The train driver in the courtyard

On Monday morning, Li Aiguo was concerned about the arrival of experts from the Ministry of Coal Industry, so he got up early and, as usual, carried a basin of water to the Central Courtyard to wash up.

As soon as I pushed open the door, a cloud of mist rushed in.

The fog was just a little different in color, somewhat grayish.

With the increasing number of factories in Beijing in recent years, coupled with the fact that various districts are now using tunneling machines to dig air-raid shelters, how can there not be smog?

There's no such thing as environmental protection these days; black smoke billowing from chimneys is the epitome of industrialization.

However, a water spray cleaning device should also be installed on the tunneling machine, so that the big guy doesn't get all dusty and dirty.

The area around the pool was as lively as ever, with neighbors gathering together, rubbing their faces and brushing their teeth while chatting about everyday matters.

Li Aiguo laughed and joined in the fun for a bit, then quickly washed up and went home.

Upon arriving at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop, Li Aiguo went straight to the aircraft workshop.

Small aircraft have now entered the mass production stage, while the weapon systems mounted on them are handled by the military industry department.

He then went to the tunneling machine workshop, where production was already at full capacity. The workers worked in three shifts, and although it was hard work, their monthly bonuses were almost equal to their wages.

Just as I sat down back in my office, Section Chief Xing came over with several middle-aged men dressed in Zhongshan suits.

"Patriotism, these are experts from Jixi Coal Mine Machinery Plant."

Section Chief Xing first introduced Li Aiguo, and then turned to the experts.

"This is Comrade Li Aiguo from our Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

Li Aiguo quickly stood up, strode forward, and warmly shook hands with the group: "Welcome, experts! You must be tired from your journey!"

Jixi Coal Mining Machinery Plant was a top-tier coal mining machinery plant in China at that time. Its predecessor was Mantan Mining Machinery Plant and Jixi Mining Bureau General Machinery Plant. It produced the first domestically made combined coal mining machine.

The expert leading the group was no ordinary person; his name was Liang Lin. Before liberation, he was one of the few experts in China specializing in coal mining machinery. He also actively participated in the organization and made special contributions to the capture of the Jixi Coal Mine.

After liberation, Liang Lin did not take up a leadership position, but continued to engage in technical work. He also helped Zhangjiakou Coal Machinery Factory (formerly the old mint) to imitate the MBJ series coal planer.

"Hello, Dr. Liang."

"Comrade Aiguo is really young."

Liang Lin had heard about Li Aiguo's affairs when he was in Jixi, and helped to expose Dieter in the Jixi mine.

Later, he built tunnel boring machines and excavators. I thought he was an expert in his forties, but it turned out he was a young man.

We were all tech people, so there wasn't much small talk or formalities.

After a brief chat, Li Aiguo invited Liang Lin and his group into his studio.

As soon as he sat down, Liang Lin got straight to the point: "Comrade Aiguo, we specifically inspected the air-raid shelter tunneling machine you developed before we came here. It is very cleverly designed, especially the front cutting head, which is perfect for cutting coal."

But there's a problem.

This tunneling machine is diesel-powered, which is probably unsuitable for underground coal mine operations. Shouldn't some modifications be made?

"That's what I was thinking too. Here's an improved plan I've come up with. Take a look," Li Aiguo said, taking a thick stack of documents from his drawer and handing them over.

Liang Lin reached out and took it, his gaze falling on the words "Coal Cutting Machine Design Scheme" on the cover, his expression slightly taken aback.

Coal mining operations are complex, and there are countless safety and efficiency issues to consider. How could this young man come up with a complete solution so quickly?
He eagerly turned to the first page, and his originally calm expression gradually changed, his eyebrows involuntarily raising slightly.

"The original ordinary motor was removed and replaced with an explosion-proof three-phase asynchronous motor."

"Add a speed reduction and torque increase gearbox."

"Add a height adjustment hydraulic cylinder."

"Install a spray dust suppression system."

There were more than a dozen improvement proposals, all of which were very practical and coincided with the proposals that Liang Lin and the experts had discussed before.

"But how is this explosion-proof three-phase asynchronous motor designed?"

Liang Lin was most concerned about this issue.

Explosion-proof motors are extremely important for mines.

The most important reason why the output of domestic coal mines is significantly lower than that of foreign mines is that the power and efficiency of motors do not meet the standards.

Jixi Machinery Factory also tried to copy the Russian motors, but they were clearly wary of us, and the technical drawings were tampered with.

"Expert Liang, please turn to the back; there are detailed design drawings and parameters attached."

Liang Lin quickly flipped to the next page of drawings, and as soon as his eyes fell on the drawings, he froze, his breathing becoming rapid.

"The use of 35WW440/500 high-permeability, low-loss cold-rolled silicon steel sheets is brilliant, as it can reduce air gap magnetic resistance."

"The winding adopts a double-layer short-pitch distributed winding, with the pitch ratio controlled at 0.8-0.85, which can reduce harmonic losses."

"Rotor!"

When he turned to the rotor design drawing, Liang Lin suddenly stood up, his fingers emphasizing the drawing, his voice trembling slightly.

"A cast aluminum rotor! And the rotor slots are designed as deep slots or double cages! This design is absolutely brilliant, how come we didn't think of that!"

Several experts nearby couldn't contain themselves any longer and crowded around. After seeing the basic design of the motor, they were all astonished, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Don't even mention us, even the Russians and Americans are still using old-fashioned single-slot rotors, right? This design is so far ahead!" an expert couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

"Keep your voices down! Look at the blueprints carefully!" Liang Lin turned around and shouted in a low voice, suppressing his excitement, and spread the blueprints back on the table, studying them carefully word by word.

The further he flipped through the pages, the more amazed he became by the ingenuity of the design.

"The junction box uses an independent explosion-proof chamber!"

"Double row deep groove ball bearings are selected!"

"The heat dissipation adopts a fully enclosed self-fan cooling structure!"

"This safety feature is absolutely top-notch!"

Liang Lin turned to the last page, his face flushed with excitement, and when he looked up at Li Aiguo, his eyes were full of approval.

"Comrade Patriot, I never imagined that you not only know about tunnel boring machines and excavators, but are also a hidden expert in the field of coal mining machinery!"

"Not really, I just enjoy reading and I've even been down in your mine to learn about the specifics," Li Aiguo said.

"Comrade Patriot, may we study these design drawings first?" Liang Lin said excitedly. Putting aside the coal cutter, the development of this kind of motor would be a tremendous achievement.

"Of course." Li Aiguo had no other work these past two days, so he worked with these experts to study the blueprints.

Besides explaining the design ideas and principles, the most important task is to make localized improvements to the motor based on the practical experience of the experts.

"Patriotism, the more complex the machinery, the greater the probability of malfunction. Therefore, we must discard all unnecessary accessories in the design. Why did you add a spray dust suppression system?" an expert asked after studying the blueprints.

The experts all looked up at Li Aiguo.

This dust suppression spray system is very complex. It needs to be installed above the cutting head, requires a dedicated water tank, and also needs a pressure system.

"The dust concentration in coal mines is extremely high, especially during coal cutting operations. Even if workers wear masks, it is difficult to effectively isolate them from coal dust. Long-term inhalation of coal dust can easily lead to pneumoconiosis."

I designed this spray dust suppression system to utilize the existing static pressure water underground to reduce the dust concentration in the working environment.

Li Aiguo began.

"Isn't this redundant? It only increases costs and the risk of failure..." The expert who had just asked the question wanted to argue, but was interrupted by Liang Lin's stern voice before he could finish speaking.

“Xiao Wang, we not only need to increase production, but we also need to find ways to protect our workers. Now that we’re liberated, do you still want things to be the same as before liberation?” Liang Lin slammed his fist on the table.

"Engineer Liang, that's not what I meant, I just..." Xiao Wang blushed and awkwardly tried to explain.

"Alright, go back and write a self-criticism, and reflect on it properly!" Liang Lin waved his hand.

While Liang Lin was reprimanding his own men, Li Aiguo didn't interrupt. After Liang Lin finished scolding them, he continued, "This kind of underground static pressure water jet system can not only reduce coal dust, but also reduce the concentration of methane. In critical moments, it can play a life-saving role."

Liang Lin nodded approvingly, "Comrade Aiguo, you've thought of everything so thoroughly! This design must be kept, and it should be made even more perfect!"

He paused, then pointed to a mark on the drawing and asked, "What is the purpose of this vibration sensor?"

"This is an accelerometer sensor developed by our Red Star Computer Research Institute, mainly used to monitor the vibration intensity of motors. Once the vibration value exceeds the safety threshold, the system will automatically sound an alarm, which can prevent the mechanical failure from escalating and reduce equipment damage and safety accidents," Li Aiguo explained.

"Is this the idea behind industrial control systems?" Liang Lin's eyes lit up as he recalled the industrial control systems that were being promoted in various regions.

"It's a simplified version of industrial control applications," Li Aiguo said after thinking for a moment. "Although it's simpler than a complete industrial control system, its core function is the same: to improve the safety and stability of equipment operation through automated monitoring."

"No wonder you guys can come up with so many good things." Liang Lin was now a little envious of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's workshop.

He stayed here for a few days and deeply felt that the studio had formed a complete scientific research system.

From mechanical design to computer research and development, and then to chemical engineering and aerospace, all professional disciplines are complete and work together in a coordinated manner.

It is this kind of system support that has enabled us to continuously overcome technical difficulties and achieve these seemingly impossible results.

In the following days, Li Aiguo lived a comfortable life, helping Liang Lin and other experts improve the coal cutter while keeping an eye on the mass production of the small aircraft.

By the end of April, the first batch of 500 custom-made Tyrannosaurus Rex SUVs from Arte had all been manufactured.

In those days, Art had a bad relationship with the East and no railway connection with us or the Russians. This batch of large off-road vehicles needed to be sent to the port city's dock first, and then transported to Art's country.

Li Aiguo contacted Yang Jizong and asked him to prepare to receive the goods.

"Don't worry about Aiguo. It will be the same as before. We'll transport it to the factory for assembly, put on nameplates, and then ship it out via Hongxinghai."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Jizong didn't waste any time and picked up the phone to invite Butler Bai in.

"Uncle Bai, the goods from the mainland are coming. Please make arrangements for the workers at the factory to work overtime."

"Yes." Butler Bai looked several years older than before, but he was in much better spirits.

No wonder, in the past the Yang family could only be considered a big capitalist in Hong Kong, but now, thanks to Hextech, they have become a giant in the international arena.

Before retiring, the old master of the Yang family instructed Butler Bai to make sure Yang Jizong managed the affairs of Gangcheng well.

Butler Bai was a cautious person, so instead of notifying the factory by phone, he drove there himself.

The assembly plant of the Yang family is now managed by Yang Jizong's second uncle. When he saw Butler Bai coming over, Yang's second uncle knew that there was work to be done again.

"Old Bai, what kind of goods are we carrying this time?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

"Yes, yes, yes," Uncle Yang shrank his neck and gave a bitter smile. Back then, the few of them had thought of challenging Yang Jizong and taking over the business from Yang Jizong while the old man was pretending to be sick. Who would have thought that not only did they fail to get it, but they were also beaten up.

Fortunately, the old master of the Yang family was faking illness. He personally came forward and invited all the members of the Yang family together, announced that Yang Jizong was the successor of the Yang family, and had several of his uncles swear an oath to help Yang Jizong. Only then did the situation ease.

Yang's second uncle later realized that Yang Jizong controlled the channels in the mainland, so even if they fell out with Yang Jizong, they wouldn't gain anything.

Furthermore, they are family after all, and blood is thicker than water. In particular, the reason they opposed Yang Jizong taking over was because they were worried that Yang Jizong was too young and would not be able to stabilize the situation.

Seeing that the Yang family was becoming more and more prosperous under Yang Jizong's management, Yang's second uncle changed his stance and helped manage the Yang family's factory.

There haven't been any major problems over the years.

Butler Bai, worried that Yang's second uncle might have some ideas, added, "Second brother, the goods we're transporting now are of great importance, and many people are watching them, understand?" "Old Bai, how could I not understand this? I'll do whatever you instruct me to do." Yang's second uncle was certainly aware that the bigger the tree, the more the wind would blow.

"You need to prepare three hundred vehicle assemblers, and require the best skills."

"clear."

After Butler Bai left, Uncle Yang immediately summoned Supervisor Yang Deli and put him in charge of screening workers.

Although Yang Deli's surname is Yang, he is not a member of the Yang family. In his early years, he worked as a manager in a foreign automobile factory. After Hextech decided to enter the automobile industry, he was specially recruited by Yang's second uncle to be in charge of the factory's production technology management.

"Don't worry, Director Yang, our factory workers are all experienced and their skills are absolutely top-notch. We guarantee that it won't delay the young master's business!" Yang Deli patted his chest and assured him.

"Go on." Uncle Yang waved his hand, about to dismiss him, but then suddenly remembered something and called him back, asking, "Deli, the security department reported that you've been leaving the factory frequently lately. Is something wrong at home?"

"Huh?" Yang Deli was taken aback when he heard this. His eyes flashed quickly, and he hurriedly replied, "Factory Director, my mother is sick and has been staying in the hospital. I have to take some time to go and take care of her."

"I see. You're quite a filial child. I'll have the finance department give you an extra month's bonus later so you can take good care of the elderly."

"Thank you, Factory Director! Thank you, Factory Director!" Yang Deli nodded repeatedly, bowing as he backed out of the office.

As soon as the door closed, Yang Deli's fawning smile vanished instantly, replaced by a gloomy expression.

"A monthly bonus of only two hundred Hong Kong dollars? That's like giving money to a beggar!"

He cursed under his breath, but still went to the finance department to collect his bonus and put it in his pocket.

Afterwards, Yang Deli arranged the workers' selection and then drove away from the factory as usual.

The security guard at the entrance frowned when he saw him: "Manager Yang, are you going out again?"

"Yes, there's an emergency at home, and I've already informed the factory manager."

Seeing this, the security officer didn't ask any more questions and gestured for the gatekeeper to open the gate.

Yang Deli drove out of the factory and appeared in front of the Miramar Nightclub half an hour later.

As soon as the car came to a stop, a young woman with a long ponytail, wearing a blue sailor-collar top and a white pleated skirt, and white sneakers, came up to greet us with a sweet smile like a girl next door.

She opened the car door and called out sweetly, "Dad."

"Hey, my sweet daughter, you're out of school already?" Yang Deli got out of the car, casually tossed the car keys to the valet next to him, and affectionately put his arm around the girl's waist, his hand restlessly caressing her.

Yang Deli had returned from abroad and was used to the glitz and glamour of the world, but he was particularly fond of Xiao Hui from the Miramar Nightclub.

This girl is alluring but not glamorous; she has a pure and innocent look, like a female student from the University of Hong Kong, which is exactly his type.

Xiao Hui was happy to play this game with Yang Deli. She gave a couple of coquettish laughs and led Yang Deli into the nightclub.

Inside the nightclub, the lights were dazzling, and the sounds of laughter and dancing filled the air. But Yang Deli had no time to linger. He continued walking up to the third floor and pushed open the door to a private room.

Inside the private room were several card tables piled high with banknotes, and several well-dressed men and women were playing cards around them.

Upon seeing Yang Deli enter, the manager in charge of the private room approached him and asked coldly, "Mr. Yang, when are you going to repay the loan shark debt?"

"It's just a few tens of thousands of yuan. As a senior executive of the Yang family factory, do you think I'm short of money? Get out of the way, don't ruin my luck."

As he spoke, he put his arm around Xiaohui and walked to an empty card table, sitting down and pulling Xiaohui onto his lap. "Xiaohui, help me deal the cards."

"Do you really want me to play? I'm afraid I'll have bad luck and Dad will blame me if I lose money." Xiao Hui deliberately swayed her ponytail, and the hair with a faint perfume scent brushed against Yang Deli's cheek, making him laugh out loud. He pretended to pat her butt, but Xiao Hui quickly laughed and dodged away.

"If you lose, I'll punish you properly tonight."

"Okay, okay, I'll help you, is it done now?"

Seeing that neither party had any objections, the dealer began dealing the cards.

But Yang Deli's luck was really bad tonight. In no time, he lost all the money he had on him.

"Lend me another 50,000!" Yang Deli shouted at the manager, his eyes red.

The person in charge gave him a strange smile, then waved his hand. The card players suddenly stood up and left, and Xiao Hui left as well.

"What are you trying to do?!" Yang Deli's expression changed drastically: "You Sun Yee On triad members don't follow the rules, do you?!"

The manager ignored him, walked to the door of the inner room and knocked. The door opened, and three men in black suits and baseball caps came out carrying pistols, pointing the guns directly at Yang Deli.

Following behind was a short old man who was smoking a cigarette and just staring at Yang Deli without saying a word.

This oppressive silence lasted for a full two minutes before the old man suddenly stepped forward and kicked Yang Deli hard.

He was short in stature but very strong; that kick almost killed Yang Deli.

"What...what exactly do you want?" Yang Deli clutched his chest, looked up at the old man, and asked in a trembling voice.

The old man squatted down and rubbed Yang Deli's forehead with the sole of his shoe, his tone icy: "I'll give you two paths to choose from, one for life and one for death. Which one do you pick?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sole of his shoe applied a little pressure, and Yang Deli winced in pain.

"Live...live! I choose to live!" Yang Deli cried out, begging for mercy.

The night was quiet.

The port city was shrouded in darkness.

The neon lights also dimmed.

*****
Beijing.

The train stopped at the station, and all the parts for the large off-road vehicle were packed into wooden crates.

The employees of Qianmen Locomotive Depot were already very skilled at this type of transfer work. Without Li Aiguo's extra instructions, they handled the loading, unloading, counting, and verification work perfectly.

Cao Wenzhi and Liu Qingquan also came to help after work. That's how it is these days; the work of the unit is everyone's work.

It was nearly evening when Li Aiguo saw the train leave. After calculating the time, he decided to go to the workshop.

Before they even reached the workshop, Yan Jiecheng rushed over.

"Brother Aiguo, your phone is ringing."

Li Aiguo entered the office, picked up the phone, and frowned.

The call was from the weather station.

"Aiguo, we've received a message that relates to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

Li Aiguo immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, asked Liang Lin and the others to continue working, and rode his mountain bike to the weather station.

Old Cat was waiting in the office at that moment.

The farmer, along with four or five other meteorologists, were also present, and the atmosphere inside was tense.

Seeing Li Aiguo push the door open and come in, Lao Mao stood up and handed over a telegram.

"This is a telegram that just came from Xiaomei's family. Take a look."

Old Cat deliberately concealed the origin of the telegram, but Li Aiguo knew perfectly well that it must have been sent back by Comrade Helmsman.

There have been many changes at Langley over the years, and the helmsman has become a senior executive at Langley.

However, for the safety of the helmsman, the weather station specifically ordered that the helmsman be strictly prohibited from contacting them unless there is a particularly urgent or important matter.

The fact that he has taken the initiative to send a telegram must mean something serious has happened.

The telegram contained very little.

"The eagle has learned of the delivery route and time. Please change it."

The helmsman was always cautious, even in encrypted telegrams he insisted on using code words.

These seemingly superfluous details are actually of paramount importance.

After all, telegraph operators and intelligence agents are mostly grassroots personnel who have to sift through a massive number of telegrams every day. Vague code words can minimize risks and prevent messages from being easily deciphered.

"What goods are you going to deliver?" Old Cat asked in a deep voice.

"We have a lot of goods to ship soon, mostly civilian supplies like rice cookers, hand warmers, and electric fans, plus construction equipment like excavators..."

After a moment's thought, Li Aiguo's expression suddenly turned serious. "If Langley is targeting us, it can only be the large off-road vehicles that Attack ordered."

He briefly explained the background of the customization of this batch of large off-road vehicles and the transportation plan.

Old Cat's expression changed drastically: "We received full payment for this batch of large off-road vehicles. If the Qianmen Locomotive Depot cannot deliver them on time, Art will definitely cause trouble, not only damaging the relationship we just established, but also ruining our reputation."

“That’s right, Langley’s move was indeed ruthless, targeting key moments specifically.” Li Aiguo nodded.

A young meteorologist standing nearby couldn't help but interject, "You're shipping by sea, aren't you? Does Langley dare send a warship to intercept you? That would be a violation of the family's regulations!"

“International regulations? In Langley’s eyes, that’s just a piece of paper. They can send people to cause trouble in other people’s homes, let alone on the high seas,” Old Cat said.

Li Aiguo nodded in agreement, lit a cigarette, and slowly said, "That makes sense, but I don't think Langley will send warships directly."

The main adversary of Xiaomei's family is still the Russians. They don't dare to completely break ties with us, so they will never openly intercept us.

"You mean... they might be disguised as pirates?" Old Cat frowned.

"It could be a disguise, or it could be direct collusion with pirates. Langley's methods have always been diverse, and it's not entirely certain yet, but whatever it is, he's up to no good."

"Should we change course now? Our fleet doesn't have any warships escorting it."

“Any last-minute change of course or route will inevitably delay the delivery date. More importantly, we haven’t figured out how Langley found out about the transshipment. If there’s a ‘mice’ in there, even if we change the route, it will probably be leaked immediately.”

There was silence.

“Since you’ve already made up your mind about patriotism, let’s do as you say.” The farmer, who hadn’t spoken until now, had seen through something and stood up.

The meteorologists present were aware that this matter involved top secrets and was far beyond their authority, so they all got up and left the office.

Only the two of them remained in the office. The farmer poured Li Aiguo a cup of hot water and handed it to him: "Are you confident?"

"I have confidence in Hongxing Shipping and the comrades in the mine protection team."

"Good! Retreating will only embolden the enemy. Only by giving them a good beating can we quell their arrogance." The farmer slammed his hand on the table.

"Don't worry, the weather station will launch an investigation immediately and will definitely find the rat."

"Thank you, teacher."

Li Aiguo still had some doubts: why would Langley suddenly target Da Yueye at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot?

But there are more urgent matters to deal with right now, so I have to put them aside for now.

It was late at night when Li Aiguo left the weather station.

The bustling capital city had long since fallen into tranquility, and people were already fast asleep.

Behind this seemingly ordinary tranquility lies the dedication of countless people.

(End of this chapter)