The train driver in the courtyard

Li Aiguo has been very busy these past two days.

At the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop, the blueprints and structure are almost complete, and the localization modifications are underway. These tasks can be left to the experienced workers.

The skilled workers of that era were not just good at screwing in screws; their theoretical knowledge was comparable to that of ordinary engineers.

Li Aiguo and Director Zhang focused their work on the heavy-duty hydraulic press.

The most important component of a hydraulic press is the high-pressure cylinder.

In those days, when the technology was not up to standard, Li Aiguo adopted a combination of forging and welding processes.

After segmented forging, the parts are spliced ​​together by narrow-gap submerged arc welding, which reduces the weight of the blank and ensures the continuity of the metal fibers. It is very simple to complete.

The challenge lies in the piping, which requires seamless steel pipes that have undergone pickling and phosphating for rust prevention.

Li Aiguo once obtained a seamless steel pipe for building RPGs, but he used it all up.

This time, a large quantity of seamless steel pipes is needed, which can only be purchased from Ansteel.

In addition to these devices, the assembly of components also needs to be prepared.

A prestressed composite frame needs to be built separately at the back of the workshop, with the upper and lower beams connected by 14 columns.

This project was handed over to Captain Liu of the construction team.

"I never thought that we house builders could help with industrial construction. Patriot, don't worry!" Captain Liu seemed very happy and readily agreed.

At the steel rolling mill, Li Aiguo also had to keep an eye on the spring forging workers.

For a week straight, Li Aiguo shuttled between the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and the steel rolling mill.

Finally, the steel rolling mill was the first to complete its work.

"Aiguo, what do you think of the quality of this batch of springs?" Liu Haizhong has been busy in the workshop every day recently, and he looks quite thin.

"You can't see the problem with this thing just by looking at it," Li Aiguo pointed to the pneumatic hammer next to him.

"Let's get on the machine."

"That's right." Liu Haizhong slapped his forehead. How come he didn't think of such a good idea?

Liu Haizhong placed the spring under the pneumatic hammer and operated it himself. Each time the pneumatic hammer fell completely, it did not rise completely before falling again.

This is similar to the methods used in later generations to inspect product quality.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The pneumatic hammer, weighing over ten tons, struck the ground thousands of times before Li Aiguo finally called a halt.

The spring was removed and was still in pretty much the same condition as before; it was not broken and still retained its elasticity.

"Now? Aiguo, are you just taking him away?" Liu Haizhong started speculating again.

"Go and report."

"Report. Oh, right, right, look at my brain, it's really muddled."

Liu Haizhong took off running and made his way to Deputy Factory Director Li's office.

"Hmm?" Upon hearing Liu Haizhong's report, Deputy Factory Director Li called the Production Section Chief to come to the forging workshop together.

He spotted the batch of springs at a glance.

"Is the quality up to standard?" Deputy Factory Director Li couldn't understand why they were putting so much effort into manufacturing springs; the most important thing was customer satisfaction.

"Not bad." Li Aiguo nodded: "The workers at your steel rolling mill are quite skilled."

After offering a few words of praise, Li Aiguo handed over the paperwork to Deputy Factory Director Li and asked the workers for help to load the springs onto the jeep.

"Oh, right, Uncle Li," Li Aiguo suddenly remembered something before leaving, pulled Deputy Factory Director Li to the Jeep, took a jar from the trunk and handed it to him.

"Uncle, this stuff is good, but you can't overindulge."

"Oh, nephew, you're the best to your uncle."

Is it really that good?

"very nice!"

"good?"

"."

Deputy Factory Director Li suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "How could I have forgotten about this?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a roll of banknotes that he had prepared beforehand and stuffed it into Li Aiguo's pocket: "Thanks a lot."

It's not that Deputy Factory Director Li is short of money; the problem is that the wine is too expensive. Li Aiguo is busy all day and doesn't have time to make it. A jar of wine costs as much as one hundred yuan.

Even if Deputy Factory Director Li had plenty of money, he couldn't afford to squander it like this, and he was heartbroken and kept wincing.

"If this nephew were my real nephew, I could get this wine for free!"

The thought had barely crossed Deputy Factory Director Li's mind when he dismissed it.

If it were when they first met, perhaps that would be possible, but now that I hear Li Aiguo is a big shot in the Ministry of Railways, he's no longer qualified.

However, Deputy Factory Director Li was not disappointed.

He has more important things to do.

Upon entering the workshop, Deputy Factory Director Li looked at Liu Haizhong and said, "Comrade Liu Haizhong, your hard work and dedication in helping our brother unit complete its production tasks is truly commendable."

"This is all thanks to the factory director's excellent leadership," Liu Haizhong quickly said.

Deputy Factory Director Li was very satisfied with Liu Haizhong's performance. He turned to the head of the production department and asked, "Didn't our steel rolling mill undergo restructuring recently? Have team leaders been selected in the forging workshop yet?"

"Currently selecting. Director Yang has been quite busy lately," the head of the production department said, subtly frowning.

It's all over the steel mill now that Director Yang has gotten involved in the cases of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu.

We are coordinating with various parties in the hope of receiving lenient punishment, which has led to the postponement of the restructuring of the forging workshop.

Deputy Factory Director Li said with a smile, "I think Liu Haizhong is quite good. Experienced workers like him can step up in critical moments. We should give him more responsibilities."

The head of the production department had been wondering why he had to come along for the inspection, since the project was personally overseen by Deputy Factory Director Li.

Love is waiting here.

"I think he's quite good too, a good candidate for a work group leader." Knowing that Deputy Factory Director Li was going to smuggle sand into Factory Director Yang's business, the head of the production department still agreed.

When gods fight, there's no escaping it; it's time to choose sides.

The head of the production department walked up to Liu Haizhong and said, "Comrade Liu Haizhong, the factory has appointed you as the leader of the first work group in the forging workshop. We hope that you will be strict with yourself, set an example, and make more contributions to the workshop."

Liu Haizhong was still in a daze.

What?
So this is how you become an official?
When the head of the production department called out again, Liu Haizhong finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said excitedly, "Please rest assured, leader, I, Liu Haizhong, will definitely do my duty to the best of my ability!"

Li Aiguo only learned of Liu Haizhong's promotion after returning to the courtyard house.

"So, Liu Haizhong has also become a work group leader, at the same level as Yi Zhonghai?"

"You don't know yet? Oh right, you're not one of our factory workers." Xu Damao blinked excitedly and said, "Yi Zhonghai was dismissed and is now just an ordinary worker."

After making careful inquiries, Li Aiguo learned that the steel rolling mill's handling of the matter had been completed.

Yi Zhonghai had a year's salary deducted, received a major demerit, and was dismissed from his position as work group leader.

Jia Dongxu had a year's salary deducted, received a major demerit, and was sent to a study session.

Minister Ma of the Armed Forces Department received a warning.

Yan Jiecheng was stunned when he heard this: "What does Jia Dongxu selling Dit uniforms have to do with the Armed Forces Department?"

“You don’t understand, do you? If Director Yang wants to protect Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu, he has to find a way to drag Deputy Director Li down with him.” Xu Damao looked at Yan Jiecheng with the eyes of someone looking at a greenhorn.

“Minister Ma advocated for the punishment of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu. He is one of Deputy Factory Director Li’s men. As the Minister of the Armed Forces Department, he failed to do a good job in educating them, which is also a dereliction of duty.” Yan Jiecheng couldn’t help but smack his lips upon hearing this: “This guy is too ruthless.”

"That's called wisdom, what do you know?"

Xu Damao was unwilling to chat with someone like Yan Jiecheng who had no means of governance. He turned to Li Aiguo and continued, "Director Yang and Deputy Director Li slammed their fists on the table and had a big argument at the factory committee meeting."

Both those who support Director Yang and those who support Deputy Director Li have patriotic brothers. Who do you think will have the upper hand?

"I'm just a train driver, how would I know so much? I just randomly drag people into things, which is often a sign of desperation."

Li Aiguo wasn't interested in the mess at the steel rolling mill; after a few casual words, he went back to his room.

Instead of wasting time on these backstabbing and scheming things, we'd be better off putting more books in the room.

Xu Damao watched Li Aiguo's retreating figure, pondering his words, and his eyes gradually brightened.

As evening approached, Li Aiguo was engrossed in reading a comic book called "Qinglong Mountain" when a commotion broke out outside.

"Old Yi is back? It's good that he's back, it's good that he's back."

Looking up, I saw Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu walking in from outside the compound, heads hanging low.

Both of them saw Li Aiguo, and simultaneously lowered their heads, quickening their pace.

Li Aiguo turned his gaze back and flipped through a page. "You know what," he said, "the comic books from this era are quite interesting."

Chen Xueru was about to cook dinner when Liu Haizhong arrived again.

"Aiguo, I'm officially an official today, and I'm very happy. I've invited some neighbors over for a get-together. You'd better come later."

"Definitely, definitely," Li Aiguo replied with a smile.

With wine and meat, only a fool wouldn't go.

"Honey, don't cook for me."

Considering it was getting late, Li Aiguo gave some instructions and then went to Liu Haizhong's house.

Liu Haizhong has fulfilled a long-held wish, and today he's going all out.

There were two plates of meat dishes, an old hen, three or four side dishes, and the wine was also old Fenjiu.

Seven or eight neighbors from the compound, including Uncle San, Zhang Gangzhu, Xu Damao, and Nan Yi, were all invited over.

The atmosphere inside the room was very lively.

"You've probably all heard about what happened today. I, Liu Haizhong, have become a leader." Liu Haizhong stood up, his face beaming with pride. If you told him he was the workshop director, you'd believe it.

"The first person I want to thank today is..."

As he spoke, Liu Haizhong poured a glass of wine and handed it to Li Aiguo.

"Thank you so much for your patriotism this time."

Li Aiguo accepted the wine with a smile: "Second Uncle, let's make progress together."

The second aunt watched for a while and sighed.

Liu Haizhong had followed Yi Zhonghai for so many years but hadn't gotten a single penny. Now that he had established a good relationship with Li Aiguo, he immediately became the work group leader.

Why are there such big differences between people?
The residents in the compound were delighted with the wine and meat, and the atmosphere inside the house quickly became lively.

"Hey, Lao Yan, we can't take the wine with us." Liu Haizhong was drinking when he saw the Third Uncle acting suspiciously, so he quickly put on a stern face.

The third uncle was too cunning; he actually hid a medicine bottle in his sleeve. Every time he poured wine, he pretended to pour it into the glass, but actually poured it all into the medicine bottle.

Even after being caught red-handed, the old man remained completely calm, stubbornly declaring, "Can a scholar stealing wine be called stealing?"

Liu Haizhong: "."

Li Aiguo: "."

Resident X5 on site: "."

****
The atmosphere here was lively, but the situation at Yi Zhonghai's house was rather bleak.

An older woman boiled mugwort water for Yi Zhonghai to remove the musty smell.

After washing up, Yi Zhonghai sat in a chair and couldn't even eat.

After becoming a work group leader, he planned to become the deputy director of the workshop, but now all his plans are ruined.

That's not even the most upsetting thing.

"Jia Dongxu actually betrayed me. Can we really entrust him with the important task of caring for our elderly parents?"

Yi Zhonghai is truly heartbroken this time.

The most important things for elders are filial piety and loyalty.

An older woman sighed helplessly, "What can we do? If Sha Zhu were here, we would have a backup. But Sha Zhu is still inside."

Mentioning Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up: "Did you visit Sha Zhu every month as I told you before?"

"He's gone. Sha Zhu suffered a lot inside; he's a completely different person," an older woman replied.

Yi Zhonghai slapped the table: "If you calculate it, Sha Zhu will be out in three or four years. If Jia Dongxu is really disappointing then, we'll kick him out."

The older woman instinctively felt that Yi Zhonghai's methods were somewhat ruthless, but when she thought about how Jia Dongxu had harmed Yi Zhonghai, she could only nod in agreement.

“Old man, the deaf old lady did a lot of work this time. You should go and thank her when you have time.”

"Okay, I'll go right now."

Yi Zhonghai also lost his appetite and stood up to leave when he heard laughter coming from Liu Haizhong's house.

He was dismissed from his position as work group leader, and Liu Haizhong became the work group leader. These two contrasting outcomes infuriated Yi Zhonghai so much that he almost vomited blood.

"Liu Haizhong is really lucky." Yi Zhonghai was still sighing as he entered the deaf old lady's room.

The deaf old woman squinted slightly: "Luck? Liu Haizhong only got here because of Li Aiguo?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai was stunned: "What do you know?"

"I heard from Lao Yang that Li Aiguo and Li Huaide have a very good relationship." The deaf old woman's voice was as sinister as ever.

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching: "That damned Li Aiguo! I've already let him go, why is he still haunting me!"

"Old Yi, you need to keep a low profile now, understand?" The deaf old lady's voice became even colder: "I've used up almost all my connections for you this time. Every bit of connections I use is one less I have left."

Yi Zhonghai quickly lowered his head: "Grandma, please rest assured, I will never make a similar mistake again."

"You can go now, I'm tired." The deaf old lady leaned against the bed and slowly closed her eyes.

"Yes"

Every time Yi Zhonghai faced the deaf old lady, he felt inexplicably afraid. Not wanting to stay in the house any longer, he immediately stood up and left.

****
The principle of a hydraulic press is very simple; it works entirely on its own weight. However, once it's scaled up, it becomes a completely different thing.

A 100-ton hydraulic press is just an ordinary piece of equipment in a factory.

A hydraulic press with a capacity of one thousand tons or ten thousand tons becomes a massive building.

Li Aiguo is going to build a 2,000-ton hydraulic press, which is as big as two rooms.

All kinds of materials were delivered, and Captain Liu led a group of construction workers to assemble the components onto the structure like building blocks.

"Almost done." Early in the morning, Li Aiguo arrived at the workshop, where Captain Liu and the workers had already been working for more than two hours.

He nimbly jumped down from the scaffolding, pointed to the two rooms and said, "Driver Li, we just checked it twice and confirmed that there are no problems with the assembly. Shouldn't we test the machine now?"

(End of this chapter)