The train driver in the courtyard

Li Aiguo had not expected the hydraulic press to be manufactured so quickly.

Previously, Ansteel required repeated reminders, but now, once they receive an order, they deliver the steel immediately.

The Ministry of Railways was concerned about the manpower shortage at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, so it specially transferred a large number of employees to help.

Even the transportation department gave the green light, setting up a traffic post in front of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to prevent passing vehicles from affecting the passage of material transport vehicles.

In less than half a month, the components of the hydraulic press were almost complete.

The two institutes, together with the Ministry of Railways, dispatched a special train to transport these components.

The train driver of the special train did not belong to any locomotive depot; he was likely an employee of a military factory.

This person is extremely disciplined; he wouldn't even accept a cigarette from Section Chief Xing.

The hydraulic press parts were covered with tarpaulins and loaded onto the train. As for which factory in the Northwest they were sent to, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot had no way of knowing.

Considering that the training time for the soldiers at the Second Institute was shortened.

To avoid any trouble, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot sent several experienced mechanics to accompany them, with Chen Baiya leading the team.

"This is the first batch of parts. Once it arrives at its destination, you must cooperate with the comrades from the military factory to complete the installation of the hydraulic press as soon as possible."

At the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, Li Aiguo's gaze swept across the faces of these people: "But you must pay attention to safety and follow the operating procedures. If anyone is careless or negligent, don't blame me for turning against them."

Li Aiguo's only fear is an accident.

"Master, don't worry, I won't let you down." Chen Baiya was so excited that she couldn't speak.

He only wanted to be a train driver, but now this master has brought him to a military factory. As long as he successfully completes the installation of the hydraulic press, he will definitely be recognized for his merits.

Yan Jiecheng, watching from the side, had his eyes shining: "If only I had become Li Aiguo's apprentice back then, I might be the one with the glory now. But, I think Li Aiguo and I are peers? This isn't appropriate."

After seeing off the special train, Zhou Mingming and Commander Wang were also about to depart.

Before leaving, Zhou Mingming handed a file folder to Li Aiguo.

"Patriotism, you should study it when you have time."

The train roared away in the autumn wind, swirling up a few fallen leaves.

Watching the train depart, Li Aiguo opened the file folder, glanced at it, and then closed it again.

Seeing his unusual expression, Zhou Ke curiously leaned closer and asked, "What's in here?"

"If you see this, you'll probably spend the rest of your life in a military factory in the Northwest."

Zhou Ke shrank his neck.

Li Aiguo wasn't deliberately trying to scare Zhou Ke.

This file contains detailed information about the four artillery pieces and one instrument, specifically nuclear technology, not just superficial reports.

The secrecy level of this thing is so high that probably no more than ten people in the country have seen it. Why would it be given to me? Li Aiguo held the file folder, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Could it be the old dean?"

Li Aiguo tightened his grip on the file folder in his hand and turned to look towards the southeast coast.

Back in his studio, Li Aiguo reviewed the files.

One has to admire the ingenuity of military engineers in this era; they could come up with all sorts of bizarre methods, but they were simply limited by the technology available at the time and couldn't actually manufacture them.

"If we think about it carefully, we might actually be able to make it, especially this command device, it's a really good thing. But we can't rush it."

Li Aiguo deeply understands the principle that one must walk one step at a time and eat one steamed bun at a time.

He locked the files in the safe and started sketching and writing on the blueprints for the car parts.

With the blueprints for the car frame finalized, Li Aiguo instructed Director Zhang to inquire about a worker named Yu Shu at BAIC, and if suitable, to temporarily transfer him to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

“He’s just an ordinary worker, this is easy to handle. I’ll contact BAIC tomorrow.” Director Zhang readily agreed.

"Good work."

It was nearly evening when Li Aiguo rode his bicycle home to enjoy the cozy time with his wife and children.

Early the next morning, Li Aiguo rode his bicycle to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and received some good news.

Several heavy machinery factories in China are also planning to purchase 2,000-ton hydraulic presses and are currently submitting application reports to the relevant departments.

Considering the difficulty of producing hydraulic presses, the Ministry of Railways decided to entrust the production of hydraulic presses to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot needs to prepare a hydraulic press workshop, which will be on a larger scale.

"Li Da Che, you've arrived." As Li Aiguo entered the locomotive depot, people greeted him along the way.

The section is currently setting up a hydraulic press production workshop, and will definitely need to recruit people from outside.

Within the railway system, those recommended by their own people have priority, which gives young people who are not qualified to take over a position a chance.

The officials were even more excited.

At yesterday's meeting, the department leaders encouraged everyone to work hard and strive to produce high-quality hydraulic presses, which means their opportunity has arrived.

Although Section Chief Xing has changed, he is still a section chief. Now, he is in charge of the hydraulic press workshop, and the chair he sits on has suddenly become a size larger.

At last night's meeting, Section Chief Xing wanted to reward Li Aiguo, but after thinking it over, he couldn't make a decision.

If given money, Li Aiguo is not short of money at all.

Give him an official position? Being a leader isn't as comfortable as being a train driver.

This time, the contribution was too great, especially to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, so it wouldn't be appropriate not to give it.

Finally, Section Chief Xing decided to talk to Li Aiguo after the meeting and hear his thoughts.

"Today's meeting was a success. Everyone has heard about the hydraulic press incident. Our Qianmen Locomotive Depot has really made a name for itself in the ministry this time. All workers in the maintenance workshop will have their wages raised by one level!"

"Here I would like to give special commendation to Comrades Li Aiguo and Zhang Xintian."

As soon as he finished speaking, enthusiastic applause erupted from below.

Li Aiguo and Director Zhang stood up and bowed to the workers.

"The construction of the hydraulic press workshop requires everyone to stay focused and strive to complete it and put it into production as soon as possible, so as not to disappoint the expectations of our superiors!"

After the meeting, Section Chief Xing invited Li Aiguo and Director Zhang into his office.

"The higher-ups are considering the leadership for the new workshop. What are your thoughts?"

"Section Chief, I can help with small things, but I'm really not cut out for this leadership role," Li Aiguo replied casually, knowing that Section Chief Xing was just asking a routine question.

"The higher-ups have decided to appoint you as an advisor." Section Chief Xing had known Li Aiguo's thoughts all along and wasn't surprised at all. He turned to Director Zhang: "Old Zhang, what about you?"

Director Zhang is the director of the preparation workshop. Although the preparation workshop is also a large workshop, it cannot compare with the only workshop in the country that can produce hydraulic presses.

If Director Zhang becomes the workshop director of the hydraulic press, it would be considered a step forward.

"Section Chief, I think we should let Deputy Director Chen go. I come from a technical background and find organizational work a bit difficult; I prefer technical work. Old Chen has been a deputy director for five or six years, and he's good at uniting the masses. He's suitable in all aspects."

Director Zhang's decision was somewhat unexpected by Section Chief Xing.

"Section Chief, I still want to work with Driver Li on car manufacturing," Director Zhang added, seeing that Section Chief Xing didn't understand.

Section Chief Xing chuckled in surprise; he had completely forgotten about that.

In fact, Director Zhang's choice is not hard to understand in this era.

Many skilled workers would rather be workers than leaders, because they genuinely believe in something.

"Alright, let Old Chen do it. I'll submit his name."

Then, Section Chief Xing looked at Li Aiguo and asked, "Aiguo, you've done a great service this time. What reward do you want?"

“I personally don’t need anything,” Li Aiguo said, puffing out his chest.

Section Chief Xing had anticipated Li Aiguo's response, and simply asked the usual question before making a decision: "How about this, the ministry is generous this year, and we have extra coupons. Go to the supplies section later and pick out a few, there are still some left."

As he spoke, Section Chief Xing wrote down a note: "You have two children now. Are they getting enough nutrition? Take this note and get a box of milk powder."

Li Aiguo, who had never cared about the reward before, suddenly widened his eyes upon hearing this.

Hey, this is good stuff.

It's just a box of milk powder. How many cans are there exactly?

The question was never asked.

After leaving the section chief's office, Li Aiguo went to the materials department and handed over the note.

Section Chief Liu looked at the note, his face a picture of pure amusement: "Our materials section has so little to offer, and the section chief has revealed it all."

Even so, Section Chief Liu still grabbed a handful of tickets and placed them on the table.

"The section chief said we can choose two."

We got a sewing machine, a bicycle, and a radio.
Section Chief Liu suggested, "Li Dache, if you already have both, I suggest you choose a bicycle. Even if you don't use it yourself, it's still a valuable gift."

After searching for a while, Li Aiguo finally got two bicycle tickets.

"Here, this is milk powder."

Li Aiguo was overjoyed as he carried the box over.

There were eight cans of milk powder inside, so we won't have to worry about Xiaominghui's food supply anymore.

"Thank you, Brother Liu," Li Aiguo quickly said.

Section Chief Liu genuinely felt sorry for the supplies and was also genuinely willing to help.

Now that the entire Qianmen Locomotive Depot has been upgraded, Section Chief Liu is beaming with pride.

After leaving the supplies department with a box of milk powder, Li Aiguo worked in the studio until evening before riding his bicycle back to the courtyard house.

Just as Nan Yi put the milk powder in the cabinet, he brought Nan Xiaoying and Xiuer to play with the two children.

"Aiguo, Jiecheng told me you made a great contribution this time. What reward did the department give you?"

"That is, two bicycle tickets and a box of milk powder."

Li Aiguo laughed and said, "These two things can't be hidden from people, so it's better to just say them openly."

Nan Yi was very envious. These things alone were worth several hundred yuan. The locomotive depot was indeed a wealthy unit.

"Nan Yi, do you need a bicycle ticket? I don't need it right now."

Li Aiguo looked at Nan Yi and remembered that Liang Ladi wanted to buy a bicycle a while ago.

"Forget it, forget it, that thing is too expensive, and I don't have the money right now." Nan Yi was tempted, but quickly waved his hand; he didn't like taking advantage of others.

"Consider it a loan. You can pay me back when you have the money later, it's the same thing."

These bicycle tickets are time-limited and will expire if not used. Nan Yi hesitated: "Brother Aiguo, this isn't quite right."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Then I'll write you an IOU?"

“Nan Yi, we’re like brothers, how could I not trust you?” Li Aiguo said, handing the bicycle ticket to Nan Yi.

"Brother Aiguo, if you ever need any help in the future, just let me know." Nan Yi was very excited; after all, it was a bicycle.

"Okay, then I won't be polite." Li Aiguo will be working with mechanical equipment in the future, and Liang Ladi is a skilled mechanic who will definitely be of help.

After chatting for a few minutes, Nan Yi took the child home.

Liang Ladi was helping someone modify an electric sewing machine when she saw him return and asked curiously, "Why didn't you stay and play in the Patriotic Country area a little longer?"

"Ladi, look what this is!" Nan Yi excitedly held up the bicycle ticket.

Liang Ladi quickly put down the wrench and rubbed her eyes: "Bicycle tickets, where did you get them?"

"I love my country." Nan Yi sat down, picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of tea, and recounted the whole story.

"Brother Aiguo is so kind." Liang Ladi was excited at first, but then she remembered something and her expression fell: "This ticket must cost several tens of yuan. Maybe we should return the ticket to Brother Aiguo and I can walk to work."

Nan Yi grabbed Liang Ladi's arm: "Don't worry, I've already thought it through. I'll take on more extra work on weekends, and I'll be able to pay back the money in no time."

"Nan Yi, you're so good." Liang Ladi looked up at Nan Yi. Overcoming all obstacles to marry Nan Yi was the wisest choice she ever made.

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but pout.

Just then, Nan Xiaoying's voice came from the side: "Dad, Mom, are you going to kiss?"

Liang Ladi: "."

Nanyi: "."

He took a deep breath and said, "I think I should go to my second uncle's house to borrow a belt."

Liang Ladi twisted Nan Yi's ear: "If you dare to lay a hand on me, I'll castrate you."

"Madam, please spare my life!"

After the two playfully wrestled for a while, Nan Yi instructed Liang Ladi, "Don't tell anyone about this, or someone in our compound will get jealous again."

"Don't worry." Liang Ladi carefully put away the bicycle ticket, pondering which brand of bicycle to buy.

****
After seeing Nan Yi off, Li Aiguo thought about it and realized that none of his relatives and friends needed bicycle tickets for the time being, so he decided to give the tickets to Wang Daikui to sell at the pigeon market.

When Chen Xueru returned home, she was stunned to see the box of milk powder in the cabinet.

After learning the whole story, Chen Xueru praised Section Chief Xing's generosity and then suggested, "Does Section Chief Xing think we don't have enough children, so he's using this method to urge us to have more?"

"..." Li Aiguo suddenly felt that the young girl Chen had become smarter.

The two exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere in the room instantly became ambiguous.

Li Aiguo was much smarter; he sent both of his children to Chen Fangxuan's tailor shop in advance.

The night was quiet.

The following day, construction had already begun at the back of the preparation workshop. After fulfilling his supervisory duties as an advisor, Li Aiguo strolled back to his studio.

The car manufacturing plan has already been delayed by several days; we need to hurry.

Just as I picked up the blueprints, I heard footsteps outside.

"Isn't Aiguo a train driver? Why is he working here?"

"Uncle, you don't know yet, but Driver Li has set up a studio and is producing a lot of good stuff."

Li Aiguo recognized the voice, opened the door, and greeted the person warmly.

"Village Chief Wei, what brings you here?"

"I've come to ask you for help." Old Village Chief Wei took off his towel and wiped the sweat from his face.

"What's wrong?" Li Aiguo picked a large watermelon from the greenhouse, and without even using a knife, he punched it, instantly splitting the watermelon in two.

"Don't rush, let's cool down first,"

Village Chief Wei came to deliver mountain goods to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot today. He had been working hard all morning and was hot, tired, and thirsty.

Without any hesitation, he took the watermelon and devoured it in no time.

He picked up a towel to wipe his mouth and said, "Aiguo, a group of wild boars came to the mountain in our commune and ate and rooted up a lot of corn. Those corn were from seeds you gave us. They were growing very well and would be ready to be harvested soon. What a tragedy!"

Last night, several wolves came into the village again, but fortunately the militia spotted them in time, preventing a major disaster.

Li Aiguo wasn't surprised. In those days, almost all the trees around the capital had been cut down, so the wolves and tigers would have to go to remote hills.

It was rather strange that the commune's militia couldn't handle the wild boars and wolves.

"Uncle Wei, putting aside the wolves for now, didn't you send anyone to guard the crops?"

"Why didn't we send any? We didn't even manage to kill the wild boar, and someone got injured in the accident." Village Chief Wei explained, "According to the old hunters in the village, the lead wild boar was a lone boar. These kinds of wild boars usually live alone and are naturally violent. Once they join a group, they become the king of the wild boars."

A lone wild boar? Li Aiguo recalled hearing the old folks mention this kind of wild boar when he was at the logging camp in Northeast China.

Lonely pigs are short-tempered. Unlike other wild boars that like to use mud as armor, they particularly like to rub themselves against tree trunks to get pine resin.

From then on, his body was covered with a thick layer of grease, and this pine oil armor could not be penetrated or bitten by the sharp teeth and claws of wolves and tigers.

There's a saying in the mountains: "One pig, two bears, three tigers." This actually refers to this kind of solitary pig.

“Uncle Wei, don’t send anyone up the mountain or guard the farmland for the next couple of days. Let the crops be ruined; people are the most important.” Li Aiguo said, “I’ll report to Duan and send someone over immediately.”

"Okay, okay, okay," said Village Chief Wei, whose purpose in coming here was to seek help from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

After seeing off Village Chief Wei, Li Aiguo stopped drawing blueprints and wandered into Minister Niu's office in the Armed Forces Department, where he told him about the events in Weizhuang Commune.

"Wild boars? A whole pack? And wolves too? That's all meat!" Minister Niu stood up excitedly.

Li Aiguo: "."

Realizing his loss of composure, he quickly composed himself and said in a deep voice, "Weizhuang Commune is our counterpart commune for poverty alleviation, right? Now that they are in trouble, we cannot sit idly by."

Minister Niu waved his hand and said, "Send troops to Weizhuang Commune!"

The militiamen of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's Armed Forces Department were also excited and cheered when they heard the news.

Although they train regularly, shooting at wooden targets at the shooting range is nowhere near as satisfying as shooting at wolves and tigers.

Besides, those wild boars and wolves are all meat.

If it weren't already late, these guys would have rushed to Weicun Commune right now.

From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, men have often played the role of hunters in the course of human evolution.

This hunting instinct is deeply ingrained in our genes.

Li Aiguo was also very excited. The next morning, before dawn, he rode his bicycle to the Armed Forces Department of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Two large trucks were parked in front of the armed forces headquarters, and dozens of team members were ready to go. If you didn't know the situation, you would think they were going to attack the enemy's bunker.

"Everyone, bring your weapons, and load up all the bullets!" Minister Niu, a veteran, seemed to be back on the battlefield, directing his team members to retrieve their weapons from the armory.

Seeing Li Aiguo approach, he tossed him a brand-new Type 56 semi-automatic rifle: "Aiguo, this thing can be used as a sniper rifle."

Li Aiguo took it and fiddled with it for a bit. It was indeed a good item, with a folding triangular bayonet attached, which could be used for both long-range and close combat.

"Thanks."

Just as Li Aiguo was about to get on the bus, he saw a young team member pushing out a dark, murky object and quickly stopped him, saying, "This won't do."

"I just thought this thing was powerful." The team member touched the mortar, somewhat reluctant to part with it.

"If this cannon fires, even a wild boar with its copper skin and iron bones will be blasted into mincemeat," Li Aiguo reminded him.

"That's it."

Upon hearing this, the team members quickly pushed the cannon back.

Just kidding, the employees at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot are waiting for them to bring back wild boar meat.

When the convoy left the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and arrived at Laowei Commune, the commune's militia had been waiting for quite some time.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? The commune has prepared food. Everyone, fill your stomachs before going up the mountain."

Village Chief Wei warmly ushered Li Aiguo, Minister Niu, and others into the canteen.

On the dilapidated table sat a basket of white steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried tofu.

"You're too kind." Minister Niu could tell at a glance that this was a high-level treatment.

"Hey, we're all family, why are we talking like family?"

After breakfast, Village Chief Wei had Zhang the Mute gather the militia from the commune, and he brought a big yellow dog to join the group in setting up an ambush.

After leaving the village, Village Chief Wei led Li Aiguo to a cornfield.

“Just last night, those wild boars came down the mountain again. Look at what they’ve done to this cornfield.”

The corn cobs in this cornfield are noticeably larger than normal; they were seeds given to Village Chief Wei by Li Aiguo.

"This was an experimental field." Li Aiguo originally planned to use the experimental field to determine the corn yield and then find a way to send the seeds out, but now it's all ruined.

"Don't worry, there's more than just this one plot of land where those seeds were used. There are others to the north, and they're growing even better than here."

Village Chief Wei was unsure why Li Aiguo was angry, so he quickly offered an explanation.

"That's great!" Li Aiguo instructed, "Village Chief Wei, you need to send someone to guard that plot of land from now on. The corn cobs inside can't be lost. Let me know in advance when it's time to harvest."

In order to understand the seed quality as much as possible and to prevent the experimental field from receiving extra care, Li Aiguo did not tell the village chief Lao Wei the truth.

Now that the harvest is almost here, it doesn't matter anymore.

"Oh, it's an experimental field! Don't worry, I'll take good care of it." Old Village Chief Wei also became excited.

This type of corn is insect-resistant, lodging-resistant, and easy to care for. If it could be widely promoted, it would be a good thing.

"The most important thing in an ambush is to catch the enemy off guard. Everyone, keep your mouths shut!" Minister Niu of the Armed Forces Department, as the commander-in-chief of this operation, personally drafted the battle plan after arriving at the nearby location.

The plan is very simple, just three words.

"Tu Tu Tu!"

(End of this chapter)