The train driver in the courtyard

"Patriotism, this cutting head can be cast from medium carbon steel, and the cutting tooth holder can be made of 40Cr forgings," Chief Engineer Qi said, looking at the blueprints.

"Old Qi's idea is excellent. I think the slewing seat should be made of 45 steel, which is stronger. Also, we can have the workshop workers manually process the circular guide rails," Chief Engineer Liu added.

Seeing the two leaders' enthusiasm, the researchers below naturally wanted to show their own, and they started discussing it amongst themselves.

This group of aircraft researchers are among the best in the country. In less than half a day, they had almost finished working on the key parts, such as the cutting mechanism and the loading mechanism.

Li Aiguo asked the canteen to add a few dishes for the researchers at noon, then picked up a stack of blueprints and went to report to Section Chief Xing.

Section Chief Xing didn't look like he had slept well; the mass production of small aircraft had been weighing heavily on his shoulders lately.

"Section Chief," Li Aiguo called out from the doorway before going inside.

"Aiguo, you're here. Please have a seat." Section Chief Xing knew that Li Aiguo was busy installing weapons on the small plane and must have something urgent to discuss with him, so he stood up and poured Li Aiguo some tea.

Li Aiguo quickly took the enamel mug and said, "Our neighborhood is digging air-raid shelters, and our section is also preparing to dig air-raid shelters. I have some ideas that I'd like to report to the leaders."

"Tell me about it!" Section Chief Xing's eyes lit up. Although there were many employees in the section, this time they were assigned to an area in the suburbs of Beijing, and the air-raid shelter was the largest.

"Section Chief, I'd like to get a machine specifically designed for digging air-raid shelters." Li Aiguo didn't directly mention the name of the cantilever tunneling machine.

"Really? Tell me more." As soon as Section Chief Xing heard that the machine was for digging air-raid shelters, he became interested and took out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo took the cigarette, placed the blueprints on the table, and gave a brief introduction.

"This machine is specifically designed for tunneling. Its technical name is a cantilever tunneling machine. It works on a similar principle to the tunnel boring machines we used to work on, but it is cheaper and simpler. It can be used to excavate air-raid shelters, as well as sewers and the like."

It took Section Chief Xing more than ten minutes to understand that this thing was definitely a good thing.

"How confident are you in being able to manufacture it?" Section Chief Xing pressed.

"The mechanical system of this machine is not complicated. The main part is the cutting head of the tunneling system, and the blades on it need to be forged from special alloys."

"The engine can be a diesel engine, which we can produce ourselves in our locomotive depot."

"There are still some other difficulties, but Chief Engineer Liu and Chief Engineer Qi have helped, and I estimate they can be resolved soon."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Xing laughed and said, "I almost forgot, the experts from the Civil Aviation Administration are still here. Aiguo, since you have confidence, then do it."

"If you need anything in the future, just ask the comrades in the materials department. If they can't handle it, I'll pull strings at the ministries!"

Section Chief Xing values ​​this cantilever tunneling machine highly, as it will be very useful for the Qianmen Locomotive Depot in digging air-raid shelters in the future.

Furthermore, according to the instructions of our superiors, we will be digging air-raid shelters on a large scale in the future.

Using machines to dig is faster and better, and can save a lot of manpower.

After Li Aiguo finished his report, he returned to his studio and handed the blueprints to the wild car expert and Zong Xianfeng.

"Aiguo, are we going to build new machines?"

"This is a small tunnel boring machine."

The two analyzed it for a while and were both extremely excited.

Domestically produced tunnel boring machines are now popular all over the world. Several have already been purchased in Eastern Europe, and the British are also looking to buy some to dig a tunnel across the strait.

South America was envious, but they couldn't afford it and wanted to trade it for wheat flour, which we rejected.

Once this small tunnel boring machine is developed, it will definitely sell very well.

"Keep your voice down. This thing is mainly used for digging air-raid shelters. Get to work, and remember to keep it a secret." Li Aiguo put the two of them in charge of purchasing and manufacturing the relevant parts.

As for the design and improvement work, we discussed it with Chief Engineer Liu and Chief Engineer Qi.

In this way, the entire project team was effectively divided into two groups.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop is now given high priority, and the dispatch of various materials and spare parts is very fast.

In just a few days, the cantilever tunneling machine entered the assembly stage.

Meanwhile, the work of mounting weapons on the small aircraft is also progressing steadily.

Now that Dean Chen has gone to the frontier corps, General Manager Liu, as the representative of the Aviation Industry Bureau, has reported the results to Lei Gongye.

Lei Gongye was very concerned about the small plane's situation, so after receiving the report, he consulted several experts and then came to the lake to report.

"The sheer number of weapons mounted on the small aircraft surprised us; it's truly excellent, especially the targeting device. Its simple structure and high accuracy are far more advanced than those from the Russians. I suggest that this technology be classified as a military secret and that personnel be kept in segregated."

Lei Gongye was practically making his point clear: some people in the aviation research institute are wavering in their stance and still want to follow the old Russian path; we need to be wary of them.

The superior looked at the documents and nodded: "Then classify it as confidential. The Corn Emperor is in bad shape right now, almost in a state of madness. We need to be more vigilant."

In fact, the leaders above are very clear-headed. They have kept many key areas of confidentiality from the big brother. They are willing to discuss cooperation, but they cannot cross the bottom line, let alone think about bullying others.

"The modified parallel cannon has reached the world's leading level, and it is low in cost and can be modified from the Type 59 heavy machine gun at any time."

"Furthermore, the automatic ammunition loading system of this machine gun can be used on fighter jets, which can greatly increase the rate of fire."

"There's also this quadruple launcher, which can fire four 68mm rockets in succession. These are armor-piercing rounds, so they're very powerful. Any tank that gets hit by one will have no chance of survival."

"I suggest mass-producing these quad launchers, which can also be mounted on tanks to significantly increase firepower."

"The most crucial thing is the incendiary bombs. This small plane can also carry incendiary bombs. If things get really heated, we can throw dozens of incendiary bombs at it, and even if the enemy is an iron turtle, we'll roast it."

Even the Thunder God knew that such incendiary bombs wouldn't be used lightly.
Only a heartless family like Xiaomei's would use incendiary bombs as a conventional weapon.
However, if the other party is ungrateful, we shouldn't let our own people risk their lives to rush forward.

"This small plane can actually carry so many weapons?" The superior, though not an aviation expert, knew quite a bit about aviation and asked in disbelief.

"At first I didn't believe it either, but Chief Engineer Liu is an expert. He explained that it was because the turbine engine that Li Aiguo had developed had a very strong thrust, just like a car. The stronger the engine horsepower, the more cargo it can carry."

"A genius! Comrade Aiguo is indeed a genius. I heard he's recently gone to dig air-raid shelters again. That kid really can't stay idle." The superior leader remarked after hearing this.

"Yes, the most important thing is that the weapons developed by our patriotic comrades are not difficult to manufacture and are not expensive, making them easy to mass-produce, which is very commendable."

After saying that, Lord Lei continued:

"I suggest that we manufacture the weapons designed by our patriotic comrades, and we should continue to advance the project of small aircraft that can carry these weapons."

This is the real purpose of Lord Lei's report.

"We must do it!" The superior nodded, then looked at the leaders of the Ordnance Bureau and asked, "Which factory will produce these weapons?"

The leader of the Ordnance Bureau was called upon and replied, "We plan to hand it over to several arsenals in the southeast, such as 112, 126, and 267. They are far from the border, and although it will take longer to transport them, it is safer there."

"Let's do it your way." The superior nodded: "We must ensure quality. The railway standards and your blank standards have already been set, right? I think we can also set standards for weapons."

"That's a good idea. With a unified standard, we can know who makes good products and who makes bad ones." Lei Gongye also agreed with the superior's opinion.

The leaders of the Ordnance Bureau quickly assured him, "Please rest assured, I will immediately deploy this work upon my return."

He was secretly worried.

The systems of aviation and railway equipment are relatively simple, but the military industry is much more complex. There are many types of weapons, the systems are fragmented, and each region and each arsenal operates independently. Even parts for the same type of firearm may not be interchangeable, making it extremely difficult to develop unified standards.

After leaving the study, the leader of the Ordnance Bureau quickly caught up with Lei Gongye: "Old Liu, how does your aviation department formulate standards? Share some advanced experience with me."

Lei Gongye glanced at him and gestured towards the direction of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop: "You, the expert is right there, how could you forget?"

"Oh dear! How could I forget about my patriotic comrade!"

The leader of the Ordnance Bureau suddenly slapped his forehead, as if a lightbulb had been lifted off his head.

In a few days, they will be coordinating weapons production with the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, which will be a good opportunity to consult and resolve issues related to military standards.

"Weapon production must be put on the agenda immediately," Lei Gongye urged, stopping in his tracks.

"Don't worry, I'll make the arrangements when I get back." The leaders of the Ordnance Bureau understood Lei Gongye's concerns. The Russians were flirting with the Indians, and they had even transferred people to the border. Something could go wrong.

Soon, several arsenals in the southwest received notices to produce specialized weapons.

As for the specific uses of these weapons, the Ordnance Bureau did not specify, but repeatedly emphasized the discipline of secrecy and required all factories to prepare all kinds of materials needed for production in advance.

"Let's build them. We won't lose money anyway. Even if we don't need the small planes, we can sell them to the Middle East." Li Aiguo was also very happy to learn from Chief Engineer Liu that the weapons were to be mass-produced.

After Saddam Hussein took control of the situation, he has gradually become a minor hegemon in the Middle East, and the situation in Iraq has also stabilized.

However, that area is about to descend into chaos. The Xiao Se family, supported by Xiao Mei, the Xiao Xu family, supported by Lao Maozi, and the Xiao Ai family are bound to clash.

In the original timeline, we didn't gain any benefits, but now that we have Xiao Yi's family as a bridgehead, we're sure to get a share.

After getting off work, Li Aiguo picked up Yan Jiecheng in his car and then went to the air-raid shelter next to the park.

Although the excavation of the air-raid shelter has been temporarily suspended, the area that collapsed last time still needs to be cleared out to prepare for subsequent excavation.

"Some people, they don't have the skills, but they insist on taking on the job! If you can't be the leader of the excavation team, don't force yourself. If you delay something as important as the air-raid shelter, you'll be a sinner to our courtyard!"

Yi Zhonghai stood aside, watching Xu Damao, Zhang Gangzhu and others clear the rubble, his words barbed and sarcastic.

Zhang Gangzhu was immediately displeased and straightened his back to retort: ​​"That's right, unlike some people who blindly started digging, resulting in a collapse and injuring several people. They brought honor to our courtyard house."

"You...you're being insolent!" Yi Zhonghai was so choked up that his face turned red and his eyes widened.

At this moment, Li Aiguo parked his motorcycle beside him and glanced at Yi Zhonghai: "Comrade Yi Zhonghai, everyone is digging and carrying soil, and you're just standing here talking nonsense?" "I am..." Yi Zhonghai was about to say that he was the team leader, but he remembered that his official position had been revoked.

“That’s right! Everyone’s busy working, it’s really not appropriate for an old man like you to stand here all by yourself, is it?” someone echoed.

“Yes, Yi Zhonghai, now you’re a team member just like me. Here, this job of carrying soil is yours!” Xu Damao grinned and lifted a carrying pole, placing it on Yi Zhonghai’s shoulder without a word.

In the past, Yi Zhonghai would have already claimed illness and fled by now.

But when he turned his head and looked outside, he saw the figure of a black, fat pig not far away.

That's right. Since Jia Zhangshi doesn't dare to enter the courtyard house and can't cause trouble for Qin Huairu, she's now keeping an eye on Yi Zhonghai.

The residents in the compound were also taken aback by Jia Zhangshi's persistence. Since Jia Zhangshi was only causing trouble for Yi Zhonghai, the residents didn't bother to interfere.

Xu Damao even gave Jia Zhangshi a nickname: Captain Jia.

"Yi Zhonghai, watch out, Captain Jia might come and get you!" Xu Damao said with a grin.

"Cough cough... You child, you're talking nonsense. I love working!" Yi Zhonghai smiled awkwardly, gritted his teeth, and picked up the load.

The process remains the same: dig the soil, transport the soil, and then pile the soil on the open space at the street corner.

After working for more than half an hour, seeing that it was getting dark, Li Aiguo led everyone back to rest.

Captain Jia stood at a distance, just staring at this side, not daring to approach, and Li Aiguo ignored her as well.

"It's strange that Jia Zhangshi can always get travel permits," Yan Jiecheng said, intrigued.

Xu Damao whispered from the side, "I went to the countryside to show movies a while ago, and I heard that the people in Jiajiazhuang Commune also disliked Jia Zhangshi. The commune leaders directly issued a dozen travel permits to Jia Zhangshi."

Li Aiguo: "."

After returning home and having dinner, Li Aiguo asked Chen Xueru to pour a basin of hot water to soak his feet.

Just as Li Aiguo was enjoying himself and squinting his eyes, the atmosphere in the conference room of the air defense office became somewhat tense.

"The excavation of air-raid shelters at all the demonstration sites is progressing rapidly, except for the one in Nantongluo Lane, which is still slow. Director, shouldn't we urge them?" Deputy Director Zhang suddenly stood up and slammed his hand on the table.

The leader of the air defense office frowned: "The geological conditions in Nantongluo Lane are complicated, and there was a collapse accident just now. The person in charge has also been changed, so the excavation plan has to be readjusted. Lao Zhang, we need to be more patient and not rush things."

"Yes, yes, yes," Deputy Director Zhang could only sit down reluctantly upon hearing this.

The leaders next to him exchanged glances and shook their heads with smiles.

Deputy Director Zhang, who comes from a political work background, has always emphasized since joining the air defense office that we should work hard and complete the excavation of air-raid shelters as quickly as possible, setting a good example.

The director, however, was a leader transferred from the General Staff Department. He had previously worked at the Engineering Corps Scientific Research Institute and was quite cautious in his work.

The two had constant conflicts, but overall the majority supported the director, since most of the members in the air defense office were transferred from the engineering corps.

"Alright, meeting adjourned!" The director stood up and announced after listening to the reports from each demonstration site.

Deputy Director Zhang stormed out of the meeting room, seething with anger.

He was doing this for the sake of the air defense office's work, in response to the call from above.

"Boss, how about we go check out the air-raid shelter excavation site in Nantongluo Lane tomorrow?" The assistant suggested, seeing that the boss was facing a problem.

"Alright! I want to see what they're up to!" Deputy Director Zhang nodded and added, "No need to notify anyone else, let's go over quietly."

"clear."

****
The next morning, after having breakfast, Li Aiguo went to the air-raid shelter excavation site to arrange the day's work.

We are currently in the cleanup phase, and since most residents have regular jobs, they can only take turns coming over to do the work.

However, to ensure safety, the patrol team assigns one person to be on duty at the site every day.

"Don't worry, Aiguo. I'll keep an eye on things here today. Nothing will go wrong," Zhang Gangzhu said as he walked up to Li Aiguo.

"Okay, then I'll leave this place to you."

Li Aiguo was still thinking about the assembly of the cantilever tunneling machine. After settling things here, he rode his mountain bike to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

At this moment, in the courtyard of the locomotive depot's workshop, the chassis, boom, cutter head, and other accessories for the cantilever tunneling machine were all ready.

Chief Engineer Liu, Chief Engineer Qi, Wild Automotive Expert, and Zong Xianfeng are leading a team to inspect the parts.

"Aiguo is here, let's start the installation!" Chief Engineer Liu seemed a little impatient.

It's worth noting that he used to design and manufacture aircraft, with each project often taking several years, and the design and manufacturing work were often separate, so it was rare for him to see the aircraft assembled.

Although the structure of this cantilever tunneling machine is simple, it is quite remarkable that he was able to participate in its manufacture personally.

“Chief Engineer Liu, you completed the modification of this boom, so you will be in charge of its installation.” Li Aiguo understood his intentions.

"That's great!" Chief Engineer Liu stepped forward and said excitedly.

The cantilever tunneling machine is much simpler than the tunnel boring machine, and is more similar to a heavy excavator. The assembly work is also simpler. After a busy morning, the installation of the boom and chassis has been completed.

As noon approached, Li Aiguo stopped working and asked the canteen at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to deliver his meal.

Section Chief Xing knew that the work here was very busy, so he specifically instructed the canteen to add meat and vegetables.

Each person receives a lunchbox of braised pork, a lunchbox of stir-fried cabbage, and a bowl of meat soup. The staple food is white rice, and those who don't like rice can also have steamed buns.

This kind of treatment is top-notch even in aviation research institutes.

Chief Engineer Liu and the researchers enjoyed their meal immensely.

Li Aiguo sat down next to him, picked up a piece of meat, and slowly put it into his mouth.

He figured that the installation of the cantilever tunneling machine would take at most two days. After a simple test, it would be ready to dig air-raid shelters, which wouldn't delay the progress of the air-raid prevention office.

"Nonsense! Isn't this deliberately delaying the progress of our air defense office?" At the excavation site of the air-raid shelter in Nantongluo Lane, Deputy Director Zhang walked over with his assistant. Seeing that the site was only being cleared and there were no signs of excavation, he immediately flew into a rage.

Zhang Gangzhu, Xu Damao, Yi Zhonghai, and several residents of the compound were eating nearby when they saw this, which stunned everyone.

Xu Damao came to help clean up because he didn't need to go to the countryside to show movies today.

Yi Zhonghai was worried that Captain Jia would cause trouble, so he stopped going to work and just stayed with the others.

In addition, everyone who participated in the cleanup work was able to eat lunch delivered by the neighborhood office.

"Comrades, who are you?" Zhang Gangzhu saw the two men walk in and quickly stood up to stop them.

"It's too dangerous here, please stand outside!"

"Young man, how can you speak like that? This is the air defense office," the assistant stepped forward and said, trying to intimidate the officer.

Deputy Director Zhang glared at him immediately, and the assistant quickly corrected himself, "This is the leader, you know?"

"I don't care who the leaders are. Our team leader said this is a restricted construction site, no unauthorized personnel allowed!" Zhang Gangzhu stood tall, refusing to budge an inch.
"If you're coming to visit or inspect, please inform the local street office beforehand and complete the necessary procedures. How am I supposed to know if you're from the air defense office or here to cause trouble by just barging in like this?"

Zhang Gangzhu knew perfectly well that if it were truly a leader, they would have proactively shown their identification; they wouldn't have barged in like this without any explanation.

The assistant was immediately angered by Zhang Gangzhu's attitude.

But there's nothing he can do about it now.

After all, this time when they came here, in order to avoid being noticed by the director of the air defense office, they did not go through any formalities and could not show any identification.

As for the neighborhood committee, they didn't even give any notification.

"Comrade, make your team leader run to see me!" Deputy Director Zhang's face was ashen.

He visited various demonstration sites, and everyone there was very polite to him. But here, they just wanted to kick him out.

"Our team leader is at work and won't be back for a while. Please wait here for a bit." Seeing that he still wouldn't show his identification, Zhang Gangzhu turned around and instructed the patrol team members not to let any unauthorized personnel in before leaving.

“This kid…” Deputy Director Zhang was speechless and stood there stunned.

At that moment, Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up, and he ran over.

"Sir, you want to know about the excavation of the air-raid shelters, right? I know it best!"

Deputy Director Zhang sized Yi Zhonghai up and down, then frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

“I’m an old man living in the courtyard. I used to be in charge of digging air-raid shelters, and the progress was going very fast.”

"It's all that kid Li Aiguo's fault! He used his good relationship with Director Wang of the neighborhood committee to oust me! Look at this construction site, the progress has been so slow ever since he took over; it's just a shoddy job."

Yi Zhonghai has a sharp eye; he immediately recognized that the person in front of him was definitely a leader, and not a low-ranking one at that.

Deputy Director Zhang, who was struggling to find a breakthrough, immediately perked up upon hearing this.

"Old comrade, please tell me in detail why the excavation of the air-raid shelter has been so slow."

(End of this chapter)