Old Cat sighed.

The Corn Emperor originally thought that Commander Ken was a star, an easy target, and planned to just take a bite casually.

Unexpectedly, the commander of Daken was unusually tough. Not only did he refuse to back down, but he also mobilized his warships to the waters near the Sugarcane family's territory.

The leader of the Great Ken tribe has now gathered a group of followers to cheer him on.

The Russians, wanting to bolster their own position, decided to bring along their Eastern European allies.

Hiring a grand opera costs money, and the Russians have been spending too much lately, so they're short on cash.

This is essentially India actively giving money to Russia.

"Recently, several families in Eastern Europe have been preparing to purchase our armed helicopters, but the higher-ups haven't decided yet whether to sell them to them." Old Cat thought the dried camel meat smelled delicious and chatted while eating.

Li Aiguo's security clearance is currently very high, so these things don't count as violations.

"If we're going to sell them, we should sell the ones that have been phased out. We can lower the price and add more firepower to them."

Li Aiguo didn't care about these things; he casually inquired about the situation on the other side of the Gobi Desert, which was also Li Aiguo's main purpose.

"The specific situation depends on how far the Russian bear and the American family can go in their arms race. Our station has already sent people over there. It is estimated that Miss Qiu's wedding will take place in the next two or three months."

As they were talking, there was a knock on the door, and a woman walked in timidly. Seeing that Li Aiguo was also there, the woman said in a flustered manner, "Oh, someone's here. You two talk, I'll go back first."

Li Aiguo recognized the woman as the one who often helped Lao Mao with his laundry. He stood up, smiled, and said, "We've finished talking, Team Leader Mao. I'll be going now."

Li Aiguo thought that Lao Mao would be getting married soon.

I originally planned to send the farmer a portion of camel jerky as well, but the farmer was away on a business trip, so I had to give it to his assistant.

It was already evening when Li Aiguo returned to the courtyard. The courtyard was very lively, with the Third Uncle and Third Aunt drying small fish under the eaves.

Lately, Uncle San has been fishing with great enthusiasm, but instead of selling his catch on the black market, he's saving it up to help Yan Jiecheng with his wedding banquet.

"Patriotism is back."

"Uncle, you're busy."

After saying hello, Li Aiguo went home.

He Yushui has been admitted to high school, but school hasn't started yet, so she's taken on a part-time job as a tutor for the three little ones.

"Brother Aiguo, you're back! What's this? It smells so good!" As soon as Li Aiguo took the bag out, He Yushui stood up from her chair and sniffled twice.

Seeing her expression, Li Aiguo smiled and handed her two packets: "They're dried camel jerky. One packet for you, and one packet for Aunt Liu."

He Yushui opened the bag and saw the dried camel meat inside, which was dark brown and emitted an enticing aroma.

"Your maintenance depot has great benefits; you get good stuff every now and then," He Yushui said, a little envious.

"The locomotive depot isn't an ordinary factory." Aunt Liu walked in with a smile and confiscated the bag: "From now on, you can only eat one piece a day."

No wonder, He Yushui has gained a lot of weight these past few days, she's almost developed a double chin.

"Mom, I'm about to start high school and will have to take the college entrance exam. It'll be very tough," He Yushui pleaded with a giggle.

Aunt Liu looked at her, still feeling a little reluctant, and took out another piece from the bag and handed it to He Yushui.

"That's all we can eat today. After eating the dried camel, study hard."

"Mmm." He Yushui took the dried camel meat and ran out to find Xiuer.

Chen Xueru poured some tea and handed it to Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu sat down, took a sip of her drink, and said, "These days are something I never dared to dream of. As I get older, it feels like a dream. Take this dried camel meat, for example. Even the richest people back then probably couldn't afford it."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo said, "Now it's a new society. As long as we work hard, we can promote social development and make life better day by day."

"Well, you young people are so much more enlightened." Aunt Liu took a few more sips of tea, and then began to recount the hardships before liberation.

That's how the older generation is; once they've achieved a good life, they especially love reminiscing about the past.

Li Aiguo and Chen Xueru sat on the side listening.

Before long, Liu Haizhong, Aunt Er, Xu Damao's family, and Nan Yi also came over to join in the fun.

Li Aiguo then took out several bags of dried camel meat for everyone to try.

He's been away from home lately, and his neighbors have been taking good care of his house.

Besides, he doesn't lack these things.

Although there wasn't much dried camel meat, and each person could only get a few pieces, it was extremely precious, and the room was immediately filled with laughter and joy.

A strange and enticing aroma wafted out from the Li family's house.

Qin Huairu sighed inwardly. After feeding Xiao Dang, she took the bed sheets, blankets, and dirty clothes and went to the pool to wash them.

Occasionally glancing back at the bustling scene in the backyard, Qin Huairu felt a pang of sadness.

Now, although she has the care of Yi Zhonghai and an older woman, and her life is much better than before, ...
Inside the Li family's house, Liu Haizhong and the others ate some dried camel meat and, instead of leaving immediately, started chatting about the situation in South Asia.

"Have you heard? We have a war god named Li Yunlong. He's incredibly powerful and made those Indians scream in despair."

"The kid who used to work at the junk shop, I heard he went to South Asia."

Although Li Aiguo was reluctant to reveal details, he did mention some unimportant things, which always elicited a gasp of amazement.

Xu Damao has already started to dream about showing movies in South Asia in the future.

"I heard they like musicals over there. Will they understand the movies you show?" Nan Yi asked with a smile.

"Go away, what do you know, you're just a cook? I show the movies, and they watch them." Xu Damao was a little suspicious. What's a musical movie? Do they take their clothes off?

Just as they were having a lively conversation, the third uncle suddenly announced: "Aiguo, Director Wang is here to see you."

He was talking, but his eyes were fixed on the dried camel meat on the table.

Although there weren't many pieces left, they were all meat, and they looked especially tempting.

Li Aiguo smiled, stood up, gathered the rest together, and handed them over: "Third Uncle, thank you for your trouble. If you don't mind, there are still some left here. You can take them back and let Third Aunt and Jie Cheng try them."

"Don't dislike it, don't dislike it."

The old man was so happy that his eyes almost closed, and he hurriedly ran away after gathering the bag.

Xu Damao sneered; he had the utmost contempt for the shrewdness of the Third Uncle.

Actually, the old man is earning quite a bit these days. In addition to his salary, he also collects recyclables and goes fishing every day, making his side business very successful.

"Director Wang is coming soon. Is it appropriate for us to stay here? We'll be leaving now," Liu Haizhong said, standing up, unsure of Director Wang's purpose.

Xu Damao and Nan Yi were both somewhat intimidated by Director Wang, so they nodded in agreement and left in a hurry.

Director Wang greeted several residents in the front yard, which took a little longer than usual.

When they arrived, Aunt Liu had already helped Chen Xueru clean up the house.

Director Wang entered the room and said with a smile, "Aiguo, I want to congratulate your neighborhood patrol team. Last week, the district held an evaluation, and your patrol team won the title of Excellent Patrol Team. The district will also issue an award certificate in a couple of days."

Li Aiguo was also very happy to hear the news: "That's great! With the award certificate, those kids in the neighborhood will be even more motivated in the future."

"Everyone received a certificate this time. Tomorrow, you should submit the list to the neighborhood office. That's all. Your uncle is home alone, so I have to go back."

Director Wang didn't stay long; he stood up and prepared to leave.

As he was about to leave, he stopped, turned back, and asked, "Aiguo, there's a new policy that allows public housing units to be bought out. Do you have any thoughts on that?"

Li Aiguo was stunned: "Public housing can be converted into private housing?"

Seeing that there were no outsiders in the room, Director Wang continued, "Our capital is currently undergoing a major construction project. Buildings are being constructed outside, and some houses inside the city will be sold to alleviate the pressure on urban construction."

"This policy has actually been in effect for some time, but the results haven't been very good. It might be canceled. If you have spare money, you can invest some."

Li Aiguo could understand.

Everyone can do the math. The current rent for housing is only a few cents a month, and that's paid by the factory. Who would be so foolish as to spend hundreds of dollars to transfer public funds to private funds?
There were only a few households in the South Tongluo Lane neighborhood, which is when Director Wang thought of Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo squinted and asked, "Are there restrictions on transferring public assets to private ownership? Is it one unit per household, or several units?"

Director Wang said with a smile, "Who can own several houses?"

As soon as he said it, Director Wang realized something was wrong.

Li Aiguo owns two four-room apartments, one of which was the original one, and the other was acquired from Fan Jinyou.

Li Aiguo had an idea in mind and replied, "Aunt Wang, you go back first. I'll think about this matter carefully. Even if it's just to support your work, I have to do my part."

Director Wang liked to hear this and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll be waiting for you in my office tomorrow."

If Li Aiguo really converts the public house to a private one, then she will have given the district an explanation.

After seeing Director Wang off, Li Aiguo sat back down in his chair and stroked his chin.

The price for a property that has been converted from a public to a private ownership certificate is estimated to be only two or three hundred yuan per unit. Once you get the certificate, the house will be yours.

This is a house in Nantongluo Lane, only 3 or 4 kilometers away from the main square.

Li Aiguo is not short of money now. Not counting the dividends from Hextech, he has more bonuses than he can spend.

Chinese people love to own houses.

Chen Xueru also felt that the public office should be converted to a private office, and said, "Brother Aiguo, if we can buy two more sets, we should prepare them in advance. The children are getting older, and the house will not have enough room to live in them in the future."

Li Aiguo really hadn't expected this.

He noted that the window for transferring funds from public to private sectors only lasted a few months in history, and was later canceled due to some special reasons.

"Let me inquire about it."

Li Aiguo nodded slightly.

****
The news of the transfer from public to private ownership had already spread throughout the entire compound.

Nobody took it to heart.

When Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong heard that Li Aiguo had decided to participate in the public-to-private transfer program, they both came over to persuade him not to waste money.

"Consider it a contribution to the construction of our capital." Li Aiguo smiled and offered cigarettes to the two men, saying, "I advise you two, this is an opportunity, take it while you can."

"Ahem, my sons Guangtian and Guangfu still have to go to school, where would we get that kind of money? Guangqi has a new girlfriend in the Northwest, and they're probably getting married soon." Liu Haizhong shook his head without hesitation.

Xu Damao couldn't make up his mind, so he told Liu Lan about it when he got home.

"Wife, what should we do?"

“Of course we’ll listen to Brother Aiguo. It’s just a little over two hundred yuan. We’ve saved up quite a bit of money over the years.” Liu Lan went into the room and took out a wad of banknotes from the drawer.

Xu Damao nodded: "Okay, I'll go to the neighborhood office with my brother Aiguo tomorrow to complete the formalities."

That's just how Xu Damao is. Despite his eccentric and sarcastic demeanor, he can make wise choices at crucial moments.

In the original novel, although Xu Damao's betrayal of the Lou family was immoral, it was the best choice. Later, when the steel mill went bankrupt, he even jumped ship in time to start a business.

It was just bad luck.

Li Aiguo is also thinking of buying another public housing unit and converting it to private ownership.

With this, the Li family now has three houses, enough to house even two more children.

Li Aiguo thought it would be troublesome, but he didn't expect to actually encounter it. The homeowner even took the initiative to come to his door.

"Aiguo, do you want a house?" Chen Dafang from the front yard knocked on the door early the next morning.

(End of this chapter)