The train driver in the courtyard

These days.

Li Aiguo works regular hours, as do the researchers and experienced staff in the lab.

Manufacturing small airplanes doesn't require overtime, which allows everyone to get a good rest so they have more energy for work the next day.

There were no strict requirements for assembling older aircraft.

Anyone can use a wrench, but not on an airplane.

The assembly process has strict specifications, and even the number of turns a screw should be tightened has a clear quantitative standard.

Even the ambient temperature and air pressure parameters during assembly must be strictly followed in accordance with the assembly manual.

Aircraft assembly largely relies on manual operation, since power tools are ultimately not as dexterous as human hands.

Even in later generations, in those highly modernized aircraft factories, many precision parts still had to be assembled by hand.

The Railway Industrial University has now cultivated a group of college students who are both highly educated and possess practical skills, and a group of them can be transferred over to assist in the assembly work.

Zong Xianfeng was to oversee the assembly, while Li Aiguo took advantage of the time before the engine was built to start thinking about the development of the flight helmet.

The helmets used by Xiaomei's family in the Air Force are now made of fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin composite material.

San Dezi was using WWII surplus stock, with a leather exterior and wool lining.

John Bull's family was rather peculiar; they covered the cork shell with tarpaulin, so it was essentially just a wooden hat.

The Russians initially used the flight helmets from Sanders, but later developed a helmet with a metal frame and rubber seal, which was particularly sturdy, but also the heaviest.

After searching through various materials, Li Aiguo discovered that the only usable material available was engineering plastics, which were actually no worse than those from abroad.

However, compared to the flight helmets of later generations, it still falls short in some respects.

"Aiguo, we have a guest." Li Aiguo was in his study pondering material selection when Chen Xueru's voice came from outside the door.

When Li Aiguo walked out of his study and saw who it was, he was taken aback.

Zhang Wendian and Chief Engineer Liu from Lanzhou Petrochemical were the visitors.

Zhang Wendian lives in Nantongluo Lane and now works in the chemical laboratory of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. It's not surprising that he often visits my home.

But Chief Engineer Liu has been busy with the production of engineering plastics, and we usually only see him at the year-end conference. Why would he suddenly come to visit today?
"Patriotism, Lao Liu is here today to report good news! The 300,000-ton engineering plastics production line at Lanzhou Petrochemical has been successfully put into operation!" Zhang Wendian said first, explaining his purpose.

"Congratulations!" Li Aiguo was instantly excited and quickly invited the two into the house. Chen Xueru then served them hot tea.

“Patriotism, this is a souvenir of the successful commissioning of the production line.” Chief Engineer Liu took out a gold photo frame from his bag.

The frame is engraved with text and also features reliefs of pipes and spherical tanks, making it an exquisite piece of workmanship.

"Now our engineering plastics production capacity at Lanzhou Petrochemical has been fully increased, and we have already started selling them to external customers."

"how is the situation?"

"The US is more resistant, and it seems they are also researching engineering plastics. The Russians think it's too expensive, but the US and France are very interested and are currently in negotiations."

Chief Engineer Liu was beaming with joy.

As a veteran in the chemical industry, he has witnessed firsthand the process of China's chemical industry growing from nothing to something, from lagging behind to gradually catching up and even surpassing others. This sense of accomplishment is indescribable.

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo suddenly remembered.

It seems that DuPont, owned by Xiaomei, is developing a high-performance synthetic fiber, aramid fiber, which will be the main material for flight helmets in the future.

Let's just snatch it away.

Li Aiguo looked at Chief Engineer Liu and said, "Old Liu, I have a new idea. Let's go to the study and discuss it in detail."

"That's wonderful!"

Chief Engineer Liu is a research-oriented chemical engineer. Engineering plastics are now in mass production. The next step is to build more production lines, which can be left to others.

He was worrying about what project to start next, but now he's suddenly full of energy.

Chen Xueru was no longer surprised to see the three of them enter the study.

She couldn't understand most of the things Li Aiguo was working on, but she knew in her heart that they were all important matters.

To avoid disturbing their conversation, she specially sent the children to Aunt Liu's house next door and entrusted them to He Yushui's care, while she went back home to prepare dinner.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the discussion in the study reached its peak.

"Brother Wendian, I think the aramid fiber proposed by Aiguo is of great research value."

间位1313纤维的断裂强度约2.8-3.5GPa，对位1414纤维的强度为1.8-2.2GPa，都远超了涤纶和尼龙。

Most importantly, its density is only one-fifth that of steel wire, and it also has strong high-temperature resistance, capable of withstanding temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius for short periods.

Chief Engineer Liu analyzed Li Aiguo's proposal in detail, and his previously calm expression suddenly became excited.

"If this technology can be successfully developed, it can not only be used to make bulletproof vests and composite materials for fighter jets, but also to manufacture fireproof suits for firefighters. Its application prospects are too broad!"

Zhang Wendian joked with a smile, "Old Liu, what did I tell you before I came? As long as you meet Aiguo, you're sure to find a good project!"

Amidst laughter and conversation, the group quickly finalized a cooperation plan.

The research planning and core formula were provided by the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Studio, while Lanzhou Petrochemical took the lead in developing aramid fibers.

Li Aiguo raised his wrist to check the time; it was already nine o'clock at night. "Let's go eat first, and chat while we eat."

Chen Xueru had already heated the food in the pot and was sitting to the side sewing clothes.

Seeing the three of them come out, she quickly got up and served the dishes, and even took out a bottle of old wine.

"Xueru, I'm sorry to have bothered you today." Zhang Wendian felt a little embarrassed.

"Uncle Zhang, you're too kind." Chen Xueru poured wine for the group and then went back to sewing clothes.

Seeing this, Zhang Wendian couldn't help but feel envious of Li Aiguo.

As researchers, it is often difficult to balance family and career. Just like himself, he had several opportunities to get married when he was young, but in the end, he was too busy with work to be with his partner.

"Come on, let's raise our glasses together and wish our research project a complete success! Cheers!" Li Aiguo raised his glass and proposed.

"Cheers!" the other two responded in unison, raising their glasses to clink.

Chief Engineer Liu noticed that Li Aiguo only used the word "project" and immediately understood his intention.

While aramid fibers have fewer applications than engineering plastics, they are extremely useful in the military industry, and confidentiality must be maintained.

In those days, chief engineers and experts had a strong sense of secrecy, and it was rare for them to leave classified materials in the car.

Li Aiguo was drinking happily, while Yi Zhonghai was drinking the northwest wind and also having a good time.

Ever since Yi Zhonghai failed to be promoted to the eighth-grade worker, he has been keeping a low profile in the steel rolling mill, arriving at work earlier and leaving later than others.

Sure enough, after all the workers in the workshop had gone home, and even Qin Huairu had left, Yi Zhonghai finally came out of the steel rolling mill with his hands behind his back.

He had only taken a few steps when a person jumped out of the nearby grove and blocked Yi Zhonghai's way.

Yi Zhonghai was startled and took a few steps back before recognizing Jia Zhangshi.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi was thinner than before, her hair was messy, and she glared fiercely at Yi Zhonghai with her dead pig eyes.

"Sister-in-law Jia, is something wrong?" Yi Zhonghai asked in a low voice when he saw that something was wrong with her.

Jia Zhangshi's face was drawn long.

He spat and shouted in a shrill voice, "Old Yi! Now that little bitch Qin Huairu won't let me go back to the Jia family, you have to take responsibility for me!"

Yi Zhonghai naturally knew about this matter.

Ever since Jia Zhangshi divorced Jia Ba, she has been single-mindedly thinking about returning to the Jia family.

At least I have a hot meal to eat, and I can still think about painkillers.

But Qin Huairu wasn't stupid. She had finally broken off the relationship, so how could she easily give in?
Jia Zhangshi had tried to find Qin Huairu several times, but was turned away each time. She didn't dare to force her way into the courtyard, fearing that the neighborhood patrol would throw her out as a troublemaker. Unexpectedly, she caught him here.

"No, sister-in-law, what does this have to do with me?" Yi Zhonghai asked, puzzled, but inwardly he knew something was wrong.

"If it weren't for your meddling in the middle, would I have been able to break off my relationship with Qin Huairu?"
How could I bear to part with my precious grandson, Banggeng?

I think you're up to no good, wanting Qin Huairu and Banggeng to take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days, deliberately trying to sabotage me!

With a loud bang, a black pot was shoved directly onto Yi Zhonghai's head.

He immediately became agitated: "What nonsense are you spouting, Jia Zhangshi!"
"You were the one who wanted to marry Jia Ba and claim a share of the Jia family's wealth. It has nothing to do with me! I have to go now!"

He knew all too well Jia Zhangshi's shameless nature and, fearing he would get entangled with her, he tried to avoid her.

Let's go. But Jia Zhangshi is now desperate, how could she let go of this "sucker"?
Jia Zhangshi let out a howl and suddenly lunged towards Yi Zhonghai.

She used to be overweight, but it was just water retention.

Now, Jia Zhangshi has received labor education in the commune and has become even stronger.

In addition, Yi Zhonghai was caught off guard and was knocked to the ground by Jia Zhangshi's wild boar.

Yi Zhonghai struggled to get up, but Jia Zhangshi had already straddled his waist, raising her large, fan-like hands to slap him left and right.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!" The crisp sound of slaps was particularly jarring.

Yi Zhonghai's face quickly turned bruised and burned.

“Sister-in-law, Li Aiguo was a witness back then, why don’t you cause him any trouble?”

Jia Zhangshi kept working while muttering, "That Li Aiguo is strong and powerful, how could I possibly beat him? You have to pick the weakest one to squeeze!"

Yi Zhonghai: "..."

As she spoke, she slapped him several more times, causing blood to seep from the corner of Yi Zhonghai's mouth and drip down his chin.

Just then, a voice came from the side: "Who's fighting over there?"

Hearing that someone was coming, Jia Zhangshi reluctantly stopped, got off Yi Zhonghai, and kicked him viciously as she left.

"Yi Zhonghai, you bastard! If you don't help me get back to the Jia family, I'll block you and beat you up every day!"

The speaker was Mr. Liu from the steel rolling mill.

He ran over and saw Yi Zhonghai lying on the ground groaning. He quickly helped him up, asking, "Master Yi, what happened to you? Who beat you up like this?"

"No, it's nothing. I ran into two petty thieves, but I chased them away. I just tripped and fell."

Yi Zhonghai had just been beaten up by an old woman, and feeling embarrassed, he could only awkwardly say...

"A petty thief?" Master Liu looked surprised.

In the past two years, the security situation in Beijing has improved significantly, and we haven't heard of any petty thieves around for a long time.

But he didn't want to meddle, so seeing that Yi Zhonghai was able to stand up, he gave him a few words of advice and then turned and left.

Yi Zhonghai limped back to the courtyard house. As soon as he entered the gate, he bumped into Xu Damao, who was humming a little tune as he came out of the house.

Xu Damao burst out laughing and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh my, old man!"

You're the manager of our courtyard house, how did you end up with a bruised and swollen face?
"Did you steal something and get caught and beaten?"

You're the one who steals!

Yi Zhonghai was so angry he almost fainted and hurriedly went home.

An older woman had just finished cooking when she saw Yi Zhonghai return. She was about to bring the food to the table when she saw his appearance and exclaimed in surprise, "Old man, what happened to you?" "What else could it be? I got beaten up by that crazy old woman, Jia Zhangshi! That shrew is now clinging to me, forcing me to help her go back to the Jia family!"

Yi Zhonghai asked an older woman to get some gentian violet, and while applying the medicine to him, she said...

An older woman felt this was going to be difficult: "That Jia Zhangshi is a real tough nut to crack. Even the dung carts have to go around her. Once you get involved with her, you can't get rid of her. I'm afraid we won't have a peaceful life from now on."

"It's alright. I'll have a meeting with Hai Zhong and Lao Yan later. I don't believe that Jia Zhangshi can control me."

Yi Zhonghai, as the eldest son of the family in the courtyard, did not take Jia Zhangshi seriously.

He took a bite of corn porridge, smelled the aroma outside, and asked, "Did Li Aiguo eat meat again?"

"Don't go looking for trouble. I heard he's the chief engineer at some factory." The older woman was startled and quickly stopped Yi Zhonghai.

"Don't worry, I don't have time to bother with him right now." Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, his mind only on how to resolve Jia Zhangshi's troubles.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yi Zhonghai, enduring the pain, limped over to call Liu Haizhong and the Third Uncle to the old locust tree in the middle courtyard.

When Liu Haizhong and the Third Uncle saw him looking like this and still calling for a meeting, they found it strange. When they heard that it was about dealing with Jia Zhangshi, the two of them immediately waved their hands and declined.

“Old Yi, this is a personal dispute between you and Jia Zhangshi, it has nothing to do with our compound.”

The old man nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Lao Yi, you should report it to the police station."

After they finished speaking, one said he needed to go back to study the blueprints, and the other said he wanted to go fishing, and they immediately ran off.

Yi Zhonghai was so angry that his teeth were grinding together.

"These two old geezers don't respect me, an old man, at all anymore!"

Getting angry won't help.

Yi Zhonghai still needs to deal with the troublesome Jia Zhangshi.

"Chief Engineer Liu, Brother Zhang, please take care!" Li Aiguo saw Zhang Wendian and Chief Engineer Liu off and was about to go back to study the flight helmet.

Yi Zhonghai saw it, his eyes lit up, and he quickly stopped them.

"Patriotism, you're in charge of our neighborhood patrol team, right?"

When Li Aiguo saw Yi Zhonghai's appearance, he asked, "Yi Zhonghai, who beat you up like this?"

Yi Zhonghai chuckled, "I was just about to tell you about this. It was Jia Zhangshi who hit me. You should have the patrol team arrest Jia Zhangshi right away."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo understood that Yi Zhonghai wanted to use the neighborhood patrol team as a weapon.

At this moment, the residents in the compound were also alarmed, and everyone whispered among themselves when they saw Yi Zhonghai's appearance.

This was exactly the effect Yi Zhonghai wanted, so he quickly raised his voice and shouted, "Everyone, look! I, the manager of a courtyard house, have been beaten up like this in broad daylight. If word gets out, people will think our neighborhood has terrible security!"

This is clearly a dereliction of duty by the patrol team; they have betrayed the trust of the residents of our compound and also failed to meet the expectations of the neighborhood committee!

Since you don't want to help, then I'll disgust you to death.

Yi Zhonghai plans to get involved himself!

Although the residents of the compound disliked Yi Zhonghai, it was an undeniable fact that he had been beaten, and the neighborhood patrol team should indeed have helped.

The wind direction changed suddenly.

Li Aiguo, however, was not buying it at all. He frowned and asked, "Yi Zhonghai, you said you were beaten by Jia Zhangshi. When and where exactly were you beaten?"

"It's tonight, and the location is right outside our courtyard house," Yi Zhonghai said, his eyes darting around.

Li Aiguo, who also possessed advanced investigative skills, immediately recognized that Yi Zhonghai was lying.

He shouted at Zhang Gangzhu, "Gangzhu! Go and call the patrol team members responsible for the area outside our courtyard!"

"Yes!" Zhang Gangzhu left quickly and returned quickly, soon bringing back two young men.

"team leader."

"Captain, what's the matter?"

Li Aiguo handed each of them a cigarette and asked, "Did you two see anyone fighting while patrolling outside the courtyard tonight? Or did you see Jia Zhangshi appear?"

"No, we patrol every half hour and haven't seen anything," Xiao Chen said.

“Captain, we really didn’t see anything,” Xiao Zhou said.

When Yi Zhonghai saw them arguing back, he snorted and said, "I was clearly beaten up, my face is all swollen like this, you two must have been slacking off, that's why you didn't see it!"

Xiao Zhou and Xiao Chen immediately became anxious.

Both team members came from humble backgrounds; one was an orphan and the other an orphan. They used to hang out with local gangsters in Beijing and had been reprimanded by the neighborhood committee several times.

Later, they joined the patrol team, where they received a monthly allowance and a decent living. If they did well, they even had the opportunity to work at the police station. Both of them worked with all their might, and they were most afraid of being accused of being lazy or derelict in their duties.

Xiao Chen and Xiao Zhou were so angry that their faces turned red. They shouted, "You're talking nonsense! We didn't slack off at all!"

"Everyone, take a look! Take a look!"

Yi Zhonghai quickly took two steps back and shouted to the onlookers, "I was just telling the truth, and they tried to hit me! Is this the style of our neighborhood patrol team?"

Yi Zhonghai was extremely pleased with himself at this moment.

He could regain control of the compound by simply handing the blame over to the neighborhood patrol.

In addition, Li Aiguo was also forced to deal with Jia Zhangshi.

A win-win situation means Yi Zhonghai wins twice.

Li Aiguo now understood what was going on.

He called out to Xiao Chen and Xiao Zhou, telling them to stand aside, then looked at Yi Zhonghai and asked, "Yi Zhonghai, you claim you were beaten by Jia Zhangshi, so how did Jia Zhangshi beat you?"

"She kicked me down, then straddled me and slapped my face repeatedly. My mouth was bleeding, a lot of blood," Yi Zhonghai said, somewhat embarrassed, but still forced himself to speak.

wow

Everyone burst into laughter.

Xu Damao laughed the loudest, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Hey old man! You're a grown man, being ridden on by an old woman and slapped in the face, do you actually enjoy it?"

"Xu Damao, shut up!" Yi Zhonghai wanted nothing more than to tear Xu Damao apart, but he was even clearer about his own purpose.

"Li Aiguo, your neighborhood patrol team is slacking off. Shouldn't you give us an explanation?"

"What's the rush? I haven't finished asking yet!" Li Aiguo continued, "Where were you beaten?"

"Right under the big tree outside the courtyard!"

"Everyone, follow me." After saying that, Li Aiguo took the flashlight from the patrolman and turned to walk out of the yard.

The residents followed him out out of curiosity, only to see Li Aiguo holding a flashlight and shining it back and forth on the ground under the old locust tree outside the courtyard.

"Yi Zhonghai, what explanation do you have?"

Yi Zhonghai asked, puzzled, "Explain what?"

Li Aiguo was so angry he laughed and said, "You just said you bled a lot, so why is there nothing on the ground?"

These words were like a whip, lashing out at Yi Zhonghai, turning his face red and rendering him speechless.

The residents in the compound also understood.

"Old Yi is a real scoundrel, daring to frame the neighborhood patrol team."

"Yes, the young men on the patrol team are so kind. They always help my family whenever we buy coal."

"I think Yi Zhonghai is becoming more and more outrageous."

Li Aiguo looked at Yi Zhonghai with a cold face: "It's fine if you slander me, I'm a magnanimous person and I won't hold it against you, but now you're going to slander the patrol team members, shouldn't you give an explanation?"

Knowing that Li Aiguo wouldn't let the matter rest, Yi Zhonghai could only step forward and say to the two patrol members, "I'm really sorry, I'm getting senile and I made a mistake. I apologize to you."

As he spoke, he slightly bent over and bowed.

Xiao Chen and Xiao Liu had both witnessed Yi Zhonghai's imposing manner, and seeing him like this, they were about to speak up.

Li Aiguo interrupted them: "If you do something wrong, is an apology all you need? Then what's the point of having a police station and a neighborhood committee? Gangzhu, report this to the neighborhood committee tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Zhang Gangzhu nodded emphatically.

Yi Zhonghai swayed, realizing he had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.

Yan Jiecheng, standing nearby, was completely bewildered. He whispered to Yu Li beside him, "Brother Aiguo isn't usually this petty. What's wrong with him today?"

Yu Li reached out and pinched his ear, scolding him, "Why are you so slow-witted?"

Li Aiguo is making an example of someone to scare others!

Today, we're teaching Yi Zhonghai a lesson. From now on, anyone who dares to falsely accuse the patrol team will have to think twice about the consequences!

"That's true, how come I didn't think of that?"

Yu Li rolled her eyes at him: "There are many things you haven't thought of! By the way, did you tell your father about dividing the family property?"

Yan Jiecheng's smile froze instantly: "This, this is because I haven't found an opportunity yet... I'll definitely tell you as soon as possible, as soon as possible!"

Yu Li now works at an umbrella factory under the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, earning 22 yuan a month.

Yan Jiecheng's salary is also over forty yuan.

The two of them earned a considerable amount of money together, but they still had to pay fifteen yuan a month to Uncle San for living expenses. The cost of grain and coal briquettes at home also had to be shared per person. Yu Li felt that she was being taken advantage of and had long wanted to move out and live on her own.

But Yan Jiecheng was afraid that the Third Uncle would be unhappy, so he kept putting it off and didn't dare to say anything.

"You'd better confess right now!" Yu Li knew his temperament and urged him again.

"I know, I know, I'll tell you in the next couple of days!" Yan Jiecheng nodded hurriedly, but he was secretly worried.

On the other side, Li Aiguo ignored Yi Zhonghai and instead had Zhang Gangzhu present Xiao Chen and Xiao Liu with a "grievance award".

This award is mainly given to patrol team members who have been wronged, so that they will not be afraid to step forward when they encounter problems in the future.

The reward wasn't much—just two plates of pig intestines—and the expenses were covered by the neighborhood committee.

Xiao Liu and Xiao Chen were overjoyed when they received the pig intestines.

Zhang Gangzhu instructed, "This thing is most delicious when eaten raw; never cook it."

Xiao Liu and Xiao Chen: "."

Li Aiguo: "."

The next day, Zhang Gangzhu reported the situation to the subdistrict office. Director Wang of the subdistrict office personally spoke with Yi Zhonghai and took him to the neighborhood study class.

That wasn't the end of it. Later, Yi Zhonghai was stopped by Jia Zhangshi again after get off work and was severely beaten up.

Li Aiguo didn't care about these things, because the turbojet engine had already been assembled and was now placed on the test bench.

"Patriotism, shouldn't we try starting it up?" Zong Xianfeng and the wild car expert looked at the engine and got excited.

Xing, the section chief of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, walked in and was stunned when he saw the engine.

"You guys actually managed to develop an aircraft engine!"

(End of this chapter)