The train driver in the courtyard

The situation during the flood was a little simpler than Li Aiguo had expected.

The water was not deep, just above the knees, but the torrent carrying mud and sand was extremely turbulent, and every step forward seemed to be a struggle with an invisible giant hand.

Lu Zhongshan had been washed to the downstream bend and was hanging on a leaning willow tree in a semi-conscious state.

Li Aiguo held the rope tightly and shouted to the shore: "Hold on! Don't let go!"

The rescue team members on the shore were bent over, pulling the rope with veins bulging.

Zhou Fang led the passengers to take turns pulling the rope in the carriage. Some of them even had blisters on their hands but they refused to let up.

Li Aiguo finally approached Lu Zhongshan. The other party's overalls were tightly entangled on the tree trunk, and his face turned purple.

"Wake up! Don't sleep anymore." Li Aiguo slapped his face hard.

But at this time Lu Zhongshan seemed extremely tired.

"Quick! Pull him back!" Li Aiguo grabbed Zhong Lushan's arm.

The cloth rope was instantly tightened, and everyone on the shore pulled it back with all their might. They didn't care about their hands bleeding. All they heard were roars one after another: "One, two, three."

Everyone at the scene focused their attention on the flood.

No one noticed that a girl with a ponytail standing at the rear of the car took out a camera from her bag and clicked it.

At this time, Liu Qingsong and several members of the rescue team also arrived, and the two were pulled onto the train.

Li Aiguo threw Zhong Lushan to the ground.

At this time, the flood in the distance was rushing over.

When driver Zhang saw Li Aiguo get on the train, he pushed the air valve hard. The train was emitting black smoke and increased its speed before the second round of floods arrived.

Zhou Fang wiped the rain and tears from her face and said tremblingly: "Li Da Che, if you were a step later..."

Li Aiguo smiled. He wiped the mud off his face and pointed at the ropes wrapped around his body: "We have made it through. We are all united as one, with the faith of the organization in our hearts. We are not afraid of any disaster!"

Thunderous applause rang out in the carriage, mixed with the sound of rain, playing a hymn of faith amidst the flood-ravaged world.

Chen Boya shoveled a few shovels of coal into the furnace, ran to the car window and looked at Li Aiguo with starry eyes, as if Li Aiguo's figure filled his eyes.

The applause died down.

Lu Zhongshan lay there motionless.

Zhou Fang wiped the sweat from her hair and asked, "Could this person be dead?"

Isn't it a waste of effort to save a dead person?
Li Aiguo shouted, "Find someone to shovel the coal. Chen Boya, come over here and take a look at this man's condition."

Chen Boya handed the coal shovel to a crew member and quickly climbed out of the driver's building.

He squatted down, flipped Lu Zhongshan's eyelids, and frowned.

"That shouldn't be the case. He looks fine."

Li Aiguo immediately understood what was going on.

"Pa pa pa" he squatted down and slapped Lu Zhongshan on the face several times.

The slap was powerful and the sound was particularly crisp.

Lu Zhongshan remained motionless.

Good boy, you have some patience!

Li Aiguo stood up with the help of the railing, looked around, pointed at a burly man in the crowd and said, "He may have choked on the water. Come over here and give him artificial respiration."

The big man squeezed out of the crowd and scratched his head: "Li Da Che, I don't know how to do it."

"It's very simple. You know how to blow air into a dead pig? Pinch its nose and blow into its mouth as hard as you can."

"."

The big man was silent for a moment, thinking that this was also a life, he gritted his teeth, squatted down, opened his mouth wide and rushed towards Lu Zhongshan: "Ah"

"Alive, I'm alive, thank you, thank you so much." Lu Zhongshan had already made up his mind to pretend to be unconscious. He could endure a few slaps, but if this thing came close to him, wouldn't his first kiss be lost?
Especially the fishy smell, which might be fine at first, but you might even pass out from the odor.

The passengers who were watching were stunned to see him jumping around. It seemed that the guy was pretending to be unconscious because he felt embarrassed.

Lu Zhongshan was caught by the passengers' gazes and realized that he had offended everyone, so he planned to quietly stand up and slip away.

Before I could stand up, I heard a voice in my ear.

"Squat down!"

Li Aiguo had a faint smile on his face and gave an order to Lu Zhongshan who had already stood up.

Lu Zhongshan looked at Li Aiguo, not knowing what he meant.

But now the passengers were staring at him.

Lu Zhongshan was stubborn by nature. How could he, who dared to go on a hunger strike while in his mother's belly, listen to Li Aiguo's orders?

Whatever you ask me to do, I won’t do it!
He supported himself on the ground with his hands, bent his legs, and stuck out his butt. It looked like he was squatting, but he wasn't.

"stand up!"

Lu Zhongshan had just struck a difficult yoga pose when Li Aiguo gave orders again.

His voice was not loud, but it had an unquestionable majesty.

Knowing that Li Aiguo was playing a joke on him, Lu Zhongshan stood up involuntarily.

Li Aiguo raised his hand.

Just when the passengers thought that Li Aiguo was going to slap Lu Zhongshan, Li Aiguo just grabbed Lu Zhongshan's ear.

"Your thing looks quite exquisite."

"what"

What do you mean?
Could it be that the train driver also felt that he had gone too far?

Is this an apology?
If I had known this would happen, why would I have done what I just did?
Lu Zhongshan raised his neck, straightened his chest slightly, and was about to generously forgive Li Aiguo.

"It's a pity it's just a decoration."

"Since it's useless, cut it off."

Before Lu Zhongshan could react, Li Aiguo had already pulled out a dagger and put it on Lu Zhongshan's ear.

Lu Zhongshan was so scared that he quickly bent down: "Leader, don't, don't do that, these are ears, they are very sensitive."

"Since you can hear it, why don't you obey the conductor's orders!"

The smile on Li Aiguo's face disappeared, and was filled with brutality. Before Lu Zhongshan could explain, an electric cannon hit his cheek.

The electric cannon was so powerful that Lu Zhongshan's facial muscles were visibly deformed.

The whole person was carried out sideways by the huge force, hit the guardrail, and bounced back.

This guy is born in the year of the dog, why does he change his face so easily?

When Lu Zhongshan saw Li Aiguo walking towards him, he felt scared for the first time in his life and couldn't help but shrink back.

When his buddies saw Lu Zhongshan being beaten, they wanted to come over to stop him, but their feet were out of control and they could only stay where they were.

"Comrade driver, I..."

Li Aiguo grabbed his collar, lifted him up and faced the passengers, pointed at them and said, "See? In order to save you, everyone gave up their clothes!"

"And those female comrades took out their belts! Especially that female comrade, she even took out a very good leather belt."

Li Aiguo pointed at the female comrade with ponytail and praised her specially.

The female comrade quickly hid the camera behind her.

Lu Zhongshan still wanted to defend himself.

Li Aiguo pointed at the rescue team members and said: "In order to save you, these comrades risked their lives and jumped into the flood."

Lu Zhongshan opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"In order to save you, the train slowed down, putting all the passengers in danger!"

Lu Zhongshan was silent.

"Come on, tell me why you didn't obey the conductor's orders!" Li Aiguo loosened his collar and straightened his clothes.

Lu Zhongshan was a straightforward man. After realizing that he had made a mistake, he got up from the ground, walked in front of Li Aiguo, and knelt down on the ground without waiting for Li Aiguo to say anything.

Although it was his first time kneeling, his movements were quite standard and no one could find fault with them.

Li Aiguo looked at Lu Zhongshan and groaned, "What are you doing?"

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have compared you to those people on the railway before liberation."

"Back then, when my father was the stationmaster, the Japanese had set a price for saving a passenger: ten dollars."

"Sometimes, in order to earn this money, some train attendants will kick passengers off the train when they are not paying attention."

"I thought you were that kind of person, that's why..."

Lu Zhongshan was a second-generation railway engineer before the liberation. He was very familiar with the railway conditions under the management of the Japanese devils and told all the dirty things about them.

After figuring out the whole story, Li Aiguo could understand Chong Lu Zhong Shan.

Everything in the world is governed by inertia, and thinking is no exception.

Just like the third uncle, his greedy habits over the years have made it ingrained in him that "if you don't take advantage, you will suffer a loss."

Even though he knows that some benefits are out of his reach, he will still reach out for them as if he is being led by an invisible rope.

Once this kind of thinking inertia is formed, it is like putting shackles on cognition.

"You, you, stand up first."

Lu Zhongshan hesitated for a moment, and seeing that Li Aiguo really didn't intend to slap him again, he stood up with his hands on the ground.

Li Aiguo looked at Lu Zhongshan and said, "My boy, remember this. Now that we have been liberated, the railway belongs to the people! The people's railway is for the people."

When the girl with ponytail who was holding the camera heard this, her eyes lit up and she took notes in her notebook.

"That's great, very educational. I'll report this to the newspaper's leaders as soon as I get off the bus."

The rescue train pulled the K16 train back to Shenyang Railway Station.

Under the dispatch of the Railway Bureau, the passengers on the K16 train transferred to a temporary train to continue their journey.

Although Lu Zhongshan admitted his mistake, he was still kept at the station and asked to write a profound self-criticism because his behavior had affected the rescue work.

The railway department contacted his unit and criticized him in a notice.

When Lu Zhongshan left the railway police station, Li Aiguo had already planned to return to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot with the rescue train.

He wrote down an address and handed it to Li Aiguo with both hands: "Driver Li, this is my home address. When you arrive in Harbin, remember to visit me."

Li Aiguo took the note and put it in his pocket, waved his hand, and followed Liu Qingsong onto the rescue train.

The buddies came up to Lu Zhongshan and asked in a low voice: "Don't you hate these people?"

You know, although it was just a notice of criticism, it also means that Lu Zhongshan will have nothing to do with awards and honors this year, and it may also affect his future development.

"Not only do I not hate them, but I am grateful to them. They not only saved my life, but also saved my faith." Lu Zhongshan stared at Li Aiguo's tall back, clenched his fists tightly, and said excitedly: "I seem to have found the meaning of struggle!"

"When I get back, I will apply to join the organization."

****
Woo hoo hoo. Eat like crazy, eat like crazy.
The rescue train completed its rescue mission and started its return journey, and everyone felt relieved.

Comrades from Shenyang Station donated half a bunch of sheep.

Liu Qingsong brought several rescue team members, cut the mutton into small pieces, skewered them with iron skewers, and started a barbecue party in the furnace.

Although the mutton was only sprinkled with a little salt, it tasted extremely delicious.

Li Aiguo drives a big train, eats lamb skewers, and lives a happy life.

The only regret is that I can't drink.

"Oh, Comrade Shen Yang is so enthusiastic. Look, there is so much beer, how can we finish it?"

Liu Qingsong deliberately got a few bottles of beer, squatted behind Li Aiguo, and chatted with Li Aiguo while drinking.

There's no way. The rescue team has completed their work and now it's their vacation time.

After drinking a few bottles of beer, Liu Qingsong started to talk.

"It's only September now, and there will definitely be more rainstorms in the future. The rescue team will be very busy."

A member of the rescue team took a sip of beer and said, "Captain, it's okay for us to be busy, but those communes will suffer."

"It rained so hard this time, and the floodwaters have also leaked into Hongzhuang. I'm afraid all the crops will be flooded. How are the members going to survive?"

Most of the people on the railway came from rural areas. They all knew how hungry they were and could relate to the situation.

"I originally had two older brothers, but because of a heavy rain, I am the only one left."

"My family's situation was similar. My mother stole a steamed bun from the landlord's house in order to save my life, and was beaten to death."

The rescue team members recalled the things that happened before liberation, and the mutton in their mouths no longer tasted delicious.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became solemn, and the only sound in the driver's building was the sound of wheels hitting the rails. Liu Qingsong sighed, "It would be great if we could know the weather changes in advance."

Chen Boya shoveled coal and whispered, "It's impossible to do this even abroad now."

He realized that this might be a mistake and swallowed it back quickly.

However, the rescue team members all knew that Chen Boya was telling the truth.

There are so many great scientists and meteorological experts abroad, but none of them can predict in advance when the heavy rain will fall.

Domestic research on meteorology is still in its early stages, so it is even more impossible.

In the depressing atmosphere, Li Aiguo bit off a piece of roasted lamb and began to chew it with relish.

This stuff is really delicious.

****
It was the second day when the rescue train returned to Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Li Aiguo took Liu Qingsong and jumped down from the driver's building.

Section Chief Xing, section leaders and a dozen train drivers all applauded excitedly.

To Li Aiguo's surprise, there were several reporters from newspapers at the scene, one of whom was the person who had interviewed him last time.

Xing Duanchang introduced excitedly: "Aiguo, the reporter from Renren Daily learned about the rescue and wanted to interview you."

"Hello, reporter Liu." Li Aiguo smiled and shook hands with reporter Liu.

Reporter Liu seemed very happy. He shook hands and said, "Comrade Patriot, I haven't seen you for more than half a year. You have made great contributions again. You are brave enough to rush into the flood to save people without caring about your own safety. This kind of courage is really admirable."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo became confused.

Generally speaking, interviews like this require the unit to contact the newspaper.

You have to know that they only stayed in Shenyang for two days before rushing back, and had no time to report the specific situation to the maintenance depot.

Where did these reporters get their information?

Reporter Liu saw his confusion and turned to point at a young reporter.

"This is our Renren Daily intern reporter Zhou Xuejie. She was on her way home to visit her family and happened to take the K16 train. She witnessed you saving people with your own eyes."

Li Aiguo looked at the ponytailed reporter but had no impression of him at all.

Zhou Xuejie reminded: "The sea belt, I handed it to you personally."

The sea belt is the common name for the navy's special belt. It is made of pure cowhide, and the huge steel buckle has the navy's "August 1st" logo.

This thing is extremely valuable and is only provided to leaders in the navy. Li Aiguo was curious at the time, where could a girl get such a big belt.

Now I finally remember it.

"Comrade Hai Yaodai, it's you." Li Aiguo smiled and held Zhou Xuejie's hand.

Zhou Xuejie: ​​“.”

"By the way, did I return the belt to you?"

“I have returned it.”

Zhou Xuejie felt that it was a wrong choice to mention the sea belt.

Even though she liked to wield swords and sticks since she was a child, she was a girl after all, and her father taught her to be well-educated and well-mannered.

"That belt is really nice, especially the feel of the steel buckle."

"Well, comrade train driver, let's talk about saving people."

"Yeah, right, let's talk about saving people." Li Aiguo raised his eyelids.

Zhou Xuejie quickly took out her notebook and pen and looked at Li Aiguo with anticipation.

"I remember that I was almost washed away by the flood, but I was able to stay stable by holding on to the steel buckle of the sea belt."

Zhou Xuejie: ​​“.”

Li Aiguo didn't mean it.

The key is that the sea belt is really a good thing.

****
This interview was a group interview, and Li Aiguo's segment was quickly skipped.

Reporters began to interview the comrades of the rescue team, as well as the conductor, co-driver and crew members of the K16 train.

Li Aiguo had some free time, so he strolled into the maintenance workshop.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw Staff Officer Xiao staring at me with a resentful look on his face.

According to the original plan, it would only take two months to complete the manufacturing of the trench excavator prototype, and he would be able to return to Nanjing to report.

As a result, this train driver actually took on several "private jobs" and it has been nearly four months now, and he still hasn't completed the work.

"Old Xiao, what are you doing? We are comrades-in-arms, not husband and wife. We can't act like a newlywed couple after a long separation."

Staff Officer Xiao was originally very angry, but when he heard this, he almost laughed out loud and his anger subsided.

Forget it, this guy is not idle either, so I won’t bother with him.

Staff Officer Xiao stood up and pointed at a huge machine and said, "Driver Li, the masters in the maintenance workshop have completed most of the assembly work according to the drawings, but you still have to take care of the hydraulic pipelines of the trench excavator."

"Old Xiao, I've actually been keeping an eye on this side. I came here today for this purpose."

As Li Aiguo spoke, he put on gloves, picked up a board, climbed under the arm of the trench excavator and started working.

Li Aiguo worked until the evening, when he finished tightening the screws and climbed down.

"Driver Li, how many more days will it take?"

"Three days." Li Aiguo gave a conservative time.

Staff Officer Xiao nodded: "I will contact Jinling now and report this news."

His meaning was very clear. If you take "private work", you have to think about how to explain it to your leader.

This Old Xiao is so cunning that Li Aiguo was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

He did plan to go to Jinling and meet with Zhao Jiuzhang from the Jinling Geophysical Institute to discuss the weather forecast.

evening.

The setting sun is like fire.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle back to the courtyard.

Chen Xueru has already prepared dinner.

After a tiring day, I can eat the delicious meal prepared by my wife and kiss Xiao Hongsheng on the butt. Life is so wonderful.

Xiao Hongsheng was climbing up the beam, but after being slapped, he came down backwards, sat down obediently at the table, and picked up the bowl and chopsticks.

Chen Xueru is no longer surprised by this.

There is no child who is not naughty.

Xiao Hongsheng is now at an active age, especially he feels that he and the panda Chichi are buddies.

He can do whatever the panda can do.

then.

Xiaohongshu then showed its first talent - climbing trees.

There was no tree in the house, so I climbed along the pillars on the wall.

At the beginning, Li Aiguo was worried that the boy would fall down, but he didn't expect him to climb so well, so he didn't take it seriously.

But you must never crawl when eating.

In this family, Chen Xueru is the kind mother and Li Aiguo is the strict father.

Chen Xueru picked up a piece of green vegetables for Li Aiguo with chopsticks and said, "Aiguo, several residents in our compound are going to report the case."

"Report a crime?" Li Aiguo was stunned: "Has a major case happened in the yard?"

"It's still about Jia Dongxu's disappearance." Chen Xueru glanced in the direction of the Jia family and whispered, "Now some residents in the compound suspect that Qin Huairu murdered Jia Dongxu."

"What?" Li Aiguo was shocked by the news.

Aren’t the residents of this compound really imaginative?
However, after Chen Xueru told the story, Li Aiguo finally understood why such rumors existed.

Jia Dongxu’s disappearance has been the most discussed topic among residents of the compound recently.

Soon, various news came together.

One of them caught the attention of the residents.

Aunt Wang from next door went to the toilet one night a while ago and saw with her own eyes Qin Huairu taking Jia Dongxu out of the courtyard.

But Qin Huairu kept silent about this matter.

When Pan Jinlian murdered Wu Dalang, she pretended to know nothing.

"Liu Lan said that Qin Huairu is Pan Jinlian!"

Li Aiguo: "."

Of course he knew that Qin Huairu could not have murdered Jia Dongxu.

But where did Jia Dongxu go?

At this time, inside the Jia family's house.

Qin Huairu was also thinking about this question.

"Dongxu, where have you been?"

When talking about this, Qin Huairu's head was also covered with lumps.

On the night that Yi Zhonghai was taken away, Jia Dongxu suddenly got up from bed in the middle of the night and was about to leave home to do something big.

Qin Huairu quickly stopped Jia Dongxu and asked him what he was going to do, but Jia Dongxu refused to say.

He just meant that once this thing was done, the Jia family would be able to live a good life in the future, and he, Jia Dongxu, would be able to rise to a high position.

Qin Huairu felt that Jia Dongxu was going crazy, but she couldn't stop him, so she could only send him out of the courtyard.

Considering that Jia Dongxu might be doing something shameful, Qin Huairu naturally did not dare to reveal Jia Dongxu's whereabouts.

Now the residents began to spread rumors that Qin Huairu murdered Jia Dongxu.

Qin Huairu is like a dumb person eating coptis root.

****
No matter whether the day is good or bad, the sun will always rise as usual tomorrow.

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle to the locomotive depot early in the morning.

As soon as I entered the door, the security officer handed me a newspaper.

"Driver Li, you're in the newspaper."

"Really?" Li Aiguo tucked the newspaper under his armpit, got on his bicycle and wobbled towards the maintenance workshop.

"Driver Li is a real talent. He can remain calm even after being reported in the newspaper." The security officer sighed behind him.

At this time, Chen Boya also came over on his bicycle and happened to hear these words.

"Brother Liu, can you lend me the newspaper?"

Chen Boya also participated in the rescue work and was interviewed by reporters at that time.

Chen Boya took the newspaper, opened it, and found the report on the sub-page.

The report recorded the entire rescue process in detail.

The most thrilling and heart-wrenching story is the one where Li Aiguo jumped into the flood to save people.

It also focuses on the scene where Li Aiguo teaches the escaped passenger a lesson.

A detailed comparison was made between the railways before and after liberation, and the slogan "People's Railways for the People" was put forward.

Although Chen Boya's name was replaced by the rescue team, I was still very excited and moved.

Especially when seeing the photo of Li Aiguo pulling passengers out of the flood, I wished I were Li Aiguo.

"So heroic, this is a real train driver."

Chen Boya was also an intellectual, and for a moment he was at a loss for words to praise Li Aiguo.

"Xiao Chen, your dream is to become a train driver, and Li Dache is the best train driver in our country. Why don't you want to become Li's apprentice?" Seeing Chen Boya's look, the security officer decided to give him a hint.

"I?"

"Yes, look at Master Huang from K16. She was a popsicle seller a few years ago, and now she's a train driver. She's involved in this again this time, so she'll definitely get a certificate of honor."

"Can I really take Driver Li as my master?"

An incredible thought emerged in Chen Boya's mind.

(End of this chapter)