The train driver in the courtyard

At the entrance of the Li family's house.

Li Aiguo stared blankly at Chen Dafang outside the door, momentarily stunned: "Uncle Chen, what do you mean?"

Chen Dafang rubbed his hands together and said with an honest expression, "Here's the thing, I heard Da Mao mention that you're going to buy a house. I'm moving out in a couple of days, so what do you think of my house?"

Li Aiguo has been busy with the armed helicopter project lately and was unaware of what was happening in the compound. He had to ask a few questions to find out what was going on.

Now, with the construction of third-line factories across the country requiring skilled workers, Chen Dafang and his son both signed up and were hired by a factory in the southwest.

Chen Dafang is a level six fitter. Once he gets to the southwest, he will probably be promoted to a cadre position instead of a worker.

Early workers who were transferred there either received a promotion or became managers. After two years, they would no longer receive this benefit.

Chen Dafang has caught a good opportunity.

Li Aiguo smiled and said, "Uncle Chen, congratulations! If you need to buy a train ticket, don't hesitate to ask. We've been neighbors for so many years. Now that you're in the south, come back and visit often when you have the chance."

These words were pleasant to hear, and Chen Dafang smiled and said, "I'm just responding to the call from higher-ups. The train tickets were arranged by the factory. As for the house, what do you think?"

Li Aiguo pondered for a moment and said, "Your house has two rooms. According to our market price, how about I give you two hundred yuan?"

Chen Dafang's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he quickly nodded: "Sure, why not?"

This house is public housing. If we don't deal with it now, they'll leave with nothing once they move out.

Now that I've suddenly received two hundred yuan, why wouldn't I be willing?

Since Chen Dafang needs two more days to move, Li Aiguo plans to take Chen Dafang to complete the formalities tomorrow, and also help Xu Damao and Aunt Liu's houses be converted into private residences.

After breakfast.

Li Aiguo rode his motorcycle toward the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

In order to manufacture supercars, the First Ministry of Machine Building summoned several chief engineers from the Second Automobile Works to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop, and he had to rush over there as well.

Not long after Li Aiguo left, Yi Zhonghai, stroding along and humming a tune, knocked on the door of the deaf old lady's house.

The deaf old lady had just finished eating cornmeal porridge and was leaning back in her chair, burping.

Seeing him come in, he grunted, "You good-for-nothing!"

Yi Zhonghai blushed slightly and stepped forward, smiling awkwardly, "Grandma, you've finished eating."

The deaf old lady didn't even lift her eyelids: "Okay, put away the bowls and chopsticks. Next time, remember to use refined white flour to cook porridge and add two eggs."

Yi Zhonghai was so frustrated he almost suffocated.

He was hoping to get some money from the deaf old lady to make up for the deficit he had incurred with the Jia family.

Unexpectedly, the deaf old lady was several levels above him, dangling a carrot in front of him with a big stick, leaving him anxiously waiting but unable to reach it.

The key point is that Yi Zhonghai still has to rely on the deaf old lady, so he could only grit his teeth and nod.

He picked up his bowl and chopsticks to leave, but then suddenly remembered something and stopped.

“Grandma, haven’t you been looking for a house with Shazhu? The Chen family in the front yard is leaving Beijing, and their house will be available soon. Those two rooms are much better than Yanbu’s.”

Sha Zhu's house was sold to the Nan Yi family. If you want to come out of the fence, you absolutely need a house.

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman, who had been pretending to be dead, immediately perked up, her eyes shining: "Really?"

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai was extremely frustrated.

The old woman only had eyes for one person: her beloved grandson, Shazhu.

“It’s true, I heard it from my third uncle.”

"Alright, alright, bring me your cane. I want to go to the Chen family in person." The deaf old lady took the cane from Yi Zhonghai, pushed open the door, and went out of the house.

The deaf old lady hadn't appeared in the compound for a long time, and the residents were all a little stunned when they saw her.

"Young people these days are getting more and more unruly; they don't even know how to greet people." The deaf old lady, with a gloomy face, leaned on her cane and knocked shakily on the Chen family's door.

Seeing that it was Chen Dafang who opened the door, the deaf old lady said directly, "Young man Chen, I heard that you are going to vacate this house. I happen to need it. We are neighbors in the compound, so I won't shortchange you. Here's ten yuan. How about you transfer these two rooms to this old woman?"

Chen Dafang was completely baffled, but upon hearing this, he understood the deaf old lady's purpose. He thought to himself, "Ten yuan, you're really generous."

He scratched his head and smiled, "Grandma, I've already reserved this house for someone else. I'm so sorry."

Chen Dafang knew that the deaf old lady was a difficult person to deal with. After finishing his sentence, he left without waiting for her to speak, and then locked the door and left, making an excuse that he needed to handle the formalities for going to the south.

Only the deaf old woman stood bewildered in the wind.

She has been staying at home for the past two years.

After finally managing to get involved, this is the result?

Did she mishear?

Must be!
The deaf old lady turned to look at Yi Zhonghai, who smiled awkwardly and said, "Grandma, Chen Dafang is just being unreasonable. Please don't take it to heart."

That's absolutely right!
The deaf old woman nearly fainted, muttering under her breath, "Young people these days have no respect for the elderly or care for the young."

Worried that the deaf old lady might get sick from the anger, Yi Zhonghai quickly advised, "Grandma, this house isn't suitable, let's find another one."

"It's easier said than done. Houses in Beijing are becoming increasingly scarce every day."

The deaf old lady stopped mid-sentence, squinted her eyes, and said, "Old Yi, who do you think Chen Dafang reserved the house for?"

Yi Zhonghai counted on his fingers and said, "This house must cost at least two hundred yuan. The only one in our compound who could probably afford it is Li Aiguo."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Zhonghai cursed, "This kid has been causing trouble since he got back; he's a complete troublemaker!"

The deaf old woman said quietly, "He's a troublemaker, so what are we?"

Yi Zhonghai: "."

A moment later, Yi Zhonghai helped the deaf old lady back into the house and was still trying to persuade her to let the matter go.

"We can't let this go. If it were someone else, I would have tolerated it, but Li Aiguo is becoming more and more outrageous."

The deaf old lady sat down, squinted her eyes, and asked, "Old Yi, is Chen Dafang from your steel rolling mill?"

"Yes, he works in the same workshop as me, and the steel mill rented that house for him."

Halfway through his sentence, Yi Zhonghai seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes lit up instantly.

"Grandma, what do you want?"

"It's unspeakable, unspeakable! This is a great opportunity to teach that bastard Li Aiguo a lesson!" The deaf old lady interrupted Yi Zhonghai without hesitation.

Then he waved to Yi Zhonghai, and after Yi Zhonghai leaned in, he whispered something to him.

Yi Zhonghai nodded repeatedly as he listened, thinking, "The old fox is indeed shrewd."

"Grandma, don't worry, I will definitely take care of this for you. I'll go find Director Yang now."

Yi Zhonghai pushed open the door and stepped out of the house, feeling the bright and sunny weather outside.

If this is handled well, it will allow me to establish a connection with Director Yang.

Sha Zhu got those two rooms, and those rooms now belonged to Yi Zhonghai.

When Qin Huairu's son, her godson, grows up, he will be ready to get married.

Win-win.

Yi Zhonghai won twice.

******
Li Aiguo was unaware that the house he hadn't even acquired yet was being targeted.

At that moment, he was talking to Chen Zunan, the chief engineer of the Second Automobile Works, about sports cars.

Because of his contributions in the development of the large off-road vehicle and his work in manufacturing special vehicles, Chen Zunan is now a top-notch automotive expert in China. He was specially appointed as the chief engineer of the Second Automobile Works, and he has gained both honor and status.

Looking at the young man in front of him, Chen Zunan felt a moment of disorientation.

He actually had some reservations when the ministry transferred him from Jichun Automobile Factory to the locomotive depot to do research.

What does a train driver know about building cars?

Surprisingly, they actually accomplished something remarkable.

Therefore, when Chen Zunan heard that the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop was planning to manufacture sports cars, he went directly to the ministry and asked to represent the Second Automobile Works in the project.

"Patriotism, how should we design our sports cars?" Chen Zunan flipped through several photos.

The photos were sent back by comrades overseas. They showed some of the most advanced sports cars of that era: a Ferrari 250, a Jeep ET, and a Rolls-Royce Phantom II.

That's right, sports cars already existed in this era.

Of course, many sports cars from that era were very different from those of later generations, and were more like ordinary sports sedans.

Modern supercars are true luxury items; they are sports cars for the racetrack.

With the idea of ​​creating the best, Li Aiguo began to ponder whether it should be the Bugatti Veyron or the Pagani Zonda.

Most of the Pagani Zonda's parts are handcrafted, and it uses a twin-turbo V12 engine.

It is it.

"Should we use an eight-cylinder or a twelve-cylinder?"

"Let's just go for it from the start and use Double 12, just copy it directly. No, no, we're developing it ourselves." Li Aiguo calculated that Pagani wouldn't appear for at least several decades, so we could indeed say we developed it ourselves.

Li Aiguo shared his thoughts, and Chen Zunan looked puzzled after listening: "Comrade Aiguo, you are a car manufacturing expert. Putting aside the technical issues for now, how can you drive a car with such a low chassis? You can't just lift it up, can you?"

“Hey, Old Chen, you really guessed right. Supercars aren’t really meant to be driven,” Li Aiguo replied.

In later generations, many supercars never reached 10,000 kilometers in several years. Why? Because they were always transported in transport vehicles.

All those rich young men need to do is sit there looking good, take a few photos, and show off.

Chen Zunan found this approach difficult to understand, but as a car designer, he did agree with researching sports cars that could reach the ultimate speed.

The research target had been identified, but before starting, Li Aiguo still gave a report as usual.

"Aiguo is here, please have a seat." When Section Chief Xing saw Li Aiguo enter the office, he quickly stood up to invite him to sit down and offered him a cigarette.

"What's wrong? Are you having some trouble?"

Li Aiguo took the cigarette, lit it, and said, "No, that's not the case. It's just that I have some ideas about Hextech's order for sports cars, and I've come to report to you, Section Chief."

Hearing this, Section Chief Xing was very pleased. Li Aiguo always sought his opinion, which showed that he, as the leader, and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot cared about him. "Go ahead, what are your thoughts?"

"Factory manager, I've already discussed the general design with General Manager Chen. However, most of this car will need to be handcrafted, which will require a lot of skilled workers." Li Aiguo's real purpose in coming here was to ask for manpower.

"Handmade?" Section Chief Xing was stunned.

"Of course, this only applies to the outer shell and some parts. The engine, the central shaft, and the like still require high-precision machine tools to complete. Also, this pure handcrafting is not haphazard; it adheres to strict standards," Li Aiguo explained.

Section Chief Xing nodded:

"I don't know anything about car manufacturing, but wouldn't it take a lot of time to build one of these cars? Is it worth it?"

Section Chief Xing is starting to calculate the economic benefits.

“Industrial products have their prices, and handmade products have theirs. As long as we raise our prices, our profits will be much higher than those of ordinary cars. Besides, people from Xiao Ou’s family believe that these handmade products are more prestigious,” Li Aiguo replied.

"You know more about the product than I do, so we'll do it your way."

That's just how Section Chief Xing is; when he encounters something he doesn't understand, he'll never pretend to know and give unsolicited advice.

Section Chief Xing took a sip of hot water and asked again, "What are the specifications of your vehicle?"

"The current configuration is roughly a dual V12 engine, 800 horsepower." Li Aiguo was unsure whether the technology of this era could perfectly replicate the products of later generations, so he chose a conservative approach.

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Xing's eyes widened, and he asked, "How confident are you that you can manufacture such a powerful horsepower?"

"That's why I'm here to report. The design is still in the theoretical stage. Whether it can be built is another matter." Li Aiguo certainly wouldn't make any guarantees.

"Okay, do your best to build it. Just ask the materials department for any equipment you need. Be bold and don't be afraid of making mistakes. Even if you don't manage to build it, that's the department's problem."

Section Chief Xing wasn't entirely confident either, as this was a twin V12 engine, comparable to an airplane engine.

When our own people are charging ahead, we, as section leaders, must stand up for them.

If you only think about sharing the spoils and don't want to take responsibility, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"Since you've said so, Section Chief, I'll start organizing the workers to begin construction immediately." Li Aiguo finished his cigarette, stood up, and prepared to leave.

Section Chief Xing called him back again.

"I heard you're planning to buy another house. Do you need any renovations done? We can ask the construction team to help you with that."

As someone within the organization, Li Aiguo reported his intention to buy a house after arriving this morning.

"This isn't urgent for now; it's for the children. We can get it sorted out later."

"Well, just let me know when the time comes, and also," Section Chief Xing said, giving Li Aiguo a wink.

Li Aiguo turned around and closed the door before continuing, "I just received a notification from the transportation department that the batch of materials will be delivered in a few days, so you need to hurry."

Section Chief Xing didn't know what those materials were, but since it was Junwei's comrade who assigned the task, he had to pay close attention.

"Section Chief, don't worry, we won't slack off on this task." Li Aiguo didn't want to say more.

"I trust you to handle things, but please be careful not to overwork yourself. You can delegate any tasks to your subordinates." Section Chief Xing knew, of course, that the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's workshop was currently very busy, and he gave this special instruction.

"Thank you for your concern, Section Chief. By the way, Section Chief, do we have any cooperative relationship with the lighting factory?" Li Aiguo suddenly remembered the headlights of the sports car. Whether a car is good-looking or not, the first thing to look at is whether the headlights are bright enough.

Li Aiguo decided to install two large and bright headlights on the sports car.

“Some of the special lamps in our section are supplied by the Beijing Electric Light Factory, and they can also be customized. You can tell the materials department your idea later.”

Hearing this name, Li Aiguo felt a little relieved.

Although the Beijing Electric Light Factory was not the largest lighting factory, it had the strongest research and development capabilities. For example, the self-ballasted mercury fluorescent lamps used in the square were made by this factory.

Li Aiguo returned to his studio and began manufacturing sports cars.

He will complete the design work first, and once the personnel are in place, construction can begin.

The design of sports cars must be avant-garde, as bizarre as possible, as eye-catching as possible, that's what those European and American family heirs love.

Upon seeing the design drawings, Chen Zunan could only shake his head repeatedly: "Is this thing a car? Is it a car?"

However, Chen Zunan didn't care. As long as the horsepower was high enough, the speed was fast enough, and it could make money, that was fine.

Selling one car is equivalent to exporting several trainloads of crops; only a fool wouldn't do that.

As noon approached, Li Aiguo was considering whether to transfer Chen Baiya from the steel rolling mill to lend a hand when he received a call from this kid.

"Master, Deputy Director Li from the steel rolling mill would like to invite you to dinner. It's a working meal, and it will be held in the small canteen of our steel rolling mill."

Since the steel rolling mill took on many projects from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, the relationship between the two companies has become increasingly close.

Deputy Factory Director Li is a shrewd person; he often comes here to cultivate relationships.

If the water is clear, there will be no fish.

Since some of the parts needed for the sports car would probably have to be made at the steel rolling mill, Li Aiguo rode his mountain bike to the steel rolling mill.

The place for the dinner was a small canteen.

Li Aiguo was very interested in this place where many famous scenes had taken place, and looked around.

It's really just like any other cafeteria.

A sturdy cement stove was set up in the corner, with a large, dark iron pot on it. On the counter were a cutting board and a large spatula that looked like an entrenching tool. Next to it was a gourd-made water ladle. On the wall was a red banner that read, "Go all out, increase production and save money."

"Oh, Aiguo, you're here early! I was delayed by some factory business, please don't mind." As I was looking around, Deputy Factory Director Li arrived with another leader, the two of them carrying a wooden box.

"Uncle Li, what are you saying? We're comrades fighting side by side now, what's this about being used to or not used to?" Li Aiguo smiled and shook hands with him.

"Yes, yes, yes, our two families are comrades-in-arms, let's work together and fight together!"

Deputy Factory Director Li led Li Aiguo into the next room, where a square table was set up, and everyone sat around it.

Deputy Factory Director Li turned to Liu Lan beside him and instructed, "Go and inform Nan Yi that the dishes can be served now."

Not long after Liu Lan left, Nan Yi, along with Ma Hua and Fatty, filed in carrying dishes and a well-sealed bottle of Moutai liquor, which they quickly poured for everyone.

After a round of drinks, Deputy Factory Director Li stood up, took the wooden box from the leader in the same group, and handed it to Li Aiguo: "Aiguo, the organization and the comrades of the factory committee have discussed it and have something good to formally give to you."

Looking at the exquisite wooden box, Li Aiguo chuckled and joked, "Uncle, are you trying to make me make a mistake?"

Deputy Factory Director Li pointed to the box: "Now that I'm a leader in the steel rolling mill, I have to set an example. How can I do such dirty things that violate regulations and discipline!"

Li Aiguo felt that Deputy Factory Director Li couldn't possibly be unaware of these principles, so he simply opened the box.

Inside was a large red booklet, face up, with the words "appointment letter" on it.

Seeing the surprise on Li Aiguo's face, Deputy Factory Director Li smiled and explained, "Comrade Aiguo, you have made great contributions to our factory's technological innovation."

The renovation of the oil tanker workshop and the mass production of motorcycle parts—every single one of these projects owes its existence to your hard work and support.

The factory committee has decided to appoint you as a technical expert for our factory. Your benefits and treatment will be in full accordance with the standards of the factory's chief engineer, including salary grading, medical care, and housing.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted you to have a legitimate reason to come to the factory more often to guide production and help us improve our technical level."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo could no longer refuse. After all, the steel rolling mill and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot were two separate entities.
In the past, every time an expert team was sent to coordinate, there were always some procedural troubles, which also easily attracted gossip.

Now that I have this official position, it's definitely much easier to carry out my work.

"Vice Factory Director Li, then I thank the organization for its trust and you for your kind words!"

Seeing that Li Aiguo accepted the letter of appointment, Deputy Factory Director Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Currently, a large number of orders for the steel rolling mill come from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop. There are many factories like the steel rolling mill, and they can switch to other factories at any time.

A leader suggested sending some nice gifts, but Deputy Factory Director Li rejected the idea. Was he trying to get himself killed?
Finally, the idea of ​​hiring a special expert came up, as it was both compliant with regulations and could help build connections.

The ensuing banquet became lively.

Deputy Factory Director Li stood up, poured Li Aiguo a glass of wine, and handed it to him, saying, "Comrade Aiguo, I wish our two units an increasingly pleasant cooperation!"

Li Aiguo didn't follow Xu Damao's usual practice of taking turns drinking three cups and one cup at a time; he simply picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere became more lively.

Li Aiguo also shared his idea of ​​producing customized car parts, and Deputy Factory Director Li was overjoyed.

"Aiguo, you're our factory director's specially appointed expert. Just tell us what to do, and we'll do it!"

"Aiguo, you're now our factory's specially appointed technical expert, so you're in charge of this! You tell us how to do it, and we'll do it!"

Deputy Factory Director Li immediately turned to the production section chief beside him and said, "You must fully cooperate with Expert Li's work from now on. Provide him with manpower and equipment as needed, and make sure we win this project!"

"Yes, yes, yes, we will definitely cooperate fully with Expert Li!" The production section chief nodded repeatedly.

The banquet didn't end until after 1 p.m.

As Liu Lan watched Deputy Factory Director Li see Li Aiguo and Chen Baiya off, she felt something was amiss.

"Master Nan, have you noticed? Deputy Factory Director Li was much more enthusiastic towards Brother Aiguo today, completely different from before."

"The leader's decision has its reasons. We just need to do our jobs well and not speculate," Nan Yi said calmly as he called Ma Hua and Fatty over to clear the table.

Liu Lan clicked her tongue twice. Everyone's saying that Nan Yi is making progress, and it seems the rumors are true.

****
In the afternoon, Li Aiguo took half a day off and went back to the courtyard house with Chen Dafang to go to the street office to complete the transfer procedures.

Then Li Aiguo took out more money and bought out the three public housing units as private properties, and also helped Liu Da Niang's family and Xu Damao's family to do the same.

Back home, Chen Xueru looked at the newly issued documents and her eyes crinkled into crescents with excitement.

"From now on, this house will belong to us."

When Yi Zhonghai got off work and walked to the Li family's door, he heard laughter coming from inside and smiled sinisterly.

"Be happy, wait two days and you won't even be able to cry anymore."

Yi Zhonghai turned around and knocked on the door of the deaf old lady's house.

"Grandma, everything has been done exactly as you instructed."

"It seems that this young Yang hasn't forgotten his roots; he's been so agreeable this time." The deaf old lady nodded in satisfaction.

After Yi Zhonghai left, the door closed, and the room fell into darkness again.

"Silly Zhu, Grandma has prepared a house for you, just waiting for you to come back," the deaf old lady said, leaning against the bed.

(End of this chapter)