The train driver in the courtyard

Chapter 976 The Twelve Nations Joint Procurement, President Ken's Fury, Detective Xu Damao
As it turns out, live-streaming e-commerce has great potential in this era.

Once the major buyers realized that the railway network could be sold out at any time, they stopped delaying and quickly signed the agreement.

"Pleasant to work with."

"Happy, happy!" Liu Guozhang was overjoyed.

The results of this negotiation far exceeded expectations, and this is another significant achievement.

Liu Guozhang found his students increasingly pleasing to the eye.

The staff in the foreign affairs department were also very pleased.

According to the agreement, we will send a large number of technical personnel to work in these countries.

Besides earning a large amount of foreign exchange, these technicians also serve as bridges for friendship and communication.

"I think this train driver is quite good at foreign affairs work. It would be great if he could be transferred from the Ministry of Railways."

"What are you thinking? Haven't you heard? Leader Teng treats this kid like a precious gem."

After careful consideration, the leaders of the foreign affairs department shook their heads helplessly.

They dared not offend the Ministry of Railways; those guys were all armed.

The results of the negotiations were reported to the higher-ups, who were very pleased.

"Such a significant achievement is a testament to our socialist construction. Let's announce it to the public and the world."

Subsequently, news of the twelve-nation joint procurement railway network appeared on the front page of newspapers both at home and abroad.

Some experts and scholars have called this transaction the largest in the railway sector in recent years.

Some scholars have also pointed out with concern that if the railway network performs well, it will become the future railway standard, making the Tokyo Metropolitan Railway's voice in the international railway arena increasingly important.

Dongda Tie's good friends are also happy.

The Bakers of the Little Ee family were busy preparing to take care of the Big Ee family and didn't have time to improve the railway system, so they didn't participate in the procurement this time.

Upon seeing the newspaper, Baker slammed his hand on the table and looked at the bearded man in front of him: "Sadamu, Dongda Railway has achieved something again. It's said they even gave the old Mao Railway and the little Japanese Railway a sound beating. Go and contact Dongda Railway and see what's going on with this railway network?"

"it is good."

Sadam nodded obediently, but his expression turned ugly as he turned around.

As Saddam's status in the Yi family rose and he gained control of the armed forces, many people began to gossip about him behind his back.

Baker's decision to send him out was not without the intention of consolidating power.

However, I heard that the University of Tokyo has developed a Red Star RPG.

This kind of cannon that can be carried on the shoulder is perfect for a real man.

Even the real man Saddam was tempted.

After reading the newspaper, Ken, the head of the Mei family, was so angry that he tore it to shreds.

This time, in order to support Nippon Railways, Ametetsu mobilized a lot of resources, but in the end, it all fell through.

“We’ve already investigated and found out that it was Kawamura who got taken care of, and then…” Langley, the person in charge, was worried that the blame would fall on him, so he quickly shifted all the responsibility to others.

Ken had long been dissatisfied with the situation on the Japanese side: "Those old bastards from the Bereaved Families Association dared to violate our previous plans for the sake of Kawamura."

The Langley manager quickly assured him, "Don't worry, I'll take care of those old fogies."

Ken frowned: "Just hitting me?"

The Langley representative looked troubled: "President, Corporal James, a five-star general, takes the Bereaved Families Association very seriously and believes that their existence is beneficial to stabilizing the situation at Japan Railways."

When the name of Corporal James, a five-star general, was mentioned, Ken's expression turned cold: "This old James is getting more and more disobedient."

Langley was overjoyed to see this; the Grand Commander was clearly dissatisfied with Corporal James, a five-star general.

After Corporal James failed to secure the position of President a few years ago, he left Kohtetsu, but his successor, Lieutenant General Edward, was his student and still firmly held Kohtetsu in his hands.

This is not good news for Langley, who is eager to expand his power.

"Corporal James was also thinking about our family. After all, if something goes wrong with Nippon Steel, we'll need to spend more effort."

"I think he treats the area around Nippon Steel as his own backyard!"

Langley's reverse interpretation quickly worked well, and President Ken slammed his fist on the table: "Ignore Corporal James, telegraph Edward, he must give me an explanation for this!"

"Understood!" Langley nodded.

The Grand Commander's orders were quickly relayed to Edward.

Edward panicked when he saw the reprimand coming from above, and immediately went to consult with his mentor, Corporal James, a five-star general.

Konitetsu was the territory of Corporal James, a five-star general; this was a pre-established rule when discussing how to deal with Konitetsu.

The fact that the president intervened without authorization is disrespectful to him.

"Teacher, this Grand Commander is clearly trying to bully you!" Edward cried and sobbed.

Corporal James looked at the picture of the president on the wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and said, "Don't worry, it won't be long before Ken steps down from his post."

"Impossible. The current president is the youngest president in history, and he has a lot of prestige. He will definitely be re-elected."

"Even the most powerful person can't withstand a single bullet."

"."

Edward's expression suddenly changed.

He had heard that some people in the upper echelons were very dissatisfied with Ken, but he never expected it to have reached the point of life and death.

He was about to press further when Corporal James waved his hand, saying, "This isn't your concern. Just listen to Ken first, so as not to arouse his suspicion."

"Yes."

Outside the villa, the sun was blazing, but Edward's back was covered in cold sweat.

The arena of power is far more terrifying than the battlefield.

On the battlefield, at least you know who your enemy is; in the arena of power, anyone can be your enemy.

"I should have just become a soldier."

Edward laughed halfway through his sentence.

Those who truly rise to high positions are unlikely to be purely military personnel.

"Drive, return to Ojitsutsu immediately."

As he walked along the road, watching the scenery rushing past on both sides, Edward felt that the world might undergo a very big change.

Li Aiguo never expected this matter to cause a series of reactions internationally, and even if he knew about it, he wouldn't care.

Today, Cao Wenzhi ran over and killed a big fat pig while driving a train.

Heaven knows why the big fat pig ended up on the tracks, but the comrades of the 131 train crew are having a great time.

Li Aiguo, nominally the co-driver of the 131 chartered group, also received a large piece of pork fat, weighing about five or six jin (2.5-3 catties).

Of course, money is required, but it's just a symbolic gesture to avoid gossip.

Miss Chen took her two children to visit Chen Fangxuan; he's not home.

When Li Aiguo got home, he cleaned the pork fat and cut it into pieces.

Heat the fire, put the pork fat into the pot, and add water to prevent the fat from burning, because the firewood sometimes burns too quickly.

They're golden and crispy when they're fresh out of the pan, and every bite is bursting with flavor—they're absolutely delicious!

The fried food made from pork fat in later generations doesn't taste the same at all. It's not because people's tastes have become more discerning, but because in those days, the pigs were all native black breeds, while in later generations, they were all fast-growing white pigs that could be ready for market in three months.

Soon, a rich aroma filled the room.

Xu Damao, wearing a tank top and sandals, greeted Li Aiguo: "Brother Aiguo, rendering lard?"

"Brother Da Mao, have you eaten?"

"I just came back from the countryside and brought back two old hens. I asked Liu Lan to stew them. Let's get together tonight."

Xu Damao looked at the lard in the enamel mug; it was pure white and clearly top-quality.

This thing is not available for purchase on the market at all.

Of course, Xu Damao didn't ask what was going on. Could Li Aiguo still not get a few pieces of pork fat now?

Before Li Aiguo could agree, Liu Haizhong sauntered in.

"I got a bottle of old liquor, I'll go to Da Mao's house tonight."

It seemed the two had discussed it beforehand, and Li Aiguo nodded with a smile.

"Patriotism, is this something used in the car?" Liu Haizhong turned to leave, but then noticed a leaf spring in the next room and asked.

"My car's chassis is too low, I'm planning to modify it."

Off-road jeeps require high passability.

In those days, metallurgical technology was poor, but fortunately, we had recently been working on tunnel boring machines and mastered hydraulic shock absorption technology in railway technology.

Li Aiguo decided to use leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers to construct the suspension system for the off-road vehicle.

These leaf springs were obtained from a wild car expert; they were originally used on GAZ trucks and needed to be modified.

"You can come to me. I'm a level six blacksmith. No one knows more about making springs than me." Liu Haizhong had been feeling a little uneasy lately.

Liu Guangqi has become a formal employee of the Beijing Engineering Bureau; this favor is too great.

Although Li Aiguo's relationship with him has improved, there is still a lingering rift between them because of what happened in the past.

Liu Haizhong had long wanted to mend this rift, but the other person was a train driver and wouldn't care about small favors at all.

Now that he heard that Li Aiguo wanted to modify car springs, his eyes lit up. He had helped Li Aiguo, and although it wasn't a great favor, he had at least done something helpful.

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo asked in surprise, "Second Uncle, isn't making springs a fitter's job?"

“Hey, you don’t understand. Fitter is a jack-of-all-trades. He looks impressive, but he’s actually not good at anything.” When it came to his profession, Liu Haizhong’s tone became a few degrees louder.

"Springs of this strength are hot-rolled springs, which need to be made by hammering by a forger."

Li Aiguo was genuinely unaware of this, and nodded, saying, "Wouldn't this be too much trouble for Second Uncle?"

"Look at what you're saying. We're all neighbors in the compound, it's only right that we help each other."

"Thank you very much then." Li Aiguo was also worried about the spring.

The domestic spring-making industry is still in its infancy. Springs of this strength simply cannot be manufactured. If forging workers could actually hammer springs, that would be a viable path.

If the equipment isn't up to par, we'll make up for it with manpower—that's our old approach.

“This thing needs to be heated and stretched. I’ll take it to the factory tomorrow and use the hot rolling machine to take care of it for you.” Liu Haizhong picked up the spring, glanced at it, and quickly made a judgment.

"Thank you very much."

Just then, Yi Zhonghai happened to pass by outside. Upon hearing the sounds inside, his face immediately darkened.

"I think Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong are getting along better and better with Li Aiguo now."

An older woman, worried that he might cause trouble again, quickly said upon hearing this, "We're all neighbors in the compound, it's normal for us to have a good relationship."

"No, they're targeting me."

Worried that he might go astray again, an older woman quickly interrupted, "Old Yi, where's your old work uniform? The one we got a couple of years ago? I was planning to wash it and put it away for you. Where did it go?"

"Jia Dongxu borrowed it."

"Didn't Dongxu just release new clothes?"

"That child is frugal; he saves his new clothes for the New Year," an old man nodded approvingly.

The older woman felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Li Aiguo refined the lard, and put some of the lard residue into an enamel bowl, so that Chen Xueru could make lard residue buns the next day.

The rest was put into an enamel bowl and sent to Aunt Liu. He Yushui had an exam coming up soon and needed to brush up on her brain.

Holding the third part in his hand, he walked towards Xu Damao's house. Jia Dongxu stood at Xu Damao's door, sniffed, and pursed his lips: "Hey, Damao, you're eating chicken today too? What a coincidence, we're eating chicken too. But I bought mine myself, yours must have been stolen from a fellow villager."

"Jia Dongxu, get lost if you have nothing to do." Xu Damao was a little puzzled. Jia Dongxu had been living a more and more extravagant life lately. Where did he get the money?

Before Jia Dongxu could say anything more, he saw Li Aiguo approaching, his expression changed, and he turned and hurriedly ran away.

"That shouldn't be the case, Brother Aiguo. Jia Dongxu was indeed afraid of you before, but he wouldn't have run away after just a brief encounter."

"Who knows."

Xu Damao didn't think much of it and led Li Aiguo into the house.

"Since you're already here, why did you bring so much pork cracklings?" Liu Lan was delighted and took the enamel bowl, placing it on the table as if it were a delicacy.

A moment later, Liu Haizhong brought in two bottles of wine.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere in the room instantly became lively.

After some casual conversation about the compound, the topic gradually shifted to the major events that had recently occurred at the steel rolling mill.

"Second Uncle, has your workshop received any notification that the Armed Forces Department is going to inspect the workers' uniforms?" Xu Damao asked.

Liu Haizhong took a sip of his drink and nodded: "I received it. I still need to check them one by one. I can't miss a single one. I don't know what happened."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo realized that Old Cat had begun to take action.

According to Kawamura, he bought the work clothes from a stranger; the work clothes came from a steel rolling mill.

Li Aiguo has been busy with negotiations lately and is not really aware of the progress of the investigation.

"So, did you find out what the problem was?" Li Aiguo asked as he took a bite of his chicken leg.

"No, work clothes are so valuable, who would lose them?" Liu Haizhong replied.

Li Aiguo was a little stunned. He had clearly lost a set of work clothes, so why couldn't they find out?
Xu Damao was about to nod when he seemed to remember something, and his expression suddenly changed: "Wait a minute!"

"what happened?"

"Jia Dongxu came back wearing only his underwear that day. He must have lost his work clothes. Why wasn't he identified?" Xu Damao's eyes widened. "It must be!"

Liu Haizhong was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look towards the backyard.

The two men said the same name in unison: "Yi Zhonghai!"

Realizing this, Detective Xu Damao came online, his eyes gleaming, and struck a pose.

There is only one truth!

At that moment, a non-existent background music started playing.

【一库啦那一特木，那迷达特他莫no】

Detective Xu Damao stood up and pointed in the direction of Jia Dongxu's house: "Jia Dongxu lost his work clothes and was worried about being punished by the factory, so he borrowed Yi Zhonghai's old work clothes to impersonate him."

Li Aiguo almost couldn't help but applaud Xu Damao at this moment.

"Come on, come on, drink."

Neither Xu Damao nor Liu Haizhong continued speaking, but the smug smiles on their faces betrayed them.

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Aiguo strolled home.

Chen Xueru had already returned and had fried several buns.

Looking at the fragrant steamed buns, Li Aiguo, who was already full, couldn't help but swallow two more.

Ok.

delicious.

I went to work the next day.

Director Zhang of the maintenance workshop has installed all the equipment, and the experienced workers are familiar with its operation.

Li Aiguo handed the improved blueprints to Director Zhang and asked him to study them first. Having blueprints does not necessarily mean that the car can be built; adjustments will be needed based on the actual situation.

Chen Baiya was off work today, so she came over to help.

Although he didn't understand why train drivers needed to build trains, he just did whatever his master told him to do, which was better than being disciplined by his female mentors.

He was a highly educated intellectual with some basic skills and believed he could quickly get the hang of it.

"Master, I don't understand these." Chen Baiya blushed slightly as she looked at the engine's structural diagram.

"Come on, let me explain it to you." As a teacher, you should be patient, not impatient, and certainly not hit people. Li Aiguo does this very well.

"Okay." The apprentice nodded vigorously and began to study diligently.

However, Chen Baiya's idea of ​​quickly getting the hang of it was soon shattered, as this thing was far more complex than any medical knowledge.

"Master, I'm sorry, I think I made a mistake again."

"This is the fifth time already, put your hand out." Good teacher Li Aiguo raised his pointer.

Chen Baiya: "."

With a smart apprentice and a highly skilled teacher, Chen Baiya mastered the basic techniques in less than two hours.

“Starting today, you’ll be helping out whenever you’re off work.”

As a master, it is only natural for him to order his apprentice around. Li Aiguo handed over the task of drawing blueprints to Chen Baiya, which also freed up some of his time.

Around 10 a.m., Li Aiguo drove his GAZ jeep, carrying a few springs, towards the steel rolling mill.

Although Liu Haizhong was willing to bring the springs into the factory "privately" to help Li Aiguo process them, it would inevitably violate the regulations.

Li Aiguo still chose to go through the formal channels.

This is not only being responsible to Liu Haizhong, but also to Li Aiguo himself, and to the entire project.

The security officer at the steel rolling mill gate recognized the jeep and opened the gate from a distance.

Li Aiguo carried the documents from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot all the way to Deputy Factory Director Li's office.

Before I even entered the office, I heard a roar coming from inside.

"Minister Ma, bring Jia Dongxu here immediately!"

Li Aiguo pushed open the door and walked in, where Deputy Factory Director Li was roaring at the Armed Forces Minister.

Seeing Li Aiguo enter, Deputy Factory Director Li waved to the Armed Forces Minister: "Old Ma, hurry up and go."

"Yes!"

After the Minister of Armed Forces left, Deputy Factory Director Li led Li Aiguo to the sofa and smiled awkwardly, "A small thing happened at the factory, I'm sorry you had to see it."

"Uncle Li, I'm here today on behalf of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. I need your steel rolling mill's help."

This matter pertains to the steel mill and the weather station. Li Aiguo didn't inquire about the reasons and directly handed over the paperwork.

Deputy Factory Director Li took the paperwork and glanced at it: "All we need is some equipment and a senior forging worker. This is easy to handle."

Li Aiguo said directly, "That old blacksmith from last time was quite good."

"Liu Haizhong, right?" Deputy Factory Director Li called over Secretary Liu and asked him to take Li Aiguo to the workshop.

Li Aiguo followed Secretary Liu downstairs and ran into Jia Dongxu being brought over by the Minister of Armed Forces.

Several bruises appeared around Jia Dongxu's eyes, suggesting that his attempt to resist had failed.

Xu Damao kept staring outside. He didn't know why Li Aiguo was there, but he understood why Jia Dongxu was injured.

"Jia Dongxu, what's wrong? I heard you've gotten into trouble again?"

Petty people are always seeking revenge. Xu Damao had been dissatisfied with Jia Dongxu for a while now, so how could he let go of such a good opportunity?

He immediately jumped out of the office, pointed at Jia Dongxu, and burst into laughter.

Jia Dongxu rolled his eyes at Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, what does this have to do with you?"

"You bastard, you're in big trouble this time." Xu Damao walked up to the Minister of Armed Forces and offered him a Zhonghua cigarette: "Sir, how many years will Jia Dongxu be sentenced for selling the work clothes to Dieter?"

"What work clothes? What Dieter?" The Minister of Armed Forces asked in surprise as he took the cigarette.

Xu Damao: "."

He took a deep breath and asked, "You didn't arrest Jia Dongxu on this charge?"

"I don't know either. I just followed Deputy Factory Director Li's orders and brought Jia Dongxu over there."

"..." Xu Damao asked again, "Then what happened to Jia Dongxu's eye sockets?"

"He was peeping at the flower in Workshop 3 today, and a male worker from Workshop 3 saw him and beat him up."

Xu Damao: "."

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became awkward.

Jia Dongxu looked at the Minister of Armed Forces, then at Xu Damao, and suddenly raised his hand: "Xu Damao, so it was you who sued me! I'll fight you to the death."

Xu Damao shrank back in fright, turned around, and ran away as fast as he could.

A petty person seeks revenge by smashing a bowl in the middle of the night.

Xu Damao has committed a grave mistake this time.

I bet we're in for another juicy juicy story.

Jia Dongxu's eyes were almost red as he looked at Xu Damao, but he had no choice but to let the Minister of Armed Forces take him away.

Li Aiguo followed his assistant to the forging workshop.

The assistant called over the workshop director and handed over the paperwork.

"Don't worry, we will definitely handle it perfectly for you."

The workshop director strode into the workshop and shouted, "Master Liu, a good job from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot!"

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot offers good benefits, so the workers in the workshop are all willing to work there, and several masters even want to take on the work themselves.

"Go, go, go. The leaders of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot personally called out Master Liu's name."

The way those experienced craftsmen looked at Liu Haizhong immediately changed.

"Well done, Lao Liu, you've struck gold."

"Ahem, it's nothing, just a neighbor in my compound." Although Liu Haizhong was somewhat reserved, an uncontrollable smile appeared on his face.

I never expected that just helping with a small favor would get Li Aiguo to directly issue a task to Deputy Factory Director Li. It seems I should get closer to Li Aiguo in the future.

Now that we have the official permits, the forging workshop is very cooperative, and we can use the air hammer, heating furnace, and quenching tank freely.

With a clang, the quenched billet was clamped under the air hammer.

Liu Haizhong is a master craftsman with highly skilled techniques.

The moment the pedal was pressed, the hammerhead slammed down with a whooshing sound.

The forging hammer smashed the red-hot steel billet, sending sparks flying.

With his left hand, he used pliers to turn the blank over, while with his right hand, he held a chopping knife to find the forging point. Each hammer blow made the anvil vibrate with a buzzing sound.

The workshop was filled with the smell of engine oil and scale.

These specially made springs require twelve tempering processes, which are extremely complex. Li Aiguo knew that it was impossible to finish today, so he planned to return to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Back at the door of Deputy Factory Director Li's office, Jia Dongxu's voice came from inside: "Factory Director, it really wasn't me who sold the work clothes. If you don't believe me, call that bastard Xu Damao here, and I'll confront him face to face."

Then came Deputy Factory Director Li's furious outburst.

"The evidence is conclusive, yet you still dare to be stubborn."

"Minister Ma, bring Xu Damao and Yi Zhonghai over here!"

"We must find out the truth about this today!"

(End of this chapter)