The train driver in the courtyard

The old workers at Factory 221 always like to use a code word to call this Gobi desert - "grassland".

The two words "grassland" are highlighted in the confidentiality code.

If new college students asked about it, the old master would narrow his eyes and smile: "We grassland people live on the grassland, it's only natural."

Li Aiguo thought it was just a joke.

It was not until he knelt beside the camp bed and spread the straw mat, and suddenly a few gray camel thorns emerged from the seams of the canvas, that he realized the profound meaning of this name.

"The grass in the Gobi Desert grows in the cracks between rocks, just like the grass in Factory 221."

"The 221 factory that started with a tent is really doing big things!"

At night, Li Aiguo burped a large burp that tasted like boiled water, leaned on the bed, picked up a three-section flashlight and studied for a while.

The three-battery flashlight had to be used sparingly. Li Aiguo put down the book and fell into a deep sleep.

The temperature in the Gobi Desert was close to minus 20 degrees Celsius in the middle of the night. Li Aiguo was woken up by the cold and his teeth were chattering.

Old Cat was particularly alert. Hearing the noise coming from Li Aiguo next door, he shouted across the tent: "Do you want to promote class friendship?"

Li Aiguo thought about the other party's stinky feet that were comparable to biological weapons, and waved his hand: "Thanks, I'd better stick with the saxaul tree!"

He counted the whistling of the northwest wind blowing across the steel cables, put on the four major items, and then wrapped himself in a layer of quilt, and his whole body immediately became warm.

zZZ
The next morning, it was still dark.

The cold wind from the Gobi Desert wrapped around the rough sound lines of the tweeter, tearing the melody of "We Workers Have Power" into pieces.

Li Aiguo jumped up from the camp bed with a start.

He threw off the quilt and was about to jump out, but the old cat blocked the door with a broom made of reed grass: "New soldier, shave the house first!"

Before Li Aiguo could realize what was happening, the sand on the top of the tent was already falling down, creating a golden mist in the morning light.

This trick is a skill passed down from ancestors of the grassland people - if the sand is not swept for three days, the tent will turn into a grave.

After Lao Mao finished sweeping the tent, the water delivery truck from the fourth branch of Factory 221 climbed over the sand ridge with a grunt.

The red cloth label with the words "Grasp the Revolution and Promote Production" on the front of the car faded to pink and white, fluttering in the black diesel smoke.

The long dragon for fetching water has already meandered for more than 400 meters. The metallic sound of the enamel pot hitting the belt and the white mist exhaled are interwoven into a busy morning song.

The water and electricity here are provided by the Fourth Branch of Factory 221.

There was a faucet in the tent area, but it was frozen at this time, so the morning daily water supply could only rely on a water truck.

Li Aiguo had a towel casually draped around his neck, staring at the frozen faucet in a daze.

Suddenly, a crisp call came from behind: "Patriotic comrade, do you also want to stay in Factory 221 to fight the tough battle?"

He turned around quickly and saw Zhou Xiaomeng smiling. That smile was like the warm spring sun, spreading across her flushed little face.

The tip of the female researcher's nose was slightly red from the cold, adding a bit of playful childishness to her original intellectual temperament.

Behind her followed a young man wearing glasses. There were three pens in the pocket of his straight Zhongshan suit, and he looked like an intellectual.

Liu Hong's round face was frozen red, just like a ripe red apple. She stood on tiptoes from time to time and looked towards the front of the team.

"Hello, Comrade Zhou." Li Aiguo greeted casually and moved forward two steps with the team.

The line at this time was more than 400 meters long, and it would take at least half an hour to get to the water truck.

"If we waste half an hour every day, that's 180 hours a year, or 7.5 days. If we can save this week's time, the progress of mushroom cultivation will definitely be greatly improved."

Li Aiguo looked at the water pipe in the distance and was about to think about how to thaw it.

"Xiao Meng, Sister Hong, give me the basin!" Wang Shouye's suddenly raised voice pierced the stagnant air.

When he spoke, he always liked to raise his chin, with his eyes narrowed behind his lenses, ready to accuse someone of having "backward thinking" at any time.

"This, this is inappropriate. Everyone is queuing up." Zhou Xiaomeng looked at Wang Shouye in surprise.

Liu Hong chuckled and pulled Zhou Xiaomeng back half a step: "Let our technician Wang show his skills."

"No, I'd better wait in line." Zhou Xiaomeng put the basin behind her.

This slight resistance was like a spark splashing into an oil barrel. Wang Shouye snatched the two basins, turned around and ran over.

He inserted himself right in front of a young man.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you plugging in? Go queue up!" The guy had been waiting in line for half an hour and was already getting anxious, so of course he refused to do it.

Wang Shouye tilted his head and asked, "Do you know which factory I work for?"

"Ah" a hint of doubt flashed in the young man's eyes.

"The Technical Research Department of the First Branch, which is responsible for the production of uranium components, and the Uranium Enrichment Workshop Group 3 are waiting for my data. Did you know?"

As Wang Shouye spoke, he poked the young man's shoulder strap with his index finger, and said arrogantly: "Friend, every minute I delay, the mushroom cloud will be 60 seconds later. You are not asking me to cut in line, you are contributing to the creation of the big mushroom."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a commotion among the crowd.

Several old workers put out their cigarette butts in the frozen soil, and the young workers in work clothes exchanged knowing glances.

The guy who was cut in line stared at his sleeves that showed cotton wool, his Adam's apple rolling up and down: "Then you go first..."

"You should have been more sensible earlier!" When Wang Shouye pushed the other person away, his boots made a sharp sound on the gravel.

He glanced triumphantly at the line of female workers at the back, but caught a glimpse of Zhou Xiaomeng hiding the enamel basin behind Liu Hong, and the smile on his face froze instantly.

At this moment, a shadow suddenly enveloped Wang Shouye, and a big hand fell from the sky and grabbed his collar like a pair of pliers.

The hand was so powerful that Wang Shouye felt as if someone had grabbed his neck and lifted him up easily.

The next second, he was thrown heavily to the ground, causing his butt to hurt.

He rubbed his buttocks, raised his head, and saw that it was Li Aiguo. He was immediately annoyed and embarrassed: "What are you doing!"

"There are two kinds of people I hate most in my life: those who cut in line, and those who cut in line."

Li Aiguo pointed at the people behind him and said, "Everyone is lining up. What? Do you want to be treated specially?"

No matter where you are, there is no shortage of people watching the fun, especially in Factory 221, most of the people are young people, who like to join in the fun.

In less than a moment, everyone in the queue gathered around.

Zhou Xiaomeng saw two acquaintances quarreling and wanted to step forward to stop them, but Liu Hong clamped her arm tightly and said, "Xiaomeng, don't worry. Wang Shouye is a college student. We can just find out your background as a train driver."

"Sister Liu, if you say that again, I will ignore you." Zhou Xiaomeng stomped her feet.

The two were whispering over there, and Wang Shouyu saw them from a glance, his face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.

"Do you know which factory I'm from? The Technical Research Department of the First Branch, producing uranium components!" He wanted to wave his fist, but seeing that Li Aiguo was a burly man, he could only talk.

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes slightly: "Comrade, you made two mistakes."

"Me? Made a mistake?" Wang Shouye frowned.

Li Aiguo raised his index finger: "First, as far as I know, the first branch is still under construction, and all technicians are currently only receiving training. Where do they get the uranium parts?"

Wang Shouye's face suddenly darkened.

He didn't expect that this person knew so much about a branch factory.

Li Aiguo raised his middle finger and said, "Secondly, according to the confidentiality regulations of Factory 221, no one can reveal their work content to the outside world! Well, what did you just tell everyone about your job?"

As soon as these words came out.

Wang Shouye was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he stammered, "I, I didn't mean it."

Li Aiguo glanced at Lao Mao in the crowd. Lao Mao understood what he meant and walked in quickly with a few staff members after receiving his signal.

"Comrade Wang Shouye, we are from the Confidentiality Department of Factory 221, and we want to talk to you now."

"I really didn't mean it." Wang Shouye realized the seriousness of the problem.

He turned his head and looked at Liu Hong, his eyes full of pleading: "Sister Liu, Sister Liu, you know this person, right? Please plead for me."

Liu Hong originally intended to find out the other party's background, but ended up touching a landmine.

She was also frightened by this scene at this moment, and quickly waved her hands and denied it: "Who are you? I don't know what you are talking about."

The silly girl Zhou Xiaomeng wanted to step forward to mediate, but Liu Hong grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"Xiao Meng, don't you have to report to the ninth inning later? We have to line up to get water."

As an old comrade, Liu Hong was very clear that Wang Shouye had violated the confidentiality regulations and it would be troublesome if he was implicated.

After Wang Shouye was taken away by the security officer, applause broke out at the scene.

Sure enough, no matter what era, everyone doesn’t like queue cutters.

In the distance, a middle-aged man holding an enamel basin witnessed the whole process.

He looked at Li Aiguo and said with a smile: "This guy is quite interesting."

Li Aiguo picked up the enamel basin and was about to line up when the middle-aged man suddenly came over and patted him on the shoulder: "Young man, you did a good job."

"It's nothing, I just can't stand some people taking advantage of their status to get special treatment."

As Li Aiguo spoke, he looked the middle-aged man up and down.

The man was probably in his forties, wearing common navy blue work clothes and black cloth shoes.

He looks like an ordinary worker, but he exudes the unique aura of a general who fought his way out of a sea of ​​blood.

Li Aiguo had seen this kind of pressure from the old commander before, and it was awe-inspiring.

"Yes, all the comrades who came here have given up their superior lives. They are all working for the same goal. Their shoulders are the same height."

The middle-aged man seemed to be a heavy smoker. As he spoke, he touched his pocket but felt no cigarettes.

Just as he was about to sigh, someone put a cigarette in his mouth.

Li Aiguo picked up a match and lit it for him: "Remember, you owe me a pack of cigarettes, and they have to be Sunflower grade. Don't fool me with Daqianmen."

"A pack?" The middle-aged man's fingers holding the cigarette froze in mid-air.

"Brother, this is a plateau. I bought this pack of cigarettes at the supply and marketing cooperative in Beijing. I traveled thousands of miles across mountains and ridges. Shouldn't my cigarettes have increased in value?"

Looking at Li Aiguo who looked as if it was a matter of course, the middle-aged man opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

But he was amused by Li Aiguo's words and laughed: "Okay, okay, I owe you a pack of cigarettes. How about this, tell me which department you are from, and I will return it to you when I have time."

Li Aiguo: "Are you trying to trick me into revealing the secret?"

Middle-aged man: “.”

The biggest feature of the Gobi Desert is its dullness.

The workers, technicians, and scientific researchers were like fully wound-up clocks, working tirelessly and desperately.

The middle-aged man hasn't seen such an interesting young man for a long time.

The middle-aged man scratched his head, looking helpless: "Then how can I return the cigarette to you?"

Li Aiguo pointed to the distance and said, "Look, do you see that tent? Row 16, No. 6. I live there."

The middle-aged man said with emotion: "That's a good idea. You seem to be quite smart."

Li Aiguo: "No, I'm just a little smarter than you."

Middle-aged man: “.”

This young man is a nice guy, but he just likes to talk to death.

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at the faucet and changed the subject: "Little brother, what do you think of the water supply at the base?"

He just wanted to change the subject, just like asking "What do you think of the weather today?" He didn't need the other person to answer seriously.

But the other party gave him an answer that he couldn't figure out no matter how hard he tried.

"stupid."

"Silly?"

"Isn't it just the frozen water pipes in winter? If you leave it to me, I can solve it in minutes." Li Aiguo said, looking at the two young men standing in the distance.

Although these two young men were also wearing navy blue work clothes, their waists were bulging. They stared around vigilantly, and it was obvious at a glance that they were guards.

"Can it be solved? In just minutes? Little brother, the wind is strong on our grassland, so don't bite your tongue." It's rare for the middle-aged man to be so sarcastic, and you know what, it feels pretty good.

These words startled the two guards so much that they rubbed their ears, looked at each other, and turned their heads away at the same time, pretending they heard nothing.

"I, Li Aiguo, never brag!" Li Aiguo stomped his feet suddenly.

A gust of wind blew, and the surroundings were filled with wind and clouds, sand and gravel lingering, and waves of wind spread out in layers, stirring up yellow sand all over the sky. The strong pressure was almost too strong to look directly at.

Of course. It would be better if Li Aiguo didn't have that mouthful of sand in his mouth.
It turns out that there is a price to pay for showing off.

Spitting out the sand, Li Aiguo shook off his non-existent windbreaker, with an imposing manner, the corners of his mouth almost split to his heels: "This water pipe is more than several kilometers long, there is really no way to use the usual warming method, but just wrap the pipe with electric heating tape..."

"Hey, it's my turn, brother. I've been waiting in line for half an hour. Please have mercy on me."

The middle-aged man was listening with his ear tilted, but he missed the second half. He was a little anxious at the time: "What is electric heating tape and how to make it?"

"Well, the manufacturing process is also very simple, but I'm busy. I'll talk about it next time."

Li Aiguo had already lined up next to the faucet and was expressing his gratitude to the kind brother.

He fetched some water with the enamel basin, washed his face with a huff, brushed his teeth with a huff, then left carrying the enamel basin.

"Busy?" Before the middle-aged man could react, Li Aiguo had disappeared.

The middle-aged man's pupils trembled: "!!!"

He took a deep breath and waved to the guard.

When the guard approached, he said, "Go check, who lives in row 16, number 6 in the tent area?"

"Yes!" The guard stood at attention and saluted, then left.

The middle-aged man washed his face and returned to the tent, still thinking about the so-called electric heating tape.

He had just sent someone to inquire at the fourth factory.

The engineers and masters in the factory had no idea what this electric heating tape was.

"Hey, this kid really knows how to keep people in suspense." The middle-aged man raised his wrist to check the time and saw it was half past nine. He stood up and prepared to attend the Ninth Bureau Committee meeting.

At this time, the guard came in and saluted him: "Reporting to Director Li, according to the records of the reception desk, the person living in the tent is Comrade Li Aiguo, the chief consultant from the Red Star Computing Institute."

"A specialist from the Red Star Computing Institute? He's a computer researcher, what does he know about water and electricity?" Director Li was stunned.

At this time, the guard handed over a document: "This is what Commissioner Li asked me to give you. He said it was worth a pack of cigarettes, and it has to be of Sunflower grade."

"Damn, is this guy addicted to blackmail?" Director Li took the information in a daze.

After just two glances, his expression changed and his pupils trembled: "!!!"

《The principle and production process of electric heating tape》

Turn it over.

"Electric heating tape is a heating device that uses electrical energy to generate heat. It can convert electrical energy into thermal energy to heat and insulate pipes, containers, etc."

"It consists of two parallel metal wires and a heating element in the middle. The heating element is usually made of conductive plastic or metal alloy and has good electrical and thermal conductivity."

“具体材料：铜芯导线:7×0.50、导电塑料层、含氟聚烯烃、弯曲半径：20℃室温时为25.4mm -30℃低温时为35.0mm、起动电流（10℃）每米0.4A、.绝缘电阻(导线与屏蔽间)最小值为 120MΩ。”

“Note: It is strictly forbidden to leave the tail of the heating tape exposed without installing a junction box, exposing the conductive part, or using absorbent insulating tape.”

The material is only five pages long, but the content is very rich.

In particular, even if Director Li is not a professional, he can see that the above materials can be found in the Gobi Desert base.

If all the pipes in the Gobi Desert are wrapped with electric heating tape, there will be no need to worry about the water pipes freezing or cracking.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Director Li said yes three times in a row: "If this thing is really useful, let alone one pack of cigarettes, I will give it to him even if it is three packs."

The guard's face looked a little strange at this time.

Director Li asked, "What's wrong?"

The guard twitched his lips twice: "Commissioner Li told me when he handed over the materials that if you are willing to give him three packs of cigarettes, he wouldn't mind.

At the time I didn’t think much of it. What fool would be willing to give three packs of cigarettes? Only a fool would be willing to give three packs of cigarettes.”

"Oh, that's not right. The one who gives three packs of cigarettes is the fool."

The guard became more and more anxious as he spoke, and his mouth was filled with garlic.

Director Li: “.”

He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I know you are very good at expressing yourself verbally, but I suggest you stop expressing yourself."

The guard stood aside with a red face.

This was the first time that Director Li felt that he had been plotted against, but he was not angry; instead he was very happy.

He became even more excited after the engineers from the fourth factory studied the materials and confirmed that it was indeed feasible to use electric heating tapes to heat water pipes.

"Immediately order the fourth factory to fully produce electric heating cables!"

"Also, bring me the three cartons of white cigarettes I brought from the capital. I'm going to visit my little brother."

The guard raised his hand again: "Commissioner Li has to attend an important meeting today and has no time."

Director Li's pupils trembled: "!!!"

The guard raised his hand: "Chief, is there something wrong with your eyes? Do you want me to ask Doctor Zhang to come over?"

Director Li: “.”

******
Li Aiguo claimed that he was very busy and was not deliberately shirking responsibility.

He was indeed busy - he was sitting in the meeting room of the ninth inning, sipping boiled water leisurely.

Of course, he was working too.

Always be prepared to provide logistical maintenance work for the calculator.

The work efficiency of the nine-innings-one-room is very high.

Last night Li Aiguo returned to the tent and Director Deng convened a general meeting, at which it was decided to use a calculator to overcome the theoretical difficulties of the mushroom explosion.

These difficulties include the physical laws of atomic bomb materials during the compression process, the interaction between detonation waves and shock waves, the focusing of shock waves and interface instability.

It is the theoretical basis for growing mushrooms.

In particular, China has adopted the world's most advanced "implosion" method, so theoretical research is more difficult.

Li Aiguo has level 1 access authority and is indeed qualified to enter the adjacent laboratory.

However, in confidentiality work, it is an eternal truth that it is better to do less than more.

Therefore, the theoretical research work is currently in full swing, and Li Aiguo chose to be on standby as a maintenance personnel.

"As long as the calculator runs normally and we can calculate the first batch of data, we will have completed the task and can return to Beijing to celebrate the New Year."

The theoretical research on growing mushrooms is very complicated.

In particular, in order to ensure that the theoretical model can cover all situations, Professor Zhou Lin adopted the characteristic line method to solve the fluid mechanics equations and simulated the entire process of material movement from detonation to target impact.

The entire area needs to be divided into thousands of grids, and 5-6 equations need to be solved and many parameters need to be calculated at each grid point. One-third of the points need to calculate two sets of parameters, and some grid points need to be iterated multiple times.

In addition, 1 to 2 test equations are calculated for each grid point.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the calculation, two people are used to calculate.

According to Professor Zhou Lin’s original plan, it would take at least twenty days for the first batch of data to be produced.

Now that we have replaced the calculator and the calculation speed has greatly increased, it still takes at least five days.

Li Aiguo then lived a good life of drinking boiled water during the day and chatting with Brother Li in the tent at night.

The so-called Brother Li is the middle-aged man that Li Aiguo met in the morning.

That night, Li Aiguo had just returned to the tent.

"The fourth plant has produced the first batch of electric heating traces, and will start to transform the water supply lines of the entire plant from tomorrow."

The middle-aged man rushed into the tent and threw three white packs of cigarettes in front of Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo has a very strong sense of self-respect, so how could he condescend to do that for three packs of cigarettes?

He immediately acknowledged the middle-aged director from his family as his elder brother.

The dim light from the lantern filled the entire tent, and the cow dung stove gave off almost no warmth.

Brother Li pointed to the aluminum lunch box with some pride: "You didn't eat enough tonight, I brought you something good."

"It has to be my brother who kisses me, then you are my real brother. Otherwise, I always feel close to you when I see you for the first time." Li Aiguo stood up and took the lunch box.

"As for you, I don't know about your other abilities, but your mouth is truly amazing." Director Li smoked a cigarette, his eyes full of warmth.

You know, this commissioner from Beijing originally brought more than thirty boxes of instant noodles.

However, after learning about the current situation of Factory 221, they were all donated to the Ninth Bureau as scientific research materials.

If he doesn't protect such a comrade, who will?

Li Aiguo opened the aluminum lunch box, which contained three palm-sized fried fish.

The fish was fried without oil and smelled pungently fishy, ​​but Li Aiguo's Adam's apple couldn't help but tremble twice.

In Factory 221, there were no refined grains in the staple food. Flour and rice were nowhere to be found. Even the meals for the sick were made of barley flour.

As a commissioner, Li Aiguo enjoyed the privilege of two broad bean flour steamed buns with every meal. The buns were called "Yi Ni Su".

Put two steamed buns in a bowl, add some soy sauce, pour in water and stir, then drink it in a few gulps. It is considered a delicacy.

"Brother Li, I didn't expect you to give yourself special treatment." Li Aiguo said with a smile.

Director Li knew he was joking, but he went along with him and rolled his eyes: "What special treatment? This is the fish I caught with my fishing team."

Li Aiguo: "Just this little catfish?"

Director Li: "It's just bad luck today, it has nothing to do with skills. Let me tell you, last Sunday, our fishing team caught ten fish!"

Li Aiguo: "Ten little catfish? How many people are there in your fishing team?"

Director Li: "It doesn't matter what fish you catch. Fishing is all about the mood!"

He felt that his younger brother had no respect for him at all.

However, Director Li seemed to enjoy this feeling.

"Aren't we going to check the calculation results tomorrow in Room 1? We won't need a calculator, and you don't have to stay there. How about you go fishing with our fishing team?"

Director Li considered himself an expert in fishing and was praised by his superiors when he was crossing the grassland.

Now that I am looked down upon by my younger brother, I am naturally unwilling to accept it.

"A word is settled!"

Li Aiguo stood up and shook hands with Director Li.

As the night deepened, after seeing Director Li off, Li Aiguo picked up his chopsticks and prepared to enjoy the delicious food.

There was a rush of footsteps outside.

"Driver Li, are you there?"

The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was. Li Aiguo opened the tent door and walked out.

Liu Hong was staring at him anxiously.

"I heard that you are very familiar with the comrades at the reception desk? Can you go and get some biscuits or something? Zhou Xiaomeng suddenly fainted while working today. The doctor said it was due to acclimatization and she couldn't get used to eating Yipinsu."

"I think Zhou Xiaomeng brought some biscuits when she came?" Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes.

He remembered clearly that when Zhou Xiaomeng got on the truck, the package was bulging. Chen Xuedong also noticed it but did not point it out.

After all, they are used to a good life in Shanghai. It is enough for them to support this place. What else can they ask for?
"Don't mention it. This girl is so stupid. When she saw that the old researcher in the institute was sick, she gave all two cans of biscuits to him." Liu Hong stamped her feet and said.

"You are really a silly girl who gives food to others while you are starving yourself."

Li Aiguo looked at the three small fish, was silent for a moment, and handed over the lunch box.

"Take it."

"It's fish, thank you, thank you so much." Liu Hong walked away happily holding the aluminum lunch box.

Li Aiguo watched her figure disappear in the distance, then sat back down, his stomach growling.

He was suddenly stunned: "Am I also a fool?!"

(End of this chapter)