Chapter 50: Reporting to the Locomotive Depot

Monday morning.

The clamor of children, the clatter of pots and pans, and Liu Guangtian's crying forced their way into Li Aiguo's ears, waking him from his slumber.

With his eyes closed, he reached toward the head of the bed for his phone, but grabbed only empty air.

Li Aiguo abruptly opened his eyes.

The dark ceiling, the bright red characters of the old wall calendar, the dilapidated furniture in the room... all reminded him that he was still living in those passionate, burning years.

Li Aiguo let out a soft sigh.

Having been in this era for some time, he had transitioned from his initial discomfort to actually growing fond of this period.

Compared to the idle, mediocre, and decadent yacht life of later generations, he preferred this era of striving and struggle.

What were young luxury club models compared to the thrill of changing the future!

Li Aiguo's gaze turned resolute. He kicked off the quilt, got out of bed, picked up four or five books from the bedside, and slid them into a canvas bag.

The books had been borrowed from the women's cultural and sports store.

Of course, according to the bookstore's rules, a single library card could only check out three books.

However, that was no obstacle for our Li Aiguo.

Ding Qiunan had a library card too, after all.

Borrowing it for a moment was nothing to be ashamed of!

Putting on his late father's old railway uniform, Li Aiguo picked up his washbasin and headed to the middle courtyard to wash his face.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Liu Guangtian running barefoot past his door like a gust of black wind.

Behind him, the Second Master chased him with a pair of fire tongs: "You little beast, who told you to jump around with both feet!"

Liu Guangtian ran even faster.

Xu Damao was brushing his teeth at his doorstep, muttering, "Beating a kid first thing in the morning, the Second Master sure knows how to keep things interesting."

Seeing Li Aiguo, he spat twice to clear away the toothpaste foam, came over, and gave a thumbs-up: "Aiguo, I've got to call you brother today."

"The way you handled things yesterday was just too neat and clean."

"Shazhu is probably going to be locked up for a few years this time."

Li Aiguo looked up and saw a crack in Deaf Old Lady's door, gave a chuckle, and said loudly:

"That was Shazhu's own doing. If he had exposed the mastermind, he probably wouldn't have had to serve much time."

"Exactly, how can that Shazhu be so stupid?" Xu Damao said with an expression of amazement.

Xu Damao hadn't understood why He Yushui wanted to cut ties with Shazhu, even troubling Director Wang to hold a mass meeting.

When he went home and asked Wang Gangzhu next door, his jaw almost dropped to the floor.

To take the fall for someone else, he abandoned even his own sister.

If he had a brother like that, he would have drawn a clear line a hundred years ago.

"He got hoodwinked by those few people in our courtyard."

Seeing a dark shadow flash past the crack of the door, Li Aiguo smiled and said, "Brother Damao, I won't chat any longer."

"Right, right, you still have to go report for duty today, wouldn't want to delay your matters."

Inside the room.

Deaf Old Lady heard every single word of the conversation outside.

Sitting in her chair with a gloomy expression, she muttered softly, "Yi Zhonghai is simply going too far. Just to protect Jia Dongxu, he actually harmed my grandson!"

"This matter cannot end like this!"

...

Bidding farewell to Xu Damao, Li Aiguo washed his face at the water basin in the middle courtyard and returned to his room.

Breakfast consisted of fried dough sticks and twists, a bowl of thin rice porridge, and a small dish of salted pickles.

He had a light and simple meal.

Slinging his canvas bag over his shoulder, gathering all his documents, and mounting his bicycle, he headed toward the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

The white-on-black nameplate of the locomotive depot gleamed brightly under the golden sunlight.

The workers entering and leaving the depot all wore proud expressions on their faces.

In this era, working at the locomotive depot offered great benefits and high status, far beyond comparison with later generations.

Li Aiguo walked up to the entrance, buttoned up his collar firmly, perked up his spirits, and mounted his bicycle.

Inside the depot, beneath dense shades of trees, low blue-brick houses and red-brick apartment towers stood interspersed.

Cracked concrete pathways linked the buildings and houses together.

Guided by the original owner's memories, he rode his bicycle toward the administrative building.

Just past the corner, a figure rushed out from the side and landed heavily on the bicycle's back seat.

"Li Aiguo, I heard long ago that you got yourself a four-wheeled bicycle."

"It really feels comfortable to sit on."

Feeling the bicycle tire instantly deflate, Li Aiguo turned his head to look at Zhang Dahua.

"Get off. Don't you have any idea how much you weigh?"

Zhang Dahua dismounted reluctantly, pouting, "So what if I'm fat? I haven't been eating your family's food. My mom said this is called being sturdy, and when I get married in the future, it'll be good for having children."

"Those girls who look like broomsticks might look pretty, but they're completely useless."

Li Aiguo: "....."

Li Aiguo often hung out with Zhang Dahua, and against her uninhibited tongue, he was completely helpless.

Zhang Dahua seemed quite satisfied with having left Li Aiguo speechless and smiled, "Are you reporting for duty today?"

"Yeah, just don't know which crew group I'll be assigned to," Li Aiguo nodded.

A crew group was the smallest collective unit on the railway.

It consisted of the locomotive team—driver, assistant driver, and fireman belonging to the same train; the passenger service team—conductor, attendants, and water supply attendant; and the onboard police team.

They shared the same glory and suffered the same disgrace.

"Cao Wenzhi has already taken you on as his apprentice. He's the driver team leader of the 131 passenger train crew, so you're bound to follow him there."

At this, Zhang Dahua looked envious.

"Train 131 is an express train. From Beijing to Tianjin, it takes just over five hours, and a round trip is over ten hours, so it won't mess with a good night's sleep at home."

"I heard my dad say that the thing train crews fear most is not getting enough sleep."

Li Aiguo chuckled, "I'm just a brick—wherever I'm needed, I'll be moved."

"You, you always get the best of both worlds while pretending to be aggrieved!" Zhang Dahua pouted.

Chatting and laughing, the two entered the locomotive depot.

Zhang Dahua had already reported for duty yesterday.

She had been assigned to the 352 ordinary passenger train, which ran all the way from Beijing to Nanning.

A single round trip took four days and three nights, which explained why she felt so resentful.

Ah, as expected, those who rely solely on their own hard work become upper-class citizens in any world.

After parting ways with Zhang Dahua, Li Aiguo arrived at the Labor and Personnel Section on the second floor of the main administrative building.

Several clerks sat inside the main room of the section. He knocked on the yellowish wooden door and asked, "Excuse me, where does a new worker report for duty?"

The clerks were all busy with their own tasks and acted as if they hadn't heard.

A young man looked up from a stack of documents and pointed to a small inner room: "Deputy Section Chief Wang handles that."

Nodding in thanks, he stepped into the inner room.

Hearing footsteps, a thin old man sitting behind the desk looked up: "Did you bring your documents? Which unit are you transferring from? Who approved it?"

At this time of year, the locomotive depot wasn't engaging in large-scale external hiring.

The young man standing before him was either a transfer from another locomotive depot or some leader's well-connected relative.

Aware of this, Li Aiguo handed over his documents and smiled, "I'm taking over my father's position. My father used to be a train driver."

"Even taking over a position requires starting out as a fireman. Why does the position on your documents list you as a train driver?" The thin old man looked puzzled.

"If you flip to the back, you'll see my train driver's license, personally issued by Section Chief Xing."

Li Aiguo wasn't just throwing around empty claims.

Section Chief Xing had indeed handed him the driver's license himself.

That could certainly be considered personally issued.

At these words, several gazes drifted over from the outer room.

The clerks who had just been burying themselves in paperwork now looked astonished.

They hadn't expected this young man to have connections with the leadership; had they known, they would have acted much more warmly.

The thin old man remained unfazed.

There were plenty of train drivers in the locomotive depot; how could Section Chief Xing possibly issue a driving license to a mere novice driver?

This young man was young and liked to talk big—which actually made him good material to be a train driver.

It wasn't until he flipped to Li Aiguo's personal file and that specific letter of introduction that his attitude shifted.

Having just turned eighteen, he had scored a hundred percent on both parts of the exam.

He had invented a sandbag design, which received high praise from the engineers at the Erqi Rolling Stock Plant and caught the attention of the main bureau.

He had even joined the organization while still in school.

This young man's future was boundless.

There were quite a few people in the locomotive depot who had risen from train drivers to leadership positions.

The thin old man's attitude executed a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn.

"Ah, excellent! Proficient in your duties, outstanding political standing, good family background, firm stance—you're a fine seedling. Our locomotive depot needs outstanding talents like you."

"Come, come, sit down and let's talk."

The thin old man adjusted his glasses frame, raised his voice, and shouted outward: "Cuihua, pour some boiled water!"