The train driver in the courtyard

When it comes to fishing, Uncle San is a professional.

In modern terms, he was a fisherman.

Uncle San knew Shichahai as well as his own home, and he knew every nook and cranny of it.

Seeing Li Aiguo's interest in the Yinding Bridge, the Third Uncle said, "Aiguo, you don't know this."

The water in Shichahai flows from south to north. To get to the northwest corner by crossing the Yinding Bridge, you have to go upstream!

Besides, it's summer now, and there hasn't been enough rainfall recently, so the water level in the lake has dropped considerably.

The area under the Silver Ingot Bridge is now full of large, boulders.

If this boat goes over there, it might capsize!

Who would have the time to go boating over there?

I really don't know how the comrades in charge of reception made the arrangements.

What will our foreign friends think of us if they see this?

It has to be said that anglers know everything except how to catch fish.

The third uncle went on and on with his analysis, practically turning Yinding Bridge into a no-go zone for boating.

Perhaps the person in charge of reception wasn't even on the ship.
Li Aiguo recalled that, according to the surveillance team's records, Yamamoto and his group left the translator on the shore because there were too many people.

It seems the problem might lie with the Silver Ingot Bridge.

Li Aiguo touched his chin.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" After the old man finished speaking, he noticed that Li Aiguo's expression was off and quickly asked.

"Perhaps, Third Uncle, you might have even done something meritorious."

"Make a contribution?" The third uncle looked completely bewildered.

He's just a fisherman, what merit could he possibly have?

The old man thought Li Aiguo was joking.

Seeing the few tiny fish, no bigger than the palm of his hand, about to roll their eyes in his bucket, he quickly said goodbye to Li Aiguo, picked up the bucket, and went back.

Li Aiguo originally planned to go directly to the Friendship Hotel to attend the meeting, but he changed his mind and came to the supply and marketing cooperative. He used Aunt Pang's phone to connect with the weather station.

"So, the reason the rats went into that sewer wasn't because they liked sewers, but because there might be something hiding in it?"

On the other end of the phone, Old Cat immediately understood after hearing Li Aiguo's coded speculation.

"Here's what I think. Our cat kept an eye on the mouse, but it didn't follow it into the sewer."

We can't see what the mice are up to inside from the outside.

Li Aiguo said in a deep voice.

"Understood! I'll lead a team to the lake right now! Aiguo, are you coming?"

"Not at the moment, there's an important meeting today."

Old Cat knew that Li Aiguo was busy with the electric train standards project, which was a big deal, so he didn't waste any more words and hung up the phone.

At the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Aiguo also hung up the phone, took out 15 cents, and handed it to Aunt Pang.

"Hey, Aiguo, what rat? Do you have rats in your house? We have new mousetraps at our supply and marketing cooperative, do you want them?" Aunt Pang took the money and took out a mousetrap.

Li Aiguo took a closer look and was immediately left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He's the one who came up with this thing.

However, it has been improved quite a bit now.

There was even a half-steamed bun carved from wood on top, sprinkled with a little cornmeal, enough to fool anyone.

If this skill were in later generations, he would definitely be a master of folk art!
Now it can only be used to make mousetraps...

Li Aiguo sighed a couple of times, waved to the plump aunt, and rode his motorcycle toward the Friendship Hotel.

The standards for electric trains are more important than those for Dietrich.

Once the standards are established, the benefits will be substantial.

This is the true, open strategy!
The ministries also attached great importance to this meeting.

At the entrance of the Friendship Hotel, fully armed security personnel were already on high alert.

Upon seeing Li Aiguo arrive on his motorcycle, an officer quickly went to greet him.

"Comrade, please show your identification."

Li Aiguo took out his ID and handed it over.

The officer took it, glanced at it, and his expression became somewhat moved. He saluted Li Aiguo.

"It's Comrade Li Aiguo! The conference room is on the second floor, and the leaders from the ministry are waiting for you!"

Thank you.

Li Aiguo retrieved his documents, rode his motorcycle into the hotel, and found himself in the same conference room as yesterday. He knew the way well and arrived at the conference room door.

The door was wide open, and the ministry leader was chatting and laughing with a blond, blue-eyed foreign representative.

Upon seeing Li Aiguo enter, the leader's eyes lit up, and he quickly waved to him, saying, "Aiguo, come here quickly! This is Xiao Rui's representative; he's quite interested in our electric train technology!"

"Hello, nice to meet you." Li Aiguo shook hands politely, but he was a little suspicious.

Does Xiao Rui's tiny place really need an electric train?

However, now is clearly not the time to delve into these matters.

Accompanied by a flurry of footsteps, Professor Bernard and Ostrovsky, along with a large group of experts from various fields, entered the conference room.

The relaxed atmosphere instantly turned solemn.

“Comrade Aiguo, we can begin.” Bernard nodded to Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo walked to the front of the conference room and waited until everyone was seated before picking up the materials and speaking.

"Distinguished delegates and experts, good morning."

As a new type of rail transportation, electric trains are completely different from the internal combustion engines and steam engines we are familiar with in terms of both their working principle and power source.

It would be unworkable to continue using the old standards to welcome this new thing.

Therefore, I have combined practical construction experience with technical theory to draft this new set of electric train standards for your review and comments.

"First, we need to talk about the laying of tracks and electrification of electric trains..."

The general framework of Li Aiguo's presentation today is consistent with that of his presentation at the seminar a few days ago.

However, it made more in-depth and comprehensive additions in many details.

The presentation is well-organized and the data is detailed.

The experts in the audience nodded frequently as they listened.

Although the ministry leaders and Section Chief Xing had confidence in Li Aiguo, they were still somewhat worried because this matter was of great importance.

They stared intently at the expressions of the foreign experts.

When they saw the expressions of admiration on the faces of the vast majority of experts, the two men finally felt a little relieved.

"...This concludes my draft standards for the future era of electric trains. Thank you for listening!"

Wow.

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Professor Bernard was so excited that he was about to stand up, but Ostrovsky beat him to it.

Seeing this, Bernard smiled helplessly, made a "please" gesture, and sat down again.

"Comrade Aiguo has already explained the specific standards very clearly."

We have already carefully reviewed and discussed these terms repeatedly during yesterday's internal seminar!

I must admit that these terms are world-class, both in terms of practicality and technological foresight!

If it can be fully implemented, it will greatly promote the leapfrog development of railway undertakings within the railway group!

Therefore, establishing this standard must be put on the agenda immediately!
Now, in my capacity as the vice-chairman of the Iron Team, I propose that all Iron Team members hold a formal vote on this standard!

"The vote shall now begin!"

“Our eldest brother’s family agrees.” The representative of the eldest brother’s family stood up.

“We agree,” Jack’s family immediately chimed in.

As cheers of approval rang out, the atmosphere in the conference room grew increasingly enthusiastic.

Ostrovsky listened and quickly took notes on a piece of paper.

After the count was completed, he announced loudly: "There are a total of eight representatives from the Iron Team who have come this time."

I now declare it passed unanimously!

Our railway team agrees that the Eastern standards formulated by Comrade Li Aiguo will be fully adopted in the subsequent construction of global electric train systems!

"Whoosh!"

Another round of applause, even more intense and longer than before!

Even the leaders of the ministries stood up and raised their hands to applaud.

It's worth noting that Ostrovsky just voted in favor on behalf of Big Brother.

This only shows that although the older brother was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it.

This vote might even have unexpected effects, such as slightly easing tensions between the two companies.

In fact, the ministry leaders were absolutely right.

Moscow, thousands of miles away.

The person in charge had to go to the Kremlin in person to report.

What if we choose to refuse?

"This... will probably cause quite a bit of controversy."

The person in charge replied with a forced smile, "After all, we've always claimed to be a united family."

Now that everyone outside agrees, if we inside disagree, it will be embarrassing...

The person in charge had one more thing left unsaid.

The eldest brother is currently arm wrestling with Xiaomei's family at the monkey's house and urgently needs the support of all the younger brothers.

They openly fell out over a train standard; what are the other guys supposed to think?
Should we continue leading the team?

The most important aspect of the rectification is compromise.

They were clearly aware of the stakes involved.

The bigwig sitting behind the luxurious table hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, alright, you agree now. It's just a standard for an electric train, isn't it? It's not worth us making a big fuss about."

"Yes! I'll go reply right away!" The person in charge felt like he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly left the office.

Watching the door close again, he sat back down at the large desk, casually flipping through the intelligence reports on the table, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

"Heh, that Eastern friend of Andrei's is actually quite capable... Oh well, let's just go with the flow and do that little rascal Andrei a favor..."

The gloom on the big boss's face lessened a bit when he thought of his nephew, Andrei, and was replaced by a helpless feeling of disappointment.

This playboy, who used to only know how to eat, drink, and have fun, has actually made a name for himself by running that "Andrei Trading Company" over the past few years!

The branch office has now been opened in Western Europe.

While the Easterner certainly played a part, it cannot be denied that Andrei's judgment was indeed excellent.

"Perhaps... it's time to give this kid more responsibility."

The big boss was furious when he thought about it.

He originally planned to give Andrei a position in Moscow and then promote him step by step.

Who would have thought that this kid only liked doing business?

"Hmph, so be it. Andrei will understand sooner or later. No matter how big a merchant is, in the face of absolute power, he is nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter."

The big shot stood up and walked to the window.

The sky over Moscow was overcast, and a fine drizzle had begun to fall.

Our attention returns to the conference room at the Friendship Hotel.

After Ironmen raised their hands to vote, Bernard also stood up.

"Just now, the representatives of the Iron Alliance made a wise choice."

Next up is our International Union of Railways!
Here, I would like to say one thing to you all: Gentlemen, what you have cast your votes for today is not merely approval of a technical standard, but a choice regarding the future direction of electric trains!

Alright, enough chit-chat, let's begin the vote!

"We, the Gallic family, fully agree!" The first to stand up was Louis, representing the Gallic family.

He even raised an eyebrow at Li Aiguo.

I agree.

"Agreed."

Then came the John Bull family, the Sanders family, and the Big Bang family. Even the Kangaroo family, who had no plans to develop electric trains at all, raised their hands in agreement.

Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, the atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly fell silent.

Finally, everyone's attention focused on the representative of the Koben family, Yamamoto.

"Professor Yamamoto, what are your opinions?" Bernard asked, frowning.

"I'm sorry... We believe that this standard... is completely out of touch with the current reality. I... we cannot agree to it."

Yamamoto hesitated for a moment, but when he met Kuronuma's cold gaze, he had no choice but to stand up and speak.

"Is that so?" Bernard sneered, not even bothering to refute, and turned to his assistant beside him.

"It was recorded that Professor Yamamoto, on behalf of the Kosuke family, cast a dissenting vote."

Okay, let's count the final votes now.

Bernard didn't even glance at those notebooks again.

A single vote is utterly insignificant compared to the relentless march of history.

"The total number of votes was 11, with 10 in favor and 1 against," the assistant reported.

Bernard immediately announced: "Now, in my capacity as Vice Chairman of the Iron Union, I declare my support for Comrade Li Aiguo's electric train standard! Let us embrace a brand new era of electric trains starting today!"

"Whoa!!!"

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause for the third time, and this time it was even more enthusiastic and longer than the previous two.

Several experts even cheered excitedly.

At this moment, Kuronuma's face turned red.

His original plan was...

As long as they raise strong objections in person.

Even if it's just for the sake of saving face, Bernard should have some reservations.

At the very least, the meeting will be suspended to allow for private discussions and compromises with them.

As long as there is room for negotiation, he has ways to exploit the differences in interests among all parties, muddy the waters, and ultimately bring down this Eastern standard.

But to his utter surprise, the other party completely ignored him!
That's a real slap in the face!
They originally thought that by spending huge sums of money to develop the Shinkansen, they could take this opportunity to rise again in the international railway community and wash away the humiliation of the past.

Now look what's happened! The standards have become someone else's, and their Shinkansen is already outdated before it's even built!

Kuronuma looked at Li Aiguo, who was surrounded by experts, and his eyes turned red with jealousy.

He took a few deep breaths and finally managed to calm himself down.

"As long as we can get our hands on the design drawings of the 'Extreme Speed ​​Oriental Type' and bring them back to China for analysis by the expert group."

With a slight modification... it will still be our own electric train technology!
"We'll definitely turn the tables then!"

Thinking of this, a cold look returned to Kuronuma's previously distorted face.

“Comrade Patriot, since all the reporters are here, why don’t we hold a press conference to announce this good news?” Bernard suggested after the meeting.

He had long been envious of the press conference Li Aiguo had held last time.

“Of course,” Li Aiguo immediately agreed.

Just kidding, the bigger the hype surrounding this, the faster the new standards will be implemented in the future.

Comrades from ministries and foreign affairs departments already have experience in holding press conferences.

A table was set up in front of the conference room, covered with a red cloth, and a microphone was placed on it. Then the reporter was invited in.

The reporters already knew the content of the meeting, and as soon as they entered the meeting room, they swarmed around it.

"Mr. Bernard! I heard that the Iron Alliance has just officially voted to approve the new standards for electric trains. Is that true?"

"Comrade Ostrovsky! Has a consensus been reached within the Iron Group? What is the Big Brother's attitude on this?"

The scene was chaotic at one point, with flashbulbs going off everywhere.

The officer in charge of hosting the press conference quickly tapped the microphone and loudly maintained order: "Please don't crowd! One by one, raise your hand to ask your questions!"

The first to be called out was a blond, blue-eyed French journalist, who naturally passed the question to his fellow countryman, Bernard.

Bernard was the first to be interviewed: "The information you received is very accurate."

Just now, our Iron Alliance members held a solemn vote.

Aside from the small notebook family, who voted against it for reasons everyone understands, all other members unanimously approved the new standards set by the East!

The reporter quickly wrote down these details.

This is big news that could make the front page!

Many reporters were already planning how to report back later.

Next up to ask a question was a reporter from Russia's Pravda newspaper.

He cast a sharp look at Ostrovsky.

"Professor Ostrovsky, has the Iron Group completed its internal vote? Did you vote in favor or against?"

Professor Ostrovsky looked at the reporter and said, "First, let me answer your first question: the vote has not only been completed, but it was unanimously approved by all members of the group!"

Upon hearing this, the reporters present all gasped in unison.

Both international railway organizations have approved it, which is a first in history.

What shocked these astute journalists the most was...

The Russians actually agreed!
"Professor Ostrovsky, was your decision authorized by the authorities? Or did you make this on your own?" Xiao Mei's reporter seized the opportunity to ask.

This question is extremely scathing.

Ostrovsky's face darkened, and he said, "My friend, please watch your words!"
The electric train standard developed by Comrade Li Aiguo is technically perfect and logically rigorous, representing the future of rail transit!

We support advanced science and technology, which is only natural!
Moreover, we and the Eastern Railway are brothers in the same big family!

Any attempt to undermine the friendly railway relations between our two sides is doomed to failure!

Although this statement is ostensibly limited to business exchanges within the "railway sector".

But to these reporters, it had a much deeper meaning.

Could cooperation with the railway sector be extended to a higher level?

The reporter from Xiaomei's family looked grim; if the two families got close, then they...
During the subsequent Q&A session, Li Aiguo naturally became the main focus without any controversy.

Li Aiguo answered the questions related to standards one by one.

If it involves the Russians or other people's issues, just refuse.

"Alright, fellow journalists, that concludes today's Q&A session."

Seeing that it was almost time, the staff from the foreign affairs department decisively stepped forward to take control of the situation.

"Next, let us record this historic moment. Comrade Li Aiguo, please stand in the middle."

Surrounded by the crowd, Li Aiguo strode to the center of the stage.

To his right is Ostrovsky.

On the left is Bernard, who has a big smile on his face.

Li Aiguo held up the draft of the "International Standards for Electric Trains".

"Crack!"

"Crack! Crack!"

Countless spotlights flashed simultaneously.

These three men, representing different camps, standing side by side at this moment for the same standard, were forever captured on film.

Everyone can foresee that, in a few years, this photograph will be displayed in various railway museums.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have prepared a celebration banquet. Come on, let's go." The railway department leader stepped forward and led the experts and reporters toward the restaurant.

The meeting room quickly fell silent.

in the corner.

Yamamoto: "."

Kuronuma: "."

A gust of autumn wind blew in through the slightly ajar window, swirling up a piece of scrap paper on the floor.

The group sat there alone, as if abandoned by the whole world.

Is this over?

Have we really been ignoring them?!

They didn't even invite anyone to the banquet?!
In this era without the internet.

Besides newspapers, the fastest-spreading and most widely-reaching medium was undoubtedly radio.

Just as Li Aiguo was attending the victory celebration banquet, radio stations began broadcasting the news.

"Breaking news! Today, at the International Railway Special Conference held in Beijing, the capital of the East..."

The International Union of Railways and the International Railway Organization each voted unanimously to approve the new electric train standard proposed by the Eastern engineer Li Aiguo!

"Dear listeners, the birth of the new standard not only signifies the end of the old era, but also marks our imminent entry into a new era of high-speed electric trains!"

"To this end, we have specially connected with Professor Henry, a renowned expert in rail transit, to provide you with an in-depth interpretation of this standard from the East..."

Radio waves travel at high speed through the air.

Whether on the bustling streets of New York, in a London pub, or in a Parisian café, people are talking about this news.

"I mean, it's just a standard for building trains, why are these radio announcers getting so worked up?" someone muttered, puzzled.

"What do you know? With this standard, we'll have guidelines to follow when developing electric trains in the future."

"But... those are standards set by people from the East, how can we get used to them?"

"What can we do? The railway technology in the east is getting better and better."

They even built the world record-breaking train; you can't argue with that!

Most people were excited about the emergence of the new standard.

After all, electric trains are fast, which can save them a lot of commuting time.

However, people soon noticed the details of the voting.

"Did you hear that? The news said that Japan Railways actually voted against it!"

"The Eastern Type broke the world record, and now the Eastern standard has become the world standard. Their Shinkansen has no hope."

"Tsk tsk, how petty."

In a quiet little courtyard in Tokyo.

An elderly man sat cross-legged on a tatami mat, receiving a report from his subordinate.

"Baka! Baka yarou!!!"

"That idiot Kuronuma! He's a complete waste of space!"

The empire invested so many resources in nurturing him, and he just stood by and watched the Eastern standards pass?!

The old man rarely lost his composure.

"Don't worry, I just received a message from Kurozuma."

He's already started working on it; it won't be long before he gets his hands on the blueprints for the high-speed Eastern-type electric train.

Hearing this, the old man's anger subsided slightly.

"Hmph! That's for the best."

Call him back immediately and tell him that if he can't get the blueprints, his only fate will be to commit seppuku!

(End of this chapter)