The train driver in the courtyard

The impact of the Beijing City Tour was greater than Li Aiguo imagined.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Li Aiguo was frying steamed buns at home.

The excited shouts of the third uncle came from outside.

"Patriotic, black and white photos, I got your black and white photos!"

Black and white photo?

Looking at the dumplings rolling in the pot, Li Aiguo's face darkened.

After He Yuyu finished eating his rice dumplings, he burped and said angrily: "It's so shameful for the third uncle to celebrate the Chinese New Year! How can he curse others like this?"

When he saw clearly that the third uncle was holding a newspaper, Li Aiguo burst into laughter.

"Patriot, there really is a black and white photo of you in the newspaper!" The third uncle shook the newspaper loudly.

"Third uncle, that's called a picture with an article, not a black and white photo." Li Aiguo said quietly.

The third uncle scratched his head: "The picture is in black and white."

He immediately decided not to dwell on the matter, pointed to the newspaper and said: "Look, "Warm congratulations to Comrade Li Aiguo, worker of Qianmen Locomotive Depot, for winning first place in the Spring Festival Tour City Competition!", there is your photo on it! "

The author of the news is Zhao Ning.

The photo selected is the one where he is wearing a red sportswear and holding up a certificate in the square.

"Brother Aiguo, you are so handsome." Chen Xueru's eyes lit up.

This is Renren Daily. It is self-evident what it means to be able to appear on it.

At this time, the residents in the compound also knew that Li Aiguo had appeared in Renren Daily.

Xu Damao, Zhang Gangzhu, Yan Jiecheng, the three uncles, and the three aunts all came to the Li family to express their congratulations.

But their eyes kept peeking into the kitchen.

He Yuyu looked at those people and always felt that they were greedy and patriotic.

He Yuyu decided to ignore these people and returned to the kitchen.

She wants to protect her family.

Hiccup, she burped, picked up the bun and clicked it.

The Jia family is having dinner at Yi Zhonghai's house.

After hearing the news, Yi Zhonghai lay on the bed and felt his calf hurt even more.

Although Jia Dongxu fell down, his injuries were not as severe as Yi Zhonghai's. He was holding a bone and chewing hard!

After hearing about Li Aiguo's newspaper, Jia Dongxu felt that his bones were no longer fragrant and said unconvinced:

"It should have been me who was in the newspaper! If I hadn't fallen, how could the first place have been taken away by Li Aiguo."

Jia Zhang agreed with Jia Dongxu's opinion: "Yes, we are all neighbors in the same compound. We should help each other. Why didn't Li Aiguo help Dongxu when he was running? He is so heartless."

Qin Huairu: "."

She felt that there was something wrong with Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu's brain circuits.

Put some paste on the back of the newspaper, stick it on the wall, and smooth it out.

Li Aiguo shared some donuts with the residents who came to congratulate him.

After the residents left, they returned to the kitchen and continued frying steamed buns.

After frying the dumplings for several days in a row, Chen Xueru felt that her whole body was about to turn into dumplings.

Looking at the hard-working rough man, she whispered: "Brother Patriot, why are we making steamed buns?"

Li Aiguo was also tired.

He felt as if he was being used by Duan Chang Xing as a part-time chef.

At this point, the recipe has been researched and it’s time to make the next step.

"Xue Ru, I thought of a new food from fried dumplings."

"New food?"

"You wait."

Aiguo took some noodles, threw them into the oil pan, and followed the steps of frying instant noodles.

After some operations, a piece of dough was fished out of the pan.

"Brother Patriot? This thing is..."

"You wait."

Throw the dough into the enamel bowl, pick up the thermos and pour boiling water into it.

Li Aiguo got a book and covered it on the enamel bowl.

Instant noodles without books have no soul.

Chen Xueru was a little confused and was about to step forward to ask. Li Aiguo opened the book. The noodles in the enamel bowl looked as if they had been boiled in water.

"This is?"

"instant noodles!"

Li Aiguo puffed up his chest and waved his big hands: "Daughter-in-law, I invented instant noodles from your process of frying donuts."

Chen Xueru didn't know what the use of instant noodles was.

However, I was still very excited when I heard my name was connected with Li Aiguo's research.

"Here, you have a taste." Li Aiguo handed over the chopsticks.

Chen Xueru picked up two noodles, blew on the hot air, and put them into her mouth. Her expression suddenly changed.

"what happened?"

"Not salty."

Li Aiguo: "."

He seemed to have forgotten the seasoning packet.

As for the seasoning packets, that’s easier to solve.

Li Aiguo found seven or eight kinds of seasoning bottles such as salt, meatballs, peppercorns, etc., crushed them, and put them into the bowl.

"Try it again now."

Chen Xueru mustered up her courage and took a bite. Her eyes suddenly shone: "Hey, Brother Patriot, this tastes really good. It's better than ordinary home-cooked noodles."

Li Aiguo pinched his waist with both hands and puffed up his chest.

After frying more than two hundred kilograms of steamed buns, instant noodles were finally developed.

After the instant noodles were developed, we considered that the holidays were about to end.

Li Aiguo didn't waste any time and came to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot with noodles and seasonings.

After learning the news of the successful development, Section Chief Xing of the Locomotive Maintenance Section immediately summoned several deputy section chiefs and held a project acceptance meeting.

at the meeting.

A group of leaders from the locomotive depot who were playing tricks on the big train were sitting in a row.

There was also an aluminum lunch box placed in front of them.

They straightened their chests, their expressions and postures, like children in kindergarten waiting for their meal.

"What are instant noodles? Are they delicious? Director Huang, please be more prompt."

Huang Shuxian placed the noodles in an aluminum lunch box, poured tea into it, and added seasonings.

After a while.

Li Aiguo felt that time was almost up and nodded towards Huang Shuxian.

Huang Shuxian opened the lunch box with anticipation.

Looking at the hard dough, it turned into soft noodles without any paste.

The leaders of the locomotive depot were all so shocked that they could not close their mouths.

"Hey, this thing really works."

"That's right, this is Driver Li's inspiration from fried dumplings."

"Just to develop this thing, we spent more than two hundred kilograms of white flour!"

Deputy Chief Wang was the first to taste the instant noodles.

He originally thought this stuff was no different from ordinary noodles, but he didn't expect it to be so delicious.

He closed his eyes and couldn't even stop saying "um".

A few simple instant noodles, but they exude a fragrant, fragrant and slightly tipsy taste.

"Delicious, delicious! This noodle is the best noodle I have ever eaten in my life!"

"Really? Lao Wang, let me try it. Hey, it's really delicious."

"I'll try it too."

Seeing a group of leaders scrambling for a bowl of instant noodles, Huang Shuxian was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth.

Isn’t it just a bowl of noodles? Is it necessary for you to fight over it?
Li Aiguo smiled proudly.

Instant noodles have a unique taste that is particularly attractive.

Even in later generations, for those children, a table full of delicacies from land and sea is not as good as a bowl of instant noodles.

suck
The undulating foam on the instant noodles boiled into a rich soup in an instant, and the taste buds became the only senses left.

Swallowing again, you can feel the warmth of the instant noodles in your stomach with each mouthful of soup.

After eating, it seems that there is still half of the fragrance lingering on the tip of the tongue, with a long aftertaste that refuses to leave.

Duan Chang Xing finished the soup and slammed it on the table.

"Aiguo, you'll be on vacation starting today, and you'll be responsible for frying dumplings. No, making instant noodles. The locomotive depot will give you an extra ten yuan a month as a subsidy."

Several deputy section chiefs raised their hands in agreement.

"Patriotism should be equipped with a deputy."

"Pot, move the big pot in our cafeteria to the Patriotic Country."

"There is also clean coal. We still have twenty tons of high-quality clean coal in our warehouse. All of them are given to Li Aiguo."

Li Aiguo looked at this group of wolf-like maintenance leaders and fell silent.

Emotional people really think of themselves as chefs.

"Leaders, your opinions are correct."

Li Aiguo spread a circle of cigarettes, lit the cigarette, and said with a smile: "Commander Duan, leaders, have you ever thought about how much I can make with only one person and one pot, even if I stay up day and night making instant noodles? ?
We should industrialize the production of instant noodles on a large scale. "

Duan Chang Xing's eyes froze and his expression became serious: "You mean to build a third-tier factory specialized in manufacturing instant noodles."

"Yes, instant noodles are easy to make and we can make them with all the equipment needed. They are especially suitable for mass production.

Our locomotive depot has the right to establish a collective enterprise."

Li Aiguo said half of his words and did not continue.

Duan Chang Xing already understood what he meant and suddenly became excited.

Instant noodles have the advantages of being easy to store and transport. The key is that they taste good, and the market prospects are definitely broad.

Although there is no need to worry about selling things on the train, customers still have to pay for them.

Just like biscuits made in a biscuit factory, they can't be sold because they taste too bad.

Instant noodles are sure to be an instant hit.

If the Qianmen Locomotive Depot had eaten this big fat piece of meat, then Section Chief Xing would no longer dare to think about it.

"Do it! Do it!"

Duan Chang Xing used his vigorous and resolute style to set the tone with one stroke.

At that time, we discussed with several deputy section chiefs to transform the biscuit factory under the Qianmen Locomotive Depot into an instant noodle factory.

"Old Xing, if you look at this matter, should you report it to the General Administration first?" Deputy Chief Wang suggested.

Duan Chang Xing waved his hand: "It's not like you don't know the efficiency of the General Administration. We can do construction and report at the same time!"

Most of the projects in these years are crossing the river by feeling the stones.

The style of the locomotive section is even more barbaric.

In other words, instant noodles are very important and require exclusive use of a factory.

If it were an ordinary project, there would be no need to report at all.

It is precisely because of this barbaric style that domestic industry can develop so fast. Otherwise, it will take at least two or three years for a project to go from project establishment, to research, to environmental protection assessment and factory construction, and by then the cucumbers will be cold!
The deputy section chiefs had long been accustomed to Section Chief Xing's style, and they all raised their hands to express their agreement.

The biscuit factory is located next to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

In the afternoon, the brand name was changed to Qianmen Locomotive Depot Instant Noodles Factory.

Among them, the word "bian" was written incorrectly, and it was written as "change". Li Aiguo cannot blame the comrades in the Education Department harshly.

After all, the word instant noodles is a man-made word and has not yet appeared in this era.

Director Huang of the biscuit factory is meeting relatives at home.

After getting the news, Director Huang hurried back to the factory on a 28-meter pole, only to realize that he had changed from a biscuit maker to an instant noodle maker in just one drink.

The point is, he still doesn’t know what instant noodles are? !

There are instant noodles in the Qianmen Locomotive Depot that enter the biscuit factory. The principle given by Li Aiguo is that the developers are responsible for developing this thing, and it is under the management of the instant noodles project team of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

You know why instant noodles are so chewy and why instant noodles have such a long shelf life is because of the frying and drying method.

As a researcher, Li Aiguo naturally has to take on the important task of helping the biscuit factory transform.

The renovation project is huge, and a single tree cannot grow into a forest. Even if Li Aiguo is covered in nails, how many nails can he drive?

Fortunately, the locomotive maintenance department fully supported this project and assigned more than a dozen senior intellectuals with high school education to help.

In addition, Director Zhou, who was renovating the workshop, also joined the project team with his technical team.

In just one day, the project team had more than fifty members and had the power to mobilize all resources.

This is unimaginable in later generations.

It is in this era of passion that such a high efficiency can be achieved in the closed kingdom of the railway.

As orders were issued from Li Aiguo's studio, the entire instant noodle factory was like an awakened dragon, rejuvenated.

The sixth day of the new year.

In the hereafter it will be the day of the Great Kaili City.

On this day, shops on the street will set off firecrackers and hold celebrations to pray for making a lot of money in the new year.

In these days, most shops have become public-private joint ventures, and the public manager is in charge. He only sets off a small firecracker, which also lacks a lot of festive atmosphere.

What's more important is that there are no scattered firecrackers on the streets.

The cold wind howled, Zhou Sheng wore old cotton boots and shuffled around among the piles of cannon paper.

Tried to find the unlit firecrackers but was disappointed.

On Monday, several children from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday took brooms and swept the cannon paper together.

Several children put the cannon paper into tattered linen bags with trembling hands covered with frostbite.

These cannon paper can be sold to scrap shops for 1 cent per pound.

Looking at the bulging linen bag, the eldest sister Zhou Zhou straightened her aching waist, wiped the noses of the younger sisters, and shouted to Zhou Zhou:

"On weekends, we have to go to the next one. This morning, we will fill the sacks and sell them to the scrap shop."

"Sister, here we come."

Zhou Zhou didn't find him in the end, so he ran over with a ball of cannon paper in his arms.

Stuffing the cannon paper into the bag, he sniffed and said, "Sister, if you sell the cannon paper, can you buy me a candied haws?"

Wednesday swallowed his saliva: "Sister, I want to eat too."

Thursday raised his little face: "Xiaosier, I want to eat too."

Zhou Yi rubbed their little heads and said, "Be good, dad has been sick these past few months and has been unable to work. He can only get wages and no bonuses. It's too difficult for mom to be alone."

At this time, Aunt Zhou came from behind carrying a linen bag. When she heard Zhou Yi was lecturing her brothers and sisters, she sighed and stopped Zhou Yi.

Now during the Chinese New Year, other children wear new clothes and set off firecrackers, but my own children can only follow me to pick up waste.

She is also a mother, how can she bear it!
"Da Ya, go and buy some bunches of candied haws for them. Buy a bunch yourself too."

Her rough, cracked palms reached into the dirty pocket and took out a torn handkerchief. She opened the handkerchief and carefully took out two coins from it.

"Mom, the candied haws on a stick is too sour. They don't like it."

"Go ahead, Daya, our family is not that bad."

Zhou Zhou pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment before taking the money.

She rolled her eyes at her siblings.

"Okay, now you are satisfied!"

"Mom is so kind, sister is so kind!"

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday cheered and followed Monday, running towards the old man selling candied haws.

The shiny red candied haws are so cute.

Looking at the backs of the children, Aunt Zhou wiped the wet corners of her eyes.

He lowered his head and put the scattered cannon paper into the bag.

In the past six months, the Zhou family has had a very hard time.

Lao Zhou, a track inspection worker at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, fell seriously ill.

Although there is no cost to see a doctor and you can receive a normal salary every month, there are no perfect attendance bonuses and subsidies.

She often followed a group of workers' families to the coal yard to unload coal.

Thanks to driver Li who invented a truck that can automatically roll over, unloading coal now doesn't take much effort and is not dangerous.

It's just that the job of unloading trucks doesn't happen every day.

In addition, there are many families in the locomotive depot who are in more difficult circumstances than hers.

Sister-in-law Liu, who is in charge of dispatching workers, also has to carry a bowl of water.

Now Aunt Zhou can only unload five trucks of coal every month, and she gets more than one yuan, which is not enough to cover her family's expenses.

He had to buy nutritional supplements for Lao Zhou, pay school fees for his children, and feed eight children. Life was tight.

Even during the Chinese New Year, I was not willing to buy meat and vegetables. Fortunately, the locomotive depot gave each employee a rooster.

Otherwise, I really don’t know how to get through this year.

I saw the black cotton wool exposed from the cotton-padded clothes on Monday, I only wore a singlet on Tuesday, the soles of Wednesday's shoes were about to fall off, and on Thursday, Aunt Zhou's tears fell down.

"Mom, the candied haws on a stick is so delicious, you should eat one too."

Seeing the children coming back, Aunt Zhou quickly wiped her tears and smiled: "Monday, you should eat quickly. Mom doesn't like sweets."

"Mom, just eat it." Zhou Yi refused.

Several children also gathered around Aunt Zhou: "Yes, Mom, if you don't eat, the eldest sister won't let us eat."

Looking at the children's little faces full of life and the hope for the future in their eyes, Aunt Zhou took the hawthorn skewers and bit off one.

The sweetness diluted the bitterness of life, and her whole body seemed to be full of strength.

"Oh, old Zhou family, why are you still here sweeping away cannon paper!"

Sister-in-law Liu hurriedly came from a distance, took Aunt Zhou's arm, and started to walk back.

"Sister-in-law Liu, don't pull me away from these cannons."

Aunt Zhou was a little confused.

Now that the Chinese New Year has just passed, there is no coal import plan in the department.

Sister-in-law Liu smiled happily and explained: "You don't know yet, but the biscuit factory in our locomotive depot that stopped production every three days has been closed."

Aunt Zhou knew that the biscuits produced by the biscuit factory next door were particularly unpalatable.

People who take the train would rather eat steamed buns than biscuits.

There was no other way, so the locomotive depot could only distribute biscuits to the workers as welfare items.

Aunt Zhou also got a few pieces. Those biscuits can knock out people's teeth. If they are not soaked in water, they will be impossible to eat.

But several children were very happy when they ate biscuits for the first time.

Now that the biscuit factory is closed, we won’t even have these biscuits anymore. What a pity.
"What does this have to do with us?"

"The biscuit factory has been converted into a noodle factory, and the production scale needs to be expanded. Five hundred temporary workers need to be recruited in the section. Your family's conditions are difficult, and you were selected into the first batch."

"What, the section is recruiting temporary workers!"

Aunt Zhou suddenly felt that the sky was getting brighter.

She saw a red banner hanging on a tailor shop, "In the new year, your life will be better!"

Although temporary workers in the locomotive depot are only temporary workers and their wages are far lower than those of regular workers, they still work full-time.

The money earned every month should be enough to support eight children.

Several children nearby heard that my mother had found a job, and they all jumped up with excitement.

"Mom has a job, and we don't have to eat black bread anymore."

"Mom, I want to eat meat."

"Wednesday, stop making trouble, my mother and aunt are talking!"

Zhou pulled a few children aside, but turned to look this way.

On that thin little face, a pair of dark eyes revealed hope.

The excitement gradually faded, and doubts crept into her mind. Aunt Zhou took Sister-in-law Liu's arm and asked nervously: "Sister-in-law Liu, what kind of noodle factory is this? It requires so many workers. Are you kidding me?"

"How can you not, is this a joke?" Sister-in-law Liu was so happy that she couldn't help but say: "It seems that Driver Li from our locomotive depot invented a thing called instant noodles. Leader Duan thinks it has great future, so We are preparing for mass production. This is a matter for the leadership. I don’t know the specific details.”

"Hurry up and register at the Duan Labor Service Department. I have to notify Lao Ma's family and Lao Hu's family."

Sister-in-law Liu left in a hurry.

Aunt Zhou stood there blankly, looking at the excited children, and murmured to herself: "Driver Li is a great hero!"

"Driver Li? Is he the driver Li Aiguo who developed the dump truck a while ago?" Zhou Yi came over carrying a sack, his big eyes twinkling.

She is about to graduate from junior high school, and she often hears the workers in the section talking about Li Aiguo.

What dump trucks, coal-fired incineration equipment.

Zhou Yi grew up in the locomotive depot and is very aware of the temperament of the old workers. There are few people who can convince and praise them so much.

"It's that Driver Li!"

Now that she has a job, Aunt Zhou is in a much better mood and tells her children: "Yeah, when we grow up, we must learn from Driver Li."

Several children have gone to elementary school and don't understand any big principles. The only thing they know is that because of Li Aiguo, their mother can get a job and they can fill their stomachs.

that's enough!
For people living in poverty, no matter how gorgeous the language or the sensational actions, they are not as real as a bowl of noodles.

As the sun rose, the entire capital city was enveloped in brilliant golden light.

The severe cold brought by winter seems to have subsided a lot.

Aunt Zhou went to the locomotive depot to sign up.

When I got home on Monday, I sat the black stainless steel pot on the coal stove, took off the plug of the coal stove, and started cooking.

After telling my younger brothers and sisters not to run around, I went back to the bedroom on Monday and took out a notebook from the drawer.

The so-called notebook is actually a hard-shell notebook.

I picked up coal cores for a semester on Monday and bought them from the supply and marketing cooperative.

Opening the first side, there is a beautiful bamboo inside. The bamboo is tall and straight, full of vitality.

The bald-headed pen was dipped in some ink, and Juan's beautiful handwriting appeared on the snow-white paper.

"My mother found a new job today. She seems to be making noodles in an instant noodle factory. The noodles have a nice name, instant noodles.

It’s Uncle Li Aiguo”

The tip of the pen paused, and the word "uncle" was crossed out and replaced with the word "brother."

“At the end of last year, my teacher asked me what my ideals were, and I told the teacher that I wanted to be a female pilot.

Now I have changed my mind. I want to become a female scientist and do research with my brother Li Aiguo in the future.

Monday, come on! Happy everyday. "

Finally, draw a circular smiley face on it.

At this time, Wednesday’s shout came from outside: “Sister, we made trouble again on weekends.”

The notebook was hurriedly put into the drawer, and Monday stood up in a hurry to leave the house.

The notebook records the future, and the noisy life outside is the reality.

(End of this chapter)