The train driver in the courtyard

Chapter 975 The Comrades Bringed Back, Xu Damao's Ambitions, Li Aiguo Selling Goods

In the interrogation room.

The incandescent bulb hummed.

Looking at Kawamura lying on the stretcher, Old Cat had only one thought: this train driver is truly inhuman.

This story begins with the outcome of the "framing incident."

Under pressure from the secret filming, Kojitetsu paid compensation and reluctantly apologized.

Kojitetsu originally intended to take Kawamura back, but Li Aiguo stopped him.

“Kawamura committed a crime here, and you just take him away like that?”

"Someone like him deserves to be imprisoned for at least thirty years."

Faced with this guy who turned his back on him, Hideki Yukawa had no choice but to communicate with Nippon Steel again.

When He Cun's father-in-law saw that his son-in-law had been arrested, he panicked.

If he is really imprisoned for thirty years, who will inherit his family property?

Kawamura's father-in-law hurriedly mobilized his connections and eventually paid a large fine and a comrade who had been stranded at Kojitsugai back then.

Kawamura was scheduled to board a plane and leave the next day, but Li Aiguo concealed this information and instead interrogated Kawamura unexpectedly.

This is called "one fish, multiple uses".

Tell me, is it a dog or not?
"Tell me, what kind of person is your father-in-law?"

A barking dog doesn't bite, and Kawamura is that kind of barking dog.

At this point, he was terrified by Li Aiguo's series of outrageous actions and obediently told the whole story.

"War Bereaved Families Association"

Outside the glass window, the farmer's expression turned serious upon hearing the name.

Li Aiguo also felt that this organization was definitely not a good thing, and asked, "Teacher, what's the deal with this 'Remnant Clan'?"

"The Bereaved Families Association is an organization created by those guys who are unwilling to accept defeat. It is nominally a civilian organization that helps defeated soldiers."

In reality, they still believe in the same old pre-war ideology and engage in all sorts of messy things.

The farmer glanced into the interrogation room and continued, "In the past two years, we've received information from over there that the Bereaved Families Association has established connections with forces like Langley."

"No wonder this family was so enthusiastic, it turns out it's a dog."

After figuring out Kawamura's identity, the weather station did not regret letting him go.

After all, for a weather station, a hundred river villages are not as valuable as one of its own.

Furthermore, it's better for us to have someone like He Cun occupy the niche of the son-in-law of the powerful clan leader than to replace him with someone with brains.

The interrogation was about to end.

Li Aiguo pushed open the door and walked straight to He Cun.

Kawamura turned pale with fright when he saw that face and instinctively shrank back, but with both legs broken and both arms shattered, he was completely unable to move.

"What else do you want to ask? I've told you everything. Don't come any closer."

As that demonic face drew closer, Kawamura was so shocked that his voice trembled.

Li Aiguo smiled at him: "Don't be nervous, I just wanted to ask where you got this outfit?"

To ensure the safety of the delegation, the meteorological station staff monitored the delegation throughout their travels to various locations for investigation.

The staff deliberately kept their distance from each other to avoid being discovered by the delegation members.

Kawamura suddenly jumped off the train, catching everyone off guard. By the time the staff caught up with him, he had already changed his clothes.

Kawamura's expression relaxed instantly when he heard the question: "This, this clothing, I bought it from a worker at a high price."

"Doesn't he know who you are?" Old Cat frowned. He knew that Kawamura was wearing a suit when he came here, and anyone could see that something was wrong.

"You should know, he even asked if I was a foreigner. But that guy is greedy and doesn't care about these things." Since it wasn't his business, Kawamura explained the situation without reservation.

Li Aiguo felt that the person sounded familiar, so he asked, "What does that person look like?"

“I don’t remember clearly. I was in a hurry to get to the switch station and I was worried about being discovered. I was really anxious,” Kawamura replied.

When Lao Mao saw that Li Aiguo was concerned about this issue, he initially found it a bit strange.

It becomes clear after careful consideration.

The current publicity work is already very effective. If someone still dares to do this, then the big net created by the weather station will have holes.

This matter really needs to be investigated further.

"Patriotism, should we mobilize the masses and have Lao Zhang send some people to question the residents in the area where the incident occurred?"

Li Aiguo straightened up and said, "No need, that outfit has the logo of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill on it."

The old cat's eyes lit up: "That's a good idea."

Kawamura didn't know much about the bereaved families, and his father-in-law clearly didn't consider him one of their own.

Seeing that Hecun had finished explaining, the farmer checked his watch and tapped on the glass: "Take him to Nanyuan Airport."

"Send him to Nanyuan Airport."

The capital city was unusually quiet under the cover of night.

An hour later, the runway lights at Nanyuan Airport suddenly came on.

A transport plane pierced the night sky, and before the smoke from its tires rubbing against the ground had dissipated, the cabin door was pushed open.

Several men in black suits helped a middle-aged man down the gangway.

The man looked to be in his forties, with hair as white as if covered in snow, and he was being helped along, walking unsteadily.

But as soon as his foot touched the concrete, he suddenly shook off the hand holding him and moved forward step by step.

Every step felt like walking on cotton, yet it felt incredibly solid.

"I never thought... I would come back alive." He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly squatted down and cried.

This man, who had never flinched even when branded on the back, now resembled a child who had finally returned home, tears streaming down his deeply lined cheeks and falling onto the concrete floor.

Old Cat stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his boot, strode forward, and stretched out his hand from three meters away: "Old Dog."

The middle-aged man looked up abruptly, his cloudy eyes suddenly brightening when he saw the old cat's face clearly.

The word "old cat" that was about to come out of his mouth lingered on his tongue, but he swallowed it back down.

Those scarred hands gripped Old Cat's hand tightly, knuckles turning white with the force: "Brother."

Two towering men embraced tightly under the runway lights, their shoulders swaying.

Li Aiguo stood to the side, scratching his head: "Old Cat, Old Dog... how did they come up with these code names?"

As they were talking, the representative from Nippon Steel came over. He bent down to examine Kawamura on the stretcher, then suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Baka! This man is practically a cripple!"

Foreign Affairs Officer Wang wanted to explain, but Li Aiguo stepped forward and stopped him:

"Kawamura was injured during the theft. We have already shown him mercy by sparing his life."

"Now I'm giving you two choices. The first is to take Hecun and get out of here."

The second option is for you to get out of here yourselves; at most, we'll waste some effort digging another grave.

Kawamura panicked upon hearing this and shouted at the representative of Japan Railways next to him, "Murata! If my father-in-law finds out you abandoned me, he'll chop your head off!"

The representative, who had initially intended to use the opportunity to lower the price, ultimately just waved his hand and said, "Load it onto the plane!" seeing Kawamura's cowardly demeanor.

Just as the men in black suits lifted the stretcher, Kawamura suddenly got excited again, shouting "Be gentle!" and cursing "I'll deal with you when we get back!" He acted like a spoiled rich kid.

Before leaving, he shouted to Li Aiguo, "Thank you for your hospitality! We'll be separated by vast distances from now on, and never see each other again!"

"That's hard to say." Li Aiguo looked at him, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Kawamura was confused.

After he goes back this time, he will never be able to come to Dongda University again in his life. How will the train driver meet him?

The plane brought one person and took one person away.

As the roar of the plane faded into the distance, Li Aiguo turned around and saw Lao Gou standing behind him, reaching out to shake his hand: "Thank you so much, train driver!"

“Senior, this is what we should do.” Li Aiguo always respected these seniors who were fighting on the front lines. After letting go of his hand, he saluted him.

The old dog also raised his hand in return.

Because the old dog's condition was so bad that he needed to be hospitalized immediately for investigation, the staff at the weather station took him to the hospital first.

On the way back, Old Cat rolled down the car window, and the autumn breeze carried the sweet scent of corn from afar into the car. "Patriotism,"

He gazed at the streetlights flashing past the window and whispered, "Thank you so much for Old Dog's return."

Li Aiguo didn't speak, but just watched the twinkling lights outside the car window leave streaks of light on the glass, much like the sparks that fly up when a train engine cuts through the night.

****
Xu Damao has been very excited these past two days, extremely excited.

Because he successfully completed the task, he received praise from the factory and established a relationship with Deputy Factory Director Li.

This is still second.

Most importantly, they made a contribution.

In the past, showing movies was just for extra money and young girls; it wasn't as meaningful as making a contribution.

This is something that should naturally be shown off.

Secondly, we should also tell Xu Hua that her father was also a great hero.

but.

Xu Damao remembered Li Aiguo's instructions and, thinking of the confidentiality regulations, dared not reveal even a little bit.

This really frustrated him.

He just wanders around the house all day long.

In the evening, Liu Lan returned from her parents' home, bringing back several green corn cobs.

When this is cooked, it bursts with sweet juice when you bite into it, and kids love it.

"Da Mao, hurry up and start a fire to boil the corn on the cob. It'll get dark soon. It's hot today, and those who love their country will probably bring out the TV."

After calling out a few times and seeing that Xu Damao didn't hear her, Liu Lan got angry and picked up a broom and threw it at him.

"Da Mao, what are you doing? You've seemed so distracted these past few days, has something happened?"

"Huh? No, nothing." Xu Damao smiled awkwardly and squatted down to tidy up the coal stove.

Liu Lan looked at him, feeling something was off: "Tell me honestly, have you been messing with that country girl again? Is she pregnant?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think I, Xu Damao, am that kind of person?" Xu Damao hurriedly explained when he saw that Liu Lan had misunderstood.

"I bet you wouldn't dare!" Liu Lan grabbed a cleaver and slammed it against the cutting board, making a loud cracking sound. "If you dare to mess around, I'll chop off your 'bull'!"

Snapped!
The cucumber snapped in two, and the half rolled to Xu Damao's feet.

Xu Damao's expression hardened.

"I dare not, absolutely not!"

The tender corn only takes about ten minutes to cook. It should be eaten while it's hot. Liu Lan called out to Xu Hua, "Go and call Hong Sheng, Xiao Minghui, Da Mao and Er Mao from the Nan Yi family over to have a taste."

"Yes, I'll go, Mother."

Xu Hua ran out of the house and returned a moment later with several children. There were only a few ears of tender corn left, so Liu Lan cut them open with a kitchen knife, giving each child only a small piece. The children were delighted as they savored the fresh corn.

"Xiao Mingwei, why aren't you eating?" Liu Lan asked curiously when she saw Xiao Mingwei standing there. "Is it because Auntie's cooking isn't good?"

"Auntie's cooking is the best, even better than Uncle Nan's." Little Minghui looked up and said in his childish voice, "I want to save this delicious food for my parents."

"You silly child." Liu Lan didn't know what to say for a moment.

Xiao Hongsheng had already taken a few bites. Hearing her sister's words, she hesitated for a moment, then handed over the corncob: "Sister, you eat mine."

Xiao Minghui took a small bite, his face beaming with excitement: "It's so delicious!"

After the children ate the corn on the cob, they started playing around at the Xu family's house.

These days, adults are busy with work, and children can play at a neighbor's house all day long, only returning home when it's time to go to bed at night, so adults don't have to worry.

As evening approached, Yan Jiecheng arrived at the Xu family's house and told Liu Lan some good news: "Come watch TV at Brother Aiguo's door tonight."

Currently, only the Li family owns a television in the courtyard, which has become the source of entertainment for the residents.

Li Aiguo provided the television, Uncle San provided the electric millstone, and the residents of the compound were responsible for generating electricity; the division of labor was very clear.

Li Aiguo didn't come back today, so Chen Xueru greeted everyone with a smile and invited them to sit down.

Yan Jiecheng, who was in charge of the television broadcast, saw that it was almost time and gestured to Liu Guangqi: "Generate power!"

With a few quick, swift movements, Liu Guangqi, having trained at the subway construction site for several months, became exceptionally strong, pedaling his bicycle wheels like they were on fire.

The current is transmitted to the television through the voltage regulator, and almost instantly, the television dimly lights up.

Liu Haizhong, an excellent radio operator with extensive experience, was responsible for adjusting the television antenna.

With just a few tweaks, a clear picture appeared on the television.

"Good evening, viewers. It's 7:30 PM now. This is the news program."

"A nationwide upsurge in agricultural production has resulted in a bumper harvest."

The first program was about "going all out," which the residents were already used to.

"Relevant officials apprehended a man named Dieter at a certain switch station. Dieter had originally planned to smear the hard work of railway workers by falsifying records. Please watch now."

The residents immediately perked up.

Many Dieters were caught in those days, but few made it onto television.

Very interesting.

The news program was very well produced. Although it concealed the identities of Kawamura and the special department comrades, it clearly explained the ins and outs of the matter.

"The comrades in the relevant departments knew early on that they had uncovered the enemy's conspiracy, devised a plan, recorded the scenes of the enemy doing bad things, and then showed them on the movie on the spot."

The residents were all very excited when they saw this.

"That's amazing. This dog Dieter is quite careful, but he still got spotted by our people."

"Hahaha, Dog Dieter has really run into a brick wall this time."

"The comrades in the special department are amazing!"

Jia Dongxu felt that the dog Dieter looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

Xu Damao was surprised that this matter had made the news. He became excited and, when he saw the movie screen appear on the TV, he couldn't help but say, "I set that up. It was me, it was me."

Jia Dongxu was engrossed in watching TV when his train of thought was interrupted. He slapped his thigh and burst into laughter: "Xu Damao, that's obviously made by a professional. With your level of expertise, how could I not know?"

Liu Haizhong also said, "Xu Damao, I know you want to learn from Comrade Li Aiguo, but we can't be too ambitious."

“Yes, yes, Da Mao, you’re just someone who shows movies in the commune,” Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiecheng said with a smile.

Xu Damao felt somewhat aggrieved.

You've done a good deed, but you can't even talk about it? What kind of situation is that?

At this moment, Li Aiguo rode his bicycle leisurely in from outside. Seeing that everyone had started watching the movie, he greeted them and went back inside to study.

Looking at Li Aiguo's retreating figure, Xu Damao suddenly woke up with a start.

If we're talking about merits, no one deserves more credit than Li Aiguo.

Although he wasn't even on the outermost edge of the team, he could still clearly see that all the comrades from the special departments on site were following Li Aiguo's orders.

Why does Li Aiguo seem so indifferent to this credit?

What a difference.

This is the gap.

Xu Damao realized that he had been narrow-minded, so he calmed himself down and nodded to the dissenting voices: "Ahem, I misread it just now."

"That's right, Xu Damao, stop bragging in the future." Jia Dongxu stood up and laughed heartily when he saw Xu Damao back down.

Liu Guangqi had been pedaling for ten minutes when he shouted to Jia Dongxu, "Jia Dongxu, it's your turn to generate electricity."

"Ouch, I've been eating too much meat these past few days, my stomach hurts." Jia Dongxu is the kind of person who does physically demanding work.

As for watching TV, isn't it the same to watch it from behind a window when you get home?
Jia Dongxu turned around and slipped away in a flash.

The residents were no longer surprised by Jia Dongxu's actions.

An older woman frowned slightly and whispered to Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi, Jia Dongxu's family has been eating only white flour steamed buns these past few days. Where did he get the money?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head: "I don't know either. The kid didn't tell me. Maybe he won at cards."

The older woman was still a little worried and wanted to go to the Jia family to inquire, but when she thought about how Jia Dongxu had become estranged from his family recently, she could only give up.

Seeing that Jia Dongxu had slipped away, Nan Yi stood up and stepped forward: "Guang Qi, let me do it."

As night falls, the hustle and bustle of the day fades away, and a unique tranquility settles in the night.

"Brother Aiguo, go to sleep early." Chen Xueru had already taken off her clothes and lay down next to him.

Li Aiguo reached out, dipped his hand in the water, and turned two more pages of the book.

Cough cough, it was always women who affected the speed at which men drew their swords, how come now it's affecting the speed at which they grind books?
Huh? Keep grinding through the book?

Li Aiguo isn't stupid. Right now, we're still nine players short of organizing a football team.

The atmosphere inside the room suddenly became ambiguous.

It was well past midnight when Li Aiguo finally woke up.

Today we're going to negotiate with members of the Iron Group and the Iron Alliance, but the time is set for 10:30, so Chen Xueru has also adjusted her rest time.

One child was sent to school early, and the other was sent to Aunt Liu's house. Chen Xueru then crawled back into bed.

The fan was whirring, the sun hadn't risen yet, and the air was exceptionally cool.

Now, Miss Chen has completely adapted to Li Aiguo's pace.

Time passed slowly, and the sun hung on the treetops outside the window.

After a while, Chen Xueru slowly sat up, her face rosy. She brushed her messy hair to one side and whispered, "Get up. Didn't you say you had important work today? It's time to go out."

She felt that if this rough man stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to get out of bed.

Li Aiguo kept track of the time, glanced at his watch, took a shower in the bathroom, and changed into clean clothes.

When they arrived at the Railway Technology Research Institute, Liu Guozhang had already returned from the subway construction site.

Considering that the Railway Technology Institute also contributed to the development of railway network technology, it was decided that the institute would take the lead, which would also facilitate the operation.

"teacher."

Li Aiguo greeted them, and Liu Guozhang excitedly patted him on the shoulder: "Great! This time, a total of twelve companies plan to purchase railway network technology from us. Among them are members of several railway alliances, such as John Bull Railway and Little France Railway."

"Really? That's great!" Li Aiguo was also very excited.

To succeed in any endeavor, you must make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible.

To become friends, you need to communicate with each other.

This is a golden opportunity.

However, railway network technology will not be outdated even decades from now, and it will definitely still make a fortune from it.

Considering the significance of this transaction, the higher authorities also sent comrades from the foreign affairs department to assist, with Liu Guozhang and Li Aiguo personally in charge of the negotiations.

The essence of negotiation is bargaining.

After determining the bottom line, we should try our best to secure the greatest possible benefit.

At the same time, negotiation strategies must be adapted to the specific relationships between the parties involved.

Li Aiguo was not an expert in how to handle this relationship, nor did he want to get involved, so he entrusted the task to Liu Guozhang and his colleagues in the foreign affairs department.

All he had to do was act as a host, leading his group of buddies in drinking and eating.

"Five million pounds, and all you get is the right to use the equipment. Your technicians will have to operate it, which will cost a fortune. This is outrageous!"

Inside the meeting room, John Bull slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.

Li Aiguo stood up and said, "Don't rush, let's talk about it tomorrow. Come on, I'll treat you to drinks at the tavern tonight."

John Bull Iron originally wanted to vent his anger, but his expression softened when Li Aiguo stepped in.

"Never mind, let's drink first."

Negotiation is like buying a graphics card. When you first see the price of a graphics card, you exclaim, "Holy crap!" This thing is so expensive. They dare to sell a mid-range card for over four thousand. What a rip-off!

The more you learn, and the more you see others paying such high prices, the more you'll psychologically accept the price, and you might even pay more.

When you finally bring home all four Titans, you'll be playing Minesweeper when you suddenly slap your forehead and exclaim, "Holy crap, I've become a pay-to-win player!"

Negotiations for the transfer of railway network technology are in a similar situation.

John Bull Railway, French Railways, and several other companies were initially shocked by the exorbitant transfer fee. After having a few drinks with Li Aiguo and learning about the complexity of the railway network technology, they gradually accepted the million-pound price.

Then a dramatic scene unfolded: the struggling Hungarian and Czech railway companies, among others, readily placed orders.

This completely astonished several wealthy families, including John Bull Iron and Little Fat Iron.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Hungarian and Czech railway companies quietly received a portion of the payment from Eastern European Railways.

"We're good brothers, remember, don't let outsiders know."

"I understand, I understand, my older brother is the best to me."

Inside the tavern at Zhengyangmen.

Li Aiguo, with a mysterious air, said: "Old John, Little Fa, I'm risking violating organizational principles to tell you some news. Currently, our Red Star Computing Institute has limited production capacity and cannot provide large quantities of dedicated railway network machines at the same time. If you act too late, it is estimated that you will have to wait two years before you can install the railway network system."

John Bull Railway and Little French Railway had already calculated that once the railway network was built, the benefits of speeding up would be hundreds of times the cost.

The reason they acted so reservedly was because they were worried about overpaying.

After all, in the past, Dongda University sold products and technologies that were of high quality and low price.

Now that they see the poor have already spent money, and they hear that the dedicated machines are almost sold out, they suddenly get anxious.

"Come on, my patriotic brother, drink this glass of wine, and let's talk in detail. If possible, we can sign the contract right away."

Li Aiguo smiled slightly and picked up his wine glass.

He seemed to hear background music playing in his ears.

"Family members, family members, only fifty orders left. I'm doing this for the benefit of you all, I'm really not making any money. One, two, three, link up."

(End of this chapter)