The train driver in the courtyard

As evening fell and the entire capital was shrouded in darkness, the central courtyard of the traditional courtyard house was unusually lively.

The residents gathered together, bowls and chopsticks in hand, chatting.

"Da Mao, tell me again, what exactly did the leaders of the Air Defense Committee say?" A resident who hadn't participated in digging the air-raid shelter asked, craning his neck.

Xu Damao stood up, adopted a leader's demeanor, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Comrade Li Aiguo, you have made great contributions to our air defense work. Now, you are hereby awarded the title of Advanced Individual in Air Defense Work."

This guy learned it so well that everyone burst into laughter.

"An outstanding individual!"

"There's only one like it in the whole country, right? That's so glorious."

"Hey, if I had known, I would have gone to see it even if I had to take a day off."

Yi Zhonghai was also standing in the crowd. Upon hearing these words, he pursed his lips, turned around angrily, and went back into the house.

"Tell me, this isn't the first time Li Aiguo has received an honor, so why is everyone so enthusiastic?"

"Old Yi, you've been an old man for so many years, how come you didn't understand? Every household in our compound has a task, everyone has to dig an air-raid shelter. Now it's great, Aiguo has come up with a machine to dig the shelter. It doesn't require any physical labor and it's safe. How can the residents not be happy?!" an old woman sighed.

She also knew that Yi Zhonghai, being an elderly man, took the upper-level route and often cultivated relationships with the deaf old lady and the neighborhood committee.

Li Aiguo did indeed solve a major problem for the residents, and he followed the mass line. Can we compare them?

Yi Zhonghai realized this as well, his face immediately turned dark, and he turned and walked into the inner room.

"Old man, where are you going?"

"Write a self-criticism!"

Li Aiguo discussed the next steps with Zhang Gangzhu, Liu Haizhong, and Uncle San. By the time they returned, it was almost seven o'clock.

As soon as Li Aiguo entered the courtyard, he felt that the residents looked at him with more warmth.

"Aiguo, have you eaten yet? My family cooked cornmeal porridge, come and have a bite."

"Driver Li, have an egg."

After exchanging greetings along the way, Li Aiguo returned home, where Chen Xueru had already prepared dinner.

Fried eggs, stir-fried tofu, and staple foods are white flour steamed buns and millet porridge.

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Aiguo went into his study and picked up the blueprints for the tunneling machine.

The conditions beneath coal mines are quite complex, and extensive modifications are needed before tunneling machines can be used for coal mining.

The most important factor is power. Coal mines are often filled with flammable gases such as methane, making the use of diesel engines extremely dangerous.

These days, China has already copied the KMA-type low-voltage explosion-proof motor from its older brother, but the power is too small, and the core components still need to be purchased from the older brother, which costs a lot of foreign exchange every year.

Adhering to the principle of doing the best, Li Aiguo decided to use the YBX4 high-efficiency explosion-proof three-phase asynchronous motor, which became the mainstay of major coal mines in later generations.

With a power output of up to 315kW, its biggest feature is energy saving. The KMA from Russia has an energy efficiency of 80%, while the YBX4 can reach an efficiency of 95%, making it particularly suitable for this era of energy scarcity.

In addition, a safety protection system should also be installed, including thermistors, platinum resistance temperature measurement, Hall current sensors, and a customized safety industrial control system, maximizing the safety configuration.

The night is getting darker.

When Li Aiguo put down his pen and returned to the bedroom, the female warrior was already lying in bed, smiling at him.

Then comes the classic scene of battling the female warrior.

The female warrior has a plump figure, which is due to her special training and yoga practice, and she has a high level of martial arts skills.

In the end, the female warrior was no match for her, and after a few rounds, she could only be at her mercy.

The next day, He Yushui saw Chen Xueru limping and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you exhausted? How about I help you pick up the kids these next few days?"

"I didn't sleep well last night." Chen Xueru wished she could strangle the rough man sitting next to her eating; he was incredibly capable and loved to cause trouble.

"No way, sister-in-law, even if you didn't sleep well, it shouldn't make you lame, right? Are you feeling unwell? Or should I go to the hospital with you?" He Yushui was also a bit silly and clueless.

"Ahem, Yushui, go get the rice." He Yushui was about to ask another question when Aunt Liu noticed something was wrong and stopped her.

After having lunch, Li Aiguo rode his mountain bike to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop.

Section Chief Xing hasn't brought the leaders and technicians from the excavator workshop yet.

Instead, Li Aiguo received a call from Yang Jizong in Riyadh.

Since taking charge of the Red Star Supercar Club, Yang Jizong has used the club's network to get to know many celebrities and has taken his girlfriend to banquets and dances everywhere.

Of course, this is legitimate work, and sometimes it can produce unexpected results.

Sure enough, Yang Jizong received a large order for a Tyrannosaurus Rex SUV from Ate's company. The customer required the SUV to be bulletproof, have large wheels, and have a frame welded to the roof so that an eagle could be tethered.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex off-road vehicle sells exceptionally well at Xiao Yi's store.

Firstly, it's endorsed by Lao Sa, and secondly, it's sturdy and durable, resistant to sandstorms and other weather conditions. In particular, it's equipped with a custom-made mini-fridge, making it especially popular.

However, the Art family and the Yi family don't get along, and they're still on the Mei family's side.

Those guys from Art's family who wore a cloth over their heads happened to know Yang Jizong, so they used this channel to try and buy from him.

“Sell it,” Li Aiguo agreed immediately.

The Art family has become quite wealthy these days, with only a few million people, an annual production exceeding 5.5 million barrels, and a cumulative production of over 50 billion barrels.

Currently, Art's luxury cars are mainly from American and European brands, so we need to seize this market.

Just as Li Aiguo hung up the phone, Yang Jizong called again.

The Art family requested to order 1,000 Tyrannosaurus Rex SUVs, two of which had to be extended and larger versions. It was said that the order was placed by a mysterious buyer, whose identity even Yang Jizong did not know.

There's no way around it, the Tyrannosaurus Rex SUV has such a good reputation that if you don't order it soon, you'll have to wait for several years.

When Section Chief Xing learned of this, he was in a real bind.

While regular large off-road vehicles can be manufactured by the Second Automobile Works, only our workshop can handle these modifications.

I finally managed to expand my factory, and now I have new orders coming in, and I have tasks to complete again.

But the thought that these large off-road vehicles could be exchanged for a lot of camels roused Section Chief Xing.

"I'll take care of the Arte customized SUV project. If necessary, I can just bring over another batch of people from Jichun Automobile Factory."

"Patriotism, you'd better get those 100 tunnel boring machines the Air Defense Committee needs done as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, Section Chief."

The excavator workshop's production capacity has now increased, and in addition to meeting domestic demand, it can also export to foreign countries.

For example, orders from Russia, Southeast Asia, and South America can be postponed for six months to prioritize the production of tunneling machines.

After coordinating production in the workshop, Section Chief Xing received a call from the Ministry of Machine Building, asking him to come over for a meeting.

"It should be related to the batch of large off-road vehicles that Art wanted." Section Chief Xing left in a hurry.

Hextech's orders are now all processed through legitimate channels.

First, get approval from the foreign trade department, then contact various ministries and commissions. This is being responsible to your superiors and also to yourself.

After Section Chief Xing left, Li Aiguo convened a brief meeting.

At noon, Section Chief Xing arrived again, still carrying a fiery temper.

"These guys don't do anything useful; instead, they're trying to hold us back!"

Li Aiguo stood up, poured a glass of water for Section Chief Xing, and handed it to him, asking, "Section Chief, what's wrong?"

"Don't even mention it. At the meeting, some leaders felt that we were neglecting our duties. We urgently need tunneling machines and small aircraft, but instead we are helping foreign countries build large off-road vehicles, just to earn some foreign exchange."

"What did the leader say?"

Section Chief Xing took a sip of tea and continued, "The high-ranking leaders of the ministry criticized them at the time, telling them to have the ability to develop their own products and stop gossiping behind their backs."

"It's either the east wind blowing over the west wind, or the west wind blowing over the east wind. It seems someone has something up their sleeve," Li Aiguo said.

"Yes, I heard that someone is secretly planning something." Section Chief Xing didn't hide anything from Li Aiguo.

"Leader Teng spoke with me a couple of days ago and told you not to worry."

"Thank you, Section Chief."

Li Aiguo also wanted to focus on building small airplanes, but without funding, how could he build them?!

We learned this the hard way in later generations.

Take Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) for example, once the leading aircraft manufacturer.

Later, he made the nationally popular Double Happiness pressure cooker, as well as the Songling brand washing machine, the cigarette machine that monopolized the domestic market, the orange-red bicycle, and the famous Shenyang Aircraft Corporation bus, etc. Only when his economic conditions improved did he give up his interest in making airplanes.

Nuclear power plant 504 made popsicles, research institute 640 designed the kind of amusement rides that rotate and rise, Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation manufactured stainless steel kitchen knives, and even Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, which produced the "Seventh Master" (a famous Chinese martial arts character), sold ducks—real ducks, crispy-skinned ducks.

The saying that those who make mushroom eggs are not as well off as those who sell tea eggs is absolutely true.

In this day and age, we must avoid similar incidents and forge a sustainable path.

Now that the reputation of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's workshop is growing, it's normal for some people to feel dissatisfied, and Li Aiguo doesn't find it strange.

But this storm came too strangely, just when air defense tunneling machines were about to be widely deployed, someone jumped out.

It seems someone has ulterior motives.

These are not Li Aiguo's speculations, but rather the results obtained from the weather station.

Old Cat subtly reported on a case recently handled by the weather station.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has sent someone over again, and it's a very high-ranking one at that, but it's still unclear who they're contacting.

"The farmer has now reported the situation, and the higher-ups will take action soon."

Even the teachers were alarmed, so this matter must be quite serious. Li Aiguo had a vague idea of ​​who was behind it.

These are things that Li Aiguo can't get involved in, nor does he intend to. He just wants to finish his tasks as soon as possible and, if he has the chance, take his small plane for a spin.

After returning from the weather station, Li Aiguo immediately threw himself into the mass production of air-raid shelter excavators.

Supplies from all over the country were continuously delivered via railway, and the workers from Jichun Automobile Factory who came to provide support were also assigned to the workshops.

Production of the air defense tunneling machine is progressing smoothly. Zong Xianfeng's team has modified the production equipment and will soon be able to start mass production.

But a new problem has arisen.

"Aiguo, how do you operate this tunneling machine? And since it's a machine, what if it breaks down? How do you repair it?" A leader from the Air Defense Committee came into the office. Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo first poured water for the leader and then offered him a cigarette.

“Our locomotive depot has a partnership with the machinery factory, and we can have them send people to teach you how to operate the tunneling machine, while also training a group of maintenance personnel.”

"This is a good idea, it's patriotic, I'll leave this to you," said the leader of the Air Defense Committee.

"You're welcome."

The leader of the Air Defense Committee stood up to leave, but suddenly stopped: "Zhang De's case has been investigated and clarified. I cannot disclose the specific details, but he has been handed over."

Where was it handed over to?

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes. He had thought that Deputy Director Zhang of the Air Defense Office had only made some minor mistakes, but it seemed that there was something big going on here.

At this very moment, in a detention room.

Zhang De remained calm and composed, not at all.

Zhang De was able to become the deputy director of the air defense office, in charge of the excavation of air-raid shelters, mobilize engineering personnel, and have access to the specific blueprints of the air-raid shelters. He also had supporters.

If that person just says a word, even the biggest problem can be solved.

As for Li Aiguo, don't be fooled by his current popularity; he'll be dealt with soon enough.

"Zhang De, come out."

I heard noises outside.

Zhang De stood up excitedly and asked the clerk, "I told you, I didn't do anything wrong. You've got it wrong. Where's Director Zhou? Why isn't he here?"

"Director Zhou is in a meeting." The clerk pointed to a man in a gray Zhongshan suit behind him: "You've been handed over to this comrade."

Upon seeing the gray Zhongshan suit, Zhang De felt his legs go weak and he completely panicked.

"Hello, you can call me Cat Team Leader." The man in the gray Zhongshan suit waved his hand, and the two meteorologists immediately dragged Zhang De out.

"I want to see him!" Zhang De blurted out in his haste.

But just as he was about to say the name, he suddenly realized something and quickly swallowed it back.

The old cat was waiting for him to speak, and was not disappointed by the situation.

Once this person gets into the weather station, we'll be able to get him to talk sooner or later.

"Take him away, and put a hood on his head." Old Cat nodded to the meteorologist.

The hood was invented by a train driver; it's incredibly useful, as it can both conceal the target's identity and create psychological pressure on them.

Two meteorologists took out black hoods and put them on Zhang De's head before pushing him into the jeep.

The jeep roared away.

Director Zhou sighed deeply and muttered under his breath, "Why can't we work together with one heart and one mind?"

Mass production of air-raid shelter excavators is progressing smoothly.

Under Li Aiguo's guidance, the team finally completed the mass production plan and officially began manufacturing the tunneling machine.

The tunnel boring machine comes in two models. One is a 20-ton tunnel boring machine, which uses a heavy-duty truck chassis and is specifically designed for digging air-raid shelters in plains.

The second is a 35-ton heavy tunneling machine, which uses a light tank chassis with tracked wheels underneath. It is used for tunneling air-raid shelters in mountainous areas and can also help railway soldiers dig small tunnels.

Larger tunneling machines are impractical, not only because the road conditions don't allow it, but also because the manufacturing and operating costs are not low.

The progress in the excavator workshop is also very exciting. All the supporting production equipment has been installed and the workers' training has been completed.

It is expected that the first batch of tunneling machines will be handed over to the Air Defense Committee in half a month.

News also came from the Ministry of Coal Industry that they would send mechanical experts from the Jixi plant in a few days to discuss the research and development of coal cutting machines.

"The workshop is truly full of talented people now." After relaying the message from the Ministry of Coal Industry, Section Chief Xing did not leave immediately, but instead took a walk around the workshop.

Putting aside other things, just look at the experts we have now in aviation, such as Chief Engineer Liu and Chief Engineer Qi, as well as experts in chemical engineering. These are things that you wouldn't even dare to imagine in other factories or even research institutes.

"Only with talented people can things get done."

"They've come all this way, so we can't treat them poorly. I'll have the supplies department send another batch of meat later. Also, now that the weather is getting warmer, we need to provide them with soft drinks too. Two bottles of soft drink per expert per day. Anyway, it's homemade, so the cost is low."

Section Chief Xing shared the same idea as Li Aiguo: to maximize the benefits and treatment for these experts and try to retain some of them.

"Also, don't rush things. You're still young, you have plenty of time to get things done. Just don't overwork yourself." Section Chief Xing was afraid that Li Aiguo would collapse from exhaustion, which would be terrible.

"Well then, since you don't have any other work to do today, go to the hospital for a physical exam."

Section Chief Xing was worried that the young Li Aiguo didn't care about his health, so he made a special phone call to Zhou Ke and asked Zhou Ke to escort Li Aiguo to the railway hospital.

"Maybe we should assign this kid a personal doctor, like a general practitioner." Section Chief Xing stroked his chin as he watched the two figures disappear through the door.

Section Chief Xing wasn't worried about violating regulations. The ministry had proposed it several times, but it hadn't been implemented due to concerns about the negative impact.

Li Aiguo was taken for a check-up. Since the hospital had been notified, the check-up was quick, and all the data were excellent.

The only thing that displeased Li Aiguo was that the examination included a testicular examination.

Several nurses whispered among themselves, saying, "Driver Li is like a donkey."

"Ahem, cross this out next time."

Li Aiguo, with a stern face, looked at the doctor in charge of the physical examination and said...

"How about we switch you to a male doctor next time?" the old doctor suggested.

“…cross it out.” Li Aiguo said after a moment of silence.

How could he not know his own body?

After the check-up, it was already past four in the afternoon when I returned to the courtyard house.

With the weather warming up these past few days, many residents have gone to the suburbs to dig for wild vegetables, partly to save money on buying groceries and partly to enjoy some fresh produce.

"Aiguo, Liu Lan and I dug up a lot of wild vegetables, and we're bringing some to your family." Just as they reached the courtyard, Liang Ladi pushed open the door and came out, carrying a half-sack of wild vegetables.

In previous years, Chen Xueru also enjoyed digging for wild vegetables, but now that she has three children and is very busy with work at the neighborhood office, she hasn't gone anymore.

"That's great, thank you so much." Li Aiguo accepted the wild vegetables; they were shepherd's purse, which was delicious in dumplings.

"By the way, Liang Ladi, the Air Defense Commission needs a batch of tunneling machine driver training instructors and maintenance workers. They'll probably have to be drawn from your machinery factory. If you're interested, you can register at the driving school."

"The Air Defense Committee?" Liang Ladi was stunned for a moment, then immediately became happy: "Yes, I'm very willing."

When Liang Ladi returned home, she told Nan Yi the news.

"Ladi, you're about to make a name for yourself." Nan Yi is now the head chef at the steel rolling mill, and while helping the leaders cook, he's heard plenty of gossip.

Air defense work is strongly promoted by the higher authorities. If Liang Ladi can perform well, she will definitely be commended when she returns to the factory after the mission is over.

Because of his poor background, Nan Yi has been very cautious all these years. If Liang Ladi could receive some honor, their family's life would be much better.

"Brother Aiguo is thinking of our family. Nanyi, what are you doing? Hurry up and help Brother Aiguo's family cook." Liang Ladi urged Nanyi when she saw him still standing there in a daze.

"Alright, alright." Nan Yi understood this as well and quickly went to Li Ai's house.

In the evening, Zhang Gangzhu, Liu Haizhong, Xu Damao, and the others returned from the air-raid shelter construction site.

"Patriotic brother, what dish is it? It smells so good!"

"Yes, Nan Yi made it, right?"

"Patriotism, come here, I have a bottle of wine here."

Several people arrived at the Li family's house carrying wine and peanuts. Xu Damao even caught the old hen in front of the house.

The courtyard was peaceful, but laughter and cheerful voices could be heard coming from inside the Li family's house.

The next day, Liang Ladi reported to the factory director Liu Feng that the tunneling machine needed a driver and a maintenance worker.

Liu Feng was particularly happy: "Ladi, this is a great opportunity. Our machinery factory has been taking over the excavator repair work all over the country in recent years. If we can also take over the tunneling machine repair work, then the workers will be able to get welfare at the end of the year."

At first, the machine factory didn't pay much attention to maintenance work, since it seemed like a bit of a frivolous business. However, as time went on, the number of excavators increased, and the number of maintenance workers needed also increased.

Because of its cooperative relationship with the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, the machinery factory was able to obtain first-hand spare parts and information. The maintenance technicians were highly skilled and were trusted by those units and departments.

Every time they send someone to repair it, the machinery factory receives a large labor fee, which is much more profitable than repairing tractors.

Some factory leaders felt that the machine factory had become a machine repair shop, which was embarrassing, but they were severely reprimanded by the workers.

"Liang Ladi, take dozens of experienced craftsmen to register right away. If this is successful, I'll credit you!"

"Yes!"

Liang Ladi selected dozens of drivers from the workshop and went to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Driving School to register with Lan Xiang.

She already had experience driving and repairing excavators, so she quickly got the hang of it. After a few days of training, Liang Ladi followed Zhang Gangzhu and drove a tunneling machine to dig a second demonstration air-raid shelter in the next block.

The air defense office also gave Liang Ladi a set of gray work clothes, which made her look very smart, and all the women in the compound were extremely envious.

"Liang Ladi, is there a subsidy for operating a tunnel boring machine?"

"Not much, just two cents a day, plus half a pound of refined grains," Nan Yi interjected from the side, his back ramrod straight these days.

"The subsidy is secondary; the key is to maintain appearances! You didn't see how polite the leaders of the air defense office were to Ladi?"

"That's right. Liang Ladi can operate and repair excavators. She'll definitely get a big red flower by the end of the year."

The residents gathered together, their discussions continuing.

Qin Huairu's injuries had mostly healed. She sat by the door, coaxing Xiao Huaihua while listening to the gossip.

She also envied Liang Ladi, but she didn't have the chance.

As the days passed, on Monday, the first batch of tunnel boring machines specifically designed for air-raid shelters was transported out of the workshop.

The leaders of the Air Defense Committee personally led a team to receive the batch of tunneling machines, which were then transported by train to various parts of the country.

Liang Ladi and a group of qualified drivers and mechanics also set off from Beijing, chasing the roar of the tunneling machine, heading to all corners of the country.

With a roar, the tunnel boring machine's drill bit pierced the soil, and soil fell down in a flurry.

On the ground, air-raid shelters emerged from the smoke and dust.

(End of this chapter)