Chapter 21: Calculations Behind the Bangs

The inquiry conducted by the Armed Forces Section officer was extremely detailed.

From Li Aiguo's birth to his schooling, to his life in the courtyard, and even his romantic history—nothing was spared; every minute detail and every aspect was covered.

They even inquired about his three preceding generations.

Li Aiguo only knew that his great-grandfather was a poor man from Northeast China, his grandfather was a poor man from the outskirts of Beijing, and his father was a train driver.

Not a single person in the three generations had wealth or power. At his great-grandfather's poorest, he couldn't even afford trousers. It was only by picking up a girl fleeing a famine that the Li family lineage was preserved.

Hearing Li Aiguo recount how his great-grandfather was oppressed by landlords, the officers nodded in satisfaction.

Officer Liu spoke up, "I saw in your files that you applied to join the Organization several times during your schooling. This shows your political awareness is quite high."

This was a common remark, but paired with the young officer beside him—who was tapping a fountain pen against the manuscript paper while staring intently at him—the atmosphere suddenly shifted.

Li Aiguo straightened his chest, his face full of righteousness. "I come from three generations of poor peasants. I will listen to the Organization and follow the Organization for the rest of my life. My red heart will never fade."

These words sounded like a closing statement.

After the security officers recorded his response, they did not ask anything further.

Li Aiguo had originally thought that the background check would be like a deposition, requiring his signature. To his surprise, the security officers placed the manuscript into a file folder and sealed it directly with wax.

"Comrade Li Aiguo, we wish you great success in your examination. Like your father, may you become a glorious train driver."

"Furthermore, the contents of this investigation are top secret. You are strictly forbidden from mentioning them to anyone."

"Don't worry, I have that level of awareness."

After a few pleasantries with Officer Liu, Li Aiguo left the room, only to find that Zhou Tiehu had already departed at some unknown time.

An officer nearby explained, "A train derailed at the Yongdingmen section. That's a passenger route with seven or eight passenger trains passing through every day; the route cannot be interrupted. Comrade Zhou Tiehu took a locomotive to assist with the rescue."

Among railway workers, a derailment was called "dropping the track."

In this era, train designs were simple and safety measures were inadequate; derailments happened frequently. No wonder, Li Aiguo thought, that even though he was studying driving, the school also taught vehicle repair and rescue techniques.

Muttering to himself, Li Aiguo smiled, greeted the comrades from the Armed Forces Section, and left the locomotive depot compound.

Time was tight; he had only one week before the exam.

Instead of returning to the courtyard, Li Aiguo went straight to the Women's Cultural and Sports Store.

Even with his current physical strength far exceeding that of a normal person, the distance of seven or eight *li* left his legs feeling somewhat fatigued. It seemed he needed to get a bicycle as soon as possible.

Pushing the door open and walking in, Li Aiguo cast all other thoughts aside and rushed to the bookshelves.

These books were all skill points!

+1 +1 +1

Time was like a man in his thirties in bed—getting shorter and faster.

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

Waking up in the early morning, Li Aiguo gazed at the system text beneath his eyelids, unable to suppress his excitement.

Steam Engine Driving Technology: 100. Cooking: 15. Skill Points: 15.

As a "grinder" in his previous life, after a week of sleepless, non-stop grinding, he had exceeded his mission. Not only had he grinded his Steam Engine Driving Technology to a perfect score, but he had also earned an extra 15 points.

Truly terrifying.

Li Aiguo grew increasingly impressed with his own ability to grind; he gave thanks to the "Itchy Mouse."

But where should these 15 points go?

Li Aiguo scrolled down the panel and quickly found a subject.

Russian: 45 points.

45 points... it seemed to be the result of his hard work studying foreign languages with the long-legged Russian girls in his previous life.

Li Aiguo felt a bit of regret that he hadn't gotten to know more Russian girls back then.

After all, in this era, Russian was the primary foreign language in the country; it was taught in vocational schools, high schools, and universities. On the locomotives of the locomotive depot, many parts and control devices were labeled in Russian. It could be said that without knowing even a little Russian, one could not become a qualified train driver.

Furthermore, if he applied these fifteen skill points to Russian, his proficiency would meet the standard.

Having thought this through, Li Aiguo no longer hesitated or wavered. He manipulated the system panel and poured all the skill points into Russian.

In an instant, he felt a familiar sense of dizziness. Those unfamiliar pieces of knowledge turned into specks of blue light, flooding his mind and becoming easy to understand.

When he opened his eyes again, Li Aiguo found that his Russian proficiency was actually comparable to a professional Russian teacher, rather than just being "qualified."

Frowning in thought for a moment, Li Aiguo had an epiphany.

A score of 100 in any subject was equivalent to the highest technical standard in that field. A score of 100 in Russian meant the level of great Soviet writers like Gorky and Dostoevsky.

As expected, having a system was truly extravagant!

After a simple breakfast, Li Aiguo changed into his father's old work clothes, put on his labor protection shoes, donned his oilcloth cap, and checked himself in the mirror.

He nodded with satisfaction. Not bad; the young man was quite handsome.

Without a watch, he estimated it was around 7:30 AM. Li Aiguo slung his canvas bag over his shoulder and walked out the door.

Just as he reached the Crescent Gate, he ran straight into Xu Damao.

Xu Damao was startled and hurriedly hid the basket of eggs behind his back. Once he saw clearly that it was Li Aiguo, he clutched his chest and let out a long sigh of relief. "It's just Aiguo! You nearly scared me to death; I thought you were here to rob my eggs!"

Only then did Li Aiguo notice the basket was filled with eggs—at least twenty of them. Carrying a basket of eggs from outside this early, Xu Damao must have been returning from the pigeon market.

"Brother Damao, why did you buy so many eggs?"

"Ha, my fiancée-to-be is the daughter of a wealthy family. She has to eat eggs every day. So, I picked some up to bring to her."

Xu Damao didn't hide it this time because he had already gone on a blind date with Lou Xiaoe. Although Lou Xiaoe's attitude was reluctant, Tan Liya had been very enthusiastic toward him. Now, as long as he put in more effort, he could marry Lou Xiaoe. At this stage, there was no need to keep it a secret from others.

"Then congratulations, Brother Damao. You go ahead; I have to go take my exam. See you later."

"Exam? It's for the train driver position, right?"

"I can't say too much. Let's keep it civil."

"...Ahem, once you pass and become a driver, if I ever need to travel far, you'll have to give me a lift."

One could hear Xu Damao's scheming from the Front Gate Street.

His words alerted a passing resident, Liu Haizhong, who approached with his protruding belly.

"That's right, Aiguo. When Old Li was still around, he often gave our Guangqi a ride to school in Baoding. You mustn't lose such a fine family tradition."

Before the original owner's father was injured, these residents indeed sometimes rode the train for free, but that was only because the father used his employee tickets to get them on board. Although employee tickets didn't cost money to obtain, they could be sold for cash.

Liu Haizhong knew this well, yet he had never shown any gratitude. After the father was injured, he hadn't even shown his face, and later, he even conspired with Yi Zhonghai to carve up the Li family's assets.

Li Aiguo, now knowing Liu Haizhong's true colors, naturally wouldn't let him leech any longer.

"Second Uncle, if your family wants to ride, buy your own tickets!" Li Aiguo said coldly.

The other residents in the courtyard burst into laughter upon hearing this. They didn't travel far and didn't need to ride trains, so they couldn't take advantage of the Li family. Feeling unbalanced, they were delighted to see Liu Haizhong get shut down.

Liu Haizhong's lips trembled with rage. After Li Aiguo left, he spat violently on the ground.

"With your unlucky look, you think you can be a train driver? Look in a mirror!"

Xu Damao said sarcastically, "Second Uncle, why didn't you dare say that to Li Aiguo's face just now?"

Liu Haizhong shrank his neck and fell silent. He was afraid Li Aiguo would beat him. Not long ago, when Shazhu was beaten, he had been right there. Shazhu, who claimed to be invincible in the courtyard, hadn't even lasted one round against Li Aiguo. How could he possibly be a match?