The train driver in the courtyard

"This trip will probably take more than a month?"

"Well, according to the regulations on the Isle of Man, this special tournament requires a week of training, and the official competition is probably scheduled for January next year."

In the warm house, Chen Xueru packed her luggage while talking to Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo looked up at the calendar hanging on the wall and calculated the time.

"Then we might not make it in time for the Spring Festival." Chen Xueru's face visibly dimmed.

The two are busy with work all year round, and Ms. Chen had already planned to go duck boating in the park during the Spring Festival, and then take a stroll in the park when she had time.

However, before Li Aiguo could speak, Chen Xueru cheered up again.

"Don't worry about things at home. There's Aunt Liu, He Yushui, and Zhang Gangzhu in the compound. Your sister-in-law and second sister-in-law also come over often."

"Mm." Li Aiguo understood her personality and didn't say anything more.

Besides, we're leaving tomorrow, so we should take care of the things that need to be done.

The night grew lively.

Inside the next room.

Liu Lan tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and nudged Xu Damao with her elbow.

"Da Mao, the commotion next door is so loud, shall we join in and cause some trouble too?"

Xu Damao yawned, opened his eyes, and pointed to the bruises on his face: "Wife, look at me like this, how can I cause trouble?"

Liu Lan glanced at him, said nothing, and suddenly kicked him to the ground.

Xu Damao clutched his buttocks, feeling a tightness in his chest.

I can't live this day!
Once he becomes the team leader, the first thing he'll do is move houses, the farther away from Li Aiguo's country the better. Who can stand this constant moving?
The next day was the day of departure. Early in the morning, Li Aiguo carried an enamel basin, a toothbrush, and toothpaste to the sink to wash his face.

When the second uncle saw Li Aiguo coming over, he quickly stood up and asked, "Aiguo, are you going abroad today?"

"Yes, Second Uncle, take the train first, then transfer to a plane."

"Patriotism, well done!" Uncle Er gave a thumbs up.

The residents in the compound had all gotten up and were greeting each other.

"Go for it, patriotism!"

"Yeah, smash the notebook!"

Li Aiguo smiled and replied, "Thank you everyone, thank you everyone."

People in the courtyard gathered around to see what was new, some with envy in their eyes, and others genuinely happy for him.

Xu Damao turned his head and saw Yi Zhonghai standing silently to the side with a stern face. His eyes darted around, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Uncle, my patriotic brother is going to win glory for the country. Aren't you going to say something auspicious?"

Yi Zhonghai had originally intended to slip away quietly, but after being shouted at like that, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward: "Comrade Li Aiguo, I wish you... a resounding victory..."

He couldn't continue speaking halfway through his sentence.

It's really frustrating.

He suddenly clutched his chest and said, "Ouch, I feel a little unwell, I'll head back now."

Yi Zhonghai turned around and slunk away, and everyone burst into laughter, filling the air with a cheerful atmosphere.

Li Aiguo ate breakfast and arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot with his luggage at eight o'clock.

Leaders from ministries, locomotive depots, and even sports departments all came to see him off.

Li Aiguo was initially taken aback, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that motorsports are indeed a sporting event, and he understood.

"Comrade Li Aiguo, this competition is of great significance. I hope you will perform brilliantly on the track and win glory for the country," the ministry leader said, shaking Li Aiguo's hand.

"Please rest assured, leader!"

Seeing that the train was about to depart, Li Aiguo waved and said, "Everyone, get on the train."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh. Eating like crazy, eating like crazy," the train whistled twice and roared away from the Qianmen locomotive depot.

Upon arriving in the port city, we took a flight to the Isle of Man. Thanks to everything being arranged, the journey went smoothly.

The Isle of Man was already quite famous at that time, with an airport built before World War II and regular passenger flights.

On Monday morning, as soon as the Red Star team's plane landed, Mr. Johnson, the person in charge of the special event, was waiting at the airport with several staff members.

“Welcome to the Isle of Man, gentlemen.” Mr. Johnson was extremely enthusiastic, which made Old Cat a little wary.

Team leader Zhao, knowing Lao Mao's identity, explained, "Mr. Johnson's family is now the largest distributor of Red Star scooters in London, and they need to get a motorcycle quota from Hextech every year. Do you understand?"

Old Cat glanced at Li Aiguo.

No wonder the farmer didn't transfer his students directly to the weather station. It seems that Li Aiguo's role at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is far more than that of a full-time meteorologist.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Mr. Johnson, Li Aiguo prepared to take a vehicle to the event center, at which point another passenger plane landed.

This is a Gulfstream I aircraft, one of the few private planes of its time. It was newly manufactured and reportedly very expensive to fly once.

People at the airport stopped to watch.

The airplane door opened, and several people with notebooks walked in. The one in the lead looked slightly taken aback when he saw Li Aiguo and his group.

"People from the Red Star Motorcade?" Soichiro instantly recognized the people's identities from their clothing.

"Sōichirō, don't cause trouble, the competition is the most important thing." The team leader who was accompanying them was startled when he saw Sōichirō's appearance and immediately tried to stop him.

This time, Bentian Company has made thorough preparations in order to win.

They not only used their connections with the old guard, but also chartered a private plane.

Soichiro is a top-notch driver, but he has a bad temper. He once crippled someone in the team simply because the other party didn't notice him, the team leader, in time and let him pass.

If something goes wrong, it would be a case of losing more than you gain.

"Don't worry, I won't delay the chairman's important business. I just want to teach them a small lesson so they remember their past fears."

The team leader tried to stop them, but it was too late. Soichiro then gave a wink to one of the team members next to him: "Kurokawa-kun, it's up to you now."

"Hai!"

Kurokawa nodded and walked straight up to the Red Star team members: "You're from the Red Star team, right? Which one of you is the captain?"

Li Aiguo stepped out of the convoy and looked Kurokawa up and down.

This man was very strong and didn't look like a race car driver; he looked more like a boxer.

Kurokawa extended his hand, feigning enthusiasm, and said, "Although we are rivals, this is our first meeting. Shouldn't we shake hands? Isn't that the understanding you Easterners should show?"

Seeing this, the team leader of the notebook secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Kurokawa's grip was particularly strong, almost like an iron clamp, and he usually liked to play pranks on those who didn't know the situation.

But this is good, it lets him vent his anger and teaches the Red Star team a lesson.

Li Aiguo seemed oblivious to everything and smiled as he extended his hand.

The moment Kurokawa's fingertips touched Li Aiguo's hand, he immediately gripped it like an iron clamp.

He was used to using this brute force to make his opponents intimidated, waiting to see Li Aiguo wince in pain.

But the next second, Kurokawa's smug expression froze.

Li Aiguo simply pulled it back lightly.

The force wasn't as forceful as Soichiro's, but it was heavy, like pressing down on a piece of iron, drilling into Kurokawa's bones.

"Well!"

Kurokawa groaned, sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

He tried to break free, but his hand felt like it was welded to Li Aiguo's palm. The more he struggled, the heavier the force became, his knuckles cracked, and the pain made his teeth chatter.

The team leader, who had just begun to smile, suddenly widened his eyes.

The members of the Red Star team were secretly suppressing their laughter. This little notebook was really asking for trouble by trying to outmuscle Li Aiguo.

"Sir, Kurokawa was just greeting you." The team leader, worried that something might go wrong, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"I'm greeting them too." Li Aiguo's smile didn't fade, but his hand didn't loosen as he calmly looked at Kurokawa.

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his wrist, and Kurokawa felt the force in his hand suddenly dissipate. His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, looking as pathetic as could be.

The team leader of the team immediately complained to the race representatives: "Red Star Team maliciously attacked our team members, please disqualify them from the race."

Johnson was taken aback by the audacity of this person. He paused for a moment before speaking, "Sir, I saw it clearly. The two were holding hands. This is a friendly exchange. How can it be called an attack?"

Upon hearing this, the team leader, nicknamed "Little Notebook," was immediately speechless.

"gone."

Li Aiguo didn't even glance at Kurokawa on the ground, and turned to walk towards the minibus.

After they left, Soichiro saw Kurokawa still sitting on the ground and said coldly, "Useless thing, can't even handle a guy from the East!"

"Captain, my hand... my hand is broken!" Kurokawa said, holding up his swollen hand with a mournful face.

Soichiro felt a wave of dizziness and nearly fainted from anger.

Originally intending to teach the other party a lesson, they not only failed to succeed but also lost an excellent race car driver.

Fortunately, Kurokawa's driving skills weren't top-notch in the team, otherwise, things would have been much more complicated.

"Get lost!" Soichiro kicked Kurokawa and walked away without looking back.

The team leader of the small notebook didn't dare to say anything more.

After all, Soichiro is about to become the chairman's son-in-law.

The remaining members of the small team all looked grim. After hesitating for a moment, they helped Kurokawa into the car.

Upon arrival at the accommodation, the event organizers sent someone to take Kurokawa to the island's hospital.

Li Aiguo was unaware of these circumstances and was staring blankly out the window at the scenery. It must be said that the scenery of the Isle of Man was exceptionally beautiful.

“Patriotism, there are other ways to resolve the conflict that just happened. There’s no need to confront them head-on,” Team Leader Zhao said after thinking for a while.

“Old Zhao, I know, but don’t you feel relieved?” Li Aiguo said.

"But."

Li Aiguo interrupted Team Leader Zhao: "Old Zhao, we can be polite and civilized with people, but we don't need to be so courteous to those beasts."

Having come to this era and personally experienced some of the things from the past, Li Aiguo can only say that some people cannot be called human.

There's absolutely no need to be polite to people like that.

Before Director Zhao could say anything more, Old Cat spoke up: "Old Zhao, you're considering this issue from the perspective of its impact, but have you thought about whether constantly giving in might affect morale?"

Director Zhao turned to look at the team members. They were still talking about Xiaoben kneeling down, and they were all very happy.

He suddenly realized that he might have misunderstood the captain.

The Red Star team was accommodated in a hotel next to the race center.

After putting down their luggage, Li Aiguo didn't delay and immediately led his team to the race center, where they completed the registration procedures under Johnson's guidance. "Your race car has been transported to the maintenance center, where you can modify and maintain it."

"We can get on the track this afternoon to practice our running line and get used to the timing of our entry into corners."

"But I must remind you that the Isle of Man circuit has many high-speed blind corners and long straights, with a relatively long mileage. In the event of an accident, the track's run-off area is limited, and there is a time lag in emergency response, making it difficult to arrive immediately."

"Thank you for reminding."

After thanking Mr. Johnson, Li Aiguo led his team to the maintenance center, where more than a dozen Red Star Double R motorcycles were already parked.

Li Aiguo did not rush to have the team members train, but instead led the repairmen to conduct a comprehensive inspection and adjustment of the motorcycles.

It wasn't until 2 p.m., after all the vehicles had been tested, that Li Aiguo took the lead and mounted his motorcycle, guiding his team through a short-distance track break-in session, focusing on predicting braking points and accelerating out of corners.

Li Aiguo, along with five official players and two substitutes, formed a small group of seven, which quickly attracted a lot of attention.

This isn't the official racing season, but quite a few racers are still training here.

"Is this the Red Star Motorcade?"

"Of course, didn't you see the red five-pointed star on every motorcycle?"

"I heard that one of the team members from the Little Notebook team had his hand ruined when he shook hands with the captain of the Red Star team."

"Wow, this guy is amazing."

Outside the track, Old Cat heard this, glanced at Team Leader Zhao, and said, "Old Zhao, what do you think? In a place like this, it's all about skill."

Team leader Zhao nodded silently.

The training lasted all afternoon and didn't end until evening.

Back at their lodgings, Li Aiguo asked each team member to report on their training experience that day, and then, based on the collected data, he made further adjustments to the Red Star Double R system.

In the days that followed, the team spent all their time on the track doing acclimatization training.

The overall feel of the track was not much different from the test track at the steel mill. What surprised Li Aiguo the most was the hospital attached to the event.

They even have a dedicated department for motorsports medicine.

The department has specialized treatment plans for common racing injuries such as closed rib fractures, blunt sternal contusions, transverse process fractures of the lumbar vertebrae, rotator cuff injuries, corneal abrasions, and noise-induced hearing loss.

If the Red Star Racing Team wants to become more professional in the future, it needs to learn from others in terms of sports protection and post-race rehabilitation.

During his daily rest time, Li Aiguo would go to the hospital and chat with a doctor named Jonathan.

Despite working at this small hospital, Jonathan is a graduate of Oxford University's medical school and comes from a wealthy family that owns several steel mills in Nottingham.

He chose to study medicine purely out of interest.

This guy is also a racing enthusiast, but his talent in racing is far less than his talent in medicine, which is why he came to this hospital.

"Li, I've tried that blood-activating plaster you mentioned last time, and it really works." Jonathan also had a good impression of Li Aiguo; this young man seemed to know a thing or two about everything.

As they were talking, a nurse knocked on the door and came in: "Dr. Jonathan, that little notebook racer has been discharged from the hospital."

Jonathan's face darkened: "He has a comminuted metacarpal fracture with soft tissue contusion. I repeatedly instructed him to stay in the hospital for observation for a week, to undergo fracture reduction and fixation, and to receive anti-inflammatory treatment. How can he be discharged early?"

The nurse looked troubled: "It was the people from the Bentian team who insisted on doing the paperwork; we couldn't stop them."

Jonathan shook his head in anger: "These guys don't care about a driver's career at all!"

If metacarpal fractures are not treated properly, they can easily lead to malunion and tendon adhesions, subsequently causing wrist joint dysfunction. Forget racing, even everyday grip strength will be affected, effectively ending one's racing career.

He realized Li Aiguo was nearby, and quickly suppressed his anger, muttering casually, "I really don't know who hurt him so badly."

Li Aiguo: "."

As it was getting late, he was about to get up and say goodbye when the hospital's emergency alarm suddenly went off in a piercing blare.

Jonathan's expression changed drastically: "Oh no, a driver has been in a serious accident!"

Jonathan, no longer caring about Li Aiguo, ran out of the office.

Li Aiguo has been in the Isle of Man for a while and is familiar with the emergency medical situation there.

Radios were not yet widespread, let alone mobile phones.

Therefore, the Isle of Man race organizers set up a dedicated telephone line near the track.

If someone is found to have had an accident, people nearby can use a dedicated phone line to contact the hospital and dispatch an ambulance.

Li Aiguo followed him to the emergency room.

The operator had just hung up the phone when Jonathan came in and said nervously, "It's the third section of Line 2. A driver has crashed into the guardrail, and the situation seems very serious."

“Line 2, Section 3 is more than 20 kilometers away from here!” Jonathan’s face instantly turned ugly.

Racing cars often exceed 240 kilometers per hour on the track. At such high speeds, even with helmets and racing suits, collisions can easily cause multiple injuries.

Even worse, ambulances cannot go directly onto the track; they have to take a detour that takes at least forty minutes.

The golden time for emergency treatment of trauma patients is only ten minutes. Once hemorrhagic shock occurs, even a miracle cannot save them.

"Quickly prepare the first aid equipment! Bring tourniquets, sterile gauze, and fracture fixation splints!" Jonathan ran towards the ambulance before he finished speaking.

Li Aiguo stopped him abruptly: "The ambulance is too slow, come with me!"

“Li, this is a matter of life and death, this is no joke.” Jonathan couldn’t understand what Li Aiguo meant.

Li Aiguo had already run to the side, mounted his Red Star Double R, and patted the back seat: "Get on!"

“That’s right, we can use a motorcycle!” Jonathan’s eyes lit up. He picked up the first-aid kit and quickly got on the back seat.

Li Aiguo handed him a safety helmet. After Jonathan put it on, he started the motorcycle, put it in first gear, and twisted the throttle to the floor.

The engine of the Red Star Double R roared, and with a perfect launch, it sped away like an arrow.

It wasn't until the Red Star Double R left that the staff in the ambulance realized what had happened.

At this moment, the hospital director was also alarmed. When he came out of the hospital and saw the ambulance still parked there, he was a little confused: "Why didn't you leave?"

"Dr. Jonathan was taken away on a motorcycle," the staff member said, pointing into the distance.

The hospital director frowned slightly as he listened to the receding sounds of the motorcycle: "Even with a motorcycle, it would be difficult to get there in time, wouldn't it?"

"Boom boom boom!"

The roar of the Red Star Twin R engines echoed over the island.

At this moment, race car drivers from various teams are training on the track.

Whoosh!
The racer saw a motorcycle overtake him without any regard for his safety and immediately wanted to twist the throttle and rush up to teach his opponent a lesson.

And the other party also had a passenger on board. Did they really think of the racing motorcycle as a taxi?

but.

He found that the distance between him and the other person seemed to be growing further and further apart.

"Damn, which racing team's driver is that? He's too fierce! He's even drifting around corners with a passenger on board?!"

Li Aiguo was not paying attention to his speed at that moment. As he drove out of the small bend and onto the straight, the speedometer needle began to rise wildly.

120!

180!

200!

240!

In just a few minutes, the car reached a terrifying speed of 240 km/h.

Hearing the increasingly shrill noise coming from behind, the rider in front couldn't help but slow down and move aside.

It's not an official competition yet, why risk your life like that?

wrong.

Why is the person sitting in the back seat carrying a hospital case?
Something must have happened up ahead.

The racers abandoned their training altogether and sped off to catch up.

At that moment, near a bend in Section 3 of Line 2, a racing motorcycle crashed through the fence and onto the adjacent hillside, shattering into a pile of messy fragments.

Augusta team captain Higgs was crouching on the ground, looking nervously at his teammate Lehmann.

This three-time champion racer, hailed as the youngest driver in the Isle of Man TT, was unconscious after the high-speed collision.

Although the helmet saved him from fatal injury, his chest was pierced by the broken guardrail and he was bleeding profusely.

Higgs, who had received some medical training, was powerless to do anything about the situation.

"Lyman, hang in there, the ambulance will be here soon."

Higgs didn’t even believe it himself as he spoke, but he could only do his best to keep Lyman going.

He will also fight alongside Lehmann to win the next championship.

Just then, the roar of a motorcycle came from behind.

Before Higgs could even stand up, a Red Star Double R sped up from a distance and stopped beside him.

Li Aiguo parked his motorcycle, raised his wrist to check the time, and saw that it had been exactly six minutes. This time, he had increased his speed a bit.

Jonathan, being a professional doctor, immediately checked Lyman's injuries after getting off the motorcycle and then got to work with his medical kit.

At this moment, the drivers behind also caught up, and their expressions changed slightly when they saw the scene.

"It's Lyman, he seems to be seriously injured."

"Luckily, the motorcycle was fast. If we had waited for the ambulance, Lyman would probably be beyond saving."

"You know what, that motorcycle with the red five-pointed star logo is going way too fast."

Thirty minutes later, the ambulance finally arrived.

The doctors and nurses helped Jonathan lift Lyman into the ambulance, and the ambulance captain, Higgs, was finally relieved.

He walked over, took off his gloves, and extended his hand to Li Aiguo: "Friend from the East, thank you for saving my friend."

"Hello, my name is Li Aiguo, and I am the captain of the Red Star Racing Team."

"My name is Higgs, the team captain of the Augusta team."

Their two hands clasped tightly together.

Jonathan, who was about to get into the ambulance, suddenly stopped and looked at Li Aiguo, saying, "Aiguo, I think your idea of ​​using a motorcycle as an ambulance is pretty good."

How could it not be good? This is a unique practice of the Isle of Man TT tournament in later generations.

Li Aiguo nodded to him.

(End of this chapter)