The train driver in the courtyard

The most crucial thing in ambush warfare is to be able to endure loneliness.

At this time of year, the autumn heat was intense, and lying in the grass was not a pleasant experience, but neither the militia of the commune nor the members of the locomotive depot's armed forces uttered a sound.

Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke were assigned to keep watch, standing in the shade of a small hillside, looking around with binoculars.

Time passed slowly, and suddenly a humming sound came from afar, indicating movement in the woods.

"They're here!" Li Aiguo picked up his binoculars and looked.

A dozen or so wild boars charged down the mountain in a menacing manner; they were of various sizes and appeared to be traveling with their families.

The lead wild boar was twice the size of a normal wild boar, so it must be the lone boar.

Li Aiguo gestured to Minister Niu below.

"coming!"

This ambush, which had been prepared for four or five hours, finally welcomed its important guest.

"Let's fire together later and have a shooting contest!"

Minister Niu saw the wild boar enter the field, and after gesturing to Li Aiguo, he shouted, "Attack!"

"Snap, bang! Snap, bang! Snap, bang!"

At this point, Li Aiguo had already fired, repeatedly pulling back the bolt and firing several shots from his high vantage point.

"You little brat, you have no sportsmanship!"

Minister Niu stared blankly as a half-grown wild boar lay on the ground, then quickly raised his gun.

"Bang bang bang."

"Tu Tu Tu!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" (Bird gun)

Gunfire continued down the hillside as commune members and team members repeatedly pulled the bolts of their rifles.

Bullets are free, so naturally, we can't miss such a great opportunity.

The wild boars drooled at the sight of the delicious corn, intending to enjoy a tasty meal, when one of their companions inexplicably collapsed.

One less pig to share means two more mouthfuls of corn. Brothers, charge! Ah, something's wrong, there's gunfire! Humans are too cunning.

The wild boars then realized the danger, and several of them turned and tried to run away.

However, their speed was ultimately no match for that of bullets, and Li Aiguo had already turned his gun on several fleeing men.

The accuracy of this Type 56 semi-automatic rifle is so high that it can kill a pig's ass with a single shot.

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunfire continued; even the wild boar's thick hide couldn't withstand the barrage of bullets.

Now the wild boar finally realized that the enemy had reinforcements and that it couldn't escape even if it wanted to.

Seeing that things were not going well, the wild boar king roared a few times, and the wild boars actually turned around and charged towards Minister Niu and his men.

"Holy crap, this boar king is a commander."

"To catch the thief, first catch the king; take him down."

This was the first time Minister Niu had met Commander Wild Boar. He stood up, raised his gun, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Sudden.

The wild boar king turned and ran away.

They abandoned the wild boars and ran away.

If this guy could speak, he would definitely shout, "I'm not betraying my teammates, it's a strategic retreat."

At that moment, the team members' attention was entirely focused on the attacking wild boar, and they didn't have time to fire their guns.

The wild boar king was very fast, and it reached the ridge of the field almost instantly.

Minister Niu wanted to fire again, but it was too late.

He instinctively shouted, "Patriotism!"

Minister Niu regretted it after he shouted it.

What's the use of calling him now? The wild boar king has thick skin and tough flesh; if you shoot him, it'll be like a tickle.

All this talk only takes a few seconds.

Just as Minister Niu shouted, Li Aiguo, who had been squatting, stood up. By the time he finished shouting and looked up, Li Aiguo had already pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

This shot was as fast as a dragon in flight.

That one shot changed the very fabric of the world.

The wild boar went berserk after that shot.

Minister Niu watched as the wild boar king ran onto the ridge of the field, firing at the other wild boars while shouting something to Li Aiguo, who was standing still with his gun at the ready.

"Patriotism, didn't you hit it?"

stab.

call.
On the smoke-filled battlefield, Li Aiguo lit a cigarette, took a puff, removed the bullet casing, and replied with a clatter.

"Don't worry."

Before Li Aiguo could finish speaking, the wild boar king on the ridge suddenly collapsed to the ground, its hooves twitching, clearly indicating that it was beyond saving.

Zhou Ke was stunned: "That's not right, the wild boar didn't have any injuries, so why did it collapse?"

Minister Niu and his team members were also puzzled.

However, the war was not over yet, and they suppressed their doubts and continued firing.

Seeing that the boar king had fled, the wild boars lost their will to fight and turned to run away. Seven or eight of them were left behind, while a small number of the wounded escaped into the mountains.

Minister Niu arranged for the commune's militia and team members to pursue the beast, while he himself led a few people to the side of the wild boar king.

This wild boar king weighed four or five hundred pounds and had bullet marks on its body, but the bullets had not cut through the fat.

"Hey, what happened to this guy?" Minister Niu's gaze fell on the Wild Boar King's anus, where blood was gushing out.

Whether it was Zhou Ke standing next to Minister Niu, the team members preparing to pursue, or the militiamen and Village Chief Wei from the commune, they all felt a tightness in their chrysanthemums and couldn't help but shiver.

That wild boar king died such a pathetic death.

After swallowing hard twice, Minister Niu looked at Li Aiguo, who was walking towards him, and said, "Where did you learn these skills?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Aiguo replied, "I learned it from you?"

"Me?" Minister Niu looked bewildered.

Li Aiguo pointed to the wild boars that had already turned into wild boar meat and said, "Just now, you didn't have the team focus their fire on the area between the wild boars' eyes, which is their weak point. I'm just following your advice."

"Hahaha, Li Aiguo, you've surpassed your teacher!"

Minister Niu looked at the blooming wild boar chrysanthemum and chuckled twice, then his lips twitched slightly: "This chrysanthemum is indeed the wild boar's weakest point."

Zhou Ke interjected, "I know that too, but hitting the target will probably be a bit difficult."

"It's not that it's difficult, it's that you simply can't do it. Even for me, it's unlikely I could take it down with one shot." Minister Niu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to be honest.

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo smiled and said, "You are the commander, and your main task is to give orders. The task of charging into battle should be left to us young people."

Minister Niu lifted his rifle, glanced at the team members chasing the remaining wild boars in the distance, and turned to Li Aiguo earnestly, saying, "I guess I really am getting old. I don't dare to have such thoughts anymore. I'll have to rely on you young people from now on."

Li Aiguo removed the spent cartridge and reloaded the bullet: "Old ginger is spicier. We young people still have to rely on the older comrades to guide us."

Minister Niu was amused by this and waved his hand, saying, "Aiguo, you take your men up the mountain, I won't go."

Li Aiguo agreed, picked up his rifle, called Zhou Ke and a few team members, and led a few hunting dogs, rushing up the mountain following the bloodstains left by the wild boar.

Minister Niu watched his retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly: "He's getting old after all. If I had dared to fire just now, I might have hit the wild boar in the rear end. It seems I'd better not go over to the Indian side, otherwise I'll only cause trouble for those young people."

The teammate next to him secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Things are quite lively in India right now. As Li Yunlong leads his troops to attack cities and capture strongholds, there are signs of a shortage of manpower.

A while ago, the higher authorities started to send people to help. Hearing that there would be fighting, people from all over the country enthusiastically signed up to participate.

Minister Niu originally planned to resign from his position as Minister of the Armed Forces Department in preparation for helping out.

The higher-ups didn't consider veteran comrades like Minister Niu, who actually planned to write a letter in blood to go to the old regimental commander.

It should be noted that Minister Niu had been seriously wounded on the northern battlefield, making it difficult for him to keep up with the troops.

He was determined, and no one could persuade him otherwise, not even his young wife who was holding their child.

Unexpectedly, Li Aiguo's shot today solved the problem.

"Let's go, let's deal with these wild boars first, prepare tea and water for the comrades going up the mountain, and do our logistical work." Minister Niu withdrew his gaze and strode towards the wild boars.

His spine remained as strong as ever.

Wild boars are bad-tempered because they haven't encountered professional teams.

The tragic death of the wild boar king terrified the fleeing wild boars, who could only run up the mountain.

The team members could easily take the hit by simply raising their guns, aiming, and pulling the trigger.

Besides the wild boars, the wolves on the mountain were also easily dealt with.

With more and more prey, it became difficult for the team members to carry the prey down the mountain on their own. Village Chief Wei sent the village militia to be responsible for transporting the prey down the mountain.

"How many is this?" As evening fell, Li Aiguo put away his hunting rifle and looked at a hillside in the distance.

"That's the seventh one, isn't it?"

Zhou Ke took out his notebook and glanced at it.

"Any movement over there with the hunting dogs?" Li Aiguo turned to look at Zhang Jieba.

The area inside the mountains is vast, and the hunting dogs are responsible for tracking the prey. After the reports are sent back, the team members then take action.

"No, that's all." Zhang Jieba's face flushed red with excitement.

"Alright, let's call it a day." Li Aiguo knew that it was impossible to completely eradicate the wild boars and wolves in the mountains. If there were any left, the militia in the commune could handle them.

When we came down the mountain, the commune was already bustling with activity.

Men, women, and children from the entire commune came to join in the fun.

"Wow, so many wild boars! Tsk tsk, they must be the militia from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

“They’re not militia, they’re a regular force.”

"Hiss, something seems off about this wild boar's anus."

"I saw it. It was Aiguo who did it. He shot him right in the back."

The female members of the commune all looked at Li Aiguo with surprise.

Li Aiguo: "."

He always felt that the story would become increasingly bizarre as it spread.

****
As agreed beforehand, the prey caught this time would be divided equally between the commune and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

These twenty or thirty wild boars and seven wolves, even just half of them, would be enough to feed the commune for several months.

Li Aiguo led his men into the village office, where the commune's butchers were already busy at work.

Upon seeing that Li Aiguo had brought back the wild wolf, he quickly took it and dealt with it.

The adults slaughtered pigs and wolves, the women helped boil water for processing, and the children gathered firewood.

"Aiguo, we owe you all so much this time!"

Li Aiguo was squatting nearby, admiring the beautiful scenery unique to this era, when he suddenly heard the voice of Village Chief Wei.

Li Aiguo stood up and handed a cigarette to Village Chief Wei: "You're too kind. To be honest, we actually benefited this time."

“We’re family, so let’s not talk like that.” As usual, Village Chief Wei refused Li Aiguo’s cigarette, took a couple of puffs on his pipe, and said, “It’s just that there’s way too much meat this time, several thousand kilograms, enough to last for several years. Even if it’s pickled, it might still spoil.”

Li Aiguo understood and laughed, "This is easy to handle. We have a cold storage at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, so we can store it there temporarily."

"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for you?" Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wei's eyes lit up instantly.

"No trouble at all. If it weren't for you guys, our Qianmen Locomotive Depot wouldn't have gotten so much meat this time," Minister Niu said with a smile as he walked over carrying a wolf skin.

I can take this back and make a few pairs of gloves.

The people in the commune were overjoyed.

Besides the meat that was taken away, there was also a wild boar and a wolf left behind, as well as a lot of offal, enough to eat well for a few days.

noon.

A large pot was set up in the commune, and a big pot of meat soup was made using pig offal and wolf offal.

This kind of food from a large pot tastes especially good, and Li Aiguo finished two large bowls.

Zhou Ke also thought the meat soup was delicious, even better than the big restaurants in the capital.

"Ptooey! My teeth!"

It would be even better if we didn't get any bullets in there.

In the afternoon, Li Aiguo returned to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. The meat from Weizhuang Commune was successfully delivered to the cold storage, and the Qianmen Locomotive Depot began distributing the meat.

A large portion went to the public, and a small portion was given to the team members who participated in the operation.

Li Aiguo was credited with the "hunt" because he organized the operation and killed the boar king. He received over 30 jin of pork, wolf meat, a wild boar head, and two wolf heads.

Li Aiguo cut off a piece of wolf meat, intending to take it back with him.

He carried the remaining pork to the studio.

At this time, the experienced craftsmen and technicians were still busy in the workshop.

"Everyone, take a break. We'll have barbecue tonight," Li Aiguo interrupted them, waving his hand.

When Director Zhang and his colleagues heard that they were going to have barbecue, they got excited. They found steel pipes to build a steel frame, found charcoal, and even smuggled various seasonings from the canteen.

When Captain Liu of the rescue team next door saw the commotion, he and several of his team members also climbed onto the wall.

"Patriotism? What's with that? Why does it smell so good?"

"Oh, it's Captain Liu. We're having a barbecue. We have extra meat today, so come join us."

A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. The rescue team is right next to the studio, and those young men have helped the studio a lot on weekdays, so naturally we should give them a good welcome now.

Upon hearing this, Captain Liu was immediately delighted and led a group of team members over.

With so many people, there wasn't enough meat to go around, so Li Aiguo went to the greenhouse and found cucumbers, peppers, and corn to make a barbecue with both meat and vegetables.

Although the seasonings cannot compare with those of later generations, the freshness of the ingredients makes the taste even better.

The colleagues in the studio and the rescue team chatted and laughed, creating a very warm atmosphere.

Since it wasn't working hours, many people started drinking. Li Aiguo, considering he had to go to work the next day, refused Captain Liu's offer of alcohol and instead ate meat heartily.

"Patriotism, I'll clean up." After the bonfire party, Director Zhang took the initiative to lead people to clean up the site.

"When will Yu Shu from BAIC start work?"

"This seems to be a bit troublesome." Director Zhang handed his work to a workshop worker, wiped his hands, and walked over.

"What?" Li Aiguo asked, squinting his eyes.

"I sent a transfer order to BAIC Motor in the name of our Qianmen Locomotive Depot's maintenance workshop, but it was rejected."

Li Aiguo was stunned: "What reason?"

"The leaders of BAIC plant replied that Yu Shu has low moral character and likes to steal and cheat. If he were transferred here, he would cause us trouble." Director Zhang looked puzzled.

Yes, generally speaking, factories will agree to temporarily hire people as long as they are not technical experts or core technical personnel.

Even if they disagree, they will find a good excuse.

Who would directly belittle someone?
"Don't worry about this, I'll handle it." Li Aiguo had heard some rumors and nodded to Director Zhang.

"Alright then." Director Zhang turned around and went back to his work.

Li Aiguo left the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and took the wolf meat to a farmer's house.

"Teacher, this is from today's hunt, it's still fresh." Li Aiguo handed over the wolf meat, along with a traditional Chinese medicine recipe.

Wolf meat is not unusual; farmers ate it quite often when they were working in the mountains before liberation.

The key is this traditional remedy.

[One wolf leg (dismembered), three cardamom pods, five mace of pepper, one mace of mustard, two mace of long pepper, two mace of amomum villosum, two mace of turmeric, one mace of galangal]

Simmer the above ingredients into a soup, then season with scallions, soy sauce, salt, and vinegar before serving.

"This is called 'Stir-fried Wolf Soup,' and its effects include warming the five internal organs and tonifying the middle jiao (digestive system)."

Upon hearing this, the farmer nodded excitedly and said, "You've got a kind heart."

"You are my teacher."

Li Aiguo was eager to return, so he handed his belongings to the guard and prepared to leave.

The farmer called him back and led him into the study.

"Ji Huai's health has been a bit poor lately, and he may not be able to hold on for much longer."

"What's going on? Did we make a move?"

"No, the medical team doesn't know the situation either. They just suspect he's had a mental breakdown, but I don't think so." The farmer frowned.

“A person like Ji Huai wouldn’t have a mental breakdown. Teacher, we should still be careful, lest he’s faking it.”

"Don't worry, I've already told the people in Group Five not to let their guard down."

Let's chat for a bit.

Li Aiguo then rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house, albeit unsteadily.

Chen Xueru pickled the wild boar meat in a jar, while the wild boar head and wolf head were prepared to be made into braised dishes.

Before it got dark, Li Aiguo moved a stool and sat down at the door to get busy.

Xu Damao was somewhat surprised when he saw it: "Brother Aiguo, I heard from Yan Jiecheng that your Qianmen Locomotive Depot went hunting today and got a lot of good stuff. I didn't believe it, but I didn't expect it to be true."

He squatted down beside it, staring at the wolf's head, and said, "You killed this wolf, didn't you? A shot right between the eyebrows, not bad technique."

"Luck, it all depends on luck."

"That's not necessarily true. When I was showing movies in the countryside, I encountered wolves. Those guys are incredibly fast. You can't do that by luck."

Xu Damao was still staring at the wolf's head.

Li Aiguo saw through the situation and asked with a smile, "Brother Da Mao, what are your thoughts?"

Xu Damao scratched his head awkwardly: "I want to borrow... to buy a wolf tooth."

"Wolf Fang?"

"Yes, my daughter Xu Hua always wakes up in a fright at night. I heard that she's being haunted by something evil."

Xu Damao looked around and, seeing that no one was around, lowered his voice and said, "I heard that hanging wolf fangs around a child's neck can ward off evil spirits."

Li Aiguo paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

He was so focused on eating the wolf's head that he completely forgot that wolf fangs were a valuable resource.

In fact, Li Aiguo did not believe this claim either.

Wolf teeth and human teeth are made of the same material, so what's the difference?
Now he understood that people believed not in efficacy, but in hope.

Even the most elusive hope is still hope.

Li Aiguo decided to get two wolf tooth pendants for his own children as well.

"That's easy. I'll knock all these Fang Wolves down later and give you one."

"Oh, that's great!" Xu Damao happily went home to find the red string.

After he left, Liu Haizhong, Uncle San, and Nan Yi also came over to inquire about Wolf Fang.

As the saying goes, what child doesn't cry at night?

Since it concerned whether they could get a good night's sleep, Li Aiguo didn't refuse and had Liu Haizhong use pliers to pull off the wolf teeth and distribute them to them.

In no time, all the children in the compound were wearing wolf tooth pendants around their necks.

"Look, isn't it pretty?"

"That's a wolf fang!"

Hearing the giggles, several men, exhausted and sweating profusely, sat under the eaves, exchanged glances, and laughed.

“Patriotic Brother, do you know what I thought of when I encountered the wild wolves?” Xu Damao asked, lighting a cigarette.

Before Li Aiguo could answer, he continued, "If I were eaten by wolves, my Xu Hua would be so heartbroken."

Upon hearing this, several residents looked at Xu Damao with surprise.

I never expected that the truly despicable Xu Damao had this side to him.

The night is getting darker.

While helping Li Aiguo take a bath, Chen Xueru checked his body and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no injuries.

She did not advise Li Aiguo to stop hunting or doing such adventurous things.

After all, even if she tried to persuade him, Li Aiguo wouldn't listen.

"There are a few wolf fang pendants left. I'll give them to my eldest and second brothers tomorrow."

"Go ahead, and by the way, take some wild boar meat with you too."

Li Aiguo did not send wolf meat because it would have a particularly foul and fishy smell if not handled properly.

"Okay, let's go to sleep."

Chen Xueru nodded, picked up a towel and wiped the rough man's face, which was already flushed.

Li Aiguo stretched out his arms and picked her up completely.

***
Inside the BAIC factory dormitory at this time.

A group of young workers were playing cards together. When his coworker Xiao Zhao saw Yu Shu reading a book, he couldn't help but say, "You're reading that useless stuff again."

"No, I promised to help someone improve the rear axle last time, but there are still some things I don't understand." Yu Shu sat up.

Xiao Zhao scoffed, "Yu Shu, you're such a bookworm. No matter how well you learn the technology, you'll never be able to leave this workshop."

"What do you mean by that?" Yu Shu sensed something was wrong and sat up straight.

"You haven't heard yet, have you? Just today, a leader from another factory wanted to transfer you to work there, but our Deputy Section Chief Niu from the Technical Department refused."

Xiao Zhao looked at Yu Shu with eyes full of sympathy.

Yu Shu is skilled and ambitious. Even though he offended Deputy Section Chief Niu in the past, he has been in the workshop for two years, which is enough. There is no need to ruin him.

Upon hearing this, Yu Shu's expression changed slightly. After a moment of silence, she sighed deeply and picked up the foreign language book again.

"Instead of reading, you should think of a way to apologize to Deputy Section Chief Niu," Xiao Zhao advised while playing cards.

"Forget it, being a factory worker is fine too." Yu Shu shook her head with a wry smile.

If he were willing to apologize, he wouldn't have directly accused Deputy Section Chief Niu of falsification in the first place.

It's a pity I can't go to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to study automobiles with that train driver.

As night deepened, the lights gradually went out, and the entire capital city was shrouded in darkness.

(End of this chapter)