The train driver in the courtyard

At the same time, Li Aiguo did not forget the rules and sent an application for the development of Chinese programming to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Mr. Guo was surprised to see that there had been no movement from the Red Star Computing Institute recently, and thought that Li Aiguo had stopped making any progress.

When he saw the application, his eyes widened.

“This redefines computers!”

"This guy has been holding it in for so long, and I thought he was backing down, but it turns out he's going to make a big move!"

If the 4004 chip denied the development path of large vacuum tube computers from the hardware perspective, then the Cangjie computer language denied the development path of Western computers from the software perspective and constructed a completely new path.

"What a joke! How much manpower and resources would it take to rebuild a new language?"

"No, no, I can't tolerate this kind of waste of precious scientific research funds."

Mr. Guo picked up a pen and wrote an enthusiastic and passionate article. He put it in his arms and trotted into the lake.

No one knows what exactly happened during Mr. Guo’s trip to Haizi.

However, when he came back, his attitude towards Cangjie computer language changed 90 degrees.

"Hold a meeting, hold a meeting immediately! Notify the Computer Institute, North China Institute, East China Institute, Central South Institute, and Liaoning Institute to come to Beijing for a meeting immediately."

Before the assistant had time to ask, he received Mr. Guo's order.

Generally speaking, for a meeting of this scale, the organizers will inform the agenda in advance so that the subordinate research institutes can make preparations.

However, seeing Mr. Guo's red-faced and humiliated look, the assistant did not dare to ask any more questions and quickly dialed the phone to notify the leaders of the five research institutes to come to the meeting.

The first person to arrive at the Academy of Sciences was naturally Deputy Director Chen of the Institute of Statistics, which is directly under the Academy of Sciences.

He had been waiting for the opportunity to become a regular employee. When he saw Mr. Guo, he could not help but ask, "Leader, does our Academy of Sciences have any big projects? If you are confident, please give me the project. I promise to complete the task successfully."

"Ahem, Xiao Chen, wait a little longer until everyone is here." Mr. Guo's face turned a little dark.

Deputy Director Chen didn't realize it either. He just thought that once everyone arrived, the leadership of the project would be handed over to him.

Deputy Director Chen actually didn't have any wishful thinking.

After all, the Beijing Institute of Computing Technology is the top-ranked computing institute in the country and has always played a dominant role in previous projects.

Although we now have a powerful enemy, the Red Star Computing Institute, it is a self-contained institution and is not qualified to participate in such a project that concerns the whole country.

Because those research institutes were far away, the Academy of Sciences conference was not held until three days later.

The leaders of the North China Institute, East China Institute, Central South Institute and Liaoning Institute sitting in the meeting hall also felt a little confused.

They looked at Deputy Director Chen, who was wearing a well-tailored Zhongshan suit and had his hair combed neatly, then looked at each other, and all thought they knew Mr. Guo's purpose.

This is to carry the sedan chair for Deputy Director Chen.

In fact, these leaders were well aware of the relationship between Deputy Director Chen and Mr. Guo.

They also knew that if they bent down like Deputy Director Chen, the benefits they would gain would definitely far exceed those of Deputy Director Chen.

No matter what.

Their backs are relatively stiff and they cannot bend.

After the meeting started, something happened that surprised everyone. Mr. Guo seemed to have lost his former vigor and spirit.

He just held the manuscript and read listlessly: "We have received a notice from our superiors that all computer research institutes under our Academy of Sciences must fully cooperate with the Red Star Computing Institute to compile the Cangjie computer language. I hope that everyone can put aside their prejudices and work together to complete this major project that will benefit the country and the people."

The words fell.

There was silence in the venue.

The leaders of those research institutes were all stunned.

After a long time, it turned out that the Chinese Academy of Sciences wanted to cooperate with the Red Star Computing Institute.

There is no doubt that Mr. Guo was at an absolute disadvantage in the battle with the Red Star Computing Institute. Not only did he fail to take over the Red Star Computing Institute, but he also had to help them do their work.

This is really horrifying.

You must know that in the past, the Academy of Sciences has always been in an absolute dominant position because of its special status.

Now it has been defeated by the Red Star Computing Institute.

After those leaders came to their senses, they looked at each other and all felt that things were going to change.

Deputy Director Chen was so shocked that he almost couldn't breathe.

Wasn't it agreed that he would be the leader?

How did it become Li Aiguo from the Red Star Computing Institute?

Mr. Guo was obviously resistant. After reading the notice from his superior, he just sat there without saying a word.

Vice President Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences took over the meeting.

"Everyone, the Cangjie computer language is not only related to the development of our computers, but also to the promotion of Chinese throughout the world. Our superiors have instructed us to do our best to assist the Red Star Computing Institute in completing this task."

As he spoke, his face became serious: "This is a political task. If anyone dares to neglect the work or deliberately make small moves for personal gain, they will be investigated thoroughly."

As soon as these words were spoken, the leaders were immediately relieved.

It turns out that Cangjie computer language is related to the country's development, and Mr. Guo’s loss this time was not unfair at all.

These leaders all graduated from computer science majors and were well aware that once the Cangjie computer language was successful, it would bring unlimited benefits, so they all expressed their support.

Who would want to use English letters to build a system if they didn't have to?

The news reached the Red Star Computing Institute.

When Li Aiguo learned that five computer research institutes would participate in the project, he was a little surprised. But when he found out that it was Mr. Guo's help, he almost laughed out loud.

Peng Yunyou also nodded in admiration: "Mr. Guo is really a good person."

Although there are enough researchers in the Red Star Computing Institute, researchers are like hardworking oxen and there is never too much of them.

"Old Peng, this time the five institutes have assisted nearly 150 of our researchers. You must arrange the logistics well to ensure that they can devote themselves to their work." Li Aiguo instructed Peng Yunyou.

Peng Yunyou assured, "Don't worry, Aiguo, I have just asked the logistics department to vacate a dormitory building. The ministries have also sent a batch of supplies, which is enough to accommodate so many people."

Li Aiguo was very relieved that Peng Yunyou was doing the work. As it was almost time to get off work, he rode his bicycle to go home.

Chen Xueru's belly is getting bigger and bigger, and as a husband, I have to pay more attention to her.

As soon as I stood up, the phone on the table rang.

Li Aiguo picked up the phone and heard a familiar voice, but he couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

"I am patriotic, Dahua."

The girl who always had two steamed buns in her pocket appeared in front of him. Li Aiguo slapped his thigh fiercely and said, "It's Zhang Dahua. Why did you think of calling me today?"

"I'm getting married this weekend, you and Da Kui should come over."

"Don't worry, we are old classmates. I will be there immediately."

After hanging up the phone, Li Aiguo became curious about who Zhang Dahua's husband was and how he dared to marry such a powerful lesbian.

Five days later.

Researchers from the five aid institutes officially moved into the Red Star Computing Institute.

As per convention, Li Aiguo divided these researchers into five groups, each led by a member of the elite team of the Red Star Computing Institute.

The so-called elite class was where Li Aiguo learned the practices of a company in later generations.

Li Aiguo selected a team of young researchers with high technical level, high ideological awareness and organizational and leadership abilities from among the outstanding researchers.

The elite class is about quality rather than quantity. Currently there are only six members, and each of them is a good comrade who is loyal to the organization.

These days, identity is not only an honor, but also a responsibility.

After becoming project team leaders, those elite class members stayed in the Red Star Computing Institute 24 hours a day and worked very hard.

Ten days later, the Cangjie computer language was officially compiled.

That day, Li Aiguo was planning the main program architecture of the railway network in his office. Professor Xia Zhongsu hurried into the office and reported the good news.

Li Aiguo was overjoyed and followed Professor Xia Zhongsu into the laboratory.

At this time, the main program of Cangjie computer language had been written into the 4004 chip of a standard model computer.

Chen Xiaozhi from the elite class is testing the main program.

Seeing Li Aiguo coming in, Chen Xiaozhi stood up and reported: "Teacher, the program has been completely written and tested. The program can run perfectly, especially in terms of the efficiency of mobilizing the underlying code, which far exceeds all the compiled languages ​​currently on the market."

The elite class is like a "squad" in the army, and Li Aiguo is affectionately called "squad leader" by the members of the elite class.

Li Aiguo nodded: "Now that the main program has been completed, we can start compiling the railway network."

"Put the compiled language in the memory later and send a copy to each research institute."

"Yes." Chen Xiaozhi sat down again and operated the computer.

Just after inputting a few characters using the punch box, Chen Xiaozhi stood up again.

"Teacher, this input method is too troublesome. Can we also equip the computer with a key input tool similar to the calculator?"

After hearing this, Li Aiguo realized that he was indeed negligent.

In those days, keyboards, this input artifact, had not yet appeared.

"Keyboard. That's a good idea. Leave it to me. You guys continue working."

Li Aiguo returned to his office and began to plan how to make a keyboard suitable for Chinese input.

At this time, Professor Xia Zhongsu and Professor Peng Yunyou knocked on the door and came in.

Professor Xia Zhongsu asked: "Since we have completed the compilation of the Cangjie language, should the more than 100 researchers from the Fifth Institute go back?"

This old professor is really honest. Li Aiguo put down his pen and said with a smile: "Old Xia, our institute doesn't lack that little refined white flour."

Professor Xia Zhongsu stood there in a daze, muttering to himself, "What does it mean that there is no shortage of refined white flour?"

Peng Yunyou saw his expression and patted him on the shoulder: "Old Xia, a few hundred kilograms of refined white flour in exchange for more than a hundred researchers, this deal is a good deal no matter how you look at it."

Professor Xia Zhongsu finally came to his senses.

"I was negligent."

His eyes fell on the drawing in front of Li Aiguo. After studying it for a long time, he asked, "Aiguo, are you designing a keyboard? Why can't you make a Chinese keyboard like a typewriter keyboard?"

Hearing this, Li Aiguo realized that he had fallen into a misconception again.

We only consider the differences between English keyboards and Chinese keyboards, but ignore the commonalities between them.

In those days, typewriters could only type English, not Chinese characters. English is a phonetic language, and printing a phonetic language like English only requires a few fixed letters.

Chinese characters are ideographic characters, and each character has a fixed symbol to represent its combination of sound and meaning.

But each Chinese character has a unique structure - radical strokes.

Since we can’t use letters, we can start with radicals and strokes.

This method is somewhat similar to the later Wubi.

However, we currently have an advantage that we did not have when Wubi appeared - the standard keyboard has not yet appeared, so we can redefine the keyboard.

Li Aiguo shared his ideas with Professor Xia Zhongsu.

The old professor gave a thumbs up at the time and said, "Patriotic, your method is really amazing."

Standing on the shoulders of future generations, how can we continue to come up with endless ideas?
It’s just that Li Aiguo doesn’t have a particularly deep understanding of Chinese characters.

At this time, Professor Xia Zhongsu recommended someone: "Wang Li, a professor of Chinese language at Jingcheng University, has been my friend for many years. He is a well-known Chinese linguist in China and has participated in the compilation of simplified characters."

Isn't this like a sleepy person meeting someone who gave him a pillow?

Professor Xia Zhongsu called Professor Wang Li.

On the phone, he briefly explained Li Aiguo's ideas.

Professor Wang Li was very interested: "Old Xia, if this is really accomplished, its significance will be no less than the promotion of simplified Chinese characters. When will your leader come over? I'll be waiting for him."

Considering that the keyboard must be developed as soon as possible, Li Aiguo did not waste time. After lunch, he rode his bicycle to Jingcheng University.

Arriving at the university gate, Li Aiguo took out his ID, registered at the gate, and prepared to go in.

He had only taken two steps when he saw Zong Xianfeng and Dasha carrying lunch boxes and walking towards him while talking.

"Zong Xianfeng, are you concerned about the students?" Li Aiguo greeted with a smile.

When they heard the sound, they were so scared that they separated instantly.

Dasha's face turned red with embarrassment. Zong Xianfeng didn't expect to meet Li Aiguo here. He explained in a panic: "Dasha's mother is sick. She plans to go back soon. She discussed it with me."

This is a really lame excuse.

What does someone else’s mother’s illness have to do with you?
Li Aiguo was not the kind of gossipy person, so he did not ask any more questions. After greeting Dasha, he looked at Zong Xianfeng and said, "Xianfeng, do you know where Professor Wang Li's office is?"

"It's over there at Yanyuan. I'll take you there." Zong Xianfeng looked at Dasha, put on a cold look, and put his hands in his pockets: "Comrade Dasha, you are a student now. I hope you can apply to the Academic Affairs Office first, and then ask the school to buy a ticket to go home."

Dasha took a step back, withdrawing the standard distance between men and women, and said proudly: "Thank you, Comrade Zong Xianfeng, I will seriously consider your opinion."

After saying that, she said hello to Li Aiguo and ran away quickly.

Zong Xianfeng took Li Aiguo and walked towards Yanyuan.

"Brother Aiguo, Dasha and I do have a gay relationship."

"Yes, yes, you are gay. But, Xianfeng, you are a lecturer now, right?" Li Aiguo chatted with him while walking.

"Yes." Zong Xianfeng didn't know Li Aiguo's purpose.

“A lecturer is also considered a teacher, right?”

"Yes" Zong Xianfeng finally understood.

No matter what the relationship between the two of them was, one thing was very certain - he was the teacher and Dasha was the student.

Once someone starts gossiping behind the back, this kind of illicit relationship can easily cause a big storm.

"I understand, Brother Aiguo." Zong Xianfeng nodded.

He felt that he had to make a decision, either to part ways with Dasha, or they could find a way to get married.

"Let's go." Li Aiguo didn't say anything else and quickened his pace.

When we arrived at Professor Wang Li's office, there were three other professors in the office besides Professor Wang Li.

"My dear, I hope you don't mind. These are professors of Chinese language at Jingcheng University. They are very interested in what you call the Chinese keyboard."

Professor Wang Li once studied abroad at the University of Paris in France and is also a member of the Philosophy and Social Sciences Department of the Academy of Sciences. He is very prestigious at the University of Capital.

Zong Xianfeng was a little confused when he saw how humble Professor Wang Li was towards Li Aiguo.

When I looked at the three professors in the office again, every one of them was a well-known professor, and I suddenly felt a little timid.

How did Aiguo, a train driver, get together with a bunch of old language professors?
"Brother Aiguo, I still have to prepare lessons," Zong Xianfeng said in a panic, said hello to a few professors, turned and left.

After the office door was closed, Li Aiguo expressed his ideas in front of several professors.

"This keyboard is a computer input device. All keys and prompts are in Chinese characters to avoid interference from Latin characters."

"Zero conversion input, directly output Chinese through key combinations, no pinyin or encoding conversion required."

After listening to this, several professors were not surprised, but nodded frequently.

"If we want to promote Chinese around the world, we really should have our own input device."

"Once this keyboard is manufactured, it can also be used in typewriters."

The goals are ambitious and the work is difficult.

Fortunately, Professor Wang Li is a Chinese expert. After fully communicating with Li Aiguo and understanding the operating principle of the keyboard, he quickly came up with a solution.

"You just mentioned the idea of ​​the Wubi keyboard. The main difficulty is that you need to remember the radicals, which invisibly increases the difficulty of using the keyboard."

"We can add a basic key layer based on the Wubi keyboard."

Another professor suggested: "The key layer is divided into radical partition, stroke partition and function key."

Professor Wang Li nodded: "The radical partition is divided into areas according to high-frequency radicals (such as "氵、木、口"), and each key represents 1-3 related radicals."

It is much easier to create something from nothing than to patch it up within a set of rules and regulations.

With the cooperation of these Chinese language professors, Li Aiguo quickly figured out the input principle and drew a diagram of a Chinese keyboard.

Putting away the drawings, Li Aiguo nodded to the professors and said, "Thank you so much for today."

Professor Wang Li's face straightened: "Patriotic comrade, you are too polite. It is our unshirkable responsibility to contribute to the promotion of the Chinese language. If you need anything in the future, you can call us later."

After saying that, Professor Wang Li wrote his office number on the note.

With the drawings, the next step is to make a prototype of the keyboard.

Because some of the buttons on the drawings have not been finalized, this work is not suitable to be handed over to the Red Star Computing Institute for completion for the time being.

In addition, the Red Star Computing Institute is mainly engaged in theoretical work, and it is not as fast as doing it yourself for unconventional things like manufacturing equipment.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle halfway, turned around and headed towards the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

The last time Li Aiguo came to the studio was more than a month ago.

After such a long time, when I opened the door, I didn't expect that the studio was spotless.

He heard some noise coming from the greenhouse outside, so he picked up a stick and tiptoed over.

The greenhouse door opened, and Huang Jing was seen with two female comrades in the greenhouse, humming cheerful songs while sorting fruits and vegetables.

"It's Huang Jing."

Seeing Li Aiguo, Huang Jing came over excitedly: "Master, you are finally back."

Li Aiguo looked at the lushly growing fruits and vegetables and asked, "You've been taking care of it all along?"

Before Huang Jing could speak, a girl behind her came forward with a smile on her face, "Driver Li, you may not know this, but Huang Jing really cares about this. Every time she comes back from driving, she will take time out to come here."

"Xiao Niu, don't talk nonsense." Huang Jing glared at her angrily, and when she turned her head to look at Li Aiguo, her face flushed slightly: "Master, I think it would be a pity if the vegetable garden in the greenhouse was abandoned."

"I was indeed negligent. Let's put it this way, Huang Jing, you will be responsible for taking care of the greenhouse from now on." Li Aiguo thought for a moment, took out a key from his waist and handed it over: "This is the key to the greenhouse."

Huang Jing took out a piece of wire from her pocket: "Master, no need, I have this."

Li Aiguo: "."

Why does he feel that workers these days all have special skills?

The vegetables, fruits and melons in the greenhouse were growing well. Li Aiguo picked a lot of them and shared them with Huang Jing and the two girls.

The two girls were both members of the 38th driver team. Huang Jing introduced the one named Xiaoniu as the fireman.

Li Aiguo took a look at her. She looked stronger than any other man and was comparable to Zhang Dahua.

Thinking of Zhang Dahua, Li Aiguo suddenly remembered that tomorrow is Zhang Dahua's wedding day.

He was so busy this week that he almost forgot about it.

Zhang Dahua and Da Kui were both good friends of Li Aiguo when he was in technical secondary school. Now that his good friends are getting married, he naturally cannot miss it.

After seeing Huang Jing off, Li Aiguo walked around the studio, but couldn't find suitable keyboard materials, so he rode his bike to a collective scrap shop.

Wang Da Kui is collecting Yan Bugui’s waste.

"Uncle, you've got a good harvest today." Li Aiguo saw that there was a big bag of waste on the back of Uncle's bicycle and joked with a smile.

"It's Aiguo who's here." The third uncle greeted him and pointed at the big bag: "I've been saving this for several months."

Li Aiguo waited until Wang Dagui finished his work and then told him about Zhang Dahua's marriage.

"We definitely have to go for this. I'll let Xiao Chen watch the store tomorrow, and we'll go together."

Wang Da Kui agreed immediately.

After Li Aiguo finished talking about these things, he walked around the scrap shop and found a few springs that could be used to make buttons.

Wang Da Kui asked Li Aiguo what the use of this thing was.

Li Aiguo briefly explained the keyboard.

Wang Da Kui frowned: "I've never seen such a big plastic shell before."

Yes, plastic is very precious these days. Ordinary people have no way to obtain it, and scrap shops are unlikely to receive it.

Li Aiguo wondered if he should go to the plastic factory to order a set.

At this time, the third uncle came over and whispered, "Aiguo, I think I understand. Isn't it just a board? The kind that can't leak electricity? Without the plastic shell, wouldn't it be the same if it was replaced with wood?"

"Wood. It's not impossible."

Hearing Li Aiguo's words, the third uncle was excited, rubbing his hands and said: "Aiguo, I have a piece of red wood at home, it is absolutely beautiful, if you need it, I will give it to you."

(End of this chapter)